1993-1994: Ethnic Employment: Der Rhinelander vs The Cameo Cafe'

My time in Astoria came to a quick sad end.  The owner had a heart attack and missed a few payments while recovering in the hospital.  I showed up to work one day and the restaurant had been lockedup by the landlord.  The house that had been provided to us for partial payment was up for sale and had been sold.  So we packed up and headed back to Portland to look for home and work.
     I contacted the job service department of the school and they sent me to the Rheinlander.  Horst Mager one of Portland's great chefs was the owner of this magnificent establishment.  I interviewed and was hired on as the lead line sous chef.  I was to take the place of the old line sous chef who had worked the position for the last ten years.  Big shoes to fill.  Everything in the kitchen was made from scratch.  The morning shift made up of  immigrants from Europe and Asia, spoke little English, but worked hard and fast to ready the evening faire.  Soups, stocks, desserts, salads, breads, cutlets, and more.  I would show up at two and work until midnight. We did an average of 600 covers per night.  Usually a banquet or two was thrown on top of that in the 200-300 covers range.  It was a hot harried kitchen.  The Chef de Cuisine and Executive Chef would stand watch over the line picking through the orders.  Right in the middle of rush with two wheels deep in tickets and the ticket printer going non stop the management team would order a twelve top to test the food.  On one occasion one of the schnitzel that I plated was not crisp enough and I had it thrown back at me over the line. "You are useless, you can't even cook" would be heard in a disgruntled German accent, along with other berating comments.  Heir Mager was a third generation chef who was raised in the old world style of kitchen.  Yelling domineering chefs working their staff to the bone.  While his German food was second to none and his passion for the art was top notch the old world method did not fly well with me.  I swore to never be like that when I became a great chef.  We would work as fast as possible to plate the food, drenched in sweat and melting I would grab a pitcher of cold water and pour it over my head and let it run down my shirt cooling me off.  Within the hour I would have dried out and become hot and sweaty again.  This was not the glamourous job That I had envisioned in my mind.  It was assembly line cooking.  The final straw came when I was called into a review meeting and told infront of the other management staff "you would make a better garbage man than a chef".  I was taken aback.  I almost called Horst a slanderous German term that came up in WWII, but I held my tongue.  I finished the shift and left a resignation note on the Chef's desk.  That was the last time I stepped foot in the Rhienlander. 
Fifteen years later I can look back and appreciate that experience.  I still do not agree with the way the staff was treated, but the food, the things I learned will stay with me forever.  I did some research on Horst after his retirement and learned to appreciate the man and his passion.  He was truly one of Portland's great Chef's and I was priveleged to have worked for him. 
The next day I went back to Sandy Boulevard to look for work.  I walked down the street to all the restaurants applying for a job.  Did I mention I had not told my wife about the note.  So I wanted to have a job before letting her know what had transpired.  With luck I walked into a small cafe.  "The Cameo",  The cook MArsha was leaving to start her own place and the owner was in need of a breakfsat cook.

Sue Gee was the owners name.  I nice Korean lady who had one of the best work ethics I have ever seen.  She would start early in the morning run the cafe and then spend the afternoons and evenings with her husband Charlie devising methods to improve the Cafe and increase business.  We went ot supply stores, other cafes, fabric stores, wall paper shops.  you name it they thought of everything.  I helped to educate Sue Gee in the ways of the restaurant.  After all by now I had at least a decade of experience under my belt along with school.  I helped to design one of the first menu's.  I explained ingredients and their usage to her.  I helped her to understand the American wway of business vs. the Korean way.  The Korean way was not a bad one it just did not fit well into the Portland breakfast scene.  Sue Gee would go out to the bus stop and grab people waiting for a bus and bring them in to try a pancake or an omelet.  Se went to the local college campuses and recruited club leaders to come try a free breakfast.  They in turn brought their clubs and business began to grow.  Six egg omelets, the best crispiest hash browns in the world.  Giant Acre size pancakes that fell over the dge of the plate and more.  The coffee craze was catching on in Portland expanding out of Seattle so I designed an espresso menu for the Cafe to increase the beverage sales.  I worked here for over a year until a better opportunity reared it's head.  I left the Cameo on good terms and have visited  twice over the years.  I really need to go back while I am so close to Portland (I'm in Seattle while writing this).  Sue Gee wnet on to open seven or so breakfast versions of the Cameo in Korea, another in Portland as well as a fine dining establishment.  Her son who grew up in the business has been a great help to her as well.  She lived customer service and innovation.  This part of the journey was a fantastic trip into the mind of a genious.   "An yo ha say oh"