Public & Human Services: Dining Room Attendant
Public & Human Services
Dining Room Attendant:
Dean Gushi
by Mike Yoshiura
With every career opportunity that comes along, there are always going to be two sides to the coin.
"It's not a steady income. From month to month you never know what you're going to make," said Dean Gushi, a 26-year-old dining room attendant. "You sleep in during the day, work on holidays, and you don't have much time to spend with your family."
But! …on the flipside, there are not many careers where employees can work a seven-hour shift, and leave with $200 in their pockets.
Chasing a Dream
For Dean, going to college was all about chasing down his boyhood dream. He graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1999; and from there, it was off to Graceland University to play second base for the Yellowjackets. "College was all about playing baseball. But, I quickly came to the realization that I wasn't very tall, big, or fast, so I decided to give up on baseball and concentrate on school. I found out that I couldn't compete at the collegiate level so I decided to make education my first priority."
The Middle Of Nowhere
In a new environment, a college student can easily gain perspective on the size of a city based on the nearest McDonald's. Graceland University is nestled comfortably in small-town Lamoni, Iowa, which is a three-hour commute to the nearest McDonald's, and a four-hour trek to the closest major city (Des Moines). "Lamoni was such a small town that it made Hawaii look like New York or L.A. (Los Angeles). The people there were nice, but it was so far away from everything."
Know What You're Getting Into
Dean went to a mainland college with the intention of someday becoming an athletic trainer - but sometimes, as we all know, plans do change. "Going away was probably the best experience of my life. It was the first time I got off the island without my parents. The friends I made there, I still keep in touch with. My only regret was that I should have done more research. I found out that I couldn't handle the cold weather, and maybe I wasn't cut out to be an athletic trainer."
A Change Of Scenery
In 2000, Gushi moved back home to attend classes at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa. He took a month off to reunite with his family and friends before he found a part-time job waiting tables at the O'ahu Country Club (OCC). Dean would go on to spend the next five years at OCC, soaking up the formalities of the food service industry. "I'm not too formal. It was something that I had to force myself to learn. I think a lot of it has to do with where I grew up because here (in Hawaii), everyone's informal."
Experience Is The Key
His experiences at OCC were of the learning type, grooming Dean for his current position with The Bistro at Century Center. He's been at the fine dining French restaurant for a little over five years; and today, you could say that he's mastered the art of the tableside flambé. Flambé, or flamed in French, is a cooking method in which alcohol is poured over a hot pan, creating a burst of flames. Gushi prepares tableside dishes like steak Diane, steak tartare, crépes Suzette, cherries jubilee flambé, chocolate and fruits flambé, strawberries and cream flambé, and banana flambé. "I had the prior experience so it was a fairly smooth transition. Learning the wines came with time, especially since I don't like the stuff. Learning the food, it's like school. A lot of it has to do with memorizing and learning the definitions. Everyone gets better with repetition."
A Second Career
Gushi works Tuesday through Saturday, accumulating up to 35 hours a week. He gets to work at 3:30 p.m. to set up for the dinner shift, and he usually gets off at around 11:30 p.m. Starting work so late in the afternoon allows him to pursue a second career in real estate, which he started this July.
A Waiter's Job Description Is…
Dealing with people and their many different moods isn't always an easy task. "People think waiting tables is easy, but not everyone can do it. As a waiter, you learn how to interact with all types of personalities. A lot of times you're dealing with difficult people, and you need to know how to turn a negative situation into a positive one. People have expectations, and sometimes they'll arrive already in a bad mood. My job is to put them in a good mood and make them feel comfortable. They're paying a lot of money so I want them to feel like they're eating at home, in their own dining room."