Through Life As A Former Housekeeper Stewardess
3 Grateful Moments From Working In A French Restaurant
Recently, I walked by my home chapel after work for a week. Yes. The French restaurant on the hillside. There was no way to avoid this place.
And in this place, I would be grateful for some experiences although not all.
Because a happy person might not be a grateful soul. But a grateful person would definitely be a happy soul.
So, here I would share with you 3-grateful moments when I worked in a French restaurant.
1— The French executive chef always welcomed me home warmly…
I remember the first day I reported to work. The Executive Chef gave such a warm wide smile when I walked through the open kitchen.
At lunch, he waved and smiled again across his team’s section. I wore my headscarf back then. He did not treat me like an alien.
Almost going two years now, I left the restaurant as a part time housekeeper. I did not say goodbye to him in person the night I left.
It was recently he came to my mind that his birthday was around the corner. My reason to drop by was to see him, visit him, and wish him.
He stood at his table 53. When I entered, I walked straight to him. He stood there with a smile. And he welcomed me with a hug.
Gratitude:
I am thankful he always welcomed me home warmly. Thank you, Chef Julien Mercier.
2 — Whenever I came to work at any cafes or restaurants, I learned to greet the early birds…
When I first stepped into the restaurant, the executive chef always walked around to greet everyone.
He went personally to each person and greeted them. He walked into the private dining room where I folded the napkins. I remembered him saying, “Good morning, everyone!”
He did that for a month or two. Somehow, he was quieter at one period of time. He did not greet me as he usually did. And whenever I tried to greet him, he moved away.
I kept greeting him day by day and eventually I gave up. I ignored. And one day he said, “You did not greet me this morning…”
He was acting disappointed and insisted he did not hear me say good morning. The executive chef said, “You know, it is nice that when you arrived at work, you should go around and greet everyone…”
Not long enough, it became part and parcel of my habit to greet people when I first arrived. Even with the bus drivers.
Because from him I learned that wishing people Good Morning had always been part of a prayer. Just like when you wished someone Peace Be Upon You.
Gratitude:
I thank you, Chef Julien Mercier, for molding me to be someone warm hearted by your French culture.
3 — I only began to see who truly loved my presence in their mid when I returned to the restaurant recently.
As much as I felt closer to the Chefs, it was only recently when I returned, I saw who truly I missed, and they missed me too.
I did not miss the housekeepers. I learned that we might have laughter at work, but who we truly loved would be known from heart to heart.
I love my papa GM Kevin Gueugnon, but for the several returns I did not get to see him in person.
The Chefs always welcomed me. They always asked me if I had eaten. They would ask me if I wanted something to eat. They were ever ready to think of something to cook for me.
Gratitude:
I thank you for all your love for me especially thinking whether I have food to eat for the day. You warmed up my belly. I pray that the Lord will give all of you in greater abundance of your needs. Amen.
In a prophetic teaching, unless the other side of the road was a dead end, you should go to a place and left it by different routes.
Because the Lord wanted us to meet more people on the other side, so that we would greet each other, Peace.
So, I exited the hill through another end where I walked by my French home. I couldn’t avoid my home chapel.
Peace be upon you.
Shalom.
xoxo,
💌 Lissa 💌
