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.