Today, when I was volunteering in production kitchen, Chef CP mentioned this ("learning how to move in a kitchen...") in a group conversation about what people learn in production kitchen, and it was a thought-provoking comment. For me, anyway.
Indeed, some of the tasks in production kitchen may seem tedious (or boring, to some), but for me (someone without prior experience in a commercial kitchen) working in production kitchen affords me the opportunity to work alongside others, to develop my manual dexterity, and to improve my spatial awareness of objects and people in the kitchen.
Through practice, one learns to move around in a kitchen gracefully, to work in close proximity with others (without constantly bumping into them or knocking things over), to have a feel for the tools and ingredients one uses, to know where things are located, and how ingredients and objects are arranged in a kitchen. Whether one is aware or not, all of these are part of the training.
I still enjoy volunteering in production kitchen, as I am learning so many things each time I go there.
Anyway, this is my reflection for today.
