cook

sous chef

prep cook

dishwasher

grill cook

Bon Appétit

I truly enjoyed my time working at Bon Appetit. Because they were the company that ran the kitchen at my college, the supervisors were always considerate of my scholastic obligations. I also worked there full-time during the summer, which is when I was able to assist with events where we catered for the school's most significant donors.

During my time here, I developed excellent relationships with both my co-workers and my supervisors, and in a year was promoted to a supervising position. I rose to the challenge and quickly became proficient at my new job. As a supervisor, a typical day began with me getting to the kitchen an hour before service. I would then supervise (and assist) my workers prep the serving space for service (cleaning, re-stocking, etc.), eat a quick meal, and then open for students. After service, I would supervise and assist clean-up, and, if it was the end of the day, it was my job to lock everything up (pantry, freezer, back door, etc.), and return the keys to the safe.

My time at Bon Appetit helped me to learn how to lead a team, as well as how to problem-solve and think quickly. As anyone who has worked in a kitchen will tell you, there are always surprising situations you have to deal with, from taking care of special orders, spills and messes, unprofessional behavior from your staff, workers still learning how to do their job, and any number of other small disasters or difficulties. Nonetheless, that was part of the fun. It was always satisfying to find creative solutions to problems, while making sure that things ran as smoothly as ever.

The most difficult part of the job was the long hours that were sometimes necessary, but this was always made easier by the companionship of my co-workers. Of course, there were some who were unprofessional, which led to difficulties like having to work while understaffed, or with someone who refused to pull his or her weight with the team. However, this helped me to work on fixing these situations. I would bring the problem up with the individual concerned, and if that was unfruitful, then I would take it up with my boss.

The best part of the job is difficult to say, because there were so many enjoyable aspects. I loved being able to learn so many different kinds of things, from simple food prep, to cleaning the equipment or mopping the floor, to serving food to some of the college's most prestigious donors. Most of all, though, I appreciate the friendships that I made there, as well as the valuable work experience I took away with me.

I sincerely enjoyed working for Bon Appetit and found it to be a very busy and enjoyable job that always had me on my feet. I met a lot of great people while working there and the work was not very hard. I was, however, hired as a barista for the company but ended up working as a cashier/stocker there due to not being as experienced as other baristas that were hired, and at that time I was hired, more cashiers were needed but not many people were applying for the cashier position, but rather the barista positions. In the end, we ended up being really short-staffed for cashiers and baristas, and the company kept trying to hire more baristas since they knew no one would want to apply for the cashier positions. There had been a high turnover rate since last August and more people keep quitting their job in search of better opportunities. Management communication is terrible here and even the general manager himself had transferred to another account with nothing to say to the employees, not even a thank you for all our hard work, and there had been promises given to the employees but many had not been actually accomplished. The cafeteria I work in has absolutely terrible cellphone signal, so getting in touch with coworkers, supervisors, managers, and the outside world, in general, is a nightmare. Many rules get put up but not followed in the end anyways and there is barely any recognition for the work that the few of us remaining front-of-the-house employees that remain. Overall, I would say that my time at Bon Appetit had been enjoyable for half the time due to having friends and some dependable coworkers and getting to meet the customers that we serve that have friendly faces. But I believe that this company really needs to look better after their employees cause they seriously overwork some of us and don't hire anyone else or many people just don't want to work here. But that is part of the restaurant industry and it's a good job to work for about a year or so, to at least gain experience in the restaurant industry since it isn't too overwhelming like other restaurants. 

The guests (Amazon employees) are very rude, entitled, impatient and also expect above and beyond and everything to be free. 
There is no standard training or an official trainer. The people they hire all have different levels of experience and they throw them in and expect them to train each other. It's like the blind leading the blind. All while still having to operate the stations. There was a month where they weren't getting any new applicants so everyday they had to call in temps that spoke little to no english and had no experience. Management expected employees to train them WITHOUT TRAINERS PAY.
They pay the lowest compared to other BA accounts in the area, and Amazon/BA management expect above and beyond performance. BA management say it's due to Amazon's budget for low pay wages. 
They mention promoting within the company and they continue to hire outside the company. They seem to favor people who cannot fulfill or "go above and beyond" their job duties.
The higher management unfortunately don't seem to care about their employees. They cannot say "no" to guests no matter how absurd the request. Amazon employees will complain about BA employees following policies and BA management will side with Amazon employees without knowing or asking context of the situation from the BA employee. 
It's understandable how replaceable employees are, but as someone who has lasted 2 years, the constant turn over is regressive to the company and work environment.



When I was employed through Bon Appetit Management Co., I was contracted to Google Inc. I had worked for Google for 2.5 years prior with another catering service and put in 15 months with Bon Appetit. Google was amazing, but the management staff was less than stellar. As part of their management team, I observed a lot of caddy gossip about our employees, conspiring on how to get our executive chef fired and how to best make people's lives miserable so they would in turn quit or get fired. 

In the later days of my employment, I experienced this. My staff and clientele noticed the cold and harsh treatement that I was getting from my managers and I was constantly approached by it. I worked extremely hard and was their longest standing employee, only to get fired with a lame excuse and no information to back it up.

Be cautious of who you work for. Feel our your management. Are they caddy or trigger feelings in you that may lead you to think they're fake?

If you have doubts... don't do it. Your life will end up miserably if you have any form of a conscience. I took a huge pay cut after being let go, and I am more happy being with people who are honest and work hard than with management that sits in their office all day, taking credit for the people who work hard, then talking trash about them.

Aside from the upper management on campus... the staff is great! They are all very positive and driven people that make Google such a fun place for the Googlers to work. They are the true face of Bon Appetit.

, For the last year i have been the director of ops & executive chef to which i am responsible for everything that goes on in the day to day business, menus,ordering all products,inventory,financials,hiring,disciplinary actions when called for, We prepare food for about 2500 meals a day in our main building. We also cater from 2 to 3000 when business dictates. What i have learned in my ten years is to listen. Think before you speak! and that their are 3 sides to every story hers his and the truth..and most of all to be fair and manage down the middle because a good manager is a fair one. I feel i work with a great group of people always willing to help when called upon and do a really good job.The hardest part of the job is when i have a he said she said situation and i know the truth is in the middle, also working for people who take them selves to seriously the ones who think they created food. Cant work for those kind of people. When you save a little kids life with a cure for some sickness then i will look at you differently until then your no better than anyone else in my opinion. the most enjoyable part is putting out great product, running a well run organization, clean,  well organized, happy associates, and teaching the young associates how to run a successful business. the most gratifying  thing for me personally is one of my associate that i took from a dish washer and taught him to run every station in our cafe when everyone thought he was always going to be just a dishwasher. Truly in my heart the best thing i have done at bonappetit.

Manage a team of 5 salaried managers (executive chef, operations manager, retail manager, catering manager, sous chef), 50 full-time employees and 20 part-time employees in providing quality and sustainable food service in a college setting with a full service cafe, pub, coffee and sandwich shop, convenience store and full service catering to the college and local community. 

My time at Bon Appetit has provided me with extensive financial, culinary, event operations, catering sales, and operations management skills as well as the excellent people and communication skills necessary to succeed in this competitive and fast paced industry. Additional skills developed during my time are, budget planning and management, event planning and execution, local and sustainable food procurement, menu creation, menu preparation, vendor negotiations and communication.

My experiences as the Executive Chef and General Manager of Bon Appetit have been very valuable and rewarding. I have had the opportunity to work with a great bunch of talented individuals, all with differing personalities, skills and backgrounds, creating both challenges and great successes that I have grown to appreciate and respect. 

A Typical day working at one of Google's Biggest Cafe's is by all means stressful, It's ALOT to do to open and close this cafe each day and the amount of duties with the lack of co-workers was extremely difficult. The best part of the day is opening regardless of the hectic lunch/dinner service, You meet so many different faces and of-course the usual's and It's great to get acknowledgement from (googler's/Guests) That come in. 
I've learned so much about food handling and everything that goes into making a place clean and safe to work at.
Management was one of the main reasons why I didn't stay in the company due to the fact of being promised positions that I never got but had the responsibilities and duties. Management can do a better job hiring for positions that are really in need instead of over staffing one position.   
Co-workers were the main reason I stayed as long as I did, My FOH team at charlies made an amazing experience there. They are definitely hard workers. 
The hardest part about working there was having to ask for more help during service and being told that it was not needed, even though you can see how stressed we were rushing through out the whole Lunch/dinner service.
Most enjoyable part of the job was being able to meet different people  and try different types of food and learning the correct way to. cook food and know temperatures

Let me start off by saying, I believe that Bon Appetit has the right idea in mind. Attractive salaries, full benefits for FT workers. Great perks for those who work at any of the Google-owned campuses. However, I will say that not all jobs are equal! Some campuses are much more hectic and crazy, whereas others are laid-back with less Googlers to serve. I currently work at one of the new high profile campuses. As it currently stands, we are understaffed and can't properly serve our clients! With new buildings/floors opening, we are struggling to meet their demands. As a result, the employees are getting ridiculously overworked. Some buildings are busier than others, meaning more work for the workers who are assigned to said buildings. Despite this, upper management has taken their sweet time hiring us help, citing "budget" reasons. As the saying goes, life isn't always fair, but I do think that our compensation should be reflect the amount of work we put in on a daily basis. It sucks to hear that fellow employees, whom have much more leisurely entry level positions are being paid more than us who are being constantly overworked every day, with countless more responsibilities.

Underneath a glossy corporate image, full of empty PR about ethics and quality values, is an understaffed meat grinder.  Some of its locations are quality, but not this one.  You'll stay at your hiring wage. Management avoids positive performance reviews to squeeze out a labor cost bonus.  Every year, we'd start out with a full staff, and wind up half-staffed by the holidays.  New hires are targeted to protect established staff, and not replaced until next year.   A buddy relationship with managers is the only way to make it past a single year.  The lack of sanitary standards is obscene, cleaning begins at 1PM.  Sanitizer buckets, while required to be present, remain untouched for 8-10 hours.  Time and Temp logs are retroactively fabricated.  Cut gloves stay on for 8 hours.  Disposable plastic gloves are required, but they cost money.  We'd run low, wash and wear one pair as long as possible.  Meal quality and safety are due entirely to the personal pride cooks take in their work.  We ALWAYS knew when regional management or health inspections were coming, it was the only time we'd see chefs out of their office chairs.  If you care about the meals you produce, it'll be held against you.  If you bring a problem to attention, it'll be considered YOUR problem. This is a dead-end job.  This location is a sinking ship, not a stepping stone.

If you are looking at a job in the food service industry, you better expect that you will not have the best work/life balance.  There is an unwritten rule of conduct in the food service industry:  your dedication to your job is largely graded on how many hours you are willing to work.  If you seek a job where you get your work done and then go spend time with your family...this is not it.  Even a forward-thinking company such as Bon Appetit (they advocate for many human and animal rights issues, which is awesome!) is guilty of this.  I was working an average of about 55 hours a week and I wasn't in operations...yet I was.  EVERYONE is in operations.  

The campus community at JHU was awesome but the client was very hard to please and difficult to deal with.  They had a very adversarial approach that made us feel like they didn't trust us.

I really liked Bon Appetit's commitment to local and sustainable food, their culinary chops and the opportunities to grow in my position.  There are some really talented people there.  The shame is, is they get gobbled up into an awful work/life imbalance.  The ones that are deemed "dedicated" have little or no life outside of work.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Cook 28 salaries reported	$21.64 per hour
Sous chef 5 salaries reported	$26.20 per hour
Prep cook 8 salaries reported	$21.14 per hour
Dishwasher 16 salaries reported	$21.84 per hour
Grill cook 13 salaries reported	$20.59 per hour

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