Bunging You Right Into The Deep End Of The Microwave

Many years ago, I worked in a hotel kitchen. I was normally a rather lowly kitchen assistant, helping with the salads and preparation for the evening meals. I was fine with that.

One day, the general manager told me to turn up at our sister hotel at 8:00 am the next day. I did, only to find that I was expected to prepare breakfast for every guest — on my own, with no instruction and barely any preparation time. 

It may shock you to learn that things didn’t get off to a great start! The kitchen had been “professionally” deep cleaned by a company who had managed to break all of the hob burners but had not told anyone. So, I was down a major piece of equipment with no time to get it fixed.

I rang the main branch to ask for assistance.

Head Chef: “Just bung everything in the microwave. Oh, and you have to be the waiter and take the orders, too!” 

Things got steadily worse and worse. I blew up several eggs in the microwave because I followed the head chef’s advice. The dining room quickly filled with guests, but it was nearly impossible to do both jobs alone. The repeated bangs, cursing (by me!), and long waits meant that I don’t think that anyone got a cooked breakfast that day!

In my defence, if I’d had even the slightest bit of training, support, or working equipment, I might have stood a chance, but I heard the general manager say, “We won’t ask him again.” I wasn’t sad about that!