Speed and Organization (file under settling in quite nicely)

Speed and organization are the name of the game. The perfect choreography of putting things together as quickly as possible, at least as it stands now. And the same is true in Wendy’s as it would have been at Le Cirque. Speed and organization, the latter being the first focus and the first being the secondary result. It takes time in order to learn to organize a station into a workable set up. Currently to set up my station I need to do the following;

Cut and blanche fries
Cut and blanche sweet potato fries
Cut Onions for frizzled onions
Prepare flour and corn starch mixture
Make two different kinds of burgers, one regular and one Kobe
Move proteins down from Protein fridge to line fridge, proteins include;

Kangaroo
Striploin
Prime Rib
Filet
Shrimp
Chicken
Fish for fish special

Slice tomato
Lettuce
Mozzarella Cheese
Grate Parm

Blanche Macaroni, penne and spaghetti

Form and blanche Meatballs
Prepare Tomato Sauce
Make Mac and Cheese Sauce
Portion Lobster
Make bread crumb and Parm mixture
Move Milk and 35% Cream
Cut butter into knobs

Slice jalapenos
Prepare Broccoli
Bok Choi
Snap Peas

Jalapeno Aioli
Chipotle Aioli

Move buns, onion, sesame and onion twists.

Sear Tuna

Cut and prepare root chips (sweet potato and taro)

I’m sure I am forgetting something. It seems rather short a list at the moment but I think that you get the basic idea.

The first step is figuring out the best way to move when you are at high speed. Once you have figured this out you need to figure out a way to organize your fridge and station so that you can optimize your performance during service. Again this is true whether you work at Wendy’s or Le Cirque.

To now I have been working with the system that was given to me. Over the next few days I plan on tweaking the system into one which works for me. Not that the current one does not but I have seen that there are definitely some efficiencies that I can achieve by shifting some of my 9 pan and ¼ pans around as well as playing with the position of certain things in the fridge.

As I play with the positioning this week I will keep you appraised.

I liken what we do a lot to boxing. Truly it is a choreography that requires you to be clear of mind and able to move without really thinking. More acting than reacting.

I am really happy here. I feel that I have been given a chance to spread my wings and fly. I feel that I am a valued member of a team where everyone has a role to play, yet is not entirely defined by that role. I am learning a lot. Some of which has to do with the move to a new restaurant and some which has to do with the practical application of knowledge. The way that a steak reacts to your fingers when you press down against it. The way that you have to train your mind to be ready for anything. The way that a hamburger reacts to resting. The way that things stick to pans if you haven’t applied the right heat to it and let it get hot enough. All things that seem simple but in fact, with the rapid fire tic, tic, tic, tic, tic of the printer. The beautifully incessant noise that summons all cooks to the line, to make someone’s day. There is a very short learning curve on the line. Either you get it or you don’t.

I know that in three months I am going to be really, I stress, REALLY, good on the line. Not that I will be the best I can be (in a futuristic sense) but that I will progress everyday with a smile on my face and know that I am doing exactly what I want to do with my life. Working toward my goal. Which some of you may or may not be clear on. As such my next post will relate to that.

Richard Bach once said; “A cloud does not know why it moves in just such a direction and at such a speed...It feels an impulsion...this is the place to go now. But the sky knows the reasons and the patterns behind all clouds, and you will know, too, when you lift yourself high enough to see beyond horizons.”

As such I feel that I am currently the cloud and that my Chef is the sky. Yet I do see the horizon and feel that everyday I am reaching one step closer toward it. Are you? Are you dreaming big and inspired? Are you following your passion? Living the life that you want to live? If not, why? Today is the day to start living for you. To be the you that you know you were born to be. Are you?

A la prochaine

SDM