While it’s surely the mark of a good consumer to reward a server for taking orders and ferrying food to and from the kitchen, what about the people on the front lines who are making that cuisine happen? Though many restaurants pool tips to ensure that line cooks and other kitchen staff get a piece of the pie, some workers feel they’re not getting their fair share of gratuities. That environment has prompted one L.A. restaurant to add a line to all checks to make up for any tipping gaps.

The chef-owner of Alimento tells LAMag.com that the idea came to him after two of his best line cooks jumped ship for jobs that paid more.

“They couldn’t make it work on their end, and I couldn’t make it work on mine—this is a small restaurant,” he explained. “But at the same time, the servers are walking away with a lot of money. That’s great, but it put an issue in the spotlight that I’ve been aware of for a while.”

The extra, separate line for kitchen staff will be split up among line cooks, dishwashers and prep cooks, he says, with sous chefs and himself the only staff out of that deal. He says his staff is pretty happy about the change.

“They are actually excited,” he says. “I’m guessing people will still default to giving service 15 to 20 percent, but even if they give only a few bucks to the guys in back, it will make a huge difference.”

Alimento Adds Line for Kitchen Gratuity to All Checks [LAMag.com]

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