Glen Vienneau
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Aug 25/00) - Enjoying the work in any profession makes life a more rewarding experience.

Just ask Norm Chow, who works as a cook at Bruno's Pizza.

"It's easy, it's relaxing and it's something I like doing," said Chow, 22, formerly of Vancouver.

Chow joined the restaurant's kitchen team last October, and although he has gone through other cooking side jobs since he moved to Yellowknife, he has been most happy where he is now.

A typical day sees him go into work for a shift that starts at 5 p.m. and ends at 3 a.m.

He leaves at 4 a.m. on his weekend shift.

There is one main advantage to those work hours -- once his job is done, there are no more worries, unlike some other professions where the stress lasts beyond regular work hours.

Cooking was introduced to him several years ago by his father, who owned a restaurant in Saskatoon.

Since then, he has done everything in the kitchen, from making pizzas and burgers to Chinese meals.

No more prep

"Everything is done when I get to work, because all the prep is done already. So, I don't have to do any prep work, I just cook," says Chow.

That means no more mushroom chopping, no more cheese grating and no more dough making.

The only other duty besides cooking is worrying about the dishes.

His only complaint is when the summer heat makes for a slightly uncomfortable work shift in the kitchen. That's something that he just "puts up with it."

Break times, however, are good opportunities for escaping that heat.

The busiest hours are during the summer weekends when children and adults hang out, parishioners leave the nearby church and the bar patrons all flow through the door.

"I hate it when it is quiet because it's boring, you just sit there and do nothing,"

But fortunately, the winter season also supplies him with an adequate dose of rush- hour customers.

Although most people stay at home when the temperature dips too low for a walk to the restaurant, he receives many orders by phone.

Things get really busy when school groups and hockey teams place their orders throughout the winter season.