Professional Chefs whats your favorite way to stay comfortable during long shifts.

Find deals on amazon
Miura knives
Kitchen Knife Forums

Help Support Kitchen Knife Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Glad to come across this thread. Currently taking a break from the line, the burnout is real. Always waking up, never hungry, get to work, prep, no appetite. Eat a pastry when the cafe closes before sit down. Back to prep. Lineup. Service. Before I know it, all I ate was a pastry. With that said, shoes are so important. A PT told me that working on the line is the equivalent of running a marathon. Imagine doing that with crap shoes.

Also, do not stand with locked knees. Will wreak havoc on your legs.
 
Couple things I have picked up along the way.

GYM! go to it. Stay healthy. My co workers make fun of me because of my diet outside of work, very clean. Meat and veggies. Almost no carbs. I don’t shy away from dairy but I try to limit it. I go to the gym at least 5 days a week. We can all find 45 minutes to go and workout. Even when working 16hr days I make it a point to go.

Doing this keeps your energy at consistent levels. I don’t pretend to be a saint when it comes to coffee. I usually average 4-5 cups a day, but working 14hrs on a good day does take its toll.

the most important thing I have found(and it’s very recent finding but also very challenging) is separation. We all know the 7 days a week 16hr a day grind. Even working in starred restaurants this type of thinking is so ass backwards. The law of diminishing returns is real. Find a balance, take a weekend(or at least attempt to) the quality of your work will improve and your mental capabilities will skyrocket.

last but not least. Be comfortable. I have flat feet so vans are the best it can get for me but if I didn’t have flat feet I would definitely get something else. Comfort when working long ass hours makes a ginormous difference.
 
Travis petosa said:
Couple things I have picked up along the way.

GYM! go to it. Stay healthy. My co workers make fun of me because of my diet outside of work, very clean. Meat and veggies. Almost no carbs. I don’t shy away from dairy but I try to limit it. I go to the gym at least 5 days a week. We can all find 45 minutes to go and workout. Even when working 16hr days I make it a point to go.

Doing this keeps your energy at consistent levels. I don’t pretend to be a saint when it comes to coffee. I usually average 4-5 cups a day, but working 14hrs on a good day does take its toll.

the most important thing I have found(and it’s very recent finding but also very challenging) is separation. We all know the 7 days a week 16hr a day grind. Even working in starred restaurants this type of thinking is so ass backwards. The law of diminishing returns is real. Find a balance, take a weekend(or at least attempt to) the quality of your work will improve and your mental capabilities will skyrocket.

last but not least. Be comfortable. I have flat feet so vans are the best it can get for me but if I didn’t have flat feet I would definitely get something else. Comfort when working long ass hours makes a ginormous difference.
Click to expand...
are you a clone of me or ***. I tell my friends this all the time, they are always suprised that i turn down coffee and coke at work and i tell them its because i make a point to meal prep and workout outside of work so im just naturally more energetic compare to their more unhealthy cook diet. Oddly enough I also tell my friends that too if you work 7 days a week there will be deminishing return and only ever work at most 6 days a week, I dont ever feel like im dragging behind my coworkers who work 7 days a week either. **** bro even down to the wearing vans i got flat feet as well at work part it was really weird reading your comment
 
Travis petosa said:
the most important thing I have found(and it’s very recent finding but also very challenging) is separation. .
Click to expand...

THIS.
The whole last year was full of 7 day weeks, 12-16hr days. Recently I realised this was so backwards and I needed to find a way to get the restaurant to run without me living there. It removes so much stress when you start getting the place to a point that it's not going to burn down when you're not there.
 
my old head chef (who was about 55years old) used to have 3 pairs of slip on kitchen shoes, on standby. Throughout the day he would rotate his pairs of shoes. said it's what stopped his knees from crumbling, he was still doing 12-14hr days.
 
TomInDonostia said:
my old head chef (who was about 55years old) used to have 3 pairs of slip on kitchen shoes, on standby. Throughout the day he would rotate his pairs of shoes. said it's what stopped his knees from crumbling, he was still doing 12-14hr days.
Click to expand...
my first chef ha two pairs of shoes and socks, he would change them out right before service
 
I’ve gone berkies, Mozo’s , crocs, etc. recently picked up a pair of Skechers plain black slip on non slip shoes. Like $40-ish. Probably the best ones I’ve worn. Very much yes to the compression socks! So glad to see others are using that move. Invest in the best black chinos you can afford. You’re going to be wearing black chinos for the vast majority of your week. Make em quality and learn not to spill. Quality apron, quality work shirt. Jog in the morning. It sucks but makes all the difference. Avoid the juice as much as possible. Stretch! Hydrate! And if all else fails I keep A box of smelling salts on my station. Brace yourself, but they work.
 
Patagonia climbing pants and a shoe change in between the shift. Maybe a tooth brushing too
 
Wool socks, Danskos and 2+ liters of water.

Always keep a couple of pepto pills in the knife roll.
 
There's a product here in Australia called 3B cream; works wonders for chefs arse. The moment you feel the rawness coming, a little bit on the area, and that's it. Helps relieve at the end of the day as well. The other thing is thick socks; 100% merino tradie socks; dry quickly, last forever, nd surprisngly cheap.
 
sketchers Non slip restaurant are my favorites !!
 
Patagonia mens boxers briefs are currently on sale 50% off and by god ive never had a more comfortable pair of briefs to work in zero swamp ass, wedgies, it wasn't rolling up on me mid rush highly recommend for the kitchen haha
 
aszma said:
Patagonia mens boxers briefs are currently on sale 50% off and by god ive never had a more comfortable pair of briefs to work in zero swamp ass, wedgies, it wasn't rolling up on me mid rush highly recommend for the kitchen haha
Click to expand...
You’re speaking my language. I will buy some for sure.
 
Compression socks for sure! Had a knee problem, a colleague recommended me to try a pair, and literally 8 min later the pain was gone.

Obviously, eat/sleep/train/water, it improves everything. I do have bad experiences having a really hard workout the days I work because I seem to loose focus at work, so keeping it light.
Always wore Dickie trousers, they never break.
For shoes I stay with barefoot shoes(Vivo barefoot), only type of shoe I use. After the 6months of getting use to them I have way less problems with my feets(was wearing Birkenstock before), my feet are also much stronger now.
Unless you know what you are eating I would always supplement in the morning, fish oil/vitamin/mineral/greens and a protein shake, so you know at least you got the basics covered, tend to just snack the rest of the day, eating Mice en place. :) Don´t like to have a huge staff meal before service, just a little bite.
Trying not to drink coffee after noon, over time it´s a bad strategy.
If you have a chance to do it, when you have a break, taking a shower right before service after being done with prep, and taking 5min fresh air makes me feel like a new person walking in to service. I used to live 1min from my job last years so was possible. If not just a solid wash in the sink with cold water works. And brushing the mouth.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top