A week later, the advisor at NECI contacted me. Colby Hill had gone through a change in staff and found my application. They wanted to meet with me. So I went in for the interview and I guess I said all the right things because they hired me.
A bit of history. When my wife and I got married, she decided not to change her name. She was going through a period of self-discovery and wanted to be her own person for a while (she was coming off a bad marriage when she met me.) A few years later, she and I went to Colby Hill Inn for dinner. We sat down, I opened my menu, and a piece for paper fell out. I thought it was the nightly specials, but it was a letter saying my wife had legally changed her last name to mine. She had arranged with the waitress to make sure I got that menu (that waitress remembered me when I started working there years later.) When I found out that Colby Hill was taking NECI students, I took that as a sign and applied.
I worked with a cook named Brian. I found out that the previous chef had left, and my application got misplaced. Brian needed help in the kitchen and took a chance on me. He hated being called chef though, which might be why we worked well together. He was just another guy making steaks and planning menus. I dare say I learned more about being on the line than I did at NECI.
Long story short, I had a good time there but the owner was a bitch. She had no idea how to run an inn. The place was a glorified bed and breakfast for skiers. While some nights were busy (and by busy I mean we had 2 tables spread out over a four hour period) others were dead and I ended up going home early because there was nothing to do. It was by no means a “busy” place compared to actual restaurants who would do 40 tables in 3 hours. Everyone had reservations so we knew what to prep ahead. Maybe requiring reservations for a place that was empty most of the time added to the supposed status of the place? The owner thought quite highly of herself and acted like this was some big time Michelin Star hobknobbery. At least it was mostly a relaxed environment where I could learn. Supposedly they did weddings in spring, but I wasn’t there long enough to actually cater one. The whole time I was there, we only did two “big” events: a chocolate themed dessert thing, and a fancy 7 course thing. NECI chefs came down to help with the events, so I guess it was a big deal to not only have NECI chefs working it but to have a NECI student involved. Honestly, looking back on it I don’t think I exactly shined at either event. I don’t do desserts, and I mostly just got in the way.
I was supposed to work a set amount of hours to meet the internship requirements. I worked just short of that, but the owner told NECI I had worked the required hours just so she could stop paying me. The place was not making any money. She was constantly arguing with Brian because, in her opinion, he couldn’t make a proper burger, and it was his fault the place had no business. (The reason the place was doing so poorly is because she kept running the place like it WAS making money. She could not admit that skiers were not going to pay what she was charging for “fine dining.” We were making food that was better served in a real restaurant, not a bed and breakfast that served 5 tables a week.) So, I left there a few weeks short of my term. I felt pretty bad, like maybe I had made a mistake. Maybe I wasn’t cut out for a cooking job. Brian would constantly say two things to me. First, he did not have the time to build me up when I was feeling down on myself. Understandable, but consider that a) I was coming off a 3 year period of depression so bad that I couldn’t even leave the house most days, and b) the owner was the chief source of my lack of confidence. She never had anything nice to say to me or Brian, and it was kinda hard to deal with weeks and weeks of it. Second, he was convinced that the reason I was not improving is because he never let me fall. People learn form their mistakes; while I had made my share I never truly fell flat in a disaster. Even the nights I was on the line myself, he was there to back me up if I got into trouble.
The only really cool thing I remember from Colby Hill was the night my wife brought my parents in. They were visiting us for Christmas, and my wife thought it would be a nice surprise to bring them for dinner. I couldn’t get off work that night but at least I could still cook for them. Part of it was that no one told me that they were there. I was on the line myself that night, although Brian was in the dining room working on menus (I did not know that at the time.) My wife ordered lamb, which I could cook but did not like to eat, and my mother ordered duck breast in port wine. I don’t remember what my father had, but knowing his tastes it was most likely steak and potatoes. My mother had never eaten duck before in her life, so I made her first duck and she loved it. At the end of the night, the waitress comes into the kitchen and says the table wanted to meet the chef who made their dinner. Heh. Surprise…
Colby Hill Inn was sold in 2016 and is actually thriving under its new ownership. The place is owned by a former DC chef who actually knows how to run a restaurant. Instead of pretending his restaurant belongs on a pedestal, he is working with local farms and is a part of the community. Colby Hill is making all sorts of headlines for “farm to table” and is being called one of the best new places to eat in NH. Prior to 2016 you’d think the place didn’t even exist (it barely did.)