Kitchen Work

I have been getting emails lately informing me that this November is my 5 year college reunion. Wow! 5 years! If you told me 5 years ago that I was going to be a cook at a coffee house in Poland I would have laughed in your face. But, yet here I am, spending at least 9 hours everyday in a tiny kitchen baking desserts and cooking soups & sandwiches. Much to everyone in Poznan's surprise, I actually can cook. Well, it's no surprise to me that I can do that part of the job considering that I grew up in a household where I was the only one who enjoyed cooking and tended to be the only one who cooked or baked anything. However, that was a secret that I kept from those I worked with here because the last place I wanted to end up was in the kitchen! :) Funny how God tends to put me in the last place I was trying to be! On the other side there is a lot more work in the kitchen then just following a recipe (which I tend to add my own flares too...). I am learning I have to think logically, not an easy task for me. What?! I have to plan how much of an ingredient I will need for a week??? What I have to actually keep track of exactly what I put into each recipe so it can be duplicated by some one else?! No, one told me that was part of working in the kitchen! I am learning... I think the greatest moment to show how I operate in the kitchen happened last week.... Our organized detailed oriented volunteer walks in and says, "Katie I would like a cost break down of our new menu items so we can check how much profit we will be bringing in." My response- an innocent smile.... But, I am learning and with the help of this particular volunteer I am becoming detailed in my kitchen. (Which has recently been given the name "Katie's Cave" because I am always hiding in it, not by choice, but because the work in there is never done!) And so here I am 5 years out of college using my theology degree to make scones and soups. Isn't it interesting where God moves us? Sometimes it is exactly where we thought we never wanted to be, only to learn that it really is not bad at all.

There are two big things that has made working in the kitchen something more than just a simple task of following the directions left by the last volunteer in charge. First, business has at least doubled if not tripled since the first directions were left. This is a huge praise! We are busy! And it means I spend everyday just keeping up with the orders that come in. The second thing is we have expanded our menu! I love our new menu items, however more items means more cooking! And with new items it means more ingredients and details that need to be organized for whoever will come after me. So, this has become my life standing in a kitchen during the shops open hours and spending time retyping changed recipes during non-shop hours. A busy life!

I hope you are not getting the idea that I am no longer having fun because of my new tasks and extra busyness. How could I be who I am without finding fun in each task?! And no one is as entertaining as me in the kitchen, there is always some disaster occurring! :) I will stop there before I get myself into trouble!