Why I Didn't Tip My Server, and Perhaps You Shouldn't Either
If you live in Canada, you may be experiencing tip fatigue.
Everywhere I shop, whether it’s for my vitamins or other essentials, I am being prompted to tip up to thirty percent.
I work in the tipping industry and have for over 25 years, but it’s becoming quite frustrating, especially with more taxes and fees that seem to be creeping into our bills.
How to Stop Reacting and Start Regulating Your Nervous System
If you have spent years in the industry, you may already know the pattern from the front of the house to the back.
When the restaurant starts to become busy during service, tension between colleagues can rise.
It can be quite common, like a few years ago when a chef scolded me for ringing in the wrong steak for a set party menu —Why the fuck are you ringing the fillet mignon, and not the New York striploin?
Should We Embrace or Reject the Culture of Restaurant Gossip
My industry friend and I were recently having a chat while pouring some chablis and cooking a seafood feast in her kitchen about how easy it is to become sucked into the work gossip.
Way back in my younger days, I used to love hearing all the “tea” going on in the restaurant, and I must admit I’m still an open ear for some of it.
Alcohol and the Hospitality Brain and How to Break the Cycle of Drinking
“Changing the way you think can change the way you drink.”
I spent over 25 years working in restaurants before I realized how deep the drinking culture had its hooks in me. It became normal to roll into each shift hungover from late-night partying.
It wasn't until my mid-thirties that I stopped and actually looked at my relationship with alcohol, not with judgment, but with honesty. What I experienced and realized was that I was drinking on autopilot for most of my adult life, surrounded by an industry that made it not just acceptable but practically ceremonial.
Should You Date Your Colleague? (Don’t Sh*t Where You Eat)
In the hospitality industry, there is a phrase you may hear often: “Don’t shit where you eat.” When it comes to romantic relationships.
Of course, that is not always the case; some of the best connections happen in the workplace and can be long-lasting. For example, some of the co-workers I’ve worked with are now married, have children, and have quite successful relationships.
But I’ve also experienced the other side of it.