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… 🙂