The fact is, growing up in the Netherlands I am surprised at the low prices places charge for food.
Then again, people eat out much more frequently in the US. I don’t remember going out to eat more then once or twice a month growing up, and with my parents both having professional degrees and jobs, I doubt finances was the cause.
Menzo
10359
Keep in mind that at least part of this is about tips. Not sure about Netherlands, but in most other countries the price on the menu accounts for paying workers.
It’s dumb. President Menzo would declare tips illegal.
But I’ve also found that lots of stuff, including electronics and other appliances, and especially gas, is significantly more expensive in Europe and people deal with it. And this is on top of taxes that are generally higher than in the US to pay for things like universal healthcare and free college.
Once you take into account health insurance and retirement savings, is taxes really all that much higher in Europe?
Can confirm. If you’re going to do it right and turn a profit, you are going to have your life completely and utterly consumed. Unless your family is going to work with you at the restaurant, you are not going to be part of their lives anymore, you’re essentially going to be a ghost in their lives. It is a constant mental, physical and emotional grind. I enjoyed my time in the business, I think. Sometimes I even miss it. But I’m not sure I’d ever go back.
Menzo
10363
This was a really interesting video to watch. It’s about a day in the life of a chef at a small restaurant that just got a Michelin Star. No freakin way would I want to go through what she goes through.
Damn, that was great. I like all the parts when they gave Alvin something delicious-looking to eat and he’s all, “For me? Thank you!”
This might be what gets me to stop going out as much, though I will always hit a Mexican spot every week.
The one consistent thing that I see a lot in those bar/restaurant/any small business rescue shows is that most of the people they feature get into the business because they liked the joint as a customer, it came up for sale, and they bought it thinking they’ll just be owners and the manager they hire will run the place for them. They’ll be able to hang out and have fun all the time while everyone else works for them. It never happens like that and they wind up in massive debt.
And that’s why Michelin stars are so damn rare. You gotta work your ass off for one, in addition to being an amazing chef.
I always give a salute to the most thankless of all restaurant jobs, the table staff for a breakfast joint; all work and no pay, as tips are trash for most breakfast places.
But, maybe, that’s wrong. Maybe breakfast is so low bar that it’s actually the easiest meal for the cook staff to make and the wait staff to serve.
The top 3 things about American culture that I wish didn’t spread to other countries
- Imperial measurements
- Tipping
- Reality tv
I think the metric system is safe, although the US is further from adopting now than when I was in grade school and we studied the metric system. But I’m a little concern when I see Canadians and English men and woman giving their height in weight in feet, inches and pounds, what’s wrong with meters and KGs?
Tipping seems to be slowly spreading everywhere…
Reality TV is clearly a lost cause.
None
10370
I’ve worked for a number of small business owner-run restaurants and, for most of them, the businesses pretty much consumed their owners’ lives. However, my current job, this owner is the most hands-off I’ve ever seen. We reopened in March after time off in January and February. The owner spent our first two months open on vacation in Hawaii. He’d also just gotten back from a month-long trip to… Hawaii in December. Also, his wife quit her Amazon job while on vacation. Last year, after we reopened in June, he stuck around for a month and then took off to his Dad’s farm in northern Washington State until September.
This is his 5th year in business and we’re doing better numbers now than ever before. Bar manager runs the front and I run the back. Every once in a while we get the owner to pick up some product if he’s around.
It’s nice not to have the boss around. But it can also be extremely stressful for the rest of the staff.
It’s easy to understand why kitchen workers are exploited. I’ve worked with many cooks who worked as cooks because they couldn’t really do anything else. Every kitchen job I’ve ever had included working with at least one person who was paid under the table. Hell, I was paid under the table my first kitchen job because I was 15 and not even a citizen yet. Right fucking now my sous chef is undocumented. Balancing work with pay and unemployment, which he wasn’t eligible for, over this past year has not been enjoyable.
I don’t think I’m much longer in this industry.
Matt_W
10371
I don’t tip any differently for breakfast than for other meals. And my checks are usually not much lower, particularly if I go to a place expected to get a mimosa or bloody mary.
You could do what I did, and start your own thing. It’s the only way I could personally stomach staying in the industry- and as you mentioned, after doing it for 25 years, I’m not fit for much else, heh. I started my biz at the local farmers markets, and have grown from there. I’m doing pretty damn well, now (knock on wood).
I’ve said my peace on this forum about the restaurant industry to go into it again. With a very few exceptions, fuck the lot of 'em.
I get it. I think @Enidigm was speaking mostly of the typical diner/greasy spoon breakfast. A lot of those places get senior groups that show up every day, order a ton of coffee with refills, inexpensive senior breakfasts, hang out for a couple of hours and talk. Nice folks, but the tips suck if you’re waiting on them just because their meal was so cheap and they took a spot for so long.
Matt_W
10375
Yeah, that’s true. Man, I miss going out to breakfast.
Timex
10376
In general, breakfast is a VERY cheap meal compared to other meals. I’m always pretty amazed by it. You can usually get a big meal for less than $10, easy, even in places where the COL is high.
I remember in Honolulu on work, getting a huge breakfast with 2 eggs, bacon, spam, and fried rice for like $4.
rei
10377
rowe33
10378
To tie this Day in the Life video even more to the thread, of course racist shitheads targeted this particular restaurant.
