After almost a decade of cooking for people privately, I decided to take on the job of "prep cook" in a hotel kitchen. There is a coffee shop that sells things like granola yogurt parfaits, breakfast sandwiches & burritos, various salads, sandwiches, etc. That's what I do for the first part of my day. After I am finished with that, I prep for the next day making sure I have enough eggs, sliced meats & cheeses, breakfast burrito mix, soft cooked eggs .... It's pretty easy stuff.
Nonetheless, from the moment I walk into the kitchen until the time I leave, my brain and my body does not stop working. There is not one second of idleness. What I do is low on the totem pole, but I put my heart and soul into what I do. Planning 2 steps ahead and not wasting movements in the kitchen is key. You focus, you run, you go non-stop. As you perform your job, you try as hard as you can to not injure others in the process. "KNIFE!" "HOT PAN!" "CORNER!" "BEHIND!" "COMING THROUGH!" At the same time, people are shuffling around you with hot pans and knives. There are things that fall on the floor that may cause you to slip. It's an orchestra. And there is a constant mind f*ck of how one can be faster or cleaner or better in general. In the kitchen, there is no such thing as perfect.
On top of that, I move as quickly as I can so I can help my chefs with prep and learn from them. The sooner I finish my tasks for the coffee shop, the sooner I can be with them. The best part of my day is spent learning.
In conclusion, I am truly dedicated to and extremely proud of what I do. When I come home, I am more tired than I have ever been in my life. My entire body aches -- head to toe. However, no matter how much my body is relenting, my heart is always screaming "WOW THAT WAS AWESOME!"
