Work work...

Haven’t had a lot of time to post anything in a while. Been working pretty long hours at Stonebridge; it’s not difficult work, but the kitchen gets pretty hot at times. After working 10-12 hours in front of a char broiler or deep fryer, I walk out of there feeling tired, yet it’s a good kind of tired. I have a feeling of accomplishment. Well, most days. I have more good ones than bad but there is still the occasional slip-up. Most of the time my mistakes are caused by distractions, and I am working to put those out of my way. My job is to make food. Awesome food. I tried the “be friends to everyone” thing for a few weeks and it’s just not working for me, so enough of that. I am not there to like, I am there to cook food. That’s not to say there is the usual kitchen vs waitstaff battle – it’s more like everyone vs one or two prima donnas who think the place revolves around them and their idiosynracies. I just don’t need to get mixed up in all that – when the smoke clears, I don’t wanna be anywhere near the crater.

I applied there as a line cook, and was made sous-chef. I’m back to being a line cook. Sous-chef just was not working for me, and in many ways I was not ready for it. I need more experience being a cook before I can jump up a few rungs of the culinary ladder. I don’t see this as a bad thing either – it’s not a demotion, it’s a chance to step back, regroup, and try again some other time. The Chef commented that I seem more relaxed since stepping back, and I have to agree. We brought in two more people to work the line, but they both had more experience than me. This was kinda awkward, and I felt like I was under a huge magnifying glass, constantly trying to act like I was better than I really am. Anthony Bourdain calls it “swagger” – act like you are the best, and people will regard you as such. However, you need to be able to back that up, and I wasn’t sure I could. Now, the pressure is off. Oh, I know what I can do. I know that I can cook. When a waitress questions my food, I can say with confidence, “no, it’s fine, get it out there” and I know that it will not come back. I can back that up.

The odd thing is, the whole time I was sous-chef, I didn’t do anythng the average line cook wouldn’t alraedy be doing, since I was the only one there. I never really got to BE anything more than a line cook, so I don’t feel like I am missing out on anything (except maybe monthly Inventory, which I had to do once and am glad not to do again.)

Since starting there, I have helped with (or somehow been a part of) several weddings, Easter Brunch, Mother’s Day Brunch, a Customer Appreciation Day cookout, and several special dinners. Coming up is Memorial Day and the Playboy Golf Scramble (Playmates!) It’ll be a busy sunmer, but we have a good team now and it’ll be fun.