kitchen

It was a terrible time for me, but as the boys were still there to help out, I managed to cope with all the absurdities of the situation. The second week-end after they took over, it was extremely busy, as we had a full house, and the A83 leading to Perth and Oban, and also the beautiful road to Glencoe and on to fort William was one line of cars and motorbikes. The result of all this was that we had lot after lot of passers by pulling into our parking space for lunch or tea, with the result that I was running around like a mad chicken.
It was too late in the season of course to get help, as the hotels hire in march, so every available person in the village already had jobs, either in the village, or in Callander or Stirling.
usually I had at least an assistant, and some youngsters doing the dishes for me, but as the boys did the bar, and Tony the tables, I was all on my own in the kitchen with the orders piling up monstrously. I was already on my feet since seven in the morning, with two hours rest after lunch, and by seven that evening I was completely exhausted! There was no sign of Jo, and as Tony could hardly cope with taking orders, I had to take a lot of the food in also, and my temper was rising, as Jo would have been a great help, and I just couldn't understand why Tony did not get her down, so I cornered him, and asked him.
He just gave a strange kind of laugh, then told me that after six at night there was going to be no help from Jo, ever, as that was the time she started on the Gin. Oh Lord, I was aghast, as I had a table of twelve booked for half past eight, and the crockery and cutlery were piling up, and I had almost no clean plates anymore. And of course there was still a lot of orders to work through, so I went to the boys, and asked if one of them had a few minutes to just load the dishwasher.
The bar was crazy, but Brendon came into the kitchen and did the dishwasher, and then helped me for a while by doing the salads and some puds, as I just could not cope. Two people can work wonders, and while he did all the salads and puds, I could kind of catch up with doing the orders, and when half past eight came, I was all ready.
To do such a big table on your own requires a very together brain, as our menu was big, and this night I first had starters for the twelve people, and then I had to do five steaks, two of them rare, two medium rare, and one well done. On top of that there were two lambshanks, luckily pre-cooked, two chicken and leek pies, one steak and ale pie, and two haggis neeps and tatties. And of course, all this needed veggies, and chips, mash or new potatoes, whatever people wanted.
to keep one's head together under these circumstances is no easy job, as all this food had to of course go out together. Bally hair raising! But my brain was conditioned to cope with all of this, and it is wonderful how things are automatically put into sequence by that overworked and tired head.
Poor old Tony looked absolutely haggard, running around with plates of food, having forgotten which table it had to go to by the time he got to the dining room or conservatory. So my task was not made any easier with me having to help him, as his brain was not conditioned to remember all this stuff.
Just as I was doing the last two orders, the kitchen only taking orders up to nine, Tony came in with the news that a table of eight people had just walked in, and I felt the patience I pride myself on fly out by the window, and I told him that as it was now almost ten, I just could not do it. Well, I flatly refused, as I still had to do puds for the big table, and for the two orders I was busy with. And only then could I start cleaning the kitchen that was looking like a bally war zone!
As the bar was quieter now, John said he would help me, as there was no other kitchen in the village still open. My soft bally heart of course could not have people go hungry, and between John and self, we did it in record time. It was after twelve that I at last fell into bed, knowing that I had to be up at six thirty again to prepare for breakfast! But out in the parking lot my wee panda was waiting patiently for our next day out!