Cooks Should Be Tipped Out Too… But Do They Even Want it?

It is 11 p.m. on a Friday night and the local Comedy club just cleared out the room after 2 sold out shows. Fries, wings and burgers flew off the grill all night and the cooks in the kitchen are drying off their foreheads as they clock out, just to turn the corner and see the wait staff count out the hundreds of dollars in tips they must distribute. Where is their cut? Line cooks work just as hard as the servers, they deserve to be compensated equally but as one of the cooks rolls his eyes at the money his colleague, Tyler, gently reminds him that, “those tips are just a bonus, it’s not why we do what we do.”

Since the national discourse about tipping the cooks and back of house employees hasn’t found a finite answer I decided to look to the cooks themselves and see what they really want or rather, how much they really want?

One must begin with how this debate first came to fruition. The reversal of a landmark case in 2010 sparked a conversation on how tips are distributed in restaurants and how fair that was to those who worked in the back of the house.

As explained by Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, “On February 23, 2016, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held in Oregon Restaurant and Lodging Association v. Perez that—contrary to a prior decision in a 2010 case—only employees who customarily and regularly receive tips may participate in tip pools, regardless of whether the employer relies on a tip credit in compensating its employees….however, the mandatory pooling of tips must be limited to employees who “customarily and regularly” receive tips, such as waiters, waitresses, bellhops, counter personnel (who serve customers), bussers, service bartenders, and other “front of the house” employees.

A majority of the national response was in support of cooks and dishwashers, who many believe should be tipped as well as the servers. Tweets poured out from many former/current BOH employees in support of tipping out the BOH employees, but the debate rolls on.

This idea that the amount of work you do should compensate how much you get paid is an important notion. However, one must account for hourly wages and the minimum wage.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics states that the mean hourly wage of a Cook in a restaurant (nationally as of May 2017) is $12.71 an hour versus a waiters $12.15 and hour. While the cook is making more an hour, one must factor in tips and the number of hours worked as well as the conditions thet are working in. Servers have the freedom to walk around, take short breaks between tables and are not confined to a small, hot space. As explained in a Washington Post article, “It’s tiny and hot, not much room to move,” Andy Ricker, the chef and owner of Pok Pok in New York told Grub Street in 2013. “You’re dehydrated, and it’s crazy busy; the floors are greasy; there’s flames and water. It’s not like being in Kitchen Stadium.”

After a busy night, the line cooks and BOH employees have to line up the dishes on the floor because there is not enough room on the sink.

The notion that the back of the house should be tipped is important but also comes with many layers within it. Servers interact with customers every day and deal with knowing the entire menu and ringing in orders, communicating with the other staff members and also charging the cards and doing that all correctly and in a timely manner. It is critical to look at the benefits that come from tipping everyone equally. It is vital that we not equate the work of servers and cooks but instead look to make sure, while your pot is full, everyone around you has fair access to the soup.

While we can discuss money, data, laws and what seems fair it is critical to get the voice of those directly impacted by this debate because it can change the outcome of this debate and lead to real change.

Julio S., a line cook at Cobb’s Comedy Club and looks at it like this, “I do my job and I do what I love every day, I’m lucky and I don’t expect any more than my paycheck. Now I’m not saying I don’t WANT a tip, but that’s extra, that’s not why I cook that’s not why I do it.”

Tyler Daniels, in the kitchen and in motion

He expanded by reshaping the debate to look more towards what job you’re doing and hoe well you’re doing it. Julio goes on to say, “I do it for the culture, for the customers to enjoy what they’re eating, I’m doing my job.”

Julio is an example of a line cook who works consistent hours, has 2 jobs and does what he needs to do to support his family and make a consistent check at the end of the day. “I don’t have the time to get involved with the drama that comes with money” he added.

Another example is that of Tyler Daniels, a cook for a number of catering

companies in San Francisco, who doubles down on this notion explaining that he “would not expect a tip, but if they do it’s just extra.” Tyler solidifies the idea that cooks do what they do because they love it. Daniels goes on saying, “I do it for the love of cooking and food. Obviously I would want to be tipped but that’s not what I do this job for.”

Here is why his opinion is not just valid but a key aspect in this debate. Often the voices least represented or covered are those of the people the issue impacts the most. While Julio doesn’t speak for all cooks everywhere, his idea is one shared by some chefs as well.

So where does this leave us? We began with overwhelming support that BOH employees must be tipped out and that will bring fairness and equality back to restaurants. Then, we heard from two cooks who could care less about a tip. So while the opinions may vary it is safe to say that there won’t be a finite right answer in this debate, rather, the need to be open and honest with the workers in your specific restaurant and see what they want and expect from the job. Julio and Tyler are examples of those in the BOH who want a consistent pay check and want to do what they love every day. The answers vary and with that you see that there are always two sides to each debate and both must be heard.