I had a holiday job in a kitchen, but I think we'll draw a polite veil over that. There was nothing joyous or creative about it. And none of this helped my studies.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I started in the kitchen of a Holiday Inn in Birmingham. I wanted to be a sponge, wanted to learn and progress. I knew I didn't want to work in a hotel forever, but I had some good teachers there.
When I'm not working, I would kill to have some sort of creative outlet other than, say, a coloring book. And when I'm working, I want to do all those things I was griping about - you know, make a turkey-and-cheese sandwich, put it in a zip-top bag, and stick it in a lunch box right now!
I see a lot of people who change careers in the middle of their life and they think it's a good idea to come in the kitchen.
I love any and all situations where you celebrate creativity.
After all, the best part of a holiday is perhaps not so much to be resting yourself, as to see all the other fellows busy working.
I had very busy parents, but I really appreciated having a set of traditions during my own childhood, like consistently celebrating holidays at the same place.
I've never quite worked out how to do holidays. I've got a house in France which I suppose is a kind of holiday house. But it's really only so I can go on drawing when I get there. I'm never far away from the feeling that I want to be getting on with something.
I love hospitality, and I love cooking. The kitchen is where I feel most at ease and where I feel most like myself.
Even when I was an engineer, I was a comic on my job. At birthday and holiday parties, I was the one scheduling and emceeing. If you work on your gift, and you're good, it will shine through.
All my jobs have been with food in one way or another since 1948. My parents were in the hotel business, and I just loved the warm hearted people who worked so hard with such good humor.