cuisinier

cook

sous chef

commis de cuisine

line cook

Aramark

What is there to say about soul-sucking Aramark? I could write an entire book on the company, how awful it is, how little they put in to their products or care of the elderly, and how much they exploit their workers. They expect too much from their workers for very little reward or pay. Stress levels were always at the maximum level whenever I worked there. People were always fighting with each other and gossiping about each other. The job itself is a lot to learn in a very short amount of time, and with basically no proper training. Benefits are good, and you do get great things like paid sick days and free lunches and/or dinners. However, the company is obviously doing the bare minimum in order to keep workers around longer than a couple of weeks (and many of my co-workers only lasted that long, some only a few days before they quit). 
People there were also constantly overworked (I only ended up working 7 days in a row at one point, but there were a few people who would take 14 days in a row or more). This is pretty good if you need to make a moderate amount of money very fast, but there is basically no work-life balance with this job. One of my jobs was to make dishes for residents with allergies or dysphagia, and part of that was not only to work an overly stressful shift (where you sometimes could not take your break because there was so much to do), after that, you had to go home and spend 40 minutes to an hour writing out the labels that would go on the food (unpaid labor). The managers expected workers to put the same amount of care and dedication into these minimum wage jobs as they would a salaried job. 
To add on to that, if a person called in sick, one morning person would suddenly have to stay and do a 12 hour shift. If you refused to take the shift, management would harass, belittle, and manipulate you until you did. If you still refused, then they would treat you terribly, ignoring you, giving you the cold shoulder, threatening to fire you, etc. This job essentially takes advantage of people who are desperate for money and rings them into putting as much effort as they can in to the job and still only going home with barely enough money to get by. 
None of these personal experiences even get into the meat of what Aramark is as a company...whoever is reading this can look up some of the scandals themselves, but the company is, for lack of a better word, sketchy, and the epitome of what is wrong with capitalism in North America. My mental health was put severely at risk because of this job, not to mention that I have scoliosis, which only worsened from all of the stooping, pulling, pushing, and lifting. Somebody else sustained a back injury while I was there, too, which he needed physiotherapy for. 
Basically what I'm saying is that you should only take an Aramark job if you're desperate for benefits. Otherwise, PLEASE don't subject yourself to this place. Go somewhere else. Get any other minimum wage job. They are just terrible.

A typical day at work starts really early. You have to be there by six in the morning to open the cafeteria. Starting the coffee setting out all the condiments and plastic cutlery. Preparing the tills for the day, setting up the prepackaged snack racks and making sure your surroundings are clean and neat. Through out the day your to make sure there are no unsightly messes and keep everything stocked, deal with customer complaints and requests with a smile and respect and be courteous. If you cannot answer one of their questions kindly and politely redirect them to someone who can. Switching from Breakfast to lunch hour but taking away all the breakfast items and making room for the lunch items. Cleaning up spills from the morning rush and just fixing little things that seem out of place. After lunch you must count the tills and just make sure things are clean and in the right place until about three in the afternoon which is beginning of closing, where you return all the racks to the storage area wash the coffee pots, lock all the fridges and freezers and shut off the lights and lock the doors.

I learned Mostly how to work fast and effectively and how to deal with a customers complains and make people happy, and to always give service with a smile and kindness.

Management was great. My boss and I had a great relationship while staying professional. He taught me a lot about how to be a great employee and that even the littlest things count. He was professional and new how to make customers happy. My co-workers were always there if I had a question in the beginning and where always there to assist me if I needed it. They were very hard working and dedicated people that you could also have (work appropriate) fun with.

The hardest part of the job is being up very early and being home very late. this job was a little over an hours drive from my home. So being there that early was difficult some days. And in the winter months it gets dark earlier. so sometimes it was dark when I would get home. Just driving back and forth in the dark and feeling like you have no daylight to yourself.

I loved the people I would serve, they were always so nice. there was the odd person with a complaint but if you could fix it for them they were grateful for it. It felt great to be able to help people and to spend the day doing something you loved. Learning new things and being around great co-workers and management made this job the best one I have ever had.

Arriving at work to open Cafe shop, Prep 8 thermos of coffee 2 of 4 kinds at the same time open safe and prepare cash register. turn on  all electric appliances that needs to heat up. take out all food that is needed to be set out. EX: bread, butter, bagels, 3 kinds. Milk,  creamers, sugar packets, fruit basket.  Make sure the coolers are up to par. Drinks and juices and beer are in place and is full. Sandwiches, Cold salads, cheese chunks, wraps are full in Cooler.
Wrap fresh muffins,and cookies and set them out. Make sure candy, chocolate bar, chip on rack is full and neat. Make up yogurt desert and jello  bowls place in little fridge. Make sure your hot water thermos there was 2 , was ready for tea. Then you were ready to open your door for your customers.So open  the doors  I  did. My day begins serving my customers. I toasted bread, or bagels for breakfast , and for lunch made hot sandwiches, served pizza slices,made specialty sandwiches when asked for by the customers. I learned how to get everything ready and done in a short time and at a study pace. With  the management , she let us run the coffee shop  on our own, and was their if we needed anything or to place a food or candy or chip order. I had a co work , He had an excellent personality  and  great team worker. The hardest part of the job was closing up on the afternoon shift so I don't miss catching my bus,and have to pay for a taxi home.The most enjoyable part of the job: Was getting to know my customers and serving them and making them smile and knowing they were pleased with their meals also working with a co work that truly understood what team work was all about. EX; If he was working the morning shift and need it off  for something important ,he would ask me to change shifts and when I need something like that he would switch with me. We worked good together at all  times.

A typical day at work would include basic janitorial duties - sweeping, mopping, dusting - keeping the workplace well-kept to industry and client standards.
I learned a few different minor tricks of the janitorial trade but nothing I haven't already experienced in past work. Learned a lot as a Fire Warden - evacuation procedures, calming influence, leadership, reporting.
Management was great for the most part, but it was stated a few times that head office was preventing them from giving extra hours, they were frequently forced to lay people off, and supplies needed for everyday work were cut short because of budgeting reasons.
The workplace culture had its ups and downs. A lot of language barriers between co-workers, some co-workers were forced to pick up the slack of others even when there was strict timelines set in place for each task, some co-workers were hired by head office without all necessary qualifications (Class 5 license especially) which forced co-workers who did have a license to extend their hours for certain tasks, but overall it was a good environment because Management and Supervisors ensured, to the best of their abilities, that everybody had a prominent role in everyday tasks.
The hardest part of the job was the constant uneasiness about job security because of all the lay-offs, working in freezing temperatures outside in the middle of the night, and the long hours and rotations (21 days on with 10-12 hour shifts and 7 days off).
The most enjoyable part was always being able to stay busy and having something to do, and working for a few co-workers who were easy to get along with. Also the free and near-unlimited food as an accommodation was pretty enjoyable as well.

When I went for an interview for another position, they pressured me to take the porter job, because they needed someone to fill that position. The job was insane amount of work for one person working on two sides of the restaurant. After a month working there I saw what was really going on there, I saw the assistant chef harassing the team lead and attacking her, saying I’m going to get you fired in front of me and all the customers in the restaurant. After that the assistant chef was cruel to me, because I saw her doing something illegal and inappropriate. Then came in a unstable lady that was another team lead or something and she was always rude, commenting something offensive to me and one day I got sick and she went nuts saying I don’t sick and she just started talking about rank and she couldn’t keep it to herself, she yelled right in front of the customers. Then she reported me saying nothing but nonsense about me. All of this was rediculous and all the staff ate it up and decided to just scream at me totally insane junk about  charging me $15 dollars for lunches, it was all one sided and it was the accountant that was screaming at me and after that I wanted to see that crazy lady that started this and tell her that I didn’t agree to her fantasy and that she shouldn’t have done that and after I said that she went nuts calling me names and screaming, then she ran off leaving me to do her work. Then, the next day they call my mother to tell her I’ve been laid off. We don’t even have the same phone number. They called my mom to Harare’s me and my moms phone number is only listed as a emergency contact number. If you see this do not work here, anything that happened if you do work here should not be reported to head staff, report it to the ministry of labour.

The durham college location has to be single handedly the worst location in assistance since the new management took over this past September, it all went down hill when the management had no clue what they were doing and crumbled the whole business to the ground, cutting hours but expecting the same amount of work to get done if not more, cutting jobs and letting people go into un qualified positions and kept them there I have seen things that would make kitchen nightmares look like a nice place to eat. The work enviorment consists management not having a clue what they are doing and choosing favourite staff which they allow to micro manage other employees. They allow workplace bullying, they allow staff to bully students and guests with no discipline. There is no motivation or incentive for anyone to try hard as they hire anyone out of desperation and keep them on the job to let the few good employees they have work twice as fast and hard to get work done, you do not get appreciated here. The place is filled and drowning in anxiety, stress, and depression. They will mess up your pays or straight up not pay you for multiple pay periods, some as long as a few months you should also flush your mental health down the toilet if you chose to work here (unless you are insane, for your sake find something else). There is no food safety here, some people dont even know safe food temps yet are allowed to cook food and serve things at unsafe temperatures. I feel bad for the students as i have seen food leftovers made into something else the following days with some past expiration or with no expiration at all. I was disgusted working here and found myself I'll from the food multiple occasions. It is absolutely terrible

Good with accommodating for the hours your available but they cut hours often.
Management is not great and very busy so don’t expect anything to happen quick (promotions. Equipment or problems to be fixed etc) management see lots of problems will let you know what your doing wrong but never have a solution for the problems and expect you to fix them with little to no advice. 
You will most likely start at minimum wage and they will not even entertain a raise for a least a year or more even if your doing more work than others who have no idea what they are doing, you will have to train others who have been there longer to do their job while they get paid more (because they were hired by different management and it’s not new management’s problem is what I’ve been told by management) 
They will tell you often that you will get a promotion and raise “soon” but it will always be verbal and it will never actually happen they only tell you this to keep you happy and working while they need you. 
Kitchen equipment is always broken, always out of stock so your not able to prepare food properly.
People always calling in so your always short staffed as they have gotten rid of everyone other than the absolute bare minimum to  keep operating so you will be expected to do the job of 2-3 ppl at times and will get attitude if you ask for help. 
Lots of time off, can be a pro if your working here just for a little extra income but a definite con if you rely on the income to pay (month off at Christmas, summer off, every weekend, every holiday a week off every few months all unpaid other that summer when you go on ei) 

Typical day
-We usually start in the evening around 3pm-4pm
-Go through a bag check when we clock in
-After signing in we are assigned tasks before the event starts
-During event we are to supply vendors and restaurants with goods that they run out of
-Towards ending of event we do a clean up of empty beer kegs on all levels of the stadium and a clean up of the warehouse
-After event we are to report to the manager and give an update of all tasks that were to be completed
-End of day sign out getting 6-8 hours of work depending on the event

What I've learned
-Protocols and procedures for receiving goods and equipment
-The responsibilities of preserving and storing food items including health and safety factors
-Communication is key when dealing with large quantities of goods that are served to customers on a daily basis, i.e. inventory, and requested goods from vendors and restaurants

Management
-Well organized
-2 or 3 managers always on site in the warehouse
-3 or 4 managers on each level of the building to ensure that there is no miscommunication between the warehouse and the vendors
-Hours are very precise, tracked well and no one is ever short of a payment
-Payments are bi-weekly

Co-workers
-Very fun to be around
-Knowledgable of their job requirements and experienced in our responsibilities 
-Safe and responsible regarding ARAMARK standards

Hardest part of the job
-Getting through heavy crowds of people with goods and equipment on busy event days without anyone getting hurt

Most enjoyable part of the job
-Doing our tasks alongside great co-workers

Overall a good place to work.. has taught me medical facility cleaning, disinfecting and sanitation procedures.. Gained a lot of knowledge and experience with the couple yrs I worked there.. the Aramark employees are wonderful! One thing I had noticed a few times was that the Afternoon Lead hand can sometimes nitpick little things and comes off really blunt, rude. He can disregard complaints about other employees not doing their job meaning you now have extra work to do and can potentially fall behind.. which then causes you to miss one of your breaks, or another employee will need to come help you because the whole route is to be completed within the 7.5hrs.. which is plenty of time if the person who did said route before you actually did their job. There seems to be a lot of favouritism with certain employees. Different rules depending on who you are. Aramark employees definitely get judged and looked down on by in-house housekeeping hospital employees. You sometimes feel less than. Aramark employees clean bodily fluids. They also do not do patient care rooms. The closest you will get to a patient room would be cleaning X-ray, ultrasound or CT. The good thing about Aramark is that you work straight shifts (e.g. mornings/afternoons).  It can take many years before you get your own route, going from part time to full time. Full time employees have benefits and dental. Part time employees are strictly to cover when full time employees are not available so hours can greatly vary without notice. I would recommend working as a custodial service worker with Aramark at Woodstock hospital as there are more positives than negatives. 

Used to be an ok place but has went severely downhill the past few years, not only are some employees forced to work through their lunch breaks they will not pay you for the time you worked through unless you harrass them about it. 

Some staff do not care enough about the quality of food (at least in the south village dining hall, weekends especially) there has been bugs in food, raw chicken served to customers, undercooked food, food swimming in grease and oil and food not held at safe temperatures. 

Management used to be ok but most have quit as they are overworked and forced to work upwards of 14 hours a day and will even keep some employees for upwards of 12 hours a day instead of bringing in other staff to help. The place is severely disorganized and they keep employees who are lazy, rude and/or serve food that is dangerous to eat.

Some of the decent employees are overworked and sometimes are forced to work upwards of 2-3 different jobs at once. It is a very stressfull and negative enviorment, most complaints you have even if serious are tossed out the window as managers are already taking on alot.

To top it off it's based off a seniority system so if you just got hired good luck getting many shifts for the summer as you get laid off for nearly 6 months of the year and only the highest seniority gets the shifts (unless it's very busy in summer will call you in for the odd weekend event)

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Cuisinier 18 salaries reported	$21.05 per hour
Cook 14 salaries reported	$21.25 per hour
Sous chef 5 salaries reported	$21.80 per hour
Commis de cuisine 3 salaries reported	$21.40 per hour
Line cook 3 salaries reported	$21.81 per hour

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