Just the way it crumbles
There is a particular section at work that seems to defeat most people. I haven’t been working in this restaurant for terribly long and already I’ve seen more people come and go, than any other place I’ve worked in. The latest casualty, was a bit of a surprise to us all, considering he was a lovely guy and seemed to be going really well. One morning when he was supposed to be in for a shift, he rang up saying he didn’t want to work here anymore because he wasn’t enjoying it.
What happens when someone does this is, they look like a complete wanker (for lack of a better word) for starters. Also, the recently departed usually forces everyone else to pick up the slack by having to work extra shifts.
I mean, sure, it’s a tough kitchen. One of the toughest I’ve ever been in, and I know I would struggle too, if I was working on any section but pastry. So you don’t blame people when they decide the place isn’t for them. Rather, what annoys me is the way in which they choose to leave. At least the guy mentioned above rang up. Most just don’t bother turning up the next day, after a difficult shift the evening before. When they pack away their knives, saying that they’re taking them home to be sharpened, it’s highly likely they won’t be back. The one that really takes the cake is the guy who arrived for a trial, and having decided after two hours that he wasn’t interested in working here, just kind of gathered his tools up and disappeared. No thank you, goodbye, nothing.
Does this happen in any other industry? If not, what is wrong with this industry! Forget menu planning – maybe they need to teach How to Leave your Place of Employment In a Professional Manner 101 at cooking school.
All this ranting has left me without much idea of what to say about the dessert pictured above. The hunter-gatherer instinct is strong in the boy, even if it only extends as far as bringing home sushi and the occasional pretzel from our favourite German bakery. A couple of days ago, he came home with a handful of green apples. We both love apples in either tarts or crumbles, and this time I thought we could incorporate the best of both worlds. Yesterday evening, he cracked open a bottle of wine, I put on Nina Simone, made pasta, we watched Son of Rambow, and later there was apple crumble tart for dessert. One of those good days… 🙂
Marija said,
August 29, 2008 @ 11:00 am
The prettiest crumble I’ve ever seen
Lorraine E said,
August 29, 2008 @ 11:03 am
How very slack indeed. In an office it’s a little harder to do I think because of all the paraphernalia that one gathers (it’s a little suss taking your stuff home “to clean” Although I suspect if it was just a matter of picking up knives, a lot of people would do the same.
Crumble looks good!
Y said,
August 29, 2008 @ 11:17 am
Marija : Thank you! 🙂
Lorraine: Hehehe.. You know, I never thought of it that way. Can you imagine someone picking up the pot plant from their desk and going, Err.. I’m just going to take it home for a good watering!
Christie @ fig&cherry said,
August 29, 2008 @ 12:10 pm
1. ‘Takes the cake’, hehe – intended pun?
2. Perfect ball of ice-cream!
3. Loved Son of Rambow. Saw it at the cinema and was lost inside it. Fantastic film.
pea and pear said,
August 29, 2008 @ 12:32 pm
Ok I have a confession to make Y.
I lasted 2 weeks in your kitchen before I decided it was too much for me….I told chef before he did the next roster that I didn’t feel it was the right kitchen for me… it was a horrible feeling, I felt like I was breaking up with someone. I didn’t know what to say, because I felt like it was such a privilege to even be able to get the job… but I am glad I left the right way. in the time I was here 2 other chefs quit and more then 4 people did not last their trials.
PS , the apple crumble pie looks like the most delicious thing I have ever seen… crumble recipe please!!!!!
Y said,
August 29, 2008 @ 12:40 pm
Christie : Heh.. (1) yes, sort of.. in hindsight! (2) Thanks! (3) Yeah, I thought it was going to be crap at first, but found it to be surprisingly entertaining.
Ali: Confession indeed! Wait, I need to email you..
cakebrain said,
August 29, 2008 @ 2:17 pm
What a lovely looking crumble! I have never worked in the food industry, but I have a close friend who does. After hearing about the “free spirits” that the industry attracts, and the frequent moving around of staff, I wasn’t surprised to read about what you’ve experienced at your work place. It’s not too polite, I agree…but apparently it’s a widespread practice in North America. The thing is, from the owner/bosses’ perspective, the employees are pretty disposable too. Workers are often laid off if there’s no business and rehired when there is. Quite often, there’s no sense of loyalty to a company and people hop from one restaurant to another etc. Yeah, there ought to be some sort of reciprocity both ways in terms of “fair warning”…it’s the decent thing to do! All I can say is, it’s a tough industry to work in and I’m kind of happy in my teaching job! there’s some security there at least!
Y said,
August 29, 2008 @ 3:58 pm
Cakebrain: I agree, it often works both ways, but in the end it’s up to the individual to conduct themselves as professionally as possible. It’s a pity it’s so rife, and kind of depressing at the same time!
ELRA said,
August 29, 2008 @ 4:48 pm
I always imagine that working at the restaurant is pretty hard, I didn’t realize that people can quite just like that?
Apple crumble looks so good, no recipe?
clumbsycookie said,
August 29, 2008 @ 7:53 pm
I love apple crumble (who doesn’t anyway) and I love the idea of serving it in a tart, must be much less messy to eat.
I can relate so much with you’re talking about! I’ve seen those disapeering people in every kitchen everywhere I worked. My favourites are the ones that just stay for an hour or 2 and decide it’s not for them… Oh well, at least that one called;)
Aran said,
August 29, 2008 @ 8:31 pm
I’m not sure if it happens in any other industry but I sure saw much of that behavior in the hotel and restaurant industry. It is known that cooks will come and go quickly but I always expected a bit of notice and manners. I had people call out for no reason, leave the country on vacation and never come back… many times. I think part of it has to do with people’s expectations when they enter this business and what reality actually is. Hard work, long hours on our feet, heat, stress, time pressure….
But back to what’s important, the crumble. Lovely. I can’t wait for fall and winter to start making more crumbles. love it.
Cakelaw said,
August 29, 2008 @ 9:10 pm
Hi Y, I used to work at a deli, and people used to do the same thing there. Frankly, I enjoyed the deli and don’t know what their problem was, but there you go.
These little apple crumbles look gorgeous – perfect with a dollop of thick cream or some vanilla bean icecream, I think.
Patricia Scarpin said,
August 30, 2008 @ 1:27 am
That looks amazing. I love green apples, too, and baking with them is just so great!
About the employees – here in Brazil, cleaning ladies usually do that.
matt wright said,
August 30, 2008 @ 1:38 am
I just LOVE crumbles – and this one looks far fancier than any I have ever eaten! Great stuff.
grace said,
August 30, 2008 @ 2:16 am
your dish looks soooo perfect–it’s like a painting! i’d try to take a full three seconds to appreciate its beauty before digging ing. 🙂
meanwhile, i think wanker is an appropriate term for such a person. unacceptable and irresponsible.
Thip said,
August 30, 2008 @ 2:55 am
I hope this won’t happen where I work. I don’t like depression. 😀
Deborah said,
August 30, 2008 @ 7:41 am
What a gorgeous tart!
Christy said,
August 30, 2008 @ 11:03 am
I agree that some kitchens are hard to thrive in..the hours, the pressure, the constant need to achieve perfection…but all those is no excuse for bad manners…and leaving work without telling anyone or giving any notice IS, regardless of any reasons or excuses, bad manners.
On the other hand though, I’ve witnessed the previous head chef at my restaurant fire 2 people in the same afternoon for being late—he made an excuse of saying that it’s because they haven’t called up, actual reason being we were in a quiet phase after the Australian Open in January—but one of the guys actually rang the sous chef, but luck has it that the sous chef was off duty that day. He had a really good reason too–his father was ill and he had to take him to the hospital. But no matter, he still got fired anyway.
So really, I think that it goes both ways and people in this industry feel that if that’s how they are being treated, they should give back the same amount of respect and dignity that was given to them by the higher-ups in the industry. So it’s really up to the individual to have the integrity to say that, “NO, I am not going to stoop to that level,” than “Well, since that’s the way we are treated in the industry anyway…”
But back to the topic… your apple crumble tart looks delectable!! Let’s hope you have more of these good days!!
Mike said,
August 30, 2008 @ 11:59 am
lol, wow, that work situation would leave me pretty speechless. And here I am complaining about work stuff…that’s just beyond crazy.
Also, like everyone else has said so far, that is the prettiest crumble I’ve ever seen!
megan said,
August 30, 2008 @ 1:44 pm
oh that scoop of vanilla ice cream has really got me hungry now. this looks so delicious!
Y said,
August 30, 2008 @ 8:22 pm
Thank you for sharing that Christy! I’ve never heard of that happening before, and it’s such a pity that it does. Crazy little industry we’re in, isn’t it!
Duncan | Syrup&Tang said,
August 31, 2008 @ 1:14 am
Lovely pics and cool piece too. In one of my jobs, we spend time trying to teach people how to leave a job gracefully. Rarely do people actually seem to do it right, despite training. So many are unwilling to shoulder basic responsibility for themselves, so not turning up or just sending an sms is the easiest option. And I pity the employers who deal with ambitious young job-seekers who quit a new job after a few days because they were holding out for a better offer from another firm they’d been interviewed by!
Naama said,
August 31, 2008 @ 1:40 am
I just couldnt stop myself looking at the crust over and over again, it just look so perfect, and soooo accurate!
Anyway, this crumble looks simply devine, nothing less…
really, really well done.
linda said,
August 31, 2008 @ 2:16 am
Love the big crumbles, the pie looks just perfect!
I think it is outrageous to just stop going to your job without telling anyone. That makes it an even harder business for the ones that have to cover for him/her.
Graeme said,
August 31, 2008 @ 7:20 am
I know exactly what you mean. People – staff and customers – seem to have a special kind of uptight-edness when there’s food involved.
If the team isn’t working properly, then everyone gets pissed off and people complain. It’s always nice to be reminded that it’s things like this that you’ve made that make it worth the while.
It’s beautiful.
Erin @ dessert girl said,
August 31, 2008 @ 8:04 am
Wow! That’s the most original looking crumble that I’ve ever seen! Looks great!
Newjin said,
August 31, 2008 @ 8:15 am
Hi! I found your blog via Tastespotting and your gorgeous crumble caught my eye! The perfect scoop of ice cream and the big round crumbles are just mouthwatering. Like everyone else above me, I’d love to see a recipe!
And.. my dad is a sushi chef so I hear all sorts of stories that goes on behind the bar. It really sucks when people just quit and the people left behind has to take care of the mess, you know “take one for the team.” When one of the sushi chefs quit randomly, my dad had to work a whole month without break, sucks for someone as old as him.
steph (whisk/spoon) said,
August 31, 2008 @ 10:27 am
what a good looking crumble–in a perfect tart shell! i totally agree with you about the restaurant industry…i’ve worked in kitchens (in new york and sydney, so i guess it’s universal) where all of these things have happened, too. the disappearance act is the worst, because kitchens are usually pretty tightly staffed to start with. i don’t know how people can be so irresponsible, and even if they don’t like the head chef and just want to get the f**k out ASAP, at least have some consideration for their fellow cooks (who are usually friends) who have to pick up their slack. gosh, i felt so guilty that i had to leave the last restaurant i worked for after only six months, but i did at least give a full month’s notice.
Zoë François said,
August 31, 2008 @ 11:48 pm
My first encounter with this was when an employee called in and said he couldn’t come to work because he was in jail. He never came back and I was a bit relieved. Although it happened right before we were to plate up a party for 500 people. It really is an industry like no other.
btw when I left my job I gave lots of notice and even hired my replacement. It doesn’t have to be so crazy!
Your apple tart looks gorgeous!
Hexstatic said,
September 1, 2008 @ 1:12 pm
Wow, what a so perfect and deliciously looking apple crumble!
Can you tell the recipe? Please 🙂
the caked crusader said,
September 1, 2008 @ 5:56 pm
your tart looks amazing – I love the pebbles of crumble, sooooo pretty!
Sara said,
September 2, 2008 @ 3:50 am
No, it’s definitely not just the cooking industry. That type of stuff happens A LOT in retail. I used to work for Victoria’s Secret and at one point we had 120 people on staff when only about 60 were needed. And of those 60, about 20 just had a bunch of on call shifts because even the 40 that were reliable enough to be scheduled were unreliable enough to just call out (or not show up) for no reason and with no warning. When I put in my two weeks notice, they looked baffled…as if they had never expected anyone to actually give them a heads-up that they would be quitting. Ridiculous.
And your tart looks incredible.
Tartelette said,
September 2, 2008 @ 10:54 pm
I have stopped counting the number of times a line cook or dishwasher left without notice right before a busy shift. I was sole responisble of the pastry section but I have spent way too many nights “playing” in the pantry section or helping the chef on the hot line while we were tag teaming being dishwashers. That’s one of the reasons why I did not have an assistant, more work but I know who was showing up for work 🙂
I hope things improve or settle down for you. I just don’t understand the general attitude of saying “so what?” and walking away.
Tartelette said,
September 2, 2008 @ 10:55 pm
Forgot to add that I completely love the look of your tart! Yum!
Y said,
September 3, 2008 @ 10:09 am
Thanks to everyone for sharing their view on this topic. It’s a pity it’s so rife and I’m glad there are others out there who feel the same way I do!
By the way, for those who asked, I didn’t include a recipe because I didn’t want to make it an overly long post, and also I figured most people would already have their favourite recipe for tart pastry, crumble mixture, apple filling, etc.
Kristin at The Kitchen Sink said,
September 12, 2008 @ 12:24 am
That is an absolutely GORGEOUS apple crumble tart. Almost too good to eat. Almost!