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1. That ticket hiccuped out of my printer when I was working as a short order cook at a cafe in Portland, OR. I fed people by being fed a list of what they wanted to be fed. I worked in a semi-open kitchen behind a glass sneezeguard. When I did everything right, nobody questioned me. I functioned as invisibly as the mechanics of our toaster oven and coffee machine. When something went wrong, I became suddenly and glaringly present—A loose strand of hair attached to the shoulder of my shirt that, at any moment, might dangle free and float down in front of my un-ironed, avocado-streaked apron and curl into somebody's sandwich. Presence through failure. Burned toast, expired meat, brown greens, a ticket lost in the stream. This was my power.

2. Failure exposed the process behind the product. It unsettled the illusory pleasure of the experience to be enjoyed. To perpetuate the illusion equals success. Consumers ignoring producers equals success. To the consumer, spending money theoretically secures pleasure, and when that transaction did not deliver, the power shifted from them to me and rapidly back again. We both understood that their overpriced total also included the cost of my flawed and unpredictable labour. As one carelessly stomps an ant on one's kitchen floor or swats an incessant fly, so often is eating out. But this is your job. Or are you my job? And why are you so upset?

3. Allan Sekula's This Ain't China: A Photonovel depicts the relationship between the delusional owner and disgruntled employees of a fictional pizza restaurant. In one section, the owner interviews a future waitress, an aspiring actress, and explains

               there is a one-to-one analogy between many aspects of the restaurant business and the theatre business . . . there's the same kind of “show must go on” atmosphere      an urgency.      if a cook is sick you can't come out and make an announcement      “cook's sick! we can't serve dinner tonight!”      the show goes on and the show must go on.     if somebody gets injured      if you run out of something      you've got to cover up for it some way      the show must go on . . . So this is what brecht meant by culinary opera she thought.

4. To produce a product fit for consumption, I followed a list, or lists, of sequential commands. I made things to be eaten, but this same idea can apply to anything worn, played with, looked at, read, and more. List the steps you will take to succeed:

Pasta, various dishes with creamy sauces


Nutri-Grain, grilled onions, sausages, salami, macaroni & cheese with bacon and caramelized onions, yogurt mixed with jam, spaghetti, spare ribs, wild berries from outside, feijoas, brown bread, mustard, lasagne, gołąbki, cucumbers and tomatoes mixed with sour cream, pâté, pita bread, pickles, avocados, ice cream about
and carrot salad
Chinese-marinated
and dulce salad, spicy
ginger-marinated
and leek gratin
with lentils, braised
oven-braised
rémoulade
salad
and sea green stir-fry
soup, creamy
to string
in Waldorf salad


ham & cheese sandwiches with light mayonnaise, Cheerios with halved banana slices, grilled cheese sandwiches with cheddar in the middle and mozzarella on either side, stir-fry, Morning Star Veggie Burgers, Gorton's Fish Filets, barbecued pumpkin pie, salmon, potatoes


hot dogs, pizza, rice & beans, platános, eggs, orange juice, various candies of all sizes and shapes, Cap'n Crunch, pork, Hot Pockets, frozen and microwavable foods, Sausage Egg & Cheese from Burger King, assorted snacks, chips, cookies, Chips Ahoy Chewy

cereal with chocolate milk that was passed down from my brother's cereal bowl that was passed down from my sister's cereal bowl, Hamburger Helper, pork chops, Little Caesar's pizza, McDonald's Deluxe Breakfast, tuna croquette, mashed potatoes, Taco Bell Bean & Cheese Burritos, spaghetti, stir-fry, lazy lasagne, cookies, cherry surprise cake (Jerry cake)



1. tuna noodle
2. potato taco's
3. egg & sausage sandwitch
4. gulosh
5. cream of weat




sticky rice, popcorn flavored Jelly Belly beans, Kid Cuisine TV Dinners, Pizza Hut, phở



Saltines with butter and sugar, Burger King Rodeo Burgers, gruyere cheese off of french onion soup, brown M&Ms, undercooked sourdough waffles




hot dogs on whole wheat bread, healthy snacks, carrots and peanut butter, Fruit Roll-Ups, cereal with apple juice



squishy meat, 2 Minute Noodles oriental flavour, elbow macaroni mixed with sour cream and brown sugar, peanut butter toast, cottage cheese & chives on toast, crumbled frozen fish, gołąbki, Hubba Bubba, ice cream




Cambodian food, a fermented anchovy and lemongrass paste with grilled beef and rice, a sour, bitter green beef stew




New England boiled dinner: corn beef, cabbage, carrots, and onions boiled together and served with bread and butter McDonald's Filet-O-Fish; Wendy's Spicy Chicken Sandwich; my mom's Famous Oyster Bar: Wheat Thins, slices of cheddar cheese and canned oysters; The Salad Everybody Likes: pre-chopped romaine lettuce, water chestnuts, pre-sliced, pre-grilled chicken and dry, crushed ramen noodles (my mom would mix the ramen flavoring with canola oil for the dressing); baked potatoes with sour cream or plain, uncooked firm tofu; burrito bowl: refried beans, cheddar cheese, salsa and sour cream put on a cold tortilla and microwaved; frozen meals from Costco; Amy's Enchiladas




mashed potatoes, I would always get seconds or thirds when they served them at the cafeteria in elementary school



beanie weenie: baked beans and hotdogs, ketchup, tuna salad sandwiches with frozen peas, pb&mayonnaise&Tabasco sandwiches, Campbell's Condensed Soups with milk, arroz con pollo



pasta, beef stew with a cloudy orange broth, chili, chowder, fish with frozen vegetables and rice, kiełbasa, barbeque chicken, steak, meat with apple sauce, french toast with maple sausage, bean salad with salsa and cucumbers



beef jerky, chicken satay, pancakes with lemon and sugar, pancakes with jam, soft scrambled eggs, BLTs, Hawaiian pizza, corn, frozen corn, fish & chips, gyoza, cold oatmeal, hotdog on a stick, instant noodles, frozen potato wedges and hash browns


rice and creamed corn, browned rolled oats, hamburgers, watermelon, avocados, massive sandwiches, vegan bean burritos, bananas, Cheerios, no milk, soy milk, no themed nights, pork chops with apple sauce, chicken breast with Spanish rice, whole wheat bread, crunchy peanut butter



Chinese pie: hamburger, canned corn, peas, and mashed potatoes; scrambled eggs, gravy, iceberg lettuce, roma tomatoes, coleslaw with heavy mayonnaise, au jus ribs, garlic salt mashed potatoes, Philly cheese steaks made with frozen steak breakfast: Cheerios with banana, waffles, Western sandwiches: burnt Western omelets on bread with ketchup

lunch: at least two tuna sandwiches (just mayonnaise, tuna, and bread), leftover spaghetti, meatball sandwiches made from meatballs from the spaghetti

dinner: spaghetti & meatballs, mashed potatoes with roasted beef and green beans, crusty macaroni & beef

Christmas dinner: ham, sałatka, green salad, and pâté; spare ribs, mum's spaghetti, dad's spaghetti, chicken curry with peanut satay sauce, takeaways every Friday, macaroni with brown sugar and sour cream, toast with butter and peanut butter, the jelly out of Jelly Tip, banana chocolate chip ice cream, toast with melted cheese and tomato sauce, Fruit Roll-Ups
meat and three veg: chicken or roast beef with potatoes, carrots, and peas; bacon and eggs, baked beans on toast, omelettes, mouse traps: grilled marmite & cheese or baked beans & cheese or spaghetti & cheese sandwiches; fish & chips, pineapple fritters, homemade tomato sauce, spicy vegetarian curries, no Coca-Cola, no eating out, bread and marmite and lettuce sandwiches, a quarter of a beast, lobster, crayfish, hokey pokey popcorn, porridge



pierogi, soups, warm bread with fresh butter and tomatoes or cucumbers or małosolne, homemade croissants with jam, pączki, cheesecakes, bigos; ground meat mixed with sauerkraut and onions, folded into a pancake and fried in butter



no Cheerios or Fruit Roll-Ups, Oatios, pasta salad with broccoli and summer sausage and a vinaigrette, ice cream, gooey egg sandwiches, cinnamon toast, Eggos, waffles made on a waffle iron, Shredded Wheat, frozen orange juice concentrate




macaroni & cheese with ketchup, poutine, chicken catchetori



macaroni & cheese with peas, steamed shrimp, tacos, pasta with peas, cheese and crackers, Grape-Nuts, bread and butter, pepperoni & lettuce sandwiches, BLTs, blueberry pancakes, potato pancakes


rice & beans, ropa veja, arroz con pollo, pastalitos, cuban coffe, café con leche, pasta, yogurt with granola, about a pound of deli meat a day, scallions with ranch dressing, pork, pancakes, bacon egg & cheese, cured meats and sausages, braunschweiger, mashed potatoes, croqueta, papa relleno




hamburgers, Jamaican Food, Soul Food, Creole Food, Barbeque, Tex-Mex, Bayou Food, stir-fry, hamburgers pb&honey, dim sum, pb&j soup: peanut butter and jelly in a bowl; blini: buckwheat pancakes with peanut butter and honey, sometimes with sour cream; sailor nachos: microwaved Saltines and American or government cheese; dry Ramen with a little bit of water; walking tacos aka Frito pie: Texas chili, cheese, sour cream, and peppers in a bag of Fritos; goulash, borscht, pierogi, vienna sausage, 711 Rolling Taquitos, Ecto-Cooler, auto pops, pizza sandwiches: ketchup and bread; family meal: protein, cheese, and noodle; Hawaiian rice: pineapples, fried spam, and white rice




SOS aka Shit on a Shingle: creamed, chipped beef on toast; Nutella on bread, orange flavored Cadbury chocolates (which I hated)


no citrus, apples, linguini with clams, sourdough bread, heel of the bread, pb&honey, no cheese unless on pizza, no tomatoes unless on pizza, stews, chicken nuggets, taco bar: hard shell tacos, ground beef, lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese; hard tacos from Taco Bell



cream cheese and green olive bagels, tater tots, cheesy noodles, cold pasta with shrimp, baked potatoes, The Salad Everybody Likes, grapes and plain spaghetti, Burgerville every Sunday, burrito bar



hotdogs, meatloaf, French toast, sunny-side-up eggs, poached eggs, bacon egg & cheese, grilled cheese, Sunny-D, Gatorade, Caprisun, hot chocolate, apple juice white sticky rice in a porcelain bowl; a rice bowl made of different grains: barley, black or pinto beans, green peas, sprouts, and walnuts; Korean soups and stews: seaweed soup (mi-yuk-gook), kimchi stew (Kimchi-jjigae), Korean miso soup (Doenjang-jjigae), egg drop soup, bean sprout soup (kong-namul-gook), beef soup (so-goki-gook); Korean sushi rolls (Kimbab), Korean ramen, Burgerking Whopper, Popeye's wedges and fries, diner chili soup, fried chicken, Pizzahut pizza and salad, Caprisun, Welch's, Mountain Dew, Pepsi, milkshakes, hot chocolate, potato chips


one-eyed sandwiches: toasted bread—two slices—with a circle cut out from the center of each. each slice is put on the pan on the stove and an egg is cracked into each orifice. the eggs cook, peanut butter is spread on each pog of toast removed from the slices. pseudo French toast and peanut butter snack


jam, golden syrup, treacle, sugar, ham sandwiches, pork pies, tomatoes, pickles, salt, sandwiches, corn beef, milk loaf & cucumber sandwiches, plain biscuits buttered, rusks, cheese biscuits, bread and cheese, swiss roll, plain cake, pastries, jam tarts, pie, pastry

                         
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               A ticket begins to feed.

6. "By the fourth century AD, Christianity had triumphed, and the codex replaced the roll, just as, in time, parchment replaced papyrus."