Have you ever hosted a large, formal dinner? Perhaps you had your in-laws over for the first time last year for Thanksgiving. Or maybe you had a bunch of friends to town from college and just had to show off the new digs and your stellar cooking skills. You timed everything perfectly, but definitely did not anticipate the amount of time it would really take.
The first time I decided to have a large group of people over I knew exactly what I wanted to make: spinach and feta stuffed chicken breasts with a with a wild rice pilaf. Sounds delicious right? And it was, well when it was eventually done.
Last week I was invited into the kitchen at Winger's Roadhouse Grill to work my skills in the kitchen making some hand breaded sticky fingers. Well let me tell you THANK GOD I was not in there during a rush - the kitchen would have killed me! I like to think part of my slowness was because of my perfectionism, wanting everything to look just perfect, but that's probably not true.
Leaving Winger's Roadhouse, I thought of all of the time I have gotten a little frustrated. Then I thought of all the times I have ben yelled at as a server or hostess when our restaurant was busy (I worked in the restaurant industry for six years as a server and a hostess). I understand and agree that it is completely inexcusable to be slow on service when there is no wait nor many tables filled, but it shocks me how many people complain so vehemently when their restaurant is clearly packed and busy.
I must say it would irk me quite a bit when I am doing everything I can and I get yelled at (yes, I have had customer raise their voices at me) because their food was not ready yet. It seems we have lost our desire to simply sit back and enjoy our time together, to simply get together and have a nice time. Instead, we are always in a hurry, always needing things to get here faster, to be bigger and better than what is was before. Yet if you go to many places around Europe, it would be quite a feat to leave dinner within two hours time.
I encourage you to remember next time you are out at dinner, to simply take your time. The world is going no faster today, nor will it speed up tomorrow. If you are in a hurry, don't sit down, then you will have nothing to worry about. But if you choose to take your time to go eat at a restaurant, regardless of what kind it is (five-star or burger joint) sit and enjoy yourself. Time does not matter. All that matters is the people surrounding you and the company you bring each other.
Remember the love and devotion you put into your own kitchen (or how much you imagine you would if you are a non-cooker). Believe me, that same love and devotion goes into each and every restaurant you visit. They started just like you, in a kitchen of their own, their love just spread to a much larger dinner party.
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