Decisions, Decisions

As I mentioned, job offers are kinda pouring in for me… I’ve pretty much narrowed it down to two places, but I’m having a helluva time choosing. I wish I had more time to check out more places, but I’m going to have decide and start brining in some money ASAP.

On one hand, I’ve got a place that is part of a huge empire headed by a very well regarded chef… I’m not so much in love with the food at this particular outpost, but if I did some time there I can almost certainly move to another restaurant of his that may suit me better. The place is in a great location in Midtown, I wouldn’t have to work lunch (which I hate so, so much) and it has a Michelin Star. That said, there are definitely some hacks working there, and not everything is being done quite as properly as I expected from a place this well regarded. It might be nice to be the best cook in my kitchen again, but honestly, I was hoping to take a step back and learn something new. The pay if pretty standard for entry level in my line of work, and I’d get full time, 5 days, 40 hours.

On the other hand, I have a place headed by a only slightly less famous chef… still has a very good pedigree… some big time people have come out from this kitchen. He has two Michelin Stars, and an immaculate dining room. The kitchen is much more to my liking here, as is the food. There are still a couple hacks, but there are also a couple badasses. I don’t really know if I’m going to learn anything new here either, but I at least will have some very strong cooks surrounding me. The catch here is they want 6 days a week, 10-12 hours a day ( I still wouldn’t have to work lunch, but I’d have to be there early enough that it’ll feel like I am) and they aren’t offering overtime or anything like that… just flat out shift pay… X dollars per shift. It does work out to be almost twice as much a week as the other spot is offering, but it’s almost twice as many hours.

So I’m torn… do I go to the stronger kitchen and make better food?… or do I go to the kitchen where I can shine bright, being that I’d be the only cook who doesn’t have his head completely up his ass? I’ve worked 6 days, 60 hours (or more) for the past two years… I know I can do it, but do I still really want to? On the other hand, can I really afford to not take the job that offers me the most money… I’ll be looking for a new apartment soon, and I know that isn’t going to be cheap… I mean I am living in the most expensive town in the whole fucking country. But is it worth sacrificing every other aspect of my life to be working in the better place? I mean it isn’t like I’ve got boatloads of friends out here or anything, but it would be nice to see my girlfriend once in a while… and there is plenty to see and do while I’m living here… if I work 6 nights a week, I’m never going to do anything… my lone day off will be spent doing laundry, grocery shopping, sleeping, hopefully slipping one into the wife… you get the idea. I came here for the sole purpose of advancing my career… and both of these restaurants can help me do that…but at what cost?