Seemingly normal day August 25, 2008

It seemed like such a normal day this morning and I guess it was.  I got here and started what is my usual day.  A little while ago I was getting ready to leave and and one of our managers came by.  I thought we were going to talk about something else.  We’ve been having a group of people come in stealing.  I just knew that was what it was about. I joked with my bosses as we stepped in the back room because after all it was just a regular day. 

He told us that our store manager passed away. All our mouths dropped.  I just saw him. I know that’s what people always say but that’s all I could think.  He’s been out ill but came in a few days ago.  I asked him how he was feeling.  “Better.” I wanted to say more but he seemed in a hurry and I was in the middle of something. 

My shift was over so I started walking out to leave not really sure what to think. 

“What a way to end the day.  I guess I’ll go home and live…” 

…Like you were dying?” replied Shawna and I just nodded.

 Unfortunately it takes things like this to happen to make you realize… here today, gone tomorrow is not just an expression. Tell someone you love them today.  Do that thing you were meaning to do because well… you never know.

We’ll miss you Jerry.

Take me out to the Ballgame June 9, 2008

Ok, so I was cleaning out my inbox and realized I never posted this piece sent out via email on 7/27/07. Anyway here it is.

 

Ok so I got a new job…well two but I’m not ready to discus the other one
yet. I work part time at a fine dining establishment on the garde manger
station or you could just call me the pantry chef. I make salads, prep
desserts and plate them when the order comes in and if I do say so myself it
looks like it came straight out of the Top Chef kitchen.
The restaurant is a little like Hell’s Kitchen minus the incredibly insane
executive chef. There is a lot of :

“Yes Chef.” “Two Minutes Chef”

Sometimes… he yells. My chef is firm but not abusive. He also cuts me a
lot of slack. I like to tell myself that it is because I’m new or because
I’m only there two nights a week but deep down, I know it is because I’m
female. And all I can say is

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!

I’ve heard the way he talks to the guys. It scares me. HE scares me but I
know he means well. He just wants me to be a better cook. He sympathizes
with the fact that I went corporate and as a result walked away from my
passion, my life. During my interview he asked me what the best dessert I
ever made was and at a loss I blurted out-

Tres Leches.
-Tres Leches, that’s simple and really good if done well. I’d put it on my
menu. (insert my smile here)

We also bonded at the fact that I was from Panama and he had been offered a
job in Bocas del Toro, Panama. I felt like I was hitting it out of the
park.

On a side note, I ran into an old customer of mine from Trio. He asked me
when I would start cooking at this new place.

Well… they have me doing this (this, meaning stocking shelves) and I don’t
have time.
-What?!?! That’s like making Barry Bonds the batboy! Well maybe one day they
will see what they got in you.

I smiled. Mostly because I didn’t know who the hell Barry Bonds was and I
was too ashamed to ask. Later a friend told me and I smiled some more.
Aww, he thinks I’m Barry Bonds! I realized I hadn’t completely sold out if I
still had people savoring my Cuban style rice pudding or my suspiro cookies.

Anyhow, I digress. I spent a lot of time trying to be one of the boys but
realized the heat that comes with being male is more than I can handle. He
dosen’t let them half-step. EVER. When Miranda isn’t there I am the only
female cook and Chef doesn’t allow the men to curse or be sexually explicit
around me. I wasn’t used to that. I thought I had to put up with it to be
respected when in reality it was slowly starting to turn me into a potty
mouth kitchen @#$%. Trust me, I’ve met the type; it’s just not cute.

Walking into this restaurant I was expected to know certain things and found
myself being quizzed on a regular basis.

Andrea, what are the measurements for fine dice?
Ok then I need you to fine dice these jalapenos.

Make a 1/5 recipe of anglaise. (Anglaise by the way had been my nemesis at
Trio. I couldn’t get it right. I always scrambled the eggs. I got it right
on the first try that day and I was soooooo proud of myself! Again big
smile)

What are the four appropriate ways to thaw frozen food?

Can you chiffonade this romaine?

Argh!

I knew it. I knew it all. I just didn’t think I would have to prove myself
on an hour-by-hour basis. I also didn’t realize that new job = new mistakes
to make.

A party of 30 came in and they all ordered the same salad. I got out a big
bowl and started making it. After plating them I put them in the window.

30 House salads up!
-Thank you House. (They thank you when you’re finished with the name of the
dish)
He steals a piece of lettuce off one and eats it.
-Wait did you taste this?
Yes chef
-Taste it again
As I’m chewing I start to kick myself
-What do you taste?
Pepper, chef
-Throw this out and redo them, FAST!

Embarrassed and flustered I struggled to redo them.
Lesson learned. Be careful with the pepper.

One day I was fine dicing the jalapenos, which by the way is 1/8 by 1/8 of
an inch. I was happy as a clam that I was getting to work on my knife skills
when my hands started to tingle. By the time I was done my hands felt like
they were on fire. It hurt so bad I couldn’t think straight. I asked my
sous chef and he was like

Aw man, I should have told you to wear gloves.
Shoulda, coulda, woulda, I thought.

He told me to go ask Chef what I should do to make it stop. Chef said that
there wasn’t anything I could do and it should go away in half hour. EIGHT
HOURS LATER my hands were still burning. From time to time I would run it
under cold water to get some relief but it was only temporary. As soon as
my hands were dry the fire would start again.
Lesson learned. Wear gloves when chopping peppers. You can’t punch someone
when your hands hurt.

Later that night I was cleaning the sink out and decided to flush it out
with the hot water on full blast. When I was done I cleaned the shelf above
the sink and my arm touched the pipe. It was scalding hot!

Ow!

I jerked up and slammed my hand against the metal shelf.

@#$#$#@#@$%$#@%#$@%#$@%#$@%$#%@#!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I sighed. The last time I was there I was too close to the oven and burned
a patch of skin off my arm.

Barry Bonds was making rookie mistakes.

The next day I looked at my arm and I had a bar shaped burn on one side and
a big bruise on the other. Oddly enough, I smiled. I had war wounds to
show off again. My hands and arms used to be full of scars where I had
burned and cut myself all in the name of the game. They have healed and
most have them have faded because during the day I work in a safe, plush
environment. Also you can’t burn yourself with a pricing gun.

My moral for today:

Whether you are a rookie or Barry Bonds – find a reason to smile.

Not taking herself too seriously,
Andiepandie31
 

Rainy day February 11, 2008

Lunch at a grocery store is busy. No, really. I didn’t think it woul be so bad but on my first week at J. Jane’s I realized how many people got lunch there. Same at Trio. So anyway, one day in the middle of rush while we were slinging out sandwiches and chocolate cake the ceiling started leaking right over the salad bar. We all were startled by it but kept working while someone got a bucket. Soon the ceiling had water pouring out of it in several places.

My boss looked up. “What the hell is going on?”

I just stared up in awe and the manager went to call someone. Not even he was sure where it was comming from and how to make it stop.

Trio was built in the middle of a rich community. On both sides of city hall there were small shops, restaurants, a spa, and of course the local neighborhood grocer- Trio Market. Above the shops were four
stories of condos that started at a quarter million dollar. Yeah, I know.  Pricey.

Seems our neighbor directly above us was a rich kid whose parents had bought him a “fly pad”. We all later found out the morning of said incident he turned on the water to have himself a bath then decided to get high and ended up passing out.

That was at seven a.m.

By eleven thirty we were flooded and frankly, freaking out. All the food had to be thrown away because the water was a contaminant. Half of the deli and produce cleaned up and went home because until the water stopped and everything could be thoroughly cleaned we were not fit to serve food. A
maintanance crew was brought in and holes were drilled in the ceiling to help drain the water and relieve the pressure it was putting on the roof.

I’m not sure if he was required to pay for the damages incurred on the roof but if I had to bet, knowing the owners, he wrote a big fat check. Or at least his insurance did.

The moral of the story:

Don’t do drugs. You might ruin a good salad waiting to happen.

Stay sober,
andiepandie31

The Cardinal Rule pt 2 February 10, 2008

12/28/06

Already I’m getting mixed reviews about this one. My friends think it funny
but my family is appalled. I write these to tell you the truth about my
life working in a kitchen. You have laughed with and at me and so if you
are shocked by some of the behavior I see, I guess that is fine too. It is about getting a
reaction.
For the record, should they have done it, no. Do we do things like that all the
time- no. I am sorry they did it because I believe in the golden rule and it
just wasn’t right but if someone that is as easy going as my coworker can get so
angry and tamper with someone’s food think about the hotheads or those who
have no conscience. I want you guys to share in my life and learn from my
experiences and that includes times that I or anyone else haven’t been on their best behavior.
Bottom line is don’t upset people that hold the power- in any business. I
was inspired to write about my naughtiness because I had a layover in Denver
on my way here to California. Denver had suffered a severe blizzard and the
airport had only been open again for a day or two when I arrived so there
were plenty of people stuck at the airport. The flight attendant warned us
to be nice to all airport personnel because if we weren’t they would tell us
our flight was full even if there were seats available.

“Don’t tell them I told you but it’s just a tip from me to you.” he said.

I thought about little dirty tricks in my industry and decided to tell you about a couple of them so it would serve as a lesson. I have other stories about stuff like that. Some are far worse. From selling stale muffins to rude customers to the Chef over salting an “idiot’s” fish just to piss him off.

Just be aware that these things happen,

andiepandie31

It’s just business February 5, 2008

3/02/06

Sometimes even when we think we are having a fabulous time things start to
move in slow motion and we think to ourselves – this might be too much. The
drama level at work had become too much for me and even though it always
gave me a story to tell, I really have way too much going on in my life to
have so much stress at work. So I decided to leave. I found a new job
where I was hired on the spot. I was so relieved, it was so easy. When I
turned in my notice on Saturday, I was a little nervous. Shockingly it went
too well because drama pulsates from this place.

These people thrive and must always be tops in the drama dept so on Monday
when I went into work I was told they decided it was in both my and their
best interest to let me go. The reason they cited was that they found out I
was going to work for the competition. Surely they didn’t think I was going
to steal any company secrets. I had worked there for 7 months; I wasn’t
going to learn any new ones in two weeks. Honestly the only real secret I
could have taken with me was the company manual they keep in the office

“How to treat your employees like shit 101″

Meanwhile my coworker who was given notice is still there. Her last day is
Saturday and she is…

Still burning the banana nut bread.
Still using bread flour to make cookies.
Still using plastic containers instead of metal to cool Anglaise sauce.

What they did to me was done out of spite, which is fine because as they say
in Panama……

Whey you spit up in the air, it will fall in your face.

Just a tad disgruntled,
andiepandie31

My Calling February 5, 2008

2/15/06

I had a bad day yesterday. I got some upsetting news and being the
emotional person that I am spent 30 in the walk-in crying. After that I went
to the bathroom washed my face and kept working. Later that night at school
a classmate told a story of her coworker coming back from lunch crying
emailing her boss and going home for the day and I was like……what?!?
Nothing, except death, could make me leave work. Yeah I’m upset but

“I just want to cook.”

I’m sorry I’m getting ahead of myself. Let me explain. My executive chef
was engaged with a newborn baby when his fiancée announced she was leaving
him and put him out of his own house. The next day at work he stood on the
line bawling his eyes out yet still managing to get all the orders out
perfectly. Naturally I was concerned.

-“Jason what’s wrong? Let’s talk”
“I don’t want to.”
-“but I hate to see you cry”
“You know what’s wrong before yesterday I had everything and today I have
nothing”

His voice started to quiver and he turned away
“and I just want to cook”

I looked down thinking “I feel that.”

I have to get reacquainted with my cat some days because I’m gone so long
sometimes, I’m sure she forgets who I am. I’m gone most days for 17 hours
only to do it again the next day. I was talking to a coworker one day he
was telling me his schedule was similar. His motto was:

First you grind, then you shine.

If I never get to shine…..I just want to cook.

Find your calling, I did
 
andiepandie31

Attention to detail January 24, 2008

1/18/06 

My older brother is a bit of a neat freak. A couple years ago I went to
spend Christmas vacation at his house and one Saturday afternoon I found him
meticulously cleaning his guest bathroom; being sure to move and dust
everything. When he was done he turned to me and said

“Do you know what this is called?”
“Um I don’t know – good housekeeping?”
“No, attention to detail. I’ve gotten as far as I have because I pay
attention to the details”
“Um, Ok”

That conversation was short but powerful. I have come to realize that
attention to detail is everything and as I try to build my reputation as a
chef I must pay close attention to the little things if I want to stand out.
Unfortunately Rey’s words didn’t mean as much to me until I watched two
people make very big mistakes.

Our fruit tarts at work are brushed with chocolate on the inside to keep the
pastry cream from softening the pastry shell too quickly. A catering order
came in for a fruit tart without chocolate. Unfortunately that detail
although passed down didn’t stick and the crust got brushed with chocolate
anyway. When the owner came up to us a week later trying to figure out what
happened. We were all horrified to know that a nice lady with an allergy to
chocolate had eaten the tart and had to be rushed to the emergency room.
The store paid for medical expenses but was not to happy that our chef had
made the mistake.

Months after the chocolate incident things were pretty much back to normal.
I was cutting up brownies as I watched a coworker of mine work on an order
our sous chef had given him. It was for 50 roast beef biscuit sandwiches.
I’m not sure why they didn’t follow the order. I just know that the sous
chef said use ham. My coworker put his heart and soul into those
sandwiches. The line cook looked at me and said “It sure is taking him long
with those sandwiches, I mean gosh!” 45 min later he finally put them on a
tray and sent them out for delivery.
The next day the recipient called in wanting a refund.
She said she ordered roast beef because the people attending her event were
Jewish.
Needless to say she got her money back. The sous chef isn’t the sous chef
anymore and the guy that made the sandwiches…. We call him hamboy.

Pay attention people,
andiepandie31

The wrong attitude January 24, 2008

1/11/06 

 My executive chef is a jerk. A big fat butthead. He’s also my friend. A
compliment from him is like saffron, your’e thinking $5 dollars for 20
strands? It’s takes a lot for him to pat you on the back. He on the other
hand is perfect and never makes mistakes. Meet the boss from hell. He is
under the impression that he is god. Outside of work he’s the coolest guy
you’ll ever meet. We are only friends because I’m not afraid to pull him in
the cooler and tell him to chill out; I’m told I will receive a rude shock
when I move on to another job because they are all like that, except for the
friends part. Seated at the right (and left) hand of the father are his
sous chefs, who again……think they know everything. The female is cool,
but the guy…..lets just say if I call you from jail the story will
definitely involve a serrated knife.

My friend and I called this power group the A team because they reminded us
of a high school power clique. You can never get in but worst of all, if
they decided you weren’t cool you’re probably history. I’ll tell you why
most of this attitude radiates from them. Culinard got its name because it
is said to be the Harvard of culinary schools. Culinary + Harvard =
Culinard. The sous chefs are Culinard graduates and for most of us who have
been or are still in school we think we’re the best thing since chicken
stock. For those of you who didn’t get it, chicken stock is the base for
everything, literally. You can use it for soup or gravy, whatever….yet I
digress.

The attitude I’d rather not deal with on a daily basis but I guess I have a
little bit of that too. Now when I first got hired another schoolmate of
mine got hired but because he “had been to culinary school” he wouldn’t
listen to constructive criticism. He sat there and argued with chef and when
they finally put him on the line he couldn’t perform. So he got fired, on
the spot. During breakfast rush.

Have you ever been slapped in the face really, really hard? That’s probably
what that felt like. There was a line out the door and without him we were
shorthanded. We all had to work twice as hard. My tip comes from my
parents and it’s quite simple really-

When you don’t listen you feel.

La chef,
andiepandie31

Why I hate Foodies January 24, 2008

12/12/05 

I don’t hate anyone. Well that’s not true, I hate foodies. These are
people that pretend to be chefs at home so therefore have no problem
approaching us in public or calling us from the kitchen. The reason most of
my colleagues hate them is because they THINK they know, but they don’t.
When you stand on a line, the immediate area where you cook, for 2-8 hours
without a break then we can talk. I started hating foodies when I worked at
Waffle House. No one gave me the time of day until I told them I was
studying to become a chef, Then my food was the best they ever had. I stood
on the line and not only had to put out all the orders correctly but had to
remember as many as 20 orders. Not really remember but I had to read my
plates (company secret) foodies turn chefs into celebrities when really all
we want is for you to respect us because or job is hard. I’ve yet to work
at a place where the sous chef is yelling obscenities at me but when I do I
will probably call my sisters crying, a lot. Working at a restaurant is
like living in Panama, rules were made to be broken. sexual harassment
policies are a joke and your boss is not afraid to call you out and curse
you the hell out in front of everyone…..I cant wait.
But anyway, the funniest thing about these people is their arrogance. Here
is how a typical conversation goes when I meet one in the store.

“Hey! You’re a chef?!?” (Excited)
“Yeah” (said with a sigh of annoyance)
“So you can cook huh” (here come the arrogance)
“Um, yeah…..actually I’m a pastry chef”
“Oh….I’m not really not into sweets you need to start cooking some real
food” (lots of attitude)

Ok the rest of the conversation occurs in my head while i stand there and
smile and nod my head.

Oh I’m sorry, you’re not into sweets. That’s funny because your check to
help me pay tuition didn’t come last month…..HOW’S ABOUT YOU KISS MY……

“Ok I gotta go now, bye”

 Not afraid to curse you out chef,

andiepandie31 

A bad day in foodservice January 22, 2008

11/28/05 

We all have bad days. Terrible, horrible, I don’t want to get out of bed
days. Some of you have it everyday. I hardly ever have one because I LOVE
MY JOB. It’s kind of like high school. You don’t want to be absent because
you might miss some drama. When I do have a bad day I just try to pray it
away because you don’t want to have a bad day in food service. You can’t
just lock yourself in your office because no one has one not even your god
(the executive chef) everyone is in everyone else’s face.

My first pastryteacher taught us that if the pressure gets too high just don’t cry in front of everyone. Go to the bathroom or the walk in cooler. Well imagine my
surprise when both of those places were occupied so I being the genius that
I am went to have a good cry in the freezer. The freezer is kept at about
15 degrees F so of course my tears froze to my face. I kept trying to wipe
them away but none such luck so as I stumbled out of my “office” everyone
looked up as to say “What the hell happened to you?!?” To make a long story
even longer, I never did that again.

A person is smart, people are stupid. Don’t believe me? Come stand next to
me at work and hand out signs to all the stupid people. We make bread
pudding, package it in container and sell it for 5.99. Well a customer came
in and decided she couldn’t eat it all so she asked if she could buy half
and I thought, sure!! Here is half a coke, half a bag a chips, and the other
half of your brain.
One faithful Saturday we ran out of cinnamon rolls…oh the tragedy. The
number of people that came by to double check that fact was an even bigger
one. “Um excuse me ma’am are you sure you don’t have anymore cinnamon
rolls.”, “Um yeah”……….. Fifteen minutes later “Ma’am are you sure your
out of cinnamon rolls, do you have any in the back?” OK stop! What makes
people think I would lie to them? Just for kicks or to lose money?

Another tip: There is such a thing as a stupid question.

Chef andiepandie31