A HUMBLE HEROISM DISHWASHER'S DEDICATION CITED.

Byline: DENNIS McCARTHY 

VAN NUYS - The dishwasher steps out from the back of the kitchen to sit at the best table in the house next week.

He'll be wined and dined and treated like a star. And when it comes time to settle up and pay the tab, somebody else will be reaching for the check because it's the dishwasher's night to shine on the house.

To hang up his apron, take off his rubber gloves, and step through the swinging kitchen doors into the main dining room to the applause of some of the biggest names in the restaurant business in Los Angeles.

As Fred LeFranc, chief executive officer of Louise's Trattoria and one of the hosts for the evening, said Wednesday: ``It's a night for the unsung heroes of the restaurant business to be recognized, not the celebrity chefs.''

In our town, that unsung hero is a 49-year-old man named Celso Saldivar, a dishwasher the past six years at the 94th Aero Squadron Restaurant in Van Nuys. He has won the 2000 HEROS Award sponsored by the restaurant industry.

For many of us, the American dream may be little more than a cliche, says his boss, Mike Barnitz. But to Celso, the dream's as real as the sweat on his forehead and steam in his face pulling double work shifts in the hot corner.

Officially, it's called ``the back of the house,'' the general manager of 94th Aero Squadron says - where the dishwasher works and dreams.

``The customers never see him back there sweating and working so hard,'' Barnitz said Wednesday. ``We don't know what it's like to be from a small, impoverished village south of the border, and to make a name for yourself in your people's eyes, sending money home every week to help them out.''

It's like that old proverb, he says. ``I cried because I had no shoes until I saw a man who had no feet.''

Yes, it is. Exactly like that.

During the lull times, after the lunch crowd has gone and the dinner crowd has yet to arrive, the staff sits and talk about their lives, their families, and their dreams for the future.

No one - from the front door to the back - smiles or is more upbeat about life than the dishwasher, says assistant chef Luis Gomez.

``He has one of the toughest jobs in the restaurant business because he has to do so much, and it's always hot in the back of the house, but Celso's always smiling, always in a good mood and friendly.''

They all know the dishwasher's story by now over at the 94th Aero Squadron. How he scrimped and saved every peso he could earn to get his work permit and make the trip north from his impoverished village in Zacatecas, Mexico.

How he takes the lion's share of every paycheck he makes working double shifts and sends it home to his wife and three children.

``Celso realized that unless he was prepared to make a huge sacrifice and leave the village six years ago, all that lay ahead for his family was a life of grinding poverty,'' Barnitz said.

The dishwasher talks a lot about sending his young children to college someday, his fellow workers say - about giving them the opportunity that has eluded him and virtually everyone he knew growing up.

That's why he works double shifts to send more money home, all the while living the most spartan of existences here, including riding a bicycle to work every day, they say.

And not once have they ever heard the dishwasher complain or seen him without a smile.

``He says he's happy because he's living the American dream for his wife and children, dish by dish,'' Barnitz said.

``He's one of those employees you'd love to clone. It's tough to find people in menial jobs who take pride in what they do, but Celso does, everyday.

``I've been in the restaurant business for 35 years, and it's rare to see someone take such pride in their workmanship. I can think of only one, and he was a dishwasher, too.

``He eventually went back to his village, and became the mayor.''

Celso, who speaks no English, says he has no plans to become mayor of his village one day, but you never know.

Right now, he is just grateful to this country for the opportunity to work and send money home to a family he hopes will join him one day. One week's pay here would take him three or four months to earn in Mexico.

As for the restaurant industry award being presented him at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles next Tuesday night, he's honored and humbled by it, Celso says.

Not in any of his American dreams did the dishwasher ever see himself going from the hot back of the house to the air-conditioned front.

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Photo:

(color) Celso Saldivar, who washes dishes at the 94th Aero Squadron Restaurant in Van Nuys, has won recognition by the restaurant industry for his cheerful, dedicated job performance.

Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer