I realized pretty soon after I started wearing whites that you could tell what kind of day it was depending on how clean your whites were... not sure if I've mentioned that before, but if I have today was another testament to that notion. A chef told my class that you can tell how a person cooks if you look at their side towels. If they are dirty then they are going to have dirty food, but if they are clean and fresh, you can expect the same from the plates they put out. My food was not dirty tonight, I don't care what the circumstances are I refuse to serve dirty food, but my side towels did pick up their fair share of grease. They look so grungy mostly because of the black residue on the exterior of most pans not because of any food I was handling, but they did look pretty gnarly by the end of the night and I felt they were also a good indicator of the mess I was feeling in my head as I cooked.
I entered my first production kitchen today producing 40 dinner plates for students and faculty. The menu tonight was Roasted Chicken, Pommes Puree (mashed potatoes), glazed carrots, broccoli, pan gravy, and Caramelized Onion Soup. While the food tasted pretty good, we were terribly unorganized in the kitchen. I guess that's Day 1 for ya! I have a feeling I'm going to see many a day like today in my future. But these struggles are part of the job/industry/experience and I have to roll with them. They are painful, as all growing pains are, but I know I will be better for them and that gives me hope. As my friend likes to say, "just another day in paradise".
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