I went back and read my earlier posts of when I first
started my stage. Things seemed less
negative back then. I am now 5 weeks in
and instead of enjoying my time, I have come to dread the weekends. I don't know if it is due to the lack of sleep,
the lack of a social life, the fact that I am constantly on overdrive at the
restaurant, or a combination of all 3. I
am always fatigued which in turn causes me to be in a lousy mood everyday.
My hands now resemble those of a zombie: dried, peeling, black. I have increased sensitivity in my fingers
from all the lost layers of skin. Warm
feels hot, hot feels like hell, cold is cold but eventually starts to burn, and
under normal room temperature conditions, my fingers constantly have a stinging
sensation. I often wonder if cooks
around the world can pick each other out from a crowd just by looking at
hands. I wonder what they would think of
me if they saw my hands? Would they
smile and reminisce of a time when they were once in my shoes? or would they
laugh at me for being a newbie?
There is a cook (Hasselhoff) who has recently been having me
help him with his prep work. Most of the
cooks just give me a list of things to 'mise' out (short for mise en place) and
leave me to my work. Hasselhoff on the
other hand is always explaining things to me.
He explains how the ingredients I am prepping are incorporated into his
dishes, and he has me taste it as I go along.
During dinner service he will sneak to the pastry line and feed me some
of the components of his dishes. I am
learning a lot from him and I am thankful that he takes the time to help mentor
me.
I try to avoid Chef as much as possible when I am
working. He scares me. I've seen him blow up on other cooks for
under performing and I fear one day I will feel his wrath. He was able to catch me by myself on Sunday
night after service. Chef asked me some
questions about my regular job, when I was leaving for Paris, etc. At the end of our conversation, he told me
"When you come back, give us a call."
I took this as an offer for employment, or at least another stage. Maybe the other cooks have commented about my
performance in a positive way, or maybe Chef is impressed by how hard I am
working, which I find odd because I didn't think that he knew I existed.
I can't believe that I am 46 days away from flying to Paris. . .pending my visa approval that is. I am going in next week for my interview at the embassy/consulate. Hopefully they don't send me back home on the account of a missing document. I hear that the embassy is extremely strict about paperwork, and won't hesitate to berate you at the slightest hint of discrepancy. Wish me luck!
