It all starts with the bain-marie
It all starts with the bain-marie being switched off at 6:20 pm and the Katch & Kill boxes being prepared. There might be a few stragglers coming in after working late or coming back from a trip. The food will stay hot enough for them but its important to turn it off early so the trays have time to cool - there no point anyone getting burnt.
At 6:30pm sharp it begins! The day's slushy is warned off and not allowed to help with anything. They have done their time. Then the trays come off the bain-marie and are passed to the bench where the leftovers are scooped, ladled, tonged or poured (with varying degrees of success) into their respective boxes ready for the fridge. While this is happening, the floors are being swept, ready for mopping and the trays are taken by many hands to the sink, where they will be sprayed, scrubbed and put into the Hobart.
Then they are packed away into their homes ready for Matt to use tomorrow. If you ask where something goes, someone will be sure to remind you " if you don’t know where it goes you haven’t helped out in the kitchen enough". A lot of work happens in a short amount of time but there is rarely anyone getting in the way. There is no asking what needs to be done, everyone is pretty good at noticing the gaps and filling them. It’s like a well-oiled machine at this point of the season.
Some days I think you can tell the general mood of the station just by how the after dinner pack up goes. You get days where everyone is full of beans and ready to go.
Other times it’s just about getting in there and getting out as fast as possible - no chit chat. Either because there is a movie or event on that no one wants to miss.
Sometimes the pack up drags on a bit, people are tired and don’t have any energy to spare.
But it still gets done.
Ben Pratt
Electrician
