I Know an Easier Way

When I was a middle school I worked as a short order cook at a local pizza place.

Along with rolling pizza dough, I was also responsible for making burgers, chicken sandwiches, fries and orders of lasagna.

A tray of lasagna was cooked in advance, sliced and then each slice was frozen in a ziplock bag. When a customer ordered lasagna, the steps were to put a slice in an aluminum container, pour marinara sauce over the top and slide it into the 500 degree pizza oven to warm. After removing it from the pizza oven, place two slices of mozzarella cheese on top, sprinkle with oregano and slide it under the broiler for one minute to melt the cheese. Then using two oven mitts, remove it from the broiler, put a plastic lid on top and bag it to go.

One day, a co-worker observed me using oven mitts to remove a slice from the broiler and said, “I know an easier way to make it go faster.” He grabbed a metal spatula with his right hand, slid it under the aluminum container, and using his left thumb and index finger grabbed the top edge of the container to remove it from the oven. This did seem like a better way because I would not need to go looking for the oven mitts which were usually not where they should be.

The next time I went to remove a slice of lasagna from the broiler, I remembered the spatula suggestion. Everything went as planned until I made the mistake of stopping abruptly before placing the container down on the counter. I suddenly felt a surge of pain as scalding hot marinara sauce splashed over the edge of the container and onto the left palm of my hand.

After putting the container down on the counter, I grabbed a paper towel to wipe the sauce off my hand. To my surprise the top layer of skin came off my entire palm. I ran to the sink to run cold water on my hand. Every time I pulled my hand from the cold water, a surge of pain would return.

A quick thinking delivery driver grabbed a tray, filled it with ice water to submerge my hand in and promptly gave me a ride home. After a visit to the emergency room and having my hand bandaged, I was fortunate to have no scar remaining after my hand healed.

In all the jobs I’ve worked over the years, there are always easier ways of doing something offered, but the question to ask is whether an easier way is necessarily a better way of doing something.

Note: this story was first published on my LinkedIn page