Suite!

It’s been a long week. I worked the last six days at Xcel, prepping and cooking, prepping and cooking in alternating day and night shifts. Some days I’m busier than others, and last night was busy by the standards of the restaurant I cook in, The Reserve. I work alone in the kitchen there, so when I need something I have to radio the information down to the main kitchen, and somebody eventually brings up what I need. I work hard. I take pride in what I produce, and the wait-staff take notice of that and are very appreciative of what I do when I’m up in the restaurant. The bosses have also taken notice of me, and what I do there on a daily basis.

 

 

 

 

 

A week ago I mentioned to one of my superiors that I thought I was capable of much more than working the slowest restaurant in the facility. He agreed, but also stated that they needed somebody competent in The Reserve so they could utilize all of their employees as efficiently as possible. Before I started working there, the consistency was spotty at best, and they would often need two employees to run the show. Consistency is the foundation of a good kitchen. The Reserve is on the suite level which literally means there are only suites; no open seating. Each suite is stocked with its own food and beverage, so it’s hard to entice people to come out of there luxury box to eat something that we charge higher-end prices for, and if they have a bad experience once, they are unlikely to return, and there isn’t much rotation in the suites as far as guests; it’s nearly always the same people.  So, since I started working there, I have established a lever of consistency and quality that all levels of management have noticed.

So, yesterday, when the Executive Chef of Levy Restaurants at the Xcel Center pulled me into his office and not just praised my work, but offered me more responsibility, I was thrilled. Next week I will be training in somebody properly to fill my shoes in The Reserve, and then I’m not really sure what. I know that I will be working in a supervisory capacity, and that I will be in a faster paced environment. Both are aspects in which I would consider myself proficient, and I think I will Xcel. See what I did there?

 

There are a couple of restaurants I can see myself in. My second choice would be Jack Daniel’s on the club level. This is a buffet style place with higher-end food that serves hundreds of hungry mouths during every event. But it's not cook-to-order, or short order cooking which is what I'm best at.

 

The Fan Zone would be my first choice, if I am given a choice. Although it’s not as fancy as either of the aforementioned restaurants, it makes up for that in sheer volume. I’ve never walked past this place and seen it empty. It’s right up my alley; burgers and fries, and that’s the area I have the most experience in. There’s nothing glamorous about it, but I’m fast, and I enjoy working in a stressful, noisy, chaotic environment, and I think I would be right at home if given that opportunity.

 

Now, none of these pictures really show much of what is actually happening inside during a game. There are over 15,000 people in that building come game time, and these places are packed with hungry fans. There is a feeling of urgency, to say the least, when game time hits and orders start pouring in, and I would like to experience that times 10.

 

Less than two months in to my new job, back in the kitchen where I belong, I’ve already been given an opportunity for advancement. This only happened because I work a good program, follow the rules, and of course, work my ass off. Maybe this will be the thing that finally gets me out of the laminating factory once and for all. Either way, I have a lot to be enthusiastic about and look forward to.