I wouldn’t say expert at all. I just really enjoy mixing multiple flavors! It’s more fun! Reminds me of baking and the end result is awesome!
Hmph! Fine, we'll call you a pro then. *grins*
That subtle deviation is why I would stay a cook and never be a chef. To me, chefs forget how to cook. Cooks handle needing to swap out this for that, putting out fires mid shift, saving a basket of fries from over frying because no one remembered they were ready to come up. yes, I've had fun in kitchens as well. *smh*
I once made myself proud. I controlled my anger & stress. it was a Hardee's. The lady running three of them as the top manager told me she would make me "opening cook". She said she would let me have a few weeks "slow" to get used to it. Well, I had two days going slow.
Come in at 4 AM, start prepping out everything, salad bar, biscuits, gravy, chicken, burgers, fries, all of it needed set up to a "morning level". Then, I needed to go on and do a "daily level" which meant needing to be sure I had enough prepped up to do all day. I had to be at this point by 6 AM, morning & daily levels prepped and ready.
At 6 am we opened, morning level gone in 30 minutes, roll into "working the day". This meant keeping on top of orders, restocking what I took from "ready prep", and helping out where needed. I would drop chicken, fries, cut roast beef, check it, fetch biscuits so on. Two days slow, regular lazy days, full crew. Everyone doing well, doing as required, just me needing to help a tiny bit of slack along.
The next day was a Friday, I was down to having only a salad bar lady. All she did was salad bar too. I couldn't get her into the kitchen, and frankly doing so would have broken her. So here I am having all kinds of fun. In walks the big manager and starts shouting off the order box, asking for orders. I'm standing beside her then, as she's come over to where I am and stands. She keeps barking in my ear, I hear bells, see stuff needing done, ...
Her: "Ben, what's your problem? I need these orders right now! Do you have a problem?"
Me: *taking apron and gloves off, handing them to her* "No, I've not got any problem except you lied to me. I'm fixing that right now so no, no more problem." *walks out*
Our full crew was normally six. I usually kept up for three or four. That morning though was pure Hell. My "board" kept being wiped out every time I got it stocked. I was trying to stay in constant prep but could not as I needed to stop (switch gears) and go catch stuff others normally handled, dropping chicken, making biscuit dough, putting in biscuits, so on. There was no way one person could do it all, even the best of us. When she come in as she did, well, I was not in the best of moods. So, she asked and I kept my cool about it, surprisingly for me.
In hindsight, I know that's how fast food joints function. You have that, it's part of how it works. That morning though it was not working. I had phoned out the "list" to get people in and was laughed at. I did all I was trained by that big manager to do. It all still went haywire and South in a hurry. And then she, that trained me and knows I'm doing 160% my best comes in all accusing even while seeing the situation. No, I wasn't going to "stick around" and "plug through" for that. Even as a "joke" it would have been very poor taste.
Bit of a hint. I still agree with her idea of training people to work fast food. Give them three days to "get it" if they don't, send them out, they won't get it. And I'm not talking easy days. No, you put them right into the thick of it. This is much the same way trauma, triage nurses get trained.
"You got red, yellow and black flags, head wounds get red flagged. If they're too bad to treat at first glance, black flag. If it'll take a doctor more than a minute to deal? Black flag. You got more black flags for a reason honey. Now, move!"
And in triage black flags symbolize dead or dying, docs don't get in too much rush for them. For many that may seem backwards, cruel but it is how things work. Doctors argue the point that they are there for the living. Which makes sense, they treat those what can be treated more efficiently first then get the harder to treat problems. The hope being those with a little know might pick up on a subtle hint of the black flag. "Ah, well guess I'm okay then, got a black flag. Would need to set and wait until I die to get treated. Reckon I'll go on. "I'm not dead yet, I feel happy, I feel alive. I want to go for a walk!""
Surprised her a few times too. In a good way. Then, I'll admit I've had a few that were bin bowls. "What the f- was I thinking? Ah, well, .."
