Tales of a Semi-Employed Cookery Student

I had my first assignment with my staffing agency yesterday and I must say that it was great. It's exactly the work I'm looking for. I spent most of the time washing dishes, but I did get to do some food prep, such as making sandwiches and wraps. It's called kitchen hand work. Last night around 9:45 pm my staffing agency called me in for another assignment as a catering assistant doing "plate up" for a function at the Melbourne Convention Centre. I'm guessing that since my first assignment went well, I'm no longer a risk for them to send me out on assignments. Money is finally coming into my bank account!

While I was eating breakfast, just a few moments ago, the head office of a particular food establishment called me to ask if I was still interested in working for them as a cook. I was secretly hoping that it'd be my staffing agency calling to say my position had been cancelled, but it was even better. They are going to train me to be a cook (if they hire me)! This is just the opportunity I was looking for to get some work experience in the kitchen. It's by no means a top restaurant or anything, but when you're starting from the bottom, whatever work I can get that is going to help me climb the ladder of hospitality work will have to suffice.

Last night Will and I went out for dinner at Veggie Bar in Fitzroy to celebrate our six years of fabulousness together. Unfortunately I don't have rave reviews about my dinner, or the food there in general for that matter. Everything else about the restaurant is great, except for the food, which is just OK. I've been there a few times and have never been blown away by the flavours. Last night I ordered one of the specials: Cran-Brie Pizza. It was a great idea executed rather poorly. It was more or less a thin pizza crust slathered in a sweet cranberry jam topped with slices of brie and tofu. It tasted great, but I felt like I was eating a dessert or a breakfast, not dinner. The cranberry was too sweet and was over-slathered.

In general, they just don't add enough salt to their food. I don't even know if they even add salt. Salt in moderation is good for you and it's rather necesarry in cooking to bring out the natural flavours of the food. I found that the vegetarian restaurant I worked at also had a salt phobia with their cooking techniques. Salt is good for food; use it!