A New Entry!

Yeah, yeah....it's been over a month since my last entry. This is the reality of the profession I've chosen: Unfortunately, some things are going to fall by the wayside.

But now that I've committed some time, here are some words.

A lot has changed in the past month. I've evolved from the "the guy in the kitchen who hasn't got a clue what is happening" to "the guy in the kitchen who has slightly more of a clue to what is happening". My chef is really giving me the complete experience. I work in all areas of the kitchen, from dish-pit shifts to working the garde manger (cold food: appetizers, salads, etc.) & dessert stations on the busiest of busy shifts: Saturday night service. 

Not to offend, but the dish-pit is the lowest rank in the kitchen. According to the chef: "Everyone works the dish-pit at some point in their career." Thankfully, I'm getting my dish-pit duty out of the way during my internship.  

Basically, when I work dish-pit, I am cleaning every piece of dishware, cutlery, cookware, and miscellaneous kitchen thing that isn't moving. It is a gruelling shift and when all the dishes are done, I get to take all the garbage and cardboard recycle 2 floors down to the garbage room that smells exactly like you imagine it would. The fun doesn't stop there. Then I get to take about 15 litres of really hot deep fryer oil to the oil recycle which, unfortunately, is located in the odoriferous garbage room. After all that fun, I get to mop the floors and take the used side towels to the laundry bins. My back REALLY hates me after a dish-pit shift. To add insult to injury, everytime I work a dish-pit shift, I am at the restaurant until about midnight, then I'm usually scheduled for a kitchen shift the next morning. No rest for the wicked. 

Fortunately, my dish-pit shifts are going from once per week to "as needed"; which is about once every two weeks....(still better than once a week). 

For the past month, I've been working mostly day shifts. Twice a week with the pastry chef and the rest of the shifts are working lunch service and prepping for evening service.

I've done really well with the pastry chef, to the point that I am regularly doing the daily batches of bread rolls and working the dessert station at lunch service. My chef has dubbed me "a master-baker". (If you say it quick enough, you get an insight into the un-PC world I've gotten myself into.)

Things were getting pretty routine until one of the hot-line chefs, Pong Pong, decided to leave. (Yes, I know Pong Pong's real name, but this is how he introuduced himself to me, so in this blog, he'll be Pong Pong.) Tonight was Pong Pong's last shift. He has decided to leave Fraiche to go back to working with his former chef. His former chef decided to take a break from his job to do a little thing called "Top Chef Canada". Then his former chef happened to win the title of Top Chef Canada. This industry breeds loyalty, so when Chef Dale MacKay opened his own restaurant, Pong Pong couldn't pass up the opportunity to work with him again. 

This has changed the dynamic. When I checked next weeks's schedule, suddenly I am set for all night shifts. 

In the past week, I've been working a few night shifts here and there, getting a feel for the garde manger and dessert stations. The garde manger chef is Erica. On Friday night, chef told me I was working with her to learn the station. His words: 

"Tonight you're working with Erica....so basically you're Erica's bitch...OK?"  

Then he left for evening with these parting words:

"Erica....make sure David learns what to do tonight; yell at him if you have to. David.....don't take any shit from Erica tonight." 

The combination of intensity, passion, and comic relief that the chef provides makes this internship worthwhile.

Sidenote: I finally got the chance to introduce the kitchen brigade to Kim and Katie last week when they came to pick me up after a day shift. This led to the chef's quote of the week when I came into work the next day:

"Holy f**k man.....that baby looks JUST LIKE YOU!" 

I've heard this many times before, but not nearly as colourful.

I'm rambling, yes, but it is difficult to summarize a whole month. In a nutshell:

• dish-pit shifts: brutal, but thinning out
• day-shifts: learning the ropes in a "behind the scenes" sorta way. What I've spent the last month doing.
• night-shifts: the main show! Looks like I'll be doing these more regularly now that Pong Pong has left.

My internship portfolio requires that I get a picture of myself with the kitchen brigade. Here is the official photo, taken last week.

Left to right: Executive Chef Jefferson Alvarez, hot-line chef (Jason), pastry chef (Kim), me, garde manger chef (Erica), hot-line chef (Pong Pong)

(Chef is doing his "fighter stance"....he was in a professional MMA fighting league in the past.)

It is closing in on 1:00 am, and the baby monitor has just picked up some noise, so I'll probably be swinging into "daddy mode" soon. Switching between chef mode and daddy/husband mode has been the norm for the past month, so updates may be few and far between. I'll do my best to keep up with everything.