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.