I had a hard night in the kitchen...
There were pots and pans aplenty, almost all of which were coated with lots of oily margarine.
We had baked white fish today. But before the fish gets placed into our huge industrial ovens, each piece has to be laid on its side on a large, flat baking pan that has been pre-coated with melted margarine. Then a dollop of still hardened margarine is placed on the top of each piece, so that when heated, the margarine turns into an oily liquid that will soak its way into the fish's flesh.
But for whatever reason, this time the cooks seemed to use more margarine than usual. The end result, a major cleaning project for me and my fellow pot washers. There was grease on virtually everything so that even with the industrial cleaning soap, it still took lots of hard scrubbing to get the grease off the pile of pots and pans.
And when my shift came to its end, I left the kitchen drenched in sweat, my work clothes covered with oil, my fingers rubbed raw. Thankfully, I was permitted to take a shower when I got back to my housing area. As for my soiled work uniform, I placed my pants and shirt into a plastic wash pail to let them soak overnight in warm water and Tide detergent. Tomorrow it is back to work!
D.B.
We had baked white fish today. But before the fish gets placed into our huge industrial ovens, each piece has to be laid on its side on a large, flat baking pan that has been pre-coated with melted margarine. Then a dollop of still hardened margarine is placed on the top of each piece, so that when heated, the margarine turns into an oily liquid that will soak its way into the fish's flesh.
But for whatever reason, this time the cooks seemed to use more margarine than usual. The end result, a major cleaning project for me and my fellow pot washers. There was grease on virtually everything so that even with the industrial cleaning soap, it still took lots of hard scrubbing to get the grease off the pile of pots and pans.
And when my shift came to its end, I left the kitchen drenched in sweat, my work clothes covered with oil, my fingers rubbed raw. Thankfully, I was permitted to take a shower when I got back to my housing area. As for my soiled work uniform, I placed my pants and shirt into a plastic wash pail to let them soak overnight in warm water and Tide detergent. Tomorrow it is back to work!
D.B.
