KateW

I just got a google whack! For those who don't know, it's what people with too much time on their hands try to do over at google--they put in two words and try to come up with just one result. Well, it works for "crumb thingy"... Ok, so I'm one of those people with too much time on their hands. Proceed.

I think they're called crumb sweepers. I did a google search for that and seemed to come up with the thing you're talking about.

"Also, anyone out there ever NOT have unexpected vegetarians show up?" My mom's SO's family is really picky and each in a different way. We have trouble remembering who is a vegetarian (but will eat seafood), who likes everything but chicken, who doesn't do dairy, who doesn't like spicy food, etc. And we're only talking about 5 people.

Ghirardelli chocolate was established in California.

This is just how I felt, and still feel a little bit, at my job. And I can only imagine how tame the stress must be at Ruby Tuesday compared to the places you've been. I guess I envisioned leisurely, loving care put into every dish at an upscale place but I guess it's just as fast paced as any joint, if not more so! I can't imagine working that fast AND making the food look that good. The result looks so painstaking that it's hard to imagine doing it quickly. I guess that's why I admire it so much.

I had a bowl of the new Berry Burst Cheerios (I think that's what they're called), the one with strawberries only, and I was disappointed that the cheerios were sweetened, like honey nut cheerios. I was expecting plain cheerios. Guess I'll have to break down and buy plain cheerios and add my own strawberries.

It sounds like you worked some pretty high profile restaurants and it would be a shame to go back to something so non-descript like a chain restaurant. I'm here because I didn't want my screwups to become high profile ;) Forgot pickles on the sandwich? No big deal. Forget something on a plate at those places you worked at? I think it would be a big deal. I'm just here to feel around and make mistakes without much of a price. I don't plan to go back to chain restaurants/fast food once I graduate. I might not end up at Tru or Jean Georges right away but I hope to build a solid foundation of progressively better establishments.

I'm glad this thread popped up again because I've lately realized that raspberry popsicles also cause little sores on my tongue, but grape ones don't. Like someone said before, they pass pretty quickly but are really painful when they're there.

Yeah I took a career development class last year and the guy who taught it works in the career management office, which is the office that does job placement. We learned how to write resumes, cover letters, thank you letters, etc., how to do interviews, how to dress for them, things like that. I think I took some good information away from it. I think you have to take a career management class every year at JWU. Anyway, when I asked the guy about a summer job and told him I live in New Bedford, he said something to the effect of, "Hmm, not much out there, how about Marriot?"

Well it's going a little better now. They haven't made me cook by myself for a long period of time yet, and when I am by myself for a short time I do alright. I've talked to two of the managers and they both say I'm doing just fine and being hard on myself. I guess if I were doing crappy they would tell me. I think I just tend to get ahead of myself. If I've got 10 tickets coming out of the printer I can't resist looking to see what they are instead of paying attention to the ones I'm already working on. It makes more sense to get rid of the first 3 or 4 tickets and then move on. That little menu booklet is still pretty useless to me. I learn it better by looking at the real thing, and even better by making it. I went to Ruby Tuesday for lunch a few days ago and got something I'd never gotten before just to see how it was plated, lol. I don't work again until Thursday, and I'm not closing. Whew!

Well it's only a couple months and since I'm just catching on I don't think I want to go somewhere new and learn their ropes for two more weeks. Then my summer will be half over.

Yeah I'm originally from Massachusetts, and I've lived briefly in Maryland and Tennessee but the Massachusetts lingo has always stuck with me. No accent, though. I'm not sure JWU counts summer jobs as "real" jobs since people from all over the country and the world come to JWU, and therefore wouldn't be able to hold their summer job when they come back to school in the fall. So JWU focuses on post-graduation jobs instead. Anyway, last night wasn't so bad, it was incredibly (I mean WICKED) slow for a long time and then we got slammed for a couple hours at the end. All I ended up doing was dropping what they told me to drop in the fryolater. When it was slow, one of the guys quizzed me on a lot of stuff. I know most of it, but I tend to draw a blank when it comes down to actually doing it. I also second-guess myself a lot. I have today off, and tomorrow I work 6-close and I'll probably be on quesadilla, soup, and chip and dip duty. I got a nice little splash of oil burns on one of my hands when I put some fries in and the fryolater flared up. I also got a couple other minor burns from I don't know what. I really want to stay for the summer and I'm going to keep trying for as long as they want me.

It's probably partially my fault that I am not at a more upscale establishment. I didn't seek out any help in looking for a summer job. I wanted to work at Sid Wainer and when they didn't call back I stalled and finally went to the mall to look for something I thought would be pretty straightforward. I thought I might get prep work, dishwashing, salad bar--just so I could get a taste of it. Instead, I ended up behind the line. I'm not sure what my point is. I just worked about 10 hours and I'm wicked tired. I'll post tomorrow.

Sorry, I thought trailing meant just watching to see what you think. I'd be more than happy to help. JWU didn't offer much help in the summer job department. They claim to have an excellent job placement program when you graduate, which will be next summer, so hopefully I'll have a more suitable job at this time next year.

Oh, my. Just went to this page about Tru to check out some of his stuff. To be honest I didn't know who he was when Steve mentioned his name, but I have heard of the restaurants he has worked in. I looked at the pictures of the food--now THAT is what I want to do.

Steve, that's also a good idea. I never really thought about just going to a place to watch. How about Olive Garden? ;) I bet they microwave and fryolate more things than I'm aware of! I wanted to get a kitchen job to prove that I do have the dexterity and organization skills to do it. But is it a possibility that I just don't have it?

Thanks They're actually funny, because like most kitchens it's very testosterone heavy, they like to rag on each other a lot and make comments, and they keep saying things like, we must be scaring you...and I'm really hard to offend when it comes down to things like that. But I do know all about harassment and all that, so I would say something if it went that way.

No, they don't say it in a mean way. They're just trying to make me feel better. They're all totally supportive. When I flipped out yesterday, most of them came up to me later and said hey it's ok, give it time. And even some of the servers who were around gave me a pat on the back. So when they say it isn't rocket science they arent saying it in the "Hey get the program" tone of voice. It's more like, this isn't hard after a while, you'll get used to it. And it doesn't seem hard. Just a lot to learn.

Trailing and updating the menu sound like good ideas. I "trailed" for about an hour before I was hired, and they made it look so easy, I thought, why wouldn't I be able to do that? It's hard to believe it's this hard for everyone. "It isn't rocket science", everyone keeps telling me, and I suppose that's supposed to help, but it just makes me feel worse that I can't grasp this supposedly simple job.

I'm not sure if the question is is it available in Canada, or is it available anywhere, but I just went grocery shopping tonight and got some in Massachusetts, USA. If I had a scanner I'd post a pic of it

Maybe, but they tend to not give you that much time. After 3 weeks or so, if you can't cook and close by yourself, they let you go. The manager is being nice and giving me some time but I'm not sure how much.

Haha that's true, someone said to me before that nobody really notices unless something is *really* screwed up. But the manager notices, and he is always back there checking the plates before they go out. The kitchen seems to run fine, when I'm not in the way The heat doesn't bother me, burning my fingers doesn't bother me, it's when I screw up and get frustrated and feel embarrassed for even being there, that bothers me. I guess if I hadn't burned the FOS twice it wouldn't have been such a bad day, but the girl who was supposed to be training me felt like it was ok to leave me alone for a while, and that's when the shit hit the fan. I was mad at her for trusting me, mad at myself for failing, etc. You know how it goes.

Probably wouldn't help much, because there arent pictures of everything, and it doesn't always tell you what sides it comes with, or what size plate it's on. Their online menu helps a little bit though. I just wish I could do less, like simply cook whatever is needed, while someone else plates it up, or vice versa, but it doesn't work that way. Today I flipped out because I burned the cheese on French onion soup under the broiler TWICE in a row. No big deal I guess, but it broke me. Tomorrow I work 12-9 (yuck, but at least I'm not closing). Mainly I feel bad for the cooks who just wanna get stuff done and get out of there but have to babysit me instead.

I have a little menu booklet, but it's outdated, not everything is in there, and some things in there are different now. It's also not in color, which would really help me with learning what sauces go with what, for instance. Big help, huh? There are also pictures and specs of each dish behind the line, but they have the same problems as the menu booklet. I guess I just want to know how much time to give it.

I hate it..hate it hate it hate it. Sure, I'm fine making quesadillas, chip and dip plates, and bowling soups, but ask me what's on any plate that involves the word sampler, trio, or platter and you've lost me. I don't get to practice most of the dishes enough for it to be routine. I forget about things under the broiler, I can't lift the fry baskets, I can't reach half the plates... Technically this is my second week, but I've only worked about 25 hours so far, and they want me to start cooking by myself next week. Ummm, can we say I don't think so? What should I do? Hang on, fumble through, get a lot of sendbacks and have a breakdown every day? Or get out while I still can? Money's not an issue, I'm doing this for experience, and if I do hang on, I can either quit at the end of summer or keep on during weekends if they want to do that while I go back to school. But my career goal is more of a private practice, not corporate. Somehow I have this image of making meals in my own home, or a small kitchen, with maybe a couple helpers. Minimal use of fryolaters I need your thoughts, everyone.