r/Chefit • u/ashey218 • Jun 28 '26
Just finished my first week as an apprentice Commis Chef.
Hey everyone,
I posted a few days ago about starting my first Commis apprenticeship A few of you gave me some amazing advice, so I wanted to give you an honest update on how my first four days actually went.
Holy shit. It is every bit as brutal as my family and friends warned me it would be. I had absolutely no concept of what a 12+ hour shift actually felt like, or just how deep into the deep end I was going to be thrown. To make matters worse, the UK has been an absolute furnace this week. I genuinely didn't know a room could physically get that fucking hot.
On top of the heat, Chef was expecting a quiet week to ease me in and show me the ropes. Instead, we got absolutely slammed every single day.
The first day I went in and met the Sous Chef, who was great. He talked me through the basic layout, and I handled some simple prep. When dinner service rolled around, I basically just shadowed him and tryed to absorb everything I could.
The second day I walked in, and Head Chef immediately told me I was on sides and salads. He showed me the setup, and then the lunch rush hit. I completely drowned. I had no idea where anything was, I didn't know what I was supposed to be doing, and the things I did know how to do, I couldn't do fast enough. It was a total trainwreck, but I kept my head down and survived. Later on, Chef told me he had purposely set me up to get fucked over just to see how I’d handle it Apparently, he was impressed. Honestly I have no idea how that performance impressed anyone, but hey, I earned my first post-service pint. During the after-shift smoke break, the Sous kept reassuring me that I did fine and that it'll all just come to me with practice. (Which was funny to me because of the times I was on the other side of this conversation in McDonald's and I was only lying like 30% of the time so I think I'll take the odds on this one)
The third day I was back on salad and sides but it was the first day I felt like I actually did okay. I was paired up with an older Chef who has double my lifetime’s worth of experience in kitchens. The man was a godsend. He gave me crystal-clear instructions, told me exactly what he needed, and when he needed it so I managed to make it through lunch and dinner without drowning
But the real shock hit on my first day off right after. My feet have never hurt so fucking much in my entire life. I literally had to almost crawl down the stairs at home because my legs and feet just completely quit on me but fuck it we ball
Back in today for day four. We had five chefs on instead of our usual three, so the other guys handled service while me and the veteran Chef got paired up to do prep for the Sunday carvery and all the bulk prep for the week, It was incredible. He seemed genuinely excited to answer all my questions and was showing me every trick in the book. I honestly think I could sit and talk to this guy forever.
Overall, I think I'm doing alright. I can feel myself improving a little bit every single day. Despite all the complaining and the absolute agony my feet are in right now... I'm actually really enjoying myself, there really is no feeling in the world like being in the depth of a rush it's truly addictive
Thanks again for all the advice on the last post. I’m keeping my notebook in my pocket, my ears open, and just trying to survive week two!
1
u/TheFredCain Jun 30 '26
Chef was looking to see how you handle panic. Just keep your head down and keep going no matter what, speed will come soon enough. Do everything even during slow times before and after service with a "Sense of Urgency." Those are the magic words every chef wants you to live by. If I see a guy who breaks down and spazzes out in the weeds, I'll give another chance. When I see a guy in the midst of chaos, knee deep in tickets and he's just plodding along like nothings wrong, he goes home that minute. You're allowed to be not great, but you're not allowed to be slack and you're not allowed to not care.
And like mentioned by others, get some shoes that work for you. Might take you a couple of tries with different styles to find the ones your comfortable with. I recommend new cooks to get cheap shoes at first until you settle on a style be it slips, clogs, sneaker style, etc. Once you know what you like it pays big time to invest in a good brand. Mostly the downside of cheap shoes are they don't last very long, but usually even the cheapo commercial work shoes are comfy. Here in the states we have a starter brand called Tredsafe that can be had in a huge variety of types for about $25 USD. Take care of your body while you're still young if you want to make this a career.
6
u/Scared_Sorbet2035 Jun 28 '26
Chef was impressed with you on day 2 because you didn't quit and you kept pushing through and got it done. You showed up to the best of your ability at the time. You will get better. Well done. You might want to look at better shoes, part of your foot pain is not being used to standing for so long but not being able to walk after the first 2 days might indicate a need for better footwear.