the last

So today was the last day of work...with us leaving back to the mainland on Wednesday. It was a day of a whole lot of what I am going to miss, and a little of what I am not.

First I am going to miss my cooks and the people I work with side by side in the trenches daily.

here they are:

Myrna who single handed puts out breakfast for 300 covers everyday like clockwork...
Kyle, our saucier
Nolito, lead cook
Jed, cafeteria cook, and Pedro, night time banquets
Our purchasing guys, and two pigs...Felipe, Rudy, Michael
My nannas...Carmelita and Josie


Richard and Ha'aheoMy team in the AM...garde manger and hot banquets...

These are the ones who have taught me what ALOHA is all about. And the ones who I am going to miss the most...their spirit of generosity and love of each other and the outpouring of affection towards myself and my loved ones has proven that the spirit of aloha is not dead in Hawai'i and shown me what the true nature of being in the ohana is all about. This is the feast for breakfast that we had and the cake they brought in for me.


I truly am going to miss this aspect of what I do.

But I am not going to miss this little bit...the passive aggressive note I had in my box from someone who read linecook richie's words that I quoted on my site and then highlighted some little passages from the quote. Nice...I am not going to miss that at all mr you know who you are. This is the quote

’a quick rant.

are you finding yourself dreading work? do you stand there with your arms folded, a sour look on your face, and a shitty attitude during service? are you just going through the motions, working towards your friday? are you interested in progressing anymore? do you communicate through shrugs and mumbled insults? have you gotten too comfortable? if so, then please fuck off and stop cooking already. if you really do love cooking, then please go cook somewhere that suits you. no one is chained to their job--so stop being a baby and acting like you can’t leave. do something you probably haven’t done in your entire career and take a motherfucking risk. so what if you fall flat on your face? at least then you’ll have perspective. thank you, you may now continue reading.’

Now wtf? And if this is what you feel about my leaving then you will never get it. I am not going to miss that...or being told that no one in the kitchen likes working with me...which I know is a crock...so please leave that out of my 'verbal evals' from now on. I am taking that risk...for me, for my family, and because of you.

To all the rest of you, many mahalos, and much aloha. To the team that is taking over and has to deal with all the rest, good luck.

And now that I am unemployed...ARE YOU GOING TO HIRE ME OR WHAT?