FIRST (IN HIS CLASS TO BE) HIRED

"I'm ecstatic," Bruce Tyndell said, "I'm ecstatic." He repeated the phrase a few more times as we spoke. Who could blame him? With three weeks of classes still to go, Big Bruce, as he’s sometimes called, has landed a job! Getting hired in this terrible market is reason for celebration. What’s more, he can work weekends until he graduates.

Bruce is 52 and a recession victim. In September 2008, after 24 years with the same employer, he lost his job as a warehouse manager. His company, manufacturers of high end upholstery, went out of business. For the first time in his adult life, Bruce was jobless. I gave my loyalty to the organization, he said, and I fully expected to be there till I retired.
 
On 30 December 2009, Bruce had his first interview at Spring Meadows Assisted Living in Summit, NJ. The position is for a cook in a facility with 85 upper middle class, fussy, food-loving residents.  If I had to do this online I wouldn't have done so good, Bruce said. But I'm a people person, he continued, and I can sell myself. Watching Bruce in action, I know how he does it; he smiles, makes eye contact and seems naturally affable. I listen well, Bruce said, and I talk but I know when to stop.

The General Manger of Spring Meadows was impressed. Three days later, on the second day on the New Year (and a new decade!), he brought Bruce back to meet the head chef - - and show what he could do. The “cooking test” wasn't hard, Bruce said: eggs over lightly, poached eggs, and a cheeseburger cooked rare were among the dishes to be prepared. Bruce chuckled about the poached eggs. He'd never cooked them, he said, but one time Chef Ron showed us the technique, and I remembered what he did. You don't always know what you know, Bruce commented, till someone asks.

The position of cook is an entry level one, paying only $12 an hour. Bruce was making more from unemployment than he would take home from the Summit job. His wife, a well paid butcher, thought he should grab the first job; something better would come along, she told him. We went back and forth all week-end about it, Bruce said.  But Bruce was anxious to have something in hand, especially a job that involved cooking for a discerning and appreciative audience in an agreeable setting. I’ll make less that I did at the warehouse, Bruce said. But this is the career I want now. We’ll squeeze a little and get by.
 
Bruce, like many of his classmates, is hardly a novice in the kitchen. At home, he cooked for his family. In his spare time, he also cooked for friends who brought him ingredients and relished whatever he produced. He never charged his friends, he said. Three years ago, while he still had a full-time job, he started a catering company, B.A.T. The initials stand for Big-and-Tasty, Bruce said, and it's my initials, too. For Thanksgiving (2009), he had over 75 orders; and he employed a crew of ten: eight cooking and two doing deliveries -- in addition to himself and his wife, who is their official "taster." Even though he was making some money with his catering business, the works wasn’t steady and the income wasn't regular. Without a steady job, he felt depressed.
 
How did he hear of the FSTA, I asked? When his company closed, in September 2008, Bruce began volunteering. He remembers being at his church, the Universal Methodist in Newark, where he helped feed the homeless every Tuesday from 4 - 6:00 p.m. A woman, also a volunteer, was talking about a cooking program at the FoodBank in Hillside, right next door, and he perked up. Next thing Bruce knew, he was enrolled. That was in October 2009.
 
As a student, Bruce grabbed every opportunity the FSTA offered. Along with a dozen classmates, he volunteered at Tavern on the Green during the fall 2009 New York City Marathon. After gawking at the storied chandeliers and the famous party rooms facing Central Park; he helped to turn out 4,500 pounds of pasta and 2,000 gallons of tomato sauce to feed the runners. A few weeks later, he attended a certifying session of the American Culinary Institute in Perth Amboy, NJ. There he observed Production Chef Lisa Callison in her role as a judge; and he observed his teacher, Chef Ron Nicholas, being put through the paces to earn the rank of Certified Executive Chef.

The school routine agreed with Bruce. So did the community of classmates. It's hard for men, Bruce said, to make friends, especially at this age. But I'm goin' to keep up with some of these people. He's enjoyed everything about the school, he added. Learning the vocabulary for stuff he does, listening to the chefs, and picking up new ideas. I'm like a sponge, he said, just learnin', learnin', learnin'.

 
On the first school day of 2010, Bruce was wearing a new beige and cream long sleeve tee shirt with "Big Daddy" in black script across the front. He's big, no doubt about it -- 6'3" and 360 pounds - - and he carries the weight with a genial confidence. 2009 was hard, Bruce said, but 2010 is the beginning of a new decade, and what a good beginning!  I'm eager, he said, regarding his new position, and I'll work real hard.
 
In fact, the job begins right away. He'll be in the kitchen at Spring Meadows weekends until Graduation on January 22. His full time job, 35 hours a week, begins the following Monday. I'll stay till retirement, he said.
 
Although Bruce worried about his age, being 52 may have worked in his favor. Of course, it's not just age but the package of Bruce's attributes which make him attractive to employers. He has a long and steady work history --  and no criminal background. As a family man with a working wife (she's a butcher), grown children, and a car, he's not  likely to come late, miss days, or need time off for childcare emergencies. His enthusiasm shows; as does his ease with people and positive attitude. Doubtless, he praised the FSTA.
 

Doris Friedensohn
5 January 2009

(Doris Friedensohn is Professor Emerita of Women’s Studies at New Jersey City University. She writes about eating, education, feminism, and social change. A chapter in her food memoir, Eating as I Go: Scenes from America and Abroad, published in 2006 by the University Press of Kentucky, deals with the Food Service Training Academy.)

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