(Week 1) Don't cut your finger off

        The anticipation had been killing Chelsy.  Months had passed since she'd gone to the Chef and said, "I have to make a change, I want to cook."  He presented her with three choices:  1.  "I will call any restaurant of your choice and put in a good word for you.  I'm sure you could start from the bottom and work your way up."  2.  "Stay working in the office Monday - Friday, and then spend Saturdays in the kitchen prepping and going on events." 3.  "I will take you under my wing and teach you everything I know, but this will not be easy.  I expect at least a year commitment and it's 'yes chef' to anything I say.  The kitchen becomes your life."
        After a weekend of sleepless nights, the fateful first day arrived.  Chelsy packed up her little knife kit, jumped in the old VW, and headed into the kitchen.  I spent the week waiting to get the call:  the call that she hated it, it was too hard, or it wasn't what she expected.  But the call that I dreaded most of all, was that she had cut her finger off, stuck her hand in the fry oil, or lit her hair on fire.  But that call never came.  She loved it!  I interviewed her at the end of her first week.

Rob:  What's the most interesting thing you learned this week?

Chelsy:  I learned a lot of things this week, but the single most fascinating thing I learned was how not to chop off your fingers.

Rob:  That's good, because all I did was have nightmares about you cutting off your finger.  (laughs)  

Chelsy:  Everybody knows that you're supposed to curl your fingers up into kind of a claw to hold the object your cutting, right?

Rob:  Yeah.

Chelsy:  Here's the fascinating part, in order not to cut any thing off you have to push back on the knife with your knuckles.  In fact, your knuckles should never leave the knife.  If your chopping something big and awkward, like a cucumber or onion, you leave your "claw" on top of the object and place the blade along side your knuckles.  Your knife goes up and down in your chopping motion but NEVER goes higher than your knuckles and you NEVER loose contact.  For the larger objects it's actually more dangerous to have the tip of the knife in contact with the cutting board the whole time.  This could easily lead to dismembered digits!  Most of the guys I work with have developed
 massive calluses on their left two knuckles from this.  I always used to watch Chefs on TV and see them cutting things and be like, "Okay, that's to get their fingers out of the way", but it's only half the process.  I learned that if you push back slightly and your two hands move as one there is no way to cut yourself!  It was eye opening.

Rob:  Were there any obstacles you had to overcome because you are a woman in a predominantly man's world?

Chelsy:  Women had always told me that this would happen, but I didn't really believe them.  They'd say, "as a woman you'll need to work twice as hard."  I'm hear to tell you, it's true.  Men in the kitchen have certain preconceived expectations of what I can and can't do.  So, I'd catch guys in the kitchen watching me carry something heavy or push something that was awkward and I could see in their face, "Oh, I don't think she can do it."

Rob:  They're just kind of waiting for you to fail?

Chelsy:  Yeah, because of women they've worked with before who were weak or unwilling to do dirty work.  So now I do have to work twice as hard to erase that stigma.  Although I will admit, tossing around 50 pound bags of flour isn't the easiest thing in the world.  They also automatically treat me like a lady, letting me go through the door first or feeling that they have to take on extra cleaning, when I just want to be treated like one of the guys.

Rob:  How have you changed?

Chelsy:  My perspective has changed.  I knew it was going to be hard, but I didn't know it was going to be this hard.  I'm busting my ass but I'm still 20 times slower than everyone around me and my feet are killing me, but I'm loving it.  I'm so happy and maybe because it is so hard it's more rewarding.  I'm finding a new way to move.  Things that I do so easily at home like sear salmon, roast veggies, or clean lettuce are super awkward now.  I think it's the difference in scale.  For example the salad spinner is seriously a 3x2 foot barrel!  I laugh thinking about myself trying to work with that thing.  I'm thinking differently about how to attack certain problems.  I really have to see the situation and prep for the day and break it down to maximize my time.  Essentially, how can I do as many things as possible without dropping something, cutting myself, or burning the veggies!  It's a lot to think about.