Just Left My Restaurant Job After 3 Years.. Feels Great!!

[Darrick]

  "Never again will i work for a BIG restaurant corporation cooking hundreds of dishes for hungry patrons at a break neck speed." 

Hello fellow enlightenment seekers! My name is Darrick, i'm 27 from the Silicon Valley. I am very passionate about cooking various types of delicious foods! I have even more fun watching my family, friends or strangers enjoy what i had just cooked up for them! Very rarely do i make a dish they dislike  Just being honest!

 About 4 years ago i was unemployed and surviving off small drug sales  Knowing drug selling was a horrible idea i started applying for jobs. Luckily a restaurant wanted to interview me for a position of employment. I was soon hired as a line cook starting at $11 an hour. I was thrilled!!! (Remember, this was around 2013)

 Knowing that i absolutely love cooking, my intention was to learn all the dishes and send out beautiful plates that paying customers would enjoy! Not only would the food taste delicious, it would look amazing too! But after a few months of busy nights & pumping out anywhere from 50 to 100 plates an hour, i was no longer happy. I couldn't watch or interact with the customers out in the dining room because i was trapped back in the hot kitchen  

  I knew for a fact the people who received the plates i cooked were very pleased & probably took a few pictures of their food before stuffing their hungry faces!! (That's what i do  ) Not only did i make sure my plates had all the correct ingredients, i made sure they were HOT and visually appealing as well! Very important.

  Out of the 12 line cooks working on a busy night only a few plus myself actually cared about our food presentation! I take pride in my work!

  Once i saved up enough money to finish & complete my main goal in life (which you can read in my previous post) i planned on leaving a.s.a.p.

  But do to finances and other factors i had to stay for another year, AND another year... So after 3 and a half years i finally left! I FEELS GREAT!!

  "Never again will i work for a BIG restaurant corporation cooking hundreds of dishes for hungry patrons at a break neck speed."

   I am definitely looking for something much smaller and intimate with a menu half the size! Somewhere calm with the possibility of being able to interact with the people enjoying my food!! Thanks for reading, Darrick!!

[Thinh]

That's great. Congratulation, man. Hope you could achieve your dream.

[Darrick]

@Thinh Thank you very much!! I am working at it every minute of everyday!!  

[Passionate]

@Darrick no matter where you go or where you land, your experience at the big name restaurant will be valuable at some point......some day.  That experience will help guide you as you make future decisions about where you will be cooking next.  I worked in restaurants while I was in college, and while I have long since moved away from big name chains, I can still draw on some of those experiences today and they serve me well even though I am no longer working in a restaurant.  I love that you want to cook..................Chef school maybe??

[MIARIVEL]

Congrats and all the best with your new venture =)

[Darrick]

@MIA.RIVEL Thank you so much!!! Not an easy transition & STILL learning everyday.. but it's worth it  

[Darrick]

@Passionate Thank for your kind & wise words! I can already look back to my old job and be happy i stuck it out for 3 and a half years! It was tough but fun!! Not sure if I want to go to culinary school, but perhaps start my own little local food stand thingy  Hehe! Thanks again, means a lot! 

[Loreena]

Congrats@Darrick , its always worth it.

[Life Coach]

Quiting your job is always amazing. I love it when you quit and you get this magical feeling of peace and freedom. I might start new jobs just to quit them again and get high on that "freedom again" feel

It's simply not worth it being a fucking slave to society

[Darrick]

@Old Soul Hahaha! That's a cool way to look at it! Thanks for the feedback  

[Nahm]

Congrats on your escape!!!!!!! Fuck your feeling about that situation, it's time for all new feelings!

You look young so I'll suggest something a little out there in hopes that it is of use to you.

Maybe you're focusing on food because it is all or most of your frame of reference so far in your life.

Maybe focus on your knowing that you love to make people happy, you love knowing you care about quality and excecution. Know that you just love caring. Consider that these  are personality traits that will lead to your success in any field. I'm being bold and risky here, but I don't think it's the food you love, I think it's the feelings that come with striving to be your best that you love. I love that too. Focus on your practices. Ask in meditation what is the best path for you to develop those traits best, and jut allow what comes. Godspeed.. 

 

[Darrick]

 WOW! This really opened up my mind and i want to say thank you  

  I never thought about it like that but it does make sense. Cooking (at home for family & friends) relaxes me! So does music! So that's another avenue in which i can/and have pursued to make an impact on people! It is a never ending learning experience with new thoughts & ideas to come! 

Bold and risky is good, as long as it's organized with a definite goal in the end! 

What is crazy is that before i read your response i came up with a BRILLIANT and huge idea that combines 2 passions of mine. I've written down a few blue prints and will continue to craft this new idea and set a few goals! (It does NOT involve food at all) Hehehehe  

[Steph1988]

Grats from a fellow cook and guitarplayer!

i am interested how it will work out for you.

[jse]

I have a long-term vision for a beach-side cafe/restaurant, a melting pot for life's travelers not dissimilar to this forum's, on an inspiring setting with amazing ambience - in short, a great place to come together and celebrate life.

Open kitchen with great visuals, flaming pans, enticing cooking smells and sounds, awesome fresh/tasty/healthy food from an epic chef.  No restaurant walls to separate us from the beach/sea/sun/moon/stars, ambient music and soft light to suit.  Thai-style cushions, hammocks, and low tables that will encourage interaction between all, and share the joys of life.  This will be a passionate lifestyle, and if it eventuates and turns out to be a money-loser (likely), so be it.

But one thing is for sure:  if/when this dream materializes, it would be awesome to have someone with @Darrick's passion as our chef.

Edited February 11, 2017 by jse
edited for clarity

[Nahm]

Call your cafe "The Forum". It fit the "no walls" - everyone is involved theme

And never say again that it will be less than everything you want it to be.

[Darrick]

@Steph1988 Thank you!! I have so much more time for music & cooking for fun (plus creating my own unique recipes !!!) 

Been cracking down on the hip-hop and self improvement stuff at the moment, rock music coming VERY soon!! 

My email is dthescrooge@gmail.com if you want me to send some demos your way!!  

[Nahm]

On 2/10/2017 at 2:26 PM, Darrick said:

 WOW! This really opened up my mind and i want to say thank you  

  I never thought about it like that but it does make sense. Cooking (at home for family & friends) relaxes me! So does music! So that's another avenue in which i can/and have pursued to make an impact on people! It is a never ending learning experience with new thoughts & ideas to come! 

Bold and risky is good, as long as it's organized with a definite goal in the end! 

What is crazy is that before i read your response i came up with a BRILLIANT and huge idea that combines 2 passions of mine. I've written down a few blue prints and will continue to craft this new idea and set a few goals! (It does NOT involve food at all) Hehehehe  

Why the cliff hanger bruh?

What's your brilliant idea??

[Darrick]

@Nahm Haha! Cliff hanger  Still working on my brilliant idea, don't wanna explain it just yet!!