RE: "Chubby, I just wish that I lived in YOUR area and was looking for a cook's job. You might have offered me one!"

Absolutely, Big D! We coulda made a great team!

Also, another thing I wanted to mention- something I actually feel quite strongly about that some folks w/ kitchen aspirations sometimes don't fully understand or appreciate (not saying this is YOU at all, Big D, but I offer it for Francie's son who has the possible interest in pursuing this as a career.)... When I first stepped foot into a commercial kitchen, I washed dishes, scrubbed toilets, hauled-out garbage, cleaned stinky/reeking grease-traps, cleaned deep-fryers, and mopped floors for a full two years before I was allowed to touch food. In fact, I myself do not know a single cook or chef who HAS NOT served their time in the dish-pit. And while this may appear silly to some, the fact is, washing dishes teaches us things that we absolutely MUST know to be a chef (for instance- the ways I described above inwhich I showed appreciation to my own dishwashing teams? I NEVER woulda learned to do that without being a dishwasher myself... so, putting that into perspective- BEING A DISHWASHER TAUGHT ME ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL MANAGEMENT TRAITS A CHEF CAN HAVE. Had I not washed dishes- that's a necessary trait I woulda never learned, and that alone woulda made me a LAME-AZZ chef). I would venture to say that if in fact a chef exists anywhere who has not washed dishes? He's proll'y lacking all sorts of necessary fundamental basics.

One last piece of hopefully helpful advice to Francie's son... no matter what you see on TV? Being a chef is NOT glamourous. HE IS GONNA SWEAT. If there is ONE point I feel the need to get across? That's it.

Well, if you were to offer me a job washing dishes, then I'd have to respectfully decline, as a guy who I worked with at United Airlines would say when he was offered the chance to be a lead for the day.

Incidently, in '66, my first job was washing dishes. Back then, all I could get was a dishwashing job. During the coming years, I had jobs washing dishes. And when I first started with United Airlines working in the flight kitchen, I was washing dishes.

After I was laid off from United the 2nd time, of cousre you know, that other job was washing dishes, as well as working for the temp agency, they sent me out on jobs washing dishes!! Seemed that as of late, that was all I could ever get!

So now you see that I've had much more that my share of washing friggen dishes for these co's. The reason why I won't ever go looking for a job again!! It is just too much hard-core labor, besides being a very demeaning and lousy way to start with anyone.

For most folks, washing dishes is definitely a starting point when first entering the work-force- from which to catapult forward to bigger and better things. So I completely identify with your views, Big D... but I feel a need to really play devil's advocate here and expose the other side of this issue too...

It's hard, demanding, sweaty work- but as I said- w/ very valuable things to teach. (I also worked in fields as a kid bailing hay, walking beans, de-tasseling corn and picking pumpkins... very back-breaking, HOT work, but it taught me a fantastic work-ethic and made me appreciate other jobs I got down the road... it also taught me not to whine, which is something I notice that those without rough work backgrounds often do!)

Like I said- show me a chef who's never washed dishes and I'll show you what likely will be a chef w/ many poor skills. I cannot imagine running a kitchen without having LOTSA dishwashing under one's belt. (Ever seen the fantastic Disney animated "Ratatoullie"? A wonderful realistic cartoon that depicts life in the commercial kitchen even far better than "Hell's Kitchen", "Iron Chef" or any of the other supposed reality TV shows depict! It shows perfectly that every good chef starts out as a hard-working dishwasher.)

That said- dishwashing for some is definiitely not demeaning, embarrassing work. Most of my dishwashers over the years were young high schoolers or college students. Some were immigrants who worked in the dish-pit while they made their way, learned English and later progressed on to different things. But a fair amount were also 50-70 year olds who had never wished to do anything more. To many it IS demeaning, "low-class" work... but some of the most honorable people I ever knew were dishwashers who were married and raised kids and grandkids, who were nearing retirement age and STILL working at the same job they had when they were 20. While most hope for more than that- for whatever reason this was the path that particular person chose.

Those folks were often among the ones I referred to earlier that I always felt the strong desire to acknowledge, appreciate and DO things for. Sure, Raul might be "just" a 57 year old dishwasher, but I tried to treat him like a KING. I respected him as a man, and appreciated the job he did for me. I fed him well, sent food home to his family, gave him cash, gift cards and every bonus imagineable simply because he was dedicated and gave his best to me and my kitchen. I sent him home with pies, fancy decorated cakes, steaks, shellfish, cuts of meat, hens... I had his wife's and kids' birthdays marked on the kitchen calander and gave him these days off and always sent him home with something to help the family mark those times of family celebration. As I said- at holiday time he always got cash or a gift-card, and sometimes it wasn't from the company, sometimes it was paid for by a collection taken-up by the kitchen and wait-staff.

I even had my car serviced for years by Raul's son Berto, who worked 2 jobs at garages. I paid Berto twice what I would have paid another mechanic to change my oil, give tune-ups, etc. Why? Because I knew the money went to Raul's family, and I wanted to honor and respect Berto & Raul.

I need to be appreciated for the job I do- it's important to me- every bit as important as the pay-check I earn. And it's always been my policy to do the same in return for those who worked for/with me as well. And you know what? This isn't some "Kevin-is-an-angel" thang at all... I've been truly blessed, for I've had people show me just as much kindness and charity. There are folks much further up the "food chain" with far more success and money than I who have reached back and pulled me ahead- given me chances, gifted me with tokens to show their respect and appreciation... I have benefitted from and learned from many of the BEST.

But I paid my dues since way back when.

Why must I have had to keep on starting in the dishroom with every co that might consider hiring me? That just wasn't fair!! Especially after being told by the organization that I would be guarranteed a job as a cook!

Boy, they better not EVER ask me if I'd like to come to one one the classes to tell the present or future students how I made out after graduating from there! I'll put it right on the line and tell them exactly how things went!!!

I presented them with my resume, and that is supposed to tell people about my work history, what I've done as well as any training that I had.

I've gotten a graduation certificate, studied ServSafe, took the test, passed it and received a certificate - a manager's one at that!!

I'm a certified cook and friggen couldn't even get a job in the field! That's what stinks big time!!

Like everyone else who'd ever worked food service, I've done my share of dishes. Yeah, it's a hot, thankless, back-breaking job.

But if anyone wants to know the real secret of whether of not you have what it takes I can sum it up in two words:

Grease Traps.

For those of you who've never had to face one, thank your lucking stars. And for anyone like Francie's stepson, contemplating a career in the culinary industry, cleaning grease traps is the real test.

Washing dishes, pshaw! That's a cake walk.