I lived in Cinnaminson New Jersey, just across the river
from Philadelphia.
Leaving the comfortable insulated arms of academia, I was
thrust into the real world and forced to start living a real life. My father and step-mother were quite gracious
and gave me a room to call my own and food to eat. I did chores around the house…at the time; I
was probably in some sort of depression, attempting to figure out what to do
with my life.
Finally, one day my father sat me down and told me that if a
“career” isn’t in my cards at the moment, perhaps it was time for me to get a
job. Back in 1994-1995, it wasn’t too
difficult to find hourly work. I ended
up stocking shelves at a liquor store.
It was easy work and brought in a few bucks. I decided that I liked earning money and applied
to work in a restaurant across the street from the liquor store to bring in
some more cash an keep me out of the house.
DiMarco’s Italian restaurant. And yes, there was mafia influence
there. I had no previous restaurant
experience so I asked to wash dishes. A recent
college grad washing dishes. It was
work, and I was happy to do it. It
didn’t require much intellectual thought and I really got along well with the chefs,
waiters and other staff. I scraped food
off dirty dishes, ran them through the machine, scrubbed pots and pans and
cleaned the nasty grease covered mats.
So the mafia had their way with the restaurant and it closed
about 6 months after I started working.
I still had my job at the liquor store and I watched another restaurant
move into DiMarco’s. One afternoon,
after my shift at the liquor store, I walked over and spoke with the chef. Strangely enough, he agreed to hire me as a
cold appetizer and bread maker. I would
later work my way up to a pastry chef and then onto hot appetizers. It was an exciting time to be in the
restaurant business. We served fusion
cuisine and I was baking some great breads and desserts. Basically, the chef gave me a recipe and I
followed it, he would tweak it a bit and then it would be added to the
menu.
I’ve written about all the drug problems the chef had –
which is the reason why I left the restaurant effectively ending my time in
kitchen forever…but my years there (I believe I was there 2 years) shaped me in
ways that the classroom never could. I
dealt with a cocaine addicted chef – his brother –in-law, part owner of the
restaurant – struggling to keep the place going – struggling to keeps the
chef’s hands out of the cash drawer.
I dealt with the wait-staff who ran solely on cigarettes,
coffee and alcohol. I dealt with
alcoholic/drug addicted dishwashers. High school bus-staff – overly sexed.
Hostesses who found ways to slip tips into their purses, and
bottles of wine into their cars. The
place was incredible. I learned how to
operate in an extremely high stress environment. I screamed at waitresses, called them demeaning names…then shared drinks with
them at 2:30 in the morning. I learned
to cook some of the best cakes and breads in my life. How to make and caramelize the perfect Crème
brûlée. Homemade ice-cream in some
of the most rich and exotic flavors. The
chef gave me full creative control…on most occasions J
And then, as quickly as I walked into that place…I walked
out. Actually, it was quicker. No Human Resources Department to deal with no
paperwork to fill out – just a quick slip into the kitchen – avoid the chef,
find his brother-in-law…and give him the news.
I went back to get my pay a few days later…never picked up my recipe
book or my CDs. I was young enough then
and not tied to any real responsibilities which allowed me to just walk out of
the place. It felt good…but at the same
time, it’s dangerous. The restaurant
business was like that – and I loved it…which is probably why I enjoyed Inn
Essence. This is my second encounter
with Lombreglia and I really like his blue-collar writing…at least that’s the
best way I could describe it.
The dangerous freedom to behave as I did at the restaurant and
to leave as I did is something that the particular job afforded me and that
freedom is something that I would wish we all could experience.
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