Apprentice Chef: Week Five

Already a month into my new job, boy does time fly by. I’ve learned a lot within this month, my boss has told me within a span of six months I should know or in fact, will know EVERYTHING by then. I agree! What with the menu being quite a simple one and the rest is just learning how make most of the larger dishes from scratch, like the sliders, the wings, spätzel (which I’ve learned how to make, quite proud also fairly easy), gravy, suppe, liptauer, apfel strudel, crepe, etc.; there really isn’t much else to go crazy over except for checking in our suppliers, making sure everything stays tip top shape in the kitchen, cleaning, set-ups, desserts, and yeah. I’m getting there!

Speaking of spätzel, this Monday I learned how to make it from scratch! It’s a rather simple pasta one can make, although I do advise that you must pay attention to the consistency, for you’re looking for a slimy, yet sort of goopie consistency. So not too thick and not too runny. A good tip, what with having to remember so many recipes in a restaurant and other important necessities, would be to WRITE THINGS DOWN! If you have a weak mind or simply struggle to memorize most of what you’ve learned; bear in mind to keep a travel sized notepad or book so if you ever feel the need to jot something down, do so!

Once the spätzel was done, which was really enjoyable and relaxing, although I looked as though I were a cooked lobster due to steam, the boss came in, checked up on them. Got the okay and learned the technique to making long enough spätzel- I was quite proud.

Tuesday, nothing too crazy, but I learned a few other dishes and their plating. What is really annoying, and one thing I’ve learned fast; is that in a kitchen you will have one or more cook in the back of the house with their own methods of cooking and running the kitchen. Unfortunately, in most cases, these cooks will not respect each other an think ones methods to be far more superior than the other simply due to seniority. Whether it be length of time being a chef or working for a restaurant. This so happens to be the problem I am faced with.

Thankfully, working with Chef P, and being able to talk about said predicament I was given some advice and have pretty much stuck to what I know is right and what I know I have to do. Which is what most should go about doing. Also, never second guess yourself!

Wednesday and Thursday, days off for me. Enjoyed a ride Wednesday down Tamiami Trail with the puppies and the family (well, by dad, brother and sister). It poured down for the most part, poor things, the dogs were terribly afraid of the storm we encountered.

Thursday rolled by, gave Lady a bath, then went over around 21:30 to pay Jess a visit to help her with something. That something was the infamous ALS ice bucket challenge. To be perfectly frank, which I’m sure I may receive a lot of headaches for this, but what is the whole damn point of that fucking ice bucket? The ice bucket DEFINITELY has nothing to do with the disease and it is a waste of resources and MONEY! God damnit! I wasted a shit ton of cash on the ice and container. Anyway, to be a good sport, I helped with the first recording of the “challenge”; which we happened to record again the following morning, Friday, for the quality wasn’t what we were looking for.

Come Friday morning, around 9:00-9:30, Abdel and I were on the road back to CVS for more ice. -,.,- We filmed the video, thankfully this time it came out perfect, thanks to my trusty OLYMPUS (camera). Afterwards, it was a rush back for home, but before that, a quickie for some coffee or in my case, hot chocolate at Vaporshark shop nearby my house. Mmm, yummy hot cocoa. ^,.,^ Straight for home after that and to give Jojo his bath then to hope in for mine and out the door for work. Friday wasn’t all too crazy, although it was fucking nonsense with the damn tickets and not to mention the band once again. This time there was no butchering of songs, but there was butchering of my ears for it was a country genre based band that played. We also had some guys from who were pretty wasted and damn, after having made them that sandwich with liptauer and having heard they devoured it, I could definitely tell that wasn’t going to be enough to keep them from getting more buzzed.

Clocking in around Saturday morning, I learned that one of my bosses was punched by one of them wasted characters. Oof! Saturday though was far more eccentric; what with having that event the city of Coral Gables hosts called The Kitchen Hop. Nine restaurants, you and a group of people and more are allowed to visit these restaurants and get a deal on the food and beverages. In our case, being we are a German Restaurant and Bar, we gave free beer and free knackwurst sandwiches. Damn those greedy grubbers and their bottomless stomachs! Also, it didn’t hep that the service was to shit that whole day!

It was insane! From the time I clocked in, to the time I clocked out, it was cooking, dish washing, and more. I got quite a surprise though when I was in charge of helping with the dishes. Broken glass; surprise surprise! Any one want a quick slash over their wrists? I swear, the one thing that pisses me off more that crazed lunatics are service girls that get a job in a restaurant, who knowingly are well aware of the fact that they have to get their hands dirty with removing the napkins, the utensils, the leftover bits of half eaten food, etc.

Otherwise, why get a job where you have to get your hands dirty if you’re not willing to do the job right?!

Today, Sunday, not the bad, although once again, another fuck up with the damn tickets. Worked with Cook J from 12:00-15:00, then came in Chef R- a total relief. Although it doesn’t help when you have dummy Cook J, implement a method that’s shit and works like hell in a kitchen. It’s disorganized and has no function! What with him out of the way, thing sin the kitchen settled down a bit more, prepared a few things for Chef R, made sure everything was set for he was on his own and then I was off.

Thankfully, tomorrow morning brings a new week and new events. I’m happy that I get to work with Chef P tomorrow in the morning. For now, it’s off to hit the pillows and receive kitty cuddles. :3

Apprentice Chef: Week Four

I do not remember much from this week, all except for having been overly exhausted. Monday and Tuesday were quite fast, but also enjoyable. Wednesday and Thursday, being my days off were spent watching movies and cuddling with my little face planter. ^,.,^ Thursday night was a treat though. Had found the opportune moment to finally pay a visit to Jess with Abdel. I really missed seeing familiar faces.

What could be better though with company than a visit to Checkers for a burger and milkshake. Food was my treat for us all. I didn’t feel up to munching on food though, had a lack of appetite that day from what I remember.

Came Friday, it was a shift from 16:00-22:00. Clocked in, grabbed my glass of water, and went straight to cooking. Not that bad, until the band rolled in around 20:00. Was able to cook myself some food for the road, then it was off to see Jess and Abdel, enjoy a delicious beverage at Fat Tuesday’s. I ordered the Kickin’ Lemonade with a shot of Vodka! Mmmm, good stuff! Hey, I can’t help it, I love my vodka, but the one I truly enjoy above all Vodka is my Polish Vodka or Potato Vodka. Far more delicious and without the effects of a hangover. Of course it still gives you a good buzz, if you’re looking for that sort of enjoyment, but there’s no hangover in the morning, so no need for pills to kill the splitting headache. Good tip!

Saturday, received a visit from my cousins and uncle. I missed them dearly. Unfortunately I was unable to stay as long as I would have liked, had to leave for work. I was able to catch though on some months of information and a year or two regarding my cousins son, my cousin once removed. So that was a nice chat. With luck, come the next visit, I’ll have some more time to kill for a longer chat.

After having clocked out from work, was picked up, drove to the aunts house, showered and knocked out on the couch watching “Die Schule der Kleinen Vampire.” It is quite addicting- as you can tell.

I felt so terribly exhausted, all I could do was lay on the couch and zonk out. I woke up around midnight, ate my dinner, watched some more of my German vampire, drove back home and hit the pillows happily.

Sunday, I only remember the feeling of exhaustion once again.

Apprentice Chef: Week Three

Third week in, almost a month and 36 hours for this week! Boy does time fly by. Every day I learn something new and every week I meet someone new or learn more helpful techniques. For my third week, I began my Monday in my first morning shift. Definitely something new for me that very week, but I already new the few things that had to be prepared.

Monday, clocked in at 10:00. Got most of what I knew ready and set for this new chef I was to meet. I thought I was going to meet another older chef, but surprisingly, the chef I met and worked with on my morning shift is only 6 or 7 years older than I. Chef P is who he is. German too, like Chef R! So naturally, it felt comfortable working with a neighbor- you know, country wise?

Any who, meeting Chef P was awesome. Picked up a few more techniques and still am too! He’s definitely a speedy Chef. I will say this, but at least I’m not having my head bitten off. Monday, for it being my first morning shift, was a bit of fuck-up. But what can I say; it’s a Monday, that’s what everyone is on. Plus, I’m no morning person so I’m surprised my brain was working well enough to get things moving along.

Towards the later hours of 13:00-14:30, the restaurant picked up the pace and the kitchen was getting busy, which was good, but not as busy as I would have thought, although it was a Monday so things are slow. Only ten tickets. Not even close to much, to let you know. So to kill some time, I was put on breadcrumb duty! Yep, I got to play with the big boy and shred bread into itty-bitty pieces, or shavings I should say, for our food. Before clocking out at 15:00, I cleaned up my mess and what not, as well as the walk in cooler. You have no idea as to what I may find, whether it be leaves of lettuce to celery sticks or onion skins… sigh. Whenever you see a mess, you clean it right?! Well, if only two certain people in the kitchen knew how to do just that, boy would that make my day!

Tuesday, my second morning shift went smoothly, got more cooking done and went to work with Chef P until he clocked out at 16:00. I was working with one of the other cooks in the kitchen, J. Yeah, so I have cook J and cook M. I was working with J, so far so good, but his method is very strange and really works little for me, also with him having SUCH a thick accent; it makes this FAR more difficult being in the kitchen.. So working with him, it’s nothing personal, but I can see some trouble in the future caused by him and cook M.

Wednesday and Thursday, thankfully were my days off, although, I was not looking forward to them for I had to pay a visit to the doctor Wednesday morning, 11:30 for a check up. What with having fainted and apparently having had a mini seizure, which is why they wanted to see me since that was the first time that has happened to me, the doctor wanted to ensure my health was not under threat and was curious as to what may have been the culprit, just as I was.

From what I had told her, she believes it to have been nothing more than my lack of sleep having caught up to me as well as the exhaustion and having started a demanding job. More on that in another post.

Thursday was a second visit, but for an MRI, more information on that in the other post.

Friday, was not so bad. Although my arms, or veins I should say, were still sore from being poked and stabbed by needles. Pretty busy with making burgers, wings and schnitzels. I’d say around 20:00-20:30, the live entertainment came in and started to kill my ears again. Alright they’re not that bad at all, in fact, the guy and his band mates play pretty damn well, only problem is when he screeches like a lady over a few songs. So of course, my ears bleed away while trying to take in everything Chef R taught me, especially a few awesome new recipes for sauces.

Also, what made Friday FAR better was receiving my first pay check! I felt so proud!

Saturday and Sunday, were both the same hours from 12:00-18:00. Saturday, worked with cook J in the morning. I learned how to make a few of the dishes from scratch, so that was great, although it is quite an unorthodox method. Although before I got busy in the kitchen, all I could hear from the bathroom was yelling and an argument boiling over. So cook J obviously got reprimanded by one of my bosses.

Sunday, cook J was quiet while making a few things, like boiled potatoes. As soon as I clocked in, I put them to cool on the salamander/speed rack to cool off. Once that was done, it was at least some time for a break to munch on something fast and get prepared for the tickets to come. It was hell working with cook J though, for as I mentioned his accent is very thick and difficult for me to understand. Problem is, this ass thinks I don’t listen to him; WRONG! I JUST DON’T FUCKING UNDERSTAND YOU!

So this joker was on my last nerve and was pushing my last button. Finally I grew apathetic towards his shit. Funny thing was when he gave me a few “pointers” on how a restaurant runs. Granted I know I am new to the business and do know all that goes on, but to interject, I DO KNOW the bit that I learned and bothered to ask from picking the brains of people I’ve met and instructors. So I’m not walking into the business blind! Although, what really tickled my funny bone, was when he said “you know how you have to be in a restaurant, right? You have to be fast! You know how they show on channel 6 and channel 10? Those classes.” Boy when I heard that, I wanted to just drop my knife and crack up right in front of him; although I had to save that outburst of laughter for when I walked out the door. One thing’s for sure, that REALLY explains it ALL now.

Afterwards, things got pretty slow and it had its moments of speeding up. Luckily, Chef R clocked in at just the right time, although let me tell you, I really wanted to cut my head off that day what with having been driven insane. I understand everyone has their methods, and it works to their advantage, although, one thing I wish many people understood, is the fact that NOT ALWAYS will a method that works for you, work for another individual. It does not work that way.

Apprentice Chef: The Beginning Week

Six day’s in, to my apprenticeship at Bierhaus. Really loving it thus far, but then again I cannot complain since it is a class to me as well as a job. So whatever gets thrown at me, I’m learning from it and kicking its ass.

Tuesday, having been my first day on the job; I clocked in at 16:00. Was there till closing, so 01:00 am? I learned the basics and was introduced to my mentor, Executive Chef R. Really nice Chef, European too, which made it all the more comfortable to me, almost home like. I started my apprenticeship by chopping parsley, well learning how to chop parsley, to an extremely fine cut. Along with showing Chef R some of my knife skills and learning better knife skills, I learned to plate four dishes and a recipe that day. The apple strudel, pork schnitzel, chicken schnitzel, Jagger Schnitzel and Roasted potatoes; the recipe was for crepes. Em, for it having been my first day, it was natural for me to be a tad slow in the kitchen. After all, I did need to familiarize myself with the kitchen and where things go and are located. Towards the end of clocking out, Chef R gave me the best news I could have heard to boost me up. “For it being your first day, you did very good!” Hell, I was ecstatic hearing that, for I thought I did shit to none of admirable work. So that was music to my ears. I could tell you this much though, the first day my muscles were sore as all hell, not to mention flabby like Bugs Bunny’s droopy lumps of muscle. Ouch!

Second day, I was on my own with one of the other Chefs I met on my first day, nice guy! Although, there were new faces that I had to acquaint myself with. I honestly felt very ostracized that day for everyone in the kitchen was Haitian and feeling comfortable with each other they constantly spoke French and obviously, what with me being an apprentice and someone new to the kitchen, they pretty much got me moving a lot more that I would have expected, although I felt like I had it coming for I knew my second day would consist of me making mistakes, learning from them, hands on that is and perhaps being offered a helping hand- which thankfully I was. Em, my first day as well as the second, I got to cook myself some chicken schnitzel, so damn good. Also it made my stomach really happy since I was looking forward to a walk home from work..

Third day, Chef R was in! Not to be mean or anything, but I felt at ease when I knew I had my hours from 18:00-22:00 with Chef R. I felt more comfortable and not as a bother in the kitchen that time. Although, I believe that is due to the fact that I am growing comfortable with my insane work area and schedule. On this day, Thursday, I got to show Chef R more of what I learned on my second day. I learned a few more dishes. Bierhaus wings, Sliders, Brettzel (Pretzel), Sauerkraut, chocolate cake set up, Bierhaus burger and a few other knife techniques. While cleaning up though, after having chopped a few vegetable and pounding out some veal, I had a run in with a sneaky blade and cut a nice slice of skin off from my thumb knuckle.

Day four, Friday was FAR busier and grueling! I used to look forward to the arrival of Friday, although now I see it as a pain in my arse. Friday was spent making meatballs for a party we were expecting Saturday; about 150 meatballs to be exact. The only problem I had Friday was continuously having to make clear to another cook in the kitchen that, not changing my gloves after having handled raw meat, let alone ground beef, is a big risk for cross contamination if I did not change my gloves or washed my hands. But it didn’t stop there. This cook was also pushing Chef R’s buttons. Being the executive chef of the restaurant, the kitchen is HIS domain. After all, he is the executive chef, they hired him to help out and improve things for the restaurant. Unfortunately though, this cook in this kitchen would not listen to Chef R and would give attitude and not comply with getting what had to get done within the time needed. Needless to say, I can tell that I will have problems with this cook..

Day five, Saturday I walked in with a determined outlook on things in the kitchen. Feeling more confident and gaining some muscle in the process (oh yeah!) and speed with working my way around the kitchen. As soon as I clocked in, I slipped some gloves on and was put to work on making my meatballs into patties for that party I mentioned we were expecting for today. Far better progress this day with the troublesome cook. She got to work right away, no attitude and followed what Chef R had asked of her and did it when it was asked. So there was an improvement; although I believe it was perhaps due to a stern talking to when I had clocked out Friday- who knows.  Got a few battle or kitchen wounds I should say this time. No thanks to the dreaded ceram wrap. You know that yellow box of clear plastic wrap or better known as cling wrap? Well in the kitchen we have an industrialized version of that little devil and boy can those razor teeth cut you open! I lived through it though, got through the hectic Saturday pile up. Then enjoyed a dinner out with friends and a half hour at Sinister! Then it was home for me and to clean up the face and arm and hit the pillows. Sweet, divine comfort.

Day six, Sunday, I believe I will forever look towards Sunday for it was quite relaxing! Slow, got to cleaning up the kitchen and putting things in order. Some cooking, so at the very least there was some action. Despite it being relaxing, I hate simply standing around and doing nothing at all. If at most, I’d rather enjoy a slow day with it being slightly busy than not at all, but it’s not all bad. Sunday was more cleaning than anything else, the hood of the stoves were to cleaned later in the evening that day. Everything, utensils, pots, skillets, pans, food; everything was to be cleaned out and stored in the walk-in cooler. Chef R asked how I liked being in the kitchen so far and my thoughts on it; my response “I’m having a lot of fun and learning quite a lot more than I would have thought. So I am enjoying it thoroughly!”

Six days in total for my first week; 29 hours completed! I’m ecstatic and looking forward to my four day break this week. Although I will miss being around the action, but I return to work this Friday at noon. For now, I will enjoy the break while it lasts. Rest period, take me away.