PEELING POBLANO PEPPERS IN THE KITCHEN

As part of my "Cross-training" at work, Yesterday I spent the better part of the day working in the kitchen.
Having been in the restaurant business for a long time, I have seen, heard and experienced everything that there is to experience about a working restaurant, except the kitchen part of it. I have never been a cook, a prep cook, a grill man or nothing like it, not even in my previous job, where I supervised a whole kitchen crew.
Until yesterday.
I spent at least two hours peeling Poblano peppers, which are used for Chile Rellenos. You stand at this one spot and your back aches, your fingers burn, your throat burns and you are constantly coughing, because of everything that gets released when you are peeling and de-veining peppers. I am sure that people that do this day in and day out get used to it, but what a chore. My next "assignment" was to fry 3 huge bags of tortilla chips. Sounds simple right?, just throw the chips in the hot oil and fry them, yeah, right!
The chips get hot and steamy and "heavy" with the oil they are being fried on. You have to stir them with a large slotted tool, so they don't stick, break and burn. You have to get the right crisp in them and when you are turning them, they are heavy, then you fish them out of the oil carefully
your wrists, begin to hurt, your shoulders ache from the turning and lifting. After filling about 12 large pans, I was done with my assignment and my arms were just hanging my sides limp and in pain.
Kitchen workers are hard working people.
Next week I will be working at the bar, that should be fun, untill the tickets start spewing lots of tickets with all kinds of different complicated drinks..