Winter Break

I know every culinary arts student will have a winter break story to tell...so here goes mine.

We left Portland on December 10, planning to spend three days in Ilwaco. We were unable to return to town until December 29. The worst winter storm in 40 years hit the Pacific Northwest, including the coast. Snow and freezing temperatures made driving impossible. The Prius is useless in the snow, and after attempting to make it up the hill, sliding down backwards and sideways, it was parked at the bottom until the thaw. We trudged up the hill in the snow and cold and chided ourselves for leaving the all wheel drive Subaru in Portland.

During the storm, a woman from the top of the hill rolled her car upside down in a ravine and was able to climb out unharmed. The investigating police slid all over the road until a neighbor on an ATV brought tire chains for their vehicle. Everyone stood around looking on as the wife of the ATV driver attached the chains. A large flat bed truck with chains attempted to come up the hill to tow the rolled car out and slid twice into a ditch. It took another tow truck two hours of maneuvering to rescue the first one.

The regional disaster coordinator tried to get up the hill in her 4 wheel drive vehicle, slid into a ditch and had to be pulled out.

We were marooned 5 days, with only one or two vehicles able to navigate the hill. Our friend and neighbor , who lives half way down, came up once a day and took Merlin to the post office and little local store, in his 4 wheel drive pickup, with chains on the front tires.

We never lost power, had plenty of food, and I was able to walk around on top of the hill, in the snow, without falling. We even shoveled the driveway a couple of times, just for exercise.

Last Day of Fall Quarter

You finally get to see George, the one in the chef's hat, who is in charge of the basic culinary arts program, and Larry, who is in charge of the management student program.

So far, most of this course is enjoyable, so I have signed up and paid for winter quarter, which begins January 5th.

In theory we go over some tests we took two weeks ago. We do not go over the killer tests from last week, since some students have not taken them yet.

The majority of our time is spent deep cleaning the department. This means taking every thing out of the refrigerators and off the shelves to wipe them down, emptying all the cooking oil, cleaning the grills and generally spit polishing the kitchen and dining room. We meet for pictures of the class and for awards ceremony where some of us get awards for perfect attendance and others receive their program completion certificates. We have a sandwich lunch and are finished with everything around 11 am.

Last Full Week Of Fall Quarter

There is no rhyme or reason to where George places us in the work stations. I am in CTO (cooked to order) the first thing in the morning and serving in the dining room after lunch. Because we are winding down for the holiday break, we prepare a buffet meal for the dining room for Tuesday and Thursday, rather than menu items. We also prepare a fancy buffet for a Wednesday college board evening banquet. The management students are the servers for this event.
In theory, George gives us the hardest tests we have had so far, covering all his hand outs and lectures. They are still open book, but the volume of material they cover is massive. I tell George I don't think I did well, and he says, "Since you are only doing this for a hobby, it won't matter like it does for some of the students who will be applying for jobs".
We are allowed to keep any tips we make as a waitress in the dining room. The first day I make zip for tips from my tables of college staff who regularly eat in the dining room, while the other waiter makes $22 from a group occupying his tables. The second day, the people at my tables are more generous and I make $6.50. This gives me insight into the other side of tipping.

Thanksgiving

The Seattle traffic on I-5 is lighter than usual midday Wednesday before Thanksgiving. We are able to share an early afternoon pizza meal, at a restaurant in Marysville, with our friends from Arlington, Julie and Tom.

Turkey day with my brother Tom and his family in Everett is fun and we are filled to the brim with all the excellent food they make for us. My nephew teaches me virtual bowling on an electronic Wii game hooked to the tv. (I get lucky the first time and beat him)!

Friday, on the way back through Seattle, everybody and their cars are either at the Macy's parade or in the malls for black Friday, so we are able to sail through town on cruise control.