Custom Pantry Cook Memes... and why I made them

I uploaded these to Facebook but it makes better sense to post them here...

I used to put pun memes onto a coworker's FB wall. She said she's terrible with puns but she'll think of one before the year 2027. I didn't have to wait that long.

A coworker walks by drumming on his bread with a knife.

I say, "Bread isn't percussion!"

She says, "Drum roll!"

When you start running low on supplies, servers are all around you needing their order, and salad is flying everywhere:

 

The next one doesn't need an explanation... also I sympathize with how my cat feels during a bath.

 

Even though I work part time, the days I work vary from week to week.

 

I think we all could relate to this one... unless you're a full time worker with a fixed amount of work hours.

 

This happens often when dinner rush hits. It comes in waves and from what I understand it's because guests have to leave to make room for more business. Then servers have a chance to get orders from the new guests.

 

This is a little personal since I do feel like I'm taken for granted at times. There are other great employees who deserve more recognition than me who, sadly, do not get it.

 

Prepping ice cream for the dinner rush is a necessity but, when I need to stock pantry in order to keep it running, there's a better time to scoop ice cream! Not when things are falling apart.

Should I pull a unicorn out too?

This is the look on servers' faces when the kitchen yells, "Food Runners!"

 

Kitchen staff do not get tips. This is our face when we hear servers complain.

 

Servers are trained for pantry so sometimes they don't need someone working the pantry position... but for someone who's sole job is pantry, this is how it feels.

 

The bread timer is awfully annoying but sometimes servers, who are standing next to it when I'm busy, ignore it. 

 

You can't live without the other cooks so pantry seems like an afterthought. Labor is the biggest, and most confusing, dirty word of the restaurant. I get called off a lot and I get cut early.

 

Why are the servers out of bread? Oh yeah, you took some out of the oven without putting more back in... rule of thumb (provided by Billy): ALWAYS HAVE BREAD IN THE OVEN AT LEAST UNTIL 7:00!

 

I wish there was detention for those servers who only work their own order without helping with other orders...

 

You have no idea how many times I was bumped into, or I bumped into someone who was behind me. This was very much the case during Valentine's Day.

 

Instead of summing it up, I'll paste my Facebook status after my Valentine's Day shift:

Restaurant workers need a badge that says, "I survived Valentine's Day!" I don't how many strings of 2xCreamy Pesto salads I made tonight. Everything was going fine until everything ran out at once! Then it was a scramble to get everything back into working order. I had to clock out with unfinished business since I hit my 6 hour limit. The restaurant was still busy after 9:00 which is our closing time.

 I congratulated a coworker for surviving.

For a Sassy Redhead (blog intro)

This is for Kristen. Yeah... the lengths I go to for my coworkers! I often write about my nights at work and sometimes they're helpful for those who didn't work that night. Was it busy or slow? How was everyone's attitude? Any gossip (I really don't like gossip but I overhear things)? Was corporate there to pester anyone?

I'm not going to name the place I'm working at or the full names of my coworkers, just to be respectful. But people may piece things together in the future. I won't get into any secret sauce ingredients or refer to any methods used, or badmouth any practices management imposes on people. I value my job and I've learned a lot!

I work at a kitchen position for a restaurant although I'm surrounded by servers. Normally a kitchen person stays in the hot kitchen, but not me. I'm in the front end in the path of people who actually have to deal with customers. It would be nice if the front was wider because it gets crowded up there! One time I joked that I'm glad I'm not claustrophobic, to which someone replied, "You're insane!" We have to be insane to work at a busy restaurant. My excuse anyway.

I work pantry. I make salads, scoop ice cream, bake bread, and flirt with all the cute servers (even you, Devin! Even though I'm totally straight). I joke around, make eye contact whenever I can, address people by name, and make sure everything is stocked up and ready for people when they need it. I don't really consider myself a flirt though... maybe I'm a playful flirt. I don't know. At some point or another, people will flirt with each other. It's life. It's hard work. It's stress relief. Flirting is part of the circle of life. It happens all the time at your place of employment, no matter where you work. The point, for me, is getting people out of their heads and away from the stress. There's nothing like seeing the "shine" of people, that moment when they're most relaxed and where their smile is all natural and beautiful. Laughter is truly the best medicine.

I learned a lot about myself, courtesy of my coworkers and this job. I was diagnosed with a slight anxiety disorder and mild depression, and I just turned 45 years old and I'm surrounded by people in their twenties. I developed a lot of life changing skills during my short year-and-a-half while working at this restaurant, like realizing these diagnoses do not define me. In fact, the anxiety and depression are side effects of being a highly sensitive person (HSP https://psychcentral.com/blog/what-makes-a-highly-sensitive-person/). I learned to slow myself down, it's not a fast food restaurant and waiting is part of the restaurant experience! There's no pressure anymore. No anxiety. Everything will happen in a timely manner. I created a workflow to make it easier for myself and for my coworkers. I do get irritated though. Shit happens. Good thing my bullshit tolerance is high.

I used to worry about the age difference between me and my coworkers. They taught me, as long as I don't make an issue out of anything, that it doesn't matter! It's all about how we make each other feel. They make me feel splendid, baby! So I return the favor.

 Whew! What a wordy introduction. Time to rest.

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