Why I'm in the food industry and I blame Siti.
Siti truly was the original hospitality girl.
FOR CONTEXT: This is not a bad thing.
I just needed a good hook-ing title. You’re here though, right? Did it work?
My Siti was the queen of hospitality.
If you were coming over, it was her top priority to make sure you were
1. Fed.
2. Welcomed with physical affection.
3. Interested in a cup of coffee
In that order.
Dinners at her house were always fun mini feasts, followed by a variety of desserts from the freezer and a big pot of coffee ready to go.
She insisted on doing the dishes, always! Even if the meal wasn’t at her own home!
There were many times when Siti and Gido would come over to our place for dinner, and as soon as they’d get there immediately asked what she could help with in the kitchen.
I see this tendency in myself, specifically that last point.
Siti instilled so much hospitality in us at a young age, that I wanted to highlight some funny instances where this was on full display, and why it’s no surprise I gravitate towards the food/service industry.
“Free Cookies for Charity”
Y’all. Bear with me.
When I was a kid, I did not understand what “for charity” meant. I knew charity usually meant helping people, but I never correlated how.
So! Anytime I heard “for charity,” I thought just by saying it was magically helping people….which is how we got this lovely picture.
This was at my sister’s basketball game, I’m probably six or seven.
These were Chips Ahoy. Yes, all free. No, not actually for charity.
I’m very thankful to my parents for not breaking the news that what I was doing wasn’t actually helping anyone, but they still let me set up my little “stand” (an old ice chest I sat on, and the very homemade paper signs) to give out cookies.
My “dream” of working in chains…
Two specifically.
When I was about nine or ten, my “dream job” (besides being a singer/actress/diva) was to be a Sonic worker….
Honestly? It was just because of the rollerskates. I also thought that working at Sonic was like working in a 50/60s diner with the drive-thru aspect.
Obviously, that’s not how it is.
The second was to be a Starbucks barista…
In the sixth grade, I wrote an essay that one of my future dreams was to be a barista at Starbucks….along with being on Broadway.
Again, I thought it was so glamorous! I didn’t understand the concept of coffee shops (and that they existed outside this one megamonster).
Technically this came half true, I’ve been a barista on and off for the last two and a half years. Also, I was technically hired at my campus Starbucks right before the pandemic hit, so I’d like to say I achieved this dream by default.
Honorable (or hospitable) Mentions
Here is just a lightning round of other “quirky” things I did as a kid that have manifested into my hospitality habits now (for the better??).
practicing holding plates and “trays” around the house.
playing house with neighbor kids but always cooking (I made so many yard soups).
selling baked goods in between classes and at lunch in high school to make some extra cash.
my love for aprons (especially the cross-back, linen, or cotton kind)
creating faux menus when I was bored and restaurant ideas
a very serious poundcake-making phase in the fifth grade.
almost choosing to go to pastry school versus a 4-year university.
being a food network kid (we already knew this but still feels important to bring up)
Alton Brown being my childhood hero??
Investing way too much time and mental space for potlucks or baking competitions at my church (y’all I was too intense)
Going through all these little memories and quirks I had growing up, it’s a shock I didn’t choose to go head-on into the food industry. But then I’m reminded that food and making things for others is a form of love, affection, and gratitude versus a career aspiration. Maybe one day my passions will change or an opportunity will come my way, but for now, it’s just hospitality.
And for that, I’m thankful.
With Love,
Cara