I apologize for the amount of time between this and my last post, it's been rather difficult to adjust to the crazy hours I've been working.

So we've got a few events under our belts now, and are moving quickly towards being open full time.  So far, it's been a retirement party, and the opening social for our ladies' league.  Both seem to have gone off without much grief, and the food was well received.  Tonight is the opener for the mens' league, and tomorrow is fish fry Friday. 

I've been working rather interesting hours, and it's amazing to have gone from a job where you're glued to a computer and having to work exactly 8 hrs a day, to one where you're running around like mad and working anywhere from 8-12 hr days.  I've not seen a day longer than 12 yet, but have been told by friends in the industry to expect them. 

I'm slowly but surely getting into the swing of things, and having a blast the whole time.  The folk I work with are amazing and very patient, but have the same passion for great food.  It's been fun to play with ingredients and see where the flavours can go, as well as learning new techniques on old favourites that I hadn't before considered. 

I hope to be able to update with more regularity as my schedule stabilizes and I get more used to the physical aspects of this career path. 

What do cooking and being in a Douglas Adams novel have in common?

Don't forget your towel.

Seriously, your dry, clean towel is probably one of the more important tools you have at your disposal as a cook. With it, you can wipe your hands or your knives, you can steady pots, you can take sheetpans out of the oven.  So yeah, don't forget your towel.

I've found that habits adopted at work in the kitchen seem to carry over into your personal life.  That thing with the towel for example.  I typically wear mine tucked into the pocket of my jeans so it hangs down, and recently, while at a friend's house helping with dinner, I reached down to wipe my hands and lo and behold, no towel.  It may seem silly, since I've only been doing this a few days, but it already has become habit. 

So, I guess an update on progress is in order.  I worked a Friday prep shift, then Saturday and Sunday breakfast.  Friday was fun and enlightening, and I found I learned a lot.  Saturday was pretty slow, with three of us in the kitchen.  I think we did a total of 14 covers between 8 and 1.  Sunday on the other hand...woah.  It started out relatively slow, then grew to a steady pace.  Just when we thought everything was going well, we discovered an issue with our POS system, resulting in an order being delayed.  Just as we were recovering from that, we got a table of 12.  With only two of us in the kitchen, and me working toast and plating, I didn't think we'd be able to manage, but Chef Mullet taught me how to keep cool under pressure and stay organized.  We sent out all orders for that table in no time.  Still, only 59 covers.

Monday, well Monday was a day for us to play.  We are still working on the menu, and today we got in our first order of "real food".  Experimenting with sauces and fritters and soups, it was just really fun, and very informative.  I can't wait until my next shift.  However, first, two days of rest.....