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A Hilarious And Honest Look At What It’s Like To Work In A Kitchen

1. This is Jim Stein. He is a line cook in Charleston, SC and he has worked in kitchens nearly his whole life.

James Stein

2. He shared these photos to show what it’s really like to work in a restaurant kitchen.

James Stein

Nothing like this.

4. Yes, cooks live by a certain set of rules ….

James Stein

These aren’t them.

6. But it’s really about hard work.

James Stein

We work incredibly long hours. Sometimes even more than this measly 16 in one day.

8. Every hour is spent on your feet.

James Stein

We go through shoes faster than you can imagine.

10. There’s no time to eat, so you do it standing up if at all.

James Stein

because we’re typically cooking a lunch/dinner/brunch service at the same time, or constantly in the weeds with prep.

12. You get cuts.

James Stein

A lot of cuts.

14. And burns.

James Stein

Even more burns than cuts.

16. You plan out every minute of your day…

James Stein

17. …every ingredient in your dishes…

James Stein

18. …every step of your events…

James Stein

19. …and every food item that goes in or out of your kitchen.

James Stein

20. Failure is not an option.

James Stein

21. But there are upsides.

James Stein

22. Like high-tech toys.

James Stein

We get really cool high-tech toys like immersion circulators and CryoVac machines.

24. You get some really low-tech toys too.

James Stein

Our poor iPod Dock has seen it’s better days. But check out that kitchen ingenuity.

26. You get to work with high-quality ingredients from the land…

James Stein

27. ..and from the sea.

James Stein

A lot from the sea.

OK mostly from the sea.

32. You taste EVERYTHING.

James Stein

Need salt? That’s our fault. We compare dishes and ingredients endlessly until we get the combinations we deem best. And if we’re over or under seasoning the food, we’re failing…which like I said, is not an option.

34. But at the end of the day, it’s all about making beautiful food.

James Stein

35. You work hard to make it taste good,

James Stein

36. incorporate fresh and local ingredients,

James Stein

37. and appeal to the eye.

James Stein

38. Whether it’s beef,

James Stein

39. lamb,

James Stein

40. fish,

James Stein

41. or pasta.

James Stein

We hope you like it all the same. At the end of the day, we do everything for You.

43. Sometimes you learn to cook pastries, and write on plates in chocolate.

James Stein

44. And sometimes you make a friend or two along the way.

James Stein

I’d just like to thank everybody who took the time to read through this and take a look at all the images. I think it’s important to spread the word a little bit about what people like us do on a daily basis that goes largely unseen unless you work in the industry yourself. Now go out and eat something good today!

The photos in this post are reprinted via Imgur with permission from James Stein. Stein took the photos over the course of a year and half while he worked at Casbah Mediterranean Kitchen and Wine Bar in Pittsburgh, PA. Now Stein cooks under James Beard Award-winning chef Sean Brock at McCrady’s restaurant in Charleston, SC.

Read more: http://buzzfeed.com/emofly/cooks-photos-of-restaurant-life

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