so it's been 3 nights on the line and, well it's hard work! wednesday night we were slammed and i got a real taste of what is to come. at one point i had 5 different salads that all needed to be out at the same time. i have to admit, i have no idea how to make that happen, no idea at all. i gave it my best shot and made it work the best way i could. this was the moment i realized how hard this job was, mostly b/c how to work smoothly on the line is not something that can be taught, it is something that needs to be learned through time and experience. this is a frustrating notion to me...this is the first time i've lacked a certain intuition in the kitchen...the logistics of the line are not coming to me as easily as many things i've done in the kitchen and are subsquently causing me lots of worrying and over thinking everything i am learning. i know it will eventually work out, it will just take time and and many more shifts on the line to get into the swing of things. so needless to say i've been a bit burned out.
to help normalize myself i had 2 pilates session with the fabulous Mo, up here, and have spent as much time outside under the sunshine as possible.
town is really starting to fill up with the tourista's....lots of couples wearing matching "Maine" sweat shirts, lots of confused pedestrians baffled by maine's "pedestrians have the right of way" rule, and even more baffled that the cars actually do stop for them. i've already began my search for alternate driving routes to work so i can avoid as much of the tourist traffic as possible...i guess 'tis officially the season!
my parents arrive up here tomorrow for an extended july 4th vacation. hopefully they aren't too worried about the number of mason jars in the fridge...pickles and strawberry brandy. yes i'm attempting strawberry brandy. it needs to sit in the fridge for 3 days, then it gets stored in a dark cool place for a month...i guess the next mention will be the beg. of august when were are all sauced on strawberry brandy cocktails for my mom's birthday. perhaps i will try to make some blueberry as well, how so very maine of me!
and finally the baby pigs are out at work! for those who may not know, we raise pigs (not me personally, but my place of employment) and right now they are soooo cute! apparently over the next month they really begin to fatten up and by the end of july whole loaves of bread can be thrown in the air and the pigs will catch them. they eat lots of slop all summer long to prepare them for use in september. a meat curing space is currently being set up at work...very exciting....it will be sort of like the in house curing done at otto without having to deal with MB's bullshit.....oooh but i do miss that olive oil gelatto, yum!
ok time to go, working 9am shift tomorrow.
e premte, 29 qershor 2007
e hënë, 25 qershor 2007
i'm a line cook!
well last night marked my first official line cook JOB...yes mom, i finally have a real J-O-B!!!
well it must be real b/c my name is up on a schedule . oh yeah and i love it! i started trained at garde manger last night. we are responsible for all the salads, soup, amuse bouche's, and some other items on the bar menu. all i can say was that it was awesome!!! everyone was soooo nice and helpful, willing to offer me advice and help whenever needed.
i won't get into too many details of my day yesterday partly b/c i am pretty fried and partly b/c i have to be back at work in 2 hours to do it all again, but the restaurant is closed tomorrow so hopefully there will be time for more details.
after our last ticket last night (last table) at around 9:30 (got to love maine!) we spend about 2 hours breaking down and scrubbing the kitchen. there is no cleaning crew or service, we are the cleaning crew and service. lots of sweeping, mopping, wiping, wrapping, drying, windexing etc... the highlight of the cleaning was getting to drive on a golf cart like mini pick up truck vehicle to transport the linens, garbage and recycling to the other side of the property.
we got around around 1145 (which isn't too bad) and headed to the black bull in rockland ( the regular bar of the primo staff....so yes there are thing in maine open past 10pm, but last call is at 1245.
ok well more later, have to get ready for work.....
well it must be real b/c my name is up on a schedule . oh yeah and i love it! i started trained at garde manger last night. we are responsible for all the salads, soup, amuse bouche's, and some other items on the bar menu. all i can say was that it was awesome!!! everyone was soooo nice and helpful, willing to offer me advice and help whenever needed.
i won't get into too many details of my day yesterday partly b/c i am pretty fried and partly b/c i have to be back at work in 2 hours to do it all again, but the restaurant is closed tomorrow so hopefully there will be time for more details.
after our last ticket last night (last table) at around 9:30 (got to love maine!) we spend about 2 hours breaking down and scrubbing the kitchen. there is no cleaning crew or service, we are the cleaning crew and service. lots of sweeping, mopping, wiping, wrapping, drying, windexing etc... the highlight of the cleaning was getting to drive on a golf cart like mini pick up truck vehicle to transport the linens, garbage and recycling to the other side of the property.
we got around around 1145 (which isn't too bad) and headed to the black bull in rockland ( the regular bar of the primo staff....so yes there are thing in maine open past 10pm, but last call is at 1245.
ok well more later, have to get ready for work.....
e diel, 24 qershor 2007
my first day of work
before my first day of work I spoke with my grandmother who asked me to start my first day by going up to the Chef and telling her, "my grandma in california says that i'm wonderful and thought you should know that!" needless to say, i didn't not say that to Chef Kelly upon my first minutes working in her kitchen, but my first day was a hit!
i worked an AM shift which is 9-5 doing all sorts of prep work for dinner. The am sous chef, graduated from the CIA in may, but externed at Primo for one of his 3 required externships. he seems like a really nice guy, proving to me that some CIA grads are actually nice people and not as bad as their reputation that precedes them. I spent the day working along side Tom, who is a mid 50's career changer. he worked in pharmaceuticals to put his 2 kids thru college, once they youngest graduated he enrolled in community college in bangor which is a 2 year culinary program. I can't stress enough what a nice guy he is, but still very new to the world of professional cooking.
most of my time yesterday was spent making meat balls...400 meat balls. these particular ones contained ground beef, ground pork, eggs, bread, marjoram, oregano (picked from the garden), parsley, Parmesan, lemon zest, nutmeg and white wine. the test patty i tried was delicious.
one of the guys (whose name i don't remember so we'll call him X) was making food for family meal and asked me if i knew had to make rice in beans. that is one of those things that would NEVER happen in a NYC restaurant. for the 2 months I worked at the Cleaver Company, where 2/3 of the staff was spanish, I saw rice and beans made every day for lunch. rice and beans in usually a staple in many of the family meals in NYC for obvious reasons. X was making rice and beans to switch things up a little, i was very quickly reminded of the cultural differences between NY and Maine, which many might think is a "duh" kind of thing, but in the context of the professional kitchen in a huge thing to get used to. In a kitchen where I have the best knowledge of how to make rice and beans and the dishwashers are all local high schoolers i guess i'm not in Kansas...oopss i mean NYC anymore toto.
So today is day 2, an evening shift, on the line. i'm very excited and equally as nervous. i know it will be intense, but that's why i do this right?
i worked an AM shift which is 9-5 doing all sorts of prep work for dinner. The am sous chef, graduated from the CIA in may, but externed at Primo for one of his 3 required externships. he seems like a really nice guy, proving to me that some CIA grads are actually nice people and not as bad as their reputation that precedes them. I spent the day working along side Tom, who is a mid 50's career changer. he worked in pharmaceuticals to put his 2 kids thru college, once they youngest graduated he enrolled in community college in bangor which is a 2 year culinary program. I can't stress enough what a nice guy he is, but still very new to the world of professional cooking.
most of my time yesterday was spent making meat balls...400 meat balls. these particular ones contained ground beef, ground pork, eggs, bread, marjoram, oregano (picked from the garden), parsley, Parmesan, lemon zest, nutmeg and white wine. the test patty i tried was delicious.
one of the guys (whose name i don't remember so we'll call him X) was making food for family meal and asked me if i knew had to make rice in beans. that is one of those things that would NEVER happen in a NYC restaurant. for the 2 months I worked at the Cleaver Company, where 2/3 of the staff was spanish, I saw rice and beans made every day for lunch. rice and beans in usually a staple in many of the family meals in NYC for obvious reasons. X was making rice and beans to switch things up a little, i was very quickly reminded of the cultural differences between NY and Maine, which many might think is a "duh" kind of thing, but in the context of the professional kitchen in a huge thing to get used to. In a kitchen where I have the best knowledge of how to make rice and beans and the dishwashers are all local high schoolers i guess i'm not in Kansas...oopss i mean NYC anymore toto.
So today is day 2, an evening shift, on the line. i'm very excited and equally as nervous. i know it will be intense, but that's why i do this right?
Abonohu te:
Postimet (Atom)
