Couldn’t resist it, had to open with a song from the Tragically Hip. Esspecially since this is an music posting, seemed a poetic title. Personally, I have always loved the background noise that comes with having it on from the beginning of my shift(one of the first things i do after turning on the range, grill and fryers) to the end of my shift but that doesn’t always mean it goes off once i’ve left, just the music itself changes. if your the one opening the kitchen all you have to listen to is the exhaust fan and other hum’s of the kitchen, music cuts through all that and focuses me on tasks that need to be completed. In some weird ways it helps with brainstorming and creativity. Even when the sh!t has hit the fan it can calm the atmosphere.
I have only been mentioning the positive side of music in the kitchen because the only negative i see to the issue is the volume. When it could be a issue and you can’t clearly hear the person calling out the orders and timing dishes with you it can only take 3 seconds to flip it off and back to plating dishes you go. So really the one negative that can be smoothly and easily changed doesn’t have much leg to stand on.
A curious topic that has popped up around kitchens from celebrity chefs to local chefs. Each i woud assume would have a opinion, be it a lengthy or consider it a mute point that doesn’t garnish any real discussion. so i thought i’d post it and see what other people think.
Having the music playing can change my entire day. Having the right music can make the time fly fast and put me into a zone that makes me rip up the kitchen and be in a great mood. However bad music can really kill the mood as well. For me, I have a hard time focussing with silence. It makes all the voices in my head much louder and distracts the hell out of me. I see arguments going either way, but personally I like music for prep time and cleaning and no music for the rush so that I can call out the orders or hear them effectively as well as communicate to all the other staff members. One thing I always love is hearing the Hip though… never a bad call for me!
I completely agree that music is an integral part of the kitchen environment… actually better yet, of any working environment! I’ve only really worked in a few kitchens but the one when music really saved the day was the slowest one of them all. We’d have 10-15 customers in a regular 8-10 hour day and with all the prep and clean up done in the meantime music would me my only savior from absolute boredom. There’s something calming about the gentle lull of some sort of music (no matter how bad) coming through the room even when you’re stressed and under pressure with orders flying in!
Also, the kitchen is pretty much the only place you can whip out all your horrible dance moves without truly offending someone, so why not do it to music?!
Like you all have mentioned, it’s a personal thing. Some need no music to concentrate at the challenging times, me on the other hand start to slip sometimes during a rush, and by slip i mean get in the weeds because your chit board is more then jacked. A good one for me is any intense Metallica song, and Jimi works as well, but I crank that up. I do not think co-workers mind, I hope not anyways. I mean after all you have to hear it over the bellowing roars of the commercial kitchen. It is something I have been doing for most of the seven years I have been doing this now, so then again it is a personal thing or what one is used to.