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Kitchen Burns - Page 2

post #31 of 35
5/22/06 at 3:02am
My first job was working at McDonald's and to be honest, if you want burn preparation...work there. I've gotten so many burns ranging from the convection oven we use to make biscuits/pies, the flat-tops we use for protein, and the fryers we use for everything, that the only time they actually bother me... is if it's serious.

The last (semi-decent) burn I got was after I pulled a pan out of the oven with my side-towel, then COMPLETELY forgot that I had just pulled it from there and grabbed the handle with my bare hand. Needless to say I was regrowing my finger prints for a while after that.

In my experience, the WORST thing to do with burns is to cover them up with some kind of gel. That holds the heat in and can make the burn worse. If it's serious, you want to sap the heat out of it asap. If it's not, work your way through it and get used to the sensation.
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post #32 of 35
5/22/06 at 6:54am
I have recently adopted a new theory on burning myself. Last job I had was working a pasta/saute station at this Italian place. The pasta bath had one of those tilt activated faucets ontop which always produced ice cold water, it was great because I would burn myself working saute and there was access to cold water immediately, initially I thought this was a great prospect, but over time I learned that putting water on the burn usually just makes it worse. If you have a bad burn, the only time water should be applied is immediately right after to reduce the temperature of the wound, but if you feel the burn isnt bad enough to blister or scar there is no point aside from comfort to putting water on it. The other thing is if you have a wet hand and your sauteing...things can get alot hotter fast, over time burning myself helped me focus on my work and I have learned to like it.
"Set the gearshift to the highgear of your soul...You've got to run like an antelope, out of control" ~Phish
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post #33 of 35
5/22/06 at 7:00am
Some other funny stuff....panseared salmon, throwing the whole pan in the oven to finish it up, then you get slammed, end up taking the salmon pan out with a hot pad and leaving it on a back burner or on top of the station for a sec, and then your boss comes over to try and "help you out of the weeds", gets in your way, and then he grabs the pan that was in the oven and continues to scream like a girl and throw the pan into the side storage room in an exhibition kitchen none the less!....I have a nice scar on my neck, I was searing venison racks, a corner of the sheet tray is hanging over the grill, which is cranked, I was carrying the tray up on my left shoulder going to the walkin, a dishwasher walks into me and the hot corner that you weren't aware of presses right up against your neck...and last mothers day, reaching over a smoking hot pan with oil to get to the back burner with a handful of raw veg, a little water dripped off the veg into the smoking hot oil, 3 giant insta-bubbles on my forearm at 4 o clock on a mothers day night...it was a great start
"Set the gearshift to the highgear of your soul...You've got to run like an antelope, out of control" ~Phish
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post #34 of 35
5/22/06 at 8:50am
My wife once worked as a cook in a kitchen where they grew aloe vera plants on shelves by the windows. If someone got burned they would just break a piece off and rub it on the burn. She swears by it.
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post #35 of 35
5/22/06 at 9:45am

My 3 favorite burns...

My last day working at the Red Lobster in Montreal before the whole chain was closed down in Quebec I dropped something into the fryer. Long and short is that I was on the job hunt with terrible blisters and scabs all over my face.

Recently I leaned down to get something from under my work table and gave myself a third eyebrow on a hot sheetpan. All that night I kept telling the waitstaff, "I'm not pretty anymore!"

A couple of years ago I was working sautee and I could HEAR the skin on my hand burning when I picked up a cast iron skillet. I felt nothing but when I looked at my hand, the skin was as white as paper. I seem to remember the pain that followed being pretty intense.

A final runner up somehow never left a mark. I was going to drain some potatoes that were still bubbling in the pot. Somehow I slipped and poured what felt like gallons of 212 degree water down my face, neck, shoulders, right arm, chest and back. This was just this past January. Anyway, I exhaled a few choice words and got to mashing before the spuds could start cooling. I just wish that I had been covered in that hot potato water while sitting at my car at a McDonald's drive-thru.

I prefer burns to cuts any day of the week.
Will work for a bed and shower... I want to find a place to live that isn't Vermont. I am interested in seeing a few sites.
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