When I was young, man that makes me sound old, one of my favorite things to do was cook with my mom. Mom would be trying to fix dinner for the family & some 10 year old kid would be begging his dad for the blowtorch for his creme brulee. She probably hated me when she was standing in the middle of the grocery store trying to figure out what Arugula was. There was no Google back then so you had to read books, actual books. I would read anything about cooking I could get my hands on. When we were at an office or doctors, I would tear recipes out of the magazines so I coud cook them. When I turned 13 I got my first wok. At 14 I got springform pans, 15 was a full set of baking/cake decorating equipment. Sixteen, apron with my name & a chef hat (still have the apron, lost the hat). Seventeen, cast iron skillets. And at eighteen I got a set of Henckels knives that I still use every day.
And yet, when I went to college I studied electronics. Even though the school I went to had a top notch culinary program. What was I thinking? I only Cooked at two jobs; McDonald’s & Furrs Cafeteria. At Mickey D’s I cooked burgers & breakfast, but at Furrs I got to do a bit of everything. I was mainly the vegetable cook, responsible for side dishes & a LOT of prep. I also got to work in the bakery & the dessert section one day a week. I absolutely loved working there, but I left to work for a local auto parts store. Again, what was I thinking? Oh well, now I am (forcibly) retired so I have lots of time to play in the kitchen.
My cooking jobs.
McDonalds
Cook
1983 – 1988
My first cooking job. Not fine cuisine, but I had a lot of fun. At Mickey D’s I cooked burgers & breakfast so I developed a little bit of cooking skill.
Furr’s Cafeteria
Chef
1989 – 1990
At Furr’s I got to do a bit of everything. I was mainly the vegetable cook, responsible for side dishes & prep. I also got to work in the bakery & the dessert section one day a week.
