Deli is a shortened form of Delicatessen, it’s a store selling ready-to-eat food products.
It’s the first time I work in a deli, our store sells sandwiches, banana bread, muffins, cookies, sausage rolls, etc., something has been prepared and can be consumed anytime. However, we are not 100% deli, we also offer rice bowls, ramens, curries, as well as soft-serve ice creams. As a result, everyone working here has to multitask, sometimes I cook in the kitchen, sometimes remove beef tendons and fat, sometimes stay in front as a cashier, sometimes restock inventories, and sometimes clean untidy dining tables as well as trash cans. It enables me to learn a lot, and that’s what I am going to talk about for today, lessons I learned from working in a deli.
Food Danger Zone
We always welcome new members without related experiences here but it’s mandatory to have basic knowledge about food safety. My manager had me take an online course on Alberta Food Safety Basics before the start of training, which is the first lesson I learned from working for a deli.
The course talks about pathogens, microorganisms, germs, when and how they affect foods, and how to avoid foods getting contaminated. In addition to washing hands thoroughly, and keeping kitchen stuff sanitized, having awareness of the temperature is important. If I didn’t take the course, I probably don’t know how important it is to keep foods away from the danger zone, which is between 40 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit. God bless, I haven’t gotten a foodborne illness yet.
Bacteria grow and multiply rapidly in the food danger zone.
Celiac Disease
The second lesson began with a conversation.
Me: Hi there, how is going?
Customer: Pretty good, and could you please tell me what is Italian Panini?
Me: It is a grilled, heated sandwich, that comes with ham, salami, prosciutto, and cheddar cheeses.
Customer: Sounds good! I’ll get one, but can I go with a gluten-free bun?
Me: Sorry?
Customer: I have celiac disease, I can’t eat any foods that have gluten, so I just want to know if you guys have a gluten-free bun or not.
In fact, I didn’t catch the word “Celiac Disease” the first time I heard it. One of the partners told me the name and how to spell it, since he has been suffering from this sick for a long time, he can’t eat any foods containing gluten. Gluten is a protein that usually comes from wheat, barley, or rye. If they eat foods containing gluten, they may have diarrhea or belly aches, for children, they might stop growing. According to the statistics, about one in every one hundred people has this disease. It’s not really rare, but I didn’t even know that for such a long time in my life.
Vegetarian
We sell Miso and Shoyu ramen, the only difference is the based soup, the rest parts are the same, both come with Chashu, red ginger, seaweed, sesame, and last but not least green onion. When customers ask for vegetarian ramen, Chashu will be replaced by tomato.
The first time I made vegetarian ramen for a customer, I followed the steps that my mentor taught me, I did as reviewed those steps in a small whisper, “replace Chashu with tomato, one spoon of ginger, some seaweed, some sesame, and green onion, green onion, and green onion? Wait a minute!” I stuck there and asked the customer “Do you eat green onion?” I expected she says no, but she answered “Yes, I do, that would be great with more green onion!”.
Alright, it’s a cognitive conflict. When talking about the vegetarian diet in Taiwan, people normally connect to the Buddhist diet, which avoids eating animals products, and anything that would strengthen human beings’ desire for sex, such as garlic and green onion. But in Canada, it usually just means they don’t eat meats like beef, pork, and chicken. Some people cut meats out but fish, they are called Pescatarian. Some people refrain from all meats, dairy, and eggs, they are well known as Vegan.
Be noticed of cultural influences on word meanings.
Memorize Things
I used to work with computers and software tools, to help me memorize things. For instance, I wrote down all ideas, know-how with examples, and debug records in Microsoft OneNote, and reviewed them every morning before starting daily tasks or when I have coding troubles. It’s a super valuable manner, I highly recommend you to use any note-taking app.
Nevertheless, I can use neither a computer nor a smartphone while working in a deli, I suddenly found that I am struggling to memorize things! I tried to write down memos in a physical notebook, but have you ever seen a cook making dishes and watching his/her memos in the meantime? Never, I’ve only ever seen them focus on the food and stopwatch.
So I asked as many questions as I can to get a better understanding instead of learning everything by rote, which helps me not to forget each step. However, practice is still a key to getting used to it.
Practice makes not only perfect but also solid experiences.
Homemaker
What it is like to work in a deli? I would say it’s like a homemaker. Hold on, I’ve never worked as a homemaker, but let me explain.
We try to serve everyone with patience and smiles, and “Quality is everything”, which was hammered into me when I first started this place. Customers are able to wait for more minutes but if the food tastes not good, they won’t come back. My manager always requires us to imagine that “You are the customer” when preparing food, in each step. To me, I try to imagine customers are my family so that I can put more concentration and offer above-and-beyond services to them(I assume you love your family). We still have troubles occasionally with customer entitlements, we all know customers are not always right, however, this situation is just like how parents face their early-teen children, which are in a rebellious stage (no offense, just a metaphor).
When I was a teenager, began to transit into adulthood, grew physically, mentally, and emotionally but did something bad sometimes. I used to yell at parents for no reason or randomly blamed them for any little thing. But no matter how many conflicts we had and whatever I did, they still gave me all the best, still stood by me, still settled down everything in the house, and waited for me at home, they were always there for us. Parents never changed the most special treatment for children, until now, and so for the future.
When I cook in the kitchen, stay in front as a cashier, restock inventories, and clean untidy dining tables, I always think of my parents, especially my mom as she was a full-time homemaker. Homemaker is an unpaid job position in the past, but the value they make is priceless.
Show great appreciation to parents at any time, not just on Mother’s or Father’s day.
