When I was 16, I took my first job as a dishwasher at a local gourmet buffet/catering business owned and operated by a family. I will admit that job really sucked, but I knew I had to start making money. As time went on, I got much better at it and getting yelled at by the head chef really lit a fire inside (in a positive "I will show them I can do this" mentality). Once I proved I could make it, I got the pots/prep position. Same exact thing happened when I was on dishes. The head chef went to the high end Rhode Island Culinary School and was in class with a young Emeril Lagassi (he said he was really cocky and showy, but all chefs need flare to prove that they are worthwhile). He was temper mental (as almost all head chefs are), but he showed me how to do the basic chef responsibilities first in calm way. I learn best by watching and sampling the job at hand, so this worked very well. The first thing all chefs must do is insure that the food they are preparing is safe to consume and the equipment being used is sanitary and clean. The first year there I realized that the food I have been eating for almost my whole life was a waste. Fresh, healthy and made that moment is the way it ALWAYS should be. As time went on, I trained basically all the dishwashers (not many truly listened), prep workers and became a chef's assistant. I would be in charge of making sure that all supplies would be listed to be ordered, go over the day's menu and tasks, run the buffet line (including carving duties) prepare dishes all the way thru (or almost), cleaning (which I am still very good at
) and various other tasks.
I was there for almost 7 years before I decided I needed something else to do for work. I had to get out. I almost lost my desire to cook near the end. Keep in mind that I was there from age 16 to 23, losing EVERY weekend for work, major holidays (except July 4th and Christmas), battling addiction and my father's health beginning to dissolve. So I took a job in the carbon service industry. I did go back a few times after I left, with many of the customers saying the place wasn't the same without me there.
So now, looking back at where I was at age 16, MANY things have changed. I will be turning 31 in a matter of days and the desire to create delicious, healthy food is always there everyday. I would like to open a gourmet bakery in the future, but in order to do so, I would practically need to do it in a major city (such as Pittsburgh) in order to be seen and appreciated. I have created a small sample menu for a long time and while the ingredients alone are expensive, the reflected retail prices would have to be picked up by a higher class of society (NO OFFENSE) or whoever wanted to purchase my award winning baked treats. A small sample of the menu:
Spoiler
1. Pistachio black cherry muffins
2. Blue/blackberry/peach stressel muffins (placed first in a baking contest with those)
3. Apple pear turnovers with cream cheese icing
4. Banana cream pies made with grass fed milk
5. Key Lime cookies with a fondant sugar dust
the rest is disclosed
)
All crusts, cakes and other baked items are made by hand, from scratch, every day. Only time will tell, but I keep my dreams alive.
