8 replies to this topic

[johnnyd]

This could be a blissful summer for the right person...

...or a nightmare from hell!

How would you tackle this?

Could Agatha Christie put it in her "ideas for later" pile?

Notes:
- It is on an island off Maine (Northeast USA coastal).
- The island is serviced by a ferry
- This is an authentic job posting.

Cooking breakfast, lunch and dinner. . ..for 2 principals (when they are invited out -- no cooking needed)
Sometimes cook breakfast for staff of 10
Live-In position on call 7-days a week (sometimes it's very quiet -- if they are dinning out, etc.)
Accommodations: Apartment 1/1 + office
Start Date : End of May
End Date : End of September
Memorial Day week end through Columbus Day week end
Great wine knowledge is important
Food shopping in the mainland, will take ferry back and forth
Must be very organized and fit to lug shopping bags of food from mainland to ferry to house, etc. . ..
They like all cuisines, a little bit of everything

The home is located on an Island -- and there are no stores at all, or restuarants on this Island....

Please send resume -- only if you are truly ok with all of the above mentioned....

Thank you.

[Kouign Aman]

Depends on how well you handle being on call 7 days a week, aka unable to make advance plans.
Other than that, its only 3 months.

[Alcuin]

My mom had a job like this, but it was in PA not on an island. Outside of the island stuff, this reads like a description of the job she worked at right down to the on-call part of it. It was not a summer gig though, it was full time. She even had an apartment at the estate, but never used it. If I recall, she complained about pretty normal personal chef stuff when she had the job. She was happy to leave it for a better job, especially because breakfast, lunch, and dinner is a lot of work. Making three meals a day, and not being overly repetitious, except by request, was as I recall the tough part. Then again, she liked that kind of challenge. It was intense for her, I think, so I'd say if you're not up for working 24 hours a day or thereabouts, best to forget it. And she wasn't on an island so she could go home and did (though the phone was always at reach of course). The insularity of the job would be magnified by having to live on an island.

[ScottyBoy]

For me it depends 100% on if there are nice people. I don't like being treated as "the help".

[janeer]

I did this for a summer job when I was in college and the couple's NYC cook refused to spend the summer in RI, and apparently she was so good they they let her dictate the terms of her employment. I didn't live in, but did cook three meals a day; did the shopping (not an island, that could get annoying,especially in bad weather); cleaned, fileted/cut the guy's fish (he went fishing almost every day); and did a few large cocktail and dinner parties. It was great fun and beautiful working conditions; the husband was a crotchety older guy but the woman was lovely and I still have recipes from her cook that she gave me. I did have a day off, though; I'd ask for that, even if it means leaving food ready for them.

[nikkib]

I think it sounds like fun but would clarify terms - they talk about being fit and lugging bags of shopping around - how far away are the shops when you get to the mainland? Would you be able to use a car/ have taxis paid for should you be catering a big event etc...Are meals included? Obviously you're the cook but what about your own meal requirements? Will that have to come out if your pocket? Doubtful but I'd still check- sounds like an interesting food blog in the making :-)

[Tri2Cook]

For me it depends 100% on if there are nice people. I don't like being treated as "the help".

Assuming the above, because I don't deal well with people looking down their nose at me either, it sounds pretty sweet to me. But I'm a bit of a hermit at the best of times so the isolation wouldn't bother me at all.

[LizD518]

I lived in mid-coast Maine for three years and had some friends that basically did this job for a couple - and all of their various personal assistants, etc... They were on the mainland near a popular tourist town, so that helped, but there were set times that shopping was allowed and this couple actually had a little diner on their property (seats 30!) and the chef had to provide the menu (they had a regular diner menu, plus specials) every day, and was only allowed to leave the property to shop at certain times of the day. A car was provided and support was available for entertaining larger groups, but still, it was a lot of work.

BTW, the house with the diner was on sale the last I checked... ;-)

[johnnyd]

Some observations;

- Island people use hand or push carts for grocery hauling.

- There should be a garden or the chef could plant one the first week. That seems a no-brainer.

- An alliance with a local lobsterman would be helpful.

- Since there is spotty wireless/cable service on most islands, I would make sure your netflix account is current.


As to the Agatha Christie remark (I guess I've been watching too much Revenge lately) the potential for employer dysfunction and head games is always there, but if you are stuck on a rock - no matter how beautiful - and you're left with no hair to pull out, would you go bananas with a rib knife or just stay ashore and disappear with the grocery money?