Key holder:

Dad owned a restaurant which he had to inherit through his own father quite some years back, both grandad and him loved their times at the place. They used to cook new recipes, meeting new/old clients and reviving the menu constantly to keep their consumers entertained and wanting more. He used to always say staring into the depths of my eyes “Son I can’t wait for you to come and joining us in this family business, enhancing the experience even further.”

The time felt so far away from my 18^th birthday when my grandfather handed me the key to the main kitchen of the restaurant and proclaimed it to be my new baby. It actually felt more special than my first car or my first kiss.

I thanked my grandad and hugged my dad but gave the keys back as the rightful owner was them, they were so proud they promised to name the restaurant on my behalf the following year.

Game changer:

The day I finally joined my father and grandfather in the business, I fell in love with the idea of feeding people and earning praises as a living. So I learned from the best down dirty and bottom. Learned how to wash dishes, clean the floor, set up tables. Then I evolved into placing orders, taking orders and helping customers get what they want. Slowly but surely I worked my way to the kitchen which I was most excited for and therefore learned so much that even my father was impressed and kind of scared as I was becoming a very orderly oriented man.

After months into my training, I was given the opportunity to become a head manager, and that is where I truly shined as working from down under had proved that I knew what I wanted and how I wanted it. I was strict but fair and had to manage more than just the workers; I had to manage money, chefs, customers and had to manage time in order to get the consumer what they want in an orderly fashion.

Managers Gala:

The biggest opportunity arose when we held a gala for the mayor of our town honoring him to be a part of our township for over a decade now. I had everything prepped to the best of my abilities even forcing my dad to be the head of the kitchen for the night so nothing would go wrong, he wanted to be a part of the gala but I insisted as it would do wonders for our business. I would have loved to help him but I had yet to learn cooking and the ins and outs of the kitchen. My grandad, on the other hand, was a special guest as he was the mayor’s best friend from childhood. We started off the night with serving appetizers while the speech ceremony has begun.

The last speech right before dinner was my grandfather’s and boy did he give a moving speech. He had the whole restaurant laughing, quiet and then in tears through his life motivation and impact on the mayor’s life. He shared how they used to share bread during lunch time, study under night lamps and support each other throughout their rough youth. He discussed how they were obliged to go to war and luckily were in the same batch to always protect each other till this very day.

Even the mayor had tears in his eyes; Grandfather thanked everyone and left the mic as if he dropped it. A roar of cheers and applaud followed as it might just have been the best speech someone had ever given to an audience.

Food Tactics:

Now that the dust had settled it was time for the main course, we, of course, started off with cutting a massive cake for the mayor in his honor. It was truly massive and delicious, even though it was not made by us I was thrown away by its taste and creativity. The main course consisted of 2 types of meat, either seafood which had lobster as the main, and chicken, which was steamed breasts as the main. They followed with mashed potatoes, cheesy rice, braised greens and cracked pepper dinner rolls. This would follow with white or red wine and for dessert Toffee crunch cake.

The presentation was spot on now I just had to wait for the audience to taste it and give us their final say. The mayor was the first one to stand up in the middle of his meal and yell out to everyone “Is this not the best place to eat, ever?” the audience all busy eating applauded one by one. That’s when I called my father out and told the entire restaurant to thank him. He quickly announced that he had corrugated boxes in case anyone had leftovers to take home and share with their families.

Everyone laughed and continued eating their delicious meal.