I used to have what I thought were hairy arms but all of my time on the line has nicely taken care of that. I'm fair skinned and dark haired and when I was younger I used to dread short sleeve weather as I was really self conscious over it.
I feel the need to comment on the soup kitchen remark... currently I cook part time at a soup kitchen and there's no shame in it at all. Those people need to eat too and there's lots of room for creativity. It is definitely very different than working in a restaurant but still just as rewarding, if not more.