kitchen communication

I decided today that to be more successful in the kitchen I might have to learn not only spanish, but also portuguese and chinese - mandarin, cantonese, I don't know. I went back to Pine Street this morning to serve breakfast but was quickly whisked away to the kitchen to help make a special sandwich that would be served for lunch. (Thick white bread - "Texas Toast", both insides swiped with a mix of mayo and mustard, one side with thinly sliced red onion, cheese on both slices and then two or three sliced of ham, chicken or turkey - later these were placed on the grill and toasted off to melty goodness.)

Maria wasn't in the kitchen today. I pretty much did the same thing as I did last week, but the woman I worked with was a small asian woman who was hard to understand and had a hard time understanding. Luckily, I remembered most of the tasks from last week, so I was quite confident in what I was doing. I just tried to understand this woman and help her out when I could.

Here's the problem... her co-workers, the full time employees, don't seem to respect her. Well, at least one of them. The one woman just kept saying, "That's not your job. You don't know what you're doing." She even went so far as to shoo her away by hitting her on the shoulder. Yikes... That disturbed me. The head chef was very patient with her though so that should help to set the tone of the kitchen - understanding and tolerant.

Here is something I wonder about though: Wasn't it apparent at her interview that she could hardly speak english? When no one (except one other kitchen assistant) speaks her language, how can you expect to give instructions to someone and know they can follow them? How many languages must a head chef know to communicate with his staff?

I suppose this is the nature of the attraction for people to come to the US... seeming equality and the opportunity to be treated and rewarded like the rest of the people willing to work hard.