So I need a job, right? I'm out handing out resumes, and I walk into a sushi bar that has a sign into the window that says sushi helper needed. It was a sheeshy place, which looked good, cuz, if I may toot my own horn for a minute, I'm kind of a hot shot cook.
Well, the polite young Japanese man who was holding up the counter told me the position was for men only.
I started laughing. I looked around for the camera. I was going to pull on the guy's hair, to see if he was really Jaime Kennedy, when I realized he was serious.
I told him how the first time someone ever said that to me was in 1990, after I had finished cooking school. And my response every single time had been to kick the ass of the person who said it. (I meant by producing a better product, faster, but I left that part out, cuz he looked a little afraid, and tested the counter he was holding up, to see if it was sturdy.)
I left, still laughing. My 9 year-old daughter was with me, and I had to explain to her my continued shock and amazement at the men-only kitchen thing that still persists, despite the statistical fact that 90% of the world is fed by women.
If I've made any cultural blunders, by insulting Japanese tradition, or anything, I'd like to apologize for finding it so humorous. I guess I must have been fooled by all the kick-ass, chick-made sushi I've eaten.