This blog has been up and running and accessible for 13 days, and in that time I have had 60 different visitors from 9 different countries (France, Switzerland, Sweden being the top sources, with sporadic interest coming from the USA, Canada, NZ, Portugal, UK, Belgium). I think that a number of you have not spent much time reading my diary entries (fair enough – I was quite frankly gobsmacked / surprised when my mate Rob suggested that my journal might be worth putting on the web as a blog), but there seems to be about 30% of you who follow my entries quite regularly.
So, I’m pretty curious to know who you are…..not necessarily your whole intimate history, but simply why you are interested in this blog. I’d be very interested to have your thoughts on what I’m doing – 38 yr old English computer consultant changes direction to get trained up as a chef and then set up his own restaurant.
Anyway, truth be known, I’m feeling a bit low on morale today…..a few doubts have been allowed to creep into my head. So, I would be very keen to have some words of encouragement…..:-)
Briefly, today I had a short chat with the chef – he appreciates my energy, he says that I should be careful to not try to move forward too quickly (thus annoying people if I try to do stuff that I can’t and this then making them less willing to help when I am more able to do what I would like to do), that they don’t really need me and thus the main difficulty that I’ll have is trying to find my place, he is perfectly willing to let me work at different roles during my time in his kitchen (for example, each Wednesday I could do patissery, each morning I could help the poissonnier prepare the Whiting / Merlan, and so on). The fact that they don’t need me depressd me a wee bit, even though I know that this is a reality and despite that I will still be able to get a lot of good experience. I just want some responibility (for even the smallest task) – I guess because I’m totally used to being autonomous in my consultant role. At the same time I know that this is unreasonable to expect. I think that by the end of my second period of training in the restaurant (end of Dec 2007 – til the end of Jan 2008) I will have a better idea of where I am.
I need to find my place in the team.
Great Dom !
Low on morale, you don’t know where you are, you want more responsabilities but it’s too early, they don’t need you but you need them…
Don’t give up man ! it can’t be worst but it’s going to be better for sure !
If you can’t yet be automous in facts you know you are automous in your head…You have a goal and what a great goal…You have choosen a difficult way and you know you’ll have difficulties to manage…I know you are a fighter, common guy ! You will laught about that in few days and you will cry again…this is lifecycle of apprenticeship…
We have an interresting expression among chess gamers (I am not sure it works in english) : “This is from chess to chess we finish to win”
Straight forward !
Sincerely,
Franck