Tucked away in the kitchen corner, those with suds to their elbows tend to go unseen: No celebrity chef accolades, fawning diners or hero status for the humble dishy. Yet dishwashers arguably toil the hardest in a professional kitchen, and a good one becomes a secret weapon – just ask Rene Redzepi, who made his long-serving dishy a company shareholder in 2017.

Deftness in a dish pit can make or break any service. Dishies must dance around waitstaff, naked flames and plumes of steam. Many are modest in their manual labour, others approach the role with pride, and some seem shoulders-hunched resentful as they churn through a wobbly tower of plates, scrub stuck food from piles of pans and make a Tetris masterpiece from glassware. What keeps them coming back? And why is their hard graft viewed as any less impressive than that of the cooks just meters away, whose hot pans have been romanticised in recent years? Delicious food on a dirty plate just wouldn’t wash.

This month on A+, we celebrate the mighty dishy by glancing their way with more than a nod. We whip the tea towel off their shoulder and find out what a day in their steel wool-imprinted fingers is like. Here are the stories of four unsung heroes, from four venues around Perth, told in their own words. 

Nathan McGuckin, Sonny’s

I’ve worked in fast food since I was 13, so getting a job at Sonny’s wine bar is a step up, but I didn’t think anything would come of it. I thought, “I’ll do this dishy job and head into a role in the visual arts.”

When I started in mid-2023, it was for money. I was in uni and I just really needed a job and not many places were hiring. It started off as me just doing dishes and a fair bit of polishing three to four times a week. Since being here, I’ve been watching the chefs work. I thought, “This is so cool, I want to do this with my life.” I dropped out of uni and started my Certificate III in commercial cookery this year. I’ve loved cooking and baking since I was little and I’ve always had a secret: that I could be a chef if I wanted to. Being at Sonny’s has reignited my passion.

I’m transgender, so Sonny’s being an LGBTQIA+ owned and run bar that favours diverse winemakers, brewers and distillers is a great environment to be in. I’m thankful I am in a place that’s so inclusive and where I feel safe. There are quite a few kitchens where being trans is taboo, but the culture is changing. I came out when I was 14 years old and I’m 19, now. I’ve been on testosterone for nearly 10 months and I feel more comfortable as myself, and I’m comfortable being around other people and in environments I wouldn’t typically feel okay in.

Feeling like I fit into place means I’m able to focus on other things like working and getting my certificate, and I can actually see a future for myself now. I see myself hopefully working in a place like Sonny’s; a nice place that serves good, high-quality food. I want to make people happy.

Sriprathip “Nang” Saenmee, Monsterella

It’s crazy at Monsterella on a Friday and Saturday night. In our tiny space, there are two people answering phones, two chefs, five people pumping out about 350 pizzas beside a wood fired oven, and two people running the floor. The dishwashing area is a sink with a narrow corridor beside the chef’s bench; it probably measures 1.5m by 2.5m and there are four takeaway drivers coming in and out, sometimes helping to dry and stack the dishes I wash.

Every second minute, the sink is full and there’s no space for anything, so I’ve got to be quick. Every time a pasta is cooked, the pan comes over, gets washed and passed straight back to the chef. Glasses fall over and plates break, and it happens every week. It’s chaotic but it’s fun. I wear a PVC apron to protect myself from the spray and detergent. When I open up the dishwasher, hot steam pours out, and the temperature rises with people cooking behind me.

There are lots of women working at Monsterella, including drivers that are female. I’m from Thailand and my Italian-Australian husband Swami, the head pizza chef who manages the venue, says women do a better job. They’re more thorough and tend to be more concentrated on work, rather than talking.

People in hospitality generally know the dishy is an important role, but because you’re just washing dishes, it gets looked down on. Some kitchens have a hierarchical system and dishes are at the bottom of that pyramid, and chefs are up the top. It’s a stereotype, but without dishies, the top wouldn’t be able to function: everything stops when you don’t have clean plates and glasses. If the kitchen only has a limited amount of stuff to use, like at Monsterella, the role is definitely valued and acknowledged. Things keep flowing. Which means at the end of the night, everyone gets out earlier.

Sujal Thapa, The Shorehouse

If a dish hand doesn’t keep up with the service, the chefs will not be able to either – things will not go smoothly. I’m one of two or three dish and kitchen hands; we swap between dishes and doing prep. We might organise the cold rooms, the dry stocks, the orders, prep the dishwashing machines and check the bins as service starts. For breakfast, there are plates, trays and cutlery to clean. At lunch and dinner, there are pots and pans, as well. 

It can be a mess when it’s busy. If you don’t keep on washing, the plates and pans stack all the way up and there are chances of things falling. If there are more dirty plates coming in than we can handle, the chef will ask for clean plates and sometimes we’re not able to provide them. At The Shorehouse, there are maybe 400 to 500 bookings a day for breakfast on summer weekends, so that’s a lot of dishes.

I come from Nepal. I’ve been doing a mechanic’s course and the past six months, I’ve had work-based training. I have been juggling mornings in the automotive workshop and evenings in the kitchen, five days a week. My only pay comes from this kitchen job, so it’s helped me a lot.

It’s not easy being a dishy. If you’re not doing it well, some chefs might get angry at you – not every time, but sometimes – so it’s a stressful job. If you like it, it’ll go fine. If you don’t enjoy it, it’s not going to go well.

At The Shorehouse, people do treat me like it’s an important role. They hype me up. They say, “The boss is here”. They know I do the dishes and kitchen prep on time, so they appreciate me. My experience has been good, that’s why I’ve been here almost two years. I feel like a part of the family. And it has made me a better cook at home; I’ve learned to make pastas. 

I might be working as a mechanic later this year, but I’ll miss some of the colleagues and the work environment. It’s been good for me.

Dai “Johnny” Hoang Bui, Lena’s Bar & Eats

I love the atmosphere in the kitchen, at the back of house. Working together in a friendly team, where everyone is helpful, makes me feel good. For some people, working as a dishwasher isn’t easy; it’s tiring every day and we’re always busy. There are a lot of things for a dishwasher to wash: many plates, bowls, containers, pots, pans. For me, I plan to develop my career, so I believe as long as we have a passion for the job, we will overcome everything.

My hometown is Nha Trang city in Vietnam. I’ve been in Perth for 1.5 years and have worked as a dishy in many venues. Lena’s is one of the biggest kitchens I’ve ever worked in. My dishwashing station is very comfortable. We have windows and can see outside, and we get meals at the restaurant. The staff eat together, chat and have fun together.

I’m responsible for calibrating the washing machine, washing everything, organising things properly, assisting the chef with food prep, and mopping and maintaining the kitchen area. Because I love food, working in kitchen is a great opportunity for me to talk to those who are at entry level positions in the kitchen. I want to move step by step. My entry level is the dishwasher. After that I want to be kitchen hand, learning more and more every day. Then I could be a cook, and learn from them. 

I could go from the wok station to the frying station, to the plating station, to dessert. It’s my dream to be a head chef. It would be amazing for me. That’s my motivation when I come to work. It might be a long journey. It depends on my experiences, day by day, trying to improve myself.