bilingual

So my baking project this week fell through the cracks because my schedule at work shifted a bit. Instead, I humbly offer up a list of useful Spanish phrases that I have learned in the restaurant. I initiated a "frase del dia" in the pastry kitchen in order to help further everyone's knowledge of the predominant language of our kitchen. (My apologies in advance for not being able to add in the appropriate accents. And a disclaimer: all these phrases were offered up by staff members whose first language is Spanish, so I take no responsibility for any spelling errors or odd syntax.)

¡Mueve tu concha!
"Move your shell" is the literal translation, though it is used as slang to mean "move your ass." There was a bit of confusion at work, because some people thought that it meant to get on the dance floor and shake it, while others thought it meant to move faster you lazy asshole.

el burro que lo haga
Let the donkey do it. When you suffer a morale problem and feel as if the tasks you've been given are simply to much for you to bear, use this phrase to bemoan your miserable state.

Quiero un caballito para mi cumpleanos.
A simple request for a pony for one's birthday.

¡Esto huele a pescado!
This sheet tray smells like fish. Unfortunately, we share sheet trays with the savory cooks and sometimes the pans don't get scrubbed well enough to remove any lingering fish or meat odor. If that ill-fated sheet tray makes it into a pastry oven, it immediately smells up the whole kitchen and threatens to ruin whatever you may be trying to bake on it.

¡Atras! ¡Caliente!
Behind you! It's very hot! Hands down the most important phrase in the kitchen.

¡Tortuga lento!
You slow turtle! Do not replace "lento" with "vago", though, because it means lazy. That would just be too insulting. I personally prefer "tortuga de Dios", which signifies that it doesn't matter if you are a lazy turtle or a slow turtle, we are all turtles of God.

Cierra la puerta. Abre la puerta.
Close the door. Open the door. Used all the time when putting things in or taking things out of the oven. Also commonly used when someone wishes to tell a very off-color story and wants the door to the pastry kitchen closed to reduce the chance of any collateral damage.

¡A que pan mas bonito!
My what nice buns you have! Burger buns that is. We bake them every day, you know.