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GreatGazoo

(3,937 posts)
15. Congrats! I trained at a Southern California bistro in Tustin
Mon Feb 9, 2015, 11:07 AM
Feb 2015

So much great fresh food available all the time and so many cuisines, especially asian ones like Thai, Japanese and Vietnamese, have great presence in LA. Lots of Fusion and Spa cuisine.

I had worked in fast food and wanted to be a waiter at this new place but they talked me into cooking by offering me more money plus tips. An open kitchen before they were cool, provided a great work environment and helped us team better with FOH. No yelling allowed (unlike that Scottish guy's TV shows). They gave me about $30K worth of training so I had to commit to stay for one year. This was a restaurant opening so they had a team of trainers in-house that drove us like sled dogs for the first 8 weeks or so. That was tough to take for a 17YO that wasn't used to that much attention and criticism. Kind of like the marine corps except with fire and knives. When the training was over and the restaurant got busy, me and 2 other cooks would send out 300 to 700 dinners per night. The hotter the weather the busier we would get.

If he has any interest in the ocean, there are great day trips to the Channel Islands or Catalina and you see tons of marine life this time of year -- whales go to Baja to calf, huge schools of dolphin are right in the channel. Catalina has a submarine that will take you under water to the reefs and kelp forests.

How great for him (and you)!



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