Learning To Be A Chef Part 4

Chapter 226-3

Learning To Be A Chef

Part 4

 

I had to admit I never thought being a Chef would be so difficult, I had thought I liked cooking and I was good at it. Yet there was a big difference in cooking at home than cooking in a huge industrial kitchen, yet what I didn’t realize the responsibility I would have. Like keeping everything on track from meal to meal, running a crew and training a crew, and making sure everything got done, besides the food. I also never realized how many times I had to calculate each of my items on a large scale.

Mack told me that all Chef’s’ use’s a cheat sheet of some kind as a reference so they wouldn’t have to calculate every little thing. Some things you just memorize after doing it so long. Like how many servings you would get in of the pans you would uses? How many lbs of carrots would give you the servings you need? Every Chef had their own recipes to follow… that all they had to do was open their little notebook quickly see everything they needed.

In fact, that was exactly what I was doing now writing down what it takes to do a simple egg muffin breakfast for 150, and french toasts, so next time I had to do it, I wouldn’t have to calculate it over again. I would simply know. Now I was busy calculating how many pans of lasagna I would need for 400 people, by asking questions. Chef Mack told me that I could get about 25 servings in the hotel long pan, then had me break it down so I would know. Stating answers cost because it should always be a learning experience that I would never forget.

I calculated that I need 16 pans and each pan required 5 lbs of hamburger and 1 lb of onions and a can of sauce, which meant I would need 80 pounds of hamburger, 16 cans of sauces and 16 tubs of cottage cheese; 65 lb block of cheddar cheese and another 65 blocks of mozzarella and seasons to taste. Using the basic Italian spices. Chef Mack likes to use fresh garlic and basil for making spaghetti and lasagna and everything else would come out of a big monster size bottle above my station.

He had me make enough lasagna for me and my crew to take home to our families so I added 5 more pans to make 22 pans so everyone got to take a pan home. Plus we could use all the hamburger up that we had on hand, but I wouldn’t be cooking any of those pans, Chef Mack would, and the same went for the salads. Telling me he liked the idea of easy meals on Saturday; because he wouldn’t have to keep a lot of stock over the weekend with a skeleton crew at best, and Stringum was giving everyone Sunday off because there wasn’t very many that were staying over the weekend.

I just had barely enough for everything today in the coolers; which stated we were going to have very big trucks on Monday. Once I had figured everything out and passed the news over too my crew. I added the rest of the hamburger that was left having Kirk prep the rest of the onions he could find in the cooler. Then start making the salad prep, using everything that was left in the vegetable cooler.

I gave Ricky a new job which was slicing all the roast beef I had already prepared and brought me the drippings I had already on hand for the Au- jus. Since Eli said he and Martin were fine being the trucks were small that when he was done he and Martin could jump on help Kirk with the salad prep. Already my dish room mice were already looking for something to do, so since they usually clean the ovens on Sunday and we won’t be open that day, I gave them that job. Knowing between the three of them they could easily knock them out.

I moved around the kitchen going from stirring my meat to pulling out my roasts so the boys could have the ovens while Ricky sliced his way to the finishes line as I made the Au- juice for the sliced roasts to keep them moist as well have enough for the dipping. Once he was done I had him break down the cheese and shed it all and what was ever lift in the cooler for our salads.

I cooked the eggs for the salads for the day. So, Kirk, Martin, and Eli could focus on the prep- work and make up 300 salads for lunch and dinner. The vegetable was frozen known as the Italian blind that had carrots, cauliflower and broccoli, and garbanzos beans. Making sure I had two pans of melted butter and whipped up some garlic butter for the French bread for tonight. All Chef Mack would have to do is cook the lasagna and the heat up the bread and cook the vegetables…

Chef Mack would come out to check on things and take Kirk, and his three friends’s one at a time to fill out their paperwork, mostly because he was bored, and mostly because he wanted to go home for a few hours since I had everything under control. Greg was still pumping away making bread and desserts for lunch and dinner tonight for both dinners and lunch. I asked if Chef Donaldson if he could use anymore help because my crew was running out of things to do. He smiled and said he could always use the help, so I asked Martin if would like to Help Chef Donaldson, so he to go home when we all do. He was more than willing to do it because it came with benefits of eating the crumbs of the deserts.

With my French dip done I quickly set up the line having Eli clean the slicer and the steamer so Chef Mack could cook his veggies later. Kirk was doing fine as he was just finishing the prep-work for all the salads.  150 fifty wasn’t a lot to make so he really didn’t need much help wanting to do it. I worked on my lasagna as I added the tomato sauce and the seasoning fresh and dried as the kitchen smelled really good.

It wouldn’t take long to make it as I lined up my pans on my station and sent Randy to bring me the noodles, as I went out to do a quick tour of the dining room and started making a new batch of coffee and hot chocolate. Everything was spotless including the dish room. The boys were finishing the last of the ovens, which weren’t very dirty because we cleaned them once a week.

So I had them start working on the floors since we were pretty much done messing around, only leaving two prep stations, mine, and Kirk's until he was done making up the salads. He was told just to make the 150 that Chef Mack would let customers make up their own. Not knowing exactly how many were staying for dinner, it was the same for the lasagna said he would know once he got a final count from the pit boss. If he didn’t need all the lasagna he would freeze and the bread for another meal during the week.

Just like we had done the muffins I had everything lined up as I emptied my lasagna success letting everyone have a taste including Chef Mack telling me I really have a knack of favorable food. It made me feel all nice and fuzzy inside, knowing how hard I worked in my food classes in high school and at home. The only difference was the quaintly compared to that. The recipe was still a basic recipe I had picked up along the way. I had learned that it wasn’t necessary to cook your noodles first because the sauce would do all the work for me and it has always worked for me in the past.

I had done both ways, but uncooked noodles always worked best by giving me a firmer lasagna with less chance of it being runny. It only took me 30 minutes to make 25 pans which was ok. All I had to do was cover them with plastic wrap and tinfoil and put them on a tall cart and slide them into the cooler. Kirk was finishing cleaning up his mess so the boys could have the floor. I had him help me butter the French bread that Greg and Chef Donaldson had made for me already sliced and ready to go. Plus it freed me to make one last round with 30 minutes to services. Chef Mack took over and opened the line early because we were done, and he was bored out of his mind.

He had all my crew ready to serve as he served the meat placing it on the homemade buns while the boys kept stocking the can sodas, salads, chips, and dessert. Right on time LDS crew came to pick up their share of our lunch. Chef Mack reminded them that they needed to pick up their lasagna and bread right at 4 o’clock so the bread doesn’t get cold and soggy. Everything was ready to go as they signed for it, telling me they really enjoyed my breakfast. Watching several boys I had seen in church bring in all the empty pans and the empty milk crates.

Chef Mack asked them what the count will be next week they said 25 now that things have died down, now that big push was over and they couldn’t do more until the sheet-rock was all up. That most of the crew was Stringum’s until they can go in and paint. Chef Mack said; “you really know how to make my Chef happy; considering he will be doing most of the cooking.” Then they reminded us that Tuesday was the big ward social steak dinner; where the Bishops of each of the wards would be doing the cooking.

Chef Mack said. “Oh, I am quite aware of it, in fact I am told the count will be about 700 hundred or so, I have already placed the order and was about tell my Chef here that Tuesday he would be working and taking Wednesday off and Thursday so he could be well rested to work for Mr. Tate on Friday night and Saturday because as you know he’ll have full week next week because of the big Halloween fundraiser.”

They nodded that they had been told and have purchased their tickets and so far the count was 1,500 and could be 2,000 by the time they stop selling tickets. I gasped at the count. Chef Mack told me it would be a piece a cake; now that I can run a kitchen without breaking a sweat. I wanted to say speak for your self because that sounded like a hell of a lot of people. Today was hard enough and not to mention Thursday and Friday. Even though the count was low, I still didn’t think it was a walk through the park.

Once they had everything loaded up Chef Mack asked what else I had left to do. I said making sure the kitchen was clean. He looked at me and the kitchen said. “Should we say 30 minutes? All the trucks have already come.”

I said. “That could work,” considering it was only noon and the line was pretty much dead.

He said. “We will have quick lunch and then you mice can do a quick run through as we talk about you’re the rest of your job now that I know you can run a kitchen with Skeleton crew and table covers 150 to 300 without breaking a sweat. I am thinking you can handle dinner shifts of 300 easily so, we will go over the closing of a kitchen. When we get back from lunch; I’ll make you a set of keys so you can lock up on Monday and Tuesday next week, and be able to open on the following Saturday.”

Once everyone had been through the line because most of them were going home for the weekend before the dinner service; it wouldn’t take much other than putting the lasagna and bread into the oven and cook frozen vegetables. He and his wife could do it with two hands behind their back, and three prep cooks. Who could also work in the dish room and clean the dining room? They would be out by 5 easily. It wasn’t my concern because we had worked our shift. So while they cleaned we talked about my menu.

By the time everyone was done I had called Landan telling him we were done and more than ready to go home, It still sounded a lot of work even though we would have candied carrots and something called a German green bean which he said was basically piece of cake. Chef Donaldson said he was making apple and cherry pies, a seven-layer desert which was mostly a chocolate mousse layered with whip-cream. Assorted bake cookies and brownie alamode and bread pudding.

It all sounded really good providing I could pull it off with 5 things I have never made before; which were German green beans, Chicken Cordon Blu and the twice baked potatoes as well as a frappe and the homemade root beer. We also decided to make simple mash potato as well for those that would prefer that over the twice baked one. The place was undetermined, but Stringum was thinking of renting out one of the Salt Lakes reception halls, even the one where we had our wedding could be on the table if we couldn’t find another venue.

To me, it sounded an impossible job because we had to have a large enough kitchen, plus worry about transporting all the food. Again that part of the arrangement wasn’t my concern; my concern was the cooking and running the kitchen, not mention making sure the dining room is set.

Stringum was in charge of the décor and the place where we were holding it. It really was going to be a true test if I could actually pull it off. Even with Chef Philips and Chef Mack guiding my hand. I had never worked up the ladder so fast in my life, but then again I had been preparing myself most of my life. Locking up was easy as I placed the locks on the coolers and made sure all equipment was off And locked the dining room door with a note dinner served at 4:00 until 5. We each grabbed our pans of lasagna and bowl of leftover salad and tray of garlic bread.

Landan said Mom and Dad would come down with my brothers around 5, in time for dinner. Greg said maybe sooner since they won’t have to cook. I noticed they had packed me and Eli and overnight bag seeing our satanic robes and slippers as well as our Sunday clothes. Randy said it was his parent’s idea so they could really get to know me, Eli and my three brothers.” Kirk had already told us what we were in for, it bothered me big time, and because it felt dirty and wrong, but it was the only way we could get them to talk using the method of pillow talk.