Its taxing especially when you work in a busy place. You are on your feet the whole time, maybe not running or walking that much but constantly physically doing something as fast as you can, lifting decent amounts of weight, and having to stay focused on multiple things (what you have cooking, what needs to go down next, who else do I have a spare second to help, what orders are being called out, ect). Its also hot as fuck, which is the worst part, but you get used to that and a trip to the walk in fridge is glorious. There is also the cut, burn, general injury risk, sadly I will never be a hand model for rolex thanks to knives and hot stuff.

But there is something very zen to the challenge of it, in the middle of a crazy night when you are just locked into the zone for hours on end. Assuming its going well its almost like a dance and can be pretty euphoric. My chef in culinary school taught us to think of it as a game and you are trying to win said game. If you get to a head/ sous chef rank and your creativity is what is being sold all this gets even more rewarding because it is your passion people are buying and enjoying.

Of course there are things that can ruin that and make it more of a task (they are called waitresses and customers), but overall if there is a positive attitude in the kitchen its an enjoyable environment. I laugh and have a good time with the people around me almost constantly at my job and I have not experienced that in any other field.

I may just be weird, but there are not many better moments then celebrating with friends you have just conquered something with, and that is the general feeling after a dinner service that you collectively just killed.