Unequal Responsibilities

Today I had another day off. It seemed slightly strange to be getting another two days off after only working four days, as last week I worked eight days before having two days off, but that is how it goes sometimes. In this industry, you take your days off when you can get them, and bank them for the times when you have to work long stretches. I didn’t do too much again today – I went for a nice walk down a country road. I had two nice staff meals – steamed green beans, baby roasted potatoes, and creamy penne for lunch, with curry, spiced noodles, and smoked salmon blini for supper.

A rabbit I spotted on my walk today

Days off tend to be days where I reflect on my work the past week. I know I have been working hard because even with resting, my legs were very sore all day. I am quite impressed with myself and how I have been handling the starter section at the busy bar all week – being the one mainly responsible for all the orders and prep. I have been reflecting on how much I have had to keep track of on this section in the past week, and realized that the starter section is actually probably the most challenging kitchen position of all on this entire estate. It has occurred to me that the pastry section, where I started off, literally is a cakewalk, and we hardly give it a second thought now, it just gets done as needed. But the main course section actually has it easier as well. Here is a glimpse of my responsibilities: 

Sandwiches, Salads & Classics - STARTERS
• Classic Triple Decker Sandwich - Served with Garden Salad and Crisps, toasted if requested, with a choice of:
Free Range Chicken Sandwich with Bell Pepper, Lettuce bound with Mayonnaise
Or Ham & Cheese Sandwich with Castle Leslie Relish
Or Free Range Egg Salad Sandwiches with Scallion & Chive bound with Mayonnaise
• Open Smoked Salmon Blinis with Horseradish Crème Fraiche, Red Onion, Capers 
• Prawn Cocktail - Whiskey Marie Rose, Iceberg Lettuce 
• Kitchen Salad Starter - Baby Gem Salad Leaves, Feta Cheese, Garlic Croutons, Black Olive, Cherry Tomato, Cucumber, Red Onion, Balsamic Dressing
• Chicken Wings Tossed in Hot Sauce Starter, with Tossed Salad and Coriander Lime Yogurt
• Barbeque Ribs with Garden Salad Starter 
• Atlantic Seafood Platter Starter - Smoked Mackerel, Prawns in Marie Rose, Crab Claws, Battered Squid, Whitebait, Smoked Salmon, Garlic & Lime Mayonnaise
• Starter Special of the Day


Main Courses
• Traditional Fish & Chips - Battered Cod, Chips, Traditional Tartar Sauce, Side Salad
• Kitchen Salad Main - Baby Gem Salad Leaves, Feta Cheese, Garlic Croutons, Black Olive, Cherry Tomato, Cucumber, Red Onion, Balsamic Dressing
• Chicken Wings Tossed in Hot Sauce Main, with Tossed Salad and Coriander Lime Yogurt
• Barbeque Ribs with Garden Salad Main
• Atlantic Seafood Platter Main - Smoked Mackerel, Prawns in Marie Rose, Crab Claws, Battered Squid, Whitebait, Smoked Salmon, Garlic & Lime Mayonnaise

Main Course Accompaniments
• Garden Salad for Goat’s Cheese Tart
• Herb Salad for Pan Seared Coley
• Side of Straw Potatoes and Three Onion Rings for every Steak
• French Dressing for Chicken Breast
• Herb Salad for Lambs’ Kidneys
• Side of Gaufrette Potatoes for every Burger
• Dish of the Day Accompaniment

Kids’ Menu
• Breaded Chicken Fingers
• Two Egg Omelette with ham and tomato
• Panfried Pork Sausages with Onion Gravy
• Battered cod
• Vegetable Spring Rolls
Each kids’ meal is accompanied by a side of chips, mashed potatoes, or garden salad. 

Special Requests
• Slice of bread, toast, or gluten-free bread
• Slice of cheese, lettuce, tomato
• Plain chicken or egg sandwiches – not the usual mix bound with mayo
• Warm chicken on a salad
• Substituting side orders or sauces
• Half orders, or items to be split into two portions
• Items served on different dishes than usual 
• Starters served with main courses
• Kids’ food to be ready early
• Starters made into main course portion sizes

Side Orders
• Chips
• Garlic Chips
• Gaufrette Potatoes 
• Mashed Potatoes
• Side Salad 
• Onion Rings 
• Garlic Bread
• Garlic Potatoes
• Veg of the Day
• Garlic Butter
• Any extra sauces on the side: Garlic and chive mayonnaise, coriander and lime yogurt sauce, tartar sauce, horseradish crème fraiche, Marie Rose sauce, hot sauce, French dressing, balsamic dressing, Ceasar dressing, mayonnaise, red pepper essence, gravy, white wine sauce, peppercorn sauce, barbecue sauce, pesto, red sauce, tomato sauce, red pepper relish, onion marmalade.  

So even though I do not cook nor plate the main course proteins – I am responsible for some aspect on every one of the main courses. This as well as all the sides, all the starters, and the kids’ food. And starter orders can come in with starters, with mains, starters made into mains, etc. While the main course chef only cooks the main courses, I have to worry about cooking for main courses and starters. So while I am trying to fill three main course orders, I get in two more orders that have starters that need to go out first, followed by more main courses I have to worry about. While the main course cook gets a breather (especially while the proteins are in the oven cooking), I never get a rest! You would think at least occasionally the mains cook could make their own wee herb salad or cook a batch of chips for one of their dishes, but no. Even though I have twelve other orders on the go, that steak needs to be topped with three fried onion rings, which are on my section. My job also requires running to the walk-in fridge and freezer for some ingredients that need to be kept there, while all the main course ingredients are right there at the mains station.

Fish and chips sounds easy enough, but then I have to remember that it goes in a special basket with paper and needs a ramekin of tartar sauce and a wedge of lemon, plus a side salad to accompany it. Seafood platters, either starters or mains, are the worst, because I have to run to the freezer to get a squid ring, get whitebait from the fridge and toss it in flour and fry those both, cook crab claws in a saucepan in garlic butter, line the board with garlic mayonnaise, have sliced bread for the bottom, make a garden salad, put salmon, mackerel, prawns, and a crevette on the plate, then time the cooked items perfectly so when the platter goes out – the hot items are hot and the cold items are cold, and the other dishes going out with that dish are ready too. And all the side orders as well – if someone orders one order of garlic potatoes, you would think the main course cook could plate up that order quickly for me, but it is my responsibility. 

Really the only thing besides cooking the main proteins (though I still have a lot of proteins to cook) that I am not responsible for is the kids’ tagiatelle with tomato sauce, and dessert orders (unless no one else is around to do them). Not that I am complaining – I am enjoying the rush and being busy and active and hands-on with food all the time. But once in a while, a break, whether for my legs or my mind, might be nice!

Feeding Large Groups

Leftovers from a barbecue function

This morning I mentally prepared for a typical Sunday service in the starter section of the bar. I was actually feeling like I was in pretty good shape for today – we had plenty of back-up of everything ready, and would probably still have enough to not be left with absolutely nothing for Monday. As I prepared my station for orders, I was told to give any last-minute prep jobs to another cook. The thing is, I really didn’t have any except for slicing lemons and picking herbs, two jobs I could easily do myself between orders.

Placed in the staff canteen

Service was going quite well, not crazy busy, but not slow at all either. We had a few packages right between 12:00 and 1:00p.m. – certain packages staying on the estate, such as the girls’ getaway, includes a three course meal in the bar. So we had a group of six, eight, and eight come in for three courses, which are big orders along with other orders coming in. At least we knew they were coming though. The issue was, we had two more huge groups come in without warning – a group of twelve and a group of sixteen. In these cases, these big groups are supposed to be offered a reduced menu from the server, offering a few options from each course that make it a bit easier on the kitchen staff, instead of running around with seafood platters and sides and substitutions and whatnot. Otherwise, they are usually offered only mains and not apps and desserts as well. But the servers did not do this, and the order came in, and there were also a bunch of requests to go with it. And more (smaller) orders were coming in on top of that, as it was a busy time of day. But I am proud to say, we pulled all those orders off without a hitch, and boy did I feel good after that! Of course I did have help on the starter line again today, it is completely necessary on Sundays!

And staff go crazy for it!

At 9:30p.m., after closing at 9:00 and thinking all the orders were done, I got an order for three sandwiches. Usually if any orders are requested past nine, the server comes in to ask the cook if that is alright, and usually we offer something simple, such as sandwiches. But the order came in, and the cook on mains asked me if anyone had asked me about the order, and I said no. He told the server, sorry, kitchen is closed. Then the head server came back and reported that this order was for room service, and room service is open until 9:30p.m. So I made the three sandwiches, even though most of my stuff had been put away. Then no one came to take them. Finally someone did, but they ended up going out to the bar – not room service like had been said. I didn’t think it was a huge deal, I mean, it should not happen every night as it is not fair to the cooks, if we close at 9:00, we close at 9:00, but three sandwiches didn’t bother me too much. However, the other cook made a big deal out of it, speaking to the head chefs and the maitre d’hotel.

Sandwiches By Day, Quiet By Night

Today was a typical day on the starter line, yet it was somewhat odd. In the early afternoon, I got so many orders for so many sandwiches! I still had some things I was scared would run out as we were not finished prepping them yet, but it did not happen. Immediately, I had to prep some more salad, because not only did we not have enough for the bar for the weekend, it was also needed for a function. I had accidentally taken the sliced salad ingredients for a barbecue today last night, as they were placed in the bar section of the fridge. Luckily, the head chef was not mad at me, as long as I re-prepped them for him. He laughed and blamed the other cook. “You can’t blame the apprentice cook.” He said, which is the opposite of what is usually done is. I told him it was payback for when he had accidentally bumped the switch and shut off the gas the day before, so we had to stop and relight everything in the middle of service, and he laughed at that.

It was pretty steady all afternoon, making it difficult for me to get much prep done. Luckily, there were two other cooks around to do my main prep jobs – batter and fry fish and onion rings, make crisps, make garlic potatoes, clean crevettes, cut ribs, etc. So we did end up getting a lot done today. I was beginning to panic a bit around supper time, but the after dinner rush never came, and it was fairly quiet all evening, so I was able to get some easy prep jobs done myself. 

Tuna melt special - yummy!

I just realized that I did all the starter orders myself today, with no help. Sure, it wasn’t as busy as usual in the evening, but the afternoon was very steady. I even covered a good half of the dessert orders. And I handled a special of the day – a tuna melt on a brioche bun with potato wedges and red pepper mayo. 

Prepping For The Weekend

Today was much like yesterday. Fridays tend to be big days for us because we need to do all the prep for the two really busy days ahead, as we never seem to have much time to do prep between all the orders on Saturdays and Sundays; but Fridays also tend to be fairly busy days as well. So we have to go through our checklists and ensure we have extra of everything prepped so we don’t run out of anything in the middle of a busy service.
My prep jobs today included slicing bread, making chicken salad sandwich mix, making bound prawns, cutting vegetables for salad mix, chopping onions, filleting fish, organizing the fridge, cleaning, labelling, taking inventory, etc.

I was in charge of the starter section again – responsible for setting up and making sure everything was in place. I also set up the pastry section and made the mashed potatoes and helped put together some welcome baskets. One of the other cooks was doing most of the orders on the starter section at first, but did not want to do any of the sandwich orders, as apparently he really hates making sandwiches. Since there were a lot of sandwich orders combined with a lot of orders in general, I did the sandwiches for him, along with some other orders. I was trying to get some prep done, but would hop off prep and help him when necessary. I was also looking after all the pastry orders. 

As the day progressed on, I began filling more of the orders and doing less prep, but still prepping when I had a spare moment. Today was not too too busy, we did 212 covers, but in the evening we had a group of ten and a group of twenty come in, so there were some times of big rushes with a lot of orders, but it just didn’t seem as busy to me; hopefully that means I am getting use to and getting better at busy services. 

One of the annoying prep jobs - veg of the day

Saucier

Today I was back to work in the bar. Actually, apparently there were too many of us scheduled for the bar again today, so I almost got sent upstairs to the restaurant, but then chef said I knew the bar better than any of the others, so he kept me here. In a way, that was a compliment but part of the reason I know the bar so well is because I always seem to work here, and I really haven’t been working in the restaurant much at all. Oh well, when it’s busy and they need knowledgeable staff, what can you do? They almost got me to come in for breakfast tomorrow as well (well, actually, I volunteered) and work a split shift to come back for evening service, but found another employee instead.
Today I began placed on prep more than filling orders. There has been a chef in all week kind of filling in for the starter side, although he is more geared toward pastry and has been helping to implement the new desserts as well, which is likely why I had been on the service line. But today he gave me several prep jobs to start out with. I felt a bit like a saucier today because he basically had me make huge batches of all their base sauces – coriander and lime yogurt sauce, tartar sauce, garlic mayonnaise, Marie Rose sauce, and horseradish crème fraiche. I also did some other odd jobs such as preparing prawns, cutting ribs, making egg salad, making apple crumble mix, setting up the pastry section, making mashed potatoes, etc. 

One of the many sauces I made - garlic mayonnaise, or as we like to call it, 'garlic whack.',  with cheese on mashed potatoes. We put that stuff on everything - it is simply delicious and hard to keep in stock!

I think they may have put me on prep anticipating it to be really busy again today, and knowing that when it gets crazy I still sometimes need a hand with the orders. Also, this way I could practice some of the new desserts. But surprisingly, it wasn’t very busy at all today – we only did 105 covers over the entire day. I was actually somewhat relieved to be put on prep for a day instead of the hectic service line, just to have a bit of a break from it, but it wasn’t even busy at all today – of course the day I am on prep it is quiet and I could have gotten prep done anyways! On the service line, I always feel like I am ready for action and in top gear, but doing prep, I try to be fast and efficient, but I know I just don’t have the same drive as I do on the service line because there is no big push to get the order out. Even on slower days on the service line, I don’t feel as much of a drive. Apparently I wasn’t working that slowly though, because the chef said I was moving right along.
For the dinner rush, and when one of the chefs took their break during a split shift, I was put on the starter line again, responsible for all the starter orders, which really wasn’t that many tonight, so I was also doing more prep jobs simultaneously.

Chocolate, Chatting, and Chilling

I wish I could say I did something exciting on my day off today, but I really didn’t. I did feel productive – getting chores and things done at home, but I didn’t do anything significant. I went to staff meal, visited the chocolate shop, and went for a walk.

I was happy that the chocolate shop was open again on my day off – as it isn’t open very often and it was only my third time there. The owner is always very friendly and willing to talk. I chatted with her for a bit while she worked. I would love to help her out on my days off, but I don’t have many chances to do that and she only has a small shop and works infrequently. But it was nice to watch her making chocolate bark, dipping truffles, and packaging chocolate bars while we chatted, mostly about the industry. She said she would have liked to do something like what I am doing when she was younger, but had taken a different career path at first. I agreed that chefing like this is something you have to do when you are young and can more easily handle the long hours and time on your feet. But she was happy to have started her own small business later in life, although she admitted it is tougher once you have a family and more commitments. 

A view from my walk

After that I went for a walk in a direction I had not walked before, and discovered a tranquil path that lead back to the other side of the village, passing many cows on my way, so that was neat and relaxing, despite the mix of sun, wind, heat, and rain I endured during the hour.

Lazy Day Off

Today, after working a hard, busy, crazy, long eight days in a row in a new setting, I was very thankful for a day off. I didn’t have much planned for today – just catching up on sleep, rest, and giving my sore muscles a much-needed stretching. I had been planning to go for a wander around as usual, but the weather didn’t cooperate, so I decided to stay home and do yoga instead.
I did accomplish a few chores I needed to do – some work-related errands, laundry, organizing photos and journals, etc. Other than that, I skyped to catch up with some loved ones and took it easy. 

Stack of French crêpes

A food related thought? One of my roommates, who is leaving soon, decided to make crêpes tonight to bring to her coworkers. We have limited kitchen equipment in our staff accommodations, and no big spoons or whisks, so she had to use a fork to mix all the batter, which was tiring but eventually worked and made a lump-free batter. Then only one of our pans was level enough to use, and our stove really didn’t heat up hot enough or fast enough. But despite these troubles, she made really good crêpes and let me have two. They all turned out quite nicely in the end, and all I was missing was some Nutella or classic old maple syrup.

Just Another Manic Monday

Do I wish it were Sunday? Not at all – Sundays are way too crazy! But today was busier than I had anticipated for a Monday, as they are usually quiet. I was banking on a quiet day to get some prep done after my stores were fairly depleted following yesterday’s busy service. No such luck. Though the orders seemed to come in two waves – the lunchtime rush from 12:30p.m to 3:00p.m., and the suppertime rush from 6:30p.m. to 9:00p.m. It did get fairly quiet in the mid-afternoon, but still a few orders trickled in. What was particularly annoying was, unlike Sundays where diners look for their roasts and steaks and chicken dishes, on Mondays people seem to want sandwiches and fish and chips. So for a while there, all the orders coming in were for my side of the line, and the cook on mains didn’t even have to move. I did get some prep done – small jobs that I could do in between orders such as filleting salmon, slicing bread, making garlic mayonnaise, cutting mackerel, slicing lemon, making bound prawns, picking herbs, and got someone to make onion rings for me, as I desperately needed them and they are a full-attention job. But still, I didn’t feel like I accomplished much today. It was a rainy, slow day where you don’t feel compelled to do much. Usually I move fast, especially with orders, but today everyone in the kitchen seemed tired. What kept us going was when one of the cooks made milkshakes and gave me a sample of her dish of the day – delicious tagiatelle with smoked salmon and cream sauce. 
I feel I moved quickly on the line during service tonight though, and although there was a third cook helping us again, he was mostly helping with the main courses between hopping over to fill pastry orders. What is confusing, is we began a new ‘summer’ menu. I guess tourist season is in full swing now, which is also why we are getting so busy. We did sixty covers at lunch time, which is quite a few for a Monday lunch, and about 130 covers between 7:00 and 9:00p.m. It felt like less to me, which is a good thing, because I used to think I had done way more covers than I actually did! Luckily for me, nothing on the new menu changes on the starter side. It would have been very annoying to have just learned every dish and then have to learn changes. But there are a few different main courses or variations on existing ones, and the dessert menu changes to feature ice cream dishes such as banana splits, sundaes, and coupes, instead of bread and butter puddings and warm tarts. 
I do feel a little bad for not leaving the cook on starters in better shape with less prep to worry about on my day off tomorrow, but sometimes it is hard to get stuff done when service is so busy, especially while I am still fairly new at this. 

Milkshake as a snack - I added chocolate sauce to mine, of course!

I Think We Broke Her

Today I was anticipating a busy day on the starter line. I wasn’t feeling too stressed about it though, because I knew there would be four of us in today, therefore if I needed help someone could bail me out and there would be less pressure on me. I was still totally responsible for my station, and although I had prepped well yesterday – there were a few last-minute things I needed to get done, which was difficult because orders for scones and toast were coming in early and I had to keep stopping to fill those. I had to slice bread, chop onions, make balsamic dressing, take things from the freezer, wash lettuce, slice ham, heat up potatoes and veg, and get my station set-up at usual before opening at noon.

Orders today were more steady than usual. It was busy, but it wasn’t like sixteen fish and chips and five toasted sandwiches at once – the orders were more spread out and balanced between main courses and starters and desserts. On Sundays we do a slightly different menu with roast beef and roast lamb with potatoes and vegetables and gravy on special as well as a dish of the day and a chicken burger, and sandwiches don’t come onto the menu until evening, so that gave me a bit of a break.

Sunday roast beef dish

Notable moment of the day: the weather here is crazy and changes in an instant, but it was the first time I had experienced a thunder storm here. It was raining buckets, and apparently the thunder and lightening were quite bad too, though I hardly noticed it in the kitchen. What brought it to my attention was when the lights went out shortly twice in a row, which caused the power to go off completely in the kitchen in the middle of cooking and a busy service. It was only out for a few seconds, but because it was out, that means the gas went out and had to be turned back on, as well as all the pilot lights on the burners, broilers, and deep-fryers had to be re-lit before we continued cooking. That’s a hassle and a pain during a rush time. We didn’t even get the usual supper-time quiet time to catch our breaths or re-stock our stations, and I kept running out of dishes. It is actually more the job of the dishwasher/kitchen assistant and servers job to stack my dishes, but I don’t expect them to know exactly what I need and sometimes it is faster to go fetch them myself than to ask someone else. I did work a bit tidier today, so I am happy with that, but I still have room for improvement.

Today during the dinnertime rush, when we were not crazy rushed because of the number of us in the kitchen, but still really busy, I got really talkative. I guess I am finally beginning to feel really comfortable in the kitchen now, especially now that I feel I can master a section myself on a busy day.  I am also getting a bit more assertive – for example, every single order, even as small as an extra slice of bread or dipping sauce, must come through the till so we in the kitchen have record of it and it gets charged for, as it is all part of our food costing. Nothing is free. One of the servers asked me for a ramekin of gravy, and I said, “Do you have a docket for that? No docket, no sauce.” Just then one of the chefs walked by and said, “You tell him, Rebecca!” I got really chatty with the other cooks and the server working the pass, and began talking to myself, almost as a way of coaching myself through the busy service and knowing what to do next. I was singing as well, though I know I can’t sing, I do know my songs. They were mocking me or laughing slightly, as they weren’t familiar with all the songs and stories I was telling, being from a different country, I think they thought I was a bit crazy. She hasn’t even had a drink yet, they said. I was having fun though, and getting my dishes out there. “I think we broke her,” they said, “Too many hours in the kitchen, too busy of a service.” I just laughed. When it got busier, I got quieter, so I could focus better. But at the end of the day, they reported this to the head chef who asked how got along, and he said he would ring my parents immediately to have me sent back home. All jokes in good humor!

Walking home after cleaning up from the 303 covers we did today (I was in charge of the starter section for 303 covers???? Wow! You go girl!), I met one of the workers from the village shop that had called me a taxi a few weeks ago when I didn’t have a phone yet, and had asked me about my favorite chefs. She remembered my name, and asked how I was getting along in the kitchens, and then said, “You’re an amazing girl!” That made my day finish off on an even higher note!

Long, Busy Day

Another day on the starter line. It began relatively slowly – then orders came in at a steady pace – one or two orders of three to four items (for me to take care of) at a time, with another order or two coming in just as I was finishing the first order or a few moments later. This meant I was never manically rushing to complete dishes, but I had no time in between to catch my breath or get any prep done, perhaps just enough time to restock parts of my station. I began shelling, cleaning, and deveining a small container of shrimp around 11:30a.m., and didn’t finish until 5:30p.m., as I had to keep setting this job aside to complete orders or other small tasks.

We had three starters on again today – a spicy beef salad with fruit as a starter, a lamb burger on a homemade herb bap with sweet potato chips as a main, and tiramisu as dessert. I got to sample a few things today – the lamb burger special, a cod fritter, the beef salad, and a mushroom sauce. The highlight of my day was when the head chef asked me if I was ok, as I was whipping orders out on the line by myself (the others were on break). I said yes, as I was confident I did have everything under control, and he said, “You’re doing a great job by the way.” I must be, as they have kept me on the starter station, even as week nears an end and things get busier, but it is still nice to hear it from the chef. Later on he also changed the schedule, I was not supposed to be off again until Wednesday and Thursday, but now I am off on Tuesday and Wednesday and working the breakfast shift in the lodge on Thursday and Friday. I am quite happy with this, as it means working only eight days in a row instead of nine, and surprisingly I enjoy breakfast shifts but haven’t done any in the lodge yet so that will be something new. I also get to work with another young girl instead of the usual situation of males dominating the kitchen, so that will be nice as well. Furthermore, them entrusting me with a breakfast shift without really having trained me on breakfast before gives me another confidence boost and lets me know they must really see something in me and admire my work ethic. They trust I will show up early and be ready for what challenges face me. Earlier during the only slow point of the day, they were joking with me because I am fairly quiet in the kitchen, as I am a shy person and tend to take work very seriously. But apparently when I do talk, it’s either down to business or sassy. For example, I am used to the others asking me if stations are set or if I have completed everything, but now, being in charge of a station, I have to do that. So I was asking one of the cooks what things were done and telling him what needed to be done, and he jokingly said, “Alright boss, I’m entitled to a thirty minute break, it says so in the staff handbook.” And the head chef said, “Hey, listen to your boss now! She knows what needs to be done!” After which I earned my second kitchen nickname (the first one being fatty, as an ironic term), Sergeant. 

Tiramisu - vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, chocolate cigar, chocolate sauce

After dinner, things got crazy. Like a mad Sunday, which really worries me for tomorrow. Orders just did not stop coming in, several items on the orders, starters and mains. I really had to coordinate with the cook on mains, especially for fried items. Just when I thought I had everything cooking, three more orders trickled in. And I did not have a chance to catch my breath or a break. I nary had the time to replenish items on my station as I needed – grab an extra bottle of French dressing from the walk-in, find more chicken wings, take another bag of fries from the freezer, etc. My station was a mess, as I didn’t have time to put dishes away properly, or empty packages of food in the right places, or slice the whole loaf of bread if I only needed one piece. I certainly was not proud of it, preferring the ‘work tidy’ and ‘clean as you go’ mottos, and was thankful the head chef wasn’t around. But I didn’t really have a choice tonight – it was either speed or tidy. Luckily I had another cook helping me, another work placement student, who had been trained on all the starters and desserts, but only works twice a week and is much more used to doing prep in the back. So I would ask him to do some things for me, as used to be the opposite for me – I would be in that position. But I understand it wasn’t easy for him, not being totally familiar with all the dishes and not knowing where I personally keep all tools and ingredients on my station. He also had to keep leaving to handle all the dessert orders coming in. At one point there were four of us on the pass – two on starters and two on mains and we were still absolutely swamped!

To add to the situation, we had a few communication issues with the service staff. They didn’t write our specials correctly on the board, then they kept taking orders for specials after we had told them we ran out. They took orders for things we don’t even sell, and charged wrong prices for items. They mixed up orders so we had to redo them. This is all very frustrating for kitchen staff, as we are busting our butts back here trying to put out the best dishes as quickly as we can with the orders we get. We don’t have time to double-check on things. However, I always try to put myself in the server’s situation, thankful I don’t have to deal with the customers directly, and recognize that everyone makes mistakes. I’ve made enough here, even today I cooked too many fish orders and not enough chip orders. But the cook on mains flipped out at the server working the pass, getting very angry that mistakes kept being made, telling servers to get out of his face, etc. I think he was overreacting, and yelling won’t get you anywhere. But he can get quite mad during busy services, and I don’t like to see him that way. He’s never gotten mad at me surprisingly, and I don’t know if he was told not to, as I am a young student, or if I really haven’t pissed him off that much. 

Today was another test of my limits, but I know tomorrow will be even more so. It was crazy, and I busted my butt and worked as fast as possible, and went steady and consistently working on cooking and plating dishes. At the end of the day, I was much more tired than usual, probably also because I have worked for six eleven hour days this week. Usually these long hours don’t bother me, but the combination of a crazy service and a busy week and I was beginning to ache, especially with this heat wave we have been having. After service finally trickled to an end well after 9:00p.m., I cleaned, thoroughly but dying to go home to my bed. I will need a good rest if I am going to do this again tomorrow times four. 

A Cesar Salad Kind Of Day

I am beginning to sound like a broken record here when I say I was on starters alone again today, in charge of the station and all the orders meanwhile trying to get some prep done for the station as well. I think I did well again today – chef really didn’t pick on me, but surprisingly for a Friday it was only about half as busy as Wednesday.

I began with setting up my station, then putting together welcome baskets for guests arriving that day. We do up baskets of food to give to accommodations for certain packages – today we needed three family break packages for four and three girls’ getaway packages – one for four, one for six, and one for eight people. These baskets include items like tortilla chips, popcorn, miniature ice cream tubs, fruit, chocolate, wine, etc. I had another starter special to worry about today – a Cajun chicken Ceasar salad which sold really well, no doubt due to the warm weather. 

Cajun chicken Cesar salad

I seem to be getting the hang of keeping up with numerous and longer orders, making my plates faster and more consistently, keeping my station well stocked, prepared, neat, and organized, and keeping myself busy by finding little prep jobs to do, even if I only have a minute or two to spare between orders. 

Notable events of the day: chef giving me a ‘pass’ when he quizzed me on the components of a Cesar salad (like yesterday when he asked why I was toasting four burger buns for only two orders, forgetting it was two burgers per order). They claim they like to ‘test’ me. But really, everyone makes mistakes. Later on, chef blamed me for his cream sauce boiling over and making a mess on the stove, and blamed me for spilling strawberry milkshake on the floor, both of which were jokes I took lightly. It’s not like he made me clean them up.

Today the kitchen seemed busy with extra people around, and although no one was really joking and laughing, no one was really cranky either. We also had a steak special on main, a tiramisu special on dessert, and a milkshake special.

Saying Good-Bye To The Starter Cook

Mini burgers starter special

Today, predictably, I was on starters again. The day began alright – I had my station nearly set-up, but then I was told to vac-pac big batches of three different types of soups. Did I mention I hate vac-pacing liquids? This job should have been completed by the cook on mains yesterday, but now apparently he was busy trying to get his station set-up and pawned the job off on me. Fair enough if he was actually busy, but he was playing around and I was busy too.

The head chef did not seem to be in the greatest of moods today, as predicted after his cheery demeanor yesterday. He was getting quite upset at one of the other young cooks about some order that was not received properly, and continued to give her flack all day. I felt bad for her, but knew I could very well have a day like that coming too. To lighten the mood, as soon as I finished vac-pacing the soups, I made up a sandwich for chef. He had joked yesterday that this was the ‘chef’s daily special’, as us chefs often walk over to the starter station to make a quick (sometimes odd) sandwich, especially when we don’t have time to sit down and eat a meal. A favorite combination is bacon, sausage, red onion, and garlic mayonnaise, so that’s what I made and I set it on his desk. When the door opened a few minutes later the triple-decker sandwich was gone, and he thanked me and seemed to really appreciate it. Brownie points for me. Sure, chef did pick on a few things I did today, but at the end of the day, he said he got reports back that I had done really well. 

I actually feel like I accomplished quite a bit today – on top of all the orders (during which I only needed help for the big dinner-time rush), I went through my entire prep list and completed all the small prep jobs that needed to be done – leaving myself in good shape for tomorrow. I sliced bread, cut lemons, filleted salmon, deboned mackerel, thawed shellfish, filled sauce bottles, went through my fridge, replenished my mise en place, etc. It was not quite as bust as yesterday, and the other cook was completing my bigger prep jobs – making onion rings, slicing ham, cleaning crevettes, cutting potatoes, etc. 

Unfortunately, the cook that was working on main courses with me was not in a good mood at all. He was cranky, and snapping at the other cooks, the chef, the servers, and the dishwashers. I had been warned that he sometimes gets like this – a conceited hothead, but I had never witnessed it myself. Today I did. Usually he is a joy to work with – someone that likes to have fun in the kitchen and chat. Today, he was not as cranky towards me as some of the others, but he was still crabby for the most part. And he seemed to think all of his jobs were more important than what we were doing. He complained that there were two of us on starters and orders were still taking too long to be completed, but he doesn’t realize that getting an order for eight sandwiches on top of two warm orders and three other cold apps as well as the sides and garnished for his mains takes time! I even had another starter special on – mini black pudding beef burgers with brie cheese on a toasted brioche bun with onion marmalade, garlic mayo, and sweet potato chips. And a dessert milkshake special for another hot summer day.

At the end of the day, he did admit and apologize for his crabby mood. Today was also the last day at work for the usual starter chef. I worked with him a lot and he taught me a lot - and was always very patient with me, so I will certainly miss him. So we are having a little good-bye party at the pub for him tonight.

Hot Summer Day

Today was very much like yesterday, the one difference being the head chef was back, and I thought that would make my day less enjoyable. I’m not sure if he was just in a good mood today or if I really didn’t give him anything to complain about, but he did not get on my case. He even said, “I heard you did well on this section yesterday.” Today was sweltering hot again, and salads and ice creams were selling as fast as the ice cream was melting. 

Today we did over two hundred covers, which is insane when you consider it is a Wednesday in a tiny village of basically two streets. As I walked home, the other two bars in the village were pretty busy as well. This was like a typically busy Sunday. I was beginning to worry that I would not be able to keep up this section myself during a Sunday service, but now I realize today was just like a Sunday service. But does that mean Sunday will be even busier? Can I handle that? I had the usual starter cook help me out a few times today, as there was a different chef on mains who likes things done slightly differently as well. 

Aside from doing all the starters, I was told to set up the pastry section as well, which needs to be done well because pastry orders are shared by whoever isn’t busy at the time the order comes in when there is no one solely working on pastry. I was also able to do a few prep jobs, but not many considering it was so busy. Someone else was doing prep for me, though they were having a tough time keeping up as well. I even had a starter special to worry about – warm roast beef and cheese on a toasted bap with horseradish cream, tomato, onion marmalade, and a small salad.

Starter Special

At the one quiet point of the day – between 4:30 and 5:30p.m., we have to worry about preparing staff meal. We had some burgers to go out, and I was told to make a salad to go with it so I made a marinated try color pepper salad with creamy dressing. After a busy service, we scrubbed down everything and finished around 10:30p.m.

So Many Salads

Today was very much like yesterday. I was on the starter section again. It was about as busy as yesterday, but I only needed to call for help once – during the dinner rush when it got really busy. I was taught how to set up the station, and even was able to balance the orders with doing some prep for the station. This can be tough, because some of the top-sellers really need to be prepped every day, and it is hard to get ahead on anything else. For example, although we prepped, battered, and flash-fried a bunch of cod yesterday, we had to do more today to keep up with all the fish and chip orders.

Starter section refrigerated mise en place left side

Originally, I had yesterday and today off. I think this was because chef thought my parents were visiting longer than they were, so he gave me more time off. But with my family gone, I would rather be busy and get straight back to work, even if it may mean working another eight or nine consecutive days. Since we had extra people on, I thought I was placed on this section just to learn a new section. But now I realize that the cook who usually runs this station is leaving for good after Thursday, so I am wondering if they are now training me to take over that station. On one hand that sounds good, a more challenging, busy station with lots to do where I will constantly be working on the hot line. It will be tricky at first being by myself and getting everything done (today was busy enough, I can’t imagine Sunday), but I will never be completely alone in the kitchen. On the other hand, I am here on a culinary internship and I purposely chose a location that does bar food, fine dining, weddings and functions, breakfast, and afternoon tea so I could experience them all. I do not want to be stuck on one station for good. I won’t learn nearly as much that way. 

I am also curious as to why I was chosen for this position. There are plenty of other candidates, most of who have been in the kitchen much longer than me, as I only began a little over a month ago, or people who have much more restaurant experience than me. There are also two other student interns here, and I wonder why I was chosen over them. As I was putting together orders today, the head server working the pass asked me how long ago I had finished college. I responded saying I am not finished college, I’m only between my first and second year now. He then went on to say I was doing very well here, and when I told him I had no previous restaurant experience at all, he said I was very well suited for the job. So that made me feel quite good, and truly believe that I was doing a good job on my station, turning out high-quality dishes at a fast (enough) pace. In fact, a lot of people, other cooks and servers, asked me about my ‘promotion’ or if I had been ‘upgraded’. They also asked how my family enjoyed their stay here.

Right side

Today was hot – we are in a short heat wave here, and the kitchen was sweltering. No wonder so many diners chose to eat outside and order fresh salads.

On The Starter Section

Today was not an easy day. But then again, did I take on a culinary internship in a foreign country to take the easy way out? No. My visitors left at 10:30a.m., just as I went in to work, so of course that made me sad. I was looking forward to a full day of work to keep busy and keep my mind off things, but of course it was Monday and Mondays tend to be slow.

I set up the pastry section, as usual, but I was a bit annoyed. Having been off for a few days, someone else had been covering pastry and not only did I no longer know exactly what the inventory was, the place had not been restocked the night before and the ice cream freezer I had so carefully defrosted was frosty and dirty again. But once pastry was set up, I was promoted to the starter section on the hot line. I have done quite a few dishes here before, helping out when it gets busy, but today I was put there myself, as the one covering all the orders. There was another cook in to cover pastry orders, although she tried to get me to help her out or tell me how to do things even though she had plenty of time to do these things herself and it was her responsibility. I am wondering if she was a bit jealous. 

A dish I learned today - Kitchen Salad

Being on the starter line wasn’t a whole lot different, but you always have to be on your toes because the starter line gets the most orders coming in of all. You have to be able to keep several different orders straight at once, and complete orders with numerous items all to go out at the same time. The starter side has both hot and cold items, all of which need to be prepared last minute. It also requires coordination with the main course line – because mains need to go out at the same time so I can’t always begin to cook items right away. I also need to cover side dishes – so if a burger order comes in, I need to know when the burger is two minutes away from being done so I can cook the side dish of gaufrette potatoes. This sounds like enough tasks to juggle, but then you need to constantly be replenishing your stock – especially after five sandwich orders – you will need more bread. Replenishing stock also requires completing prep jobs during the slower times, such as battering fish for fish and chips, making onion rings, or filleting smoked salmon. 

The starter side may seem fairly straight-forward with mostly sandwiches and fried items, but there are over fifty individual ingredients to account for, and I must know where they are, where to get more, how to prep them, and how to cook them. I also need to keep all the different plates straight. My life would be a great deal easier if we used the same dishes for every menu item. I am quite glad I got started on this station on a Monday – a slow day where I would have time to get accustomed to the station before tackling a very busy day. I know I am a bit slow at plating, but with practice I will improve. There was not too much pressure on me today because the regular starter cook was there, showing me any dishes I was unsure of, and helping me out when a lot of orders came in. If I ever felt overwhelmed, or needed something in a pinch, I only had to call on him. And I was not too pressed to make prep, because it wasn’t too busy and the other cook was taking care of that while I stayed on the line. His boss, he called me. Anything I say goes. I was even put in charge of making sure we had enough back-up of everything and cleaning up the station at the end. 

Overall, the day may not have begun the greatest, but I got promoted and kept busy and had a new challenge on my hands. We even had time for some playful kitchen banter. 

Afternoon Tea and More Pizza

This morning we walked around the old farmyard and through the forest by the lake on the estate. We also took a short drive into the countryside and the town next door. Then in the afternoon, we went to explore the inside of the castle before my parents went to their afternoon tea, an anniversary gift to them from my brothers and I. 

Afternoon tea sweets

 The afternoon tea menu is as follows:
Finger Sandwiches: Oak-cured Irish Smoked Salmon with Horseradish Crème Fraiche on Wholemeal; Refreshing Cucumber and Cream Cheese on White; Honey-baked Ham with Wholegrain Mustard on White
Selection of Sweet Treats: Chelsea Bun, Opera Cake, Shortbread, Mini Éclair, Mini Lemon Meringue, Mini Strawberry Cone, Crumpets, Tea Bread & Cake, Fruit Scones and Preserves with Clotted Cream
Selection of Teas or Freshly Brewed Coffee:
Freshly Brewed North South Regular Coffee 
Decaffeinated Coffee 
Americano, Espresso, Latte, Cappuccino, Macchiato, Mocha, Café Latte, Double Espresso 
Choice of Herbal Teas (Irish Breakfast, Ronnefeldt Loose Tea, Classic Chai, Jungpana, Earl Grey, Green Keemun Leaf, Morgentau, Herbs & Ginger, Moroccan Mint, Camomile Blossoms)
Hot Chocolate with a choice of: Milk Chocolate, White Chocolate or Creamy Caramel 
Syrups (to add to coffee or hot chocolate): Caramel, Chocolate, Vanilla, Hazelnut, Cinnamon, Irish Cream 

Garlic mushroom pizza

After that, we played around in the games room by our cottage a bit – jumbo connect four, jumbo jenga, ping pong, and pool. Then we went back to that wonderful pizzeria for supper, and for another short walk. Today was a laid-back, casual day spending quality time together.

Six Course Fine Dining

This morning was a fairly relaxed morning with more exploration of the estate grounds, especially the old gothic lodge and the lake beside the castle. After a light lunch we headed back into town for some shopping and errands. Then in the late afternoon, we went for a beginner horseback riding lesson at the equestrian center on the estate. This was quite fun – the first time really being on horseback for the three of us. We each got paired with a riding horse appropriate for our size, and were led around the estate, just a slow walk on horseback, by one of the equestrian center workers. We walked through the wetlands, forest, path to the old stable mews, and path to the old gothic lodge. The entire lesson lasted about an hour and was very enjoyable – the weather was perfect, the horses gentle and cooperative, and the experience relaxing. 

Immediately following our riding lesson, we quickly changed and went to the fine dining restaurant where we had a reservation for a six course meal. Being a Saturday night, the place was quite busy, with two large groups in, but there were plenty of servers and they gave us very nice treatment, knowing me as a colleague there. I have not been out to fine dine very often, and am used to being on the other side of the kitchen, so this entire experience was a pleasant change. 

Appetizer

Here are the menu items we chose: 

Bread Rolls: tomato and basil, onion, mustard.

Appetizer: Lamb kidney paté with pommes duchesse.

Rabbit Starter

Starters: Sweet Onion Soup with gubbeen cheese crouton; Pan-fried local chicken livers with dried fruit compote, chicken jus, and tarragon vinaigrette; Terrine of Rabbit with wild mushroom, wrapped in cured ham, served with spiced pear chutney, toasted brioche, and pickled girolles; Trio of Goat's Cheese: Rhyfield parfait, gratinated crottin de chavignol, breaded boilie goats cheese, ratatouille chutney, basil pesto, balsamic reduction.

Soup: Coconut Parsnip with paprika oil.
Sorbet: Green Apple.

Duck Entrée

Entrées: Braised Rare Breed Pork Plate - braised pork cheeks and honey glazed belly, warm salad of apple, celery and lentil, black pudding and apple dressing, pork jus; Fish of The Day - pan-fried hake with mashed potatoes and citrus dressing; Roast Loin of Irish Lamb with herb crust, ratatouille, pea purée, and greek yogurt and mint sphere; Roast Breast of Silverhill Duck - gateaux of confit leg, orange marmalade, creamed sweet potato, red currant jus.

Sides: mange tout, parsnip chips, gratin dauphinoise potatoes.

Delice Dessert

Desserts: Hot Chocolate Mousse Soufflé with vanilla ice cream x2; Mojito of Lime Confit - mint and white chocolate ganache, dark rum crumble, lemon sorbet foam; Dark Chocolate and Passionfruit Delice - cannelloni of passion fruit curd, dark chocolate mousse, sponge base, passion fruit emulsion.

Petit Fours: blueberry madeleine, apple marshmallow, white chocolate fudge, nougat, caramel.

Road Trip, Chocolate Fudge Cake, and Pizza

Crumpets for breakfast

This morning, after sleeping in and fixing some crumpets for breakfast, I showed my visitors around the village – the antique shop, the bed and breakfast, the village shop, and the chocolate shop. After a quick lunch of sandwiches in our cottage, we went on a road trip. We drove north and stopped at another castle, to take some photos and some photos of the mountains and the coastline. Of course I had found a bakery in the area, so we stopped there and shared a sinfully delicious chocolate fudge cake. It was a lovely sunny day and the drive was quite pleasant. 

Wedding cakes in the bakery window

Pizza for supper

After the drive, we went for a casual, light supper in the little pizza place, in the village. This was lovely – we didn’t have a reservation but the friendly and accommodating staff squeezed us in and put us at a table in a private room with a fireplace and plenty of antiques to look at while we waited for our food. The pizza – wood-oven thin crust pizza served on thick wooden boards, was absolutely delicious. We all thoroughly enjoyed it and it was some of the best pizza I have had. Although the desserts looked tempting, we were quite full, but figured we may have time to return on Sunday. 

Cozy Cottage Stay

Starter of cream of vegetable soup

Dad's chicken dish

Today was a better day, as my visitors finally arrived. I thought about going into work for a breakfast shift in the morning to work in some more time at work before they arrived, but I didn’t know exactly how early they were arriving, or if it would be worth it. And I was quite tired after working eight long days in a row, so I decided to take the day off after all. My visitors arrived around 2:00p.m. We settled into our cottage, then made a trip into town where I took care of another business matter and we went to supper at one of the well-known restaurants in town. Other than that though, we just took the day easy, as my visitors were imaginably very tired and jet-lagged. 

The burger

My penne dish

Here is what we ate at the restaurant…
Me: three-course early bird menu of cream of vegetable soup with wheaten bread, penne pasta with Indian spiced vegetables and tomato and basil cream, and fruit of the forest cheesecake.
Mom: grilled chicken escalope with carrots and parsnips and roasted potatoes.
Dad: pan-fried chicken escalope served on a bacon and basil mash with tobacco onions, red wine jus, and fresh vegetables. 
Brother: beef burger with bacon, cheese, tomato, and crispy onions with onion rings, coleslaw, and garden salad.

A Delay In Visitors

Today was a strange day indeed. I went into work for the usual 11:00a.m. to 10:00p.m. pastry and prep bar shift. However, this morning I was more cheerful than usual as I was expecting visitors from home today – my parents and oldest brother. They planned a two-week trip around the country, spending five days with me on the estate renting one of the old family cottages through the woods. Upon arriving at work, after putting the ice cream back in the ice cream freezer, I saw the note left for basket requests, and the only thing on it was one welcome basket for four guests. I knew that was for my family’s cottage, so I asked to put the basket together myself. The head chef insisted I add more than what is on the typical list (four oranges, four apples, two liters of milk, one liter of orange juice, one loaf of bread, one pound of butter, four yogurts, and some jam). I also got to choose what kind of stuff I wanted – so I added miniature ice cream tubs, bananas, potato bread, and crumpets, and chose the best flavors of yogurts. Chef then added a bag of chips, some chocolate truffles, some chocolate bars, wheaten bread, and a bag of cereal himself. As soon as I had the basket ready to go, someone from accommodations came in to tell me my parents had emailed saying their flight connection had been cancelled and they wouldn’t be coming until tomorrow. I thought she was joking at first. It isn’t winter, so why would it be cancelled? But no, she was serious, and I was devastated and left with so many questions but no way to get them answered at the moment. I had to work. I told chef, who simply responded with, “Oh, that’s ok, just put the stuff for the basket back in the fridge then.” No, that’s not what I meant. I wasn’t worried about the basket at all. I was worried about my family.

I tried to shake it off, and move on to work – making crispy fried onions for today’s special (pork and leek sausage coil with onion marmalade potatoes, mange tout and yellow pepper, crispy parley, Cajun fried onions, and mustard cream sauce), making mashed potatoes, and supreming yet more chicken – eighty breasts to be exact. I am starting to get really good at that. At first, chef said I was going quite fast, but then said I had slowed down and needed to pick up the pace, that I was daydreaming. He was right, actually, my mind was preoccupied, and then he began to ask me questions about my parent’s trip plans and I tried to speed up again. I moved on to sealing the breasts, and of course, once I was almost done, chef came along, looked at me and said “No!” and walked away. This frustrates me to the upmost, as he does this kind of thing often. He comes along, says no, and leaves. Well, I obviously don’t know what I am doing wrong, or else I wouldn’t be doing it, and I am not going to know if you don’t tell me, and if you want it done a specific way, you should have shown me how to do it in the first place, and not when I am nearly finished!!! So then he leaves it to one of the other cooks to come to explain it to me, which is an issue for two main reasons. Number one, every one of the cooks has their own variation on how to do things, and they all do things differently, so I would like to know which way the chef would like it done so I can do it properly. Number two, I am a student intern and I am supposed to be working under and learning from a chef. Are you really telling me you do not have time to demonstrate some basic procedures for me? Just like when I accidentally used the wrong color cutting board yet again, chef did not tell me right there, you need to use a red chopping board for that, instead he muttered something under his breath about the hundredth time and one of the other cooks had to tell me what was wrong again.

So later on apparently chef was talking to one of the other cooks about me (again), and saying how I needed to know how to plate the main courses so I could jump in and help on busy days like Sundays. Well that’s funny, because any time I try to help or watch how these dishes are being done, you accuse me of just standing around and how I need to get busy. How am I supposed to learn if I cannot stand there and watch? If you expect me to do it right, then I need to be taught how to do it. 

Anyways, later I did get to watch and help plate some main courses, along with making boxty, cleaning, etc. I also got to check into the cottage my family has been planning to stay in (along with the welcome basket), so I am comfortable here for tonight. 

The kitchen at the cottage.