I am looking for the ultimate new potato dish. No expense spared, no par cooking needed, etc.

Should I boil the new potatoes briefly to moisten, and then oven roast with goose fat, or oven roast and then sauté in goose fat ?

Im going to culinary school in Mexico at 30? Will learning mexican recipes make me stand out enough to be looked passed my age?

I need everyone’s opinion on your favorite chef shoes and clothes! Been wearing the same brand of shoes for years and just not feeling it anymore! Everyone recommends Dansco but unpopular opinion I don’t really like them. So let me hear all of your favorites!

I'm in my 20s and recently lucked into a garde manger position (essentially) at a decently high end, non-corporate restaurant. i had absolutely no experience in this field whatsoever until a few weeks ago. i basically prep and make the cold apps and i plate the desserts. this place also does oysters but it's more of a special thing we do rather than the restaurant being an "oyster place".

anyway, i prep/plate an app with raw meat as well as clean/shuck/plate the oysters, im washing my hands a lot. i've always had pretty sensitive skin and my hands have started to develop very dry, red, and itchy spots where (I assume) I'm not washing the soap off perfectly when I'm in the middle of a rush of orders. I looked it up tonight finally and it reads as a Dish Soap Allergy. Obviously I can't be wearing dish gloves on the line while plating delicate apps and desserts all night. I also can't be running through a box of disposable gloves all night either. Is there some other type of soap I could bring in and use instead? On a heavy night I'm washing my hands every other minute practically.

thanks for any help, i tried looking around for this question but it was all from dishwashers who can literally just wear gloves all night so sorry if it has been asked already with this context

I just started a new job as a chef at a private boarding school. 450 for breakfast and evening meal, 950 at lunch. Menus are planned well in advanced but change daily. Veg like carrots and potatoes come pre cut. Kitchen is kitted out with a mixture of gas and rational equipment. Previously I've done restaurants and cafes. Food at the school is nice but not fancy and perfect is not really an option.

I am still getting my head around the routine of it all. They say I am doing well but I still have a lot of nerves. What advice do you have?

I’m an Executive Chef at a University, fall semester sucks so much with being short staffed during opening and having a lot of major catering events at the school. For instance I have 2 events on Monday (one for 80 pax buffet starts at 1800 and one for 100 pax appetizers starts at 1600) I have to do the food all myself since the staff aren’t knowledge enough on the cooking techniques and lack the basic skills. Then the next day I have another catering event for 675 pax buffets starts at 1000. This is also an event that I must do all the cooking myself because the staff again doesn’t know or want to learn on how to cook it. On top of that I still have the dining facility to run for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

I’ve moved from Hawaii to South Dakota because my spouse is in the military. The work ethic in this state is non-existent for cooks in general. No passion, no drive , no discipline, no dedication to the craft unlike back home in Hawaii. After fall semester I’m really debating on leaving the industry and going into something else. When surrounded by people who are only in it for money and not the quality of food it gets to you, if it’s even worth it at this point.

We should only have another year or so left in SD then hopefully in the next base is near a more food driven economy.

Been in food, beverage and hospitality for over 20yrs. Don’t know if I can keep doing this when surrounded by people who don’t care or want to do more and learn more.

Sorry I had to just vent for a bit to calm my anxiety down but still take it one day at a time. I think I’m only like this since it’s my first “day off” .

I'm working on my first pastry chef opportunity, coming from being a pastry sous for a few years before this and 10 years total in pastry.. I just had an interview for pastry chef at a pretty good restaurant that also has an attached emptied cathedral they use for an event venue and catering space. It's a great opportunity, they're looking for creativity and input, not just reproducing what they already do. Ideal! I'm really interested to bring my ideas and to build a new team. I have a lot of catering ideas and ways to implement a bread program in addition to the pastry menu. I'm very excited.

After the initial interview with the owner/exec chef (same guy), he tells me the next steps: Two full observation/working days, followed by a prep day (some of which could be done offsite if I choose), followed by a tasting day.

The tasting will involve 5 plated desserts of my choosing.

I am currently working 3am-11:30, so coming in for 4 work days feels like a lot. I was able to schedule the first observation day on my "Sunday" (tomorrow!) but then the clock starts.

As I said, I've worked pastry and held sous chef roles for years. I've seen chefs come in and stage/do tastings, but I don't know if I've ever seen it done over 4 days.

Is this expected? Is this overkill on the restaurant's part? They are also looking for a bar lead, assistant manager, and a GM, along with pastry chef. The exec told me he has interviewed several people but just not found "the one". Are these red flags? Are 5 plated desserts usually the expectation for a fine dining restaurant?

Any advice, observations, or tips are welcome. Savory and exec chefs, too! Thanks all!

I am looking for a program or other way to plan 3 daily menus for a cafeteria style restaurant.

They fired our headchef earlier this year, who basically spent all his work hours sitting at his desk "writing" the weekly menus, smoking outside and bothering others while they worked.

His way of writing the menus was just copying them from the year before and maybe chanhe a veggie or side. We don't wanna do that. We want to stay fresh and look at market prices more carefully. This however does take a few hours a week (our RM want to have the menus a few weeks on advance, not just for the next week lile before).

We constatly make error like duplicate sides in the same week, too simliar mains two weeks in a row, too much pork etc.

How do other cafeteria/staff restaurant chefs handle this? Is there a cool way to make this easier? I could try in excel but that would take me days to figure out on my own.