howdy lilchef , Im notta chef but I am a cook by trade , congrats on your way up the ladder and staying sober , It is a tuff thing stressful and busy . Most my cooking job's involved being in the bar /rest itsself , shots brought to the takeout window from reg customers pleased w/ there meal , and just friends seeing you knowing its hot as a SOB in there and nuttin like a cold one to take the heat off , Im not so sure you have this same situations but it sure was a daily occurence for my jobs no matter where i cooked . Now 5 yrs later and still sober ive retured often to the kitchen and dont struggle as bad as i used to but it does make me say at times " dang i sure could enjoy a cold one " but saying and doing are two differant things , Im Know that a drink or a quick highs not gonna improve my ability to fix someone that got under my skin or the waitress that cant get her tickets right . matter fact if anything it would just make it harder to focus on the moment and the pile of streaming tickets that are running thu the line , Currently im not cookin , Ive taken a more humbling job , dont pay much but I know doing what Im doing in the job market makes my days a lot less stressful and I am humbled by doing what im doing , Its not bout the $ its bout the happiness one finds in there job , when thats good the money is secondary . lifes to short to be stressed out at work , face it we spend a good portion of our lifes doing that job , should be something were happy at . Im sure your good at what you do , but when it comes down to it . Is the stree worth it ? Maybe something lil less stressful but in the same field . And by the way welcome to Sr I forgot my manors for a moment there . anyhows were glad your here , I dont know if what ive said can help you , but its worth a lil try and share with you my experiences . keep posting , and reading alot of great people around here :ghug3 endzy