Short Order

My oldest brother has a day job with a university but he is also a folk singer and guitarist.  He has a couple of CDs that he recorded under the name of Dana “Short Order” Cooke.  I guess that is a little better than a nick name like “Bleeding Gums” but I have always thought of myself as being the more authentic short order cook.

My first summer job was at a restaurant near my house where I was hired mostly as a dishwasher but also all around kitchen helper.  I did salad prep, appetizers and plated desserts during the night in between keeping up with the dishes.  It wasn’t exactly the most appetizing combination.  I also tried to learn what I could to help out the cooks and for some reason have fond memories of a dish called Chicken Calvados.  I spend two summers at this job, feeling overused and underpaid.

The following summer, I tried a different restaurant job where I learned that overworked and underpaid was pretty much par for the course when you are summer help.  At this second restaurant, I got to make sandwiches, fried items, burgers and a little more of that all around kitchen helper stuff.  It was hot work for the summer time and being a tourist town we were always busy. 

I had many friends who were cooks during those summers.  One of those friendships changed my future.  I was in college working on my bachelor’s degree, when this friend called to see if I would like to join her on a visit she was making to the Culinary Institute of America.  It was her dream to attend school there.  I was happy to take a break from classes and go on a little road trip despite not knowing anything about the CIA.

I soon learned that the Culinary Institute of America was considered to be one of the best cooking schools in the United States, possibly the world, and I immediately fell in love with the campus filled with beautiful brick buildings set alongside the Hudson River.  My friend ultimately decided to go a different direction but a seed was planted in my mind.  I had never even considered anything other than an academic college and getting my bachelor’s degree.  I was in my final year at SUNY at Albany and would soon graduate with a dual major in English and Psychology, so quitting at that point wasn't really an option but I did feel a little cheated by a high school guidance staff that didn’t help me explore all my options.  After college, three years at a job that was not right for me became the manure that was needed to fertilize the seed that was planted that day.  And that is how I changed my name to Denelle “Pastry” Cooke.