Monday, July 30, 2007

Another Stage tomorrow

And another resume responded to this week.
PC in a corporate gig and same thing but different.
I think it requires some experience, and they're paying entry level wages.

The stage tomorrow is promising and I hope it pans.
We'll see after noon tomorrow.
From stage to market in the city.
Have to pick up some savory stuff for that little place as well as look for some wonderful berries. We hope.
The rain made it impossible for my favorite farm to sell of their farm, but there is a promising new farmer showing up from a nearby county. The idea of some more blueberry lead me to a buttermilk tart that I've been wanting to try.

Yum.

Friday, July 27, 2007

And again...

A call back!
On a PC job, not a PAsst. Thank the gods.
And then...
"are you sure this is the job you're looking for?"
"you seem a bit overqualified for this"
"this is an entry level job for 24 hours a week at $10 per hour..."
Whoa.
Hold on.
Ad reads "self-motivated, organized, 1 to 3 years experience, PASTRY COOK"
"this is really a job for a young person, looking to enter the market"
-- TRANSLATION: If you are old enough have a mortgage, this ain't the job for you

Excuse me for the utterly whitebread question, but do people actually take $10 an hour jobs and live somewhere other than their parents house or a car? How does one person survive on less than $1500 a month in an urban area?

Maybe she's right, maybe I'm too old

Thursday, July 26, 2007

An amazingly complicated day

It started with me in the midst of a "heavy" two-day prep and production schedule -- 5 desserts for tonight's theme dinner.
Good choices. One very authentically on the theme, one a clean almost authentic citrus dessert, some nice little cookies, a chocolate and the gelato/sorbets.
Got halfway through that when the restaurant owner told me they are going to put the restaurant on the market next week.
Sitting, breathing, trying not to feel like a hole just got punched through my lower intestine, I get through production.
Get ready for service and check email.
Inside my inbox was a a very nice innocuous looking email that contained a rejection letter from interview #1. I am overqualified and they have decided not to hire anyone right now. Sigh.
Add that to earlier and Tuesday and well, this whole week, and I'm just not sure which end is up anymore.
I have invested blood, sweat and tears (all literally and figuratively over the past eighteen months (almost to the day) to make this little place work. I have realized all the way through that the owner isn't satisfied or happy with how things work. I, however, also realize that the owner is a wonderful, creative person that doesn't manage well (that's why I do it), enjoys doing everything and therefore cannot delegate (that's why I do it), has a picture of perfect in their head and cannot articulate it well (that's what we all wish we had, that picture).
I thought the part-time-ness of this job would make is so that I could hang with this little place and still make an impact -- still be a part of something bigger than myself that was not part of a machine.
And honestly, I don't think I could work for anyone else in this little place without the owner. So... the not so little one says we'll come up with a solution. I believe I said that to nslo on a regular occasion over that past couple of decades.
And tomorrow is more cleaning, calling, switching, trying not to go insane with this overly full week. I am SO looking forward to being done with this set of have-tos.
Time to go read someone else's blog.

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

A nice interview, a nice chef

Today was a good and bad day.
I had a great interview with a bright, young, talented, shy pastry chef who was willing to actually have an *interview*
She told me about her, she told me about the restaurant, she asked me intelligent questions.
She told me I was overqualified. Which I am.
I told her about me, about my desserts, about my life and about what I want.

The consensus is a stage, but I am sad.
I am overqualified, but my resume is underfull.
I have no formal training and not enough experience in the past ten years to put on paper.
So I work now as a chef as the entire pastry dept. is my responsibility. Shopping, ordering, costing, planning menus, etc.
But I don't qualify to work as a chef or a cook for anyone else -- at least based on the lack of resume response.
I qualify to work as an assistant for piss poor money and would take these jobs if I could afford to.
That's the bad. What I want to do, what I aim to do, I can't make enough money at.
Bah.

Friday, July 20, 2007

Job Hunt Stats so far

Four resumes sent out to date.
First (for pa) -- got the call, had a 14 minute interview with the cdc, scheduled a tryout, did it, waiting

Resume #2 (for pch) no response

Resume #3 (for pa) -- got the call, scheduled the interview, interested

Resume #4 (for pc) no response

Ah the waiting game.

The tryout was fun -- different environment that what I'm used to and majorly professional. (What I wouldn't give on any given day for there NOT to be staff talking all around me when I try to bake.)
Definitely people I could wear my jeans and all my earrings around (yeay!)
Not sure how I fit, not sure I want a pa job -- depends on what it pays these days and what the schedule is.
Cdc didn't tell me until the interview it was p/t, but that could work out so I can keep creative influence at the current place.
And on it goes...

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

It's now official...

The job hunt has begun.

I am now seeking a pastry assistant/cook position at a restaurant in the area.
It's time to see if what I do can actually work in someone's else kitchen and if, perhaps, it can support me.
This is a difficult decision to make, but a necessary one.

I had the first call, the first interview over this past week for the position which turned out to be parttime and it went well enough to end in the plan of a stage.



Now it's just time to wait and see if it's a fit. On the outside it looks like a truly good outfit to be involved with. On the inside is definitely *always* different.

Filling in the details -- I got the gig at this little place cuz I'm good and I know the owner and it has been fabulous and has paid me very little. My savings are running dry and now it's time to get some work. I'd love to stay here. I want to stay here, but it just can't afford me right now :(

Mostly now, I'm sad at the change that is happening. I'm losing my security blanket and I'm just not sure what comes next. This used to be the kind of fear I could deal with regularly, but now it's just a bit too much to deal with on my own.
To the point that I'm physically feeling the sadness.
Handsome says it's because I wear my feelings a bit on my sleeve (I think the "bit" was a nice prevarication of truth...)
I'm seeing what I'm losing right now much more than what I'm gaining.
Fear -- such a wonderful motivator and driver for some can be paralyzing for me.

Ah well.
Positives -- three resumes, one interview, one stage. Not bad.
Amazing time for me to start the blog.
As a good friend used to say: "It's all good." and even if it's not, you just keep acting like it is until the reality matches your outlook.
Let's see what's next.

Monday, July 2, 2007

Italian Lemon Delice

Wow. Just wow.
This started simply as an ethnic dessert turned into an amazing find.
I was searching for things to do with Sorrento Lemons and came across a recipe in Italian and English. The poorly translated English recipe is even missing ingredients! So back to the original in Italian, translating myself with the wonderful help of babelfish then then making my changes -- fewer eggs in the pastry, different mixing order, a touch of lemon in the dough.

The end result is a nice open architecture shortcake filled with an extra tart creamy lemon custard and topped with a Limoncello whipped cream that is nothing short of delicioso.

It's a good day to be a cook.