Living Like A Rock Star

I am a cook. I am on way to becoming a chef...eventually. Unlike in the good old USA, in Canada you can't just go around calling yourself a chef after a few years at a culinary institute. Nope, you have to do a bunch of other crap after said culinary institute.

Whilst doing that bunch of other crap (normally called an apprenticeship) you pretty much live like a rock star. Not in the way you might think though. There is no tour bus, there is definitly not alot of money, but there is a lot of sex, drugs and rock n' roll. As little or as much of it as you want.

If any of you out there have had the pleasure of reading Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain then you know what I'm talking about. There was also a short lived TV show of the same name based loosely upon the book. It was an awesome show, only the TV gods know why it was cancelled. If anyone has seen the show, I'm somewhere between the creepy baker and the kick ass chick (except I don't cry...that part was so unbelieveable.) Haven't really decided which way to go on that one.

The life of a cook usually starts around noon-ish. Depending on how much you drank last night and what time your next shift starts. My shifts usually start at 4pm, so I try to be up around noon, get some stuff done, get all showered and at least semi-pretty and head out (on the bus of course, because cooks don't get paid enough to own cars.) So you arrive at work, usually to find that the lunch crew has left your station a total mess and there's a bunch of prep to do. If you're lucky you might work in a kitchen where people actually clean up after themselves and the owner is actually concerned about little things like health inspections, I however, do not work in that kind of kitchen.

I clean my station, do my own prep and if I have some extra time (which I usually do) I go find something to clean or organize. Cause I can't F-ing stand it. Cleanliness (as discussed in previous post regarding Roomies) is very important to me, and it's very important in a working kitchen as well. There are all sorts of nasties that can get into your food. There is also the disorganization, which I also can't stand. My first shift at this new job, I pretty much reamed out the owner for running such an aweful set up. Surprisingly he asked me to come back the next day. I just did my 3rd shift there last night. I've taken to making sure my station is F-ing spotless and the other stuff I'm going to do little by little every day until it's all freakin' shiney.

So what do I cook? Pasta, pasta and more pasta, and the occasional sandwich or hot appetizer. It's bloody easy, but we haven't been too busy yet so knock on wood. The last few nights I've gotten off around 10pm, perfect timing since this is when people usually start showing up at the bars. It also helps that one of my favourite pubs is right down the street. Strongbow here I come. So it's work, drink, sleep, repeat.

I drank a little too much last night though, and have succeeded in screwing myself for any chances of productivity today. And I have like 4 projects due this week for school.

But that's the rock star life.