So I fired off an email on Friday to L’s acquaintance that had mentioned he was interested in becoming a Chef. As stated in the email I gave him a call when I got home this afternoon. When I did not get him I sent him another email asking him to get in contact with me when he is ready. I will definitely keep you posted on any updates.
So today was Day 13 of 14 before I get a day off. Such is the price of going to NYC and having so much damn fun. But unlike other times in the past when I pulled long stretches without a break I find that I have oodles of energy and am brimming with positivism as I know that every day I am one day closer to my goal.
Saturday was a very interesting day at work. As I may or may not have mentioned my morning partner was off all last week and I was alone. On Saturday my relief came in at 9 am and I pretty much left him to take care of prep and anything else that came up as I wanted to see just how well I could do the line dance. (Not to be confused with line dancing as in cowboy boots).
I have always been someone who looks challenges directly in the eye and then, to the best of my ability, knocked them out of the park. Saturday was no exception. It was a challenge that I needed to give myself in order to grow as a cook. So naturally I got there at my usual about 6:10 am and started about my daily tasks. I’ve taken on starting coffee for the servers and laying out the cutting boards for the Garde Manger as well. It is a little thing but I know that it is appreciated.
It felt great to challenge myself on Saturday. I mean really great. I managed to Tango, Salsa, Pirouette, Meringue and Waltz all at the same time. At one point I had four omelettes, eight or nine orders of eggs either over easy, over hard or Sunnyside up and about five orders of Eggs Benedict, Florentine or Benjamin all going at the same time. My body with attention to detail moved gracefully from one side of the line to the other, almost as if I was on skates, sliding down the line, dropping the plates, putting on the various components, turning around and tending to the eggs and then right back to the plates and their various presentations. It was the first time that I had intentionally put myself in the weeds to see if I could pull myself out. I could have at any point called for help and it would have been there in two seconds flat. But I refused to, I wanted to put pressure on myself, I wanted to see how fast I could turn around chits, I wanted to see if I could ensure that the food did not suffer and that I still got it out in a timely fashion. Feel good? DAMN RIGHT! It was a personal victory which revealed to me that I could handle the various stresses in a high paced environment without losing my head or my chits. I am extremely thrilled to report that I was able to turn around orders in as little as three minutes and my longest took twelve when I was getting severely slammed.
Of course because the club is all about making sure the members are always happy you can get breakfast any time of the day. This presents a certain set of challenges when you approach lunchtime. Again because you could get three or four orders on a chit, one for breakfast and the rest for lunch. Organization and timing becoming your paramount concern next to ensuring that the food tastes and LOOKS good. As 12:30 passed I was busy. I had about twelve chits up and I would say it was thirty percent breakfast and the rest lunch. Every time I got that many chits, M would ask if I was okay. I assured him I was and just continued doing what I was doing.
By the end of my shift I had worked about one hundred and forty chits which amounted to about four hundred different orders with (approximately) nine hundred different components. Did it feel good? DAMN RIGHT!
I thought back to Reservation and my experience on the grill and thought how I believe I could pull myself out now without much assistance. Yet I began to wonder why I was left to essentially hang. My relief never came as quickly as it could have and only now do I find myself wondering why in any substantial way. Was it part of the process? Was it some design that I still am unclear on? Or was it something else? I believe as I go forward I will be able to answer that question better. But nonetheless it felt pretty good to wonder about.
I am finding that I am not sleeping well. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that I am currently alone in my place. No roommate and no C. That will change when C gets here in less than a month. However, I also think it is because I have so much on my brain. I am constantly thinking about food, about new concepts, new dishes, new techniques and all of it with an eye to making the best food I possibly can.
All in all I am thrilled. Absolutely thrilled with my decision. I have found a place that I can call home for a while and continue to test my dishes and techniques. All with an eye to the future but maintaining quality and consistency in the present.
This post caused me to think of two quotes. One from William Faulkner; “People need trouble -- a little frustration to sharpen the spirit on, toughen it. Artists do; I don't mean you need to live in a rat hole or gutter, but you have to learn fortitude, endurance. Only vegetables are happy.”
The other from John Heywood; “If you will call your troubles experiences, and remember that every experience develops some latent force within you, you will grow vigorous and happy, however adverse your circumstances may seem to be.”
Are you dreaming big and inspired? WHY NOT! I’m here for you anytime. Just let me know what I can do.
A la prochaine
SDM
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