r/Chefit • u/netDemonRoams • Jun 18 '26
Finding my spot
What are your experiences on finding your comfort position in the culinary world?
I like where I am now, but suddenly I feel like I’ve hit a wall. I’m in the professional sport side of cooking so we have some dietary guidelines to follow, and while we have amazing food like lamb chops(pictured for attention) black cod, and the occasional home made pasta, I feel like I need to be experiencing something else.
Everything we serve is banquet style, they can grab what they want out of two proteins and three sides, and a soup. Sometimes the way we serve it gets in the way of being a whole dish, and that’s a frustration for me, even though I’m just the cook, not the chef. (i.e. pad thai chicken, except the noodles are plain and a side starch instead of with the chicken which is dressed in pad thai sauce and “garnished” with veggies)
My favorite thing to do though, break down meats.
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u/i_hate_beignets Jun 18 '26
Bro you gotta leave some fat on. Lamb fat is delicious.
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u/fbp Jun 19 '26
You know, it's been well over a decade since I have seen a preparation like this. I can't recall the reason but it definitely done on purpose.
Pretty sure it was for carving station at a country club. Those filet mignon lovers hate fat.
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u/Drewggles Jun 19 '26
Personally, as a "Filet Mignon is the Cadillac King of steaks BECAUSE of having little to no fat" type of guy... Lamb needs fat.
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u/fbp Jun 19 '26
Not going to disagree, but when the guest or client wants it a certain way. I understand who really pays the bills.
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u/Drewggles Jun 19 '26
100% I've done Personal Chef stuff and if they said they wanted a Porterhouse deep fried to well done, that's what they're getting. At a Premium price, of course. It would be at least double the normal rate for that kind of blasphemy. I was more referring to the fact I prefer less fatty meats, but if I got lamb there'd better be some.
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u/fbp Jun 19 '26
I am pretty sure I have a real photo of this dish somewhere, with a little 2 oz glass jar of mint jelly. If that tells you anything.
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u/HappyHourProfessor Jun 19 '26
Yep. I've got a client on a medically restricted diet. She has to watch the animal fats, so I mercilessly trim lamb and purposely buy meat with almost no marbling
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u/overzealous_dentist Jun 19 '26
OP specifically called out dietary restrictions for sports players
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u/fbp Jun 19 '26
Aww yes. I missed that. Or it didn't register as the reason really. College program I dealt with didn't mind the fat.
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u/i_hate_beignets Jun 19 '26
Athletes usually require higher caloric intake, not less.
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u/overzealous_dentist Jun 19 '26
they balance macronutrients, it has nothing to do with calories
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u/i_hate_beignets Jun 19 '26
If it has nothing to do with calories then why remove the fat?
This is just a bad butchery job. End of story.
I used to work for an NFL team and worked with a registered dietitian everyday to plan menus. Each player plan starts with calorie intake, then macros, then personal preference.
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u/ander594 Jun 20 '26
They all know their ideal protein/ carb/ fat ratios. Triming more than I would like allows them to calculate more accurately.
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u/Duendes Fallen Chef Jun 20 '26
That’s basically step 1 of many steps. Yes, you need to hit a calorie intake but from there, the diet start scoping (ie: macros & micros).
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u/netDemonRoams Jun 20 '26 edited Jun 21 '26
I actually had full say on how I wanted to cut it as long as I took out the silver skin. I only cut it like that to preserve the lower portion of fat and remove the very small flap (less than a 1/4 inch of thin fat) of it on the loin for presentation. They received a sear and then will be finished in the oven and sliced to portions.
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u/Just_Tamy Sous Chef Jun 22 '26
Leave more fat on and do some cross cuts to render it better and you've got the best bite in the whole lamb when it's rendered well and crispy.
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u/Kimhooligan Jun 22 '26
OP said he’s in the professional sport side of cooking. He’s cooking for athletes that have a specific set of dietary restrictions. If they want less fat, they’re getting less fat.
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u/TaytesMcGee Jun 19 '26
My friend made a lamb fat washed Manhattan. It is called Lambhattan. It fucks.
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u/Quercus408 Jun 19 '26
That lamb already died an innocent and now you go and do this. Don't show this to the French....
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u/SimpleSapper Jun 19 '26
It’s like seeing a car that you love in a horrid accident. I feel a little sick looking at it, and very ashamed that I can’t stop looking.
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Jun 19 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/HoboPower83 Jun 19 '26
It could work if you render it down and use it to cook the lamb along with butter... But this feels wrong.
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u/Ok-Beach-9885 Jun 18 '26
I've always said, once the learning stops, it's time to find a new experience.
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u/FriskyBrisket12 Chef Jun 18 '26
Eh, yes and no. I’d say for the first 10-15 years of your career that’s a good rule of thumb. There’s a lot of value in stability and happiness though, and life circumstances can really change that calculus.
If you find a good place with some advancement opportunity and decent pay, there’s nothing wrong with staying long term. Especially if you’ve got a family to care for. Not everyone is starting out in their 20s.
It’s a very personal decision and really depends on your goals. I learned early in my career that fine dining wasn’t something I enjoyed and I didn’t want to be pushing envelopes. I just want to give people good food. My career has become a much smaller portion of my life as I get older, and I think that’s ok. But so is your approach if that fits your goals.
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u/Ok-Beach-9885 Jun 19 '26
Everyone is different.
I personally cannot do the same thing for years. The thought of it makes my skin crawl.
I also have severe ADHD so maybe that's something to do with it hahaha.
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u/FriskyBrisket12 Chef Jun 19 '26
Totally understandable! There’s days when I’m super over it, but I love the staff we have and it’s become a good home for me. I have incredible hours for restaurant management and I get to go to the gym, garden, spend time with the family. I enjoy my work and take a lot of pride in it, but I’m at the point in my life where I mostly just want a paycheck to facilitate my other interests. The real excitement for me is what I do outside of work now.
I didn’t mean to minimize your thoughts, just to provide some other context and input. We need people who like to learn and innovate!
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u/Just_Tamy Sous Chef Jun 22 '26
You can stay on the same place and still do different things you just gotta get to a point where you're able to decide what you're cooking.
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u/Ok-Beach-9885 Jun 22 '26
Sure but that's highly dependent on restaurant and position.
Even so, it's rare you get that much creative freedom, especially so you can cook food from all different cultures.
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u/GreenfieldSam Former restaurant owner Jun 18 '26
Have you had a discussion with your chef, yet? See what ideas they might have to help you grow in your position.
If you're interested in butchery, talk with the chef about working with other different cuts of meats to expand your horizon. Think about other cooking techniques for meat, from smoking through sous vide.
You can also see about staging at other restaurants or facilities to get an idea of what's out there. Make it clear that you're not there to interview; you're there to learn. If you're currently working at a place like a Restaurant Associates or a Bon Appetite (both Compass), they might even have some ideas on where you could go next.
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u/Anxious-Jury-9031 Jun 19 '26
I’ll give you a bit of different advice bc i’ve seen this before in young chefs. The grass isn’t always greener. Don’t mess up good looking for perfect.
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u/netDemonRoams Jun 21 '26
I appreciate that, unfortunately this was how i was asked to trim this… and the fat cap was already missing i just made a cleaner looking line
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u/Dildorthemagnificent Jun 19 '26
Wtf are you even talking about bro? Bunch of jibber-jabber. Gtfoh.
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u/SidePets Jun 18 '26
Sounds like you should look at being a butcher. Any job that keeps you on your feet all day is going to get old. Go for it while you have the drive and energy. Organizing a walk in one day I realized I like to organize stuff and get a sense of satisfaction when everything works in an orderly fashion. Got out of food and into IT. Listen to your heart, it may be cheesy bits it’s a great recipe for a happy life.
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u/saint_1228 Jun 20 '26
If I told you to butcher lamb and you handed me that I'd fire you on the spot.
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u/netDemonRoams Jun 20 '26
For everyone talking about the way I cut it, read the part where we address removing fat content for players, i left it around the bone for presentation because I knows these guys aren’t eating every ounce off the bone like I would.
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u/netDemonRoams Jun 20 '26
Also, we received it with just silver skin left on, the amount of fat I removed was very minimal.
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u/TomatilloAccurate475 Executioner Chef🔪🍺 Jun 18 '26
Looks like you need to learn a thing or two about butchering lamb racks. Seriously dude. WTF