I retired from my job with the Federal Government after 35 years of service. What the job was is of no importance. What is however, is the fact that I survived 35 years of political bureaucracy with my sanity intact.
When I retired I thought “this is pretty sweet I don’t have to get up early and I can do what I want.” Well 1 ½ years later and I am getting pretty antsy to do something other than sitting around and mucking about on my computer.
So what do you do when you need to find work, so you can salvage what sanity you have left, and there simply is nothing in the field you spent 35 years in? You look for something you can do and in my case……. that’s cooking.
Over the past couple of weeks I have been sending out my Culinary Resume to any and all Restaurants, Cafes or Delis who are looking to hire kitchen help and who are not necessarily looking for someone who has professional restaurant kitchen experience.
Now anyone who has ever looked for a job can relate to the depressing feeling you get when you send out a whole whack of resumes and get no replies but when you happen to be a 57 year old who has no professional experience that feeling deepens a bit.
Well “lo and behold” didn’t one of the places I sent my resume to call me for an interview for the job of Kitchen Prep. This particular restaurant is a chain but it is a chain with a difference…… they do things FRESH and they actually care about the customer experience. It also helps that I have eaten in this establishment and I LOVE IT.
My interview, the first in 35 years, went very well and although the G.M. said that he had two other candidates to interview I feel very good about the whole experience and I think I have a better than average chance, even at my age, to get a second chance at another career that I know I will just love and one that will allow me to eventually produce “simple but tasty” dishes for the paying public.
I would also like to point out that the absolute stunning photo attached to this post is the work of the VERY talented photographer Suzanne Witkin of Los Angeles. Kudos for the picture oh and….. I will keep you up to date on my progress in my new career.
Bon Appetit
gardensandgrills 
If you have enough money and all you need to do is to salvage sanity, then you can work as a volunteer, anywhere you like. If you need to earn money too, then that’s a different thing all together. Goodluck!