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Friday 16 May 2008

Awakening.....

A nice long story for you today about how I ended up in restaurants......

I must have been about 9 years old when I was first made aware of restaurant etiquette. It was quite literally kicked into me. My sister and I dined in a hotel two or three time a week for many years. It’s not as fancy as it’s sounds, we certainly didn’t have a privileged upbringing or anything remotely close to it. My father was the head chef and after mum fell ill, an illness from which she never recovered, Dad would summon us to the dry store he called his office for our evening tea. And I’m not exaggerating when I say summon. There was a very small window of opportunity to get something good to eat before Dad had to go back to work, the chefs wouldn’t shout at themselves! There we sat, two little urchins surrounded by tins of figs and exotic things like garlic and chilli peppers (this was 1980's Ireland). There were also huge tins of Heinz Baked beans and more than a few of pineapple rings. Hey these were the days when chicken came in a basket and gammon always came topped with a pineapple ring.

scary.....

I remember sitting there peering out from the store into the huge kitchen watching as the chefs swished back and forward with pans sizzling and dad swearing. He insists to this day Gordon Ramsay stole his act. Believe me I could swear like a trooper, or even a chef, before I left primary school. It was a marvelous place for any boy with an inquisitive mind. But with all Dad’s swearing I never let my inquisitive mind wander very far. It was a hot, sweaty, hostile environment and I rarely ventured much further than the serving hatches, the waiters’ side that is.

But one day we were elevated from the smelly dry store with it’s bags of unwashed chefs whites and sweaty shoes. This day we were to dine in the restaurant with out Aunt and Uncle who were visiting from Waterford. Oh the glamour of it, dining in the restaurant that is, not Waterford. These were classy people who not only knew that it was uncouth to eat with your elbows on the table but practiced it too! They knew it wasn’t a race to get finished first and get first choice of the good seats to watch TV on. There was a calmness to their ordering that I hadn’t witnessed before. The other side of my family ordered along lines of quantity and speed, a good meal being one that delivered a lot and didn’t require you to wait very long.

After they ordered my Aunt Jean asked for a glass of water. There was a little chit chat as we waited for the waiter to return, as much chit chat as you can possibly muster with nine and ten year old children. A moment later the waiter returned with a large jug of water. This perplexed me. Aunt Jean had asked for a glass, but the waiter had brought a jug. How odd!

“Here, he’s brought you a jug…but….but…but you asked for a glass!” I exclaimed for the whole restaurant to hear, waiter included.

And right at that my Uncle Tim kicked me under the table.

He kicked me, a nine year old, under the table with his fancy shoes.

I was speechless.

I remember thinking, “What the fuck was this?” Remember I was nine but with the swearing habits of a teenager.

Thirty-Something Uncles weren’t supposed to go around kicking nine-year-old nephews. I was perplexed. What had I done that had upset him so much that he had to turn to kicking me? I said very little for the rest of the meal. I was small as a child and I feared that my frail legs wouldn’t take much more of a kicking. In fact I wasn’t going to take any further risks with old Uncle Kicks-a-Lot so I tucked my legs under my bottom out of his kicking range. I nearly squealed with fear when I was told to sit properly. I was back in moccasin range again.

As I lay in bed that night I wondered what I could have done to annoy him. Maybe he just didn’t like me. But we were family and you have to like your family and even if you don’t like them you certainly don’t go around kicking them. Maybe he was just one of those people who likes kicking children. There were a few people in school like that but they were nine years old, he was like 35 or something.

No it had to be something to do with the waiter and the water. Maybe the waiter had told him a lie about me. Maybe my Dad had shouted at the waiter, which was quite probable. He once barred all the waiting staff from the kitchen for annoying him. But why would Uncle Kicks-a-Lot care about the waiter? I needed answers. They were staying with us for a few days and I wasn’t going to live in fear in my own house. I would confront them in the morning and find out what his problem was. But I wasn’t going to take any chances and planned to stuff comics down my socks as padding in case he felt the need to fulfill his kicking rage under the breakfast table. I eventually drifted off to sleep with a little fear in my heart but with a resolve to get to the bottom of the problem. I was going to confront him first thing in the morning.

I couldn’t face him. All I could see was those ruby coloured moccasins. So I just said “good morning” from the other side of the kitchen and scampered away. My sister would know. She claimed to know everything about everything so maybe she knew what his problem was.

Two minutes later all was clear, the waiter brought a jug of water so that everyone could get some not just my aunt. It was good service. I was just being rude by pointing it out. That seemed like a good explanation. And the waiter had been good at his job. Still no reason to go about kicking nine-year-old nephews.

After a while the bruise on my shin had faded but I was still felt wary of Uncle Tim. And it wasn’t just a newfound distrust of adults that I had gained but also a fascination for all things service related. I couldn’t go to the hotel without watching the waiters and bar staff and wondering why they did things in the way that they did them.

Why was everything carried on a tray?

Why did they carry a tea towel?

What was vodka on the rocks? And when did the rocks go in, before or after the ice?

Why did Shauna pull her skirt up a little before taking the order from the Rugby Team?

My mind boggled at all these seemingly unimportant things but I was more than curious. Why did they do them? Was it important? And what did Uncle Kicks-a-Lot put in the waiters palm that made him so happy?

But it wasn’t just the incident with Uncle Tim that set me on the path to waiting we also happened to live in a house in the grounds of the hotel. And the hotel and it’s gardens, bars, and dining rooms became my playground. I would watch with fascination at the scripted choreography of each wedding, each different but following the exact same pattern. I loved it all, the laughter at the bar as the barmen held court to groups of men in bad golfing jumpers, the elegance of the waiting staff as they moved effortlessly and gracefully around the restaurant. The please and thank you’s of staff and customers alike made it much more appealing than the sweary furnace of the kitchen. The kitchen was as uncouth as the front of house was civilised.

I can still remember the very day I said to my Dad that I wanted to work in a restaurant,

“No you bloody don’t!” came the very stern response “It’s a hard job with bad pay, it’s no life for you.”

What did he know? He worked in the kitchen…

21 People trying to get Manuel's attention:

samcrea said...

I remember back in 94 whilst staying with a wealthy uncle and aunt and their kids, being taken out to a chinese Meal. It was what rich people did in Ireland in the early ninetees before the Celtic tiger. They told me that if I couldnt use chopsticks I might be in trouble. My Uncle told me that I could go to Mc Donalds while they skillfully ate their meal with chops ticks, but then changed his mind and told me to give it a go. I reluctanly agreed and shaking walked into the restaurant to be greeted by the gleam of silverware on every table. Oh how the wealthy laughed at the young teenager who had once eaten in a restaurant, and hadnt to use any foreign eating tools..

Manuel said...

sam crea: family eh......actually whilst we are at it chopsticks aren't much use either.....

samcrea said...

Wealthy family having a good laugh at the self conscious(poor) 15 year old

Megan McGurk said...

He kicked you? Oh, that's plain mean, especially without any explanation for why he did it.
All of my older siblings were in the restaurant biz so manners and sound tipping habits were drummed into me at an early age.
But no one ever kicked me.

Manuel said...

medbh: strange family it has to be said.....

Anonymous said...

"...you have to like your family and even if you don’t like them you certainly don’t go around kicking them..."

oh shit. i have to like them and i can't kick them?

love the story - written from the point of view of the 9 year old! brilliant!

Manuel said...

daisyfae: I've tried suppressing the memories but to no avail.....

Native Minnow said...

So you're telling me it's a bad idea to go around kicking my nieces and nephews if I want them to remember me fondly?

The Mistress said...

Why DID Shauna pull her skirt up a little before taking the order from the Rugby Team?

Blondefabulous said...

Lots of wine = memories fading.

Works for me!

Anonymous said...

"and planned to stuff comics down my socks as padding in case he felt the need to fulfill his kicking rage under the breakfast table."

Love it!

I wouldn't go around voicing curiosity about what an uncle puts in another man's hand to make him happy though. That way lies kicking and punching.

This is a lovely read, by the way. Blimmin' charming, so it is, ya bugger. I show up looking for a trial or at least a tribulation in a Belfast waiter's life and what do I get? Blimmin' heart-warming tales of a child's captivation. Phthoo!

Anonymous said...

What a sweet story...

A whole jug of water? In the Netherlands almost all restaurants will refuse such a request - they will only sell you mineral water - I kid you not! I was even told once 'We don't have any tap water'

Manuel said...

minnow: not unless you want them to blog......

mj: I never found out.......

blondie: repressing....oh the relief.....

sam: pain and misery will return.........quite probably later.....

conortje: what a wonderful place your never never land must be......

Unknown said...

Reminds me of my days in the altar boy trade... but I never went for the priesthood, unlike yourself.

Karen said...

What a fascinating insight into the young Manuel. I've just caught up on the past week's posts and I am so glad you and LMM had such an awesome time on your trip. It's good to see you back!!

Jenny said...

My nephews kick me under the table, but it's usually when I've been swearing. I wonder what career path Young Manual might have taken if wine had been ordered instead of water?

Anonymous said...

Based on the title I expected to read a post about teenage stirrings, didn't know what the shoe represented though.
What a nice read it was. Also explains too that you're beyond help.

savannah said...

what a lovely story, sugar, and well told! xox

Anonymous said...

Awright. What the heck is a tea towel? Are you guys so sloppy with tea that you need a special towel to mop it up?

Manuel said...

conan: the very reverend manuel of the church of tips......

gypsy: awh thanks for that

boxer: I could have been a scientist or a architect or anything.......but most likely a waiter......born for it....

bbb: totally lost......

savannah: awh thanks savannah.....

zeph: welcome newling.....a tea towel is a service cloth outside of the restaurant environment......and lets forget tea is precious, very precious....and should never be spilled....but when the nightmare happens it's good to have a towel specially designed to clean it up at hand......

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