Yes I can

I can still do it.

I wondered about this. I began working in restaurants young, at an age when most people can stand for the duration of a shift, then go out drinking and dancing afterwards, and then maybe walk home. As I aged, I never lost that ability to work standing, although I did want a break after about six hours. I was also aware that people my age would not be able to jump into this. I was able to sling giant mixer bowls full of dough or haul 35 lb. vegetable oil containers up the steps because I never stopped.

Then I had an office job. My unusually young body aged. At first. I didn't see how anyone could sit all day, and then I could do it too. I took walks on my breaks, but there were women much younger than me that barely managed that, people who traded sitting and noshing for health. My middle grew soft and my strong leg muscles grew thinner, all in 8 months. And I started to wonder, could I go back to doing what I did?

Thursday night, the general manager called from the Acorn, the restaurant where I used to be the pastry chef until my job dissolved at the height of the recession, throwing me into employment limbo and a series of temporary jobs where I have been wandering ever since.

The pantry person was a no-show, and was there any way it would be possible for me to work Friday night? Pantry is the entry level station in most kitchens. It's the cold station: salads, cold appetizers and desserts. She thought it would be easier for me than a complete stranger to do it, but I never used to work when we were open. It's an upscale place which only does dinner. I had no idea what the menu items even looked like.

So I did it. I worked the station on a busy Friday night with a wedding party upstairs after just being shown a sample of the salads (there are four, all completely different) and the one cold appetizer. No training. When I got dessert orders, I had to ask the servers what plates to use and how things were served, but it all went well.

Tonight I'm on the hot line. No telling how that will go. I actually filled in for that position for a party last fall, and trained a few days before that, but I don't remember the stuff. Saturday is not usually as busy as Friday night. The former pantry cook is coming in tonight and I like her. It'll he like old-home week.

Both of us got hired there by a chef (Dave) who left a few months later. The chef who replaced him got along fine with me, but I don't think he would have hired me. Dave liked to be able to completely turn things over to somebody capable, then coordinate with them. Andy liked more control, but he was very capable. Still, I was feeling pushed out. He also took a long time to hire a sous-chef, working crazy hours until he found the right one. He's gone now, moved to Florida two months ago, and his sous-chef is now the chef. Great guy with a new baby and his hands really full. I'd love to work for them again, but a pantry position doesn't pay enough.

It would be nice to see if I could fit back in, but they are running with a skeletal staff. But I am doing the dessert for a reception next week. My legs and butt are feeling it, confirming what I thought I knew. My job kept me in shape.