So again my friends, here I stand on the precipice of something new, wonderful and exciting. One of my favorite authors, F. Scott Fitzgerald once wrote; “Vitality shows in not only the ability to persist but the ability to start over.”
It has been one year, two months and eighteen days since I started this wonderful journey that I am on. I have worked in two different kitchens which have given me a good foundation from which to build. And now I find myself in the enviable position of starting anew in a great kitchen, where, with the knowledge I have gained, I know I need to stay and grow organically to best achieve the result I want. I am grateful to both Reservation and Without Reservation for giving me the opportunity to work with them, to learn and to grow. Each has a place in my heart and in my tale.
Today, I am readying myself for the new job at The Club which starts tomorrow. I had a meeting with Executive Chef and the Sous Chef that I will be working under on Thursday. Rather than writing about it immediately I wanted it all to sink in before I wrote a commentary.
To prepare for the meeting I went out and bought myself a treat! It is my intent (and I have been working on It for about a month now) to make sure that I am in great health for my wedding. I have started doing push ups and sit ups and have now added to my regiment by buying myself a pair of rollerblades to get to and from work. Excited doesn’t even begin to cover it.
The meeting went extremely well. I filled out some paper work and got a great tour of the facilities. Being introduced to the Sous Chef that I am to work under I was kind of shocked at his lack of animation. Here he was responsible for the inner working of a sizable kitchen and he exhibited the same kind of Zen like calm that Director of Operations did at Reservation. It was something that caused me to start thinking. I will expound on my thoughts later.
I became excited to be joining the team even before the meeting but after it I was thrilled. I am being paid a fair wage, am entering an environment which is extremely stable, where I can learn everyday, where I am part of a team, which will guarantee that I get a minimum of eighty hours per pay period, which leaves me with time in my day to do the many things that I do outside of the kitchen which are part of my learning experience. These are just some of the great things, what’s more, BENEFITS, they will pay for courses that I choose to take which I get a 75% or higher mark in. They reward attendance and promote from within. Do you get that I am a little excited?
I have a game plan for my time at The Club. I know what I need to do. I know what I need to be and Zen like is going to play a big part in it. I have learned valuable lessons from my experiences in the kitchen and plan on putting all of them to use in my new position. Officially I am First Cook and man is that exciting.
I know that I have found myself a place where I can learn and grow which nullifies some of the concerns that I have had to date. I look forward to becoming a member of the team and putting into action everything that I have learned in the past year and three months.
So the ride is going to get a little more interesting for me. And thus, for you.
Dante Alighieri once wrote; “Consider your origin; you were not born to live like brutes, but to follow virtue and knowledge.”
It has become time for me to release the sometimes brutish nature of my own existence in order to become a better man, a better son, a better brother, a better lover, a better friend and a better member of humanity. I look forward to the challenges that lie ahead and recognize the opportunity in each and every one of them.
Are you dreaming big and inspired?
A la prochaine
SDM
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