What I’ve learned from working in a restaurant

Working in hospitality is the easiest way to get a job..or at least, that’s what they tell us. So many young people work in a restaurant as a side job, to get easy money or just to have a paid activity (and free food). However, the hospitality sector is not as easy as a lot of people tend to think.

No more weekends you will have.
Friday nights out? No. Saturday late night drinks? Haha, no. Sunday lazy-morning? No more. Be ready, when all your friends are enjoying their weekend drinking, partying or being so nice and eating at your restaurant, you will be working. Good part is that you should make that money rrrrain. Bad part..whenever you’ll be done with your shift, you will either be way too tired to go out, or everybody will already be home. At least, you’ll have days off when the majority is working. Enjoy those empty places!

Stressed out for a tiny reason you will be.
Stressed out for the tiniest reason in the world you will be. People will see you running to your computer at some point..why? Because you forgot to send their main course to the kitchen..and their empty-starter plate has been removed since 15min..That little jogging won’t harm you..but that face you put on will certainly make your coworkers laugh.

White clothes you will hate.
Unless you have a uniform to put on, you’re safe. Other restaurants let you wear whatever you want..and you will cross any white clothes off your working days. Stains and holes will appear without you noticing or knowing why. Your restaurant does not like your clothes and will make sure to destroy them.

You will probably gain weight.
Sadly but truly you will. It’s not new to say that restaurant food -even the healthiest- is fattier than the food you would cook at home. Having to eat restaurant food every day will add a few pounds to your weight, but no worries, a waiter has to run everywhere, so it will easily go away.

You will actually discover people.
People, people..we are all different and also raised in different cultures or ways. However, discovering how rude someone can be to you will astonish you. I got yelled at multiple times, for asking if they’d rather sit inside or outside (Sorry for wanting to host you as best as I can..?), ask you 20 times when their food is coming when they notice the restaurant is busy etc etc.  You will also discover that even the classiest person might not know how to hold its fork and knife. They will play manager asking you to slow the music down, to turn the lights on, stop the AC when you are dying from heat, or just decide that the prices are too high.

You will know the feeling of starvation.
You might have been late and missed the family food. Too bad for you, you’ll have to wait for the end of your shift to have a proper meal. In the meantime, you’ll be surrounded by food you are not allowed to have. It will smell even more delicious when your party gets its food. It will drive you crazy and the only thing you will hope is that they wont finish their plate..so you can have the last bite and feel a little more alive.

A fake smile you will put on.
People can be weird, but no judging. However, when they hailed at you for you to take their order, but still didn’t decide, keep a smile on. They will probably also ask you to change this for this, and that for that, but will never want to pay any additional fee. Even better, some will want to try their own plate using any ingredient they like from others and mix them. Keep that fake smile on, you’re working on your tip baby.

It is not as easy to get the job.
Oh hell no it’s not easy! First you gotta be in training for x many hours and prove that you can do it! Work your a** off for not even a dime. Also, mostly only « beautiful people » will find a job in hospitality in a blink of an eye. Others will probably find it more difficult..And even if it’s really not fair, it is understandable. In fact, which restaurant doesn’t want its waiters to show a good and clean appearance and staff?

But besides all, I also met the strangest and nicest people on earth and learnt to be more patient and not to juge someone right away.

The dream of every waiter.

 

Do restaurants respect nutritional values?

For working in a restaurant I can tell that I have seen a lot of food, from every food family. And that is when I started questioning myself to know if the restaurant portions were nutritionally and dietetically respected? I am more interested in the protein, fiber, and veggie intake rather than the calorie intake (sorry diet lovers..health goes first).

In fact, calories are just a number to calculate the energy value in food. Whenever you go to a restaurant, it’s for sure that the calorie intakewill overlapse the daily recommendations. Don’t feel ashamed. The chef is just trying to make the tastiest food by giving it an extra shot of olive oil, butter or salsa to the recipe. Plus, this second bottle of wine standing proudly on your table is also adding some extra-calories to your dinner.

Anyway, what my concern is really about, is to know if the essential nutrients are really on your plate, in quantity and quality when dining out. It’s since I moved to this city, filled with restaurant that I’ve been starting to focus on this topic (I could have tried a new one for every single meal..but only if I had a well-stuffed wallet to follow me). For the ones I have checked in, I can tell that the nutritional values are not always on point.

Take a salad bar..the humongous amount of salad takes all the space in the box. Try adding some veggies to it, but the waiter will make sure not to put too many, sizes are sizes and prepare yourself to pay for an additional spoon of these tomatoes. Then it comes to protein. You wand tofu? You’ll get 3 cubes of it. If you’d rather have fish (tuna or whatever) you’ll get one « cup » of it. If you’re an avocado lover like me, please stay away from it because the disappointment is way too big. Not even half of 1/2 avocado will be added to your salad. And paying 10$ for baby greens should seem reasonable? First it’s freacking expensive, and second, where is the nutritional value in eating just greens topped with some other ingredients.

What about restaurants? If you order fish, you might get a fillet which is usually a normal serving size. However, I won’t even mention the price of this farm-raised antibiotic fish that comes with a salad that could literally swim in the dressing. Yummy. I will close my eyes on this steak frites, which is literally way too much meat compared to the amount of supposedly vegetables. As fried as these potatoes are, there is no more potato inside the fried shell. And how lucky you might be if you get one cup of salad on the side. But once again, let these green leaves swim in their fatty dressing.

This being said, it appears that eating out will not be respecting the nutritional values, such as enough protein and greens on a plate with less fat and sugar. But so what? We all need cheat-meals or just some comfort food. As long as it is from time to time it’s fine. However, eating out every single day, even in the healthiest salad bars/restaurants will not get you to your best health or body. Try cooking your own plates at home if health and body shaping are your main concerns.