September 15th, 2025

i'm not sure about much, but what i am sure of is that kitchen life is full of drama.

I’ve worked with many different people over the years but, i tell you, kitchen people are built differently.

for one , they feel deeper than you’d think. on the outside they’ll seem so steady and calm, even during the shitstorm of service. But on the inside, they are raging, crying, hurting, fearful, childlike, adults on the edge of snapping.

I haven’t known a single person – server, cook, manager – that hasn’t had some type of personal trauma. it just seems to be part of life for a kitchen staffer to be f’ed up in some form or fashion.

but, i tell you, they are some of the best, most genuine people. if they like you, they’ll have your back and go to the ends of the earth for you. if they don’t like you, watch out!

for example, in my kitchen, there has been a war raging between two of the chef’s managers. they’ll look you dead ass in the face and tell you they’d never ‘intentionally’ screw over the other. haha, if only that was the truth.

And as unprofessional as this may seem, it is very in line with the maturity of people in the kitchen. they will communicate on the line about what they need dropped, but to hell with Communicating about how they feel.

if you think about it, that’s the reason many relationships fail and why all three of my chef managers are divorced, one of them a Whopping three times.

All of the drama, though, starts at the top. as the saying goes, ‘shit trickles down’. our director is duplicitous, talking out of both sides of his mouth, as if he can keep up with all his white lies. making promises he can’t keep. showing favoritism to Salaried managers.

belittling, degrading, and demeaning to those he sees as lesser than himself. need i go on.

workplace politics isn’t just in corporate businesses. and for such a naturally untrusting bunch, having to watch out for backstabbing coworkers is no way to live.

I tend to be the office ‘therapist’. I always seem to be the one that people gravitate to in that regard. it isn’t an easy position to be put in because i’m not the most mentally strong person myself.

but i love to be helpful and i want to be there for people i care about, no matter how much it hurts me.

Kitchen life isn’t for everyone. it certainly isn’t for the weak. but, i’ve made some lasting friendships in the trenches.

i guess that makes the drama worth it in the end.

👽 Aline 💜