"THINK GOOD THOUGHTS & SMILE" where it came from...



Why "THINK GOOD THOUGHTS & SMILE" at the end of almost every post was recently asked of me. Some years back a kitchen I was working  there was a sticker that said "Think Good Thoughts....." we added "& Smile" for reasons I won't mention here. That was a great time in my life & close to being the funnest kitchen I have worked in. Nothing grand but how two of us could accomplish the burn and turn of 200-250 covers each night with what we had to work with was quite the production. I have worked in houses that we would do 700-750 covers on a busy night but we also had big kitchens with 7 cooks on the line and big dinning rooms that when at capacity seated 250pp.
The little place our kitchen was a 12"x24" grill, 1 basket electric fryer and a 4 burner stove with oven. There was no salamander and the pantry was a 3'x4' working space a top a drop in  that produced amazing apps, salads and desserts. This was also an exhibition style kitchen for all to watch as we did what we did 6 nights a week, even the bar goers would watch as the bar was part of the kitchen. Did I mention the dinning room sat 40pp. During the summer we would nearly double the covers as tables where added when the piles of snow melted uncovering a beautiful deck that overlooked the little lake so many would flock to.(pictured below) Yes a good time, I learned so much in the small but popular venue. Even though I only worked one year in that fun little resort area that held that gem of an establishment I gained so much. The little restaurant is still there, kitchen has been remodeled, still small, still burning & turning and still showing the sticker that says "THINK GOOD THOUGHTS..." but only I along with a select few know and lived the hand written "& Smile".