Took a line cook job at 46 and the sous called me a has-been

Last March I left a corporate kitchen manager gig in Columbus to go back on the line at a busy downtown spot. Young sous, maybe 28, watched me butcher a case of trout and said "old timer, you sure you can keep up?" I laughed it off but it stuck. I mean, I've run stations for 20 years, but that one comment made me doubt my own speed. Two weeks later I had the fastest ticket times on the pass. Has anyone else come back to the line after moving up and gotten that treatment?

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karencampbell6d ago

Wasn't the young guy out of line though? Honestly I used to figure a cook who came back down to the line was just killing time, but hearing how you smoked the ticket times flipped that for me. Speed is speed, and it doesn't care how old your back is.

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