Monday, May 5, 2008

Down A Cylinder But Running Strong...

At the end of the day when its all said and done, just another day at the office...errr, kitchen. That new cook popped in here around 7pm...and with the way that GW Hospital operates I'm pretty sure he hadn't even gone home, he came straight here. He was still in his kitchen uniform, which was a touch too clean for a day of work, with 5 stitches hidden somewhere underneath the bandages of his thumb.

One, I can't wait to give him shit for cutting himself in the first place because that's what we do in the kitchen. Two, I respect him all the more for even stopping by to say that he couldn't work again until Friday. Fine by me, he only is supposed to work Thursday, Friday and Saturday for me. Only reason I wanted him here tonight was because it was supposed to be busy, which leads me to my next point...

246 covers on a Monday night, not bad for any restaurant in the city. I would go so far as to say it would be a damn good shift anywhere in the city for a Monday. My entire crew, dishwashers included, got to throw down a helping hand tonight. Not just in the usual sense either. My dishwashers could do prep at the very least, but they went even further. They helped me plate each of the 3 parties that rolled in while I simultaneously worked the expo, plated the party, and even plated 2 tables from behind the line with my other cooks.

We all knew we were in a tight spot and everyone stepped up. THAT, is a team. I am fortunate to have those guys in my kitchen. We are all in this together...can't describe it better than that. The chef always gets the credit, but the line cooks and everyone else are the engine that makes a good restaurant run.

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