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Behind the Line

Topic: Background

The Skinny: What Makes You You?

Reach way back. What was your very first job?

Dishwasher. I told my parents that I wanted a car. They told me to "go get a job." The closest place of employment was the neighborhood country club. They accepted me as a dishwasher for banq... more »

Last updated: Sep 11 2012

 
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  • Ben Lambert
  • Executive Chef
  • Bread & Tulips
  • New York City
My very first job was at a subway. I worked there through out high school. It actually gave me me some ok prep and organizational skills. Eventually after that I moved on to work at TGI Friday's un... more »

Last updated: Sep 5 2012

 
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Working for my mom catering weddings. I started washing dishes and taking out the trash. I was barely tall enough to see over the table so I just did what I could. Working for my mother is still th... more »

Last updated: Oct 8 2012

 
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My first restaurant job was as a pizza cook with a Chicago style pizza joint in Champaign, Papa Del's. I'll never forget being amazed at the attention to detail from spending hours de-stemming bab... more »

Last updated: Jul 24 2012

 
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Papa John's.

Last updated: Jun 25 2012

 
Chef greg biggers b-w
4ft 11 inches. 98 lb fifteen year old kid as a dishwasher a Quincy's steakhouse. I had to take out trash at the end of the night that was at least 6x as heavy as I was...

Last updated: Apr 24 2012

 
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My first job was at a pizza shop when I was 13 I worked there until I was in my 20's coming back and picking up shifts in the summers.

Last updated: Apr 23 2012

 
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  • Josh Kaplan
  • GM/Beverage Manager
  • Eleven City Diner
  • Chicago, Illinois
Michael's Chicago Style Red Hots..on second street in Highland Park, Illinois. It's still there and owned by the same family. I will never forget one of their maxims I learned on Day 1: "Stir the s... more »

Last updated: Mar 29 2012

 
Melissa2_web[1]
  • Melissa Trimmer
  • Pastry Chef
  • Le Cordon Bleu Chicago, Pastry Chef Instructor
  • Chicago, Illinois
My very first job was cooking at a taco stand when I was 14.

Last updated: Feb 2 2012

 
Jk
I was a busser at a Greek restaurant appropriately named "The Greek Place". I really stuck with restaurants after that.

Last updated: Sep 8 2011

 
Naha_daniella_0036
I worked at a small, soft-serve ice cream shop when I was about 14 or 15. I wasn't very good with operating the (very basic) machine so I did not last long.

Last updated: Aug 5 2011

 
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  • Kevin Nashan
  • Executive Chef/Owner
  • Sidney Street Cafe
  • Saint Louis, Missouri
Bussing,dishwasher, and hosting at my family's restaurant in Santa Fe.

Last updated: Jul 25 2011

 
Jen headshot
My very first job was as a concession stand at a country club pool when I was fourteen. I got to run a grill and deep fryer by myself. On my breaks I would run inside and help the sous chef. He wou... more »

Last updated: Jul 18 2011

 
Kardas-7-em
I worked in a college book warehouse and it was my job to alphabetize returned books, very exciting.

Last updated: Jun 21 2011

 
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  • Hugh Amano
  • Chef
  • Food on the Dole
  • Chicago, Illinois
My very first job was handing out flyers for the mini-golf place in town when I was like 10 or so. This included putting flyers on windshields. I distinctly remember some guy coming out of a grocer... more »

Last updated: Mar 9 2011

 
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  • Matt Haase
  • Executive Chef
  • Rocketbaby Bakery
  • Wauwatosa, Wisconsin
I worked at a hardware store. People that know me now find this hilarious. I could be the least handy/manly man I know.

Last updated: Mar 1 2011

 
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I was a gopher. I filed, ran to the bank, other offices, picked up and dropped of documents.

Last updated: Feb 18 2011

 
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paperboy

Last updated: Feb 10 2011

 
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my first job was working on my grandparents farm, and i did it every summer until i was 16. making hay, cleaning stables... not my cup of tea. no wonder i started in hospitality.

Last updated: Feb 1 2011

 
Pizzadinner-04
Babbages software - I sold video games - and it was awesome. I wore a tie and got a 25% discount, which kind of meant nothing on my $4.25 an hour salary. First restaurant job was pizza delivery dr... more »

Last updated: Jan 15 2011

 
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Bus girl. It really instilled steps of service and always going beyond guests' expectations

Last updated: Jan 12 2011

 
Picklesordinary
First formal job was Bag Boy at Harris Teeter--what a freakin nightmare it was. Previously, I was one helluva landscape groundsman at the house on the weekends for the toughest boss ever--my momma

Last updated: Jan 8 2011

 
Toni roberts- star chefs shoot
Washing and gasing golf carts at Edgewater Golf Club. When I turned 16 I moved into the clubhouse and worked there through highschool. I also did some time with the fryers at Texas Roadhouse where ... more »

Last updated: Jan 7 2011

 
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after babysitting, I do believe that my actual first job where I received a paycheck was at a bakery/cookie shop in a mall. I went there after high school, and worked in the evenings. I also work... more »

Last updated: Dec 13 2010

 
Dk
  • David Katz
  • Executive Chef/Owner
  • Philadelphia, PA
Washing dishes at Menz Restaurant in my town. I was 13.

Last updated: Dec 13 2010

 
5trottersaw
I worked with a friend when I was a freshman in high school. His mom was the manager at a bank card payment processing center. We filed credit card payments all day. Horribly boring, and I wasn'... more »

Last updated: Dec 13 2010

 
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My first job was as a vendor at Shea Stadium in New York where the NY Mets played selling peanuts and sodas.

Last updated: Dec 13 2010

 
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  • Nathan Sears
  • Executive Chef/Owner
  • The Radler and D.A.S.
  • Chicago, IL
Slinging pizzas at Bene's Pizza in Tinley Park.

Last updated: Dec 13 2010

 
Chefjimmyjr
Bussing tables at my father's restaurant.

Last updated: Dec 13 2010

 
Pondering_my_herbs1
  • Adam Seger
  • Mixologist
  • Hum Spirits Co.
  • Chicago, IL
Dish Washer, Uncle Dick's Depot restaurant. Age 12, $1.10/hour, Johnson Siding, South Dakota...and I LOVED it.

Last updated: Dec 13 2010

 
Dan solo
Right after high school graduation I got a job in a factory packing cosmetics for shipping. Thank God they fired me after a week and a half!

Last updated: Dec 13 2010

 
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Besides babysitting my cousins Michael and Tom of NAHA when they were kids...!! My first job was selling candy at the Mill Run Theater in Niles where our late Aunt May was the manager. Everyone in... more »

Last updated: Dec 13 2010

 
Jillg
hot dog girl at a pizza parlor. a friend did it, and got me job.

Last updated: Jan 13 2011

 
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Changing the message board at a small local bank. It was good for about 6 hours a week and got my foot in the door.

Last updated: Dec 13 2010

 
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Working with my dad and washing dishes, peeling a hundred pounds of potatoes and a hundred pounds of onions. Always racing against myself to get better. And i still do that to this day. Try to get ... more »

Last updated: Dec 13 2010

 
Graves
My first job was probably detasseling corn. My first restaurant job was washing dishes.

Last updated: Dec 13 2010

 
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My first job was at a Cheese Steak Shop...it was owned by a woman from Vietnam names "Snow"...i would work after school slicing the meat and making the sandwiches...i actually cut the end of my thu... more »

Last updated: Dec 13 2010

 
Tony_priolo
Dishwasher and before I was 16 I used to walk ponies in corrals at fall events

Last updated: Dec 13 2010

 
Pastry chef patrick fahy b-w[1]
My first job was selling cokes at University of Wisconsin football games - I was 12.

Last updated: Dec 13 2010

 
Stevemcdonagh3(2)
Not counting paperboy, I used to make pitchers of lemonade, ham sandwiches and tuna sandwiches on white bread at home and sell them at the ninth hole of the golf course across the street from my ho... more »

Last updated: Dec 13 2010

 
Chrissycake
If this just means, getting paid for doing something - I would say easter egg hunting. If not, my first actual job would be at a place called Natural Wonders in the shopping mall. It is comparable ... more »

Last updated: Dec 13 2010

 
Fehribach_paul
I was a paper boy for the Louisville Courier-Journal. I was probably twelve. It was a lot of fun because I was the only carrier for that paper in town, unlike the local paper which had a dozen or s... more »

Last updated: Jan 5 2011

 
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  • Jason McLeod
  • Executive Chef/Owner
  • Box Tree Restaurant, Inc
  • San Diego, CA
Gas Jockey

Last updated: Dec 13 2010

 
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janitorial, large office buildings with lots of square feet

Last updated: Dec 13 2010

 
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Mowing the grass. $5/hour

Last updated: Dec 13 2010

 

Last updated: Sep 11 2012