One of my favorite blogs to go to is Sous Girl. She is a Chef up in British Columbia. She's not an experienced Chef, and neither is she a Baby Chef. She is what I would call a Teenage Chef.
She has all the angst and sturm and drang of a teenager. She has also recently won a victory over cancer.
It is a very uncomfortable place on the learning curve, just like it is a very uncomfortable age to be.
This is probably why I like her blog so much, it really takes me back to read some of the things she is going through. She has inspired more than one Bulletholes story, and I am adding her to my sidebar today.
Recently she has posted about employees meals
Long time ago I had a major grudge against employees meals as well. I think most chefs do at some point. Things get busy as snot in the kitchen, and you tend to run on heat.
You run on heat big-time. You sweat paper chef hats right off your head.
That can make you a real asshole about your third hat for the day, and you don't realise how unnecessary it is at the time to be an asshole.
But I remember sending some real crap down to Cycles, a lot of real crap some days. “Cycles” was the given name for the employees dining room. Some bright bastard from Human Resources had thunk it up during some kind of meth induced psychosis I’m sure. I think it was short for “Recycle” but I don't think that’s what the author had had in mind. Me, I changed it up slightly and called it “Psychos”. Sounds like cycles, but total different meaning.
One day I sent some real crap down there, probably chicken bones and carrot peels, and the next thing I knew I was in the GM’s office, and he was explaining to me that it was the most important meal I would prepare that day.
I didn’t believe him one bit. But what I did come to understand was that if I wanted to win the respect of every manager in the hotel, and the undying love of all the employees, all I had to do was take good care of their free meal for the day. And do it as happily as if it was for a paying customer.
I would come to find out many years and tears later that it might be the only meal they got that day.
Thursday, June 14, 2012
PSYCHO'S
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5 comments:
Ooooooo ..... that one ended with a big OUCH! Love Sous Girl - glad you've linked her.
xxx
I love the way you have always challenged authority. You have what we Jews might call chutzpah, and others might just call balls!
(I have missed being here!)
Barbara! my very first blog buddy! I'm sorry to hear about the Jake. He was such a good doggie. Lived a long life.
I been writing pretty steady here for a ittle more than a year.
Good to see you....I don't make the rounds as much as I used to, i just keep writing.
Having worked in several different places, I'll tell you that the ones with a good employee's canteen tend to be the ones with good employee relations.
One place I worked hated the idea of employees ever eating, and insisted they leave the premises for their lunch-breaks. There was no cafe nearby, we would sit in cars and eat our sandwiches. Unsurprisingly, the employees hated the management and missed no opportunity to steal office supplies, and pretty much anything that wasn't bolted down.
Whereas, the place that had a great canteen, endless refills, and subsidised prices? That had staff loyalty.
thank you for introducing me to her.
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