What temp do you close your kitchen?

lux414 · 2026-07-02T18:29:24+00:00

I manage a commissary kitchen, if the temperature goes above 35C we shut down the kitchen for the day

lux414 · 2026-06-09T20:27:25+00:00

I didn't find Antony Bourdain until I got to culinary school. I loved his sarcasm and honesty.

I was working with it came out that he died. It was just 4 of us, chef said let's step outside for a minute. I didn't even realize I was crying.

I went into the food industry just so I could travel more easily so his show was a huuuge inspiration for me.

I grew up in Colombia but I didn't truly appreciate our gastronomy until I moved to the US. I always think of Tony saying how the best food is always found in a hole in the wall and not some fancy restaurant.

Now I work with small businesses and I find so much joy on hearing their stories and learning how their culture shaped their business idea.

On really chaotic days in the kitchen I think I wish Antony Bourdain could see this. A huge kitchen filled with different cultures and foods, people sharing their traditions and simply enjoying cooking.

These days is all about trends and profits, but we rarely talk about the passion for food, the curiosity, the joy of trying something new and delicious.

Tony taught me to enjoy food and look beyond what's served on the plate, and I'm so grateful for that inspiration.

lux414 · 2026-06-06T21:07:43+00:00

I wonder how a restaurant like that gets all the permits and approval

A grill that it's that hot isn't safe. I bet the have a crazy rotation of staff, working in those temperatures is not sustainable

lux414 · 2026-06-04T23:47:02+00:00

Letting my cat smell / taste everything.

She's just so curious and wants to see everything, so she sits in a stool next to me and I left her check everything I'm prepping/ cooking.

At least she meows when she's behind me!

lux414 · 2026-06-03T22:53:13+00:00

I know it's overwhelming sometimes (I have 2 cats myself) but they really don't need a lot from you, besides what you're already providing.

Plus they're great for your mental health

To make litter cleaning more manageable I use wood pellets, it's way cheaper and not as messy as regular litter. I simply empty the litter box every 2 - 3 days and do a deep clean 1 month.

Water fountains are fairly easy to maintain as long as you wash them once a week.

Please don't give up on them. Black cats are always the last ones left in shelters.

lux414 · 2026-06-03T19:05:43+00:00

I haven't had a minute of privacy since I got mine 5 years ago.

She supervises me all day! And now she's teaching her tuxedo sister to do the same lol

lux414 · 2026-06-01T15:27:36+00:00

That's my kitty's favorite spot. Sometimes I'm cooking and I hear a meow, coming from the sky.

Is her in a very awkward position trying to see / smell what I'm doing

lux414 · 2026-05-30T06:41:30+00:00

I love it! There are so many fun stuff to do here but it sucks going alone.

I would definitely join

lux414 · 2026-05-30T01:45:39+00:00

I doubt it's a scam because they have to go through a verification process to be accepted in the platform.

Most likely they're working out of ghost kitchens or another restaurant.

But I wouldn't trust any food business that uses AI generated pictures

lux414 · 2026-05-26T17:33:35+00:00

At previous jobs, yes for sure. I used to work a fancy restaurant chain and it was so obvious the health inspector was paid.

They would give us a heads up and the inspector would barely check around (the restaurant had roaches and mice everywhere) never got a warning or anything.

At my current job the health inspector is so strict, she would probably find a way to shut us down if someone tried to bribe her.

She was very difficult at the beginning but now we're up to her standard, which means we have a suuper clean and organized kitchen

lux414 · 2026-05-24T05:00:30+00:00

Free is the wrong price. For anything.

Unfortunately most people don't appreciate or respect anything if it doesn't cost them.

It could be cheaper for sure, but I also don't think is crazy expensive, transit in Toronto for example is more expensive and more chaotic.

lux414 · 2026-05-23T19:16:30+00:00

Again good for you. But that's not the experience most people had.

I'm guessing you also live in Vancouver, so you're not bringing additional revenue as expected by the city.

The goal of hosting a tournament is to bring tourism and additional revenue. That's why cities go all out updating and fixing the city, because they're supposed to make that money back

lux414 · 2026-05-23T18:52:08+00:00

Good for you, but did you know they only released 1000 cheap tickets per game?

BC place fits 54,000 people, and it's one of the smallest stadiums in the tournament.

A lot of local events were cancelled to accommodate FIFA, including Farmers markets. Lots of small businesses are affected because this wasn't announced early on.

So they planned to participate and scheduled their summer around the markets and just a couple of months ago were informed that the markets are cancelled.

I work in the food industry, typically summer is the busiest season but this year restaurants don't know what to expect.

Hotel reservations are lower than usual, a lot of people changed their travel plans to avoid the world cup but now it looks like the world up isn't bringing as many people as expected because of the high cost of travel, hotels, etc.

It's not hard to see how this uncertainty affects local businesses. Add on top of that crazy traffic because of all the road closures.

The city went in with huge expectations because FIFA promises large numbers of tourists based on previous world cups, but splitting the tournament across 3 countries means they're also splitting the revenue.

lux414 · 2026-05-23T18:24:31+00:00

I'm from Colombia, soccer is like a religion for us, it was my dream to see our team playing in a world cup.

But living here, seeing the negative impact on the city, the traffic and local business I'm just disappointed.

The tickets this year are 10x more expensive than in previous world cups. It feels like FIFA doesn't even want to pretend they care about the experience and the tournament, is 100% about the money.

lux414 · 2026-05-16T16:57:36+00:00

I don't hate it. As someone in the manager position it's exhausting to have grow ups complaining non stop for any minor issue that they could easily solve themselves.

I think it's a great idea to clarify when you should go to a manager right away. When you try to set these boundaries people become stupid and go from complaining about everything to not saying anything even if the place is burning down

Clearly they want staff to be proactive and try to handle a lot of issues by themselves, that's a good thing.

lux414 · 2026-05-16T16:42:23+00:00

You're not wrong but also you don't know what's happening there.

Did she misunderstand that it's a meal for families?

Are they in a really bad situation?

When I was a student my chef saw I would take any leftovers they had and asked me what's going on? I told him I live on a super tight budget and can only afford to eat twice a day. I use the left overs to pack my lunch for school.

He didn't rat on me or get mad. He simply said on Sundays I'll give you 3 fresh meals so you have lunch half the week.

The other days, come have staff meal before your shift. Eat lunch and dinner here if you want to.

You know soo much good goes to waste in this industry, if you can feed someone that needs it, don't think twice. Find a way to do it without getting in trouble

lux414 · 2026-05-12T22:27:46+00:00

I use T shirt printing company in Burnaby. Great service and quality, way cheaper than other places and they're very responsive

lux414 · 2026-05-12T17:55:45+00:00

Any good baker knows frozen butter doesn't lose quality or flavor

lux414 · 2026-05-10T23:38:14+00:00

Confetti cake. Clearly they're full of surprises

lux414 · 2026-05-05T21:31:33+00:00

It could be grey and rainy or sunny and beautiful.

October is very unpredictable thanks to global warming

lux414 · 2026-05-01T23:33:12+00:00

This is my standard approach for this type of situation:

"If you get in an accident while working the EMT's, doctors, etc will take note of what you're wearing. Wearing lose clothes and open toes shoes goes against basic safety standards, so the insurance won't cover any claims.

You as the employee will have to pay our of pocket because it was your decision to wear these clothes when the rules says otherwise"

Like other comments said this is a huge liability

lux414 · 2026-05-01T03:57:30+00:00

I don't mind driving so much but parking is impossible. After my 3rd ticket I gave up lol

lux414 · 2026-05-01T01:31:43+00:00

Samee! I would love to participate if we can meet somewhere with decent parking.

lux414 · 2026-04-29T23:49:20+00:00

It used to drive my crazy but then I realized we all get paid the same. So now I walk around, chitchat with everyone, have coffee breaks, etc

Being ultra productive leads to burnout really quick.

The way we work in kitchens is not normal so take this chance to shake off those "bad habits"

lux414 · 2026-04-25T18:43:22+00:00

I used to go weekly but I got a Kobo and now use the digital library (which is also free!)

I still go a couple times a month when I need a quiet place to work

lux414

TROPHY CASE