07.20.07
What a Difference a Year Makes…
Tomorrow is my one year anniversary of being a chef!
I won’t be able to post tomorrow on the actual anniversary due to a friend being in town for a funeral and what not, so I figured I would use today as the actual anniversary.
 Clip art or not, this is about how I felt my first day. Only I was not a baker. And we had no robotic arms. But you get the point… |
It was interesting to look at today in the light of what is was like walking into to Tirolo that first day a year ago. I remember walking in not knowing what I was in for - only knowing that I knew how to cook - or at least that I thought I did. Looking back on it, I really knew nothing of how to compose myself in a professional kitchen; I spent most of the day trying not to get in the way of those who knew what they were doing. And of course, there is the infamous incident of how I cut myself with the back of a knife that day.
And yet today, I came in to work running the show in the morning, and making all the decisions that influenced how the restaurant would run for the rest of the day. I’m the one who determined who would do which tasks, and how we would deal with any ingredient shortages. In just one year I’ve gone from the guy who wasn’t allowed to do anything without asking first to the guy who everybody else asked questions of before doing anything.
 Yes, this was me today, only less ridiculously stereotypical. |
Of course, that only lasted until lunch actually started today. Erik, my lunchtime pizza chef, is out of town this week, so I’m filling in on his station for him. I have a rough idea of how to work that station, but not when the first three orders slam my station with 11 pizzas all at once. Soon I had more on order as well, and I was in over my head to be sure. Erik would have been able to handle this in his sleep I’m sure, but this station is not my specialty.
Yet all I could think of all the time I was trying to clear my line through the never-ending onslaught of pizza orders (why can’t you people order burgers for lunch?!?) was my original boss, Vic, telling me how to make a perfect pizza. My hands were on autopilot, shaping crusts the way Vic taught me and rolling out pie after pie as fast as I could.
But the real difference that stunned me was how my other line mates - Oscar and Wendy - ran to my aid when they saw how deep in the weeds I was. The result of everyone in creation ordering pizzas at once meant that there was almost no work for them to do. But instead of them just hanging around and watching me flounder, they instantly chipped in and started pulling crusts and helping cook the pizzas in the oven.
A year later, and I’m not just the head of a kitchen, but I’m part of a team. And it’s a great feeling to know that I’m part of a team that wants nothing more than to make sure I’m OK on the line.
Indeed, what a difference a year makes, huh?
Stumble it!
Eize said,
July 22, 2007 at 5:25 am
Congratulations!
In my case, I’ll let you know on March 5, 2008.
Peggy said,
August 4, 2007 at 8:50 pm
Nice!