Job not as described - Kitchen Assistant Sur La Table Employee Review

1.0
Apr 10, 2012
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The discount is great (40% off regular priced items), and most of the people are really nice, friendly, and highly educated (most of my coworkers had at least bachelors degrees, if not masters). If I wanted to work only one or two shifts a week, they would allow it (getting more than 20 hours a week can be an issue).

Cons

As kitchen assistant, I thought I would be helping teach and assist customers with the classes. I ended up just washing dishes. They hire on too educated of people to have them just wash dishes by hand (not even in a dishwasher)! My chef was also very disorganized and anal all at the same time. He would talk down to his staff and came off as if he was superior to us all. In actuality, he had less culinary training/knowledge than many of the people who worked for him. On top of this, he would get mad at the kitchen assistants for not supposedly not working hard enough or caring. (Making minimum wage, having an advanced degree, and getting belittled...there is little incentive to work hard.). There was also pressure to skip the fifteen minute breaks.

Explore other reviews about Sur La Table

5.0
Jun 12, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- Very fun work - Get to work with professional chefs - You will actually learn more about cooking in this position than you will taking the classes - Employee discounts

Cons

- Low pay with no opportunity for advancement, not a career path - Sometimes kitchen is understaffed, putting a lot of pressure on you

1.0
Jun 8, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

I gained lots of knowledge & was inspired to cook.

Cons

What was once a fun job, became chaotic & sad!

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