👨‍🍳 Day 26: Working in a Kitchen

Thriving in an Australian Commercial Kitchen

For many Working Holiday makers, kitchen work represents the most readily available form of employment, particularly in the bustling hospitality scenes of Sydney and Melbourne. A commercial kitchen, characterised by its fast pace and demanding environment, requires employees to be not only physically resilient but also capable of communicating efficiently under pressure. Were a new kitchen hand to neglect basic food safety protocols, the consequences could be severe, potentially resulting in the establishment being fined or shut down entirely. It is therefore essential that all kitchen staff undergo proper training before commencing their duties. Terminology specific to the culinary industry must be mastered promptly — expressions such as 'behind you,' uttered to prevent collisions, 'all day,' indicating the total quantity of a particular dish required, and 'eighty-six,' signifying that an item is no longer available, are used incessantly throughout service. Having familiarised themselves with these expressions, newcomers typically find that integration into the kitchen team accelerates considerably. The hierarchical structure, ranging from the head chef down to the kitchen hand, determines not only responsibilities but also the manner in which communication flows during service.