Celebrity Encounters
The other night I was sitting around reminiscing about past events with my honey. As we were chattering away through these tasty morsels of memories past, an interesting boost to the ego came. Over the years I have had the opportunity to work for & with some pretty high profile people. How often do we get the chance to shake hands with corporate big wigs, dine with divas & personally feed the paparazzi princes & princesses. There have been enough times over the years that I've actually started to not notice the status of "celebrity" any more & don't want people thinking I'm name dropping or showing off. But I've also had some really interesting encounters that I was told really should be written down. So...with a little pushin'...here's just a tasting of a few of my celebrity encounters.
The first time I ever met someone called a "celebrity" it was Alice Cooper & I was 17. At that time, I was the administrative assistant at a high-end law firm where my mother worked as well. I remember how the office was all abuzz about him coming in, so that day I made sure everything in the office was in tip-top shape! Now, my mom was a big fan of his from back in his early days & that bled down to us kids. To this day we still enjoy getting the latest release of his. So you know we were both coming out of our skins! He came in, very unassuming & down to earth. We all shook hands & met each other, the business meeting continued & then it was back to work as normal. Best part of this story....during the meeting, his wife Sheryl's contact lens had popped out & I was called in to help find it & take care of it for her. That's one way to meet a celebrity!
Another big moment for me happened a few years back. I was working in the kitchen of 1900 Park Fair & was working the hot line B station. This station is responsible for the cooking of all the non-protein items like corn & rice & mashed potatoes & such. Well I had been working that station for awhile & since I take a great deal of pride in the food I produce, I took each of my items & gave them the Bret kick! Late in service one night (very late to be exact), the floor chef came in & asked me to follow him into the dining room. I was led to the private section & was introduced to a Queen of a foreign country (unfortunately I'm not to divulge exactly where but that's really not the point anyway..lol). She then told us that MY mashed potatoes where "Out-Of-This-World!" & personally thanked me for making the dining experience well worth it! Well not only did I walk back into the kitchen on cloud 9 but the chef then proceeded to tell EVERYONE in the kitchen what just happened! Great way to meet a celebrity!
Most recently, I came eye to eye with a celebrity that was in the closest of literal terms as you can get. At the time, I was working at the Grand Floridian as the Concierge Chef. It was early evening & I was bustling around taking care of the lounges & special requests. I was hurrying back into the kitchen to get something needed & to do so, I had to go through the private elevator area & into the back hallway to the kitchen which also serves as the hidden entryway for celebrities & others who don't want to make a big splash about them staying there. So I as swung the door to the hallway open & stepped into it at the same time....I literally come to within an eyelash of running into & running over Courtney Cox! Luckily we didn't crash especially since she was holding the hand of her child! Not the best way to meet a celebrity!
The other night I was sitting around reminiscing about past events with my honey. As we were chattering away through these tasty morsels of memories past, an interesting boost to the ego came. Over the years I have had the opportunity to work for & with some pretty high profile people. How often do we get the chance to shake hands with corporate big wigs, dine with divas & personally feed the paparazzi princes & princesses. There have been enough times over the years that I've actually started to not notice the status of "celebrity" any more & don't want people thinking I'm name dropping or showing off. But I've also had some really interesting encounters that I was told really should be written down. So...with a little pushin'...here's just a tasting of a few of my celebrity encounters.
The first time I ever met someone called a "celebrity" it was Alice Cooper & I was 17. At that time, I was the administrative assistant at a high-end law firm where my mother worked as well. I remember how the office was all abuzz about him coming in, so that day I made sure everything in the office was in tip-top shape! Now, my mom was a big fan of his from back in his early days & that bled down to us kids. To this day we still enjoy getting the latest release of his. So you know we were both coming out of our skins! He came in, very unassuming & down to earth. We all shook hands & met each other, the business meeting continued & then it was back to work as normal. Best part of this story....during the meeting, his wife Sheryl's contact lens had popped out & I was called in to help find it & take care of it for her. That's one way to meet a celebrity!
Another big moment for me happened a few years back. I was working in the kitchen of 1900 Park Fair & was working the hot line B station. This station is responsible for the cooking of all the non-protein items like corn & rice & mashed potatoes & such. Well I had been working that station for awhile & since I take a great deal of pride in the food I produce, I took each of my items & gave them the Bret kick! Late in service one night (very late to be exact), the floor chef came in & asked me to follow him into the dining room. I was led to the private section & was introduced to a Queen of a foreign country (unfortunately I'm not to divulge exactly where but that's really not the point anyway..lol). She then told us that MY mashed potatoes where "Out-Of-This-World!" & personally thanked me for making the dining experience well worth it! Well not only did I walk back into the kitchen on cloud 9 but the chef then proceeded to tell EVERYONE in the kitchen what just happened! Great way to meet a celebrity!
Most recently, I came eye to eye with a celebrity that was in the closest of literal terms as you can get. At the time, I was working at the Grand Floridian as the Concierge Chef. It was early evening & I was bustling around taking care of the lounges & special requests. I was hurrying back into the kitchen to get something needed & to do so, I had to go through the private elevator area & into the back hallway to the kitchen which also serves as the hidden entryway for celebrities & others who don't want to make a big splash about them staying there. So I as swung the door to the hallway open & stepped into it at the same time....I literally come to within an eyelash of running into & running over Courtney Cox! Luckily we didn't crash especially since she was holding the hand of her child! Not the best way to meet a celebrity!
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