AAAHHH!!! I am seriously tearing what’s left of my hair out now…

The server problem has been solved. She was fired. My pancakes are ok as long as nobody is in a hurry. Actually everything is great as long as nobody is in a hurry.

We have pans. 3 are now my little pretties to make omelettes and over-whatevers because they don’t stick. Others are scratched and I use them for scrambled and corned beef hash…

The electric flat pan (about 18 x 24 inches) is now designated for pancakes and french toast. Anything with starch or meat byproducts ruins the nonstick thing that I have got going on.

I have tried literally EVERYTHING to get a good hash brown going on. I have to use a 12" pan to even get a crisp at all and then have to dump them in my 4" half pan over the burner. They either don’t brown and are mushy or are too crispy and nasty. I have tried pre-cooking (hence the too crispy in not a good way…) I’ve tried using a 4" half pan on the flat grill that I can’t use directly because it has about an 8th inch of meat mung that makes black flecks in anything you cook on it. I’m at the point of saying F-it and just making each order as it comes in. (funny but that’s the reason the last cook left…hmmmm) The problem with that is sometimes we have 10 tickets + on the wheel.

In addition today my boss found cigarette ashes in the coffee grounds.

The "owner’ of the place came in and started bitching about how dirty everything was (which I already knew and mentioned) and the HD would probably shut him down because of the lackadaisical sanitation ‘tude of my boss’s SIL (who is the primary renter). I’m predicting a visit from the HD next.

My problem with this is: I have run into relentless instances where it seems like the afternoon crew is trying to sabotage the breakfast thing that my boss wants to do. (breakfast and after are two separate entities) I understand that the SIL doesn’t want b-fast in there at all. I have been battling greasy soot that gets literally on EVERYTHING and makes it look like we are changing motor oil. I’ve gotten snide remarks about "well we cleaned THAT burner" when I was trying to prepare a couple of eggs and had to move some of her pans of sauce on the changeover. Yesterday the lead pm cook informed me that she had a list that I would have to do to clean stuff…pointing to just about everything in the line area that I complained about (oh, did I mention that their prep bench area doesn’t work and is at about 50 degrees?)

Uh, excuse me? This gunk was here way before I hired on AND I don’t work for you?

So, that kind of hit me the wrong way. (well, lets try more like a brick) I didn’t say anything but informed my "boss" about it and that there was no friggin way in Hell I’d be taking orders to become the little slave boy.

I came in today (well yesterday) and found some of the issues I’d been concerned about cleaned up but the owner of the bar still came in and bitched about stuff…which I can certainly understand…

(oh, I also found out that they have no idea about the F&B business…can you tell?)

For instance: the meat slicer is sitting on the floor? Pieces of meat on the floor next to it. Mung behind every piece of equipment on the floor. Dead mice under moved equipment. Unwrapped/unlabled stuff in the walk-in (their rack)

Yeah, if I was the owner of the place I would definitely be concerned.

On the other hand I just got there. I don’t feel obliged to clean up messes I didn’t make and don’t particularly want them to get in the habit of delegating responsibility …so no…thanks.

I also feel (being a little paranoid me…) that I’m being framed. I mean all of these issues are coming up after I hire on and voice concerns about the nasty conditions of the kitchen?

Anyone have similar experiences?

April
(yes I’m looking for other work)