I know I have been very slack lately and i do apologise to everyone that reads my blog, there is no excuse except for well working in a bistro you tend to do the same thing every week, I am therefore deciding that until I start my TAFE course I will be updating on days where something really good happens or weekly.
I'm sorry but there just isn't enough time in the day and I get home from work and practically fall into bed and sleep I am that exhausted, so I will give you a weekly update.
On Tuesday 8th, I had a pretty normal sort of day doing alot of chicken and veal prep, I also had to cut up 3 containers of tomato slices, now I don't know if anyone has seen my hand cut tomato slices but lets just say I used alot of tomatoes to fill 3 x 750ml containers I suck at doing it but I will only get better as I go on. Lunch today was pretty quiet we done 46 dishes and had everything ready for the dinner trade which was a bonus. When I arrived back for the dinner trade we got told that a lady has shown up about the booking of 20 people she made... there was no booking... so we got absolutely smashed not just from her booking but the other 73 people that decided to come in as well, we got everything done though and got out only 30 minutes late which is really good.
On Wednesday 9th, I learnt today how to remove the chargrill and clean it completely which takes alot of elbow grease. with there being 3 of us working today I stuck out the back and done a heap of prep and cleaning, I made some salad dressing, which is mayo & french dressing mixed together very tangy and helped make some pepper sauce, and by help I mean watched as Adam made it :) I also scored myself 3 burns which hurt like hell especially when they decided to pop a few days ago, but Grandad was super nice and gave me an aloe vera stalk and some finger bandages when I went there on my break, oh and Nanna heated me up some curried sausages and gave me some bread too.. I felt very spoilt for a few hours. Then off to work I went again, it got to a point when I didn't think customers would stop coming in but they did and I was working the dishwasher non stop from 6:30-8:45, the waitress dropped a plate too at my feet so at least that was one less to clean up. we served 124 people over dinner. ALOT AYE!!!
On Thursday I had the day off but I had to go into work to see the Mission Australia lady who was to set me up for the apprenticeship, we had a good talk about the sort of things I will be doing, that the government will pay me $800 at 3 months into the apprenticeship for tools and that overall I will get $5500 from them by the time I finish my apprenticeship, she also said that seeing as I will be going to Ashmore Campus TAFE I will be able to mix with alot of other first years and she wouldn't be surprised if I didn't have a new employer sometime throughout it all, she had just been for another hotel signing up a guy to his 5th employer, apparently the students all talk about a little thing called 'hourly wage' and they all scramble to the place that pays the most. I won't though I am very loyal to my company now, I love everyone there and they all make me feel like I have been there forever
On Sunday I made 40 beef and onion pies, they are called 'Grazier's Beef Pies' and they looked absolutely awesome, fair enough the meat mixture was already pre packaged and they pastry shells were already made up but I filled them all, brushed and sealed the lids and cooked them so technically I made them, right. I also made Pepper Sauce from scratch by myself as well as Mushroom Sauce, it is pretty simple they have an ingredients list and you just follow it. I also found out that Ceaser Dressing has ANCHOVIES in it YUCK!! but being a chef I have to forget about that, so now whenever I have ceaser dressing I most likely will not finish it just the thought of fish in a sauce is quite disgusting, which is worse when it is your favourite salad dressing in the world :(
On Monday I done prep up to make salads, we didn't make any but everything was ready for them to be made the next morning, being valentines day we had a special menu on the board, it was Seafood Marinara Fettuccine, which had all sorts of seafood (scollops, baby octopus, squid, barramundi, crab) it looked quite CHUNKY. There was also Steak with Lobster Tail with mash, and Asian Beef ribs with rice. sooo many people wanted the seafood one, no-one got the lobster but for $40 I don't blame them, I also got to serve all day today while Danny was out the back doing prep and dishes, it was quite full on.
Well that is all from me for now, I will keep posting on my days off so until then...
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Sunday 06/01/2011
At the start of today I found out where the laundry room is, we have a cleaner come in during the week to clean the place and do the motel rooms but today was her day off so I needed to know where the room was so I could clean the dishcloths and tea towels when they needed to be done, it is such a maze too. You have to go through 6 doors just to get to the washing machine and they are all locked with different keys. it took me a while when I went back to hang the towels out to get the right key, but it still only took me 10 minutes to get it all done.
After i had done that mission it was my job to cut up the roast for the day, it really hurts your arm cutting up sooo much meat and I have been told that eventually I will have massive muscles in just one arm from all this work I do. I also had to make up all the sauces, Smokey BBQ, Salad Dressing, Tartare and Bourbon Ribs. they have a book that gives you all the ingredients and we just make about 10 ltrs of it. I also cut up Parsley which is really easy cause they have a machine to cut it you just wrap it in a dishcloth and rinse all the green juice out of it.
During lunch it was busy with everyone coming in for the Sunday Roast so we had our hands full, but it was still really fun.
During my break today I had to race to Cascade Gardens for Chelsea's 1st birthday party, I was a VIP today because I had the CAKE, no-one but Vicky, Craig and myself had seen it so it was very good to see all the happy faces when they seen how much work we done with it.
When I arrived back at work, I made up 80 salads for tomorrow, cut up carrots and broccoli, and cut pumpkin and potatoes to cook.
Dinner tonight was very spread out and a bit quiet so Danny done all the meals himself while I done all the prep and cleaned the store down. it was a very easy night, and I am not as tired as every other night.
I also tried a drink today that the barman gave me, its orange juice and lift. it was very yummy and refreshing sort of like a solo but less tang.
Well I am off to make a lovely desert, pavlova minis with raspberries and strawberries with cream and dusted with icing sugar YUMMMMM.
After i had done that mission it was my job to cut up the roast for the day, it really hurts your arm cutting up sooo much meat and I have been told that eventually I will have massive muscles in just one arm from all this work I do. I also had to make up all the sauces, Smokey BBQ, Salad Dressing, Tartare and Bourbon Ribs. they have a book that gives you all the ingredients and we just make about 10 ltrs of it. I also cut up Parsley which is really easy cause they have a machine to cut it you just wrap it in a dishcloth and rinse all the green juice out of it.
During lunch it was busy with everyone coming in for the Sunday Roast so we had our hands full, but it was still really fun.
During my break today I had to race to Cascade Gardens for Chelsea's 1st birthday party, I was a VIP today because I had the CAKE, no-one but Vicky, Craig and myself had seen it so it was very good to see all the happy faces when they seen how much work we done with it.
When I arrived back at work, I made up 80 salads for tomorrow, cut up carrots and broccoli, and cut pumpkin and potatoes to cook.
Dinner tonight was very spread out and a bit quiet so Danny done all the meals himself while I done all the prep and cleaned the store down. it was a very easy night, and I am not as tired as every other night.
I also tried a drink today that the barman gave me, its orange juice and lift. it was very yummy and refreshing sort of like a solo but less tang.
Well I am off to make a lovely desert, pavlova minis with raspberries and strawberries with cream and dusted with icing sugar YUMMMMM.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Friday 04/01/2011
I started the day by making super sized veal schnitzels... bashing out the veal with the steal mallet gave me 2 blisters one on my thumb and one on the base of my index finger, maybe I shouldn't hold the mallet so hard next time :)
After doing that I had to make 50 salads, which meant I had to cut the tomato, cucumber and onion and then cut the lettuce and wash it with the spinach, it was quite fun actually. Then it was off to start the lunch rush, it was really busy over lunch today alot of elderly coming in and a few backpackers, we didn't get everything done until around 3pm instead of finishing it all at 2:30.
During my break I came home to see Craig and that was a pain in itself, traffic at that time of the day and through soooooo many lights it took me a good 30 minutes to get here but it was nice to relax with the aircon on before going back to work.
When I got back to work, I cut up the roast that was cooked this morning, it was massive enough to last me and Craig for at least a month of dinner... when I finished all the meat I started helping out with dinner as it was a little quiet there wasn't much to do, so I learnt a few new tricks of the trade from Adam and got told a bit more about what I will learn at TAFE.
Then it got really really busy and it was all hands on deck, we had a list of meals lined up and they were all things I hadn't been shown how to make so I learnt alot of new dishes but it didn't really help out much cause I had no idea what to do... Adam was very patient with me and even said that he thought this week was going to be a nightmare but i have already shown him I know the basics and a few meals so he was very pleased with me, especially when he can leave me alone to cook and not worry about if i can make it or not.
We didn't finish everything up until just after 9:30 tonight due to late orders but at least the place is spotless and everything is done. I have a day off tomorrow but I will be back on Sunday.
After doing that I had to make 50 salads, which meant I had to cut the tomato, cucumber and onion and then cut the lettuce and wash it with the spinach, it was quite fun actually. Then it was off to start the lunch rush, it was really busy over lunch today alot of elderly coming in and a few backpackers, we didn't get everything done until around 3pm instead of finishing it all at 2:30.
During my break I came home to see Craig and that was a pain in itself, traffic at that time of the day and through soooooo many lights it took me a good 30 minutes to get here but it was nice to relax with the aircon on before going back to work.
When I got back to work, I cut up the roast that was cooked this morning, it was massive enough to last me and Craig for at least a month of dinner... when I finished all the meat I started helping out with dinner as it was a little quiet there wasn't much to do, so I learnt a few new tricks of the trade from Adam and got told a bit more about what I will learn at TAFE.
Then it got really really busy and it was all hands on deck, we had a list of meals lined up and they were all things I hadn't been shown how to make so I learnt alot of new dishes but it didn't really help out much cause I had no idea what to do... Adam was very patient with me and even said that he thought this week was going to be a nightmare but i have already shown him I know the basics and a few meals so he was very pleased with me, especially when he can leave me alone to cook and not worry about if i can make it or not.
We didn't finish everything up until just after 9:30 tonight due to late orders but at least the place is spotless and everything is done. I have a day off tomorrow but I will be back on Sunday.
Thursday 03/01/2011
Hey guys, sorry I am only doing this now but we got smashed last night at work and I was sooo exhausted when I got home, I had time for a nice cold milkshake then off to bed I went.
Today was the first day I have actually worked with the Head Chef (Adam) and when I was watching him I noticed there are so many things he does different to the Sous Chef (Danny), so to make it more to the point I follow the same rules as Adam.
I started the day making 120 chicken schnitzels and pounding the crap out of them takes forever so this task alone including crumbing them takes me around 1hr to 1hr15mins. so by the time I finish it is nearly lunch time and we have to get everything sorted out.
Lunch was soooooo hectic I have never seen so many people in a tiny bistro before and they always tend to order the most time consuming products on the menu, so with around 30 steaks on the grill and plates lining the bench we went flat out, its a bit funny because I don't cook steak at home its a bit confusing how they know which steak is at which consistency. try doing this...
Put your thumb and pinkie finger together and feel the muscle under your thumb... that's well done
Put your thumb and index finger together and feel the muscle under your thumb... that's rare
Put your thumb and ring finger together and feel the muscle under your thumb.. that's medium well
Put your thumb and middle finger together and feel the muscle under your thumb... that's medium rare
Its a really neat trick for someone like me.
The night shift was even more hectic than lunch time but because Adam does things different everything was at your fingertips, no need to go digging in cupboards for things you need. I started the night shift by cutting up mushrooms, onions, shallots and lemons, its fun to chop a ton of ingredients up until you get told not to cut like that and get shown the proper way chefs chop there veg & herbs.
I'm having alot of fun at my new career but it really makes you exhausted especially with the heat over here... but i will be back to write again when i knock off tonight, i have to head back for the dinner shift now.
Today was the first day I have actually worked with the Head Chef (Adam) and when I was watching him I noticed there are so many things he does different to the Sous Chef (Danny), so to make it more to the point I follow the same rules as Adam.
I started the day making 120 chicken schnitzels and pounding the crap out of them takes forever so this task alone including crumbing them takes me around 1hr to 1hr15mins. so by the time I finish it is nearly lunch time and we have to get everything sorted out.
Lunch was soooooo hectic I have never seen so many people in a tiny bistro before and they always tend to order the most time consuming products on the menu, so with around 30 steaks on the grill and plates lining the bench we went flat out, its a bit funny because I don't cook steak at home its a bit confusing how they know which steak is at which consistency. try doing this...
Put your thumb and pinkie finger together and feel the muscle under your thumb... that's well done
Put your thumb and index finger together and feel the muscle under your thumb... that's rare
Put your thumb and ring finger together and feel the muscle under your thumb.. that's medium well
Put your thumb and middle finger together and feel the muscle under your thumb... that's medium rare
Its a really neat trick for someone like me.
The night shift was even more hectic than lunch time but because Adam does things different everything was at your fingertips, no need to go digging in cupboards for things you need. I started the night shift by cutting up mushrooms, onions, shallots and lemons, its fun to chop a ton of ingredients up until you get told not to cut like that and get shown the proper way chefs chop there veg & herbs.
I'm having alot of fun at my new career but it really makes you exhausted especially with the heat over here... but i will be back to write again when i knock off tonight, i have to head back for the dinner shift now.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Tuesday 01/02/11
Today was another good day, I started the day by making up 80 tubs of salad to put with meals, 2 tomatoes, 3 cucumber slices, small handful of onion and top the rest up with Lettuce/Spinach mix and put a lid on it.
After I done that I took the oils out of the fryers and topped them back up with a machine that works the same as a petrol bowser but instead has oil in it, which was really cool to use, but has a bad wheel so it didn't want to go where I wanted to move it without alot of effort.
Then it was onto lunch, was really quiet during lunch today so got alot of extra prep and cleaning done which meant when we showed up for the dinner shift we had nothing to do apart from scrubbing down the table shelves.
During lunch I made alot of meals by myself and am now the master of Schnitzels, Cajun Chicken or Calamari Caesar Salads and burgers.
During my 3 hour breaks I have been visiting my grandparents, I think they are really happy to see me too which is good and it gives them a little bit of company (Hi Nanna & Grandad :P)
When I arrived back for dinner it was extremely busy, so I got to learn alot of the items on our menu that haven't been ordered before, like Thai Beef Salad, Porterhouse Steak with Garlic Prawns and even Australian damper.
I am loving my new career so much, and all the staff at the hotel are extremely nice... it is definitely time for bed now though as I am completely exhausted.
Won't be back tomorrow as I have a RDO but Thursday I will write again.
After I done that I took the oils out of the fryers and topped them back up with a machine that works the same as a petrol bowser but instead has oil in it, which was really cool to use, but has a bad wheel so it didn't want to go where I wanted to move it without alot of effort.
Then it was onto lunch, was really quiet during lunch today so got alot of extra prep and cleaning done which meant when we showed up for the dinner shift we had nothing to do apart from scrubbing down the table shelves.
During lunch I made alot of meals by myself and am now the master of Schnitzels, Cajun Chicken or Calamari Caesar Salads and burgers.
During my 3 hour breaks I have been visiting my grandparents, I think they are really happy to see me too which is good and it gives them a little bit of company (Hi Nanna & Grandad :P)
When I arrived back for dinner it was extremely busy, so I got to learn alot of the items on our menu that haven't been ordered before, like Thai Beef Salad, Porterhouse Steak with Garlic Prawns and even Australian damper.
I am loving my new career so much, and all the staff at the hotel are extremely nice... it is definitely time for bed now though as I am completely exhausted.
Won't be back tomorrow as I have a RDO but Thursday I will write again.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)