Hot take: That time a line cook showed me why my prep station was a mess

I was working a busy Friday dinner service in Portland last month, and this new kid, maybe 19, just stood there watching me chop onions for like 2 minutes. I thought he was slacking off or something. He finally spoke up and said 'you keep walking to get your tools from the other side of the station, that adds like 15 seconds each time.' I brushed him off at first but then he timed me on his phone. Over a 4 hour shift I was losing maybe 12 minutes just walking back and forth for tongs and peelers. It wasn't a huge deal per trip but added up big time. He helped me rearrange my station so everything was within arm's reach and it saved my whole night. Has anyone else had a younger cook point out a total blind spot like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

loganburns12d ago

Gotta disagree with you here. The kid was right about the walking but wrong about the fix. You can't just cram everything within arm's reach all the time, that's how you end up knocking stuff over or creating a cross contamination mess. In a real busy kitchen, you need some buffer space between your raw and cooked prep, and having your tools spread out forces you to stay mindful of that. Plus, those extra steps are good for you, keeps your blood moving and your head clear during a long shift. I've seen line cooks who organize too tight and end up burning out faster because they're locked in one spot all night.

emeryfox11d ago

Hold on, is nobody gonna mention that having to walk more also means you're basically getting paid to exercise? In a 8 hour shift you're probably walking miles without even thinking about it.