OH LAWD chapter 40

The Letter
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In choosing a wife I wanted someone who was into the business, by that I mean someone who was as interested in excellent food as I was.

The need was for someone who had been raised up in the restaurant business, like I was, and wanted to be successful in it.

There was someone I knew who would fit the bill, so to speak, and I wanted to see if she had any interest in forming a partnership with me for life.

How to proceed in this matter was a total loss for me, because there were many things to consider.

The woman I was interested in was only eighteen, but that was old enough for me.  

 

Our age difference was only eight years, but as we got older that wouldn't matter that much.

I decided to do what seemed to me a dumb thing to do, but I couldn't think of a better plan.

The girl I was interested in was Mille the daughter of Marcel the Chef where I took my training in New York.  

Since we were friends I didn't want to go behind his back so I wrote him, and told him I was interested in his daughter Mille for a wife, and wanted to know his feelings about me as a prospective son-in-law.

I told him I wanted to know his stance about this before I went any farther and spoke to her.  I said due to the distance it would be difficult to really get to know each other. 

If he would agree I would like to offer her a job here in New Orleans, and see if we were a good match.

I went into detail about her being safe, and financially secure, and most of all with someone who would care for her.  

Lastly I said you have known me for several years and you know my character, and now you know my prospects for the future.

If you agree with these thoughts, perhaps you could approach her with this matter and see if she has any interest in coming to New Orleans.

To begin with, she would be working as the manager over the serving team.

I closed with the statement that I felt strange doing this in this manner, but I wanted everything to be out in the open, and for him to know everything that was going on in my heart and mind.

If she is interested have her write to me, and I will tell her what I have in mind.

All the way to the post office to mail the letter, I must say I felt like a fool.

I turned around a couple of times and started to forget the whole thing.

courtesy photobucket.com

As I dropped the letter into the mail slot I comforted myself by thinking,

“What is the worst thing that could happen?  If she said no, I would not be any worse off than before, and it would be off my mind.”

Then I could start looking in earnest at the New Orleans women.

Ten days later I received a letter from Marcel and I must admit I was nervous when opening it.  

The letter began, “Having received your letter, it gave me many thoughts both good and bad.  In the end I suppose my daughter will want to get married to someone, and you would be as good a choice as any, but she is bound to want to do the choosing.

Then there is her mother, and she isn't going to want to part with her daughter and have her go that far away.

After I talk with my wife and calm her down, maybe then I can give Mille your letter, and see how she feels about first a job, and then possibly a marriage.

After exchanging letters several times, and Mille’s mother throwing a couple of fits, it was decided the three of them would come to New Orleans for a visit, and see for themselves where I was proposing Mille to stay and work.

I moved my basic things into a small apartment over at the new building we had renovated, and would give them my flat to stay in while they visited.

I told them that the flat would be Mille's to live in, and I would move the rest of my things out if she agreed to stay.

Marcel’s critique of my restaurant was favorable.  He said it certainly is not New York, but it has a charm of its own, and the food compared well with his restaurant.

What he was most impressed with was the service, and how they took care of the customers.

He said that when he got home there was going to be some drastic changes made in the way they serve their customers.

Over the next few days I showed them some of the old world charm of the city which they enjoyed.

Finally the time had come for them to decide whether Millie was to stay or go.

Oh Lawd! 

To be Continued

OH LAWD chapter 39



Courtesy photobucket.com

 

Adjustments are always hard at first, and this was no different.  Not for me, but for those who were in charge of the kitchen.

The head Chef didn't want to give up his position, and as I began to implement necessary changes, he resisted to the point where I had to let him go.

Some of the others were initially dragging their feet, but instead decided they had better get with the program or start looking for another job.

The food was second rate by my standards, and the owner had been powerless to make the necessary changes. He wasn't a Chef, and he didn't dare to challenge the ones he had placed in charge.

My first change was to insist everyone follow the recipes I gave them precisely, and not guess at how much of each ingredient to use. It wasn't long for them to taste the difference themselves, and from that point on I had won their confidence.

The food was so greatly improved that it was reflected where it counts the most and that was in the increased patronage.

The second thing after taste was in the presentation, just being careful in the placement of the food on the serving platter could stimulate the taste buds.

Then the service came last. They had gotten into the bad habit of not serving the customer.  It was; take the order, give them the bill, and that was the last they saw of the waiter.

This was somewhat difficult to change the way they served the patrons. I had to start from the beginning and explain what we do.

Uppermost is to please the customer, and to give them close access to the serving person. I told them that in every situation they were to express me.

They were to consider how, and what I would do in each circumstance, and then do it my way. After working with them for a week I had to let three waiters go because they were still resisting doing things my way.

After five weeks I felt good about where we were, and each server was equipped with a list of what wine went with each dish so they could recommend the proper wine for the meal the customer had selected.

We had finally accomplished what we were striving for, and that was the finest food and full house cliental.

The building next door was going to be put up for sale, and I knew it would be sold rather quickly.

I told my boss that we should buy it and expand for we were at our limit with the present facility.  He said he would like to but he just didn't have the money due to expenses out side the restaurant.

Then I talked to him about forming a partnership where I would purchase the building next door, and we could double the size of the business.

He said that he would be putting up more than I was, and I would be getting a fifty percent split.

I said, “Well you would be getting me, which would be better than my buying the building, and starting a new restaurant next door, and competing with you for business.”

He saw the logic of that and agreed to the deal.

This is what I had always wanted, and had been working toward.

We could continue to do business, and remodel the building next door at the same time.

While we were in the process of doing this I had something else on my mind and that was finding a wife for me, because I am a family kind of a person.

There were many available females in New Orleans, but in the back of my mind there was someone who I remembered somewhat fondly.

Oh Lawd!    

 

To be Continued  

OH LAWD chapter 38

War Casualties
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During the next two weeks I renewed old acquaintances with people I knew. In particular I wanted to see O'Malley for he was special to me.

As I went down the list of old friends, and asked about them, he told me of many who came back in a box, and they are no longer with us.

They were many who I went to school with, and in my mind's eye I could see them in their seats in front or across from me, and thoughts were of both the disagreements, and fun we had together.

Some classmates ahead of me and were older, died in the war.  They were just getting started in life a few having recently gotten married.
 

Many never came home
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Then there were a couple of girls who went in the service, and didn't make it back.

Seemed like every day someone else's name would come up, and I would hope there would be no more, and feared that there would be others.

My days there were not all sad, for I enjoyed just being home. Paddy finally got me down to the gym, and taught me a couple of new moves that I didn't enjoy.

Of course Ma wanted to know about the girls, and their new husbands. I hadn't really been around their guys all that much so I made up parts of the story.  I didn't think it mattered as long as it sounded good.

Then something I knew was going to eventually come up.  When the guys and Ma got me alone they asked me about my love life.

This was something I didn't want to get into, but I knew that I would have to satisfy their curiosity, so I took what to me had been a dull period in my life and tailored my story for each one I was speaking to.

For Ma it was all kisses and hugging. To the guys it had to be spicy, and I laid it on a bit. In any case the stories satisfied all parties and I was glad to get that behind me.

I contacted the owner of the restaurant in New Orleans where I had been so rudely told to show up for training in the service.

He wanted me to come back to work immediately, but I told him it would be a few days before I would be there.

Finally I had done everything and seen everybody I wanted to so I caught the bus for New Orleans, and upon arrival I was met by the restaurant owner.

He was excited to show me the changes he had made while I was gone.

Looking up and down the street I could see things were pretty much as it was when I left. The music could be heard filtering out from the bars, and the smell of the spirits being spilled or regurgitated in the gutters was about the same.

As I ventured into the establishment, surprisingly the decor had been improved.  There were new menus but the dishes were about the same as when I left.  He took me into the garden area where I had my flat, and he said this was still my home if I wanted it.

I said, “It looks like someone is living here.”  He said. “They will be out before night fall, and tomorrow everything will be made like new.”

I started to protest saying, “I didn't want to kick some one out,” and he assured me they were leaving one way or another anyway.

He said I could stay in a hotel for a couple of days, and then move in after he brought in some new furniture.  

Maid courtesy
free clip art

 

He also told me there was a maid who would clean, and make up the bed so I would be able to use my time for the restaurant instead doing menial things.

I was a little overwhelmed by what I saw.  

 

I needed a job - - I had one.

 

I needed a home - - I had one.  

 

Everything I could ask for was mine if I wanted it.

There was only one thing left and that was to discover what my duties were expected to be.

As it was laid out, the schedule was a full one, but wasn't half of what I had to do in D.C.      

 

Oh Lawd!   

 

To be Continued     

 

 

OH LAWD chapter 37

Whipping Up a Special Dish
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I enjoyed my time in New York better than when I interned there, for I was free to do anything I wished.

Each day I would whip up a special dish for the staff to try, and they were a bit different, and better than what they were learning about.

Marcel chided me about messing up his recipes, but he always ate more than anyone else.  

No matter how much they begged me I wouldn't give them the full recipe for my dishes; except for one that Marcel insisted he must have.

In French fine cooking it is the small things that enhance the flavor and following the recipe must be exact.

Each day I got to know Mille better, and she became more at ease being with me.  She had studied management principals in school and was graduating in a month.

I told her I would like to be there, but I was leaving for Gulf Port and then on to New Orleans having over-extended my stay here for ten days.

Marcel bid me goodbye and said, “Come back soon.”  I told him to come to New Orleans, for I hoped to have my own restaurant in the near future.

He said okay, but I knew he probably would never leave New York without a very good reason.

Early the next morning I left and took the train, then transferred to the bus to finish my trip home to Gulfport.  

I wanted to see my folks and friends I hadn't seen for years due to the war.

I arrived the next morning and first went home to drop off my bag, and when I got there no one was home.  The spare key was still in its hiding place, and let myself in.  

 

After leaving my stuff there, I went to the pier and the restaurant.

The first person I saw was Ma.  She had been working part time, and then I noticed she had aged a bit.

First she glanced at me, and then turned away, but then she turned back as she realized who I was.  

She began to tear up, and came and put her arms around me without saying anything.

It was good to see my Ma again. When I was little she always encouraged me, when I was down she was like a shelter in the storm.

Now that I look at her, she seems so small standing next to me, but she still looms large in my feelings of the past.



Welcome Home Son
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She said, “C'mon let’s find Pa, for he has missed you so much, and I have too.

Hearing her say that, I wondered what I could ever have done to educe such a feeling from them.

As we entered, Paddy was mopping the floor, and when he saw Ma and me, he dropped the mop, and came where we were, and dropped into a boxing stance.

After a moment he relaxed and grabbed my hand and asked if I had been hitting the gym regularly. I said, “No,” to which he replied, "I thought not, you couldn't last two minutes with me sparring.”   

 

I laughed and said, “What’s new about that, I never could.”

Noonan heard the noise, and came out to see what was going on.  A big smile broke out on his face and he said, “Here's that want-a-be cook again.”

We laughed and I said, “I'm back for another lesson.”

Pa had been out back, and when he came in he said, “Lord have mercy, look what the cat drug in."

I said, “Hello Pa,” and gave him a kiss on the cheek, and a hearty hug.  

 

The thought went through my mind, before I was around those French people I would never have kissed Pa cause that was something we never did even though we were around Cajuns a lot.

I couldn't help from going from one to another and hugging them again for these were my people. They made me what I am today.

 

There were others who taught me things, but my roots were anchored in these dear people.

Oh Lawd!    

 

To be Continued

 

 

OH LAWD chapter 36

A Double Wedding
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The Army had controlled my life for the last few years, and the only thing left was receiving my discharge papers setting me free.  

 

I had been relieved of all my duties, and just laid around the house relaxing.

These last few years didn't seem real for it was like I had been in a fog. With so much to do and no time to myself the minutes, hours, days, weeks, months and years just ran together as one block of time.

My sister, Marly was engaged to an ensign who was being reassigned to San Diego.

Linda had been going with a West Point graduate, and he was to stay at the Pentagon.

 

When they found out I was leaving they decided to get married immediately.  The chaplain conducted both ceremonies the morning I was to leave.

Before I left I gave Marly and Linda a big hug for longer than I normally would have, because I knew it would be a long time before I would see them again; in fact I might never see them again.

Linda was like a sister to me, and although we disagreed often we always made up. I really loved both her and Marly for we were bonded together from our youth, and I was going to miss them.

Catching a military hop; six hours later found me standing in front of the restaurant in New York where I had been taught to cook French cuisine.

As I entered the restaurant with my one bag, the owner, Marcel grabbed me and led me upstairs to the apartment and said to unpack, and told me to plan to stay as long as I wished to.

After settling in I went down to the restaurant and a young lady gave me a menu and seated me.

Marcel came over and asked me if I wanted to go back into the kitchen and prepare my own food. 

I answered, “No, your chefs are good enough for me.” The waitress came, and I ordered Pot au feu which is another way of saying, stew.  

She brought me an obligatory glass of wine and a few moments later Marcel sat with me, and had a barrage of questions.  A couple of hours and a half bowl of stew later, he ran out of questions for the time being.

I asked who the young waitress was and he said. “She is Mille, my daughter; you know she was only eight or ten when you worked here.”

When she came back to my table I looked at her more closely, and she still had those dark eyes and smile that made her striking even as a child.

I asked if she remembered me and she said, “Oh yes I had a crush on you when you were here studying.”

That embarrassed me a little.  I said, “Maybe we can talk a little before I leave.” to which she said, “Perhaps.”

I didn't unpack my suitcase for I planned to only stay a night or two but the next morning I changed my mind.

There was no place that I needed to be, and it would be good to see all the old friends I had before.

I told Marcel that if it was okay with him I would like to stay a few days and if there was anything I could do just let me know and I would be glad to do it.

I went into the kitchen and fixed me some breakfast for the help didn't start to work until eleven to be ready for the lunch crowd.

Marcel came in and asked if I still remembered what I had learned while working here. I answered, “Some of it, what would you like me to prepare for your lunch.”

He said, “How about Soufflés with Sauce Anglaise?”

I said, “What on earth is that?”  While he was trying to think of something to say I added, “For how many would you like it?”

Marcel realized I was kidding him and he said, “How about for four.”

I answered, “You got it.”  I remembered his recipe, but I had developed one of my own that I thought was better.  “Come back in an hour with your appetite in play.”

I finished as his crew came to work and they all wanted to taste it but I said, “This one is for Marcel and you need to ask him, and he might let you have a taste.”

One of the Chefs called Marcel in and started asking him if he could taste it and Marcel said just a small spoonful.

Knowing Chefs I knew the reason they wanted to try it was so they could say, “I make it better than this.”

I left them to it, and after lunch they all wanted the recipe, but I told them, “Just use Marcel's recipe, because it is just as good.”

Oh Lawd!

To Be Continued

 

OH LAWD chapter 35

Chef courtesy Free Clip Art

 

After coming up with a new menu for the officers, it was up to me to teach these want-a-bee chefs how to prepare the new dishes.

Some of the dishes required an order to be placed the day before which at first didn't set too well with the officers. 

Finally they realized that many of these dishes weren’t like making some “thrown together hash,” but required some time for preparation.

Some of the officers, upon being transferred would try to steal the trained cooks and take them to where their new duty was; but I would make a big effort to keep them where they were, and besides they didn't want to leave.

I told the Colonel that I should have an officer's rank since I was in charge of the food for the elitists of the service.

I said, “It doesn't do justice to call me ‘Private’ in charge of the officer's mess.  Just consider it a battlefield promotion and it will be a permanent promotion only while I serve here.”

After a few days I received my Second Lieutenant bars.

One reason for asking for this had to do with housing. I was living in a barracks, and now I would qualify for a place of my own, if and when it came available.

It would allow me to live off base should I find such a place.

The Colonel and his wife were living in a small three bedroom flat and she wasn't very happy being somewhat cramped.  He received a promotion, and they were moving into larger quarters, and she helped me take over the place where they had been living.

She left me quite a bit of furniture and I said to myself, “Home at last.”

As I was relaxing in my new digs I began thinking, “Why am I being favored like this?  A few days later I got my answer.

The Colonel's wife called and told me she was expecting to entertain a number of military guests.  She would expect me to see to it that everyone was well fed and taken care of.

“Aha,” I thought, “I get it now, all of this business of promotion and every thing that has happened had to do with her, and not my performance.

I decided, “So be it, everyone was using everyone for that was the way it was at this level of living.”

On the night of the big doings I had prepared everything in my kitchen and transported it to the house before the guests arrived in time to serve it.

It got so I was expected to do this somewhere a couple of times a week.

There were many jobs available in the Pentagon, and they paid fairly well, so I called up Marly (By now we were almost on speaking terms) and told her that she could probably get a job here if she was interested.

She said she would like that, and she would ask Linda if she wanted to work there also.  

 

I hesitated on that for a while because I was going to offer Marly one of my bedrooms, finally I said, “Go ahead and ask her.”

Two days later there were two ladies on my doorstep ready for employment.

Upon my recommendation they were hired on as temporary help while they were checked out. 

 

After six weeks they were taken on as permanent help with badges and all.

We each had our own bedroom, and I was always up and gone in the mornings by five so there wasn't much conflict due to scheduling.  I hardly saw them at all.

It wasn't long before men at work were asking them out, and I never had a weekend off even though I was supposed to.

 
Every where I went I was saluting someone or someone was saluting me, except in the kitchen where we were all Chefs, and were too busy for formalities.

I met many of the top men in the service and was privileged to feed them some fine food which they said they appreciated.

So it was for the next three plus years until the war suddenly came to an end.

For the next year after the war, the place was hopping. There was so much to be done unwinding this war machine that had won this mighty victory.

At my repeated request I finally was released from service.

 

I had been expecting to be demoted back to private first class, but they allowed me to remain an officer and I was mustered out as such.

Oh Lawd!

To be Continued

OH LAWD chapter 34

Crepes courtesy photobucket.com

 

The next day, after the big dinner the officers wanted to know why I wasn't there to fix their meal.

I wasn't allowed to explain because they didn't want to hear some lame excuse.

I took it in stride for it was as one Sergeant told me, "If you want to be treated fair, then don't join the Army."  

During the following week I received new orders stating I was to report to the Culinary Specialist at the Pentagon.

As it turned out, the Colonel had me transferred, so I could be one of the officer's cooks, and his wife had it in the back of her mind to have me available for her special events.

I was assigned to one of the several cafeterias, and was told I would serve on the breakfast shift.

There were a lot of cooks all over the place, for there were hundreds of people to serve.

 

They told me they would start me with something simple.

I was to make crepes if I knew how, and if not they would teach me.

“What kind did they want me to make?” I asked.  His reply was, “Can you make more than one?”  I answered, “Yes; I can make at least fifty kinds if we have the ingredients.”

As he looked at me with some disdain, and said, “Since we serve the low level people working here, one kind will do!”

I thought, “Uh ho, I think I shouldn't have said that, and I will watch it from now on.”

 

Anyhow they stuck me down on the end counter with a small stove out of everyone's way.  

It took me awhile to find everything I needed, and they were not prepared to make crepes worth eating.

I did the best I could using powered sugar to dust the crepes, and I set out some butter and syrup for a topping.

There were a few takers, but a lot were left over.  

The guys had some fun at my expense saying, “It looks like the hogs are going to have some gourmet food today.”  

That afternoon I went and bought me some crepe pans for those pans they had were no good for thin crepes. I also went through the food storage and found virtually everything I needed, and the next day I was ready to be Chez Robert'.

I pulled the basic recipe out of my mind, and set out my first tray with several kinds of fillings in them. The cooks tried them, and ate almost all of them before I had time to make the next one.

This morning there wasn't any of them left by the time the lunch crew took over. The Colonel that had sent me here looked me up, and was surprised to see what they had me doing.  

He tried a couple of crepes along with some eggs, and said he was going to get me transferred to where the top officers ate.

I said, “Thank you sir, I think,” for it struck me that they might be difficult to please.

Some of the cooks were standing near by and heard what the Colonel said to me, and they seemed to be stunned by what he said.

 

They couldn't figure out how he could decide to upgrade me to a genuine chef's position, after eating a couple of crepes.

I never let on that I had cooked for the colonel's wife before, and she was the reason I was here.  

 

I decided because of their smart remark, "The hogs are going to have some gourmet food tonight," they didn't deserve an explanation.

 
The next day I was sent to the Galley where the food for the Upper Brass was prepared, and as expected I got pretty much the same treatment as when I first got here.

I thought to myself, "Oh well, here we go again." They (the cooks) reminded me of when I arrived in New York and the chefs would scarcely speak to me as if I was below them.

 

I wasn't going to let this bunch give me that same treatment.

Remembering Noonan’s advice to speak and act as “an equal” to the other cooks, I decided to act accordingly.

At this point we were all in the service so I said, “Colonel Ross said to report to the person in charge, and to review the menu for any changes I felt needed to be made in it.”

Most of them had never heard of Ross and the one or two who had met him knew he was all business. They were so taken back by my words spoken with authority that they didn't question it, and immediately gave me a menu.

I suppose for some it was a gourmet's delight, but to me it was just plain food.  I told the Sergeant in charge I would provide him with a new menu after reviewing the allotted food supplies.

After which I would educate them on how to prepare the new dishes.

From that time on they looked to me for their instructions, and I was the top man in charge.

Oh Lawd!       

To be Continued