my name is Raine. i found this site a while ago and signed up but i was too chicken to post because i called myself "Chef" Logan and i don't know how to change it. :emoji_flushed:
after browsing this site for a bit i realised i'm not a Chef in the true sense of the word so slinked off with my tail between my legs.
but i'm god-damned desperate for advice so i decided to bite the bullet and introduce myself.
about 5 years ago i was working as a kitchen-hand at a local boys boarding college. we did simple homestyle fare for 150 - 200 boys, breakfast, lunch and dinner. a few months in and our cook resigned and we didn't have a replacement. so i'm like, i'll do it, i can cook, how hard can it be? it turned out i had a natural affinity for bulk catering and just knowing instinctively how much of each ingredient we'd need for these constantly ravenous boys. it wasn't easy because there was a massive amount of food to cook each day equalling a lot of heavy lifting and i'm no spring chicken. more like an old boiler.
the boys loved my cooking but i didn't have the confidence to apply for the role full-time. it did however give me the confidence to apply for and gain smaller scale similar roles. so i've worked mainly cooking in aged care since then. i did a bit of al la carte and short-order cooking but often the pressure got to me when a lot of orders came in at once and i'd lose focus and panic. that never worked out well.
last year during our first lockdown (in New Zealand) i decided to gain some qualifications since i had nothing better to do. i decided to skip level 2 and 3 of the NZ Certificate in Cookery and enroled in the level 4 course. i completed the course and passed my exams earlier this year. i got the biggest complement from a classmate after the practical exam. he said, 'one minute you had all these pots n pans on the stove, next minute, boom, boom, boom ... you were done'.
it was a no pressure situation with no surprises. i had my plan written down and in my head. there was zero panicing. he on the other hand was bouncing off the walls and i was helping him when the tutors weren't looking. he didn't finish on time ... possibly because he was too busy focusing on all my pots n pan.
fast forward to now and i'm head chef ... err ... head cook in a small country hotel. it's been a steep learning curve and i have sooooooooooooo many questions.
Kia Ora Chef Talk
after browsing this site for a bit i realised i'm not a Chef in the true sense of the word so slinked off with my tail between my legs.
but i'm god-damned desperate for advice so i decided to bite the bullet and introduce myself.
about 5 years ago i was working as a kitchen-hand at a local boys boarding college. we did simple homestyle fare for 150 - 200 boys, breakfast, lunch and dinner. a few months in and our cook resigned and we didn't have a replacement. so i'm like, i'll do it, i can cook, how hard can it be? it turned out i had a natural affinity for bulk catering and just knowing instinctively how much of each ingredient we'd need for these constantly ravenous boys. it wasn't easy because there was a massive amount of food to cook each day equalling a lot of heavy lifting and i'm no spring chicken. more like an old boiler.
the boys loved my cooking but i didn't have the confidence to apply for the role full-time. it did however give me the confidence to apply for and gain smaller scale similar roles. so i've worked mainly cooking in aged care since then. i did a bit of al la carte and short-order cooking but often the pressure got to me when a lot of orders came in at once and i'd lose focus and panic. that never worked out well.
last year during our first lockdown (in New Zealand) i decided to gain some qualifications since i had nothing better to do. i decided to skip level 2 and 3 of the NZ Certificate in Cookery and enroled in the level 4 course. i completed the course and passed my exams earlier this year. i got the biggest complement from a classmate after the practical exam. he said, 'one minute you had all these pots n pans on the stove, next minute, boom, boom, boom ... you were done'.
it was a no pressure situation with no surprises. i had my plan written down and in my head. there was zero panicing. he on the other hand was bouncing off the walls and i was helping him when the tutors weren't looking. he didn't finish on time ... possibly because he was too busy focusing on all my pots n pan.
fast forward to now and i'm head chef ... err ... head cook in a small country hotel. it's been a steep learning curve and i have sooooooooooooo many questions.
Kia Ora Chef Talk