/ck/ - Food & Cooking

[Anonymous No.12284101]

Every been a dishwasher? What's it like?

[Anonymous No.12284110]

>>12284101
wet but easiest kitchen job very little responsibility

[Anonymous No.12284128]

>>12284110
basically
if you dont bitch more than anyone else and you actually do your work in a timely manner youre gonna be fine and if you hangout for a few months youll probably get put on the line or doing prep work
>was a dishwasher for 4 months before i got a better job

[Anonymous No.12284142]

>>12284101
Soulcrushing grind if you take it as anything but a temporary thing. Get outta there as the first opportunity to improve appears.

[Anonymous No.12284161]

Did graveyards (9pm-5am) at a Dennys in Ottawa when I was 17 and basically right out of high school. Easy work for the most part but you'd get occasional after-hours rushes when the bars closed. Ended up walking out mid shift with 2 line cooks because the boss was a piece of shit. Short-paying people, keeping large portion of the tips, really shady stuff.
It's very wet though, probably best to wear shorts or something. It's humid as fuck too so get some talc. Also shoes matter a lot as you're going to basically be standing for long stretches.

[Anonymous No.12284182]

>>12284101
>What's it like?
Wet and you have to touch all manner of food slop and refuse. Usually the dishwasher also finds themselves doing dirty work housekeeping like bathrooms and mopping.
It's the most brainless easy job there is with the fewest consequences if you fuck something up. If a dish comes out dirty, someone will just put it back into the pit for you to wash again.
Corporate chains like Pizza Hut hire retarded people to wash dishes on the slow shifts in order to get huge tax benefits.

[Anonymous No.12284202]

depends on kitchen size and whose in charge
if a place is at the point of a dedicated washer and not shuffling cooks around, but still is pretty small it can be good
some massive place only have 2-3 dishwashers who constantly have to work
>>12284161
>Also shoes matter a lot as you're going to basically be standing for long stretches.
was the biggest thing for me, boss didn't mind that I had a chair to sit on when I didn't have anything to do, but a lot of places wont let you do that

[Anonymous No.12284208]

The people who seek you out to defend you are much worse than the people who just drop their plates off and go. They think they're so fucking virtuous for telling me that I shouldn't have to clean up after others and they are so much better than everyone else because they scraped their plate off into the trash. They'll stand at the window to the dishpit and draw my attention to their clean plate or point out how dirty other people's plates are and scoff. They'll tell me I shouldn't be cleaning plates even though it's my job. Sometimes, they'll even walk in and insist that they clean their plate and take my spray faucet and rinse it off. There's no point arguing with those sorts that they should just give me their plate and go, they want to do their good deed for the day and walk in my dishpit, do half the job of washing a plate, slow me down, and then leave.

[Anonymous No.12284216]

It's alright, pretty gross sometimes but it's whatever. If you have one of those big belt machines that runs all day you're pretty much set, just spray them and run them through. It's still boring as fuck, but you'll probably be able to move onto serving or something else.

[Anonymous No.12284252]

its jobkino
if it's too cold in the restaurant, i use hot water and i'm feeling cozy
if it's too hot in the restaurant, i spray cold water on my wrists and then i dont sweat that much and i pretend i'm at the beach

[Anonymous No.12284259]

>>12284101
Washed dishes at an old country buffet when I was a teen, the sheer number of cups, plates, saucers and silverware I washed every weekend is almost unimaginable. Old country buffet is like a hog trough for fat people, when had some people who would spend the whole fucking day inside of a restaurant, a large, soulless restaurant, no TVs, no nothing. This was mannnnnnny moons ago. When you can drop 50 or 60 plates in a tray in a matter of seconds, you will do just fine.

[Anonymous No.12284291]

>>12284101
>got a job in dish pit at the KETTLE
>10 min into shift ask to smoke a ciggy
>get in car and leave

[Anonymous No.12284293]

I was a Outback dishwasher for 2 days. I quit because my co-dishwasher was an illegal Ecuadorian who didn’t speak any English. I realized I really didn’t want to work a ten hour shift with that for minimum wage.

[Anonymous No.12284326]

I usually come home wet, but thats because I try to get every spec of dirt off of bowls. You wouldnt believe how dirty most dishwashers leave bowls even after they are ran through a washer. Its disgusting honestly, makes me want to use plastic everything, but thats the price you have to pay when you are rushed sometimes, especially in very busy places

[Anonymous No.12284329]

My time in the pit was great. Good pay, decent hours free food and a waitress with the nicest ass I've ever seen to chat with all day while we weren't busy.

[Anonymous No.12284330]

Sucked. Sushi restaurant where I had to restock the plates outside the conveyor belt stations through a doggy hole. 1/10 would find a disher job elsewhere

[Anonymous No.12284338]

Never officially, filled in plenty though on slow/overstaffed shifts as a line cook and just to pick up extra shifts. It's only as bad as you make it. Do your best to always have shit going through the machine, and ignore anyone from FOH that thinks they know how to do your job better than you.
Also, take care of your line cooks and they'll take care of you. Be attentive to what the kitchen needs washed first.

[Anonymous No.12284368]

>>12284101
I used to work at whole farts and did a couple of shifts as a dishwasher just for shits and giggles even though that wasn't my department and I wasn't even an entry level team member.
it was fun because it was a break from the norm and I could just listen to my podcasts, but fuck doing that as a full time job. what a soul crushing existence.

[Anonymous No.12284763]

>>12284368
how is it soul crushing? sounds like an easy ass full time job to me, and I’ve done it quite a few times when our dishwasher calls off. just listen to music, spray down plates and scrub. as long as your cooks aren’t shitheads you shouldn’t be scrubbing too hard. I love zoning out to a simple task like that

[Anonymous No.12284804]

>>12284202
>chair to sit on when I didn't have anything to do, but a lot of places wont let you do that

I've always been told they want their employees to look "professional" but man I rather have the employees not kill their feet for that shit. I doubt anyone really cares aside from valley girl bitches or something.

[Anonymous No.12284806]

Thankless but generally comfy

[Anonymous No.12284982]

>>12284101
Line cook here

Have filled in for our dishwasher in the slower season, it’s a pretty chill job. Can easily just zone out doing your thing, don’t have to interact with anyone if you don’t want to.
Let me get some distance between me and FOH please god

[Anonymous No.12285017]

Angry fuckin Mick head chef threw a knife at me while I was washing dishes because a sous chef fucked up on something. Stupid redhead asshole

[Anonymous No.12285065]

>>12284252
based and cute

[Anonymous No.12285091]

>>12285017
based
god save ireland

[Anonymous No.12285096]

Sucks, but if you're good at turning your brain off and doing repetitive tasks then it can be bearable.

[Anonymous No.12285109]

>>12284101
When I got a job at a supermarket while I was a University student, for the first couple months before I got into a more stable position, they had me doing a lot of different things, and I would occasionally dishwash.

Not a great job, but not hard. If you can listen to music while you do it I really have no problem though I would hate to actually do it everyday. So monotonous. All the longterm dishwashers I knew were autistic.

[Anonymous No.12285113]

>>12284101

Low amount of responsibility, the hours feel like they pass by quite quickly. If you lack any gloves it can fuck your hands up.

[Anonymous No.12285114]

What type of restaurants should I apply to be a dishwasher at? I live around a ton of restaurants so I can basically choose any type of place. I assume something nicer like a steakhouse would be the best?

[Anonymous No.12285120]

Prune hands bring water proof headphones that's from a executive chef

[Anonymous No.12285132]

Chain corporate restaurants like punch bowl or del Frisco's bring latex hand gloves that go up to your arm and waterproof headphones
-exec chef

[Anonymous No.12285136]

>>12284763

I'm not that anon you're replying to, and I agree with you, I think it depends on the personality, if they're extroverted or not. I usually keep to myself all the time so it's not a hard switch to keep to yourself on the job.

[Anonymous No.12285154]

>>12285114

Try get a job as a dishy at a small catering company or at a hotel.

They have a different structure to them and the FOH and BOH are more separate, so less chance of facing assholes. Also since it isn't restaurant service, there's not as much stress on the chefs.

t. I work in both

[Anonymous No.12285193]

I did this job when I was 16 and it was pretty horrible. I worked in a carvery restuarant in the UK so we obviously put out a shit tonne of gravy that would be cooked in these huge pans/vats. They were the worst thing ever to clean and smelled like shit.

There was some polish cunt on the shift before mine, and that prick would hide these pans behind other stuff during his shift and then leave them for me to clean when I came in. Fucking cunt.

[Anonymous No.12285247]

>>12284101
I substituted a dishwasher once. Boring af

[Anonymous No.12285273]

>>12284101
Easy as fuck...

I worked in the industry since I was 15. I was a full blown sous chef at a restaurant for about two years when I was 23, and making some decent money. Decided I wanted to go back to school to change my career path. Asked if I could dishwash while going to school owner said yea what ever.

I just listened to music, got drunk, making 20 dollars an hour, easiest wage slave job ever. Best part was the dish pit was the pathway to the back door where people went to smoke and take a breather, so I could just shoot the shit a lot. Ah the goold ol' days.

[Anonymous No.12285293]

>>12284101
done it for two years before moving to line. It was hard work but learned a lot. My friend who I started with still works dish washing. He likes the low responsibility.

[Anonymous No.12285312]

>>12284101
I remember dumping a large pot of what i thought was very dirty fryeroil. Later one of the chefs comes down to ask where I left the beer syrup he send me.

[Anonymous No.12285315]

t. dishwasher for 6 years here
work 18 hours per week to pay for tendies and basement rent, pay is pretty good (equivalent ~20 usd per hour)
other anons hit it right on the head, you do need to be borderline autistic to do it long term, its repetitive as fuck and unfulfilling so you have to find ways to turn off your brain, for me its to listen to music or think about the animu ive watched recently. at the end of the day there isnt a job that i think is easier, thats why its been 6 years with no change
some tips for people who are new to dishwashing or are looking to get a dish job:
>apply to small businesses not chains, they have laxer policy on free food, breaks, etc
>2 sinks and the machine is preferable, otherwise you need to use the hose to rinse things into the soap water sink which will make it dirty as fuck quickly, meaning you have to rerun it constantly
>if it doesnt have a machine walk out, it does all the hard work, preferably one with a wash and a dry cycle
>if the manager doesnt say anything to the contrary, you can pretty much eat for free by eating stray bits left in the kitchen, taking home shit at the end of the night, any leftovers in the cold room which are to 'old'.
>if you really want to be a dog theres also leftovers on plates
>wear some loose jeans, they are more water resistant then other fibres, and the extra leg coverage will stop your calves and shoes from getting wet or getting covered in food
>disregard above if its a lunch shift and you live in the equator
>be nice to the line, and they will respect you
>that involves not putting back dirty shit, prioritising washing things they are short on (we only have 20 salad bowls for example)
>banter. even though dishwashing is a solitary job, a little banter with the lines every once in a while is expected in a workplace, even for autists

[Anonymous No.12285352]

Worked the kitchen in KFC (marinading, breading, frying meat) and occasionaly took the washing shift, like once or twice a week. Its okay, less responsibility and time pressure put on you, the kfc I worked in usualy run like clockwork, so after a few shifts I had a good sense when I'm going to get another portion of dishes, filters and machine parts. But a lot of it depended on how well adjusted the moh and boh were, when we got an influx of new untrained staff I had to stay late because they finished late. Not bad overall. Wet, dirty, sometimes gross, but not so much. Usualy took home a lot of unsold bacon, roasted corn and cookies, which would have gone to trash otherwise.

[Anonymous No.12285367]

>>12284101
hot, and not the sexy kind. We used a machine though, so it was mostly stacking, sliding them in the machine, pull the lever for a while, then stacking again. Free sauna I guess.

[Anonymous No.12286320]

>>12284763
>>12284763
I'm that guy and I am an introvert that can pretend to be an extrovert when needed. I think some people are fine with repetitive mindless work, but I personally need to do things that matter a bit more and that are challenging so that I learn and grow as a person. Not saying that a dishwasher isn't a crucial part of the kitchen, but it's just dumb work. You learn nothing. You stay in one place. I think it's boring and I'd hate to do that for a living. It was fun to try out, but ugh. I have enough time to listen to my podcasts outside of work.

[Anonymous No.12287126]

did that in high school. it's a good way to meet a lot of low lifes that can't do anything else so you're more encouraged to stay in school and not follow their path.

[Anonymous No.12287171]

>>12285193
I completely understand your pain. The gravy can be stuck on at least an inch thick and you gotta get under it with a griddle scraper. I worked as a KP for 10 years.

[Anonymous No.12287198]

"i brought you a birthday present"
leaves stack of dishes

[Anonymous No.12288133]

>>12287198
lol that’s my favorite line

[Anonymous No.12288237]

I can't stand to eat ranch dressing anymore. I spent too much time inhaling vaporized ranch from washing so many plates and ramekins covered in it.

[Anonymous No.12288301]

>>12284101
probably the worst job ive ever had to do

[Anonymous No.12288574]

>>12284330
There was a Drake and Josh episode about that.

[Anonymous No.12288589]

>>12284101
Hot, steamy, damp. But, it's not a bad gig for someone who doesn't want to have to talk to anyone and doesn't need to make much money. My first job was as a dishwasher (I was 14), but I still remember it to this day, and I learned some interesting things about restaurant work while I was there.

[Anonymous No.12288652]

>>12285017
>threw a knife
did you leave after that?

[Anonymous No.12288731]

>>12288652
Or better yet report him and get him fired? That's a fireable offense everywhere I've worked. I'm not getting hurt because you have a maturity of a 2 year old faggot.

[Anonymous No.12289598]

>>12284208
The bad part in all that is that in a rush they slow things down and get in the way.

If it paid 100k a year Id love to be a dishwasher again. Its oddly rhythmic and its kind of satisfying to watch people carry away your huge piles of freshly cleaned, still slightly hot dishes. And youre usually by yourself or with a little Ecuadorian dude in a little separate cubby of kitchen. The BIG difference in quality of life is if you have one of those bigass industrail washers. Fuck man give me one of those and a radio and the waitresses can fuck off and deal with kids throwing french fries on the floor.

The real, real bottom of the barrel is bus boy. They deal with absolute worst of both worlds, and they dont get to constantly wash their hands like a dishwasher.

[Anonymous No.12289628]

>>12285114
I would avoid anything corporate. A smaller or family owned business is more likely to appreciate you getting clean dishes and shit out fast instead of making sure youre following OSHA regulations. They also tend to value quality employees over cheap employees.

Last place I worked at we had to have these little buckets with disenfectant and a clean rag next to it to clean with. Except no one ever, ever used them. Realistically there are just rags everywhere and you use as much as you need. Nope, not a corporate place. If you go through too many rags in a day you grt bitched at because laundry bills cut into overhead

[Anonymous No.12289734]

I am currently, I do the work of two people

[Anonymous No.12289737]

I was a dishwasher at an assisted living facility. It was alright but most of the other dishwashers besides a couple good ones sucked at it and were slow as fuck. I was also responsible for preparing six to seven food carts from breakfast to lunch and had to deliver them to the different floors of the facility. They were big ass carts too and held a lot of dishes. Facility was a piece of shit that mistreated the old people and the nurse assistants were cunts but the kitchen staff was pretty cool and liked to have fun.

[Anonymous No.12289744]

>>12289737
Also to add one more thing. Fuck meatloaf. Worst part of the job.

[Anonymous No.12289771]

>>12289734
do you get paid twice the wage?

[Anonymous No.12289822]

>>12289771
$13 an hour, one above minimum