Licenziato

I'm only a cook. And when I say "I'm only a cook" I still mean that I'm a damn good cook. I take a lot of pride in my job and I think I do it well. I also believe that for any job, especially cooking, the whole team has to pull together and work as one. You need to know that the guy next to you is doing their job. You also have to have the guy next to you doing his best, everything that comes out of that kitchen is everyone's responsibility.

They hired a new guy at work about a month ago. They were looking for a line cook and this guy came in with good qualification, maybe a bit over-qualified. They hired him and I assumed he was part of the team.

This was not the case.

The first night we worked together it came time for the end of the night clean-up. Food has to be put away, utensils have to be taken back to the dishwasher, floors swept, etc. This starts in earnest after the kitchen is closed. The faster it gets done, the sooner you go home. When it's time to clean-up, this guy makes himself some food and goes and starts eating. It's acceptable to eat while you work, but stopping to eat is bad form. I went up to him and politely asked him to help finish up so we could get out of there. He ignored me. The next day I said something to the owner. Before I knew it I was in a meeting with the owner and this new guy. He informed me that he was a chef, not kitchen help. He had accolades and skills and didn't do clean-up. He said I had a bad attitude and I better change.

To be clear, up until I met this guy, I was the happiest guy at work. I loved my job, I loved the food I made, and I enjoyed everybody I worked with.

I did my best to get through the meeting and try to put it behind me. That night he told me that I talked too much and I needed to concentrate more. I've always been a proponent of work and talk. The idea goes that you can talk as long as you keep working while you do so. It's an acceptable method in any kitchen. Apparently only he was able to talk, I had to shut up.

So I shut up and fell in line like a good German. I didn't like it, but I liked my job so much that I would do what I had to do.

A week ago I came in early and I was working with the other cook and the owner. We were joking and laughing, just like old times. Then the chef came in. I tried to put on a glad face and continue being gregarious. Apparently this pissed him off because he took me aside and said that if I didn't shape up I was going to get fired.

Needless to say I was upset.

When the other cook and the bar manager asked me why I was upset, I told them. They both said that was unacceptable. You can't go around threatening to fire people without reason. They both said they would talk to the owner about it.

Last night I went to work. The owner asked me if I would go and talk to him in the back. He told me that he was sad that I wasn't happy. He said he had to stand by the chef, no matter what a bad person he was. He said that maybe it would be best if I looked for a different job and that he would give me a good reference.

I was "let go" because I liked my job too much and got upset when someone with no skills came in and started wrecking it.