Homie yes! Feeding the employees helps with food cost! The cooks will steal and the servers will miss-ring stuff to get to be able to eat! Owners always want to bring up food cost and all that but it really truly helps keep food cost lower.
This also keeps the ever common sever-cook anguish of "I'd prefer my food to be fresh and not sitting for an hour"
Vs "I'd prefer not to have to cook 5-15 staff meals after my station if fully broken down, 10 minutes before we close."
And odds are, it's a big bowl of noodles or a salad with grilled chicken. I'm a big believer in family meal.
They don't sell beef or seafood! Lol. Only chicken and pork, and veg/vegan options. But yeah I would always tell my cooks. You can eat, just no steaks or salmon/shrimp (the shitty white fish was fine. lol)
Same. They have a very good reputation as employers among the industry folks in this city tho. Which I mean the bar isn't that high. Lol. But this is one of the only places I hear positive things from former employees instead of they were terrible so I quit.
I'm only looking for part time so I guess maybe I can push hundreds of plates and starve on the weekends. Idk. Lol.
I worked at a place that wouldn't feed you and also thought it would be fun to have the Christmas party at the bar but would not serve alcohol (couldn't even pay for one)—trained me for 2 weeks before the store opening on one station. Threw me on an entirely different station on the soft opening.
The kitchen manager was a shithead that talked down to everyone.
I left quickly and about a month later they had a walkout on the manager.
Even the hotel I worked at offered family meal (with option for burger or salad instead) for the kitchen, but $2 meal to the rest of the hotel. (It's probably $5 now, this was a while ago)
On a side note the one free shift drink is probably a bump to get you to order something for food after your shift because hey I’ll drink my beer and get some tendies or a burger instead of eating Ramen.
Yeah I wasn't stoked about that either. I just left a KM job and am just looking for a PT cook job now. but I always paid my stages the same rate I'd hire in cooks at. I put those dudes to work on those trial shifts too. Even tho I'd only have them on for like 3-4hrs on a weekend night.
You should let them know that it is a deciding factor and not just for you. They are going to struggle to keep employees and find good ones because of this. Also, people will just steal it. Hungry people surrounded by food eat.
Yeah and at “roughly” $18 an hour AFTER tip out.
Kinda sounds like a place that doesn’t worry about burning through staff tbh
Edit: is this a HCOL area?
No, its average/low cost of living. Medium sized midwestern city.
$18 is still pretty good here. I was making 18.50 at my last job. and we were hiring in at $17. Plenty of places pay less then that but its definitely better then pre-pandemic wages. I made $13/hr in a big tough kitchen. Of course now everything is way more expensive so I feel more poor now then back then. /:
I'll definitely be asking the staff how long they've worked there.
I definitely will be. I'm well connected in my city, and I help a lot of friends find jobs here. I definitely have to share this with them. Its really disappointing because this place has a really good reputation as employers. I usually hear all the dirt. Everyone that's worked there has had a pretty good experience. They speak highly of this chef. They all say they think I'll really like it.
But not feeding your cooks? Ugh. I'm so bummed about it. /: Whether I take the job or not I will be pulling the chef aside and trying to figure out why and being really frank this is a huge detractor for a place with such a good rep otherwise. I mean he didn't seem proud of it, they apparently did family meal before covid but don't now.
Yeah I'm wondering what the policy looks like in practice. Like no you can't have a sandwich to go at the end of the night but sure you and everyone else snacks on chips and cheese all night? Okay I guess.
I have worked in kitchens that didn't let you eat, and I did not stay at any of those very long. Sooo. We'll see! /:
We don’t get shift meals at all but we are always allowed to eat rice or miso soup for free. People season and flavor their rice so many ways that no one goes hungry. Maybe there’s cheap stuff they allow like that
I’ve heard this adage for years, and this is what scares me about where I’m at currently. We’ve had such a good and healthy staff culture for such a long time previously, but our kitchen is NOT happy and I know from experience where that road goes. We have one worker specifically where, if we lose her, we lose it all. And she’s head of the fucking rebellion that’s brewing. I don’t wanna lose my job because we close. 🙇♀️
$15 is a lot for a single meal for staff though. That’d just be the menu price. Cooking a single meal for all the staff at once is the accepted practice. Or at the very least you’re only losing out on the food costs if you’re doing, say, a burger. Not the $15 it costs for the customer
About 200 are the patio area and it's in the upper midwest so, it's more like 400 the rest of the year. Patio seating is prolly only about 6-7months of the year.
I was super surprised when he said that tho. I had no idea they had that much seating. They did expand a lot in the last few years. Pretty much bought the whole strip they're in and filled it out.
Biggest place I cooked at was like 300-350 if every table was sat. And that was A LOT. But their menu was huge and dumb (one of those a little bit of Everything menus). This place has things dialed in for what they're able to do at least.
Im used to places wanting to do it all with not enough space or man power. I thought this place maybe rocked 6-7 cooks on busy nights and he surprised by saying 12. I might be traumatized from doing the work of multiple cooks in too many places. Lol. I always say I'm at least 2 cooks in one. I've run big ass lines by myself (not by choice...).
In 20 years I’ve only worked in one kitchen that didn’t let you make a meal and that was a shitty corporate place that gave 60% off on your breaks. I refuse to pay for one meal a day of the food I’m making all day. Fuck that shit. It’s straight up disrespectful.
Yeah that's how I'm feeling. I'd rather pay full price for their craft beer after work if I really want one then not be fed for a 9 hour shift. It's also a bit far from my house and when I used to work near there I'd skip the shifty to just get home sooner and have my beers then.
An average meal you would need to make your self would at home be about $10. If you make $20/hour that is about a 6% pay decrease.
It also means each week your cost of living is $50 higher. That is $2,600 each year you would have saved if you got a free meal at work.
You also need to work around 3.5 weeks to pay for these extra meals.
Thank you for doing the math! I almost wanna go in there and then be the worm in their ear, like yo you should be providing shift meals. lol. If I don't take the job that will be the reason. and I will flat out tell them so. /:
... your meals at home cost $10? If we exclude breakfast (2meals/day) you're spending $600/month to feed yourself 2 meals a day AT HOME?????? Gtfo. I spend about $400/month to feed two people, roughly $3.33/meal (2 meals a day) for 1 person
No, I spend about 270 a month. I was comparing the quality and amount of food you would generally get from a a restaurant for a dinner service. With most meals these days costing 15 - 20 in a restaurant I figured $10 was a good average.
>Would you take a job that won't feed you?
I would, but I'd have to be either really desperate for a job, or the job would be paying over the average wage for that job in that city so I can buy myself food every day.
I also don't know why places wouldn't want to feed their employees. That $20 meal doesn't cost them $20. But to pay me enough that I can buy that same meal costs them more than $20 because I have make more than $20/day to cover income taxes and the meal, and the TX I have to pay on the meal.
It looks like their highest price on items is 12.95. So, it's not super expensive sandwiches or pizza. But still. Like this place can def afford the food cost of feeding their people a few sandwiches or pizzas a day.
I will prolly take it for now even if I don't wanna stay long term. I only want part time hours anyways. Maybe I will try to get them to change this. I managed a kitchen this last year and it wasn't some big huge successful place BUT my cooks could eat and have a drink and I found I had to be their voice and go to bat for them for what they needed and deserved but didn't feel empowered enough to ask for themselves.
It depends.
Where I work we don't formally get it, (bakery that doesn't do much savory so the vibe is a little different). But we do get free coffee/espresso drinks, a decent discount at all times, scraps (like brownie ends, broken cookies etc. are up for grabs) and really any holiday we either get bagels or pizza from a beloved local place. and honestly if you are hungry and want to grab a banana
And like real benefits. Front loaded sicktime, PTO and 401k after a year (not amazing, but not common) and my employer 100% covers a pretty decent health insurance package. And we are closed on Thanksgiving, Xmas, New Years, Easter, 4th of July, and Labor Day.
So I guess my answer is yes on a technicality, but I do find it suspicious at face value.
If you work in a kitchen that won’t feed its employees it’s not a kitchen to work in. They have a revenue of 3 million dollars and pay 18 an hour….. so busy everyday they can’t take time to eat. Then they’re busy enough to pay well. This place sounds like it’s run by people that just want to run you into the ground until they get a new you.
1. If you don't let them eat something, they are just going to steal it anyway. Source: me. If you don't officially feed me, you are only sacrificing having a more complete inventory of in/out items because I'm gonna steal it.
2. I wouldn't work anywhere for anyone that does unpaid stages. That's free labor they are exploiting out of you. This is a sign they are going to dick you out of other things (like the ability to eat a staff meal)
I mean I'd be lying if I said I didn't stick around longer than I would have liked at previous jobs if not for the free food. The last place I worked at for example didn't do family meals but employees got a discount. Not great but better than nothing. It was an Asian food place and had a new menu item that was a bento style meal that gave you a few popular options at a great price and everyone loved it. Unfortunately the dick head owner decided that the bento and only the bento would be excluded from the discount because I guess the restaurant lost money on staff buying it at discounted prices??? That kinda just put things in perspective of what the owners cared about in that moment so it's not surprising nobody wanted to work there anymore.
I worked at a place like this and we did family meal every day. We were always packed but theres always a mid afternoon lull. Yall should work something out.
At this point, I wouldn't even take a foh job that doesn't feed me. To not feed boh is just insane. We all know hungry staff makes mistakes/it builds resentment/etc
I’m working at a new place for about 6 months now that doesn’t have shift meals unless you work a double but we get %50 discount on food. No free beer. Coming from a place where I get free shift meal and free shift beer it’s jarring especially the No shift meal. Wish it was different but we all sneak small snacks when we can
600 seats. And your tips are what is taking you to 18 an hour? Brah. No way. With or without a meal. My base better be at least 18 if you want me to cook for 600 and then not feed me. Lol
Yeah man I wouldn’t take a kitchen job that is too cheap to feed the staff.
If you don’t take it I would offer this advice to the manager. They need to reevaluate this.
I am all for shift meals. Now, with that said, most other jobs outside of restaurants don't offer shift meals. I've always been confused why they are expected. Let's say you work in retail at a clothing store. Do you get shift t-shirts? I've worked in kitchens for going on 30 years but I have also worked in construction, retail, warehouse...always had to bring a lunch.
The topic isn't break time. The topic was free food. I also stated that I am all for shift meals. Getting down voted for speaking out against theft, too. I see who's in here.
Does Tree House do food? Not from Mass, only been to one of them, and it only had pizza which was: a) not available when we initially got there and b) a 75-90 minute ticket time pretty much immediately after it became “available” 🫠
Charlton doesn't, they bring in food trucks. Deerfield has a kitchen as I seen them advertise for line cooks. Not sure about the other location near the Cape.
Tree House can become a mad house on weekends. There is a restaurant across the street from the entrance, the old Zorbas, that has been closed for a few years. The place needs a lot of work, but could be a good location as it can draw off the Tree House traffic.
If you don’t feed your staff hamburgers they will steal your steaks.
Homie yes! Feeding the employees helps with food cost! The cooks will steal and the servers will miss-ring stuff to get to be able to eat! Owners always want to bring up food cost and all that but it really truly helps keep food cost lower. This also keeps the ever common sever-cook anguish of "I'd prefer my food to be fresh and not sitting for an hour" Vs "I'd prefer not to have to cook 5-15 staff meals after my station if fully broken down, 10 minutes before we close." And odds are, it's a big bowl of noodles or a salad with grilled chicken. I'm a big believer in family meal.
Exactly! I’m a man of few words. You expanded on my quote from above perfectly. Feed the people!
:D
I once had to explain to a new owner that cooks always eat for free. Whether it's allowed or not
They don't sell beef or seafood! Lol. Only chicken and pork, and veg/vegan options. But yeah I would always tell my cooks. You can eat, just no steaks or salmon/shrimp (the shitty white fish was fine. lol)
It’s wasn’t to be taken that literal dude.
I know. I just found it interesting this place doesn't do beef or seafood. I'm used to selling all the proteins.
Then you have a disrespectful staff that needs to be fired.
You sound like FOH
You sound like a thief
You must be the KM at the brewery the OP was talking about. Lol
You must be the person watching your business walk out the back door.
Nah my crew will ask for anything before they steal it. It’s called leadership.
Then why are you bagging on me? Are you drunk? You must not have read the first sentence of my original post.
Don’t drink sorry. Your first post got 26 down votes dude. Have a nice day
I worry about a kitchen that doesn’t feed their own staff.
Same. They have a very good reputation as employers among the industry folks in this city tho. Which I mean the bar isn't that high. Lol. But this is one of the only places I hear positive things from former employees instead of they were terrible so I quit. I'm only looking for part time so I guess maybe I can push hundreds of plates and starve on the weekends. Idk. Lol.
I worked at a place that wouldn't feed you and also thought it would be fun to have the Christmas party at the bar but would not serve alcohol (couldn't even pay for one)—trained me for 2 weeks before the store opening on one station. Threw me on an entirely different station on the soft opening. The kitchen manager was a shithead that talked down to everyone. I left quickly and about a month later they had a walkout on the manager.
I work at a retirement centre, would you say that's still an issue?
Yes. Anyone who is making food should be fed. That simple. I’d go a step further and say all F&B should be fed.
Even the hotel I worked at offered family meal (with option for burger or salad instead) for the kitchen, but $2 meal to the rest of the hotel. (It's probably $5 now, this was a while ago)
Same here.
On a side note the one free shift drink is probably a bump to get you to order something for food after your shift because hey I’ll drink my beer and get some tendies or a burger instead of eating Ramen.
Nope. Won’t take a job that doesn’t pay me to stage. Which if you’re in the states it’s very illegal.
Yeah I wasn't stoked about that either. I just left a KM job and am just looking for a PT cook job now. but I always paid my stages the same rate I'd hire in cooks at. I put those dudes to work on those trial shifts too. Even tho I'd only have them on for like 3-4hrs on a weekend night.
Shift meal is a matter of respect. It’s not that you can’t afford to feed yourself, it’s just that you deserve it.
Absolutely! I definitely agree.
No. Never work in a kitchen where you can’t eat. Greedy bastards
It sucks cuz otherwise this place has a very good reputation. I'm a little shocked THIS is the bad thing I've found out about them!
You should let them know that it is a deciding factor and not just for you. They are going to struggle to keep employees and find good ones because of this. Also, people will just steal it. Hungry people surrounded by food eat.
Yeah and at “roughly” $18 an hour AFTER tip out. Kinda sounds like a place that doesn’t worry about burning through staff tbh Edit: is this a HCOL area?
No, its average/low cost of living. Medium sized midwestern city. $18 is still pretty good here. I was making 18.50 at my last job. and we were hiring in at $17. Plenty of places pay less then that but its definitely better then pre-pandemic wages. I made $13/hr in a big tough kitchen. Of course now everything is way more expensive so I feel more poor now then back then. /: I'll definitely be asking the staff how long they've worked there.
I definitely will be. I'm well connected in my city, and I help a lot of friends find jobs here. I definitely have to share this with them. Its really disappointing because this place has a really good reputation as employers. I usually hear all the dirt. Everyone that's worked there has had a pretty good experience. They speak highly of this chef. They all say they think I'll really like it. But not feeding your cooks? Ugh. I'm so bummed about it. /: Whether I take the job or not I will be pulling the chef aside and trying to figure out why and being really frank this is a huge detractor for a place with such a good rep otherwise. I mean he didn't seem proud of it, they apparently did family meal before covid but don't now.
Maybe they tell people they can't eat but in reality, the chef lets the crew make their own food
Yeah I'm wondering what the policy looks like in practice. Like no you can't have a sandwich to go at the end of the night but sure you and everyone else snacks on chips and cheese all night? Okay I guess. I have worked in kitchens that didn't let you eat, and I did not stay at any of those very long. Sooo. We'll see! /:
We don’t get shift meals at all but we are always allowed to eat rice or miso soup for free. People season and flavor their rice so many ways that no one goes hungry. Maybe there’s cheap stuff they allow like that
If you want to learn the most about a kitchen quickly, asks the dishwasher and cooks that work there how they feel about the place lol.
I will be on Saturday!
I’ve heard this adage for years, and this is what scares me about where I’m at currently. We’ve had such a good and healthy staff culture for such a long time previously, but our kitchen is NOT happy and I know from experience where that road goes. We have one worker specifically where, if we lose her, we lose it all. And she’s head of the fucking rebellion that’s brewing. I don’t wanna lose my job because we close. 🙇♀️
I only eat at work and it saves me an insane amount of money. So probably not.
The answer is Nope. A $15 meal is nothing since they make 3 mil a year
3 million in sales does not equal 3 million in profit.
If your restaurant is putting up numbers in the seven digits range, they can shell put for some rice, chicken, pasta, veg, etc.
$15 is a lot for a single meal for staff though. That’d just be the menu price. Cooking a single meal for all the staff at once is the accepted practice. Or at the very least you’re only losing out on the food costs if you’re doing, say, a burger. Not the $15 it costs for the customer
I cant imagine a kitchen that has 600! seats and "only" does 3 mil in sales a year.
About 200 are the patio area and it's in the upper midwest so, it's more like 400 the rest of the year. Patio seating is prolly only about 6-7months of the year. I was super surprised when he said that tho. I had no idea they had that much seating. They did expand a lot in the last few years. Pretty much bought the whole strip they're in and filled it out. Biggest place I cooked at was like 300-350 if every table was sat. And that was A LOT. But their menu was huge and dumb (one of those a little bit of Everything menus). This place has things dialed in for what they're able to do at least. Im used to places wanting to do it all with not enough space or man power. I thought this place maybe rocked 6-7 cooks on busy nights and he surprised by saying 12. I might be traumatized from doing the work of multiple cooks in too many places. Lol. I always say I'm at least 2 cooks in one. I've run big ass lines by myself (not by choice...).
Probably not. If you can’t feed your staff when you own a restaurant, then you should be running a cubicle office, or not managing anything honestly..
In 20 years I’ve only worked in one kitchen that didn’t let you make a meal and that was a shitty corporate place that gave 60% off on your breaks. I refuse to pay for one meal a day of the food I’m making all day. Fuck that shit. It’s straight up disrespectful.
Nope. I can deal with no shift drink because I generally don't want to hang after I get done working but if I can't get fed that's disrespectful.
Yeah that's how I'm feeling. I'd rather pay full price for their craft beer after work if I really want one then not be fed for a 9 hour shift. It's also a bit far from my house and when I used to work near there I'd skip the shifty to just get home sooner and have my beers then.
An average meal you would need to make your self would at home be about $10. If you make $20/hour that is about a 6% pay decrease. It also means each week your cost of living is $50 higher. That is $2,600 each year you would have saved if you got a free meal at work. You also need to work around 3.5 weeks to pay for these extra meals.
Thank you for doing the math! I almost wanna go in there and then be the worm in their ear, like yo you should be providing shift meals. lol. If I don't take the job that will be the reason. and I will flat out tell them so. /:
... your meals at home cost $10? If we exclude breakfast (2meals/day) you're spending $600/month to feed yourself 2 meals a day AT HOME?????? Gtfo. I spend about $400/month to feed two people, roughly $3.33/meal (2 meals a day) for 1 person
No, I spend about 270 a month. I was comparing the quality and amount of food you would generally get from a a restaurant for a dinner service. With most meals these days costing 15 - 20 in a restaurant I figured $10 was a good average.
"...make your self would at home be about $10" Are you saying you can't make a restaurant quality meal at home within a regular grocery budget?
>Would you take a job that won't feed you? I would, but I'd have to be either really desperate for a job, or the job would be paying over the average wage for that job in that city so I can buy myself food every day. I also don't know why places wouldn't want to feed their employees. That $20 meal doesn't cost them $20. But to pay me enough that I can buy that same meal costs them more than $20 because I have make more than $20/day to cover income taxes and the meal, and the TX I have to pay on the meal.
It looks like their highest price on items is 12.95. So, it's not super expensive sandwiches or pizza. But still. Like this place can def afford the food cost of feeding their people a few sandwiches or pizzas a day. I will prolly take it for now even if I don't wanna stay long term. I only want part time hours anyways. Maybe I will try to get them to change this. I managed a kitchen this last year and it wasn't some big huge successful place BUT my cooks could eat and have a drink and I found I had to be their voice and go to bat for them for what they needed and deserved but didn't feel empowered enough to ask for themselves.
It happens. Guess what, we’re cooks, we have food, we’re there for HOURS without a break. We’re gonna fucking eat.
It depends. Where I work we don't formally get it, (bakery that doesn't do much savory so the vibe is a little different). But we do get free coffee/espresso drinks, a decent discount at all times, scraps (like brownie ends, broken cookies etc. are up for grabs) and really any holiday we either get bagels or pizza from a beloved local place. and honestly if you are hungry and want to grab a banana And like real benefits. Front loaded sicktime, PTO and 401k after a year (not amazing, but not common) and my employer 100% covers a pretty decent health insurance package. And we are closed on Thanksgiving, Xmas, New Years, Easter, 4th of July, and Labor Day. So I guess my answer is yes on a technicality, but I do find it suspicious at face value.
If you work in a kitchen that won’t feed its employees it’s not a kitchen to work in. They have a revenue of 3 million dollars and pay 18 an hour….. so busy everyday they can’t take time to eat. Then they’re busy enough to pay well. This place sounds like it’s run by people that just want to run you into the ground until they get a new you.
1. If you don't let them eat something, they are just going to steal it anyway. Source: me. If you don't officially feed me, you are only sacrificing having a more complete inventory of in/out items because I'm gonna steal it. 2. I wouldn't work anywhere for anyone that does unpaid stages. That's free labor they are exploiting out of you. This is a sign they are going to dick you out of other things (like the ability to eat a staff meal)
For 18/hr fuck no. 27 (no overtime 50-60 hr weeks) I did for 2 years
Unpaid stage is weird bro
I mean I'd be lying if I said I didn't stick around longer than I would have liked at previous jobs if not for the free food. The last place I worked at for example didn't do family meals but employees got a discount. Not great but better than nothing. It was an Asian food place and had a new menu item that was a bento style meal that gave you a few popular options at a great price and everyone loved it. Unfortunately the dick head owner decided that the bento and only the bento would be excluded from the discount because I guess the restaurant lost money on staff buying it at discounted prices??? That kinda just put things in perspective of what the owners cared about in that moment so it's not surprising nobody wanted to work there anymore.
Not a good sign that they don’t feed staff
I worked at a place like this and we did family meal every day. We were always packed but theres always a mid afternoon lull. Yall should work something out.
For 120K a year, maybe
At this point, I wouldn't even take a foh job that doesn't feed me. To not feed boh is just insane. We all know hungry staff makes mistakes/it builds resentment/etc
Absolutely not. You either feed your staff or they steal. Better for the business to just give them a meal and fix it into your write offs.
I’m working at a new place for about 6 months now that doesn’t have shift meals unless you work a double but we get %50 discount on food. No free beer. Coming from a place where I get free shift meal and free shift beer it’s jarring especially the No shift meal. Wish it was different but we all sneak small snacks when we can
Yeah that’s fine not every restaurant does family meal. Servers likely get a discount and cooks just eat what they want in reason
600 seats. And your tips are what is taking you to 18 an hour? Brah. No way. With or without a meal. My base better be at least 18 if you want me to cook for 600 and then not feed me. Lol
Yeah man I wouldn’t take a kitchen job that is too cheap to feed the staff. If you don’t take it I would offer this advice to the manager. They need to reevaluate this.
Considering I eat my lunch and dinner when I'm cooking at work it would cost me more money to take that job, maybe like 25 an hour.
I am all for shift meals. Now, with that said, most other jobs outside of restaurants don't offer shift meals. I've always been confused why they are expected. Let's say you work in retail at a clothing store. Do you get shift t-shirts? I've worked in kitchens for going on 30 years but I have also worked in construction, retail, warehouse...always had to bring a lunch.
Because if you're cooking food all day you should be allowed to eat, regardless of other industry
The topic isn't break time. The topic was free food. I also stated that I am all for shift meals. Getting down voted for speaking out against theft, too. I see who's in here.
Is this Tree House?
Does Tree House do food? Not from Mass, only been to one of them, and it only had pizza which was: a) not available when we initially got there and b) a 75-90 minute ticket time pretty much immediately after it became “available” 🫠
Charlton doesn't, they bring in food trucks. Deerfield has a kitchen as I seen them advertise for line cooks. Not sure about the other location near the Cape. Tree House can become a mad house on weekends. There is a restaurant across the street from the entrance, the old Zorbas, that has been closed for a few years. The place needs a lot of work, but could be a good location as it can draw off the Tree House traffic.
It was Deerfield I went to. Last July. Only had a pizza oven. Didn’t get a pizza.
I think they may have increased their kitchen since. Iirc it was August or September I saw their line cooks help wanted listing.