1. I love food
(we knew that already)
I am not a caterer. I have worked with one for the past five months while waiting for different visa paperwork to be processed, and I have learned a lot. Although quite similar to restaurant work - it is the differences that make it special, and for some people, better. I wanted to make this a breakdown that people could apply to their daily lives - but honestly, it turned into the things that I find funny, weird, or poignant.
1. Everyone's eyes are bigger than their stomachs
Have you ever been to a restaurant, ordered what you thought at that moment was the perfect amount, only to find out - after the bread basket and a glass of wine - you weren't nearly that hungry? It turns out everyone is like that. I thought that maybe when it came to corporate events, that maybe people wouldn't be so worried about having enough food, but it is only the opposite. Event planners often order for more people than will be at the event "just to be safe," caterers make more than that number of people could possibly eat "just to be safe," and the staff gets incredible goodie bags. (I have started to take Tupperware to events. It's shameful, really.)
2. Functional workouts are the only kind of workouts that matter
I don't workout on days I work. I come home with swollen feet, having stood for nine hours straight (only sitting to pee, which is probably more information than anyone needs to know.) But most people I know in kitchens have the same experience. I have met people who have tried to work in a kitchen, people who work out, who are strong - who can't do it. They go to the gym daily. They run, do the elliptical, weights - but to me, if your workout doesn't help you lift 25kg of boiling hot rice pudding, with an awkward grip out of the oven without getting burnt, it's not a workout.
3. You are your own inventor
With such high quantities and such little time, kitchen life centers around getting things done fast and correctly, regardless of the tools (within reason). Today we used a pot for a spoon and a stock pot for a mixing bowl because there was nothing else big enough in the kitchen. I even pipped a sweet rice mixture and hot rice pudding out of a frosting bags into jars, in order not to get the sides dirty.
4. If you think you could never get enough of food, you're wrong.
After cutting my 400th brownie square, I never wanted brownie again. After mixing 20kg waffle batter by hand - you won't catch me eating a waffle for a month. With large quantity, comes great responsibility - and the cook must bear that burden. Even when there are numerous extras of something, I can usually only eat what I was not making, i.e my coworker cut 30 mangos, and I ate around almost every single pit. She couldn't even look at them by the end. However, because it isn't a restaurant and you do not work with the same foods every single day, it usually means I start off snacking on what I am making until I cannot stand what I am making because there is just so much of it.
5. Food is just weird, man.
Arm deep in a deep hotel pan of black sticky rice, mixing in coconut cream, mango puree, and banana puree, I realized humans are pretty weird. We are the only species (that I know of) that likes decorating their food so excessively. To combine so many weird options. Other species are passionate about food for survival, we are passionate about it as a lifestyle. I also realized that when catering there is literally so much food that if it wanted to fight back, it would probably kill you... Just food for thought.
OMG. I worked in the restaurant and catering business for years. Yes, your feet hurt so much after a full shift, even if it's a short shift. Yes, food is wonderful but if you see the same food enough, it starts to lose its appeal.
Your writing made me smile. Hope your feet get a well-deserved massage sometime soon!
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