1. Somma 1
Lucas Somma
English 101
Professor Pelletier
1 October 2015
The Prep Workers’ Dance
If you peek intensely into the tiny windows stationed within both metal doors of the
hideously gray double doorway that overlooks the gleaming and polished stainless steel palace,
which we call the Range, at approximately 8 AM, you’ll immediately notice the 48 wide-eyed
students, four borderline-retiree chef instructors, and three rather ripe lunch ladies, all
participating (with knife in hand) in a exhausting dance that is “prep work”. You’ll see the
overly-confident and far-too-sleep-deprived upperclassmen preparing their perspective meals for
the day under the unobtrusive yet daunting guideship of a colossal and intimidating Head Chef
Instructor, whilst a much more patient and tender-hearted chef instructor, who will first carefully
demonstrate how to go about prep work, assigns tasks to largely inexperienced students based off
of performance on previous tasks. Meanwhile, the sweet-hearted and frail lunch ladies boasting
both back braces and hair nets, have been working diligently on the production of various
speciality sandwiches and salads since an hour previously; with surprising speed and sliced deli
ham in their hands, they will not stop until their much deserved thirty minute break at 9:45 AM.
Although an observer may only see chaos, the prep work dance, which includes beginning,
intermediate, advanced, and instructional dancers, is a carefully crafted orchestration that every
underclassman, upperclassman, lunch lady, and chef meaningfully contributes to.
In this proverbial dance, there are a plethora of advanced cognitive behaviors that assist
in a smooth production. Communication is the basis for all that takes place in a kitchen. Safety

2. Somma 2
and quality rely upon the chef instructors’ technical ability to communicate ideas clearly to their
corresponding group of students. The hefty and irritated chef uses a clipboard full of notes set
atop the same counter every morning to assign semi-seasoned upperclassmen to their meals;
however, later in the morning he will personally confirm that each student is well-equipped for a
successful lunch service. Meanwhile, Chef Bigheart verbally assigns a vague and preparatory
task (such as “Luke, get your mise en place together and start peeling as many carrots as you can
grab”) to keep underclassmen occupied while he floats from station to station, revealing further
instructions that will either develop into an item on the serving line or an a la carte/specialty
item.
Yet, every single person in the kitchen is graciously and oddly in sync with one another,
thanks to their communication practices. Instead of fighting over ovens, students will often share
oven space with someone with a dish that cooks at a similar temperature and time, or find a
different cooking method. Instead of peeling a five pound bag of potatoes in loneliness,
upperclassmen will often ask, beg, or even bribe underclassmen in between tasks to alleviate
their misery. Even in transit with hot food items, kitchen workers must communicate with one
another; one will hear the obnoxiously loud declarations of “hot stuff!” or “watch your back!”,
within seconds of stepping foot in the kitchen.
Needless to say, from a chef’s beginning-of-the-day instructions to the ongoing
correspondence that often entails other skills, such as problem solving, the lofty higher process
of intercommunication is essential to the simpleton craft that is Food & Beverage.