Opinion
Amuse Bouche: The heartbeat of the workplace
Published
2 years agoon
Posted By
AdminBy Scott Mechura EBS COLUMNIST
Every day of the year is for someone or something. From ferrets to kazoos. From cheese fondue to submarines. Everyone and everything have their day. Some are quite silly and others are more solemn. But one in particular caught my attention recently. The day was March 9: National Dishwasher Day.
If a line cook, prep cook or any other culinarian is absent for their shift, it gets covered. It is often accompanied by complaining and cursing, but we make it happen.
Someone may work two stations, then disperse some of their workload or dishes to other people. Other times someone from an earlier shift will either volunteer or be asked to stay later.
Another scenario is that a manager, such as a sous chef, chef de cuisine, banquet chef or executive chef will add that person’s shift to their day and list of things they have to do.
If a dining room is down a server, the floor manager may rework the server’s sections. They may get creative with the floor map to compensate, or they may limit the reservations and/or walk-in guests so the remaining servers can handle the room without compromising service.
Being down a bartender can also prove tricky. Servers may be asked to pour their own beer and wine to help alleviate the bar’s stress.
But more often than not, if a kitchen is down a dishwasher, particularly the only one, you may as well be trying to work with no lights on. It can slow the whole flow down that significantly.
The workhorse, the heartbeat, the engine, the soul—the dishwasher has been called all these things. While a little hyperbola, I would realistically say the dishwasher is who keeps things moving.
If a kitchen were a car, the dishwasher is the transmission.
You may have a full tank of gas, that is to say a kitchen full of cooks, but no transmission, and the car doesn’t move.
I have said this for years: Kitchen work is a labor and a trade. But if a line cook is the equivalent of a carpenter for example, then the dishwasher is the equivalent to hoisting sheet rock over your head all day. It’s that physically demanding.
As a cook, try to complete your prep list by service when you are washing all of your own utensils, sauce and stock pots and sheet pans, and having to run your own machinery parts from a blender or food processor yourself, taking away valuable knife time.
I can tell you from experience how hard it is to work a station with no dishwasher and having to scrub your own sauté pans all night long.
A server comes in with a load of dishes from the dining room and not only is there no room to drop them, also called a landing zone, but their whole mental routine of steps is thrown off. Not to mention those full glass racks that need to get washed so they can polish them, or overflowing silverware tubs.
A server would rather deal with a difficult guest over not having a dishwasher nine times out of 10.
Judge Smails famously said in the movie Caddyshack, “Well the world needs ditchdiggers too.”
Yes. Yes it does.
Scott Mechura has spent a life in the hospitality industry. He is an executive chef, former certified beer judge and is currently the executive chef for Horn & Cantle at Lone Mountain Ranch.
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may, 2024
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Join Jacquelyn Rinaldi, Ph.D. for guided meditation at BASE. This series is free and open to the community, no membership to BASE required. All are welcome to attend if you
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Join Jacquelyn Rinaldi, Ph.D. for guided meditation at BASE. This series is free and open to the community, no membership to BASE required. All are welcome to attend if you are tying meditation for the first time, seasoned in your practice or anywhere in between. Jacquelyn is an author, teacher, and therapist.
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14 (Tuesday) 6:45 pm - 28 (Tuesday) 7:45 pm
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BASE
285 Simkins Dr
19may2:30 pm4:30 pmCarmina Burana2:30 pm - 4:30 pm Event Type :MusicEvent City:Bozeman
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The Bozeman Symphony will join forces with the Bozeman Symphonic Choir and Montana State Youth Chorale to present its final classical concert of the 2023/24 season the second
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The Bozeman Symphony will join forces with the
Bozeman Symphonic Choir and Montana State Youth Chorale to present its final
classical concert of the 2023/24 season the second weekend of May, the spectacular
choral masterpiece “O, Fortuna!” Orff’s Carmina Burana, Carl Orff’s
infamous ode to love, drink, and living life to the fullest.
Music Director Norman Huynh conducts the program, which features the
Symphony alongside renowned vocal soloists Ashley Fabian, soprano; Andrew
Owens, tenor; and Christòpheren Nomura, baritone.
The Symphonic Choir under the direction of Maren Marchesini will be
featured in this massive choral work which includes the world-famous opening
movement “O Fortuna,” with text drawn from the medieval poem Carmina Burana.
Instantly recognizable thanks to its use in countless movies and
commercials, a live Carmina is one of classical
music’s most spellbinding and immersive experiences. From the explosive opening to the
intimate and haunting “In Trutina,” every note will resonate with intensity and
emotion.
Performances are Friday, May 17, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, May 18,
at 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday, May 19, at 2:30 p.m., at the Willson
Auditorium, 404 West Main Street in downtown Bozeman. These concerts
would not be possible without the support of
sponsors Cal and Tricia DeSouza, Michael & Sharon
Beehler, Mike & Cyndi Huempfner, and David & Kippy Sands.
Individual tickets are available at https://www.bozemansymphony.org/carminaburana.html
or by calling the office at 406-585-9774. Adult tickets start at $29
and discounted student tickets (K-12 and college) are available.
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(Sunday) 2:30 pm - 4:30 pm
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Join Ashley Hall, an enthusiastic birder and Outreach Program Manager, to learn the basics of birding
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Join Ashley Hall, an enthusiastic birder and Outreach Program Manager, to learn the basics of birding or avian dinosaur watching. Although T. rex is extinct, avian dinosaurs are still thriving in various habitats of our region. In this session, you will learn how to properly use binoculars, identify birds based on their shape and call, and set up and track birds through your own eBird account. The event will start with a brew and a discussion on birding essentials at MAP Brewing Company, followed by a short hike around the Glen Lake trail to search for birds. And if you need a pair of binoculars, we’ve got you covered! We will provide them for you.
MAP Brewing Company, Age 21
$15 member/$20 non-member
Registration is required via these links:
May 21: https://sales.museumoftherockies.org/performance.aspx?pid=22235
June 11: https://sales.museumoftherockies.org/performance.aspx?pid=22236
July 11: https://sales.museumoftherockies.org/performance.aspx?pid=22237
August 1: https://sales.museumoftherockies.org/performance.aspx?pid=22238
Time
(Tuesday) 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Location
MAP Brewing Co.
Event Details
Join Jacquelyn Rinaldi, Ph.D. for guided meditation at BASE. This series is free and open to the community, no membership to BASE required. All are welcome to attend if you
Event Details
Join Jacquelyn Rinaldi, Ph.D. for guided meditation at BASE. This series is free and open to the community, no membership to BASE required. All are welcome to attend if you are tying meditation for the first time, seasoned in your practice or anywhere in between. Jacquelyn is an author, teacher, and therapist.
Time
May 21 (Tuesday) 6:45 pm - June 4 (Tuesday) 7:45 pm
Location
BASE
285 Simkins Dr