Real Talk: Working in a Restaurant

Alright folks - let's get to the nitty gritty.

Working in a restaurant.

Sounds busy and it can be.  And it SHOULD be.  Being bored for 8 hours and you're not allowed to use your phone in the kitchen is very frustrating indeed.

Once upon a time I was 19 and a waitress for my aunt for a summer and it was one of the most exciting and exhausting jobs I have ever done (other than motherhood - which is a forever-long gig) so now that I have some experience and have witnessed what the owners have done as well and can perhaps give you some insight on what it's like to work in a restaurant.
Bear in mind - these are based on my personal experiences and every restaurant and person is different.

Waitress

Things you (may/most likely) have to handle or deal with:

• Cleaning the restaurant 
• Washing windows
• Cleaning tables 
• Clearing off tables
• Vacuuming and mopping floors
• Cleaning the bathrooms
• Doing dishes
• Cleaning up accidents (i.e. spilled food, broken dishes, vomit -hopefully not)
• Refilling condiments 
• Salt and pepper shakers
• ketchup or other sauces in little bowls perhaps
• filling a salad bar or buffet
• Customer service
• As a host(ess) finding seating for your customers
• Accommodating customers needs and demands
• Taking their orders
• Serving their food and beverages in a timely manner
• Handling customer complaints
• Packing take-away orders or leftovers
• Handling customer reservations and inquiries on the phone/e-mail
• Processing payments (cash, bank/credit cards, gift cards, coupons and discount vouchers)
• So much math....splitting bills for example and calculating tips if need be.
• Other
• Planning schedules for other staff and handling reservations
• Long hours and on your feet for most of it
• Organizing catering services (includes setting up the location and food perhaps)
• Dealing with extremely flirtatious customers that might not accept "no" for an answer.
• Dealing with alcoholic or troubled customers that may exhaust you mentally and possibly try to hurt you physically if you deny them services.
• Dealing with customers smearing you publicly and privately - for example by word of mouth or describing you on the restaurant's public social media pages.
• AKA bullying

Cooking

Things you may/most likely have to deal with in the kitchen:

• Running out of ingredients
• Naturally this is prime time that customers want that particular meal or dish with those missing ingredients! :)
• Equipment breaking or missing
• It's why it's crucial to know where everything goes and to put things back once you're done!
• Yelling - you're yelling, serving staff yelling, your boss yelling - everyone yells...
• Usually depends on the size of the kitchen!
• Lack of space  - counter space can be limited and you may be bumping elbows with that coworker you can't stand more often than not.
• Also when it comes to unloading a lot of ingredients and stock/supply - it can get pretty cramped!
• Service staff dropping food and having to re-do a dish from scratch.
• Pain
• burning yourself
• cutting yourself
• losing a finger (tip or whole) or other body part *I personally haven't done this or witnessed this - but I've heard stories!)
• bumping yourself by walking into or tripping over something
• dropping heavy things on yourself
• heavy lifting
• Long hours on your feet
• dry skin from excessively washing and disinfecting your hands
• Bear in mind I live in a dry part of Finland.
• Stress
• Customers complaining and returning food
• Large groups of customers ordering at once (or several customers ordering at once)
• Customers changing their orders last moment - usually once their food is about to be served.
• Not having enough staff to assist
• Messing up dishes or plating
• memorizing the menu - especially if it's a large one or changes regularly
• Cleaning
• doing dishes and putting everything away
• emptying the deep fryer and cleaning the grill
• cleaning the gas stove
• cleaning floors
• washing some dishes by hand
• cleaning dishes with hard stuck-on food (this is why rule #1 is to SOAK it all!)
• emptying the food traps in the industrial dishwashers or in the floor (they smell rotten and like death and only the brave can handle it without vomiting all over themselves)
• doing a massive deep clean a few times a year 

Owner/Management

• Planning schedules for catering and staff
• Taking orders via e-mail and phone calls for reservations, dinner parties and catering services requests
• Handling social media accounts and television/radio interviews for promotional purposes
• Handling customer/staff complaints and conflict
• Creating new menus and specials
• Dealing with repair and regular maintenance/check-ups for all equipment and the building itself
• Taxes (ugh)
• Processing everyone's pay
• Interviewing and hiring new staff
• Ensuring they are properly trained for the work environment
• Ensuring there's enough food per shipment and ordering regularly
• Budgeting
• Firing staff
• Handling inquiries within staff (i.e. if someone is stealing tips or possibly stealing from the restaurant)
• Ensuring all bills are paid on time
• Ordering new equipment and dishes/supplies
• Deal with busier times and not so demanding times from customers (ie Christmas time is usually quite busy but after the new year - not so much).
• Little sleep (depending on the hours of the restaurant - you might work from morning to close!)
• Little personal time off or vacation time

I am sure there are a lot of things I am missing and some might not apply to you!

But perhaps this will give you a glimpse into the life of a restaurant worker and show you how difficult it can be.

It is partially why I do not want to have my own place.  I used to think it would be a great way to live but now that I have children - I don't think I could do it until they perhaps were independent and moved out.

It's also why I strongly believe that those who work in a restaurant are super strong mentally - because they have to do and remember so many things and work together as a team to get through the day.
A cook or head chef is no better than a waitress and vice verca.  Both are very demanding jobs and should be respected equally.

XO,
Dominique

Real Talk: The Truth About Cooking School

Ah yes - you want to be a cook/chef (pick your term) and want to know the truth and dirt?  Alright - I'll happily lay it out on the table for you.

Please bear in mind - I studied in Finland (I am a Canadian) and in Finnish (and I'm awful at languages) and I completed a 2-years vocational program.
So I studied the basics and this post is strictly based on my experiences.

Here is what I learned:

• As a cooking student - you're instructed to purchase a white chef coat.  Which is ridiculous because we all know what happens in the kitchen - stains your coat.  Forever.
• The lady who sold me my chef coat sold me one three sizes too big because she said "All first years gain a lot of weight."  Thanks Marta - I didn't gain THAT much....
• You will most likely gain some weight most likely (unless you're mega conscious of what you eat or have a ton of allergies and intolerances/sensitivities). 
• Or you're a die hard gym/work-out fanatic.
• You have to taste test what you are cooking before it goes out to the other students or actual student restaurant (we had one) and you usually eat on site as well.
• Freshly baked bread is hard to avoid.
• Really good smelling and tasting food is hard to avoid.
• It was also not common in the basic kitchens because Finnish food is rather bland in flavour (in terms of spices) but is really healthy and focuses more on natural flavour of the primary ingredients.  Like smoked reindeer or salmon - or potatoes.
• There's always that one (or more) person that might kill you by accident...
• Burning you
• stabbing you
• dropping heavy stuff on you
• not carrying their share of the weight and you're lifting something together so you might pull something...
• You might have an accident at work - keep calm, perform first aid and know it won't be the last time you burn or cut yourself in the kitchen.
• It's a billion times harder to study a subject in a language not native to your own.
• Jelly-roll cakes are far too easy to make.
• Work practices are terrifying but DO prepare you for the real world.
• Sometimes you embrace theory classes and wearing normal clothes and sitting on your butt for a few hours - sometimes you wish you were peeling onions all day with a blunt knife.
• There's always that one in class that references some world famous chef in every. Single. Class.
• There's always that one in class (or more) that think they are world famous chefs.
• Accidents really do and can happen.  
• Just because you don't eat or like the food doesn't mean you're not expected to taste it.  (Unless it's of a religious/cultural reason or you're of a particular strict diet - ie vegan).
• You cannot stress in the kitchen.  Ever.
• You also do not know how to wash your hands properly until they show you how poor of a job you did...doesn't matter if you sang Happy Birthday three times while sudsing up!  Their magic powder they sprinkle on your hands to UV-scan for germs and bacteria AFTER you've washed your hands will show you just how wrong you are.

Here's my advice on surviving culinary arts - especially if it has a very hands-on program like mine did:

• Avoid getting new tattoos that could be exposed in a chef outfit while you're studying.  For the sake of hygiene (both toward your skin and the food) - try and hold off.
• Same with piercings.  We were not allowed any earrings at all - not even studs - when in the kitchen.  One classmate had had hers just pierced before class started and it was still healing - so they allowed her to cover it up with a bandaid.
• Say goodbye to nail polish, jewelry and even your fitness wrist tracker (i.e. Polar, Fitbit etc.) - hello hygiene and food safety.
• Shop for your chef coat second hand if you can nab one in your size.  Get a back-up coat! They get dirty fast! I got a black one - which I'm glad I had for work practices and a future job - because your "It was white when I bought it - now it's various shades of processed stomach lining" won't look so fantastic and stain-free forever.  Black is much more forgiving!
• Don't be a snob - everyone has to clean.  Dirty dishes, emptying drains, scrubbing floors and surfaces.
• There's hand disinfectant for a reason.
• Just because you're of a particular diet - for example, a vegan - doesn't mean you won't be handling meat or other animal-produced products.  The chance of you getting a job in a restaurant that caters to your diet (vegan or otherwise) is slim to none - depending on the popularity of it and where you're located.
• No, I am not dissing vegans or specialty diets.  My BFF back in Canada is a vegan and I adore her and respect her food choices. :) I am just being honest with my statement.
• Of course if you have the ability - financial, physically and mentally - you could always open up a café or small restaurant that does cater to customers with a similar diet lifestyle as yours. :)
• Your hands have seen its better days.  
• I'm not one for having any kind of hand-care routine but I do try to moisturize a lot more now. 
• Your face will acquire a shine like no other - so I recommend skipping makeup - because you may get a steam regularly in the kitchen and you end up wiping your face..or those onions can make everyone tear up a bit...hello panda eyes!
• You'll be on your feet a lot - if you can - invest into the no-slip safety shoes that are super comfy or really good insoles.
• You should be somewhat physically fit when in the kitchen because there will be some heavy lifting required.
• Theory can be boring.  I am more of a hands-on theory learner.
• If you don't swear - you will in the kitchen.  It kinda goes hand in hand with the job.
• Ask questions.  There are rarely such things as stupid questions - so be bold.  Ask.
• It's better to ask than to end up wasting a lot of ingredients because you didn't ask something important.  Regardless of how silly it may be.
• Always have a pen or pencil in your coat sleeve - you may need to calculate different measurements or make notes on the recipe if given a copy.
• Nobody is perfect - even the high class chefs have their flaws.  Even if you don't see it on television or in their cookbook photos ;).  They also have decades of experience and many have traveled all over the world to gain their recipes and experiences!
• A lint brush is your best friend - especially if you have pets!
• Be yourself.  Add a bit of you into the dish - whether it's slightly spicing it differently (within reason - bear in mind allergies) or plating it a particular way.
• If your teacher asks for your opinion - it usually means they think you're doing quite well/know what you're doing and they value your opinion and want to know what you would do!  It's a huge compliment!!
• Learn how to light a gas stove.  My school didn't have them and I felt like a moron at my current job for not knowing how.
• Practice good hygiene.  Remember that people are paying you to cook food some day and they are doing so because they TRUST that the kitchen is cleaned regularly and that the staff are CLEAN and professional.  Even if you're just working at McDonald's or some small café - good hygiene goes a long way!
• So what I mean is put away your phone and have it on silent. 
• Don't pick the dirt from your nose/nails in the kitchen.  Do that in the bathroom and wash/disinfect. (You'd be surprised but I had a classmate that was picking his nails in front of the customers - and thought it was no big deal...)
• Shower regularly.
• Please wear antiperspirant of some kind if you can.  Kitchens can be small or you may have limited counter space to work together...nobody wants to smell the funk.
• Wash your chef clothes regularly too.
• Be polite and know your menu because maybe you'll get a job or a work practice where you have to fill a lunch buffet table for example and customers will want to know specific things about the food available.
• You may learn how to wait tables too - and there's a lot to that as well!  It takes a village to run a successful restaurant - even if it's a student practice one.

That's about all I can think of off the top of my head and seeing as this is 2-days overdue to be posted (I had the kids - that messes everything up scheduling-wise!) - I better hit "publish" so you can read this!
Thanks and enjoy cooking school!

XO,
Dominique

Health Nut: Smoothies! (and Real Talk)

There's a bit of a rant/real talk - just scroll through until you see in super big text "SMOOTHIES" if you want to get to the recipe.  

Frozen mango and pineapple chunks with berries, banana and coconut milk.

"Health Nut" - yeah don't worry I'm not one.  I religiously attend Burger King confessions with a side of McDonald's weekly - I call it "bonding with my God daughter" - but let's face it...it's all a cover up.
I'm just using these Common Categories (found on the right hand side of this blog) so it's easier to find things you might be particularly interested in. 😊

I do try to be healthy for about 90% of the month and that includes a lot of wiggle room...like 50%.

This week is my turn to have the kids (and it's Thursday night as I type this) and I have found myself in a particular situation this week.
I was broke AF.  I'm talking I am working part-time/on-call at a restaurant downtown with not many hours and panicking.  By "not many hours" I mean I haven't worked in awhile and won't be working with them for a total of a month due to lack of demand.  Full-time staff get priority over me of course so - what's a gal gotta do?
I had to think and think hard  (and apply everywhere of course).

I had been re-thinking how productive I have been (or not) lately and decided to bump it up.
Little things to be productive like:

• hang my clothes as soon as they're done in the wash - sounds obvious and whatnot but sometimes the kids just pull me in 3 different directions that I perhaps forget to hang the laundry for a day or two!
• I have now adopted the mindset that "if I hang my laundry to dry - that is being productive because it's not sitting wet somewhere".  
• FYI dryers are not common in Finland at all.  Most people hang their stuff to dry because it saves energy and while it might not get rid of the dog hair - I'm down with saving money and the environment when I can.
• Run the dishwasher AND the washing machine at the same time - and I could take a nap because I literally can nap anywhere (it's a parent skill) and two machines are helping me out.
• Bear in mind my dishwasher is second hand (washing machine too) and it's a piece of sh*t.  It rarely washes EVERYTHING on the first try.  And yes, I've cleaned the filter and washed it out every 2 weeks with some special gel stuff.
• Walk my dog Loki (who is a regular tester in my kitchen and by "tester" I mean he steals food whenever he can and has Level 5000 Ninja skills) while getting the kids and taking them to day-care/school too.
• Because then I can blog in peace afterward.

Then I decided with the financial situation - I need to be smarter.

That also meant being a firmer mother and not bending over backward for my pickiest eater of all - A-Man.  Who is 6, has a 6-pack - yet never did a sit-up/plank or curl up in his life - and eats mostly carbs.  Pasta, bread and fries are his favourite and he totally gets away with it.
(No, he doesn't have any allergies or sensitivities - he is just picky and has some language issues we are trying to help him along with.)

I look at McDonald's and my chubby rolls start doing their own happy dance.

So I decided I was going to cut back on the grocery store trips.  I travel by bus and it was eating up a lot of my time. 15-minutes there and 15-minutes back plus wandering about (it's huge) and sticking to my list...
I decided this week some new rules for myself:

• Clean out the freezer - I save so much and rarely use it due to my picky eater (he doesn't eat a lot of meat which is what I typically freeze) before buying more meat for example.
• 1-2 trips/week maximum to the store: No matter what.  If I am out of milk - tough.  The kids can drink water easily.  So can I.  Unless it was a recipe that required something I had absolute none of that particular ingredient - I am not going out.  If I can manage with less than X amount of sugar or whatever - I'll do so and my waist will thank me later.
• I've also been cutting back my milk consumption and option for dairy-free options due to my excessive bloating and trying to be a "Health Nut".
• Stick to the grocery list.  I use an app to help me out and I usually do pretty well with it.
• Plan Meals in advance: instead of the night before - plan ahead a bit more and let the kids have leftovers - or the same food two days in a row.  
• Their father was never a fan of leftovers so they're not used to the concept of having the same food two days in a row.  Doesn't matter if it gets tastier either - like soup.  They don't like soup anyway - go figure.

So far - it's been going well!

Now that I have that real talk out of the way (I am sure there will be more) - let's get on to the recipe!

Smoothies.  

Smoothies are SO freaking easy!  I noticed that I have a lot of frozen berries in my freezer and I always have bananas on hand - so I decided to whip out the Kenwood Chef Sense (aka my mixer with the blender attachment) and blitz some smoothies regularly.

I love smoothies and they're healthy and tasty...I used to think they were so time consuming but now I think of them as rather quick and easy to toss together.

Because similar to fried rice - you just dump whatever the heck you want into a blender and blend it then drink it. This makes them super filling too!

This is a great way to clear up freezer space and prevent yourself from buying more produce you might not necessarily need - especially for a smoothie which is just a pureed blend of fruit and liquid anyway.

Avocado, banana, strawberry Greek yoghurt with coconut milk and topped with more toasted coconut.

Smoothies are also very forgiving.  So if you make something too sour - add some honey or bananas. If it's too green looking - add some berries for a red or purple hue -or cocoa powder and make it chocolate-y.

I recommend a high power blender - hand blenders (aka immersion blenders) are great for saving space but never seemed to do the trick for me.

I always put my frozen chunks of fruit or berries firs -, some yogurt, some fresh fruit and veggies and then top it off with some liquid like juice, oat drink or nut milk.

Everything I list below are merely suggestions.  You can mix and match to your preference, taste and budget.  I also haven't tried some of the bolder tastes out there or more exotic fruits - so be brave!

If you f*ck up -- add honey.  You'll be fine honey!
Like what I did there? Ok..I'll stop.

What you need:

• A blender with a lid (so when it's on you won't decorate your walls like a blind interior designer)!

What you could use:

• Frozen fruit or berries: In Finland, frozen berries are a staple throughout the year until the next berry-picking season.  Everyone picks berries because they're free and plentiful. So make some space in your freezer by blitzing them in your smoothies, tossing them in your oatmeal to help cool it off, bake muffins, whip up pancakes - I'm going off track here.  Oops.
• If you're really pressed for time or simply cannot physically prep fruits and veggies to freeze - most grocery stores sell frozen packaged pre-chopped and ready to blend frozen chunks of fruit and berries.  
• Depending on the seasons - they may be a cheaper alternative to getting fresh produce.
• Don't hate yourself or others for going the slightly easier route.  It's your/their budget and perhaps it's just easier.  Whether you have kids or not or you're swamped with work - cut a bag open and toss it in the blender. Any extra unused frozen fruit or berries can be tossed back in the freezer for later.
• Honey or agave syrup: agave is lovely and great for those that are vegan.
• Fresh fruit: I always have bananas on hand because if they don't get eaten - they go into a smoothie or banana bread.
• I also have a bag of avocados as part of my weekly grocery list.  They're kind of pricey but once they begin to soften after a couple days at room temperature - I put the whole bag in the fridge and take them out when I need them.  They last so much longer this way!
• Citrus fruit
• Fresh veggies: I prefer juicing the veggies (like root veggies) because they're so hard to process in a blender but something like spinach could be handy.
• Yogurt: whether you go natural, low-fat, regular-fat, Greek, Turkish, frozen, vegan-friendly or already flavoured - yogurt adds that extra oomph to make an awesome smoothie.
• Toasted coconut: I recently made some of Chrissy Teigen's coconut rice and had a bunch of toasted shredded coconut leftover - so I just keep it in a jar and sprinkle it in/on top for the sake of a decent Instagram photo. And it tastes yummy - obviously.
• Spices/other: protein powder, cinnamon or nutmeg, cocoa powder, vanilla, mint leaves, lemongrass, wheat grass
• Liquid: Whether it be juice, crushed ice, milk (cow, goat, lactose-free, chocolate, oat, rice or some kind of nut milk) - this will help everything go smoothly and especially when working with frozen fruits - you'll need liquid to prevent your blender from going into overdrive and possibly burning itself out.

Put together in a blender with the lid on - being sure not to overflow it and blend away until smooth and your preferred consistency.

Enjoy cold and refrigerate whatever isn't consumed for later.

Bottoms up and enjoy!

XO,
Dominique