In theory, so wonderful. I like food and willing to pay to not have to cook and clean.
In practice, it's tough like any retail sort of job, if you run a business like that it is your whole life. I worked swing shift at a unionized restaurant, it was fine except for the turnover in management and then paying me less than the men who did the same job but easier shifts.
Can confirm. Was a waiter for about 6 months. Everyone there at the very least smoked cigs, weed, drank, and got completely shitfaced almost everyday after the shift. I imagine for cooks they could do it during their shift. Heard meth and crack are very popular too but I never seen it myself.
I think it’s the combo of the stress, the low salary, and high turnover. The ones that stay develop
coping mechanisms. I imagine a few get lucky and get to work at fancy places too.
When it is about food, it becomes bad as soon as it grows from one 'kitchen' to an 'industry'.
They care more about making money than about eating quality. They include poisonous chemicals and think about legal limits instead of leaving the stuff out. They put in stuff that nobody in his right minds would want to eat, just because stuff is cheaper than food.
I have a few friends in the industry. If you are talking about cooking, my opinion of it is mostly negative. Sure, there are many good chefs, but unfortunately, the job is a magnet for people that really wanted to do something else with their life and failed. Those same people are often drug addicts, alcoholics, or just not great people. So, you work with alot of problematic and troubled people. Coworkers being out for prison sentences is common. The pay is not great because there are soooo many people doing it.
Sure, you could find a job at the nicest restaurant in town and avoid some of that, but think about how many of those restaurants there are in your town - compared to how many people in the world think they can cook. It's like winning the lottery to get that job.
I've met some people in those industries whose poor luck in life (particularly prolonged poverty) has led to some unpleasant personality quirks, but that's less of an issue of personal moral failings and more of an indictment of the society we live in.
Can confirm, my friend worked as a cook for 2 different places (not fast food, local restaurants) for a while because he needed money in college. He told me it's the most stressful job he's experienced and the pay wasn't worth the effort. Nobody in the kitchen wanted to be there, in prime hours there are so many orders that they can't help but rush everything while shouting to each other.
I can imagine how tedious that job is, having to make the same food for months except you're always time pressured and told to do it faster. Working as a waiter or cashier is way simpler and I imagine the pay difference isn't massive.