Chef here. Drinking right now. The Pressure is real. You get addicted to it. Not only the drink, the pressure. I drink to stop thinking. To stop hearing the chit machine going off in my head. Stop thinking about the myriad of things I have to do the next day.
Dr. Minge McScroteballs recovering alcoholic here who worked in NYC restos for a decade. Can confirm. I was FOH but the kitchen is no joke. People just don’t understand.
Stu West Yeah, and office work is just pushing keys on a computer, the military is just a bunch of guys pointing pieces of plastic at eachother, and I'm sure your job could similarly be distilled into its basic functions with no nuance and sound equally trivial.
I worked in restaurants / bars in NYC for a decade. I don’t even want to begin calculating my statistical drinking. You don’t even think about it and it’s condoned. I’m now a recovering alcoholic who hasn’t touched a drink in 6 years. I worked FOH, but the kitchen is NO JOKE. I’ve also toured as a musician and can confirm kitchen staff “parties” harder than rock stars.
I'm 38. I worked as a line cook in various restaurants from 1995 until 2002. It was the hardest job I've ever done. For 4 bucks an hour. I remodel and paint houses now. As hardcore stressful as that is...it still not as hard as restaurant work. That shit is hell on earth.
The minimum wage is 7.25, how are you getting paid that? Why would you work a shit job for that price? I worked a job for 7.25 fast food and a 40 hour work week was about 270 roughly. Thats a shiity ass check, are you a felon or getting paid under the table? I seriously just don’t believe you .....
@@ThatBethesdaGuy Dude read his comment. He was paid 4 bucks an hour from 1995-2002. I started working in restaurants in 2004, and minimum wage was 5.14/hr then. So, it makes total sense the minimum wage was slightly less than that just years prior.
I wish Joe would have them on again soon. I get he had them mostly because of Bourdain, but they are so much more than he was honestly. They still live on and it'd be great to see them now.
Chef here working in Tokyo. Worked at a 1 Michelin Star restaurant and then a 2 star. Left the 2 star, yeah it's high pressure and everything has to be perfectly precise, but the consequences of it not and the toxic work culture in that particular restaurant made me leave. I love the rush, the adrenaline of it all, I don't drink, maybe because I get my fix from a busy service instead. Big ups to all the chefs out there at the top of their game. It ain't easy.
@Harvey Weinstein I can speak pretty much at an intermediate level, married to a Japanese woman but her English is better than my Japanese haha so no real practice other than the workplace. Japan already has a hell for a work culture so couple that with the stress of a Michelin star restaurant and yeah...you get the point.
@@sohaminyoh they generally work much longer hours than Americans do. I remember when I was there, I checked into a hotel at night and made friends with the 7-11 clerk across the street. I had dinner, I watched a movie with my bro, we had a long night of sleep, and the next day we went back to the 7-11 to buy a snack and he was still there. On top of long hours, their standards are higher. Looking at the restaurants, most of them are not only very clean, the food is also much better overall. They’re more obsessed and passionate and caring with their food and products. The service is also much better and they don’t even have to be motivated by tips. At fast food places in America, the jobs are considered lowly and they work like they hate it. That’s why your burger looks like a mess that got sat on before you get it. There they care still and quality is higher because of it. It’s just culture really
Been working food service for 10 years. I was always stoned for the first 8 1/2 years. I currently been 100% sober while holding a salary position. Shit is tough and I miss it everyday.
Worked FoH, bartender and shift lead during college. It was insane. Fun work, but we were all hammered after almost every shift. The kitchen was even crazier. Those guys (and a few ladies) were animals. Absolutely hilarious, but damn...they went hard.
Love how he so eloquently put that explanation together - he speaks the truth!! There is an embarrassing and wonderfully deep knowledge of each co worker
Moderation helps, but is no salvation. He's right tho, end of shift drinks help alleviate the stress of the night. I preferred a joint at the end, but alcohol is more acceptable across the board. I remember the early part of my career, to get thru the night, Chefs, Sous Chefs, cooks, doing LINES off the prep table. Coke, meth; great kitchens, great talent, but high turnover rate. I'm one of the few people I've worked with that hasn't had either a Heart Attack, Stroke or Mental Breakdown. IDK Y, but... Also, wine pairing started me on my drunk/alcoholic downward spiral. It got to a point where I'd rather have booze than meth. I'm telling the world this for the first time. I've been in the biz since I was 16.
Just closed my restaurant last August, in 2017. We were open since 1988. I started there in 1999. Most fun, horrible, great, horrendous ride of my life. Met my wife there 19 years ago. You gotta be so smart and adaptive to make a long term restaurant successful. Respect to anyone who can make it happen. Getting ready to open another one. Only thing I know well.
Also another addict in recovery here...And alcohol is partially absorbed while in the mouth alone sublingually. He is still taking in smaller amounts of alcohol. Rinsing his mouth doesn’t make a difference either.
I worked at a restaurant called Merrick Inn in Lexington KY. I was in my early 20's. It was a high end southern comfort waspy kinda place that required men wear sport coats and the like. It was the most fun I ever had. We worked six days a week every week. We stayed so busy we smoked cigarettes in the kitchen while we prepared the food. In my three years there I never saw the health department but anyway it was so busy you didn't get a bathroom break until the line closed. It was intense. High pressure. Especially the chef. But each night after we were done it was a party. Our first two drinks were free and 50% off after that. The wait staff had loads of cash each night. On a good night they would bank $500 or $600. The managers were players and made sure the waitresses were hot college girls from UK and the waiters were usually buttoned up, well spoken nerd types with homosexual characteristics to minimize the male wait staff from c*ck blocking management and the cooks. It worked well and I loved it. People were dazzled by our food, we got to meet all kinds of celebrities and wealthy people. I got to be with a lot of girls way outta my league. We partied so hard I wish I took more pics. Top shelf booze, coke, extacy, Ritalin, good weed and the best food every single night. If we pushed 500 plates on a Saturday night the owner would come yell "pool party! Open bar for one hour! We need 32 more plates!" Sometimes if we fell just short we would pool our money to buy the last few plates if we could get away with it. There is a pool right behind the restaurant that was one of two the residents of the upscale apartments used during the day. The pool parties were legendary. Most people didn't have bathing suits. So it was underwear. Booze flowing & half naked bodies. We had one girl that was a playboy girl of the SEC, we had the super hot twins that were on UK's hockey poster and we had cute freshman that have never been away from home making $2000-$3000 a week cash spending it as fast as they made it. We made sure of it. Alcohol, drugs, decent cash flow and a beautiful setting made it a perfect scene. I lived in the neighborhood so I had a supreme advantage over my buddies when the parties ended. I learned so much from that place and I am so lucky to have worked there when I did. The menu changes at The Merrick Inn but if you go there be prepared to drop some bread. Try the grouper fingers as an appetizer, their steaks are supreme, the fried chicken is the best you've had, the Maryland crab cakes are fantastic, and the hot brown is top 3 of all time! Get you some of that Calumet Farm 10 Year bourbon to finish it with your bread pudding and you'll feel like your in heaven. Trust me just remember the patio menu is different. You wanna make sure you eat inside. That place has voodoo energy. Go see for yourself!
Lost Society I think you’re lucky to work in a place you enjoyed. Plus I definitely don’t want to go knowing you don’t have the health department show while you guys are smoking while you cook. That’s terrible
Jesus fucking Christ, what is wrong with you? Did you actually try to promote your old frat house that you call a restaurant by saying you smoked in the kitchen? It sounds like the most misogynistic, toxic place to work at in the world. Places like that are exactly what’s wrong with the industry. You make real chefs and real restaurants look bad for promoting this shit behaviour and attitude. You are what’s wrong with this industry. I hope you never step foot in a kitchen again. If you do, I wish a thousand burns upon you.
Worked in the business for nearly a decade. Proud I never got sucked into the drinking/smoking black hole. I came to work, did my job, and left. I rarely partied with my coworkers and kept my work and home life pretty seperate.
The service industry ESPECIALLY in the kitchen is brutal. The vast majority of people have no idea the conditions and mental toughness necessary for survival there long term. Got out and work at a local market, quality of life went up exponentially
Je me souviens de David McMillan au show de la Di Stasio à l'époque. Je l'ai toujours aimer. Il avait l'air de John Goodman en plus beau.. et je le veux comme un compliment. Maintenant il a l'air d'un grey fox, et à l'air d'avoir sa santé en main. En tant que John Goodman like, je veux dire félicitations!! Je suis heureux pour toi David!!! Continuez à nous rendre heureux les Montréalais, pendant longtemps!!!!
I was a chef for 7 years, Covid ruined the business for me. I do miss the rush and adrenalin but. It’s hard to explain to people who haven’t worked in the business but it’s like a family if your in a good spot with great people.
David, I tip my hat to you. I just bought your book Surviving the Apocalypse from Amazon today. I work in a kitchen. I love cooking food. I also like red wine when I get home.
Physically? Not even close. Mentally, pretty tough. Toughest job physically I've done is probably roofing or working in a hot factory. And yes, I've been a line cook too.
My family has a restaurant. I can totally relate what they're saying. My dad indeed is very knowledgeable about things like housing, plumbing, electricity and other unrelated stuff to cooking. I litteraly grew up in a restaurant. Whenever I see those cooking shows of people competing to become a chef or something and then I look at the cooks at our restaurant and be thinking these contestants have no idea what it's really like to actually work in a restaurant. They are borderline delusional. There's nothing glorious about it, it's pure hard and stressfull work for relatively low pay. A TH-cam or a blog chef nowadays are totally different from actually working in the line. Those celebrity chefs like Gordon Ramsay busted their asses for years in the kitchen before they made money and fame. And the rest of 99.99% of the chefs have neither of those.
Don't know what it is about this interview but it made me feel uneasy the whole way through. Weird. I don't disagree with anything about these guys but something is just off. 🤔
I never understood the hospitality business. All that stress for something that's completely transient, feeding people. If I'm going to suffer everyday I want the result to at least be moderate if not long term.
I’ve done landscaping, construction, painting, heating and air conditioning, and furniture delivery....those are all challenging jobs but my 4 years as a line cook was definitely the hardest I’ve ever worked, especially considering the pay
@Eat shit liberals not saying it's the hardest job I did, just telling my personal experience. It's a good experience to have under my belt, in the kitchen I learned to push through stress and hard times.
I work in construction now but.... but being on the line BOH is the fucken worst not too mention when you’ve been cooking all day with your order screen bombarded by orders then your managers come and tell you “shut down dish pit” yeah fuck working at a restaurant.
Lol that guy is not sober if he still tastes wine at events, vineyards etc. Besides the fact that you can’t have one foot in and one foot out in recovery, alcohol is absorbed sublingually. So even when you spit out wine, your very vascular mouth still has a chance to absorb some of the alcohol. His bullshit about how he just loves wine for the “olfactory sense” is a exactly that...bullshit. He likes it because he still is getting alcohol in his system from it, even if he doesn’t consciously realize it.
Man, 150ppl over three hours, thru 4 restaurants is NICE and EASY compared to my experience. I've worked culinary for 20 yrs, have held title of Chef in 3 restaurants, Sous Chef mostly, cook as well. When you push 500 plates a night, 6 nights a week, That's HELL. Everything else they're saying is right on. It's the highest stress job I know of. That is; fine/casual fine dining. You get more pissy customers in that arena then any other
As a chef for 10 years, I could see that if I chose to stay in the game then the 'lifestyle' of stress, addiction, long hours, and responsibility, would begin to have serious health effects. And that's if you work in great restaurants, because they are busy everyday. Shitty restaurants go out of business. I left the industry and realized how many skills from the kitchen transferred over into management. People skills, multitasking, creative problem solving, being able to handle fast paced work environments with ease. I miss the job, everything these guys talk about brings back the memories but now I have a family and a life outside of the kitchen that would likely never have been possible if I stayed cooking.
Listen buddy, I respect that you struggled with alcohol and managed to quit it, but don't try to tell me non-alcoholic beer is better than real beer, especially if you're a chef for christ's sake.
There's a huge difference between wine with 13% alcohol and acetone ... for fuck's sake! The bottom line is, if you can't control yourself, then don't drink. ... Many people, including myself can control themselves, and we enjoy a good wine with good food.
I got to school in Manhattan and a lot of the people in program, young people in their early to mid 20's, work as either bartenders or waiters and they're always talking about how much they drink on the job. Some of them even joke about being functional alcoholics.
I love how comment section is constantly having fun at Joe Rogan expense and shitting on him in the comments and he doesn't acknowledge any of it. :D :D
Worked at maggianos little Italy for 2 years bussing tables. Even as a low end busser I have never worked so fast and so hard in my life. I also used to sniff lines of cocaine to keep me going and bars of Xanax to calm me down when it got so busy
It’s because if you care too much you’ll never have a life outside of work. If you care too little you’ll be a lot happier, you’ll make less but you have to separate the outcome of the restaurant from your self worth.
I've worked in restaurants for the last 15 years. I don't drink, but I smoke lots of weed. Drinking doesn't help anything lol. Weed always helps everything.
@@bradenrodriguez5183 Look at it like this. Sure I could go kayaking and it will be lots of fun and neat and cool. But add some weed... and it intensifies all the greatness. It makes the nature more vibrant and magical, it makes floating down the rapids more physically exhilarating, and it just overall enhances the experience. That's what weed does. Enhance your great experience. Or if you're feeling mad, weed just melts away that life-shortening emotion and allows you to enjoy yourself rather than dwelling on being mad. What a great life-enhancer weed is.
I think people who are into beer pairings, wine tasting (and drinking), and aged spirits like scotch etc. are confused about why they like it. They go on and on about subtle flavors and scents. It's the fact that it gets you *DRUNK* that is so enticing. Take the oldest, smoothest, most expensive cognac in existence and do a side by side taste test with a sip of Pepsi and see which one tastes better. Alcohol is a poison and it *tastes* like it too. I still love the stuff (for what it *DOES* ) but let's be real. Alcohol does *not* taste good. We just condition ourselves to think we like it.
If this guy is really an alcoholic, swishing wine around in his mouth is a bad idea. Take it from a 24/7 drinker. And yes, I have drank mouthwash to get drunk and no, it was not a good buzz and yes, I did vomit blue foam.
I feel like Bourdain left the restaurant industry early cuz everyone puts they’re all into it. I hate customer service for that reason. Plus the customers are ass clowns
The ratio of, money spent, to pressure and expectation of a product, is most unbalance and fucked. People treat a $5 bad meal, the same as they react to having their car damaged lol don’t fuck with peoples sleep or food
I always tip well when I g to a restaurant bc I worked in a couple growing up and I literally hated it. Those people fucking grind so you can have a nice night out.
Honestly after watching Hell’s Kitchen for years, I thought why would anyone really want to become a Chef with this much pressure and stress all the time. I was a dishwasher before and that whole ballet type shit he explained in the kitchen is real. I got out of that too quick. It’s not a fun or fulfilling job....
Being in Ireland, we’re surrounded by alcohol...Personally, i like a drink, some of the best times I’ve ever had i have been smashed, but i only drink occasionally and could never get people who drink all the time, how do they do it?, it mist depress them. If you’re part of a big group of guys meeting up every weekend and going on pub crawls and gigs and stuff, then i get it, but if you’re drinking in a boring pub for half the week and not having any fun, then maybe you should try weed.
Chef here. Drinking right now. The Pressure is real. You get addicted to it. Not only the drink, the pressure. I drink to stop thinking. To stop hearing the chit machine going off in my head. Stop thinking about the myriad of things I have to do the next day.
Dr. Minge McScroteballs recovering alcoholic here who worked in NYC restos for a decade. Can confirm. I was FOH but the kitchen is no joke. People just don’t understand.
My guy try getting into mediation and read the power of now by eckart tolle, it's a little bit spiritual but it changed my life
Stu West food that your dumb ass eats
Stu West Yeah, and office work is just pushing keys on a computer, the military is just a bunch of guys pointing pieces of plastic at eachother, and I'm sure your job could similarly be distilled into its basic functions with no nuance and sound equally trivial.
Mike so every job has stress. Wow thanks.
I worked in restaurants / bars in NYC for a decade. I don’t even want to begin calculating my statistical drinking. You don’t even think about it and it’s condoned.
I’m now a recovering alcoholic who hasn’t touched a drink in 6 years. I worked FOH, but the kitchen is NO JOKE.
I’ve also toured as a musician and can confirm kitchen staff “parties” harder than rock stars.
Congratulations man!
These 2 are great chefs, making Montreal proud.
Hope the culinary aspect of our culture won’t decline like our language. Québec is quickly becoming just like the average rest of North America...
As someone who worked in a restaurant I can relate
I'm 38. I worked as a line cook in various restaurants from 1995 until 2002. It was the hardest job I've ever done. For 4 bucks an hour. I remodel and paint houses now. As hardcore stressful as that is...it still not as hard as restaurant work. That shit is hell on earth.
4 bucks an hour? Lol
@@richardhead2273 Ohio's minimum wage after tax was 4.75. I was doing landscaping because there was no other work.
The minimum wage is 7.25, how are you getting paid that? Why would you work a shit job for that price? I worked a job for 7.25 fast food and a 40 hour work week was about 270 roughly. Thats a shiity ass check, are you a felon or getting paid under the table? I seriously just don’t believe you .....
It was 20 years ago.
@@ThatBethesdaGuy Dude read his comment. He was paid 4 bucks an hour from 1995-2002. I started working in restaurants in 2004, and minimum wage was 5.14/hr then. So, it makes total sense the minimum wage was slightly less than that just years prior.
I wish Joe would have them on again soon. I get he had them mostly because of Bourdain, but they are so much more than he was honestly. They still live on and it'd be great to see them now.
Chef here working in Tokyo. Worked at a 1 Michelin Star restaurant and then a 2 star. Left the 2 star, yeah it's high pressure and everything has to be perfectly precise, but the consequences of it not and the toxic work culture in that particular restaurant made me leave. I love the rush, the adrenaline of it all, I don't drink, maybe because I get my fix from a busy service instead. Big ups to all the chefs out there at the top of their game. It ain't easy.
@Harvey Weinstein I can speak pretty much at an intermediate level, married to a Japanese woman but her English is better than my Japanese haha so no real practice other than the workplace. Japan already has a hell for a work culture so couple that with the stress of a Michelin star restaurant and yeah...you get the point.
Khalil Omar Can you explain Japan’s work culture more and compare it to the US?
@@sohaminyoh they generally work much longer hours than Americans do. I remember when I was there, I checked into a hotel at night and made friends with the 7-11 clerk across the street. I had dinner, I watched a movie with my bro, we had a long night of sleep, and the next day we went back to the 7-11 to buy a snack and he was still there. On top of long hours, their standards are higher. Looking at the restaurants, most of them are not only very clean, the food is also much better overall. They’re more obsessed and passionate and caring with their food and products. The service is also much better and they don’t even have to be motivated by tips. At fast food places in America, the jobs are considered lowly and they work like they hate it. That’s why your burger looks like a mess that got sat on before you get it. There they care still and quality is higher because of it. It’s just culture really
did you made good money as a chef?
The late Anthony Bordain loved these guys and I can see why, they were always a hoot when he visited them.
Right on about the culture of drinking. "Win or lose, we still booze."
Been working food service for 10 years. I was always stoned for the first 8 1/2 years. I currently been 100% sober while holding a salary position. Shit is tough and I miss it everyday.
Worked FoH, bartender and shift lead during college. It was insane. Fun work, but we were all hammered after almost every shift. The kitchen was even crazier. Those guys (and a few ladies) were animals. Absolutely hilarious, but damn...they went hard.
Tim Power the hilarity is a result of onset hysteria due to stress lol.
As a recovering alcoholic who hasn't had a drink since April of 2017, I couldn't imagine doing a wine tasting.
Love how he so eloquently put that explanation together - he speaks the truth!! There is an embarrassing and wonderfully deep knowledge of each co worker
Moderation helps, but is no salvation. He's right tho, end of shift drinks help alleviate the stress of the night. I preferred a joint at the end, but alcohol is more acceptable across the board. I remember the early part of my career, to get thru the night, Chefs, Sous Chefs, cooks, doing LINES off the prep table. Coke, meth; great kitchens, great talent, but high turnover rate. I'm one of the few people I've worked with that hasn't had either a Heart Attack, Stroke or Mental Breakdown. IDK Y, but...
Also, wine pairing started me on my drunk/alcoholic downward spiral. It got to a point where I'd rather have booze than meth. I'm telling the world this for the first time. I've been in the biz since I was 16.
Lowell David Lipe still in the biz 20 years later, booz so I dont loose
Its better to dial down after a heavy shift with a glass of wine/beer and a cigarette
Good to see Joe got Mike Stoklasa on the pod
Just closed my restaurant last August, in 2017. We were open since 1988. I started there in 1999. Most fun, horrible, great, horrendous ride of my life. Met my wife there 19 years ago. You gotta be so smart and adaptive to make a long term restaurant successful. Respect to anyone who can make it happen. Getting ready to open another one. Only thing I know well.
No wonder gordon Ramsey acts like a drill instructor, he’s preparing those chefs for when shit hits the fan.
So True! I worked in a restaurant for years and it is a Ballet and War simultaneously.
jamie got an A in restaurant management
I'm an alcoholic myself whose been sober for about 5 years and I can't see how putting wine 🍷 in your mouth just to taste it is a good idea 💡 lol
Normal drinkers wouldn't understand that, but us alcoholics do.
Also another addict in recovery here...And alcohol is partially absorbed while in the mouth alone sublingually. He is still taking in smaller amounts of alcohol. Rinsing his mouth doesn’t make a difference either.
Addict or alcoholic?
He needs to for his job but he’s wise enough to handle it to make a living sober
I worked at a restaurant called Merrick Inn in Lexington KY. I was in my early 20's. It was a high end southern comfort waspy kinda place that required men wear sport coats and the like. It was the most fun I ever had. We worked six days a week every week. We stayed so busy we smoked cigarettes in the kitchen while we prepared the food. In my three years there I never saw the health department but anyway it was so busy you didn't get a bathroom break until the line closed. It was intense. High pressure. Especially the chef. But each night after we were done it was a party. Our first two drinks were free and 50% off after that. The wait staff had loads of cash each night. On a good night they would bank $500 or $600. The managers were players and made sure the waitresses were hot college girls from UK and the waiters were usually buttoned up, well spoken nerd types with homosexual characteristics to minimize the male wait staff from c*ck blocking management and the cooks. It worked well and I loved it. People were dazzled by our food, we got to meet all kinds of celebrities and wealthy people. I got to be with a lot of girls way outta my league. We partied so hard I wish I took more pics. Top shelf booze, coke, extacy, Ritalin, good weed and the best food every single night. If we pushed 500 plates on a Saturday night the owner would come yell "pool party! Open bar for one hour! We need 32 more plates!" Sometimes if we fell just short we would pool our money to buy the last few plates if we could get away with it. There is a pool right behind the restaurant that was one of two the residents of the upscale apartments used during the day. The pool parties were legendary. Most people didn't have bathing suits. So it was underwear. Booze flowing & half naked bodies. We had one girl that was a playboy girl of the SEC, we had the super hot twins that were on UK's hockey poster and we had cute freshman that have never been away from home making $2000-$3000 a week cash spending it as fast as they made it. We made sure of it. Alcohol, drugs, decent cash flow and a beautiful setting made it a perfect scene. I lived in the neighborhood so I had a supreme advantage over my buddies when the parties ended. I learned so much from that place and I am so lucky to have worked there when I did. The menu changes at The Merrick Inn but if you go there be prepared to drop some bread. Try the grouper fingers as an appetizer, their steaks are supreme, the fried chicken is the best you've had, the Maryland crab cakes are fantastic, and the hot brown is top 3 of all time!
Get you some of that Calumet Farm 10 Year bourbon to finish it with your bread pudding and you'll feel like your in heaven. Trust me just remember the patio menu is different. You wanna make sure you eat inside. That place has voodoo energy. Go see for yourself!
Lost Society I think you’re lucky to work in a place you enjoyed. Plus I definitely don’t want to go knowing you don’t have the health department show while you guys are smoking while you cook. That’s terrible
Jesus fucking Christ, what is wrong with you? Did you actually try to promote your old frat house that you call a restaurant by saying you smoked in the kitchen? It sounds like the most misogynistic, toxic place to work at in the world. Places like that are exactly what’s wrong with the industry. You make real chefs and real restaurants look bad for promoting this shit behaviour and attitude. You are what’s wrong with this industry. I hope you never step foot in a kitchen again. If you do, I wish a thousand burns upon you.
The last time I was this early, Jamie still had a C in physics.
imbacen
Underrated comment.
i like how the man get's an exceptional score in physics and you all mock that. lol did you all get As in physics?
Worked in the business for nearly a decade. Proud I never got sucked into the drinking/smoking black hole. I came to work, did my job, and left. I rarely partied with my coworkers and kept my work and home life pretty seperate.
That's awesome discipline
The service industry ESPECIALLY in the kitchen is brutal. The vast majority of people have no idea the conditions and mental toughness necessary for survival there long term. Got out and work at a local market, quality of life went up exponentially
Je me souviens de David McMillan au show de la Di Stasio à l'époque. Je l'ai toujours aimer. Il avait l'air de John Goodman en plus beau.. et je le veux comme un compliment. Maintenant il a l'air d'un grey fox, et à l'air d'avoir sa santé en main. En tant que John Goodman like, je veux dire félicitations!! Je suis heureux pour toi David!!! Continuez à nous rendre heureux les Montréalais, pendant longtemps!!!!
I was a chef for 7 years, Covid ruined the business for me. I do miss the rush and adrenalin but. It’s hard to explain to people who haven’t worked in the business but it’s like a family if your in a good spot with great people.
David, I tip my hat to you. I just bought your book Surviving the Apocalypse from Amazon today. I work in a kitchen. I love cooking food. I also like red wine when I get home.
I used to work as a line cook. By far the hardest job mentally and physically.
Setting Mind .... Yep..... Hardest job ever....
eaterof horseshit trust me man, it’s way more difficult than people understand. You can never work fast enough
Physically? Not even close. Mentally, pretty tough. Toughest job physically I've done is probably roofing or working in a hot factory. And yes, I've been a line cook too.
Coal miner.. Bering sea crab fisherman...being a laborer in India...and don't forget the hardest job of all.............MOTHERHOOD!
I’m a sous right now.. ALOT harder than most people think. Not the hardest tho... worst thing is avoiding the party lifestyle. It gets obnoxious.
So true, not to mention Fire Life Safety
Joe with that Pablo Picasso look...
My family has a restaurant. I can totally relate what they're saying. My dad indeed is very knowledgeable about things like housing, plumbing, electricity and other unrelated stuff to cooking.
I litteraly grew up in a restaurant. Whenever I see those cooking shows of people competing to become a chef or something and then I look at the cooks at our restaurant and be thinking these contestants have no idea what it's really like to actually work in a restaurant. They are borderline delusional. There's nothing glorious about it, it's pure hard and stressfull work for relatively low pay.
A TH-cam or a blog chef nowadays are totally different from actually working in the line. Those celebrity chefs like Gordon Ramsay busted their asses for years in the kitchen before they made money and fame. And the rest of 99.99% of the chefs have neither of those.
The alcohol free beers in Japan are good too. Kirin, Asahi, and Sopporto
Don't know what it is about this interview but it made me feel uneasy the whole way through. Weird. I don't disagree with anything about these guys but something is just off. 🤔
I had a shirt like Joe's. Then my dad quit being a pirate.
I never understood the hospitality business. All that stress for something that's completely transient, feeding people. If I'm going to suffer everyday I want the result to at least be moderate if not long term.
Is called passion ;)
Working as a head chef in a busy restaurant, I have dealt with every single problem they mention in the same night.
I’ve done landscaping, construction, painting, heating and air conditioning, and furniture delivery....those are all challenging jobs but my 4 years as a line cook was definitely the hardest I’ve ever worked, especially considering the pay
I've worked at a school cafeteria before.
I quit after a month. I don't know how you guys do it.
Last time I was this early your mom said be quick my husband finishes work in 45 minutes
Jokes on you my moms divorced XD
@@kensin7244 XD nice one
@@asdgsdgsasghsdhadsr6053 damn hes oblivious af lol
@@asdgsdgsasghsdhadsr6053 Is he immasculated?
@@asdgsdgsasghsdhadsr6053
Oh so that's the one that likes to pretend nothing is happening as I ream her ass
That's my Wednesday hook up.............
Did I just take an AA meeting?
Did you say the serenity prayer?
Lol
Worked as a sous chef and head chef, it has chanced my life. Learnt what a real job and stress management are.
@Eat shit liberals not saying it's the hardest job I did, just telling my personal experience. It's a good experience to have under my belt, in the kitchen I learned to push through stress and hard times.
This guys are fascinating.
Taking about drinking wine like they are vampires out here xD
Amazing bits. Agree 100 percent with these guys
I work in construction now but.... but being on the line BOH is the fucken worst not too mention when you’ve been cooking all day with your order screen bombarded by orders then your managers come and tell you “shut down dish pit” yeah fuck working at a restaurant.
Cooking will make a preacher drink...LOL
I swear I thought I was listening to Charles Bronson... (khaki shirt guy).
Lol that guy is not sober if he still tastes wine at events, vineyards etc. Besides the fact that you can’t have one foot in and one foot out in recovery, alcohol is absorbed sublingually. So even when you spit out wine, your very vascular mouth still has a chance to absorb some of the alcohol. His bullshit about how he just loves wine for the “olfactory sense” is a exactly that...bullshit. He likes it because he still is getting alcohol in his system from it, even if he doesn’t consciously realize it.
Sam Es He does it because he has to for his job, he is still sober
Sam Es I don't think u get how alcoholism works, he can't get his alcohol fix from just tasting then spitting it back out
Yeah, what Manuel said, you can't get your "fix" like that. The effects are too negligible.
Nitpick some more shit, pretty lady.
Great for you Chef! Being around booze and a mix a great food is a real slippery slope! God Bless you on your new path!
Im glad the lord let me start cooking professionally at 40 and not 20 because i would be dead
Man, 150ppl over three hours, thru 4 restaurants is NICE and EASY compared to my experience. I've worked culinary for 20 yrs, have held title of Chef in 3 restaurants, Sous Chef mostly, cook as well. When you push 500 plates a night, 6 nights a week, That's HELL. Everything else they're saying is right on. It's the highest stress job I know of. That is; fine/casual fine dining. You get more pissy customers in that arena then any other
As a chef for 10 years, I could see that if I chose to stay in the game then the 'lifestyle' of stress, addiction, long hours, and responsibility, would begin to have serious health effects. And that's if you work in great restaurants, because they are busy everyday. Shitty restaurants go out of business. I left the industry and realized how many skills from the kitchen transferred over into management. People skills, multitasking, creative problem solving, being able to handle fast paced work environments with ease. I miss the job, everything these guys talk about brings back the memories but now I have a family and a life outside of the kitchen that would likely never have been possible if I stayed cooking.
What they won't tell you, if alcohol is not your thing, opiates and pharmacy drugs fill that void
Listen buddy, I respect that you struggled with alcohol and managed to quit it, but don't try to tell me non-alcoholic beer is better than real beer, especially if you're a chef for christ's sake.
100% agree. This really irked me, too. Every time I drink a non-alcoholic beer I think about Fred saying it tastes better than real beer. GTFO.
French dustin poirier is impressive
Ive been to war in the kitchen. Kitchen ninja warrior for life.
There's a huge difference between wine with 13% alcohol and acetone ... for fuck's sake!
The bottom line is, if you can't control yourself, then don't drink. ... Many people, including myself can control themselves, and we enjoy a good wine with good food.
02:53 Describes zero sums economics from restauranteur perspective. It's all about the money.
It's called awareness.
I got to school in Manhattan and a lot of the people in program, young people in their early to mid 20's, work as either bartenders or waiters and they're always talking about how much they drink on the job. Some of them even joke about being functional alcoholics.
It's an intimate relationship
I love how comment section is constantly having fun at Joe Rogan expense and shitting on him in the comments and he doesn't acknowledge any of it. :D :D
Trust me He cries at night 😑
He's like 51 bruh trust by now he don't give a fuck
Mans a millionaire im sure he could give a fuck what a person who watches these has to say, prob side money/ hobby for him.
It’s a mirror channel
Worked at maggianos little Italy for 2 years bussing tables. Even as a low end busser I have never worked so fast and so hard in my life. I also used to sniff lines of cocaine to keep me going and bars of Xanax to calm me down when it got so busy
Nvm amazon is worse
+Nicholas Cage haha
Where is the full episode!!!
I drink to have a laugh... But with myself, damm gotta get out more
I love this would love to see Andrew reynolds or Geoff rowley
It’s because if you care too much you’ll never have a life outside of work. If you care too little you’ll be a lot happier, you’ll make less but you have to separate the outcome of the restaurant from your self worth.
I've worked in restaurants for the last 15 years. I don't drink, but I smoke lots of weed. Drinking doesn't help anything lol. Weed always helps everything.
If it helps everything, maybe switch it up so everything isn't as bad?
@@bradenrodriguez5183 Why would everything be bad? Everything is great. lol...
@@ChristelVinot if everything is great, why smoke lots of weed? i agree about the drinking btw
@@bradenrodriguez5183 Look at it like this. Sure I could go kayaking and it will be lots of fun and neat and cool. But add some weed... and it intensifies all the greatness. It makes the nature more vibrant and magical, it makes floating down the rapids more physically exhilarating, and it just overall enhances the experience. That's what weed does. Enhance your great experience.
Or if you're feeling mad, weed just melts away that life-shortening emotion and allows you to enjoy yourself rather than dwelling on being mad. What a great life-enhancer weed is.
The livestream is still running and it has 1:10 like/dislike ratio lol what's wrong with it?? I haven't watched it fully yet.
COCAINE
vegans.
I think that’s his problem. His business model is far too intimate to sustain. It should be strictly employee employee at market value. Fair trade.
My brother is a line cook. Im a soldier. I know who has the harder job day to day.
It's tough, not made for alot of people
If the people who run that restaurant are unhappy. Give it to me! But no, it’s a money grab.
I think people who are into beer pairings, wine tasting (and drinking), and aged spirits like scotch etc. are confused about why they like it. They go on and on about subtle flavors and scents. It's the fact that it gets you *DRUNK* that is so enticing. Take the oldest, smoothest, most expensive cognac in existence and do a side by side taste test with a sip of Pepsi and see which one tastes better. Alcohol is a poison and it *tastes* like it too. I still love the stuff (for what it *DOES* ) but let's be real. Alcohol does *not* taste good. We just condition ourselves to think we like it.
”We go to war at 6 o'clock”
How fucking pretentious.
how is that statement pretentious?
Does anybody know what brand of t-shirt (the navy blue) is?
Well root beer is the best
royal flush Not enough of us in this world
The drinking thing is real af
Quite a come down from 1201
If this guy is really an alcoholic, swishing wine around in his mouth is a bad idea. Take it from a 24/7 drinker. And yes, I have drank mouthwash to get drunk and no, it was not a good buzz and yes, I did vomit blue foam.
They seem like small men overwhelmed by running restaurents. Funny how others do it on scale in other cities like Ny or London without the drama..
They own one of the best restaurants in North America. Not small men??
@@beng4504 they seem overwhelmed. How about just gettting the job done without the whining … man up
I feel like Bourdain left the restaurant industry early cuz everyone puts they’re all into it. I hate customer service for that reason. Plus the customers are ass clowns
The ratio of, money spent, to pressure and expectation of a product, is most unbalance and fucked. People treat a $5 bad meal, the same as they react to having their car damaged lol don’t fuck with peoples sleep or food
Nice and Early let's tear some Shit up 🤠
Tear some shit up?? In a comment section?? Lmao maybe you should go to a party for once homie
Alcohol is both a drug and a food. Pure ethyl alcohol has massive amounts of calories per fluid ounce, only pure lipids have more.
Most destructive drug out there.
desperately trying to convince us your lives are so hard and difficult.
What do you mean by that. Honestly curious
I always tip well when I g to a restaurant bc I worked in a couple growing up and I literally hated it. Those people fucking grind so you can have a nice night out.
People not from the us are so much better at conversations (generally). Makes me wanna move away
i quit taking pills but i still snort em and blow my nose...just like his wine tasting
Honestly after watching Hell’s Kitchen for years, I thought why would anyone really want to become a Chef with this much pressure and stress all the time. I was a dishwasher before and that whole ballet type shit he explained in the kitchen is real. I got out of that too quick. It’s not a fun or fulfilling job....
Being in Ireland, we’re surrounded by alcohol...Personally, i like a drink, some of the best times I’ve ever had i have been smashed, but i only drink occasionally and could never get people who drink all the time, how do they do it?, it mist depress them. If you’re part of a big group of guys meeting up every weekend and going on pub crawls and gigs and stuff, then i get it, but if you’re drinking in a boring pub for half the week and not having any fun, then maybe you should try weed.
Had O’Doul’s amber in Iraq. Wasn’t that bad for an N/A beer. Got the job done.
shit, 150 people is nothing. the restaurant i work at averages more than 250 just for the wait.
That sucks
On top of 200+ already seated
Can’t stop thinking about that shirt Joes wearing lmao looks like he’s trying to be 20 again
drunk not drank... god
can you speak french? bien non. fermes ta bouche
Anhedonia.
Get me in and will be easier for you guys.
Al Hamdulilah for Islam and the prohibition of alcohol for these very reasons
We worship the same God
We f/\k the same goat.
wont he still get a buzz tho?