Hey /ck/ I'm the "manager" at a podunk pizza

Furthermore, I'm posting this thread because I work 80+ hours a week in this pizza parlor and this is basically where I learned and am still learning to cook so all I can do is keep trying different stuff and seeing what works, with whatever I can pick up on google or from asking people more experienced than me. I work with a bunch of plebs who don't give a fuck. Takes forever to drill shit into their head like, for example, cramming a ton of wings into the fryer and letting them sit there in one basket means they don't cook evenly. Or that, since we use frozen bread for subs, giving the bread a quick toast (even if they don't want a hot sub) is crucial because the bread isn't fresh. It's a long and grueling process to try to shape the place up but it seems it is something I have to go through to pay for years of sin. Point is, I don't have tons of culinary experience and it's a long story of how I came to be called "manager" but what is certain is I work really hard and I give a fuck. So any pointers are appreciated.

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>>8461602
When I managed a podunk pizza place we had something like pic related. We got it used for around a hundred dollars. Hang in there, I'm in management now and that door was opened and I got the job because of my restaurant management experience. Managing people is managing people.

>tl;dr

You're utterly fucked, take pasta off the menu, or buy it in precooked and keep a pot on high simmer on that electric piece of shit and buy another POS to saute on.

>>8461602
how the fuck are you even in business

>>8461602
-Hire new workers
-take a entire day to properly clean the kitchen and un-fuck everything
-buy a toaster oven for bread and warming up sandwhiches
-get a proper gas stove
I cant believe that you would wait 2 hours what the fuck
>select all boats

First, I'd say to get pasta off the menu until you get your shit together and get a real stove, or narrow it down to ziti or spaghetti, not both.

Or, two things practically every restaurant with bigger operations than yours does to save time and energy that you can do is making your sauce at least a day in advance and parboiling the pasta the morning of. Then just reheat the sauce and finish boiling each serving of pasta on order. Figure out your daily averages so you're not making more than you need.

You will still have to keep a pot of boiling water going to finish cooking each portion, but it would remove the option of having to freeze servings and leave you time to deal with other shit.

>>8461712
it's probably a slice joint with gril and deli sandwiches, these places like to offer full dinners but they are shit at it

>>8461712
The previous owner (who hired me 3 years ago) tried really hard. The guy went to culinary school before buying the business and he made BOMB pizza. He gave a fuck about all the ingredients, customer service, presentation, everything. Shit went south because of alcohol.

Someone from NY bought it up and I think some of the stuff the old guy taught me is what keeps us alive. I had left for a few months. One night I ordered and it was so fucking bad.. pizza was undercooked, wings were fucked, sandwich was soft and slopped together, etc. Now that I'm back a lot of the quality is back to where it used to be but there are some issues that I am having to work through like this pasta shit. I'm thinking about just cooking the shit at home... but no, fuck that

A lot of locals love us as long as we get our stuff out like it is meant to be. The pasta has been a problem for a long time though. Most of the pasta dinners are around $10 and with the side salad and bread the appeal is that it's decent value I guess.

If I was the actual manager the entire menu would be simplified down to pretty much pizza, wings, and subs I think. But we have a really complicated menu and there isn't much I can do about it right now. I'm not really a manager (It is a small business, the owners are the managers, but they like to say stuff like "I don't work there" because they think they're hot shots) but at the same time I am picking up management skills so it's still beneficial

>>8461737
Yeah, I'm really good at making sandwiches and our wings are the best around. It's probably the only reason we are still open. The place is a joke but I have to try my hardest as long as I have a job to do

Thanks for the advice so far. It has got me thinking. Maybe I will come up with something soon aside from simply not serving pasta.

I don't necessarily have to fix the place, I just have to do my best as long as I have the job so that I can hold my head up high. I won't let this fucking pizzaria break me down

>>8461777
I just had the thought that if you don't already serve lasagna you could do a baked ziti or spaghetti instead. That you could definitely make in full in advance and fulfill your pasta needs without having to deal with the slow boiling pot of water all the time.

>>8461819
We serve lasagna. The bitch about our lasagna is that we don't keep any thawed and defrosting that shit takes almost 10 fucking minutes before we can even put it in the oven. We used to keep a serving or 2 in the fridge but not since our last inspection. Apparently the shelf life is 5 days, and since we let it cool overnight before we cut it, that is already a day wasted on the shelf life. The lasagna is one thing our menu that is actually pretty awesome but again there has to be a better way.

Here's our baked ziti / spaghetti:
>thaw pasta
>mix in bowl with ricotta, mozzarella and marinara
>put a little sauce in the bottom of a 9" round foil, put in baked ziti concoction
>top with a little more sauce and a modest layer of cheese
>bake in dinosaur brick oven on a screen so the bottom doesn't burn
I'm happy with it as long as the pasta comes out right in the first place

That is an idea though, to cut the others and just serve the baked pasta. I hate when people order a plain ziti marinara because that is when you really see how bad our pasta is

goodnight bros

I have a smaller pot I'll take in tomorrow.. will only be able to cook 2 lbs of pasta in it but it is not so thick like the ones we have so I think it could make a huge difference in the boiling time

say a prayer for me
(sage)

>>8461751

if you're serious about this, learn what you can about financial stuff, supply chain, cheap advertising and management and how to make a buck, and when you get the chance, open your own joint after this one crashes and burns. You are the reason it's still open but you shouldn't be killing yourself for $12/hr for the asshole owners, you can run your own sub shop and make a decent living for yourself if the food is good and you aren't a retard.

>>8461751
Call Ramsey.

>>8462669
I make less than minimum wage homie. But yes, I am majoring in business while working 80 hours here. This guy offered for me to buy in as partner or buy the store.. I know better. The building is really old with major fire hazards. But I'm learning a lot, and for how much he's offering to sell this place for I could open 2 restaurants lol. It's all good bros, gotta play the cards I'm dealt here. I won't be in this shit hole forever.

>>8463767
> less than minimum wage

Join a union? Start a union?

What the fuck is this. Are Americans really so wagecucked? Let me guess, you'll be a billionaire one day if you can just learn management here right?? hahah

>>8464946
Unions are virtually illegal in the US nowadays. "Open" shop state laws have all but killed collective bargaining.