If you come to Scargill to live with the Community, you are assigned to teams, like House, Kitchen, Estate, Hosting, or Admin. When I arrived, I was pleased to learn that I would be working on several teams: House, Hosting ...and... KITCHEN!!!😱 Oh NO!
Some of you have heard me say, over the years, that I have a recurring nightmare of being responsible for preparing a meal or an event for a large amount of people and peeping out the door to see a room full of people and I don't even have a plan, or a menu planned, much less food prepared, and I always wake up about that time, so thankful that it was just a dream...😟well, when they told me that I was assigned to work with the Kitchen team, I almost said "Oh, no, I really can't do that." Then I stopped and thought about what a sense of humor God has. 😉 OK, I have come all the way to England for a new experience, and here it is. So instead, I took a deep breath and said, "OK, I'm willing to do it, but please don't expect me to be responsible for a meal. Please." They gave me a few days to get my bearings, and eased me into the daily routine here at Scargill.
First day in kitchen: June 2.
OK, so I have never worked in a restaurant or commercial kitchen before. Just saying. I am given a kitchen tour and instructed about hand-washing, clean side, dirty side, sanitation, equipment safety, etc. Then I am issued a kitchen uniform: Hair covering, white chef's shirt, chef's pants, and washable Crocs for the feet, remove all jewelry. Honestly, about then, I'm thinking my 'Chef Outfit' is kinda cute, and this kitchen stint might turn out to be fun. (At this point, enter Private Benjamin with Goldie Hawn) How do I look? How's my hair? "reporting for Duty, sir!"
SO, I get suited up and given my first assignment: wash and remove the eyes from 10 gallons of new potatoes. And the meal is in about one hour. WHAT? 😱 So scenes from my recurring nightmare start creeping in and I start washing. About 5 minutes into it, I start feeling like a kid in boot camp who is given the grunt work. Then 10 minutes later, my back begins to ACHE from bending over the sink. I start thinking, is this some kind of hazing ritual? Like maybe they are trying to break me on the first day and want to see what I will do. "OK, 2 can play this game. I won't crack!" I keep washing, removing eyes, washing, removing eyes, washing. My back hurts. And I've never see so many potatoes in my life.
After awhile, I start looking around to see what the others are doing in the kitchen.
Everyone is busy chopping and cooking, cleaning, quietly focused on their assigned tasks. So maybe my potato assignment is not so bad after all. Then I start thinking about the scripture "Do all things without murmuring or complaining." (Philippians 2:14, my version) OK. I get it. Even peeling potatoes. 😳 hmmm. Attitude check.
Then I start thinking about Brother Lawrence, the little monk from the 1600's who worked with joy in the monastery kitchen while experiencing an awareness of God all the while. (The Practice of the Presence of God)
"Hmm, OK, maybe I can do that while I wash potatoes."
Then I remember a scripture I recently read about the women who served Jesus and his disciples. ( Luke 8:1-3) So I think, OK, if I was preparing a meal for Jesus today, I would probably be sure that these are the very cleanest potatoes. I would do my best. And it would be my pleasure and honor. So I go back through my growing pile of washed potatoes to be sure there were no eyes left behind. Then I start thinking about our guests who will soon be eating these potatoes and how when I serve them, I really am serving God. Got it. So before I know it, all 10 gallons are washed and all eyes removed. "Yes sir!"
I've gone from Private Benjamin to Brother Lawrence in 30 minutes. The potatoes are whisked into our convection oven and cooked in no time flat. Beautiful. Brilliant! Mission Accomplished. Feeling pretty good about the lesson learned...I've got this. 😉
Then DAY 2 Kitchen Shift arrives. June 3. My assignment:making toast for breakfast. No problem. ANYBODY can make toast, right? So they show me how to work the toaster thingy and I begin. No problem. Right. Now, the trick with toast is that you make it at the last minute so it is hot. Right. And I'm making toast for about 70 people. Right. Now, there is also something about the British and their breakfast toast. They really like it. And they like a lot of it. So I'm feeding the bread through the commercial toaster machine, which has a little conveyor belt. You just feed the bread through at the top, it slides out the bottom nice and perfectly browned, then I cut each piece on the diagonal and put it in the little toast holders.
No problem. I've got this. Until I notice that the toast is getting darker and darker, leaning toward burnt. The toaster is set on 3 so I turn it down to 2. It gets darker and darker. So I turn it to 1. That's low, correct? Oh, no, it gets darker. Yes, it really is burning now. And nobody wants burnt toast. About now, the kitchen is starting to smell like burnt toast and the guests are asking for more toast. YIKES! It's my nightmare coming true. 😱
Remember Lucy and Ethel in the chocolate factory? Well, that's me with the burnt toast machine. 😲
YIKES! Then one of the kitchen team comes to my rescue and shows me that I was turning the toaster to HIGH when I thought I was turning it down. They turn the dial to 5 (low) and turn on the exhaust fan. I'm embarrassed and humiliated. I can't even make simple toast. And you know what? The kitchen team just laughs and says "No problem. We'll make bread crumbs'. They start telling me some of their horror stories of kitchen mishaps. Seems that everyone has broken something or burnt something or messed something up. They were great about it. So I guess I'm officially part of the kitchen team now. Yes sir, we are cooking for God. Serving our guests the best we can. Doing all things without murmuring or complaining. Humbly. And I'm no longer patting myself on the back.
Moral of the story: Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. (I Cor 10:12) Cause you never know what's gonna happen in the kitchen.
God really does have a sense of humor. (And they can't fire me, because I'm only here for 6 weeks anyway.😜)
SUMMARY on June 14. OK, so I've been working with the kitchen team for 8 shifts now. Everyone on the kitchen team (except me) is in their 20's. And many of them are from other countries, like India, Africa, Hungary, Italy, so they have to learn to communicate clearly to understand each other. They all work together beautifully, and without the direct supervision of an older adult. I'm so impressed with them. I am falling in love with every one of these kids. They are really outstanding young adults. They produce 3 large meals a day on time, plus wash and clean up everything correctly between each meal. Plus tea and coffee and cakes and hot chocolate several times a day. And start over again the next day without complaining. The meals here are good and abundant, but I am figuring out that being on the kitchen team is about more than food. It is really about learning self-control, doing the right thing even when nobody is watching, being responsible, following directions, practicing self-discipline, and most of all, practicing hospitality by serving others. I feel so proud to work with them. (More about hospitality another time)
Oh! And sometimes I even get to ring the dinner bell. (5 minutes before mealtime, someone from the kitchen walks all over the complex ringing the bell to call everyone to the table. It's the most fun job of all because everyone comes out smiling!) Yeah! I'm having a blast.
😉And learning to do some things without murmuring and complaining. 😇 More humbling kitchen lessons are ahead, I'm sure.
till next time,
Deep Peace to you from Audrey
