So I've found myself in the increasingly odd position of being hired as an executive chef for a sports bar. Made odder by the fact that the restaurant itself was advertising a line cook position on Craigslist (Two major red flags right there by any sane person's standards). On the one hand, I'm excited for the opportunity. Haven't done this before! On the other hand, I've read too much Anthony Bourdain. This can only end in tears. What am I thinking??? I know I am a solid line cook with a palate that has potential. But as for a full-blown, calling the shots chef? I can imagine it, maybe, when I hit my thirties. But right now I am a mid-twenties homeless ball o' nuts trying to sort myself out.
I took the job, of course, because I need to be able to survive California cost of living. Will this be a good thing? Eeeeeh... remains to be seen. Personally, I am uncharacteristically pessimistic about it. I've been in the industry too long and seen too many fuckups to kid myself. But at the same time, that goddamned little optimist in the back of my head that prevents me from being a total bitter cynic is rooting for a decent outcome. She's a bit of an idiot. It will be a learning experience, for sure. And after some of the "chefs" I've worked for? Well, I can't possibly fuck up *THAT* bad.
