Oops, I Did It Again

I will hereby have to extend the "day" of my blog to mean "an entry will be made by 3 am". Blogger cuts me off at midnight and with my new work schedule it seems to be that I often miss the midnight cutoff on Saturday night. I wish it was partying that caused me to miss it this time, but it was actually just work.

I walked in to work today to find a long list of the things I missed when closing last night. Since I seem to get comments every day I come in for my shift I am beginning to expect them and my day usually starts with me thinking "Oh, let's see, what did I forget last night?". It was not actually me forgetting things, mostly "the boys" I closed with, however since it's somehow become my duty to oversee them I inevitably become responsible for all the things that didn't get done.

Today I got to hear about the dish pit area not being mopped, about the walk-in fridge having stuff thrown in it every which way, the dirty bowls in the salad area, the cheese container being left empty, the Chef's knives not being clean and ... well, the list went on and on. Honestly, it made me want to turn around and go home. When you start off your day like that, can you really brush things off and go "oh well, eff the list. I'll just put in my time and go home and all is right with the world?" I am frustrated. I am always the first one in and the last one out. Because I'm always the first one in I always the one who gets the brunt of Chef's frustration. Because I'm always the last one out, all things somehow become my responsibility. And no, don't tell me that's what it's like when you're a Chef because that's just it: when you're a Chef you get to tell others what to do, you don't do it yourself anymore!

I had a few words of my own to get off my chest and so after I asked Chef not to interrupt me I said my piece as well. We agreed that I had a right to be frustrated, as had he. We had also agreed that "the boys" and I are equal as far as responsibilities go and therefore it is not my job to watch them mop the floor and go "excuse me, young man, you missed a spot."

At the end of the night Chef bought me a drink. In my book it was an apology for his dumping on me. He said it was for a job well done. "Enjoy your drink, you did an outstanding job tonight."
I still think it's because he felt badly about the earlier outburst. You feel free to tell me what you think.

Timing Is Everything

Not long ago I would have been the happiest woman in the Village to have first dibs on a Sous job at Slack's. Instead, the reality of a long commute, cost of parking and other considerations have taken a front seat and rendered me unable to be excited, or even accept the offer. To put this simply, I could work at Slacks if I was willing, the job is mine starting tomorrow. The trouble is I don't want it. I don't want it because I live 60 kms away and accepting the job would add two unpaid hours to my shift, not to mention that I'd be getting back to the very thing I ran away from when I moved up to York Region: a long commute. Finding temporary residence in the vicinity could be doable I suppose, but I'd be away from my partner and my dog and the thought of that is unbearable. I left my previous job because it wasn't making me happy and it would take a lot of convincing for me to take another that will cause me to do any juggling whatsoever of my home life. In my old age I find I am all about the quality of life and have little patience for anything that comes between me and it.

I'm trying to picture where I will be two years from now and I can't. I would flunk the interview that had the question: "Where do you see yourself in five years?". I'd like to say, for the record, that I hate that question. Always hated it. Am happy to be in an industry where I no longer have to put up with interview questions. A lot of the jobs in the food industry are found through word of mouth, referrals and staff taking each other along. For example, one of my sous chefs that was moving on to another restaurant asked me if I would be interested in working for him (he was moving on to be Head Chef and wanted to take me with him). Since the job was in Barrie I declined (again, the 40-minute commute) but -- and I think I've said this before -- through networking I've been offered more jobs during my year as a cook than in my seven years as an insurance adjuster. I've now worked in three kitchens and none of those jobs were obtained as a result of an interview process. I can't tell you the relief I feel to have a job where I don't have a phone, a computer, I don't have to apply and go through an interview process with structured interview questions (although there are exceptions I'm sure).

There are also no performance reviews where you are asked "would you say you exercise good judgment in your decisions?" I remember being asked that very question during my last performance review as an adjuster. Having already made the decision to leave, although I hadn't announced it yet, I looked at my boss and asked, with raised eyebrows, "does anyone actually answer 'no' to that?" I can't remember what her answer was but I do remember her being taken aback by the question.

Some say cooking is a mindless job. Maybe I'm just tired of being smart and I want to do mindless things for a while or, with some luck, for the rest of my career. I care about people thinking I'm stupid but not enough to give up cooking and go back to being an intellectual.

Support The Future Chef

As I sit in front of my calendar and look at the months ahead, I realize April is not that far away. C'mon, it's four months! That's it! Does that mean I am looking forward to April, or dreading it?

Even when I was younger I could never stop looking at the weeks or months to come, always wishing they would hurry up and get here already. I've been told many times, by different people, that I'm wishing my life away, and I should just carry on without looking to the future or without hoping for a particular event to happen. For example, right now you'd think I'm looking forward to Christmas, or school, but it is not the case. I'm looking forward to my tax return in the spring. I am not at all looking forward to Christmas and all the unnecessary expenses I am not prepared to make. I'm looking forward to April when I'll be done with Basic Skills, when winter will be but a distant memory and the golf season will start anew. Not looking forward to working two jobs, one at the club and one at the new bistro up here, and having no free time, but if I am to shake myself free from the heavy blanket of financial debt, I need to work two jobs come spring time.

Now I don't normally discuss finances openly, however having a low income is the reality of a cook and this blog is to offer insight into the life of a cook. If any of you, or anyone you know is looking to embark on this journey, it is important for them to know that they will be paid very little. One really needs to love cooking in order to put up with it. The people a cook lives with, be it a parent, spouse or significant other will become providers whether one likes to admit it or not. It will take a while for a cook to start moving up, especially on the pay scale. Be prepared to adjust. If you live alone, be prepared to have to work to jobs in order to fulfill your financial obligations and be prepared to have no social life as a result.

I am fortunate enough to have a partner who at the moment bares the financial burden of my decision and even more fortunate to have her not see this as a burden. I couldn't have done this without her, not without having to sell the house and the car, give up the satellite dish and the cellphone, the trips to LCBO or whatever else I consider a luxury. On the other hand, it might be harder for us because we are used to a certain standard of living built on my previous income. A young cook/chef (young in years, not experience) who is just starting out may not find it as difficult.

Aah, but enough with the philosophical discussion. I am tired tonight. I should rest, tomorrow is friday and therefore another shit show will be upon us. How many more till April?

Chicken Stock

Up until a year ago I've always bought my chicken stock. When my chef loaned me a copy of "On Cooking" and told me to read the chapter on stocks and sauces I realized there was nothing to making chicken stock so I started making my own, but only every now and then. Even when I did, I never bought chicken bones for stock but used the carcass after eating a roast chicken.

Some chefs will say there's plenty flavour in the carcass and it's perfectly fine to make a stock off it, you'll just get a darker stock. Other chefs will swear by the raw bones and tell you that carcass you've been using to make stock from can just go in the garbage. Chefs are also divided when it comes to ratios of water to bones to vegetables. Some say to go ahead and throw whatever you feel like into your stock, don't worry about how much celery, or how much carrot while others will tell you that using too much carrot will result in a sweeter stock. There seems to be an agreement on what vegetables should not go into stock (for example you don't want to put cabbage in there, especially not red cabbage, nor should you put potato). Celery, carrot and onion is the vegetable of their choice, across the board, although some put the vegetables from the start while others boil the bones first and add the vegetables later, say during the last hour or so. Why? Because vegetables do not need to be cooked for four hours in order to extract all their flavour.

I have started to make stock regularly now, both off raw bones and off carcass, the latter because I can't bear to throw away all the goodness in the chicken carcass. I keep stock in the fridge at all times now. It's great for two reasons. The first reason is that many food recipes require chicken stock and I no longer need to rule them out or run to the store. The second reason is that when the stock is approaching its time in my fridge I will turn it into a soup. This practice has made me more comfortable with soups and sauces. For a long time I could not make good soup, my forte has always been the entrees. Slowly that is changing and I am adding soups and bisques to my repertoire.

As for stock, what you non-cooks need to know is that you should always start your stock with cold water. Also, never stir and never boil your stock. Both will make your stock cloudy. Simmer at low heat. You're looking to get a lazy bubble popping up every now and then. You are also encouraged to cool your stock quickly but I have to say I am guilty of just letting it cool on the stove and refrigerating once it's cool. I figured as long as I bring it to boiling point when I cook it again (whether in soups or sauces), I'm safe. Happy stocking!

The University Educated Chef

A university-educated Chef said to me not long ago that she's gets quite bothered when people assume she's a moron and treat her as such just because she's a Chef. I understood that to mean that people think Chefs are stupid, uneducated, blue-collared trades folk. I know it's what my mother thinks. To her, Chefs are people who couldn't do anything else with their life, weren't smart enough to get into university, or even colleges, so they turned to cooking for a living. It's interesting that she only has a grade ten education but never turned to cooking, and ironic that she can be so vehement about what uneducated people are like or what they should choose to do with their lives.

The recent comment from the Chef made me give some thought to how I felt about the subject. Upon reflection I found that I also tell people quite early on that I used to be an insurance adjuster and have a university degree before giving it up and becoming a Chef. Where this is stemming from, I don't know. Do I want them to see me in a different light, do I want to say "hey, just because I'm doing this don't think I'm not smart", or am I just so proud of what I have done and accomplished since coming here that I'd be leaving out a part of me if I didn't mention it.

I think many Chefs these days are more educated and are turning to cooking for the love of food not because other avenues are not available to them. The Chefs of today are very different from the Chefs of years past. They are more articulate, they treat their staff differently, the writing and reading comprehension is higher. Where's my research? Why it's an observable fact. And although I haven't compiled a list of books and statistics to share, there are several authors making this point, Ruhlman being perhaps at the top of my list.

Also, no longer is it acceptable to have swearing or improper conduct in the kitchen. People don't stay in kitchens with abusive Chefs anymore. Sure, when they leave there'll be others to take their place but the thing is the kitchen with high staff turnover will likely not survive in the end. It takes time to train someone and you cannot afford to have fast turnover. The food will suffer, your labour cost certainly will be high (it takes a newby twice or three times as long to do a task that a veteran would) and you will go under. Not to mention what staff turnover does to employee morale. So if you think that all Chefs, or even most of them, are Gordon Ramsay like, you've either never worked in a kitchen or have been watching too much television. Today's culinary schools are packed with as many women as men and a high percentage of them are more mature students who are switching careers. They are not yesterday's confused boy who had no path in life and who has fallen into cooking. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I'm just saying the times are changing.