Chef for a few days

Out of all of the things I dreamt I'd be doing as an adult, I never thought that running a kitchen would be one of them. No, your right, I don't run the kitchen, yet. But for a few days last week, I was one of 2 people in charge while my boss took off for a few days. She let me know well in advance that she'd be gone, and took special effort to make sure I was comfortable with the menu she planned for those days. We did as much prep as possible before she left. It was a crazy week last week. Her leaving just happened to coincide with the drama at work upstarted by hurricane Irene. Since Bennington's water supply was cut off along with route 9 on Woodford MT., the whole town was on conservation. This meant not using the dishwasher much, using paper plates, and unfortunately, boiling water too. Even though the water was not stated as contaminated, the big boss was concerned that it might be. Lots of boiling ensued.

On Wednesday, we had a particularly exciting event. Someone got word from a Green Mt. Express driver that town water was being shut off in 20 minutes. (The time of this news was 5 minutes before we were to serve lunch). 5 women came running into the kitchen in panic, shouting, "They're shutting the water off in 20 minutes! Fill every container you can find with water to flush toilets." As an adult day facility, BPI has its many bathrooms in use constantly, so flushing toilets was a must.

Serving lunch was set aside, as we joined the panic to hog water. 15 minutes later we were told that the information was bad. Our water was not being shut off. Thus, we didn't need to fill all the containers. Annoyed and stressed, we looked around at the trash cans, buckets, tupperware's, and many other containers around us now full of water. So much for conserving!

This also happened to be the day before Maggie planned to leave, so I was absorbing as much as I could of everything she told me, feeling more and more bogged down by the cares of the week. I went home that night and typed out a detailed list of everything I had to do the next day, by time and importance.

Thanks to a lot of prayer and good planning on Maggie's part and mine, Su (the other kitchen help) and I managed quite well. We also had Rich to help us, so that was good too. Things went very smoothly, and we didn't hear any complaints. ;)

For only working at BPI a little less than 2 months, I've gained a great deal of knowledge about what food service does, and how a dietitian would serve in that role. I'm working in a different capacity, but am still learning a great deal. The work can be stressful at times, but all in all, it is enjoyable, and I love the people I work with. Its a great place, and a great organization. Its a good feeling to be serving people and the community in general. I'm happy I stuck with nutrition, as this is just the beginning of what I hope will be an exciting career. :)

New Job and Anniversary

Its been a lot longer than I was planning on for an update, but thats how things go in summertime when things are busy. I finished off a nice leisurely week with family on Sunday, something I was really happy to have before starting my new job. Uncle Jerry was up from Florida, so we got to do a lot of family get togethers, including seeing my grandmother home from the Bennington Health and Rehab, after a partial hip replacement and 2 weeks of recover. She did amazingly well, and is now at home. Grampy had handrails put on their front steps to make it easier for her to get up and down, and her bed was moved into the dining room, until they decide for sure what she wants to do in the long term.

Sunday night found me reading through the pages of Bennington Project Independence's handbook, and filling out the necessary paperwork. Monday was the big day. I wasn't quite sure what to wear, but figured that jeans and a plane t-shirt were probably ok for being in the kitchen. I was right, and also found out that I get to continue making use of my hat collection, because it was either that or a hair net. Easy decision. Today it was a green Harley Davidson hat, to complement my watermelon-colored shirt. :) Yes, I enjoy fun colors.

I have to say I've learned a lot in the past couple days. Yesterday was busy, but that isn't going to change. A lot of instructions. A lot to remember. I wear an apron, hat, prep food, cleanup, serve food, do dishes, and put them away after. For the second day, I've learned to do all that fairly well. I'm still learning where all of the dishes and utensils go, but have a pretty good handle on that also. One of the things I do each day is prepare the specialty meals for people. A few participants are on partial ground diets, a few others on full grounds, and one is on a puree. There are also several diabetics, a few vegetarians, and a few that don't eat dairy. It makes for challenging planning. Right now I follow orders from the cook as to what to make for these patients, but as time goes on, she'll want more advice from me, and help with the planning. This is right up my nutrition alley. One of the interesting things I learned yesterday was that Maggie (my supervisor/the cook) told me she hired me because she wants someone to be able to take over for her so she can retire. She states she is too old to do this anymore. Thats an interesting prospect. Ashley: Cook/Nutrition Coordinator. Thats not to say that I want to do that for the rest of my life, but I'm going to need to work for several years before I can afford to go on, finish the classes I need to get my degree CADE accredited, and do the RD internship. Thats one of my big goals, but since it will require me doing school full time, money needs to be saved ahead of time.

I was happy to hear today that I am doing very well so far, including being quick, efficient, and having a good memory. Learning all of the names of staff and participants will take a while, but I'm trying. I was also given a key "faab," (not sure if that is how to spell it), to access the kitchen door without entering the passcode every time. It truly is an amazing facility. I guess it should be since its only 2 years old, but it was also designed really well. The lights turn on when they sense someone is in the room, and turnoff likewise. They recycle, have a garden, and are otherwise very "green." The staff is extremely nice/pleasant, and I'm doing my best to learn my job and do it well. All in all its been a great experience the past 2 days.

All of these positives do not lessen my sadness over missing my Dad and getting to work with him. Being able to see my parents every day is something I was able to take advantage of, but now I truly realize how blessed I was. I will forever treasure those years of working for Dad, as it allowed me precious time, good experience, and wonderful memories that I won't forget. We still have our Wednesday nights with them, but it won't stop me from missing them during the day. I love you Daddy!

For now thats all.