11.21.07
A Thanksgiving Story
So I am sorry I have not written in so long. It’s not for lack of stories, but the muse has not been hitting me as of late. I just haven’t felt in a “writing mood”, and I don’t think I should be bloviating for the sake of staying current if I think the posts would be mediocre. You, my loyal readers, deserve better.
In that same vein, I still don’t have much of a muse striking me right now with respect to my recent occurrences at the restaurant. There have been lots of exciting events, and I can’t wait to bring you all up to speed. I’m just not feeling it as of yet.
So allow me to keep you all satiated in the meantime with this great story of being a chef on Thanksgiving:
Two chefs are working late on Thanksgiving night. Their restaurant, being one of the very few open that night is actually quite busy - full of families that either didn’t feel like cooking themselves on the big night, or those who had kitchen disasters and needed a last-second option for them and their relatives. As the night wore on, all they could think about how intense this shift was - since so many of their colleagues were on vacation. Wasn’t this supposed to be a holiday after all?
As the night was coming to a close they began the work of cleaning the kitchen, one chef hauling the overflowing trash bags out to the dumpster, while the other took the grease from the deep fryer out to the oil drums for disposal. As the first chef lifted the heavy bag of wet kitchen trash into the dumpster, the bag broke, spilling a putrid mixture of coffee grounds, smashed fries and egg shells all over his legs. The other chef, distracted by his friend’s cry of dismay ended up spilling kitchen grease all over the groud instead of in the oil bucket, and when he went to help his coworker, he slipped in the spill, hurting his leg and soaking his side in old fryer grease.
Covered in kitchen waste, out in the cold late fall night and tired to the bone, the two chefs decide to take a break and share a quick cigarette. As they light up, they look across the back lot at a house with a lit window. There a family is sitting down to a late Thanksgiving meal that has all the trimmings and decorations of a Normal Rockwell painting. A giant turkey adorns the center of the table while the happy family is passing around stuffing, sweet potatoes and biscuits. The laughter and happiness of shared stories and past memories flood the room as much as the wonderful dinner smells. The kids table is surrounded by a series of pleasant kids all enjoying their meal and beneath the table a pair of contented dogs were wagging their tails at the bountiful feast being passed to them by the children above. All in all the family was happy, at peace and content with a spread of bountiful food and pleasant company.
Dressed in trash, out in the cold, and tired from a long night of cooking for others, one chef looked away from this scene and said to his companion:
“How can people stand to live like that?!”
I think it sums up the love of the life you’ve gotta have in order to work the kinds of shifts that come with the territory of being a chef. Sure, lots of other professions fall in the same category, but I can’t stress strongly enough how being a chef is one of those jobs where everyone else has a fun time while you are working. Heck, if you think about it, most of the time you are out with friends having fun BECAUSE there are people working late cooking and serving you. And for the most part - we wouldn’t have it any other way.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
P.S. Before you ask - no, I don’t have to work on Thanksgiving, we are thankfully closed. But I do have to be at work bright and early the next day, and Saturday and Sunday as well. So while you enjoy your nice four day weekend, I get a single day off. It’s a rough life, but I wouldn’t go back for anything.
