I'm usually up for a good argument. I dislike it when people just agree with whatever I say and have no opinions of their own, especially in a relationship. I generally enjoy hashing it out with someone, submitting points for discussion, and of course eventually winning the argument, or being convinced that the other person is right. I like to be right, but when I'm proven wrong, then I'm wrong and I learn from it.
Recently, TBear and I had a difference of opinion that I'm not sure I can accept in the long run. Neither of us "won" the argument, which happens quite frequently in our relationship, that's not what bothers me about it. What bothers me is that he has attacked a fundamental piece of what makes me the person that I am: food.
I am a foodie, full out, I love food and I know all about it, or at least try to. I have full culinary and hospitality education...which I should mention includes courses on nutrition--both basic and advanced special dietary needs.
Contrary to what you may have heard, you can indeed trust a skinny chef. I am a skinny (soon to be) chef. My weight usually fluctuates between 120 and 140lbs throughout the year on my 5'6" frame. (120lbs in the height of summer, max 140 in the dead of winter.) Seasonal weight fluctuations are pretty normal, we tend to pack it on during the cold months when we're less active and going for all those comfort foods and shed the excess in the warmer months when we're out walking or biking and eating a lot of salad cause it's too damn hot for any real food.
Am I the picture of health? Not really. I smoke, and I don't exercise enough, and my work keeps me from eating full balanced meals every day. But hey, I eat fast food like once a month, twice tops, I rarely eat french fries and when I do make myself something to eat at work it's generally healthy (minus the big slab of cake at the end of a bad night.) I could do better, sure, but I could do a lot worse too. But I'm getting off my topic.
To summarize the disagreement between myself and TBear in regards to food:
TBear: Food is just fuel. It doesn't need to taste good. Chefs are useless and they're killing people with all the butter and salt they put into food.
Me: You're kidding, right?
Right? He's GOT to be joking. He just insulted my entire profession and the one thing that I am really freaking good at: cooking and eating food!!! But no, he wasn't joking, at all. We fought, and fought and fought over this. He says he appreciates the effort it takes to prepare food but would really prefer it if it was healthy. I cook healthy food for him all the time, but he insists that the pinch of salt in the water for the vegetables and the teaspoon of butter used to the fry the fish is going to kill him eventually. And he will not back down. Despite the fact that I'm the one with the culinary and nutritional education. Apparently the government is trying to kill us with the FOOD GUIDE and the SALT LOBBYISTS are the ones who decided what our ADI for sodium is rather than actual scientists and nutritionists.
As you can imagine, I'm quite upset about this. We fought, and it turned into a very silent ride home from the pub. The next day went pretty normal. As per usual it's been swept under the rug like it doesn't even matter because he doesn't feel that it matters.
So what am I supposed to do about this? He has insulted my passion. Something that makes me who I am. Called my profession useless (says the guy on unemployment btw) and thinks that he knows what is best for him nutritionally without any education on the subject at all.
The whole thing is festering in me right now. I want to bring it up, but I don't know what to say about it that won't elicit the same old response of "I'm sorry you feel that way." (Which I f***ing hate because it's such a total cop out, when you hurt someone's feelings the right thing to do is apologize for it not blame them for feeling that way.) If I don't bring it up I'm afraid that it will simply continue to fester and this resentment will grow until it comes out in some inappropriate way.
(Like presenting him with a can of dog food the next time he comes over for dinner while I eat my lightly salted and buttered veggies. If food is just fuel then he should be very happy with the high protein meal I have so thoughtfully prepared for him. No?)
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Social Outcast
Ho hum, hum ho. Another week or so gone by and my social calendar is bleak as bleak can be. Being in this business makes it almost impossible to engage with friends on a purely social level. When I do finally have a day off I'm usually working till 10 or 11pm the day before (for 10 or 11 hours in a hot-ass kitchen), and therefore not likely to go back out once I get home. Or the odd times I actually get two days off in a row, I'm stuck at home doing the huge pile of laundry and trying to find the floor of my room.
Sigh. I feel like I don't connect with my friends anymore. I try to stay in touch, I really do. But with a schedule like mine, I run out of interesting stuff to email about.
Sometimes I think things like Facebook actually keep us apart more than bring us together. Instead of calling up a friend to see how they're doing and what they're up to I can just click over to their FB profile and boom, there it is: their life, in a nut shell. So I know that So-and-so's 2 year old has an ear infection, and Whats-her-name is lame enough to go see the Backstreet Boys concert, that Who-gives-a-fuck has broken up with her boyfriend AGAIN, and Mr. McWhiney is miserable as usual.
And where does that get me? Alone, at a computer, creeping friends that I've had for 10 years and can't be bothered to call and make plans with. I don't even call when I do make planes, I FB message, or I text, or BBM, or how many other ways I can make a disconnected connection and make plans without actually talking to anyone.
Hell, I order my pizza online too. I actually HATE talking on the phone. The advent of technology has allowed me to pander to my social anxiety regarding the telephone. And my regular social anxiety keeps me from really trying to connect with my friends more. It just takes so much EFFORT sometimes. And lately I'm just too damn tired.
Weekend forecast: Friday and Saturday off of work (9 day stretch, joy). Friday to be spent at Walmart replenishing all kinds of boring crap that I somehow decided I needed to live comfortably, followed by a trip to Toy's R Us to buy the noisiest most annoying useless piece of overpriced plastic for my nephew's 2nd Birthday. Saturday attending nephew's 2nd birthday that McDonald's no less (insert vomit here.) Followed by the attendance of a going away party for a friend who is moving to Scotland....which won't be much different than him living 10min away cause I think I hung out with him twice in the last year. Possible attendance to either a Stag & Doe for a girl I went to HS witch or go see GuyRoomie play at the pub. Depends how much cash I have left I guess.
Maybe my social calendar isn't as a bleak as I thought. :0P
PS: Kinda surprised I haven't gotten any comments on my Burger King post. Hello? Is this thing on?
Sigh. I feel like I don't connect with my friends anymore. I try to stay in touch, I really do. But with a schedule like mine, I run out of interesting stuff to email about.
Sometimes I think things like Facebook actually keep us apart more than bring us together. Instead of calling up a friend to see how they're doing and what they're up to I can just click over to their FB profile and boom, there it is: their life, in a nut shell. So I know that So-and-so's 2 year old has an ear infection, and Whats-her-name is lame enough to go see the Backstreet Boys concert, that Who-gives-a-fuck has broken up with her boyfriend AGAIN, and Mr. McWhiney is miserable as usual.
And where does that get me? Alone, at a computer, creeping friends that I've had for 10 years and can't be bothered to call and make plans with. I don't even call when I do make planes, I FB message, or I text, or BBM, or how many other ways I can make a disconnected connection and make plans without actually talking to anyone.
Hell, I order my pizza online too. I actually HATE talking on the phone. The advent of technology has allowed me to pander to my social anxiety regarding the telephone. And my regular social anxiety keeps me from really trying to connect with my friends more. It just takes so much EFFORT sometimes. And lately I'm just too damn tired.
Weekend forecast: Friday and Saturday off of work (9 day stretch, joy). Friday to be spent at Walmart replenishing all kinds of boring crap that I somehow decided I needed to live comfortably, followed by a trip to Toy's R Us to buy the noisiest most annoying useless piece of overpriced plastic for my nephew's 2nd Birthday. Saturday attending nephew's 2nd birthday that McDonald's no less (insert vomit here.) Followed by the attendance of a going away party for a friend who is moving to Scotland....which won't be much different than him living 10min away cause I think I hung out with him twice in the last year. Possible attendance to either a Stag & Doe for a girl I went to HS witch or go see GuyRoomie play at the pub. Depends how much cash I have left I guess.
Maybe my social calendar isn't as a bleak as I thought. :0P
PS: Kinda surprised I haven't gotten any comments on my Burger King post. Hello? Is this thing on?
Friday, June 4, 2010
This is not Burger King. You cannot have it "Your Way"
Being a cook for a living (aspiring chef actually) presents many unique challenges. The one I hate the most is what I call the Burger King phenomenon.
There is a delicate balance that we in the hospitality industry have to strike between giving the guest (or customer) what they want while maintaining our own policies and profits. So we find ourselves bending over and taking it from just about everyone in the name of customer service and guest satisfaction...provided it doesn't smash the bottom line to smitherines.
The Burger King phenomenon is just one example of how we take it up the ass.
As a cook I get to deal with all sorts of dietary issues. Allergies, vegetarians, vegans *cringe*, celiac, lactose intolerance, kosher, no dairy, no salt, no fat...no flavour! For the most part, when it comes to things like allergies and celiacs (gluten-free), I'm very accomodating. I understand that if you have an almond your throat will close up and someone will have to find your trusty Epi-pen. I understand that if there is gluten in your meal that you will have very painful gastro-intestinal problems for the next few days. I try my best, really, to make sure that you get food that doesn't kill you.
What kills me, however, is the increasing amount of people who simply don't like something so they'll say they're allergic to it in order to not receive it in your meal. Frankly, that's insulting. If you don't want tomatoes, just say, "No tomatoes please," and I won't make it with tomatoes, you don't have to say you're deathly allergic to tomatoes so you simply can't have them in your salad and then turn around and order a Caesar. It blows my mind, really.
And when you are actually allergic to something, you might want to inform the waitress of that allergy BEFORE you order your meal, not while it's being prepared thereby sending the kitchen into a frenzy trying to remember if there's any nuts in that pesto, or gluten in that sauce, or onions in the gravy.
While I have no problems making a Cobb Salad with feta instead of blue cheese, or no bacon on your Caesar salad, or add chicken to whatever, I do have a problem with you picking and choosing the ingredients and dressings that we have on hand to create your own personal Super Salad. The restaurant I work at has a total of 8 different salads to choose from. EIGHT. One of those has got to be at least close to perfect for you. Choose one of them....with no onions, or no croutons, or whatever. But DO NOT choose the lettuce from salad #1, with the dressing from salad #3, three ingredients from salad #2, and the meat from salad #8. This is not a salad bar, this is an "a la carte" restauant, which means that there is a menu and you order from that menu.
And for the record...if you take out the bacon, blue cheese and hard-boiled egg from a Cobb salad, it's not a Cobb salad anymore--it's just lettuce with chicken and croutons on it--not even a real salad!
Worst salad order ever-----> lettuce (not specified, asked and found out they wanted romaine), carrots (which are not in any of our salads and therefore not prepped), mushrooms (again, not in any of our salads and therefore not prepped), and bacon with an oil and vinegar dressing. (Because apparently the 8 different made-in-house dressings are simply not as tasty as veg oil and white vinegar.....even the house dressing of olive oil and balsamic wasn't good enough.) I therefore had to make an oil and vinegar dressing, peel and shred carrots, wash and cut mushrooms all cause of this fucktard who decided he was eating at Burger King and could have it his way. We charged him $10 for it.
The best food order I ever got, that nearly made me lose it. The chit said "Quesadilla, BBQ Chicken Sand." Easy enough right? Wrong. The waitress comes 'round to talk to me about it.
So these people want....and I'm not kidding, this actually happened...what goes in our Chicken Panini (Chicken, Pesto, Roasted Red Pepper, Mozza Cheese) but in a quesadilla. And what goes in the BBQ Chicken Sandwich, (Chicken, Cheddar, BBQ Sauce, Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato) but in a Panini.
I looked that waitress straight in the eye and told her, "This is not BURGER KING!"
But then I had to make it anyway because apparently we did it for them the last time they were there. (Anyone who is a waitress out there please take note---> do not ever do special requests like this EVER because they will expect it the next time they come in, and then every other time after that. No special requests EVER!!!)
Bottom line: Do not expect to have it "your way" unless you're actually at Burger King, because while us cooks (slaving away for minimum wage in a hot kitchen for 10-12hrs a day) have no problems omitting the tomatoes from your sandwich, or putting extra bacon on your burger, or ensuring no nuts get into your food, we do kind of expect you to order FROM THE MENU.
If you want to create your own food, feel free to stay the fuck home and make it yourself.
There is a delicate balance that we in the hospitality industry have to strike between giving the guest (or customer) what they want while maintaining our own policies and profits. So we find ourselves bending over and taking it from just about everyone in the name of customer service and guest satisfaction...provided it doesn't smash the bottom line to smitherines.
The Burger King phenomenon is just one example of how we take it up the ass.
As a cook I get to deal with all sorts of dietary issues. Allergies, vegetarians, vegans *cringe*, celiac, lactose intolerance, kosher, no dairy, no salt, no fat...no flavour! For the most part, when it comes to things like allergies and celiacs (gluten-free), I'm very accomodating. I understand that if you have an almond your throat will close up and someone will have to find your trusty Epi-pen. I understand that if there is gluten in your meal that you will have very painful gastro-intestinal problems for the next few days. I try my best, really, to make sure that you get food that doesn't kill you.
What kills me, however, is the increasing amount of people who simply don't like something so they'll say they're allergic to it in order to not receive it in your meal. Frankly, that's insulting. If you don't want tomatoes, just say, "No tomatoes please," and I won't make it with tomatoes, you don't have to say you're deathly allergic to tomatoes so you simply can't have them in your salad and then turn around and order a Caesar. It blows my mind, really.
And when you are actually allergic to something, you might want to inform the waitress of that allergy BEFORE you order your meal, not while it's being prepared thereby sending the kitchen into a frenzy trying to remember if there's any nuts in that pesto, or gluten in that sauce, or onions in the gravy.
While I have no problems making a Cobb Salad with feta instead of blue cheese, or no bacon on your Caesar salad, or add chicken to whatever, I do have a problem with you picking and choosing the ingredients and dressings that we have on hand to create your own personal Super Salad. The restaurant I work at has a total of 8 different salads to choose from. EIGHT. One of those has got to be at least close to perfect for you. Choose one of them....with no onions, or no croutons, or whatever. But DO NOT choose the lettuce from salad #1, with the dressing from salad #3, three ingredients from salad #2, and the meat from salad #8. This is not a salad bar, this is an "a la carte" restauant, which means that there is a menu and you order from that menu.
And for the record...if you take out the bacon, blue cheese and hard-boiled egg from a Cobb salad, it's not a Cobb salad anymore--it's just lettuce with chicken and croutons on it--not even a real salad!
Worst salad order ever-----> lettuce (not specified, asked and found out they wanted romaine), carrots (which are not in any of our salads and therefore not prepped), mushrooms (again, not in any of our salads and therefore not prepped), and bacon with an oil and vinegar dressing. (Because apparently the 8 different made-in-house dressings are simply not as tasty as veg oil and white vinegar.....even the house dressing of olive oil and balsamic wasn't good enough.) I therefore had to make an oil and vinegar dressing, peel and shred carrots, wash and cut mushrooms all cause of this fucktard who decided he was eating at Burger King and could have it his way. We charged him $10 for it.
The best food order I ever got, that nearly made me lose it. The chit said "Quesadilla, BBQ Chicken Sand." Easy enough right? Wrong. The waitress comes 'round to talk to me about it.
So these people want....and I'm not kidding, this actually happened...what goes in our Chicken Panini (Chicken, Pesto, Roasted Red Pepper, Mozza Cheese) but in a quesadilla. And what goes in the BBQ Chicken Sandwich, (Chicken, Cheddar, BBQ Sauce, Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato) but in a Panini.
I looked that waitress straight in the eye and told her, "This is not BURGER KING!"
But then I had to make it anyway because apparently we did it for them the last time they were there. (Anyone who is a waitress out there please take note---> do not ever do special requests like this EVER because they will expect it the next time they come in, and then every other time after that. No special requests EVER!!!)
Bottom line: Do not expect to have it "your way" unless you're actually at Burger King, because while us cooks (slaving away for minimum wage in a hot kitchen for 10-12hrs a day) have no problems omitting the tomatoes from your sandwich, or putting extra bacon on your burger, or ensuring no nuts get into your food, we do kind of expect you to order FROM THE MENU.
If you want to create your own food, feel free to stay the fuck home and make it yourself.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
False Start
Ok, so I haven't blogged since December. Talk about a false start. I was writing quite a bit and then I just stopped. Life is like that I guess.
Update (in case anyone cares):
Was really depressed this winter, things generally sucked.
Sucking even more--->got fired from the pub, for no fucking reason really. Might post the long-ass letter I wrote to Chef (didn't send it though just one of my therapy tactics.)
Stayed unemployed for a while, funds dwindling away.
Thought about going back east for the summer (was getting desperate.)
Found a new job at The Bistro, nice, higher-class restaurant.
Things are good at work so far, Chef likes me, tells me I do excellent work on a daily basis (ya suck it Chef from the Pub who fired me!)
Still with TBear, things are fine, though he's now the one unemployed. Seems whenever one of us is ok, the other is in the shit.
Did not graduate from college, still need one credit. Going to take the class in night school in September.
RedBull Air Races this weekend----> hello overtime!
Will try to write more, and read more.
Update (in case anyone cares):
Was really depressed this winter, things generally sucked.
Sucking even more--->got fired from the pub, for no fucking reason really. Might post the long-ass letter I wrote to Chef (didn't send it though just one of my therapy tactics.)
Stayed unemployed for a while, funds dwindling away.
Thought about going back east for the summer (was getting desperate.)
Found a new job at The Bistro, nice, higher-class restaurant.
Things are good at work so far, Chef likes me, tells me I do excellent work on a daily basis (ya suck it Chef from the Pub who fired me!)
Still with TBear, things are fine, though he's now the one unemployed. Seems whenever one of us is ok, the other is in the shit.
Did not graduate from college, still need one credit. Going to take the class in night school in September.
RedBull Air Races this weekend----> hello overtime!
Will try to write more, and read more.
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