Job Description: Kitchen Assistant Final Draft

 January 26, 2024

Job Description: Kitchen Assistant 

 

When I was 16 and in high school, over the summer, I got my first job. It was at a yogurt shop, but not frozen yogurt, actual Greek yogurt. It was pretty much a parfait bar that offered different toppings like chocolate, fruits, and even spinach. The business was owned by two men who quit their corporate jobs at Oracle and decided to go all in on the business. The storefront was little, but on a busy street called Burlingame Avenue in my hometown. 

 

 

After getting in trouble with my parents, I drove around town with copies of my paper resume until I found someone to take it. All the other jobs had told me to apply online until I came across Jougert bar. The only other employees were other 16- and 17-year old’s that attend the local high school next door. The job was easy to learn, but when I worked, I oversaw all parts of the store, not just one section. This made every day different and kept my time at work interesting.

 

 

My job consisted of three main aspects: 

• Kitchen Prep 
• Cashier  
• Dish Washer 

 

 

Kitchen Prep 

The prep in the kitchen consisted mostly of washing and cutting fruits. My favorite thing that we offered however, was the granola. I never got to prep the granola, but occasionally would put in it into mason jars to sell. They labeled it as homemade granola, and some people went crazy for it. After further investigation, I found out that it was crushed up Nature Valley Granola Bars that they were using as topping and selling in jars. To be fair, it was good, but it was not homemade or made from a special recipe. The containers filled with yogurt showed up weekly in the back of a truck and were swiftly brought into the store. I never saw a label or a packing slip when the owners arrived with the 20-pound containers, so I never found out where they were from. Despite the sketchy circumstances of some of the food, the result was almost always delicious.  

 

 

Cashier

When I learned how to use the POS system, it had a slight learning curve but was straight forward for the most part. I would take peoples orders and then turn around and prep them because there was usually only one or two people working at a time. My favorite part was when people would be shocked by the prices when I rang them up. I would almost feel bad charging them because it was unjustifiably expensive (especially knowing that the granola was what it was). During closing, I would also count the cash and deposit it in a little slit in a safe.

 

 

Dish Washer

This was my least favorite of the jobs, but I like to think it built character. I washed all the cutting boards, bowls, utensils, and mixing bowls in the back. I learned about the three-step sanitation process and how gross yogurt can look floating on the top of water. When I closed at night, I would also oversee mopping the floors, covering all the ingredients, and washing all the leftover dirty dishes. I also learned how hard it can be to find tiny spoons in the bottom of large sink to make sure they do not go down the garbage disposal. 

 

 

Takeaways 

Jougert is no longer in business, but it was a summer job that built character and gave me good stories to tell for a lifetime. This job did not scare me away from the restaurant business too much, as I later worked as a hostess when I moved to LA. 

 

Readability

Flesch Reading Ease 69.2

Flesh-Kincaid Grade Level 7.9 

Passive Sentences 11.7%