Best shift I ever had was a total accident last Thursday

I was supposed to be on prep but the grill cook called in sick. Ended up running the station during dinner rush, 85 covers in 3 hours. Everything just clicked, the temps were perfect, tickets flowed smooth. My head chef actually said "that's the cleanest grill I've seen in a year" and I'm still buzzing from it. Anyone else ever have a shift where everything just worked out of nowhere?

2 comments

2 Comments

nathankim16d ago

Wait, you actually liked that? I mean, 85 covers in 3 hours with no warning sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. I get it, the adrenaline hit feels nice, but that kind of shift usually means something got overlooked. Maybe the waste was higher, or the prep team had to scramble harder the next morning. I've seen "cleanest grill ever" turn into a burnout spiral when the new guy tries to replicate it every shift.

ward.anna16d ago

Ever prepped for that exact scenario before it happened? A spare hotel pan of each ingredient, backups of backups. I learned the hard way - train your crew to handle a 50% overrun without being told. Even in a 3 hour rush, call out waste as it happens. Keeps the next guy from hating you the next morning.