4/20/06
I work in foodservice. (SURPRISE!) and I have for while. I’ve only had 2
jobs that weren’t in food service and I hated it. For those of you who sit
behind a desk all day I’m going to give you a peek into the frat and the
inevitable fraternization that occurs.
Working with mostly men is like working in a locker room. Eventually the
conversation will turn X rated. And if you’re a woman and they think your
cool they will see you as just another guy which isn’t hard because you’re
wearing a chef coat that fits like a potato sack. That is when you get
swept up into funny yet salacious conversation. In most other professions
it would be considered sexual harassment but in this industry it’s routine.
If you work in an open kitchen they will usually scope out every girl and
make comments about her anatomy while I stand there and comment about her
shoes or makeup. That’s when they remember I’m a girl and just roll their
eyes.
Being part of the frat is hard because the guys will either help you out a
lot or not at all and they will laugh at you if you make a blooper. Take my
first week at TRIO; I was making peanut butter cookies. The last step was
to add the flour, which I did right except I forgot to turn the 60 qt mixer
down to speed 1. I turned it on while it was still on speed 3 and I
basically ended up looking like I showered in flour. The guys started
clapping and said “We’re a real bakery now.” As I cleaned up my corner (and
myself) they exchanged stories of when they were starting out and did the
same thing.
About two weeks ago I went to reach for a bowl on a high shelf and about
fifteen of them came down in one solid mass and hit me in the face. I
caught them put them to the side and bent over the sink in pain but I knew I
had to shake it off quickly or face ridicule. Turns out I would face that
anyway. The next day my coworker that witnessed it happen told to story to
the others and the all giggled saying “OHH!! Your face!” Jerks!
Anyway…. I love the guys I work with because they see me as one of them.
At my last job they still saw me as prey. I decided to see one coworker
socially and when it didn’t work out, work became a battlefield. I knew I
had made a mistake when we started yelling at each other about the way I
cook my eggs. So the lesson I learned is and I’m not sure how to clean up
this statement….OH I know:
Use the restroom and have dinner in separate rooms…..It’s much more
sanitary.
LA LA LA CHEF
andiepandie31
