Kitchen Porters-The Unsung Heroes
The hands that do dishes….
As hard as working in a professional kitchen is the one saving grace (usually) is the people you get to work with. I’ve worked with the lot; Germans, French, English, Scots, Welsh, Australian, Austrian, Swiss, Indian, American, Irish, Spanish, Mexican, Columbian, Dutch, Belgium, Italian, Latvian, Czech, Greek, Turkish and Geordie. I feel like the Alan Whicker of the catering world.
In other posts I shall regail you of tales of chefs and their exploits but this is about the guys who never get any credit, the kitchen porters.
Everywhere I’ve worked there has always been a ‘KP’ who has made an impression on me for whatever reason, there have been recovering alcoholics, drug addicts, A grade university students, down and outs, Greek grandmothers, one handed pot washers, the list goes on. They all had one thing in common, the ability to smile despite having the hardest job in the hotel or restaurant.
Ben and Paul are my boys, two lads who, despite having to endure the heat and hard work and my occasional moan never cease to amaze me. They are never late, never complain (well, not to me) never hungover, always presentable and every morning face a mountain of pots, pans and dishes. Seeing is believing, how they don’t chin me and walk out I’ll never know. They are the most reliable,hard working lads I’ve ever worked with, unlike the Greek and Turkish ladies I used to work with in Germany who,if they had other plans sent in one of their second cousins to do their shift with no prior warning or explanation! I used to ask the Head Chef who the person washing up was and he would have no idea!
These boys love the routine, it keeps them on an even keel and everyday we play out how well they have made my cup of tea, standing there with baited breath whilst I give them the ‘Oz Clarke’ about aroma, colour, strength and temperature. They love it, anyone else would pour it over my head but not these boys…
Thank you for introducing us to these wonderful boys. Isn’t it part of the same story that the unsung heroes and solid backbones of enterprises get the least recognition and pay?
It does you credit to highlight this and I for one will think of them more from now on.
August 17, 2007 @ 11:49 am
Nobody ever thinks about what goes on behind the scenes with so many things.
Whatever it is you do, wherever you go, there are lives revolving around making that possible for you.
Remember that when you go out for Xmas dinner on the 25th Dec !
Also remember the common misnomer that you pay twice as much at that time of year because of staff costs etc - from what I hear the staff are mostly on normal pay !
August 17, 2007 @ 3:42 pm
Rod,
No more talk of Christmas if you don’t mind-sends me funny!
Miles
August 17, 2007 @ 4:40 pm
Miles,
Nice to see that you appreciate your members of staff, a quality rarely seen today. I remember many years ago when I first obtained a managerial position in a factory, a gentleman with many years of experience in management said to me “You are Only as Good as the People that Work for You”. I took these wise words onboard and never forgot them, how true they are, It did not take long to realise this, also how a team of good solid workers can be put together with a little mutual respect. I also found that my team of over two hundred women appreciated at the end of a working day my shouting out of “Thank You Ladies, I will see you all Tomorrow”, such a simple thing many of you may say, but I assure you productivity rose rapidly in all of the production units, thanks mainly to little genuine appreciation, thanks and of course the good old factory sense of humour, something which I will always have.
Anyway back to this pair, the one on the left looks familiar to me, well he will, he is my son, the one on the right I also have the pleasure of knowing. Ben has worked with Miles for sometime now and in that time he has constantly amazed me, why you may ask, well for one he never moans about his job (sometimes when someone does not turn up), he is never late, he never wants to or will take a day off ill, and will always go in on his day off if needed. Other times he has gone in a little earlier, just to make sure he can catch up or keep up with his workload. Both of these lads show great qualities, most of which they have picked up by working as part of a team, or more importantly being genuinely made to feel part of a team.
Keep it up Lads.
August 17, 2007 @ 7:35 pm
SC,
Quite right on all fronts, they are incredibly loyal to me but not to each other! “Wasn’t me, Chef-it was him!!”
I remember forgetting about some rabbit bones in the oven for a stock I was making, they were absolutely nuked black. I was so mad with myself I took them over to the pot wash and said to Ben “Just leave these to cool down” forgetting to add “before you throw them in the bin” Twenty minutes later, still boiling mad, Ben comes over with the tray of volcanic ash and asks me if I still want them. If it had been anyone else I would have chinned them for being sarcastic but he just put the biggest smile on my face. I calmly said ‘No thanks mate, take them home for your tea” He said “You’re alright, we’re having fish” !!!!
Love it.
Miles
August 17, 2007 @ 8:03 pm