Waitressing

Why is it that the average person would choose waitressing as a last resort? As though it was a simple task, a quick and easy way to earn some cash... Quick? Maybe... at times. Easy? Keep dreaming.

Perhaps it is different in some cafe's / restaurants, but in the upper class, prestigious and successful ones, being a waitress is a hard job to take on!

In the cafe that I have joined up with, you are expected to know everything, from the ingredients needed to make every sauce to the ingredients to make every cocktail. Yesterday, I spent my day behind the East Heads Cafe bar. I spent 8 hours learning how to make all the cocktails. The barman, Brian, commented that being a waitress 'here' (let's not stereotype all food industries to be this hard) is like being back at school. I honestly believe that I have studied more in this past week than I did throughout the whole of Matric!

That aside, it is a lovely industry to be a part of. Besides when you are hungry, then it is pure torture! Your eyes are locked on this amazing food, that either someone else eats or gets chucked in the bin and your left thinking, "what a waste!" I'm not one for picking off the plates at the left overs that we bring back into the kitchen, but it does happen! I've seen more than one of my fellow waiters have a nibble... It grosses me out. That was someone else's food.... They could have coughed all over it, spat it out etc etc and they are happily plopping it into their mouths out of sight from the cameras!

That's another thing - East Heads is over-run with mini camcorders. The owner and manager are able to watch our every move so there is no such thing as slacking off.

I was leaning on the counter in the kitchen, waiting for a piping hot plate of food to deliver to a guest and our owner came up to me and said if he ever catches me standing like that again, he'll send me home forever! - Tough industry!

Everyone I know seems to think that waitressing is for people who cannot get a 'real' job, or are to stupid to get one. In reality, I have worked harder and learnt more in this last week than I ever have with all of my previous jobs combined!