In Which I Flirt with My Waitress in Montana Fantasy Again and Accidentally Rediscover My Own Awesomeness

In my 20s, when I was trying to figure out EVERYTHING, I had an escape fantasy: Move to Montana, become a waitress, and live simply. Because I love Big Sky country, horses, food, and meeting new people. (Like Flo, from Alice.)

As I said, FANTASY.

I have been to Montana once, and it is beautiful. I’m never without a pair of cowboy boots on hand. Except I’m not much of a waitress, and while I adore the idea of horses and cowboys, the closest I’ve come other than summer camp is marrying a guy from southern New Mexico whose family members like to dress in period western garb and shoot vintage guns.

: Dressing up, vintage cowboy style

: Shopping for cowboy gear with Grandma

: Shooting competition, championship round

: Following in Grandpa’s footsteps

But I digress…

The other day, I was having a crisis moment.

One of those times where you think, just maybe, career-wise, you’ve been completely on the wrong path, or maybe it was the right path then, but this is now, and you want something different. A BIG change. So I checked the website of one of my favorite farm-to-table, locally-sourced, nose-to-tail, organic-everything restaurants, to see if they were hiring.

Because waitress-in-Montana.

Because I love food, I do love meeting new people, and while I enjoy being a solo entrepreneur, I also love being part of a team with a mission. Farm-to-table-organic-local is one of my favorite missions.

Lo and behold! They were hiring, for a line cook. An entry level position.

A little clicking around the internet leads me to interviews with the chef-owner, who says he prizes intelligence over experience when hiring. And he himself learned on the job, not at culinary school.

Boo-yah! I’m in!

So I craft a passionate cover letter to the chef-owner and his wife. And I craftily revise my resume to highlight everything I have done that is even remotely related to the restaurant industry.

I stand back to admire my work and realize, damn, I’d totally hire me, or at least call me in for an interview. Because I’m SUCH A GOOD WRITER. (Slaps head.)

I almost sent it. But I just couldn’t. In my gut, I knew. I don’t really want to be a line cook. I don’t really have the stamina for 10-hour days into nights, four nights a week, chopping and prepping foods in front of a hot fire. At most, I could see myself doing it for a year, and WRITING about it, a la Bill Buford (see: Heat). I loved that book, and admired Buford immensely for living and chronicling his story.

Truth be told, I’d rather learn some chef-y skills in a cooking class.

My takeaways:

1) If you have a fantasy about what you are doing with your life and work, try it on, whole hog, so to speak. Notice how you are feeling in your body as you progress towards it. I enjoyed the exercise of re-branding myself as an aspiring line cook, but when it came time to really apply, I felt all the energy and excitement drain out of me.

2) If you truly want to do something that is completely different from what you’ve done before, you can create a resume and cover letter that will highlight your experience and your drive, no matter what your job history. Because if you’ve been dreaming it, even subconsciously, there are probably lots of ways that your previous experience holds glittery gems of related skills and talents that only need to be polished and held up to the light.

3) Maybe I’m completely delusional here. I mean, I didn’t apply. If I applied and got the job or even just the interview, then you’d be more likely to trust my advice. Still, I share with you below the cover letter and resume just in case ~~you also want to appreciate my brilliant re-branding skills~~ it might inspire you to go for a dream that isn’t exactly the next logical step.

* * *

Dear Chef Russell and crew,

I would like to be considered for the line cook position at Camino.

In the process of going over my resume for this email, I realize that my application may be somewhat ridiculous. I am clearly an experienced writer/editor/photographer/performer/promoter. What am I doing applying to become a cook?

Here’s the thing…

I have always loved food. My mother is an amazing cook. I come from a long matrilineal line of Sephardic Jewish women who meticulously folded and rolled tiny savory pastries stuffed with cheese and egg, ground beef and pine nuts, who made their own tamarind paste for sweet-and-sour sauces, ground and dried their own sausages…

I have read about you that you were mostly trained on the job. Would you be willing to train me? My knife skills need practice. But my palate is discerning and my standards are high. I am also naturally drawn to and skilled with balancing composition: visual, aural, spatial, and gustatory.

And over the years, I’ve always maintained this connection to food, as a home cook, consumer, restaurant reviewer, fan of cooking shows. I watched with excitement in 2007-8 as you transformed the building on Grand Avenue and moved in. I have eaten in your restaurant as many times as I could, which isn’t nearly as many times as I would like! I appreciate your rustic aesthetic, the careful balance of flavors in your use of herbs and your housemade vinegar.

I have always wanted to be a part of the restaurant industry. Up to now, I have earned my living telling stories. My stories and other people’s stories. Including writing marketing content for a few chefs. Currently, I am looking for new ways to engage my talents, particularly with a team of people and a cause I believe in, rather than as a solo-entrepreneur.

So, here I am. Looking for something different from what I’ve done before. Willing to put in four 10-hour shifts a week in a physically-demanding job that would feed me personally and take me in a new direction professionally.

Thank you for considering the enclosed materials.

* * *

Julie Feinstein Adams | Resume for Line Cook Position

Education

Master of Arts: Interdisciplinary Creative Arts, Emphasis on Creative Writing and Performance, San Francisco State University. 1994 – 1996

Bachelor of Arts, Phi Beta Kappa: Socio-Cultural Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley. 1987 – 1992

Introduction to French Cooking: California Culinary Academy, San Francisco. 1991

Study Abroad, Soviet Union: Russian Language and Area Studies, Gertzen University, St. Petersburg, Russia. 1991

Food and Restaurant-Related Work Experience

Restaurant Reviewer, SFist.com, San Francisco, Calif. Reviewed local restaurants and food purveyors in the East Bay. 2007 – 2008

Writer, Project Open Hand (www.openhand.org), San Francisco, Calif. Researched and wrote articles for quarterly print publication for donors, Meal Times. Project Open Hand is a non-profit charity providing meal services and groceries for people with HIV/AIDS, homebound critically ill, and seniors. Topics included profiles of donors, volunteers, employees, clients, and events. 2002 – 2010

Cashier, Macrobiotic Center and Organic Café, Oakland, Calif. Assisted customers, managed stock, and worked register for a small natural foods store and restaurant. 1995 – 1996

Travel Writer, Fodor’s Berkeley Guides, Berkeley, Calif. Fact checked and rewrote the North Coast and Wine Country chapters of the 1995 edition budget guide to California. 1994

Assistant Manager, Auntie Pasta, Oakland, Calif. Served customers, ordered stock, designed displays, handled bank deposits, and tracked sales for a Bay Area gourmet Italian food chain, located on Piedmont Avenue. 1991

Other Work Experience

Dating Coach, Matchmaking Maven, Oakland, Calif. Provide tools and support to help people date more effectively. Services include content development for online dating profiles and digital and IRL (in real life) attraction and connection strategies. 2003 – present

Marketing and P.R. Consultant/Writer/Editor, JFA Communications, Oakland, Calif. Storytelling for people and businesses; content development for websites, blogs, newsletters, brochures, social media, and online dating profiles. Promotional campaigns. Clients include artists, consultants, coaches, alternative healers, and arts and charitable nonprofits. 2003 – present

Theater Artist, San Francisco, Calif. Create and perform monologues, collaborative improvisational theater pieces, and puppetry. Lead workshops in improvisational theater techniques. Studied and performed at/with: Laney College, Bay Area Theatresports, Sue Walden & Co., International Action Theater Ensemble, and Nina Wise’s Motion Theater. 1992 – present

Photographer, Oakland, Calif. Natural-light portraits of individuals and groups, professional headshots, business promotion materials, subjects for magazines. 1993 – present

Journalist, Oakland, Calif. Write features, profiles, travel articles, and arts previews and reviews for newspapers, magazines, and online journals. Publications include: Red Tricycle, SFist.com, Parenting.com, Scene magazine, Theatre Bay Area, j. newspaper, Fodor’s Berkeley Guides, San Francisco Weekly, East Bay Express, Daily Californian. 1989 – present

* * *

Restaurant and Food Reviews Posted on SFist.com (2008-2007)

“Consistency Hardly a Hobgoblin: Juan’s Place,” restaurant review

“Holy New Whole Foods!” store review

“In Praise of Mediocrity,” restaurant review

“Shopping, Napa-Style,” culinary store review

“The Vegan Macrobiotic Experience,” restaurant review

“It’s Not Easy, Being Vegan,” restaurant review

“Vive Le Bon Anniversaire,” movie, restaurant and toy review

“Can’t Stop Eating Those Free-Range Burgers,” restaurant review

“Fill Your Belly at Full House Café,” restaurant review

“All We Meant to Do Was Get a Burger,” restaurant review