dishwasher redux

And our expectation that Sat's guy would come back on Sun, as agreed.  No.  And what will happen tomorrow?  Will Fri's guy come in, will he call, will the woman who called tonight come in the morning to fill out an application?  

And will our customers' decide to flock to the kitchen after their breakfast to see what all this fuss is about?

Bob did yeoman's duty today and all the plates, cups, silverware, glassware & pots/pans are clean and ready for a fresh start in the merry month of JUNE!!!

The new pottery +

We brought in the highly anticipated new pottery on Mother's Day. The colors are great, some of the shapes are working and I hope we will get the entire package right before too long. There are just not enough hours in the day for all the details, and they are all important, so one at a time, they will be ticked off.

Thankfully the original pottery is holding up really well and only the coffee mugs are closing in on 50% broken (handles mainly -- ah those dishwashers again!)

Thoughts on a dinner menu that includes both tapas & small plates and full plated dinners.... in our plans now, that seems like it might suit our customers and our kitchen....

back on Craig's list

Dishwasher, a tough job that few seem able to manage due to physical stamina required and fewer seem willing to do well. Another one bites the dust - due to !?!? -- no longer available on the weekends.
I remember a college guy I knew who did dishes at PJs for a summer. I appreciate his stick-to-it-ivenss more now than I did then!

So, we are back on Craig's List and have no prospects, yet.

Anyone want to trade a breakfast for the dishes washed up? (don't really see it working, so I'll be at the sinks tomorrow as it looks now)

What else in new?

New coffees selected via the 7 coffee tasting event last Saturday:

#1: Sumatra - try it this week and weekend as our 4th offering

#2: New Guinea - try it for the first week of June

#3: Capricio - a delightful dessert coffee which we plan to offer when you want to linger over dessert after dinner.. whenever that starts up ...

Dinner menu in the midst of planning and lots of great ideas are coming forth from the kitchen staff, our wonderful customers and of course, the waitstaff extraordinaire -- they know what will go over and we do believe them!

summer staffing seems set

Finally, for a few hours now, I have not had any jobs posted on Craig's List! We seem to be settling in with a good crew. Still lots of learning, but the last dishwasher to walk out was last Friday and it seemed he was simply overwhelmed, so we gave it a try with an older person who was convinced this would be a good opportunity to rejoin the workforce. Unfortunately, not so. But less than a day in better than going a week and then bolting.

We say, bring on the extended hours and outdoor seating!

Yes - we are in front of the township to hopefully gain these approvals next Thursday night. It would appear to be quite straightforward and nothing out of the ordinary, so we are going in with a positive outlook for success.

Today in the front of house

It is such a joy to see visitors who have been away for the winter or just a long vacation return to the BR and bring along their friends. Today we had a house full of returning visitors, a few of whom I am confident I will call friends before too long. I do not know every one's name and I confess, I don't know if I will (sidebar -- yesterday or the day before I said hello to a lovely little girl and I called her by her mother's name! This came to me in the middle of the night, so I know in my subconscious the names are there, funny that!)
Today was a big day for family visits - brother & his wife, husband for the first time, sisters with a birthday to celebrate.
I love that we are a destination for events. Not the huge hoopla events, just the quiet celebration, the time together to meet and chat. It suits the BR and we love having the opportunity to put a candle in a cake, to make a special pot of tea....

In the background

Those background thoughts - "hum, haven't blogged in a while, maybe tonight" have been coming with some frequency over the last days and now I see weeks.
What's been in the foreground? hiring for the summer, hiring to meet the added demand at lunch throughout the week, hiring to support the dinner hour we will start in a few weeks time - hiring!?!
As I may have mentioned before, we have a three part process to hiring: 1) meet & greet & review a resume; if potential is there, on to 2) trial shift(s) learning the processes, the menu, a few of the stories; if potential is there, on to 3) scheduled in minimally to see if there is a good fit.

However, yesterday we had a dire need. Someone showed up to first meeting regarding a busser position, I asked if you would do dishes for the day since we were unexpectedly shorthanded in that area. He said yes. All went well as he heard the basics about our dish washing process, polishing requirements and storing location for various items.

I check a few of his completed items, they look OK. I come back & check the polished silverware -- it is not ok. I give him the - this batch needs a redo with a hotwater dip & a clean rag, OK? Got the look of OK, & no grumbling, so I continue along.

All was going along smoothly, we are in the thick of lunch (12:45), I notice dishes beginning to pile up & no dishwasher in sight. "Where is the dishwasher?" I ask. He went to the bathroom I am told. Dishes continue to pile up. Is it 5 mins, 10 mins, surely not 15 mins ? Where is the dishwasher? He went to the bathroom. I check the bathrooms as I see that we have no usable silver, the water glasses are smudgy and people are waiting patiently for tables.

All I can say is, I guess the dishwasher decided to use the bathroom at his house..... and so we continue our various searches for the various jobs that need to be done to keep the BRBC ticking over.

We are having some good success with waitstaff and today had a promising fellow in who want to bus, so it is an ongoing learning for me, a challenge to all who work here to fill in as the need arises - an especially large challenge when the need arises as quickly at the "I'm off to the bathroom" of yesterday...

On to staffing for dinner!!

Can it rain more?

Seattle, we are feeling your weather.  Tomorrow we will serve gazpacho, in hopes that it may bring a spring-like feel to another rainy day.  Join us if you can!

Planning & staffing, cleaning & preparing

Mother's Day has taken on a life of its own.  We have a special menu and a full house -- and we are working to bring a great experience to all the families who are joining us on the day.  It is amazing to me how detailed the planning must be to have a day like this work.  Everyone who is involved from our side is thinking about ways to do the best possible job to make the service work smoothly, to have the food and ambience be impeccable, and to assure those who come that they made a good choice.

I have not been one to go out on MOther's Day in the past and I am really pleased to have this opportunity and challenge.  If you are going to be with us, I really look forward to seeing you!

In addition to the big weekend, we are in the thick of finding someone who can truly do the job of hosting during lunch several days a week.  This is necessary so that I can work on planning events, parties and future offerings @ the BR.

So far, no one has found the job to be what they want to do, or they are not willing or able to do what is necessary.  So, the search continues.  I know that no one will have the overarching view of the BR that I do, nor is a worker likely to "see" all that I do that needs to be done / could be done to enhance the experience, provide the best atmosphere, attend to unasked  questions / needs.  Am I out of touch to think that I will find the person who can do what I do or is it possible that the person is right under my nose?  I truly don't know at this point.  I have always felt that there is not much I couldn't do for 1 year, so having started month 9 in full-fulltime mode, I am OK with it most days.  

What else is new?  I was asked by a lady in California to deliver a b-day cake to her Dad.  I did.  She called back to tell me how much he liked the cake & the delivery - so that is part of what makes any day have a smile!  

And this Friday the girl scouts will be coming in to learn a bit about the biz.. more to follow.

Yesterday the camera club came in and took a host of pics -- a few too many of the post-lunch dirty dishes... a well, they are part of the kitchen's ebb and flow.

May, 2009

Once again the lament is - where did the week go?  We had a great week in the bakery & cafe.  Best Mon, Tues, Wed of the month!

And Thurs & Fri kept moving on an upward trajectory.

The pastry case has new additions:  

• small cakes  ( all 3 layers) - deep dark choc, coconut cake, filling, frosting, carrot & cream cheese frosting, lemon cake with lemon filling & white frosting.  All very shareable!  
  
• chocolate mousse cake - too much choc to detail it here
• brownies extraordinaire
• lemon tarts, tart lemon flavor and creamy
• chocolate almond, fruit with cream and on and on -

And the bread wall is also moving into new territory:

• pumpernickle
  
• naturally sweet whole wheat
• buttermilk rye
• pain au levain
• watch this space for more..

Listening to potential customers coming into the shop for the first time, I often hear their first reaction as they enter the library.  It is amazing to me to hear so many people use such favorable words about our space, our use of the space and the products and breads, pastries we have on display.

The lift that gives on a tough morning or afternoon is immeasurable and to then speak personally with so many about how they found us, how they are enjoying their visit, how they are back, again, with new friends / family - all this is so  much more than I could have imagined when we started planning for the Blue Rooster.

A Big thanks to all our supporters, customers and friends!