When people see restaurants with multiple levels of chefs, they probably snort in derision, thinking about “little” family establishments that have survived decades with minimal staff. What those “little” establishments manage is generally loyalists who were there since the beginning, older clientele who have very particular tastes, and the occasional curious visitors who are looking for something outside fast food or fine dining. Chain restaurants with menus that are internationally searchable are a completely different challenge not only because “everyone” knows what is served, but everyone also expects the same taste–every. single. time. There can be no deviation because if there is, people can quickly spread bad reviews and shut down a business. For this reasons, restaurants that are a step up from fast food but a few steps down from fine dining tend to have line cooks, responsible for repeating the same styles every single time, and prep cooks, who are the foundation of most of the repeated favorites.
I worked in a Tex-Mex fast food restaurant, and the place would absolutely be lost without beans and rice, and the prep cooks were constantly replenishing them because we would run out by the end of the lunch rush. Shift managers were required to know how to make all the prep materials because if there were so many customers that we ran out, someone had to know how to handle that. Before thinking that beans and rice are easy, consider that both of them start out bone dry, because that is the easiest way to store them prior to usage. Then, all the spices for the beans, and the spices and vegetables for the rice–tomatoes, bell peppers, and onions–have to be added to trays by the prep cooks. To avoid delays, there are specially-timed ovens that require the prep cooks just to mix the ingredients, pop in the trays, and move on to other tasks, but the beans at our restaurant were mashed, which meant an industrial strength immersion blender. Yes, it was cool. One question that I got from customers was why we stopped serving some of the whole beans, but consider how much more time would be needed to have beans that were mashed and whole. That would be for a kitchen not capable of being run by two people in a pinch.
For my weekly meal this week, I chose meatballs, and that entire process is what inspired me to write on what I am discussing today. Professionals can probably do it much more efficiently, but for me, I added spices to a bowl, added the “meat” (I have made vegan meatballs), mixed all that together, added the binding (egg for meat, oil for vegan), and covering each meatball in flour before frying it until the meatball stayed firm, switching to a deeper pan, making the sauce that covered it, and then covering the meatballs and letting them sit for 25 minutes. That is me alone feeling spontaneous, and I could not imagine how Italian restaurants could do all that without at least two prep cooks on duty during the lunch and dinner rushes. Pizza joints mean dough, and when I worked in a pizza joint during my senior year of high school, I was teased about my inability to slap out 16-inch doughs. Sauce alone takes more time than people think unless it comes from a corporate can–yes, they do that, because otherwise fast pizza chains would have to hire prep cooks.
While I worked in fast food, Lalo worked as a line cook, and there is honestly no comparison between fast food and diner food. Diners provide quick experiences, but also have much wider menus with the same expectation for consistency. As I was considering different menu items that often take longer than one would think, I asked him what he would have found the most daunting if he had to repeat it every time, to which he responded, “Shepherd’s pie and mashed potatoes.” Thinking that mashed potatoes is simple is almost an amateur mistake because my first reaction was surprise–until I considered how long it takes to completely boil potatoes. The last part of mashed potatoes is quick, but the reason my restaurant stopped serving potatoes at 1030a–even with a professional fryer–is because of how long potatoes take to get soft. Shepherd’s pie involves endless seasoning for ground meat and mashed potatoes, and vegetables, just for fun. Having to make that fresh every single time would be a nightmare, so prep cooks usually make enough to suit managerial projections on Monday and Tuesday, and only makes more when absolutely necessary.
What most restaurants do not have are sous chefs, pastry chefs, and meat chefs, because having all of those folks there would make most places bankrupt in about a week. However, line cooks and prep cooks make the dining out experience possible, and most of those are the very migrants that the empire scorns. If restaurants are open in the United States, they likely have armies of line cooks and prep cooks that come from all over, but mostly Latin American countries. None of people’s favorite places would be able to survive if there were raids in the food industry, which lets everyone know that all of this is selective outrage. No restaurant functions without prep cooks, or line cooks for that matter, and if the food industry is continuing to flourish and gain traction, it is because the dominant narrative makes sure that vulnerable migrants are serving their purpose.
Chasing A Dying Empire 