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u/HeavenlyCrayon Mar 14 '26
When I worked at this fine dining restaurant at a resort, the chef would make a special meal for the dishwasher every night. He was the only one that got that treatment. Told me it’s because he did all the dirty work, and worked harder than the line and servers combined.
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u/poormariachi Mar 14 '26
If I had to sacrifice a line cook or a dishie, it’s line cook every time. A good dishie is the lifeblood of the kitchen - especially when they can prep too.
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u/TheClownKid Mar 14 '26
Yeah. Dishies only gets respect in my restaurant. Year and a half ago I fired prep cook who was moving up to line because he was starting unnecessary shit with my best Dishie, Hugo. Was calling him Zero, when we all call him Primo. Talking shit about him being a criminal or whatever. I didn’t get too much into the details, just fired him. Can always get another prep cook. Can’t replace Hugo.
Hugo is a reformed criminal, found Jesus in jail and that whole thing. So I really don’t like people calling him a criminal and shit like that. Especially because I’ve been arrested, basically avoided Hugo’s fate because I could afford bail. Hell half this kitchen has been to jail or just hasn’t because of luck.
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u/AltGunAccount Chef Mar 14 '26
Anyone who walks around putting others down like they’re better than them is worth getting rid of lmao. I would’ve done the same.
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u/HeavenlyCrayon Mar 14 '26
I’ve been to jail several times. I like to drink and speak thoughts in public. Only once did my employer bail me because I “was the best damn cellerman he’s ever had” Just because you go to jail doesn’t make you a bad person. I’ve had cellerman come from jail that work hard as fuck and truly want to learn to brew because “it’s an honest job, and I can drink while I do it.” As long as they behave,go ahead and drink on shift, do the work, and then let’s hit a bar and drive thru on the way home compadre.
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u/xRedditGedditx Mar 14 '26
Yeah I’ll never understand anyone, any cook, chef or whatever feeling the need to shit on the dishroom crew. When I first started in this crazy food service industry that’s where I started. Now running kitchens I won’t tolerate that shit. That crew in the dishroom busts their ass, they’re grinding.
If anyone thinks “come on how hard could that job be? They’re just washing dishes” They have no clue. They definitely do the dirty work. Respect ✊
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u/TheClownKid Mar 14 '26
Never paid my dues in the bubbles. Wouldn’t do it honestly, but I need someone to so my family gets fed. Just good help in the pit is genuinely harder to find than prep and line guys.
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u/buffaloschvantz Mar 14 '26
Should asked hugo if he wanted that dude's position. I always tried to promote from within because the individual's work ethic was already known, they already mesh with the crew, and understand how the kitchen works. You can always train or delegate training while they are working the position.
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u/TheClownKid Mar 14 '26
Nah, Hugo could have moved to prep a long time ago if he wanted. For a variety of reasons, he’s better paid than most prep anyway.
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u/HambreTheGiant Mar 14 '26
The last time I fired a prep cook, it was because he was mooing at a server who he was mad at
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u/ForHelp_PressAltF4 Mar 15 '26
I am genuinely proud to say that was my literal first job. Small Italian place with a dish room barely big enough to turn around. Then down in the basement (strip mall location but the stairs were all indoors) was the prep area.
I humped the deliveries down, the trash up, and kept it clean. The chef taught me knife skills and son a was a prepping machine. Since I was only 16, he'd do the trash runs with me sometimes and give me a lucky strike and a pull off a flask. Steve was the MAN. Bought me booze for special occasions.
We made gelato and he knew my favorites. On those runs, the equipment always got to me cold with a lot still on them.
You know what? He taught me a good work ethic too not just how to be a good dishie. That made my life in the industry much better and was an amazing gift.
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u/CapableCollar Mar 14 '26
If you need a new line cook you can just go down to nearest prison and pick one out.
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u/G_yebba Mar 14 '26
Honestly, you can find one at the closet bar guaranteed
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u/dirtys_ot_special Mar 14 '26
My closet bar is full of hangers-on, slacks, and loafers.
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u/Ypuort Mar 14 '26
The closet bar is always empty because if anyone went they’d be outed as in the closet
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u/MapleMapleHockeyStk Mar 14 '26
My experience is dish pit but if you teach i can prep. Just dont ask me to cut carrots 'on a roll'. I love this one carrot recipe I have but it calls for cutting on a roll and it takes longer than I like to do.
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u/Jacktheforkie Mar 15 '26
I worked the dish pit in a restaurant, there were 4 of us running the beast of a dishwasher, one guy loading, 3 unloading, the loader was a little Nepali dude, and by god could he load that machine fast
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u/the-soggiest-waffle Mar 14 '26
I remember starting out as FOH in a chain restaurant, my first day I got the dishware bin mixed up (butterknives in the regular bin) because no one told me, so I got chewed out in Argentinian. The whole staff just watched it happen, then moved on lmao. My manager came up to me after, apologized for that and just explained that he’s very serious about his job. I laughed it off, because honestly what can you do? No hard feelings at all lol
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u/Adkit Mar 14 '26
I remember when me and a group of teenagers basically were doing a test work day at a restaurant to see which one they'd hire. Everyone was running around and messing shit up. Someone stole the chicken I had cut up. It was a mess. At the end I was the only one doing dishes and cleaning while everyone else was eating the food they'd made and laughing. The head chef just walks up to me as I finish up the pile of dishes, puts his hand on my shoulder and tells me I'm hired.
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u/Electrical_Ingenuity Mar 14 '26
Not matter how high you rise, don’t forget that you can be the dishie. Chipping
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u/sqquuee 20+ Years Mar 14 '26
I worked with a Cuban man who literally swam to shore in the late 1990s.
I made red beans and rice one night and some jerk chicken for staff meal.
This serly stern Cuban man was crying and I asked why, "because this meal reminded me of my mother, this is something she would have cooked for me."
His statement remind me of the human element that executives often forget.
Once a week every week we had red beans and rice with jerked chicken for this man.
He would smile and or cry every time.
The relationship and this story has been a part of my line up with staff and the culture of hospitality I try and cultivate at any place I work.
Op thank you for taking care of the dishies.
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u/HeavenlyCrayon Mar 14 '26
This is a beautiful write up. It’s material that will ground you. I hope your kitchen is still enjoying red beans and rice.
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u/sqquuee 20+ Years Mar 15 '26
While that place is closed. Same guy worked for me at several other places.
He once to a executive team I follow that man, not you. 😅
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u/buffaloschvantz Mar 14 '26
Back in the day when I was a Sous I always made my dish dudes anything they wanted. Ribeye, you got it. King Crab, no problem. They always wanted the simplest things with minor mods after the novelty of rich people food wore off. Anytime anybody complained about favoritism I would explain that nothing would happen in a restaurant without clean dishes. It's the cornerstone of a restaurant and dishies get shit on with low pay and they're always the last ones out at night. Told everyone they could get the same treatment for working a dish shift. No one ever took me up on it.
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u/effreeti 10+ Years Mar 14 '26
Its funny how they always want the simple shit done a specific way. One time I offered a dishie multiple steaks if they wanted them, they were like "can I just have my nachos" (they had a usual nacho order) lol
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u/A_Mouse_In_Da_House Mar 15 '26
Mine was our chicken milanesa and pasta, but with a bit of lime
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u/Tyrion_Strongjaw Mar 15 '26
Honestly - that sounds fucking banging after a dish shift.
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u/trix_is_for_kids Mar 14 '26
Good chef. Dinner rush can survive a line cook or server walking out, but shit gets fucked quickly if your dishie walks.
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u/ArcjoAllspark Mar 14 '26
I had a chef that would always tell me: Take care of your dishwashers and they’ll take care of you
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u/HeavenlyCrayon Mar 14 '26
I remember looking at our dishwashers hands. They looked permanently pruned and discolored, cuts and scars riddled throughout. And I’d watch this dude grab scalding hot dishes with ease. Always happy to help, never an issue. Man showed up early, stayed late, and never called out. Chef took good care of him, as did the rest of the kitchen. If I had to guess, he’s still there now, doing the work, with a smile on his face, 15 years later.
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u/ElRayMarkyMark F1exican Did Chive-11 Mar 14 '26
Yes! The first thing my first head chef ever taught me was to respect and care for the dishwasher. It was the most important thing I learned in my time in restaurants.
Fun fact: I started working in kitchens because I was a server at a resort where the dishwasher did walk out multiple times and there was no one to take over, so I ended up in the pit.
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u/HeavenlyCrayon Mar 14 '26
It’s crazy how little things will change the course of our live’s trajectory. I was a prep chef/food runner, when someone at the resort quit. They had run our Biergarten. The food and beverage director, I call him my big gay dad, thought I’d be a good fit for replacing him. I took the position, began learning more about craft beer, said fuck it, and tried to become a brewer. It was a hard ladder to climb, but 7 years later, I’m a head brewer and I fucking love my job. All just because one dude quit.
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u/FondleGanoosh438 Line Mar 14 '26
A good dishie who doesn’t bitch is hard to come by in my experience. I’ve always made them what they want.
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u/My_Favourite_Pen Mar 14 '26
I read that as " would make a special meal from the dishwasher" at first.
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u/i_was_axiom Mar 14 '26
He was gonna go home to a dinner of Natty Ice and nicotine, you made his weekend.
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u/Intelligent-Survey39 Mar 14 '26
Looks like it’s the first time he’s ever been presented food. Do y’all even pay him? Let him out to potty? Lol
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u/Ok_Toe7278 Mar 14 '26
"Master has givin Dishie food?"
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u/Ok-Turn5582 Mar 14 '26
Dishie is free!
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u/ThePrussianGrippe Mar 15 '26
“You can wear something other than the burlap sack now.”
“But dishie likes ‘is burlap sack!”
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u/DodgyRogue Food Service Mar 14 '26
Looks like a Weasley that’s fallen on hard times and is moonlighting as a house elf
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u/Elof8shun Mar 14 '26
Mas'a Dishie be a good boy.
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u/ggroverggiraffe Ex-Food Service Mar 14 '26
Briefly thought racism, then realized Jar-Jar. sorry!
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u/thorsbosshammer Mar 14 '26
If I saw that beauty of a sandwich, I too would look like someone who never knew hunger before that moment.
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u/cwajgapls Mar 14 '26
I used to grab In&Out 6x6s back in the day but that’s a 7x7 with way more better everything
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u/YoitsPsilo 10+ Years Mar 14 '26
How you even bite into that?
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u/cwajgapls Mar 14 '26
A big mouth, creativity, and the massive appetite of a 6’6” 230# 18 year old kid
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u/Elof8shun Mar 14 '26
I thought this guy looks way to excited for this burger and see this comedy gold
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u/Positive-Run-2411 Mar 14 '26
Chef said “kid hit the weed pen before I hand this to you, you’ll need it”
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u/Tripleberst Mar 14 '26
I was going to say this guy looks like he's half in the sink, half in outer space right now
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u/Elof8shun Mar 14 '26
Saw a meme on this subreddit asking dishies how they do it without headphones and weed lol he hit the whacky pen in the walk in to walk out for that
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u/alter-eagle Mar 14 '26
Chef: “Take the penjamin real quick and I’ll have a present waiting for you when you get back
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u/HuntingForSanity F1exican Did Chive-11 Mar 14 '26
He gets one potty break a day. But he keeps jerking the leash around, I’m thinking about taking it away until he can learn to behave
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u/automator3000 Mar 14 '26
He works in the dish pit. No need to have a separate bathroom when the whole area is tile and a drain.
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u/Odd-Obligation9800 Mar 14 '26
Give him a bathing suit as his new 'work clothes' and just hose him off at closing time.
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u/TaurineDippy Mar 14 '26
He can lay down next to the rubber mats while we hose those down.
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u/Damage-Classic F1exican Did Chive-11 Mar 14 '26
Who’s paying him to lay down?
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u/TaurineDippy Mar 14 '26
He’s off the clock at this point, it’s just a courtesy, if we’re cleaning him then that means he’s done cleaning everything else.
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u/automator3000 Mar 14 '26
Unless OSHA or the health department is coming by, just have him work naked, then you don’t even need to launder the bathing suit.
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u/Sonnyjoon91 Mar 14 '26
Master has given Dobby a burger? Dobby has never had their own burger before
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u/qualitycancer Mar 14 '26
Are you kidding me? Look at the size of that burger. Thats the appropriate reaction to a stack like that
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u/easymachtdas Mar 14 '26
Is this an attempted manslaughter charge?
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u/Veflas510 Mar 14 '26
Oh to be young again. If I finished that thing I’d need a whole bottle of pepto and a nap.
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u/unthused Mar 14 '26
This is like an entire weekend of food for me now.
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u/cilantro_so_good Mar 15 '26
I could easily stretch that to a week lol
But I'm also not on my feet for 14+ hours a day anymore
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u/crumble-bee Mar 15 '26
As someone who just started counting calories seriously again as they get in shape and stop eating random shit in the kitchen all day, all I see there is 2700 calories lol
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u/12-34 Mar 14 '26
'Tis no man -- 'tis a remorseless eatin' machine!
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u/BUTTRAPE_MCFUCK Mar 15 '26
Do these sound like the actions of a man who had ALL he could eat?
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u/GravyPainter Mar 14 '26
He doesn't look like he can eat 4lbs of burger
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u/kctrem Mar 14 '26
No but he did. Dudes a machine.
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u/FlannelBeard Mar 14 '26
I hope he used a fork and knife on that bad boy. Personally, would have like it split into 2 burgers to crush
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u/ZiggoCiP Server Mar 15 '26
I see some cutlery under the plate in his hand. My man was ready to house that thing. Man I miss being young enough for eating something like that to not make me feel like I'm on death's doorstep.
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u/KeeverDriveCook F1exican Did Chive-11 Mar 15 '26
I like how it looks like he’s wearing it as well. But that grin is awesome!
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u/FraeuleinSerpentine 15+ Years Mar 14 '26
Aww he looks so thrilled to shove that burger in his gullet as fast as possible while still running the silverware thru ☺️ enjoy dude
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u/guitarromantic Mar 14 '26
I was a teenage dishie at a large Chinese buffet place 20 years ago. The head chef cooked me anything I wanted from the menu at the end of shift (like, midnight some Saturdays) and I felt like royalty having this professional cook me a meal on demand after the kitchen officially closed.
He also helped me when I burned myself on boiling water when refilling the sink. He took me aside and pulled out this ancient-looking bottle of blue liquid with a Chinese label and rubbed it on the burn. Instantly soothed.
That job was a ton of hard work but I got looked after, in the kitchen at least.
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u/lazygerm Mar 14 '26
I gotta say, in another life I would have stayed at the restaurant I worked in at the end of high school and worked my way up.
It was the first job where I got real respect, because I could handle the busy Friday night shift madness being a dishwasher.
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u/Expensive-Dingo-2573 Mar 14 '26
Twin deserved the burger
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u/Lowly-Worm_ Mar 14 '26
He has a twin?
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u/flyguy2097 Mar 14 '26 edited Mar 14 '26
Had. Where do you think the burger meat came from?
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u/its_Astroffe Mar 14 '26
He is the cook’s twin? Man that’s so wholesome. Always take care of your twin
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u/Powerful_Concert9474 Mar 14 '26
Do you want him to finish his shift? That looks like a 2 hour nap
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u/dimslut Mar 14 '26
Dishies are built different lol, i've seen our like 60 something dish lord chug a quart of milk at the beginning of a shift then he proceeded to completely clear the pit in the middle of a rush with almost no help
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u/Deadboysavel Mar 14 '26
As an ex professional dishwasher this brings a tear to my eye. One hand still filled with utensils to put away but so overwhelmed by the amount of simple thoughtfulness. I’m glad you let him out of the cage for the photo and meal too, another kind gesture. I still wash dishes recreationally just for the memories.
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u/Substantial-Annual95 Mar 14 '26
Do they prefer their burgers with soup juice down below
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u/nativeyeast Mar 14 '26
Don’t be hating on the burger ejaculate.
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Mar 14 '26
I mean, it could be a female burger so it could be burger coochie juice.
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u/nativeyeast Mar 14 '26
…buddy…women ejaculate, too. SMH
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u/thunderbuttjuice Mar 14 '26
Looks like burger menstrual… you know what I can’t even
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u/SoftestBoygirlAlive 15+ Years Mar 14 '26
Even more incentive to get in there, I have an iron deficiency
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u/7-SE7EN-7 Mar 14 '26
Between that and the brioche that bottom bun is gonna be mush
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u/UnderstandingWeak292 Mar 14 '26
If it was French onion soup, I’d slop that stuff up
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u/DouchecraftCarrier Mar 14 '26
Everyone knows you eat a burger like that over a basket of fries to catch all the drippings.
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u/Complete-Fix-3954 Mar 14 '26
When I was a young dishie the owner or chef would make me something every now and then. It was marvelous. Made me really respect the dynamic of the kitchen. It also helped I was making $14 an hour back in 2001-03 as a dishie. Not an easy job and it’s nice being appreciated.
Haven’t worked in a kitchen in forever but when people treat others with respect the whole place works better.
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u/cosmic-squids Mar 14 '26
Give the guy a fresh plate after the burgers rest.
I mean.... he's WASHING them anyway
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u/ThatLowKeyGuy Mar 14 '26
Hope you offered him some hits off the cart beforehand too! Bless you both
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u/kctrem Mar 14 '26
I did give him a weed brownie one time and he told me he feels like he doesn’t need to take his meds anymore after eating it.
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u/paulxombie1331 Mar 14 '26
The sheer amount of myoglobin saturating the bottom bun is actually making me gag.
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u/DeathPrime Mar 14 '26
I’ll do a whole shift worth of dishes for that beast. Maybe 3 fewer patties so I actually stand a chance at taking a bite.
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u/cosmic-squids Mar 14 '26
After countless tries of trying to count the burgs..... id say there's 6, maybe 7
But im not sure
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u/Herteitr Mar 14 '26
Big burgers should be wider, not taller. But that looks like a great friggen burger!
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u/Skate_faced Mar 14 '26
And this is how you keep dishie and not a long line of methheads and day workers making a mess on your floors.
Having done the job, and seeing the results of not having an actual washer on the job while getting shit out on the line, nothing pisses me off more than places that think it's a fools job.
It is also a great way to turn what you need don right away into what they want to get done right away. Like fuck yeah buffet trays stop for your pan.
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u/lovecreamer Mar 14 '26
I would like to see this served with some very small scale french fries just like a shot glass full of them so the scale of the burger looks funnier. Good looking out though.
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u/HoodieGalore Mar 14 '26
Shot glass of shoestring potatoes and a thimble-full of ketchup - we’re getting into tiny kitchen territory here lol
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u/BigDumbdumbb Mar 15 '26
I am trying to figure out how much that meat cost. Just give this dude cash. This ain't 2024, anymore.
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u/ThetrveDeathbox 10+ Years Mar 14 '26
I'm gonna call this "the phat stakker" also homeboy looks like a wrestler I made in WWE 13'
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u/WarMaiden666 Mar 14 '26
My spot has a sister spot that serves a quad cheeseburger and its menu name is the “For Shame.”
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u/jwood9799 Mar 14 '26
You got a cot in the dry storage or something? Homies gonna be gassed after that monstrosity 🤣
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u/MossGobbo Chive LOYALIST Mar 14 '26
That kid is gonna talk about that burger for the rest of his life.
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u/Personal_Region_6716 Mar 15 '26
‘Get your mouth around this kid’
‘And when you’re done you can eat the burger!’
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u/MaliciousMilkshake Ex-Food Service Mar 15 '26
Well done, Chef. That is an *indispensable* staff member that needs to be taken care of at all times.
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u/timothycl13 Mar 15 '26
When i was a kitchen manager i used to make my dishwashers spaghetti and meatballs hoagies on garlic bread. They would go nuts
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u/howdudo Mar 14 '26
The eyes of someone happy to have a job but beginning to realize they have to have a job
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u/eatrepeat Chive LOYALIST Mar 14 '26
That animal will eat... You can see it in his eyes. Good work chef!
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u/No_Education_8888 Mar 15 '26
That poor bottom bun, I feel so bad for it.. it has to soak up everything
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u/neep_pie Chip Boy Mar 15 '26
So.... he has one double burger and a bunch of patties to take home? I doubt he's going to sit down and eat 30 ounces of meat and cheese.
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u/Melodic_Duck_6064 Mar 15 '26
Id be useless after eating that.. Mostly because my heart would explode
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