Toronto, The Good the Bad and the UGLY

I've been seeing all these 'bad vibe' postings on Craigslist, specifically in Toronto, so here is a forum to vent, warn, avoid, etc... etc... you get the point.

Toronto seems to have a very large influx of restaurateurs who feel that paying just slightly above the minimum wage is perfectly acceptable, and then when it comes time to even receive your meek pay, you get stiffed, or screwed on hours, or worse.

So I've decided to post this blog as a forum to share your and our horror stories. Remember, we can put these places out of business if they don't provide decent wages and working conditions.

For those of us who HAVE gone through culinary school, or even those who've simply put in the years as line-cooks, cooks, etc. Why isn't that worth anything to these employers??

A recent example is Toronto's own "Nota Bene". They are looking for cooks, with a minimum 2 years experience and are offering up the princely sum of $10/hr. Now this is a restaurant that charges $10 for a soup at lunch, with a lunch time entree averaging around $20. McDonald's will start you at $9.50/hr. regular shifts, benefits, no crazy close down times at 4 a.m. Oh, and if you have any skills, you'll get raises at a regular interval.

Well, there is my starting off rant... please feel free to join in the fun. I will be adding more, believe me!