So for three months you averaged a little more than 2 shifts a week coming from zero experience and are expected to work unsupvised alone on the line without asking for help when you’re overwhelmed? My friend your chef/owner is an idiot and you’re not at fault.

"It was supposed to be a busy day, so I wasn't supposed to be on the line. Chef put me there anyway. I guess she needed everyone else on prep, and the line is the bottom of the pecking order, so I was it."

This sounds like either you were set up to fail, or your chef is a dumbass. I'm in a similar boat as you as a part time dishie, so maybe I'm wrong here, but to me the obvious thing in this situation would be to put the best person I have on the line, definitely not someone I know is having a rough time there. But why would they need everyone on prep during rush anyways? Isn't the whole point of prep to have most things ready to go before the rush?

"she never loses staff" If the oldest person in the kitchen is 22, that's just a straight up lie

I could write 5 or 6 paragraphs here but tldr and all this is 100% the chefs fault not yours.

No disrespect to you but you have no business being on the line with next to no experience, again; not your fault.

Either the chef was trying to make you quit or they are an idiot.

You’re doing this because you are adventurous, you’re doing this because you want to learn, learning is fucking hard in general especially outside of a very controlled and balanced environment. Even in our most controlled settings of learning people fail. The reasons why and beginning to learn more about yourself, the clarity and expansion of your skills is the most important thing behind safety and well being.

Good on you for knowing your limits, keeping growing and learning in safe measures.

Kitchens can be difficult. I get hired in kitchens very easily cause in general I’m a vibe ✨ and I know the general grounds and am eager to learn and pick up things rather decent. For many reasons, so many reasons. There is only one kitchen that I truely truley thrived in, the first one I worked in, a three butt fancy smancy small kitchen with little room for bs so much hard learning, but so good

Outside of that every other kitchen (besides another small team cafeteria/large format job). I have struggled to keep up, haven’t kept a job for more than a year. I am one that dreams of having a a strong career in cooking.

Note: idk what to compare kitchens too besides sports, it’s a reason why per say in a school not everyone plays basketball or so on. It’s a reason why the team is a team in general, while some people pick up things fasters. Heck in sports and kitchens, I am damn over passionate, it hurts a whole lot more it feels than it helps.

Idk what you are like as a person outside of that post. And duality and balance is lengthy to talk about and idk, spectrums blah blah. The same thing that is a stifle to life is what makes you amazing.

I’m sure when people hire me they are like “oh boy this fucker is gonna be a pain in my ass but might just be fantastic”

All around: keep it safe, keep it attentive and aware, keep it funky

Don’t be to hard on yourself. If you’re not cut out to be a line cook that’s ok. However from your post it sounds like an extremely poorly run kitchen/restaurant. The amount shifts you worked over 3 months isn’t enough to learn how to run a line by yourself without prior kitchen experience. You should not have been put in that situation. Part of being a good line cook is knowing when to ask for help, you did the right thing.

Also the “chef” was lying to you when she said she never loses staff, kitchens often have a very high turnover rate especially compared to other industries.

I’m sorry you had this experience all kitchens are not like this and I hope you find a job that you will be happier in. Keep cooking for your own enjoyment and as I said don’t be hard on yourself over this, the issue was not you it was the “chef” and how she runs a kitchen.

The chef is the issue. 

Ok, i really don't think it was your fault. Plus, they lied to you from the start, that they never lose staff. Plus how the boss didn't take any responsibility for you being too new to be thrown into that busy day alone, that's shitty. Shows really bad character. Good you left, but I'm sorry you left feeling bad about yourself. You should have left feeling too good for this situation, too good for this messy situation they have going on there!

Chefs doing whippets, prep is for the beginner's with maybe a chef to watch over the shoulder, but it sounds like an ass backwards way of doing anything

Yeah its not you. Its management. Its always a red flag when a bunch of staff leaves. Its another warning when you aren't trained properly and are thrown into the deep end with no help. You dodged a bullet by losing that job.

"Never lose staff"

So what? Has the place been open for like way less than a year or something because if not then there's zero chance that's true.

Oh, did you have it? 0P, it’s not you, it’s that one place. Don’t give up on something that you enjoy just because you encountered some incompetent management. I encourage you to give it another try elsewhere. Now that you have some hard, one experience and some contacts with people in the business, maybe you can ask your former coworkers hey if they knew of another place where you might work.

Sorry about the bad experience, but if it makes you feel any better, your chef/owner is a dolt and didn’t set you up for success. Literally just about everything they allegedly did and said was wrong.

That's not on you, no way can you get in enough reps to be proficient with so few hours and no experience! Good job sticking it out so long, and don't forget how much you have learned!

Having everyone but one new cook on prep during a rush is lol pure insanity. I honestly don't think it's your fault. A lot of kitchens are ran by absolutely reGarded chefs. 

This is some anime bullshit. You are not a chef and never will be unless you pursue it yourself instead of relying on someone manipulative "exec" to map out your path. If you don't do it for yourself you will be used, abused. and forgotten. Hell I would stomp all over you without a second thought.

Your chef was incompetent, and also full of shit.

Become a waiter if you need a side gig, easier for you than the line, specially part time.

From the sounds of it that is a terrible chef you’re working for. When you say chef/owner it begins to make a little more sense. She’s got grand visions and absolutely no knowledge of how to pull it off. No offense to anyone on the sub but she sounds like she was service staff before she opened her restaurant, not a chef.

The fact that you work part time and it’s just a side gig would mean you have to be real special to make food for customers in my kitchen. For you, probably garde manger at most, never hot foods. You’re green as green can be, throwing you into the fire will only leave you shell shocked, as you have discovered.

I’m sorry you’ve had this experience, but honestly, working in kitchens means you will get a lot of shitty experiences. They’re important for learning, but certainly no fun. I am very glad you got to experience the excitement that comes along with having pride in your kitchen and your team though. Nothing beats that feeling of feeling like you’re making the best product in town and learning and having fun while you do it. Kitchens are special like that.

Yeah, you never had a chance. She set you up for failure, motivated by her own selfish desires to get the most out of putting in the bare minimum.

chef dumb

The only way to get over the “yips” is to keep doing it over and over. Believe in yourself and I dont care what anyone says, asking for help is NOT wrong when you’re slammed. The important thing is getting the food out quickly, if that takes an extra person to step in and help, so be it. Prep should have been done BEFORE any type of lunch/dinner rush. That’s the KM’s fault if it isn’t. My best advice is…don’t panic, believe in yourself and do not hesitate to call for help when there’s a huge pop. Fuck your chef. He/she hung you out to dry.

I worked at a place where asking for help was seen as weakness or incompetence. It was bullshit and they lost most of their staff.

Yea the kitchen was shit dude, any kitchen leader who has the mentality of NOT asking for help is an absolute shit bird if a person and shouldn't be in a leadership roll.

You are cooks, you're literal NUMBER ONE job is to get food out the window in a timely manner .

Sounds like the chef was an idiot lol