Ups and Downs
Posted: Wed Jun 08, 2005 9:09 am
I wrote this to Tombstone because he asked me to tell him a little about the food service industry, but i thought you all might like to appreciate just how weird life can get from my point of view.
"[Tombstone]Very cool - and intriquing! May I inquire why you left?
Was your compensation on par with your responsibilities?"
Actually, it's another rather fascinating chapter in the weird novel that's been my real life.
I got my start in the food service industry when I was just 15, I worked on the original crew that opened the town's first McDaonald's. I highly recommend to teenagers to work at fast food stores, because the experience I got in corporate operations was enormous. Even as a cook, you still get to see ordering, inventory control, personel issues, scheduling, etc, etc. Little did I know how valuable that experience was to be.
Shortly after that I became a broiler's assistant at a very upscale resaurant called "The Trough" That's actually where I learned to cook. (Although my mother taught me quite a bit too.) I worked in various restaurants mostly through high school. Then went to college to study Electrical Engineering. (But that's another story.)
After college, I went straight into the Air Force and then straight to Instructor Pilot's School. (The Air Force too, seemed to think I would make a good teacher.) I flew for a good six, years, but then I decded that it wasn't for me, and went into the Reserves where I still serve today. (But that's another story.)
Despite the fact that I had two Electrical Engineering degrees, I quickly found out that Flying experience did not translate into an Engineering job. So I went back to the only other thing I knew, cooking, while I looked for a new career and applied to firms like Intel.
You know that I was working in the 1980's (late 80's) as a cook at "Long Wong's" a shotgun bar in Tempe down on Mill avenue, which is the night life district. During the days I cooked and at night I played with the Gin Blossoms. (But that's still another story)
It sounds glamorous, but like reality itself it was actually kind of rough and gritty.
Well, one day I was cooking at Long Wong's and the owner came in. He was drunk as usual, and accused everyone of robbing the bar till, which was ridiculous to accuse the cooks along with the wait staff because we not only didn't go up to the bar side, but didn't even know how to open the cash register.
Well...I had had enough, I don't stand for anyone calling me a thief. So I quit on the spot. Which Scott took offense to and told me, "You can't quit!" Which from his point of view was probably true since it was a Friday afternoon and the evening rush was just beginning and I was the only cook on at the time, my co-worker having called in sick and the other not yet arrived. But of course, Abarham Lincoln freed the slaves, as I told him in no uncertain terms. Then I left the store.
Feeling a little out of sorts, since at that time I lived pretty much paycheck to paycheck, I went across the street to where a new restaurant was opening. It was very colorful and state-of-the-art. It was called "Fat Tuesday's" and can best be described as a "Baskin Robbins" of alcohol with 50 flavors fo slushie drinks on the wall, with a Cajun restaurant attached. They were having a grand opening bash with a band and crawfish feast outside.
I wandered around havign a great time. I even saw the other guy scheduled to come in walk by, He asked, "Why aren't you working?" I replied, "Scott went ballistic again and accused everyone of stealing, so I quit." He laughed and said, "Well! I'm not going to work by myself! I quit too!" ( I heard later that Scott never forgave me for that and continually moaned about it for years afterward.)
About that time, I saw a guy in a chef's clothes so I went up to him and asked him if the store was hiring any cooks. Tim Winscom was a very neat guy, a New Yorker who had been professionally trained. He told me that they did have one more position and that I should apply.
Sure enough, the next day I got a call in the morning from Tim and he told me to come on down and start working.
The first week was a little strange. It turned out that this particular corporation had never operated a restaurant side before, this was the biggest store they had ever built and they were very new to the business.
Tim did a lot of improvising and teaching ( I learned even more!) that week, but things just didn't seem to work out. Finally, he got frustrated and quit at the end of the week.
The head manager came to me and asked if I could write a schedule, (he had seen my experience) and I jumped at the chance. I was now the official kitchen manager. (cool embroidered chef's coat and all.)
I had never been a kitchen manager before, but hey! How hard could it be? I was intelligent and creative, and a quick learner.
The first thing I did was to go to the largest food supplier in Phoenix, Cisco industries, and ask their representative for help. He set me up but good, he and I lined out a menu and started up the ordering process. I also streamlined the kitchen, using the inventory control, prep, and production procedures I had learned as a younger man.
With his help, I did so well that within a couple of months I was asked to start up the Arizona Center Fat Tuesday's. This was an even bigger operation, and more upscale since it was catering to business professionals in the Downtown district.
Before I knew it, I was hanging out with the millionaire owners, investors, and attorneys. Smalltown kid done good! It was an absolute blast, and being single, I felt as free as a bird.
About that time, we got new fryers. Unfortunately, right after that we had an accident with the hot grease and an employee was severely burned.
Knowing that my parents had been teachers, the owner of the corporation asked me if I could write a safety and procedures manual for the new fryer. Well...how hard could that be? Of course I would, I told him!
He was delighted. the manual was distrubuted to the entire corporation. He decided that my true gift was teaching and that I should become the new International Training Manager. My new job was to hire experienced "start-up crews", train them to train others, and send them out to open the new stores, which were being built at an alarming rate. I was also to travel around and supervise this operation. Boy! Did I ever travel!
By the time I left the corporation, two years later, I was making about $80,000 a year and I had a total count of more than 20,000 people in my division. Quite a rise for a lowly cook in such a short time, eh? Just shows you the value of an education.
About that time, fate stepped in. My poor father died. My mother, who was very old, had no one to take care of her. It was a difficult choice, my only remaining parent, and virtually my only remaining relative at all...or my career.
I chose my mother. I quit, much to the chagrin of my corporation, and moved back to my little hometown of Farmington, New Mexico.
I was, to say the least, a little put out. But such is life, especially mine. I applied at a local pub as a minimum wage cook, (Back to the bottom again!) so that I could have something to do while I looked for another career. That's where I met my future wife! Surprise! Life begins to get better again!
Tired of the tough life of a cook, I complained bitterly to my mother who suggested that I try my hand at substitute teaching. (She always had alterior motives!) Well, to make a long story short, it turned out that I was very, very good at being a teacher. The kids loved me, and I loved the job.
When the Farmington Municipal District got a good look at my resume, they immediately called me and offered me that chance to be a real teacher. So I got my first job. After a year, I was picked to head up the new flagship Middle school, Mesa View, and I became the Math Department Head.
After a decade of pretty spectacular success there,( I was Who's Who In American Teachers, 10 years in a row, Red Apple Teacher 5 times, top teacher in the district, and was nominated for Golden Apple Teacher - top teacher in the state. I even gained a nomination for Disney Teacher of the Year - top 10 in the country! But I didn't win.)
By then, I had enough powerful allies to get me this slot as the principal of the Transition Academy.(But that's still another story!)
So a skinny blonde party animal from the 70's, with a '69 Camaro and a zest for life, went on an incredible adventure to the top of the world and near space, to the bottom of the gutter and homelessness, back to the top of the corporate ladder, back down to a short order cook, and finally ended up as a principal and math teacher...for kids that were just like him at that age in the same hometown.
Aint life stranger than fiction?:D
"[Tombstone]Very cool - and intriquing! May I inquire why you left?
Was your compensation on par with your responsibilities?"
Actually, it's another rather fascinating chapter in the weird novel that's been my real life.
I got my start in the food service industry when I was just 15, I worked on the original crew that opened the town's first McDaonald's. I highly recommend to teenagers to work at fast food stores, because the experience I got in corporate operations was enormous. Even as a cook, you still get to see ordering, inventory control, personel issues, scheduling, etc, etc. Little did I know how valuable that experience was to be.
Shortly after that I became a broiler's assistant at a very upscale resaurant called "The Trough" That's actually where I learned to cook. (Although my mother taught me quite a bit too.) I worked in various restaurants mostly through high school. Then went to college to study Electrical Engineering. (But that's another story.)
After college, I went straight into the Air Force and then straight to Instructor Pilot's School. (The Air Force too, seemed to think I would make a good teacher.) I flew for a good six, years, but then I decded that it wasn't for me, and went into the Reserves where I still serve today. (But that's another story.)
Despite the fact that I had two Electrical Engineering degrees, I quickly found out that Flying experience did not translate into an Engineering job. So I went back to the only other thing I knew, cooking, while I looked for a new career and applied to firms like Intel.
You know that I was working in the 1980's (late 80's) as a cook at "Long Wong's" a shotgun bar in Tempe down on Mill avenue, which is the night life district. During the days I cooked and at night I played with the Gin Blossoms. (But that's still another story)
It sounds glamorous, but like reality itself it was actually kind of rough and gritty.
Well, one day I was cooking at Long Wong's and the owner came in. He was drunk as usual, and accused everyone of robbing the bar till, which was ridiculous to accuse the cooks along with the wait staff because we not only didn't go up to the bar side, but didn't even know how to open the cash register.
Well...I had had enough, I don't stand for anyone calling me a thief. So I quit on the spot. Which Scott took offense to and told me, "You can't quit!" Which from his point of view was probably true since it was a Friday afternoon and the evening rush was just beginning and I was the only cook on at the time, my co-worker having called in sick and the other not yet arrived. But of course, Abarham Lincoln freed the slaves, as I told him in no uncertain terms. Then I left the store.
Feeling a little out of sorts, since at that time I lived pretty much paycheck to paycheck, I went across the street to where a new restaurant was opening. It was very colorful and state-of-the-art. It was called "Fat Tuesday's" and can best be described as a "Baskin Robbins" of alcohol with 50 flavors fo slushie drinks on the wall, with a Cajun restaurant attached. They were having a grand opening bash with a band and crawfish feast outside.
I wandered around havign a great time. I even saw the other guy scheduled to come in walk by, He asked, "Why aren't you working?" I replied, "Scott went ballistic again and accused everyone of stealing, so I quit." He laughed and said, "Well! I'm not going to work by myself! I quit too!" ( I heard later that Scott never forgave me for that and continually moaned about it for years afterward.)
About that time, I saw a guy in a chef's clothes so I went up to him and asked him if the store was hiring any cooks. Tim Winscom was a very neat guy, a New Yorker who had been professionally trained. He told me that they did have one more position and that I should apply.
Sure enough, the next day I got a call in the morning from Tim and he told me to come on down and start working.
The first week was a little strange. It turned out that this particular corporation had never operated a restaurant side before, this was the biggest store they had ever built and they were very new to the business.
Tim did a lot of improvising and teaching ( I learned even more!) that week, but things just didn't seem to work out. Finally, he got frustrated and quit at the end of the week.
The head manager came to me and asked if I could write a schedule, (he had seen my experience) and I jumped at the chance. I was now the official kitchen manager. (cool embroidered chef's coat and all.)
I had never been a kitchen manager before, but hey! How hard could it be? I was intelligent and creative, and a quick learner.
The first thing I did was to go to the largest food supplier in Phoenix, Cisco industries, and ask their representative for help. He set me up but good, he and I lined out a menu and started up the ordering process. I also streamlined the kitchen, using the inventory control, prep, and production procedures I had learned as a younger man.
With his help, I did so well that within a couple of months I was asked to start up the Arizona Center Fat Tuesday's. This was an even bigger operation, and more upscale since it was catering to business professionals in the Downtown district.
Before I knew it, I was hanging out with the millionaire owners, investors, and attorneys. Smalltown kid done good! It was an absolute blast, and being single, I felt as free as a bird.
About that time, we got new fryers. Unfortunately, right after that we had an accident with the hot grease and an employee was severely burned.
Knowing that my parents had been teachers, the owner of the corporation asked me if I could write a safety and procedures manual for the new fryer. Well...how hard could that be? Of course I would, I told him!
He was delighted. the manual was distrubuted to the entire corporation. He decided that my true gift was teaching and that I should become the new International Training Manager. My new job was to hire experienced "start-up crews", train them to train others, and send them out to open the new stores, which were being built at an alarming rate. I was also to travel around and supervise this operation. Boy! Did I ever travel!
By the time I left the corporation, two years later, I was making about $80,000 a year and I had a total count of more than 20,000 people in my division. Quite a rise for a lowly cook in such a short time, eh? Just shows you the value of an education.
About that time, fate stepped in. My poor father died. My mother, who was very old, had no one to take care of her. It was a difficult choice, my only remaining parent, and virtually my only remaining relative at all...or my career.
I chose my mother. I quit, much to the chagrin of my corporation, and moved back to my little hometown of Farmington, New Mexico.
I was, to say the least, a little put out. But such is life, especially mine. I applied at a local pub as a minimum wage cook, (Back to the bottom again!) so that I could have something to do while I looked for another career. That's where I met my future wife! Surprise! Life begins to get better again!
Tired of the tough life of a cook, I complained bitterly to my mother who suggested that I try my hand at substitute teaching. (She always had alterior motives!) Well, to make a long story short, it turned out that I was very, very good at being a teacher. The kids loved me, and I loved the job.
When the Farmington Municipal District got a good look at my resume, they immediately called me and offered me that chance to be a real teacher. So I got my first job. After a year, I was picked to head up the new flagship Middle school, Mesa View, and I became the Math Department Head.
After a decade of pretty spectacular success there,( I was Who's Who In American Teachers, 10 years in a row, Red Apple Teacher 5 times, top teacher in the district, and was nominated for Golden Apple Teacher - top teacher in the state. I even gained a nomination for Disney Teacher of the Year - top 10 in the country! But I didn't win.)
By then, I had enough powerful allies to get me this slot as the principal of the Transition Academy.(But that's still another story!)
So a skinny blonde party animal from the 70's, with a '69 Camaro and a zest for life, went on an incredible adventure to the top of the world and near space, to the bottom of the gutter and homelessness, back to the top of the corporate ladder, back down to a short order cook, and finally ended up as a principal and math teacher...for kids that were just like him at that age in the same hometown.
Aint life stranger than fiction?:D
