Brews, Burgers and Buddies.

An interview with a long lost friend

The Fix Burger Bar is a great place to get classy sloppy American in a gentrified subset of downtown Worcester, Massachusetts. Specializing in diverse and abundant burger-style sandwiches, classic grease-bathed fries and skyscraper milkshakes, The Fix projects as an upscale Five Guys. While the atmosphere, food quality, and excellent service are a clear indication of the debated disparity between American and fast food, behind the chic black matte door to the kitchen that so elegantly meshes with the wall, the fluorescent glare that streams out only for a moment only foreshadows the immense disparity between the kitchen and the dining room.

In traditional table-service-style restaurants, working in the kitchen can be compared to being a part of stage crew behind a low-rent play. As a chef, line cook, dishwasher, etc., you want to be a part of the action, but you’re not going to be the one applauded at curtain call. The irony in it all is that without you, there would be no show at all.

“It’s less glamorous than being a stagehand, just because they have to shut up - hahaha I don’t know if that even makes sense, but yeah I’d say it’s definitely comparable…. I don’t know if you can drink while working behind a set either.” Adria Pettigrew, a sous-chef at The Fix told me in reaction to my metaphor.

“Well correct me if I’m wrong, but just because you can, doesn’t necessarily mean you’re allowed to drink, right?” I asked her.

“I’m not saying anyone does anything or doesn’t do anything that is or isn’t allowed here, but in other experiences I’ve had elsewhere - it’s kind of standard.” She said.

“Heard.” We both laughed.

Pettigrew is 21 and a former attendee of Auburn High School, Auburn, Massachusetts. As an anterior classmate of and long-lost friend of her’s, I found myself enjoying the dreamlike sensation of nostalgia over burgers and beer in my hometown.

“I almost made it senior year, and then a switch flipped off in my head and I just couldn’t turn it back on. Since then I worked a series of odd jobs, both food and non-food related, but landed here for a little longer than the past year.” She said.

Pettigrew did not complete her senior year of high school, but has since received her G.E.D.

“The Fix is definitely the best thing that’s happened to me since I finished my education… Yes, it’s a job where manual labor is involved, you get tired and you’ll end up leaving sore a lot of days, but it really feels like something that has given me purpose. It’s loud, it’s wild and it’s dangerous in the kitchen but it just takes me to a totally different place. I love to cook and I love being able to contribute to the chaos.” She told me.

As an individual gifted with natural intellect and ambition, Pettigrew often surpassed me in most advanced math classes without opening a text book.

“I don’t want to believe I’m happy being a chef. While I didn’t have many expectations from my family growing up, I think I always still had the expectation of myself that I was going to go to college, get a job - you know whatever every white person in Auburn is doing,” she said, … but I feel happy and comfortable. I can making a living off of this and just being I don’t have a degree doesn’t mean that I can’t be happy and functional.”

“I think that's really important and a very practical way to look at it. Do the people you work with have any impact on your experience?” I asked her.

“Oh my god yes, which is why at first I was nervous about pursuing this job in the long-term. I liked the people I worked with a lot when I first started but I was aware that it was a rotating industry. Now that I’ve seen people come and go, however, I feel like I would be happy in most settings - or at least places similar to this one.” She said.

“Can you explain that a little bit more?”

“Hmm… well yes and it sounds weird but it’s not the specific people but it’s like the type of people. There are people you like and people you hate always, but it's more about being surrounded by people who are involved with what you're involved with, most of which are passionate about what they’re doing. You won’t last as a basic line-cook if you’re not just a little bit passionate about what you’re doing.”

“What are the implications of being a woman in a male-dominated position?” I asked.

“I’m actually the only woman that works in the back. Not to toot-my-own-horn, but it’s very rare that a woman is even on the line, nevermind a sous-chef… I don’t mind it though. The people I work with have always treated me equally, and not even like with consideration hahaha. I don’t really know how to explain it but you know when you go out to get a drink with just strictly a male friend and he’ll pay just because he’s the dude? It’s not like that at all - they treat me no differently than anyone else in a positive or negative direction, which at least personally I appreciate more than over-compensation.” she explained.

At the end of the burger and after another pint, I had found myself nearly incapacitated in a state of savory-wellness.

“Can you give me any secret recipes?” I asked her.

“ Hahaha well truth be told, I’m not sure of the technicalities of the food I make - for example, we have a seasoning blend that we use on almost burger that only the owner knows the exact proportion to, but I think I’ve figured it out if you’d like the recipe for my bootleg burger.”