My Job at a Korean BBQ Restaurant

 

Korean BBQ Worker

I got my first job this past year. I worked at the new Korean BBQ restaurant. It was perfect: high-class, compatible with my prior knowledge of Korean, and seemingly well-paying (spoiler alert: it wasn't). The reality was much less glamorous than I initially imagined.

While I thought they would hire me as a host or server, I got the job of “server’s assistant.” This was essentially a combination of every type of work possible in the restaurant. I did everything that other people didn’t do, which was surprisingly a lot. From bussing to seating tables to getting everything the server forgot to get, I was there to do it all. However, there were some main tasks that I had:

• Bring water to those just seated

• Change grills

• Run food

• Buss tables

The first few weeks of opening were so busy that my feet throbbed at the end of each shift (which could also be due to my work shoes that had absolutely no arch support). Needless to say, life as a server’s assistant was busy and stressful, so let me explain some of these unassuming tasks.

Bringing Water to Customers

Giving customers water seems extremely simple, and it is. However, there were a few reasons this task might become stressful quickly:

• Our plates and cups were often wet/dirty

• You have to watch when the host seats people

• The cups stick together

When a table was first seated, the server’s assistant needed to give them cups, plates, and a jug of water. You had to wipe the plates and check the cups before you brought them out. They often had water or pepper flakes that weren't cleaned off (I learned this the hard way). Then, you had to watch the tables like a hawk to make sure you didn't miss when the host seated someone. Finally, the tiny silver cups that my restaurant used tended to stick together, which became really awkward when trying to give to customers. I looked like I had the strength of a six year old when I tried to pry the cups apart in front of the customers. On top of that, I touched all over their cup right before I gave it to them. It was not ideal.

Changing Grills

One of the distinct things about Korean BBQ is that you cook your food at a grill in your table. When the grills got dirty but customers needed to cook more meat, it was my job to give them a fresh grill. This task was less awkward than giving people water, but still annoying. I had to get the super heavy grill cart, weave it throughout all the tables, and then switch the grill. If switching a burning hot grill seems intimidating, it’s because it is. There is risk involved. I quickly became a pro, but my anxiety would spike every time the grill was stuck in the table and I had to pop it out. My worst fear was that it would accidentally hit a customer and they would sue me. Luckily, that never happened.

Running Food

This task was arguably my least favorite. Because this was my first job, I had no experience in running food to tables. The other servers I saw made the balancing of a million plates look easy, so I thought I would get the hang of it quickly. This was not the case. 

On the first day of the job, I served a rich-looking man his bibimbap. It came with a small cup of sesame oil and gochujang sauce. While leaning over to put the bowl of bibimbap on the table, the cup of sesame oil spilt all over this man’s expensive cashmere sweater. He looked so mad, and guilt ate at me for the rest of my shift. After that, I got anxious every time I had to run food and avoided it at all costs. While the act of punching a ticket, taking the food to the right table, and placing it on the table seems simple, I blame our horrible slippery serving trays for complicating things. They have absolutely no grip and are 100% the reason that I spilt that sesame oil on that man. It was not because I have no balance or experience.

Bussing Tables

When my boss hired me as a server’s assistant, they told me I would help cook people’s meat, get them refills for drinks, and run food. I was not told that I would basically be a busser. Maybe it's because I have a good work ethic and feel guilty if I’m not doing anything, but I swear I bussed more tables than the bussers. And based on experience, bussing Korean BBQ tables is the worst type of bussing there is. This is because Korean BBQ has so many side dishes and different plates of meat. There are about a million plates to clean up after a table leaves. In addition to picking up and breaking down the plates in the back (which results in food getting all over your hands), you have to scrub the red sauces off the white table endlessly and change out all the parts of the grill. It is much more laborious than your normal bussing.

All that said, I absolutely loved this job, the lessons it taught me, and the people it connected me with! While it was stressful at times, I will always be grateful for the positive things that it left me with.

Passive Sentences: 0

Flesch Reading Ease: 81

Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level: 5