Trials and Tribulations of the Internship

Tomorrow I will meet the almost-halfway mark of my internship for school. 7 weeks to go!! So far I have worked the two stations I am used to the most: PM Prep/Food runner, and pantry. Most recently I have worked in the exposition kitchen in the bar: Lovingly referred to as the O-Bar or oyster bar, where all the happy hour hot appetizers are made. This station always used to scare me, but now it's beginning to be second nature. I have to start an hour earlier than normal now, but get there an hour and a half early. My first couple of days training made me realize how VERY small this area is for two people having to cross in front of each other dozens of times during the night. I was later told that it's much easier to be alone, once you got the hang of it.
A day in the life of the O-bar for me, now that I have worked out there for 3 weeks, goes a little something like this: Arrive at 1:45pm, iron my uniform and change, then from 2 to 3:30 I load every possible thing I need on a cart which I have to push up an incline and through 2 doors to get from the kitchen to the O-bar. I make 2 trips, and have to load food in one load and plates etc. in the next. Did I mention that there are things along the way that will trigger the cart to fall, tip, or for things to fall off and in turn I could fall or trip on?
I have to be technically set up at 3:30pm for Happy Hour to start at 4. As the night goes on, I feel less and less prepared as I start running out of things and have to call for help or have a server or manager send a list back to the kitchen of anything I need. I try to keep tabs on everything, but when someone is out helping me, they are taking care of the fried items/oyster end and I have the stove and oven end and am plating most of the things, it's hard to know waht I do run out of. From 4 to 6 is technically "happy hour" but it can go from 3:15pm to 8:30pm.. Every day is different. Everyday I get better. Everyday I ask the Sous Chef for his "honest" opinion of my performance. Everyday he says something else. I feel like it's not an easy station and I will only get better with time. After 8 months working there and perfecting my skills on the other stations I know, I know that I will have this down only in a matter of time.
A month ago I had barely ever worked a fryer before, not in a professional setting, and I have never had a stove or oven of my own to worry about: besides the ones at home. I feel like they should be a little easier on me and realize that I have to get used to it, but knowing the volume of people that go there a night, and the demand of the ticket timings, it makes me feel like it's not my place to be demanding. 8 minutes per ticket, by the way, is the "goal." It's a feasable goal for someone who likes to be quick and careless and likes to get burnt and splashed with hot butter or oil on a daily basis. Not me. My sous chef is surprised that my arms and hands are not plastered with burns and marks from hot oil. I told him that I can't get hurt: I have a kid to take care of and left it at that. Nobody understands that very well, because barely anyone has kids, or a significant other for that matter. Oh yeah, and I am the only female cook that works during the PM shift. Must count for something, I just wished it counted for patience from them.
My night ends when it ends, but I am supposed to be done at 10pm, which is possible 95% of the time. I am trying to be the miracle worker they want, but when I sweat before my shift starts from lugging everything out there and trying to get set up "on time", I feel like they are asking a bit too much. I didn't feel this way working other stations. We shall see what the future brings...

To another day well spent away from work, only to go back to more self-improvement tomorrow in the O-bar.

Turning a new culinary leaf...at $9.50 and hour

Last night was my first night at the pantry station at my new restaurant job. I was told by the Sous Chef Lori, who has also attended LCB, that she wanted me on 3 straight days to train with the same person. Even though I heard from some students at school that it would be easy, there was another batch of them that said it would be hard. I asked my first instructor for advice later in the day at school and he said, "do what you are told and keep your head down", with a big smile.
There were many hoops I had to jump through before I got to work that stressed me out completely as I rushed to get Jonathan, rushed home to change, rushed him to Mom and rushed there, averaging about 75 mph on the highway. Whew..I got to work exactly at 3:15pm, signed a few more things for my file with the Sous Chef, and went to meet Steve, my trainer, in the major artery of the kitchen: The Pantry (cold prep, salads, and desserts.)
Stalky, blue eyed Steve laid it all out for me. We are open from 5-10pm, and it was then 3:45pm. We efficiently followed the list of prep as Jack 104FM screamed in the background and got our Mise en Place together. 5 Mixing bowls with spoons and a roller coaster of 3rd, 6th and 9th pans across the station. Ladles for dressings, and bare hands for everything else. Was I ready? I didn't even have time to think about it.
Here is how fast the night went:
Ticket print, stamp, and Steve had whizzed through the first blue cheese salad in well under a minute. Ticket print..here we go!! 4:45pm.."sorry"..."Fucking-A.."...."wait for the line to cook that chicken before you toss the salad"....6pm..."I'll make the Caesars"..."nice to meet you"..."shit"...6:30pm...."Jaime, mas platos chiquitos porfavor!!"...7:25pm, "what sauce goes on this dessert??"...."I'll be back in 1 minute"..."Make it however you want, it's not on the menu"....8:23pm.."don't worry about it"..."order please, Jeremy..Steak for the salad, rare"..9:45.."what doesn't get labeled again?"...11:15pm..."see you tomorrow!!""....Whoops, I forgot my keys.."hey, I forgot my keys, hehe, okay, see you tomorrow"..

293 customers dined that night, Wednesday night, not counting the bar. There were 220-245 people originally on the books (reservations). In this block of 8 hours I was able to consume 2 glasses of ice water, a hefty first taste of halibut, 3 bites of garlic mashed potatoes, 3 sprigs of asparagus, 3 bites of a medium steak and random pieces of miscellaneous dressing drenched pieces of romaine, and a piece of calamari. I had one bathroom break and had taken about 10 trips to the dish pit and 3-5 trips to the cooler. I had to prep more product as we ran out and wiped my station clean during the down times, which were mostly 1-4 minutes long, just to make things dirty again.
I'm not positive how many salads were tossed, desserts were drizzled or creme brulee were wiped clean, but the speed, accuracy and communicating orchestra of teamwork was thrilling to be a part of. When I left, I went and filled up my gas tank proudly plastered with blotches, sprays and showers of an array of different sauces or dressings on my uniform. When I finally got home, it took me a while to get to sleep due to the build up of energy still pumping through my veins, but this first day was undoubtedly a GREAT initiation.

Can't wait to train more tomorrow.