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Workscheme & Kitchennette
By Nat Nguyen
The Art of Workscheme
The concept of workscheme may seem scary
at first, but I can assure you that it isn’t. It’s
only 2 hours a week (48 hours throughout the
entire year) which is not at all a big part of your
life. However, I’m supposed to be managing
workscheme, so if you aren’t doing it right, that’s
a big part of my life. All of you will be given a
few sheets which detail exactly what you will
do in the kitchen – this here is more of a guide
for how to approach it, based on the wisdom
of the legendary military leader Sun Tzu (these
are all analogies; JCH does not recommend
nor endorse the employment of ancient military largely be gone by the time you are done with
tactics).
“In war, the general receives his commands
from the sovereign.”
“Having collected an army and concentrated
his forces, he must blend and harmonize the
different elements thereof.”
The most important thing about kitchen
workscheme is knowing that you aren’t alone
in the kitchen. All of your tasks are a lot to take
in at first, so feel free to ask the chefs and
Catering Assistants (CAs) what to do next and
where things need to go. The more you learn
about the workings of the kitchen, the easier
it is for you, and the more you can help other
people.
“Therefore, just as water retains no constant
shape, so in warfare there are no constant
conditions.”
“Strategy without tactics is the slowest route
to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise
before defeat.”
There is a difference between washing and
cleaning: Washing is an action, Cleaning is the
goal. When dealing with dishes and equipment,
they should be clean, which means grease, oil,
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Kitchenette Etiquette
bits of food, and removable stains should all
them. It will take a bit of practise figuring out
what is removed by the dishwasher, and what
you will have to remove yourself. All your food is
prepared in the equipment you handle, so make
that your standard: If you wouldn’t eat off it, it
isn’t clean.
“The good fighters of old first put themselves
beyond the possibility of defeat, and then
waited for an opportunity of defeating the
enemy.”
Try to take in a genuine attitude of service. If
you just consider it as a job you are forced
to do, then it will be less enjoyable, and you
will start cutting corners – basically not good
news for anyone. Instead, just do what you can
to the best of your ability, and once you are
well practised, you will easily be able to finish
everything to a good standard.
The kitchenettes aren’t real kitchens. They’re they won’t be thrilled if it goes missing. If there
tiny, quite meagrely stocked, and only a few of is equipment you need, or your own equipment
them have stovetops or ovens. However, some has gone missing, feel free to ask the Gen Rep
improvisation can make cooking there relatively (me) about it, and they (I) will be happy to help
easy. In the past, the kitchenettes have been you track it down.
little hubs of activity which foster a welcoming
culture. Half the fun of cooking is not knowing what
is going to happen next. Don’t get too upset if
Before anything else, remember that the things don’t go your way. My suggestion would
kitchenettes are communal spaces, which be to use the Scantlebury kitchenettes, since
means the number one rule is to have utmost they have more room and an oven/cooktop, and
respect for the other people who use it. It goes never to leave the cooking unsupervised, even if
without saying that you will be expected to clean you are just boiling, simmering, or baking.
up your own mess and not take each other’s
stuff, but there are a number of smaller details Just enjoy experimenting. None of us are
which will truly demonstrate your honour. professional chefs, but it’s always fun to pretend
we are. If you are nervous about it, ask other
When doing anything, whether it is cooking people including your Gen Rep (me), and I’m
or cleaning, please see it through to the end. sure you’ll find someone happy to cook.
Obviously, this means not to leave the stove
on, not to leave dirty dishes, etc. The biggest I was told to give you guys recipes to try out, but
problem which plagues our kitchenettes, I refuse. Instead allow me to refer you to
especially during the end of semester, is the https://www.google.com
tempting notion of ‘soaking’. I’ll tell you from
experience, soaking only helps when food is
very stuck to dishes or pans, and even then, you
should never soak for more than a few hours.
When you soak dishes, always remember to
come back and clean them properly – many
people either forget, or expect that someone
else will do it, which is mega whack. Leaving
dirty dishes in the sink with some gross water
is probably the fastest way to make people
annoyed. Especially the Gen Rep (me). So please
don’t.
None of the kitchenettes have everything. Some
are missing mixing bowls, wooden spoons,
sharp knives, etc. Don’t let this discourage
you from cooking. Go on a scavenger hunt
to find the things you need, most of them will
be around. The most important thing is that
after you have cleaned your equipment, please
put it back where you found it. Not a lot of the
equipment belongs to the college, most of it
belongs to your fellow students, and I’m sure
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