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Restaurant vs Function Kitchens

Tonight I'm going to work in a restaurant kitchen. Wondering what the hell kind of kitchen I work in during the day then? Those in the know call it a function kitchen, those who know what that is also know that it's a piece of cake for any chef. A good way to wind down your career, if you've burnt the candle at both ends for too long.

I find it amusing that although Queensland has a shortage of chefs (which in itself is funny) the government still has the base rate at a ridiculously low level. Fortunately, to amend this, they've incorporated other benefits, such as Tools for Your Trade, which gives the apprentice a 'gift voucher' worth $800 for their tools. The only catch is that if you cancel your apprenticeship within 9 months of starting, your company will keep the tools, whereas if you stay on, they become yours. Unfortunately for me, this doesn't really help with the week-to-week paying of bills, so I asked my head chef, S, to give me a kitchenhand job at one of his other venues. The other week, he asked me to come in for a first shift tonight, in full uniform. Those of you who have no idea why this is weird, kitchenhands don't wear a chef uniform. They wear crappy old clothes that are ok to get stained, or they get coveralls to wear. So what am I going to be doing in a chef uniform then?? Insert 'eek' here.

Having my apprenticeship in a functions kitchen has given me a fantastic opportunity to learn a lot more than I would have if I were doing it in a restaurant kitchen. This particular function kitchen caters to 2 function rooms, each holding between 20-120pax. One of the rooms doubles as a lunch restaurant, operating daily from 11.30am to 2.30pm, seating up to 90pax. There's also a small cafe adjoining the rooms, which sells cakes, icecream, sandwiches, and scones, as well as chips, wedges, pies and sausage rolls. The room that doubles for a restaurant during the day usually brings anywhere from 8 to 30pax per day, weekends being more popular. We're never open for a la carte at night. It's definitely a relaxed atmosphere there, and we cruise through the weeks with a few daytime functions, with wedding receptions and other social functions on the weekends. When I first went into this kitchen I had no idea what to expect, and assumed I'd be peeling potatoes and cutting onions for the first 6 months. Instead, I can serve every item on the menu, I help with stock ordering, and rostering.

Tonight, I'll be stepping into (and I hate to say this) a real kitchen. There will be at least 4 other chefs on, not including S. Apparently the restaurant even has 4 or 5 other apprentices! I'm so nervous, my hands are cold and clammy, and I'm jittering all over the keyboard. I greatly regret having drunk that coffee earlier. This place is top notch, sitting right on the banks of the Brisbane River in socialite central. The restaurant usually turns around 90-120pax for dinner on a Friday night, and I expect tonight won't be any different. I think I ought to just count my blessings I'm not on tomorrow night, when they've got 3 functions going. It might sound silly, but I have no idea what time I'll be finishing either, and that sort of uncertainty is another thing keeping me on edge. It's like getting inoculated before going overseas. The feeling of anticipation and excitement, knowing there'll be a small pain, but for the long term benefit, you have to remember it's worth it.