Workplace reviews and discussion: 香港商赫士盟食品企業有限公司台北分公司

＊You can learn a great deal. After spending a few months there, you basically understand how strict and disciplined a French-style kitchen can be. These principles are useful almost anywhere in Taiwan. On my very first day, I was already loudly reprimanded over my “standing posture” so that the entire kitchen could hear (when speaking to the chef, you have to stand at attention. I want your answer to be only “oui,” the French word for “yes”).

＊The workday is over 12 hours every day. If there is an event, sorry, but 12 hours is basically the minimum. The longest shift I personally worked was 20 hours (arriving at 5:30 a.m. to prepare and finishing at 2:30 a.m.). Therefore, with this kind of stress tolerance, I believe anywhere else will seem like a piece of cake.

＊There is no such thing as onboarding new employees. When you first arrive, no one tells you anything because everyone is too busy. Of course you can’t find something when you’re sent to get it, and then you get yelled at for not finding it... For our mise en place, each person is responsible for a huge number of preparations that the chefs simply don’t teach you. They assume you already know everything; if you don’t, get ready to be yelled at. (You really need to have some skills before going in—don’t be foolishly blinded by your dreams...) Less than a week after joining, each person is responsible for a large number of tasks. If you can’t finish them, no one cares; figure it out yourself~ Or come in early to do them. (You even have to keep track of what ingredients you need and place your own orders. The pressure is so intense R~~ The advantage is that it completely trains you to become a chef who can work independently. To be honest, it has benefited me immensely... But the pressure really is substantial, because the supervisors basically don’t interfere much. If your items aren’t ready, a dish can’t be served, and then it’s bye-bye.)

After saying all this, I just want to tell everyone that although RAW has long hours, low pay, and chefs who are all incredibly awful, you really can learn many valuable things there. I want to caution everyone: even the chef who stayed there the longest lasted only two and a half years. That tells you that this was never a place where you could work comfortably for your entire life~~ It’s more like a limited-time event in a game where your experience points are doubled~

If you don’t come here with an extremely strong sense of purpose, don’t come and try it! Your enthusiasm will quickly be worn away by the high pressure and long hours on your very first day. All I can say is that although it is strict, it’s a place you’ll be grateful for your whole life~~

＊Long hours

＊Low pay

＊Serious atmosphere

＊You really may get hit by Chef Chiang