Interview

I had my job interview on Friday. I didn't really know what to expect, mostly because I've never done a culinary interview before, nor have I been to an interview where I already know I have the job.

There really wasn't much to the interview since B already knows me and my situation, so he pretty much just told me more about the job. He's going to hire me as a third cook, which sounds perfect for me. He also talked about all the different opportunities he's going to try to give me, like working in the restaurant, doing catering, even doing live cooking, like carving a roast or doing a pasta station.

The worst part about the interview was doing the Third Cook questionnaire. B didn't really care what my answers were, but I felt pretty stupid not knowing some basic things that I'm sure most cooks would know. The first question was about the order of certain foods on a rack. I didn't know the answer at all, so B explained that you would want raw meat to be on the bottom of the rack (to prevent leaks and contamination onto other foods) and finished products, like julienned carrots, to be on the top of the rack (as it is least likely to get contaminated being on the top). I also couldn't come up with what FIFO stands for, but then I knew it as soon as he told me (first in, first out). It all makes perfect sense in hindsight.

B told me to buy black shoes as part of my uniform and to invest in a set of knives for work. He also told me that my shifts would be mostly during the day, which made me really nervous about how I was going to coordinate that with my current job. I left the interview, and in fact, still am, very unsure about how everything is going to work out, but also with a huge sense of anticipation and optimism about what's to come.