text: When I entered working in a hotel as a cook (late in life) I thought that benefits would follow soon after but found them difficult to obtain. Working in a kitchen is remarkably hard and rewards not tangable. The 30 hours/week in a kitchen before benefits works well for many restaurant owners since it is far cheaper to have more people on staff to limit the hours to hence limit more benefit costs. Working more than 6 hours a day in a busy kitchen is quite demanding. After 10 years the toll on the body forces all but then most dedicated and strong to remain  in the business.  Profitablity in hospitality is precarious due to the highly competitive nature of the business (even chains depend on real estate gains to maintain value) and so minimizing  employee costs usually the main target.