I was the pastry chef at the Acorn in spring 2009, when the position was eliminated. Upscale restaurants were hit hard by the recession and we counted on doing a lot of private parties. That winter, Christmas 2008, corporations made a public point of scaling back on elaborate company Christmas parties and it impacted us heavily.
I had worked in the daytime at a place that was only open at night. I knew the management and the chef and sous-chef, but rarely crossed paths with the rest of the staff. I knew nothing of the night shenanigans until I came back last fall in a line position. So when I used to see names and numbers written on the whiteboard, I didn't know that the kitchen makes bets on the parties. They don't usually involve money. When they do, the stakes are small. The biggest I've seen is $5, between the chef and one of the servers, betting on how many people will show up for a party.
Rehearsal dinners are the most predictable. The guests are in the wedding party or came from out of town for the event. They're all coming to dinner. At the other end of the spectrum is corporate events. They might have us set up for 60 and only have 35 people show up. Or 68.
Last night, the bet was on how many people in the rehearsal dinner were going to order grouper for dinner. My name was up there with a 24 next to it. I didn't win but it didn't matter. It's just goofiness among a good group of people. I'm going to miss them.
We're having a party at one of the servers' houses on Sunday evening, a cookout. I got assigned to bring cheese for the burgers. I also bought a watermelon because I don't remember hearing that anyone was bringing one. Several people were assigned beer or wine. I expect it will be a good time.
Meanwhile, our once-impressive wine list is shrinking, some of the artwork has been sold off at half price and the pool of servers is diminishing as people try to work around their new jobs. I suspect that the menu will begin to shrink too, as items like lamb, which we buy 100 lbs at a time, run out.
Six more shifts to go. I'm working all of them.
Comments
Post a Comment