I speak spanish and dutch fluently.
Do you think I will be able to utilize them in the kitchen once I become a chef?
Danielle

[Katherine]

Spanish will probably come in useful. Wherever there's a Spanish speaking population, you'll find kitchen workers who speak Spanish, some of them speaking very little English.

Not too many people in this country speak Dutch, but not English, so you probably won't get much use out of that for a while.

[Mezzaluna]

Why not try for a gig in Curacao?!

[layjo]

Being able to communicate with Spanish Speaking employees will benifit you greatly. In the places that I have been employed, about half of the kitchen staff are Spanish speakers. I not sure about the Dutch though.

[layjo]

Being able to communicate with Spanish Speaking employees will benifit you greatly. In the places that I have been employed, about half of the kitchen staff are Spanish speakers. I'm not sure about the Dutch though.

[Dlee]

Speaking more than one language is always a benefit. In Florida, the kitchen languages are; English, Spanish, and French Creole. Now for me I speak English, but I can also mix it up with a spanglish and french/english to get what I need done.

Just a little note, where I work (Big place )there is up to 27 diffrent languages spoken by the staff.

When you work in the back of the house. I am sure there will be a dutch speaking guest that will come in to your resturant and the wait staff will come to you to translate an order.

D

where in FL do you work?
Danielle

[Dlee]

Danielle,

I workin Boca Raton.

D.Lee

[Chef David Simpson]

If you work in LA, you must be able to speak spanish to survive.

[cookM]

Yeah, up here in the Bay Area it is most useful if you speak Spanish. I wish I could better speak to Mexicans on the staff. I try to learn as many words and phrases that I can. They seem to appreciate it too.

in one of the kitchens I work in it's not uncommon for a sentence to start in greek and end in spanish with the usual english "fill in the blank"phrases in between.I think it will serve me well to learn spanish properly.
Dutch? Oh boy..I live in Dutch country,Cant speak a word...

Hi Danielle!
I never noticed this thread before.. So you speak dutch! How did you learn it? My mother's family is from Belgium but I never learned a word of it; we always spoke French at home. Most people can't decide if I'm French, Spanish, Moroccan, Arab, Columbian, Portuguese or Indian (because I am the result of a mixed marriage).. I've been called everything in the book! I'd make a good spy... Do you practice speaking Dutch? From reading some of your old posts you seem to have a very interesting and diverse background. How lucky!

Anneke:

I bet you are really just Canuck.

Say, does a small restaurant still exist in Toronto called Napoleon's? I ate there in 1977 and it was great.

Canuck indeed!

No Crudeau, I don't think that restaurant exists anymore. Like so many who have gone since 1977 . Have you been in Toronto since? There are some awsome restaurants here now. I moved to Toronto from Montreal a few years ago. Montreal is spectacular in terms of food and culture so it took me a while to warm up to TO's restaurant scene. There has been a significant improvement in the past decade. You should visit sometime.

Anneke:

Well too bad about Napoleon's. I bet there are some really good restaurants in Toronto today. Sorry, but the last time I was in Toronto was in 1977.

My best friend is French Canadian from Montreal and I have visited him there in the past, but it has been a very long time. Also have been to Quebec City. Loved both cities.

Jean-Claude tried to get me to speak some French, but when I finally got up enough nerve to try to order in French, I was totally shot down. We were in Quebec and I ordered a glass of iced tea in French. The waitress told me she didn't speak French. I probably got the only non-French-speaking waitress in all of Quebec. That was the last time I tried.

I am sure I would appreciate Toronto, Montreal and Quebec much more today than I did on my last visits.