As a chef if you think thats bad, it's worse when you're a landlord. I had leased out my shop to a Chinese hotpot restaurant. This tenant had ZERO care for hygiene and cleanliness. When their lease was up and had to move out, they cleared up everything except the false plywood columns they constructed during their renovation for power sockets. I pried open one electrical socket and out comes a whole swarm of baby cockroaches flying out, its like those movies where you have an alien invasion. When I tried unloading a whole can of bug spray into that outlet, more of them started swarming out and it was a never ending battle. Lesson learned, I'm never renting out to any restaurant ever.
disgusting kitchen
- Thread starter nianton
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I just noticed this thread. Lucky you. As I noted in my intro way back when, I spent 9 years in the Chicago area deli biz.
The first place I worked had a late shift of healthy rats (not to mention legions of roaches). They'd start their shift at about 10 minutes prior to closing (8 PM). Cleanup, as it was, was very, very quick here. Had one puppy scoot between my legs one dark night. I still get chills. The wall hanger rack for drying the 5 lb. salamis was positioned directly above the bread slicing machine. The rats could stand on their hind legs and eat the last 2-3 inches of the salamis. Of course, just cut off the stump and serve!
One Sunday afternoon, we had a sick (poisoned) specimen crawling around on the shelves up front behind the crackers and mustard display. We managed to distract the couple of customers for a few minutes while we corralled it to the rear, where our psychotic porter took the garden hoe (don't ask) and bearing down with all his strength (ex-boxer wit
Every night, we made sure to leave a 2" deep stainless half pan on the counter right by the front door so that whoever was opening was able to grab the pan and drop it on the floor in order to let the "night shift" know that they could go home and kick back. This shop was also home to thousands of brown roaches, who also had their own agenda.
My next position was in downtown Chicago was a very busy shop that HAD NO WASHROOMS. The owners (quite blatantly) bribed the inspector with cash and product. This enabled them to stay open despite the myriad violations. As a matter of fact, they probably would have scored less than 2 out of 100. Mice and roaches were rampant. I was both thankful and confused that there were no rats, as there were, and still are a magnificent supply in that area. The mice ate through the dwner cheaped out and re-purposed some used wood-walled bar backs), and every morning the pre-slice guy would open up the cryovac-sealed 8 lb. roast beef or the brisket or turkey or salami, trim away the area that had been gnawed upon, and slice up the rest for the day's fare. Remember the old butter pats and cardboard squares topped with waxed paper, that were lined up on end, three or four rows of 100 per box? Well, we'd come in in the morning and have to brush the mouse droppings off of them before use.
Oh, and the part about no washrooms? In the basement, two feet from the door of the five and a half-foot high walk-in storage (really) was a 12" solid brass sewer cover which was left open tilted on a 30-degree angle to allow for male urinary functions. The day's produce delivery would be stacked within eighteen inches of this sewer. Woman (luckily for them) had to leave the restaurant for all bodily functions.
They would store the egg cases (gross cartons) on the floor of the kitchen. One day, someone most have punctured the bottom edge of the lowest case with a two-wheeler, because a couple of mornings later, the rotten egg smell at 6AM was amazing, only to be topped by the discovery of the actual egg problem which was a mass of crawling white maggots. I tell ya, it's good to have a coal shovel in your restaurant. Because in addition to using it to cart out that mess, later the same morning they carried out the dead mouser (yes, they had a f---ing cat living in the place—oh, didn't I mention the "spraying" problem?) which was found dead in the basement at 10AM, swollen to twice its normal size.
That was my last day (I lasted over two years.)
Don't get me started on the knives.
The first place I worked had a late shift of healthy rats (not to mention legions of roaches). They'd start their shift at about 10 minutes prior to closing (8 PM). Cleanup, as it was, was very, very quick here. Had one puppy scoot between my legs one dark night. I still get chills. The wall hanger rack for drying the 5 lb. salamis was positioned directly above the bread slicing machine. The rats could stand on their hind legs and eat the last 2-3 inches of the salamis. Of course, just cut off the stump and serve!
One Sunday afternoon, we had a sick (poisoned) specimen crawling around on the shelves up front behind the crackers and mustard display. We managed to distract the couple of customers for a few minutes while we corralled it to the rear, where our psychotic porter took the garden hoe (don't ask) and bearing down with all his strength (ex-boxer wit
Every night, we made sure to leave a 2" deep stainless half pan on the counter right by the front door so that whoever was opening was able to grab the pan and drop it on the floor in order to let the "night shift" know that they could go home and kick back. This shop was also home to thousands of brown roaches, who also had their own agenda.
My next position was in downtown Chicago was a very busy shop that HAD NO WASHROOMS. The owners (quite blatantly) bribed the inspector with cash and product. This enabled them to stay open despite the myriad violations. As a matter of fact, they probably would have scored less than 2 out of 100. Mice and roaches were rampant. I was both thankful and confused that there were no rats, as there were, and still are a magnificent supply in that area. The mice ate through the dwner cheaped out and re-purposed some used wood-walled bar backs), and every morning the pre-slice guy would open up the cryovac-sealed 8 lb. roast beef or the brisket or turkey or salami, trim away the area that had been gnawed upon, and slice up the rest for the day's fare. Remember the old butter pats and cardboard squares topped with waxed paper, that were lined up on end, three or four rows of 100 per box? Well, we'd come in in the morning and have to brush the mouse droppings off of them before use.
Oh, and the part about no washrooms? In the basement, two feet from the door of the five and a half-foot high walk-in storage (really) was a 12" solid brass sewer cover which was left open tilted on a 30-degree angle to allow for male urinary functions. The day's produce delivery would be stacked within eighteen inches of this sewer. Woman (luckily for them) had to leave the restaurant for all bodily functions.
They would store the egg cases (gross cartons) on the floor of the kitchen. One day, someone most have punctured the bottom edge of the lowest case with a two-wheeler, because a couple of mornings later, the rotten egg smell at 6AM was amazing, only to be topped by the discovery of the actual egg problem which was a mass of crawling white maggots. I tell ya, it's good to have a coal shovel in your restaurant. Because in addition to using it to cart out that mess, later the same morning they carried out the dead mouser (yes, they had a f---ing cat living in the place—oh, didn't I mention the "spraying" problem?) which was found dead in the basement at 10AM, swollen to twice its normal size.
That was my last day (I lasted over two years.)
Don't get me started on the knives.
In my 36 years of being in professional kitchens, this is THE most disgusting story I’ve ever heard.
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I left out that this was 1975–1979. So may it recede into your mind's recesses, as it has in mine.
If they can't keep a kitchen clean they're not worth working for.So I've been working at this restaurant for 9 months. When I first started I was told it was the dishwasher responsibility to clean the floors at the end of the night. After a couple months of working i realized the job want getting done correctly. The dishwasher would sweep, splash some water on the floor and mop.... that's it! I brought this to the attention of both sous chef's and the chef. I told them to order scrub brushes and sqeegee and I would do the floors. This was 6 months ago and still nothing. Seasons over and it's slow so I got with a fellow cook and said "let's clean the floors". I went next door and borrowed a brush and sqeegee from another restaurant. I pulled this out from under the salad station on my first pass.imagine at least 10 piles of trash like this pulled out from under equipment all down the line. It smelt like I was swimming in a dumpster. At least a year worth of trash was pulled out. And the sous and chef act like it's no big deal. I think ill be looking for another job.........
Bolt Thrower
Well-Known Member
^ agreed 100%.
I see anything like that in a kitchen and I quit the day I see it. No one that runs their house like that is worth giving a notice to.
I see anything like that in a kitchen and I quit the day I see it. No one that runs their house like that is worth giving a notice to.
