11.10.06
Two Weeks Left at Tirolo…
I know, this is probably quite a shock to you dear readers, but I couldn’t say anything to you all here. And it’s been killing me!
So yes, as of today, I have put in my notice at Cafe Tirolo, as I have a new job on the horizon - a cook at Restaurant Vero. This is a new restaurant that is the front for a major catering group here in the DC area. And the food is nothing short of fantastic. Add to this the fact that this new locale is fine dining (as compared to cafe food that I do now) and this is an all around fabulous opportunity.
OK, so I can see three main questions coming from you all, so here are the answers to them:
1. Why are you leaving Tirolo?
 What did Johnny Paycheck want me to do with this job again? |
I am leaving because I feel I have learned all there is for me to learn there. As I mentioned before, one of my chef instructors once said to me “Once I could work a shift at any station in the restaurant and do a good job at it, that was the day I quit.” While I can’t work all the stations at Tirolo, I can work all of the ones that I need to know. Basically Sarah decided that I didn’t need to learn any more in my job. I would ask to learn more, but she didn’t want me to learn how to do other things. I decided then and there it was time to move on.
Before people think that I am angry at my boss, or I now hate her, please think again. It is her restaurant and her decision as to what her employees know. I don’t begrudge her at all for this. But at the same time, I don’t have to agree with it either - so to be true to my goals and my career, it is time to move on.
Also, with winter coming on, as I have mentioned before, there is a lot less business at Tirolo, so the hours are way too few for me to feed the old family. Again, I’m not angry that I couldn’t get the hours - you can’t pay your employees more when there is less work coming in… that is a surefire way to close your doors forever. But again, I don’t have to stick around and work too little for my financial needs. So it was time to move on.
2. How did you hear about this place/get this job?
This restaurant is a favorite of both my parents and my in-laws as well. They both independently told me about it, and suggested that I get a job there. In fact, my parents had mentioned that I was a culinary school student to the owners before, and they had said that I should swing by and talk to them. Of course, this happened right as I was starting off at Tirolo, so I sort-of ignored it.
But then things started to go the way of my needing a new job. I knew it was time to start looking for real. So I swung by Restaurant Vero for dinner, and my mom helped introduce me to the owners. The rest, as they say, is history. Well, actually it is yesterday, so I don’t know if that actually qualifies as “history” yet, but here we are.
3. What about the butternut squash soup?
Well, I guess I will have to wait for a dish of mine to be offered up to the public. I have lots of time, and I have one hell of a good recipe now. So I guess it’ll have to wait until I have my own place, huh?
But now it is time to start working some serious hours. Because Restaurant Vero has a major catering operation as well, this means there are hours to be worked. Lots of them. 60 hour work weeks may not be out of the norm.
So how will this affect the blog? I hope to keep it up to date as much as I do now, but there will be exhaustion to work through for sure. So don’t take any chances people - keep clicking those ads if you want to keep seeing me write for you all.
P.S. I am kidding, I will keep writing anyway, even if you don’t click the ads. But why wouldn’t you?…
Stumble it!
Swan said,
November 10, 2006 at 12:13 pm
Congratulations!! I am SOOO happy for you!! This sounds like an excellent opportunity. You must be thrilled!
They are VERY lucky to get you. Knowing from experience what you’re like in the trenches, you’ll be a very valuable asset to their catering team.
Giddyup!!
Robert said,
November 14, 2006 at 6:19 pm
“I would ask to learn more, but she didn’t want me to learn how to do other things.”
Not that you need to post it, but it seems like there must be more to it. I can’t think of a situation I’ve ever heard of where one person didn’t want another to learn. Now, if she didn’t want you to learn because you might leave, or you’d learn a secret recipe or … I dunno. But this just strikes me as a very, very weird thought.
Matt said,
November 14, 2006 at 11:50 pm
Yeah, it seems weird, but that really is what it boiled down to. I tried to learn more, and was rebuked with little explanation other than she could not tell me why she could not teahc me this stuff. It was weird and hard to explain, and I soon realized there were two course of action I could follow in response:
1. Fight it, and try my hardest to learn the recipes any way I could.
2. Start looking for a new job.
I chose #2, and the rest is history.
So the lesson here is that there are always lots of jobs open to you in the field. Getting this new job was really as easy as could be. So if you don’t like where you are, just start looking for something else, get it, and give notice. Easy as that.
Robert said,
November 15, 2006 at 11:49 am
Yeah … I’m still debating. I continue to work my current job (sort of in the education field, which is why the “learning” comment strick me as so odd), while I go to school. It’s too convenient right now not to continue in.
But it’s good to know that it’s relatively easy to find jobs, or at least to change jobs once you’re in the industry. Did you have any inclination to try and find work in downtown D.C.? This is probably a biased comment, but I feel like that’s where more of the “known” restaurants are. (Vero could be 4-stars, I’m just saying that, perhaps through my own ignorance, I don’t know it)…
What drove you to take this job? Schedule? Pay? Location? Cuisine?