Still remember a Tuesday night service in Philly that broke me

Had a 40-top walk in at 7pm at my old spot in Fishtown, no warning, and we were already in the weeds. That night I started writing every prep list down to the gram and never looked back. Anyone else have one shift that forced a complete system change?

2 comments

2 Comments

rileygonzalez21d ago

Three years at a spot in South Philly and our walk-in freezer died mid-service on a Saturday... I never started writing stuff down though, I just got faster at fixing things on the fly. Systems feel like they take away the soul of the kitchen sometimes, ya know?

shah.shane21d ago

Oh man, @rileygonzalez, I get what you're saying about soul, but let me tell you - that freezer dying didn't take the soul out of anything, it just gave you a new workout routine. My own personal system change started when I watched a line cook put a whole hotel pan of peeled potatoes on a top shelf with no lip, right over the fryer. Splash, sizzle, and a literal baptism by oil. After that night I started writing everything down in grams and ounces, including how many towels each station should have. Systems may feel like they kill the romance, but they sure beat explaining to the health department why your walk-in smells like a crime scene.