Behind the Scenes

So when you're eating out at a restaurant, you probably don't spend a lot of time thinking about what's going on behind the scenes.  Like what type of people are preparing your food, how clean they are, how much of what you're eating has been frozen for 2 weeks, how well-washed your cutlery is, what the waiters are saying behind your back, etc.  I know I never did!  BUT having witnessed all of the above, and been a part of it myself, I now have a totally different outlook on restaurants and eating out.  It no longer seems...as appetizing.  Not that InFood isn't a really clean, efficient, and fresh restaurant, because it is, but it shows that every restaurant, even the best places that use the most local/organic/hand-made ingredients, still have some skeletons in the closet because that's just the way it is.

For instance, when the cooks are in a rush, (and even when they're not in a rush) they use their hands when preparing your meal.  Your food HAS been touched by a bare human hand, that has previously touched something else.  I guarantee it.  And waiters don't use tongs to put bread on a serving platter, are you kidding me?  We don't have time for that!  The best you can hope for is that your waiter is a clean person who washes their hands fairly regularly.  Also, "fresh" is a very loosely-used term.  I'm not saying the food wasn't fresh 1 week ago, but fridges and freezers are a key component of a busy restaurant with a very varied menu, so don't take any menu description with the word "fresh" in it too seriously.  Realistically, is the restaurant going to hand-prepare new burger patties, seafood, chicken, soups, steak, and sauces, every single day?  I don't think so.  They make it in medium-sized batches, and then store it for a while, to maximize time and efficiency.  I'm sure my restaurant makes more things fresh than the average restaurant, given that they bake their own breads every morning, but still, it's impossible to make everything, everyday.

Over the past month or so, working as a waitress has also taught me more about what NOT to do as a patron of a restaurant.  Here are a few tips for you, for the sake of all other waiters and waitresses out there:

1.  If you flag the waiter down to order, please please don't then spend 2 minutes silently perusing the menu while we wait, clearing our throats, bursting with irritation while thinking about the million and one things we still need to do in the next 5 minutes. 

2.  It's not our fault if food or drinks take a long time!  I know it's irritating if your glass of orange juice takes 15 minutes to arrive, but it really is outside of our control.  I guess I can't speak for all waitresses, but I've found that harassing the baristas about your order only annoys them, and in the end doesn't really correlate with faster service.  They make the orders in the order they arrive, and so if the drinks for a table of 10 go in right before your 1 glass of orange juice, well the orange juice just has to wait!  I can sweet talk or harang them all I want, but when it comes down to it I can't really do anything about it.

3.  Please don't request any extra fancy sauces to go with your oder.  I've been the victim of this many times, and I can tell you that it's probably going to take forever in waiter-time to go on a wild goose chase to search through fridges and buried containers in the kitchen just to locate that special chilli sauce or fancy mayonnaise for you.  Yes, I have hunted down fresh ginger and a grater, during the lunch rush, just to add to somebody's juice.  I'm not exaggerating.  I was not too impressed with that particular customer, let me tell you. 

4.  Don't show up to a restaurant 5 minutes before closing, even if it's just for coffee.  All of the waiters will stare at you, silently curse you, and think that you're a terrible human being for making everyone wait an extra half an hour before they can start cleaning up to go home.  One time, 2 ladies came and ordered coffee and cake 5 minutes AFTER we were supposed to be closed, and thought nothing of having a good ol' chat for about 20 more minutes while we all stood around!  Some people.

But anyway, those are my biggest pet peeves (aside from non-tippers!) and I'm sure if you avoid these things you will have a very happy waiter, and therefore probably better service!

Overall I've enjoyed working in the restaurant, especially meeting and getting to know everyone who works there.  Sometimes we have a bit of a communication problem, me with my Amurrcan accent and them with their strong Afrikaans, Zulu, or Shona accents, but with a few good, loud, repetitions we usually get the gist of what the other one is saying.  One time I was looking for a bag to put a rotisserie chicken in for a customer, and when I went to the kitchen to find one, I had to repeat myself so many times that I was nearly shouting by the end of it.  Finally, Sandy said, "oh, a packet?"  It's funny how 1 word can make such a difference.  I've made friends with Charles, one of the baristas, a Zimbabwean guy who just got married to a girl named Happiness.  It was so cute, the week leading up to the wedding he was so nervous and hyped up, and then the day after (he couldn't afford a honeymoon) he was beaming with a smile as wide as anything with a sparkly gold ring on his finger.  He lives in a township, but in a house luckily.  Rejoice is my favorite, she works in the back baking quiches, spanakopitas, etc, and always has a hankering for leftover bacon that people leave behind on their plates.  Today when I walked by she was chopping spinach while simultaneously perusing the newspaper ads.  The epitome of multitasking!  She has a very sly smile and funny giggle, and goes by "Joicy" or "Spanakopita".  I will definitely miss the people when I finish working in 1 1/2 weeks, although I have to say after only having 4 days off in the past month, I am definitely ready for a break.  Vacation number 2, here I come....