Catering Days

After we moved to Guildford and in the house, we used to live in before we both decided that to make ends meet……..we had rent to pay ….we used to live in tied cottages which went with the job. I decided to find an evening job…..so we waited until hubby found work and I applied for a park time job as a general kitchen in the kitchens of our local hospital. I got an interview and a few weeks later started the 5 till 8 supper shift. Getting the patient’s supper trays plated up for distribution on the wards.

Some of my Facebook friends are my past catering colleagues so I hope they will let me know what they think of my memories.

It’s all different down there now but when I was there we had what was called the “Ganymede” system …a long moving belt that the meals were trayed up from the caller at the front calling out the main course os sandwiches/salad or the choice of a hot meal. As the tray thunders along the belt bowls of soup were added if wanted or rice pudding. Then past the cold sweets section to be checked by a person at the end of the who passed it onto a porter who put it in a trolley to be taken up to the wards.

After clearing up all our work stations we were not finished. A person was designated to make up trays of orange juice/grapefruit juice. While the rest wrapped cutlery….six tray fulls ready for use the next day.

The trolleys returned with suppers consumed so we all took our station s at the giant-sized dishwasher. One person took the trays out of the trolly and took the cutlery and dropped into a vat of water to rinse. The person opposite scaped of any leftovers into an oblong narrow sink thing that had running water and paper into a bin beside you pushing it towards the next person who loaded when into the machine and they disappeared into the watery tunnel to come out the other end all clean where two people unloaded it all onto shelves ready for use. That is the way it should have run……..but we did have the occasional hiccup. It wasn’t always leftover food that came down on the tray…….false teeth use to appear wrapped in tissue and I remember once when we heard the chomping noise that leftover food did not sound like. We would stop to check and discover a handful of loose teeth. We also had peoples rings, money, peoples specs and on one never to be forgotten evening a soup bowl of “poo”…..honestly.

When all trolleys were emptied washed and put away the dishwasher machine had to hoe down, floors mopped all ready for the next morning.

Occasionally the dishwashing machine would have a breakdown….then it was all hands on deck to handwash….yes …handwash it all.

Lots of memories……will never forget Peggy, Joan, Joyce and chefs esp the night Keith dropped a huge tray of liver/onions only trying to scoop it back and expecting us to serve up……which we wouldn’t of course.

People who are no longer with you R.I.P. to Taff and Cliff and anyone else who has passed on.

I know some of my Facebook book friends from those days may read this let me know

I went up towards as a cleaner but came back after 6 months then in 1998 I went back to the wards to become a health care assistant…..which will be another blog.