90's Throwback Party

I have a lovely Assistant Chef, her name is Shamika.  She's well-grounded, quite capable, and just a joy to teach new things to.  We put together some platters for a work-party, the theme was 90's Throwback.  I love these sort of things because it gives me an opportunity to demonstrate and teach something new.  That something new would be bagels and handmade pop-tarts.  Since it was a breakfast party, we changed the format of the bagel bites to a more breakfasty sorta thing, as opposed to pizzas.

The bagel bites had country gravy, egg, cheese and ham bits.  The poptarts were strawberry.

These were soooooo good.  Like I explained to my assistant, even all things in nature don't look perfect.  Perfection is an illusion created in the mind of others, but not our own when it comes to judging our own craft.  We are our own worst enemy.  

"Coulda done it this way, shoulda done it that way, woulda come out different had I...."  Don't let the negative self-talk voices rent space in your head, they will prevent you from trying again because those voices kill the passion that drives us to do better, to be better, to have our craft evolve.  Especially when it's something new, a skill you're just beginning to develop.  I can guarantee you, if you continue to create and finetune, in a year, you could compare pictures, and that's when the sense of accomplishment sets in...  This is how far you've come, these are the results of your hard work and desire to do better, to be better.  

So, to all those Chefs in development.  Always take pics, take lots and lots of pics.  Compare your work from past work, see your own growth.  There may not always be someone in the background replacing those voices you hear in your head with the reality of how far you've come.  I certainly hope that there is a Chef that is mentoring you, and telling you how you are progressing.  That's the beauty of mentorship.  Feedback means everything, the good, the bad, the ugly and all the others in between.  I am of that age where it's time for me to begin passing down my knowledge because I might have 10-15 good years left, barring any kind of illness, injury or accident that could speed that timeline along.  

Here's some pics before I go on a massive ramble.  Plus, there's a pic of Akron, our Party Mascot.  Yes, pets can come to work with us.  I've even brought my Blue and Gold Macaw down for a visit with our residents.  

Okay, so now the miscellaneous ramblings, skip over this if you don't want to listen to the inner monologue that's being typed out at 105 wpm.  

I've worked in so many kitchens in my day.  Nursing homes, group homes, independent, assisted, memory care, restaurants, cafes, wine bars, bakeries, upscale, fine dining...  I have a lot of great memories and a lot of not so great memories.  I could write a book about my life, being a female Chef in a once male-dominated career.  It wasn't until very recently where I found myself coming back to Assisted Living and hanging up my apron from restaurants.  The pandemic also led me to want to leave restaurants - running a kitchen during a pandemic with all the rules and regulations, short-staffing, and impatient customers was really making me feel like it was sucking my soul into some dark and twisted vortex (another story, another time).  The pandemic really harmed the Food and Beverage industry.  There's nothing fun about sitting at home for months on end, waiting for the governor to relax restrictions so that restaurants and bars can open safely.  So many restaurants closed.  So many workers moved on to other jobs outside of hospitality.  So many workers wanted to ride the pandemic pay for as long as they could because the kitchen is notorious for beating the crap out of people for sometimes 70-80 hour weeks for a mere pittance.  There became a shortage of kitchen staff as a result, and many businesses were having to alter their hours of operation due to lack of staff, as they scramble to entice people to come work for them with sign-on bonuses and higher pay, and other perks.  I remember my first kitchen job.  It paid me $3.25 per hour.  

It's funny how this was a 90's Throwback themed party.  I coincidentally also passed my 90 days just a few days ago.  I am having a great time, loving my career, and found my passion that I thought had been extinguished (another story for another time).  I am the Head Chef for an assisted living community of Enlivant.  I work with some of the most fantastic people I ever met.  They make coming to work just a total joy.  We laugh together, make jokes, just keeping it all light-hearted.  But the best part, I think, is seeing our residents daily and brightening up their spirits with good food.  

My dad was 61-years-old when I was born.  He taught me to respect my elders, and also taught me to listen.  I would be in his kitchen, and he would be butchering a chicken or whatever, and telling me all of his kitchen wisdom, and stories of WWII.  He said that elders are the key to history.  Always listen to their stories because you can gain insight on what life was like in another era, and learn of other perspectives that can be applied to modern day.  My dad was my hero.  I loved him dearly.  When I make my clam chowder, it's like having conversations with him.  He was 93 when he died from brain cancer back in 2002.  Some of his last weeks is what kind of led me back to elder care.  I remember how wonderful the nursing staff was, how immensely helpful hospice was.  It is like giving back to this community by caring for these wonderful people.  I see that same level of genuine caring and concern from the staff that I work with on the other side of my kitchen door.

I didn't grow up with family nearby.  I didn't know my paternal grandparents.  I barely knew my maternal grandparents.  In a way, it's like having grandparents around.  They share such beautiful memories with me when I get to take time to do table-touch.  I try to get out to the dining room and speak to each one for a few minutes.  Sometimes, they are particularly chatty so I have to go out to the dining room a few times during my day and just break down the dining room into quadrants.  I'll go talk to this cluster at breakfast, I'll talk to this cluster at lunch, and the last remaining at dinner.  They enjoy that interaction as much as I do.  Light-hearted humor is always fun, especially when their faces light up and laughter erupts.  I also get to hear some of the funniest "dad jokes".

These people led interesting lives.  Raised families.  Seen things that I have yet to see, or may never get to see.  

So, that's how my 90 days have been.  I'm really sorry that I haven't been keeping up on my blog like I planned.

For those that have wondered, what's the recipe for the bagels?  I have two professional baking and pastry cookbooks that I consider my bibles.  One is the CIA Baking and Pastry, the other is The Pastry Chef's Little Black Book.  The latter is a simplified book, and a must-have for those that are seeking quality cookbooks.

Link to Amazon for Little Black Book Volume 1, click here.
Link to Amazon for Mastering The Craft, click here.

I don't have Little Black Book Volume 2 yet, been waiting for them to release it and I guess it's available now.  It's been on my wish list for a while when I heard that there was going to be a second volume.  For those that are interested in learning more about baking and pastry, The Little Black Book is simple to follow.  Whereas the CIA book is more indepth, and more traditional - not exactly a book for beginner home-cooks.

Happy Cooking, Everyone!

Chef Sivi