Chef shortage... wonder why ?!

For Chefs twelve-hour days or more on your feet are rough. So is working in an environment that can double as a sweat lodge. When you come home and your body is in so much pain you can’t even lay in bed to get some rest. The saying that anything that can go wrong will go wrong? That’s totally about chefs. Any day of the week you have a cook that calls in sick, is in jail, doesn’t show up, got hurt and needs to go to the hospital, comes in hung over. When you’re a chef at a serious restaurant, you need to be a butcher and a fishmonger, too. When you are owner, you need to fix toilets as well. It’s a nightmare when the Health inspector arrives, especially during service. The entire staff gloves up, dons hats, hair nets, wipes down work areas, covers everything that may be uncovered in the walk-ins, covers everything in the reach-ins and low boys, trash cans out… then pray & I mean PRAY they don't see a roach or find a mouse dropping.

You know who's really underpaid? Food writers. And that leads to all kinds of corruption in any country. We either add into our own business or no one ever will hear about it. I made a lot more when I was working as a chef my living standards were on the floor. I don't view the low pay as so much the issue as low pay combined with lack of benefits. Sick leave is an especially needed benefit along with health insurance, the fact that people can't get paid when they are sick is of course going to lead to sick people coming in, handling food, and selling it to the customer. Even with all the handwashing and other sanitation procedures it's scary to think about. Lots of people who work kitchen jobs live payday-to-payday on those low wages, and missing a day because you feel ill or, worse still, need to see a doctor without insurance can mean the difference between paying rent plus bills, kids, schools or having to choose one over the other… Despite all that, you can’t help but love it! Being a chef may be the toughest job you’ll ever love. The coolest part of being a chef is the rush of being in the kitchen and seeing my team put out great food, having an idea become a reality on the plate and seeing the smiles on the guests face when they eat my food. Everyday people ask me, or in fact tell me to go back and do what I love… love it’s a big word, would you go back where you literally get hurt physically every day for so called ‘’love’’… or look for alternative & get on with your life on much lower level but live in peace..?

A.