Thanks Cimba

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Let me set the scene, 

I'm standing in the service kitchen, behind me I have a poaching pot and the grill top, I have a hanging bench which is where I do my plating, on the same bench and about 1 metre away, are the toasters.

A docket comes in, "new order"

2 eggs on toast which translates to 4 pieces of toast down, 4 eggs in the poaching pot, 2 plates up, wait 2 minute and 30 sec, toast pops, fish out my eggs, garnish, call

"Thanks Cimba", this is what we call instead of the usual dinging bell.

Do you have a local café, where they know your name and your usual, coffee or meal order? What a personal affair it all is.

Cimbalino Espresso was the name.

Short order cook was my game

I only have experience as a café chef which means early mornings, no late nights, no split shifts so it's not the norm that people perceive #cheflife to be,  in fact, far far away from what they see on tv, there is worklife balance and fulfillment.

I love, love, loved working in this kitchen and with the CimbCimba's family, not  just the other cooks, or chefs, the floor staff, the baristas, when a team of people are working towards a common goal and every single person, not only plays their part, but does whatever is required to have each others backs, it is a thing of beauty. This was the charm of that place. 

Cimbas is in Perth, a suburb famous for its beautiful beaches, Cottesloe. 

I learnt so much there and its the every day takeaway life lessons, I want share with you today.

The first one is found in every kitchen,  Mise en Plus

Mise en Plus means everything in it place, Every dish has a series of actions you take, let's take a simple dish like eggs on toast, get your toast in and then your eggs, plate up and then wait, of course if another order comes in, you take the action for that, bircher muesli, bowl down, bircher out of the fridge, yogurt, compote and when you are done you put it back. Always aiming to have a clear bench.

It definitely taught me to be a lot tidier but I've always been an organized mess kind of person but yes, everything returns back to its place, eventually. In life we wear so many hats and with them come different thoughts, feelings, concerns that we can get a bit scattered and this can start showing in our physical spaces. Mise en Plus reminded me to put things back into their places, when it came to internal stuff, organising what should be out and what can be put away. You will be surprised how much a clean desk can change your life. 

Next life lesson is The importance of "behind", "below", "glasses"

It's all about communication and with one word like "behind", you are actually saying a full sentence, hey I'm behind you, don't turn around because I may whack you with a hot pan. What you are also saying is I care about your safety, I see you are focused on your task, I'm just letting you know I'm behind you 

Communication is so important in such small spaces and when we are going at 100mph, its keeps us all safe and prevents accidents which also means unnecessary clean ups, the extraordinary thing is this is all achieved by one word.

When applied to everyday life, it is a reminder to not leave things unsaid, whether you may think it necessary or not, it can make all the difference, even if it is one word. Tell people you love them because they may just need to hear it, say Thank you and ask, are you ok?

The last life lesson i want to share is the best of simple.

At Cimbas, our menu is quite simple, in a sense, most dishes only have 3-4 components, my head chef hired a mixture of cooks/chefs because she believed that as long as you were happy to learn then you could do this job, I had never worked in a commercial kitchen before and seldom cook at home! Most of the technical and cooking that required attention to detail, happened in the prep kitchen, however when it came to the time of service and the secret to the Cimbas success was simple, fresh, quality ingredients, cooked by happy chefs. Eggs on toast, slice that ciabatta loaf to the ideal width so its toasts just right, poach those eggs perfectly, runny yolks every time. Unless you like your eggs hard poached, then drown that that egg until it's as hard as a golf ball.

The best of simple taught me to work smarter not harder and appreciate the simple things in life and make the best of that.

just a recap the life lessons of a short order cook.

Mise en Plus, everything in its place,

The importance of behind, the importance of communication,

and lastly, the best of simple, appreciate the simple things and make the best of it.

Thanks Cimba