You know I have so little time to write these days that I tend to forget some of the things that I want to write about. I have long admired Thomas Keller (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Keller ) and his vision for food. I have written about him before and the things that he has achieved. While I was in Mexico I took the time to go through his book Bouchon which is based on dishes that he serves at Bouchon (http://www.bouchonbistro.com/ ) with a fine toothcomb.
Sitting on the beach, sipping on Grey Goose, or whatever struck my fancy at that moment I was struck by the absolute beauty of the food that he was producing. Bouchon is dedicated to Bistro, true Bistro food and his love shows through the simplicity and flavours. I think that TRUE CHEF GENIUS is reflected in the ability to take the everyday and make it so well that it becomes extraordinary and he clearly has that ability.
Of course Keller got his start at the venerable http://www.frenchlaundry.com/ . When I say his start I am referring to his major jump into the Chef/Patron position after a hard split with his former business partners.
I think by way of explanation I should let you all know that when I am looking at all of these books and various Chefs that I read and study I am searching for inspiration. While my technical ability may not be at the utmost level YET it will be. As I discovered through all of my studying the true meaning of Nouvelle Cuisine is to take the classic and make it lighter and new. When looking at these books and these Chefs there may be a method that they use, an ingredient, even a colour that sparks my creative juices and I think about what I would do differently.
When I say differently I am also NOT referring to doing it differently for the sake of doing it differently. But instead I am trying to understand WHY it is done that way and what I would do differently to improve the dish. When I think back to a blog post I wrote about playing with my food it is precisely this attitude and mind set that I am referring to.
Obviously I aspire to be the best. I aspire to reach the top and NOT so I can be some food network Chef or celebrity. I WANT MY FOOD to be the celebrity. I WANT MY ATMOSPHERE to titillate, to excite and to leave my patrons with the feeling that they have had a great experience. One that they will remember all their lives (or at least until the next time they come to my restaurant).
I make notes dutifully and have filled at least two massive notebooks so far. I use that knowledge to keep me going forward. To find that happy place where I can create, I can design, I can play and feel the utmost joy which then produces dishes which reflect that mind state and it is a PERSONAL revelation that gets shared.
This week I was speaking with the Pastry Chef, as we often do, and she said to me that the appetizer has to amaze, the entrée has to meet expectation and the dessert has to leave them with a great impression. I believe that this is exceptionally true and reflects at least in part what I have always viewed as my life long goal, to create, to implement and to fix. While reading Marco Pierre White he has a lengthy dialogue about coffee, the way he looked at it, Michelin looked at it and indeed how a corporate behemoth looked at it. I think that my way is a lot closer to the way he looked and looks at it.
So where am I going with all of this you ask yourself. Well first off, Frank Keller is an original. His design of plates is impeccable, his restaurants are considered to be amongst the best in the United States and while I am reading his books I find myself lost AND found in a personal utopia. A utopia which is dependent on nothing but a few ingredients and a vivid imagination.
When I’m done reading through this one I will reveal to each of you what I have gleaned from it but I did want to make sure that I mentioned it before I got there. Partially because I am inspired today and partially because I actually find myself with the time to write.
So again, tomorrow morning I will be back at work, partially rested, fully excited and ready to face the challenge of the grill again. BUT DON’T WORRY THIS WEEKEND I WILL FIND SOME TIME TO EAT!
I’m reminded by something Steve Jobs once said; “Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”
I am. Are you?
Dream inspired and big.
A la prochaine
SDM
Friday, May 30, 2008
Marco Pierre White (L’enfant Terrible and Modern Day Epicurus)
I’ve just now finished reading Marco Pierre White’s incredible autobiography entitled “The Devil in the Kitchen” and I am firmly convinced that he is one of the best chefs the world has ever known and, to my mind, a modern day Epicurus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epicurus).
From humble beginnings Chef White rose to become the most successful Chef in Britain and quite possibly the world. To put this in perspective Chef White has worked with the finest names in gastronomy (a point I will elaborate on later) and at the tender age of 33 (coincidence with my decision to join a kitchen???) was awarded the highest possible acclaim that any Chef can aspire to. He was awarded the highest honour of 3 Michelin Stars as well as five red forks and knives that relates to service, ambiance, décor, etc. His restaurants have consistently put out amazing dishes and have always attracted the highest strata of clientele. But I digress; I need to explain how he got there first.
Chef White was born in 1961 in Leeds. His father was a Chef at a hotel not far from where he grew up and a greyhound gambler and his mother was the duteous wife who took care of he and his brothers. His mother died in front of him at the tender age of six and this would have an enormous impact on his life in numerous ways. The first being obvious, he lacked the necessary motherly influence that all boys need. Secondly, his father was unable to cope with the stresses of raising the boys on his own and had to send his youngest brother to be raised by his mothers’ family in Italy.
Early on Chef White nurtured a flair for fantastic business acumen, including selling one of his fathers prized dogs for a profit, without his fathers knowledge or consent. This gave way to his getting an appetite for business. A fateful conversation with his father as a young man would lead to his decision to pursue the glorious pursuit. His father advised him that e should become a Chef because; “People were always going to need to be fed.” Running with this Chef White began a marvelous journey that lasted 21 years and quite possibly 109,000 hours at 100 hours a week. (Thinking about it now, I know I have enough Uber human strength to pull the work ethic off)
I am uncertain as to whether it was extraordinary timing and a bit of luck or a lot of luck and good timing but Chef White was able to parlay each experience he had into another that was positive and rewarding. I would also like to state at this point that Edison once said; “Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety nine percent perspiration.” Chef White rose through the ranks with a tireless work ethic, an eye for detail and a passion for the pursuit of excellence, at first as defined by others, and then in time, as defined by himself.
His storied career took him from Leeds, to the Box Tree at the ripe age of eighteen (http://www.theboxtree.co.uk/) where he really excelled and developed his personal flair. I’m not sure if this where he came up with the following belief but I do know that it has served him (and doubtless every other Chef well); “A recipe is one thing, but METHOD is another. It’s about understanding and questioning what you are trying to do.” The Box Tree revealed to him what the world of Cheffing could be like. Both with its ups and downs and of the harsh brutality of the industry.
After leaving the Box Tree he looked at both Chewton Glen (as I mentioned in my previous post) and Le Gavroche (http://www.le-gavroche.co.uk/). In “ The Devil in the Kitchen,” Chef White explains that when the application form for Le Gavroche arrived and it was all written in French he took that as a sign that they only wanted French Chefs and as such had then turned his attention to Chewton Glen. I assume after some somber thought while he was in London (and another once of those chance, luck time continuums) he missed his train home and decided that as he was in London he would walk over to Le Gavroche and see what was what. When he got there it was virtually empty but was told that he could go to Roux Brothers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Roux http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Roux) HQ.
Upon walking into Albert Roux’s office and asking for a job the interview was quite simple. He was asked where he had worked and upon mentioning the Box Tree and eighteen months of service there was told to go home and get his things and report back on Monday. Doing this was the best decision a young Chef could have made.
The Roux Brothers, especially Albert had a tremendous influence of Chef White and aided him to see everything that he needed in order to become the best in the world. From the Roux Brothers he ended up with Pierre Koffmann at the renowned La Tainte Claire. Each step was monumental in forming the man, the chef and what he certainly will be known as the legend. In every way as important as Escoffier (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auguste_Escoffier) is. His experiences with Koffmann led him to the venerable and insanely talented Raymond Blanc (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Blanc) at Le Manoir Aux Quat Saisons (http://www.manoir.com/web/olem/olem_a2a_home.jsp) which you’ll recall I wrote about his cookbook in the post http://newbieintheweeds.blogspot.com/2008/02/brunch-smiles-are-free.html and then with Nico Ladenis (http://www.chefdb.com/nm/6380/ ) at Chez Nico.
The last two paragraphs outline perhaps the greatest possible training that a Chef could ever want or receive. He worked under and with legends that recognized his work ethic, passion, drive and talent and one step always led to the next. The above names are legends, originators, re-inventors if you will, of the highest order. Each had a definite and defined impact on the life of Chef White and I believe it shows.
As so often happens in moments of unparalleled serendipity, Chef White was the product of legends to become one himself. THAT HAS TO FILTER DOWN. There has to be an equal and opposite reaction. As a result, the many Michelin Starred Chefs that have been a product of Chef White’s influence reads like a who’s who of the modern gastronomic world;
Of Babbo and Del Posto fame (http://www.mariobatali.com/ ) Mario Batali
Of The Fat Duck (http://www.fatduck.co.uk/ ) fame is Heston Blumenthal
Of the Capital Group (http://www.capitalhotel.co.uk/restaurantbar_eric.html ) Eric Chavot
Of Aubergine and Hell’s Kitchen fame Gordon Ramsay (http://www.gordonramsay.com/ )
Neither of these lists is exhaustive by any stretch but it does illustrate the point that genius comes together and produces something spectacular and what a ride it must have been.
Naturally for success there has to be failure and one of the things that I learned from reading Chef White is that failure has to be your guide. Through the little glances into his world I can see that he is much more reflective that people thought (my assumption) and that he has quite a head on his shoulders apart from the flame.
After reading “The Devil in the Kitchen” I have a newly formed desire to be the best. Not just good. The best! It is within reach. It is possible and from reading Chef White’s book I get the necessary ambition, energy, drive, passion, skill and talent that it will take to do it. BUT ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE.
I strongly recommend that you read this book for yourself. I finished it in a day and a half and that is with the very little amount of time that I have.
On a personal note (like they all aren’t here, a duh) I would like to express my profound respect to Chef White for having accomplished the “impossible.” Your lead has made it maybe a step easier or harder I’m not sure which yet for me to get to where I want to be. I am inspired and enthralled by everything you have done and can finally see in an experiential way what needs to get done, both personally and professionally. Thank you for your lead and your example. It is AMAZING.
I have a couple more posts to write today so I think that is as good a place as any to end this one. But as usual, Epicurus once said; “You don't develop courage by being happy in your relationships everyday. You develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity.”
BE INSPIRED AND DREAM BIG TODAY!
A la prochaine
SDM
From humble beginnings Chef White rose to become the most successful Chef in Britain and quite possibly the world. To put this in perspective Chef White has worked with the finest names in gastronomy (a point I will elaborate on later) and at the tender age of 33 (coincidence with my decision to join a kitchen???) was awarded the highest possible acclaim that any Chef can aspire to. He was awarded the highest honour of 3 Michelin Stars as well as five red forks and knives that relates to service, ambiance, décor, etc. His restaurants have consistently put out amazing dishes and have always attracted the highest strata of clientele. But I digress; I need to explain how he got there first.
Chef White was born in 1961 in Leeds. His father was a Chef at a hotel not far from where he grew up and a greyhound gambler and his mother was the duteous wife who took care of he and his brothers. His mother died in front of him at the tender age of six and this would have an enormous impact on his life in numerous ways. The first being obvious, he lacked the necessary motherly influence that all boys need. Secondly, his father was unable to cope with the stresses of raising the boys on his own and had to send his youngest brother to be raised by his mothers’ family in Italy.
Early on Chef White nurtured a flair for fantastic business acumen, including selling one of his fathers prized dogs for a profit, without his fathers knowledge or consent. This gave way to his getting an appetite for business. A fateful conversation with his father as a young man would lead to his decision to pursue the glorious pursuit. His father advised him that e should become a Chef because; “People were always going to need to be fed.” Running with this Chef White began a marvelous journey that lasted 21 years and quite possibly 109,000 hours at 100 hours a week. (Thinking about it now, I know I have enough Uber human strength to pull the work ethic off)
I am uncertain as to whether it was extraordinary timing and a bit of luck or a lot of luck and good timing but Chef White was able to parlay each experience he had into another that was positive and rewarding. I would also like to state at this point that Edison once said; “Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety nine percent perspiration.” Chef White rose through the ranks with a tireless work ethic, an eye for detail and a passion for the pursuit of excellence, at first as defined by others, and then in time, as defined by himself.
His storied career took him from Leeds, to the Box Tree at the ripe age of eighteen (http://www.theboxtree.co.uk/) where he really excelled and developed his personal flair. I’m not sure if this where he came up with the following belief but I do know that it has served him (and doubtless every other Chef well); “A recipe is one thing, but METHOD is another. It’s about understanding and questioning what you are trying to do.” The Box Tree revealed to him what the world of Cheffing could be like. Both with its ups and downs and of the harsh brutality of the industry.
After leaving the Box Tree he looked at both Chewton Glen (as I mentioned in my previous post) and Le Gavroche (http://www.le-gavroche.co.uk/). In “ The Devil in the Kitchen,” Chef White explains that when the application form for Le Gavroche arrived and it was all written in French he took that as a sign that they only wanted French Chefs and as such had then turned his attention to Chewton Glen. I assume after some somber thought while he was in London (and another once of those chance, luck time continuums) he missed his train home and decided that as he was in London he would walk over to Le Gavroche and see what was what. When he got there it was virtually empty but was told that he could go to Roux Brothers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Roux http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Roux) HQ.
Upon walking into Albert Roux’s office and asking for a job the interview was quite simple. He was asked where he had worked and upon mentioning the Box Tree and eighteen months of service there was told to go home and get his things and report back on Monday. Doing this was the best decision a young Chef could have made.
The Roux Brothers, especially Albert had a tremendous influence of Chef White and aided him to see everything that he needed in order to become the best in the world. From the Roux Brothers he ended up with Pierre Koffmann at the renowned La Tainte Claire. Each step was monumental in forming the man, the chef and what he certainly will be known as the legend. In every way as important as Escoffier (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auguste_Escoffier) is. His experiences with Koffmann led him to the venerable and insanely talented Raymond Blanc (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Blanc) at Le Manoir Aux Quat Saisons (http://www.manoir.com/web/olem/olem_a2a_home.jsp) which you’ll recall I wrote about his cookbook in the post http://newbieintheweeds.blogspot.com/2008/02/brunch-smiles-are-free.html and then with Nico Ladenis (http://www.chefdb.com/nm/6380/ ) at Chez Nico.
The last two paragraphs outline perhaps the greatest possible training that a Chef could ever want or receive. He worked under and with legends that recognized his work ethic, passion, drive and talent and one step always led to the next. The above names are legends, originators, re-inventors if you will, of the highest order. Each had a definite and defined impact on the life of Chef White and I believe it shows.
As so often happens in moments of unparalleled serendipity, Chef White was the product of legends to become one himself. THAT HAS TO FILTER DOWN. There has to be an equal and opposite reaction. As a result, the many Michelin Starred Chefs that have been a product of Chef White’s influence reads like a who’s who of the modern gastronomic world;
Of Babbo and Del Posto fame (http://www.mariobatali.com/ ) Mario Batali
Of The Fat Duck (http://www.fatduck.co.uk/ ) fame is Heston Blumenthal
Of the Capital Group (http://www.capitalhotel.co.uk/restaurantbar_eric.html ) Eric Chavot
Of Aubergine and Hell’s Kitchen fame Gordon Ramsay (http://www.gordonramsay.com/ )
Neither of these lists is exhaustive by any stretch but it does illustrate the point that genius comes together and produces something spectacular and what a ride it must have been.
Naturally for success there has to be failure and one of the things that I learned from reading Chef White is that failure has to be your guide. Through the little glances into his world I can see that he is much more reflective that people thought (my assumption) and that he has quite a head on his shoulders apart from the flame.
After reading “The Devil in the Kitchen” I have a newly formed desire to be the best. Not just good. The best! It is within reach. It is possible and from reading Chef White’s book I get the necessary ambition, energy, drive, passion, skill and talent that it will take to do it. BUT ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE.
I strongly recommend that you read this book for yourself. I finished it in a day and a half and that is with the very little amount of time that I have.
On a personal note (like they all aren’t here, a duh) I would like to express my profound respect to Chef White for having accomplished the “impossible.” Your lead has made it maybe a step easier or harder I’m not sure which yet for me to get to where I want to be. I am inspired and enthralled by everything you have done and can finally see in an experiential way what needs to get done, both personally and professionally. Thank you for your lead and your example. It is AMAZING.
I have a couple more posts to write today so I think that is as good a place as any to end this one. But as usual, Epicurus once said; “You don't develop courage by being happy in your relationships everyday. You develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity.”
BE INSPIRED AND DREAM BIG TODAY!
A la prochaine
SDM
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Bad a duh da duh (file under I’m lovin’ it and yes smiles ARE free)
As you’ll recall in the post To Grill or Not to Grill (http://newbieintheweeds.blogspot.com/2008/05/to-grill-or-not-to-grill.html) I was musing over the possibilities of the summer and what that meant around work. Well as it happens I was right that I would be on the grill, at least for the meantime.
The patio station is a difficult one, not only because of the variables but also because of the physical stamina and clarity of mind required to be there. This past weekend was the official opening of the patio and our little historical corner of Toronto was alive and buzzing with hundreds of people each day. On Friday not only did I have to ensure that the grill and the fryer were clean but I had to do some prep for a party and then prep for the patio menu.
The patio menu is uncomplicated in terms of its structure. The menu consists of the following;
Pulled Pork Sandwiches with spicy tomato and red onion salsa and BBQ sauce
Fire Grilled Ahi Tuna Burger with pickled ginger and garlic essence topped with dill aioli
Smoked Chicken and Gruyere Quesadillas with vine tomato and diced pepper pico de gallo and sour cream
Pacific Peel and Eat Shrimp with a house made cocktail sauce
Chicken Fingers and fries
Fries with pineapple ketchup and garlic aioli
Angus burger with smoked Gruyere
Nachos
Mini Empanadas with chipotle aioli.
Naturally the menu sounds easy enough right. Well when you consider the amount of space that you have in order to have your prep contained in the fridge and freezer the question becomes how do you set up the station properly. I was thrown into it on Friday and was given little instruction as to how to prep appropriately for the station. Being disorganized and having to run your station is probably the worst nightmare of anyone who works in a kitchen. The work itself was not the issue as to prep was not difficult. The difficulty arose in ensuring that the station was set and ready to go.
To put this into perspective the station consists of an eight foot stainless steel fridge which doubles as my production and assembly area. A four foot freezer that is used to store the chicken fingers, empanadas, fries and burgers. A bread warmer that is doubling as a storage unit. On the opposite side there is the grill and fryer and a space of about two and a half feet between both sides ( I’ll include a pic after this weekends service). All told the total area is maybe thirteen feet long by two and a half feet deep.
Further complicating the station is the fact that currently we are using wax paper lined plastic baskets that have little to no area for storage and limit the possibility to assemble more than fifty to seventy five at a time. That said by the time that your baskets start dwindling you have NO time to assemble more as by that point you are fielding orders ten or twelve at a time.
Our current set up requires people to buy tickets from the bar and then to present them at the equivalent of the pass. This means that from the time of ordering to the time of starting the order there is absolutely no lead time and it is a pick up window with no service. Thus it is necessary for you to plan ahead perfectly in order to make sure that people are not waiting forever for their food.
This would be all well and good if the fryer was not in constant use and therefore was not keeping temperature that made it next to impossible to prepare the orders in a timely fashion.
Friday went smoothly enough as I was only open for five and a half hours. I was able to service the orders without any assistance and felt as if I would be able to wrap my head around all of the issues I have outlined. I felt as if on Saturday I would be able to overcome some the issues by setting up the station properly.
Well Saturday morning came and not only did I have to transport everything over to my station I also had to prep a lot of things in order to be ahead of the game. I realized that without shelves in the fridge that my space was limited and I had to come up with a workable solution. From the time I got to Reservation to the time I had to open I had two and a half hours during which I also needed to drain a remi, start a demi and start a new stock. Thus my time was very limited. I did seem to manage it well enough though.
At this point Head Chef had come over and the two of us worked both the grill and assembling the orders for the next six hours without a break at all. No time to eat, drink and in a remarkable twist we were still both merry. It was great watching how he worked under the circumstances and gave me an opportunity to see how I need to handle certain things. We spent the whole day effectively on the patio burning off calories and serving more than 200 burgers, at least twenty chicken fingers, one hundred orders of fries, ten orders of empanadas, twenty nachos and about ten pork sandwiches. We both realized that there would need to be some tweaking of the station for the next day. He left me around 7 to go and work the line at Reservation and I was alone for about the next two hours and had steady business but nowhere near what we had had during the day.
Again as I broke down the station and started transporting everything back to Reservation I started considering what I could do differently on Sunday. My first issue that I had to overcome was that I had lots of prep that needed to get done as we had gone through so much the day before.
As I sliced tomatoes, lettuce, made burgers, assembled sauces, got baskets, wax paper, cutting board, fryer baskets and everything else I needed to get the station set I started to imagine how I would set everything up. I thought I had set it up in an appropriate way given the circumstances but lo and behold by the time the lunch rush had come (starting at around 1 o’clock) I was WAY out of my league. For a multitude of reasons as I have already explained I had a line that was thirty people deep and orders coming out the wazoo.
Sunday presents a new set of challenges. The first being that we are also running a full brunch that means that we have no bodies to spare. Chef had come in in order to assist me that day again. He spent the first while showing me the best way to set up the station. And his system did seem to make things better. But again we got slammed. I thought I had done enough prep that I clearly didn’t and it reflects poorly on me. Though who could have expected that we would get slammed just as bad again. A kept on coming over to check out how Chef and I were doing. As he watched what I was doing he was giving me some good advice to help me speed up and let me know that I was doing fine. That this problem was not limited to me by any stretch. By about two o’clock Head Chef and I were in the shits again and the Saucier, A, had to step in and help us.
With Head Chef on the Grill, A taking orders and assembling, and me doing assembly and frying we seemed to be okay. I do say just okay though. We were slammed. I stood there putting sauces into two ounce cups, putting together baskets and always making sure that the fryer was full. It was a little disheartening and with A’s lighthearted jabbing my moxy was certainly being tested. But it was good natured. It was interesting watching how Head Chef and A worked and I did pick up a lot of pointers that I will save for another time.
By the end of the day I was tuckered. I had spent the last thirty seven of seventy two hours at work and my legs were feeling it. Though after I had broke down the station all of us (who had worked just as hard) assembled on the patio for a beer or three. A reassured me that everything would be okay and that I just needed to keep doing what I was doing.
Today, (after working on Monday and Tuesday) after a six day stint I was extremely tired. My body literally wanted to give out on me. I wanted to sleep in but of course, as Murphy, that prick with some laws mandates, there was excessive amounts of noise that caused me to get up. So today I’ve caught up on blog posts, read about one hundred pages of Marco Pierre White and now I really want a nice glass of wine or a beer and to spend some time loving C. But I need to write one more post so I will be back.
I remember a quote from Anais Nin which seems very appropriate right now; “I am an excitable person who only understands life lyrically, musically, in whom feelings are much stronger as reason. I am so thirsty for the marvelous that only the marvelous has power over me. Anything I can not transform into something marvelous, I let go. Reality doesn't impress me. I only believe in intoxication, in ecstasy, and when ordinary life shackles me, I escape, one way or another. No more walls.”
I am so thirsty for the marvelous that I live it everyday. I LOVE MY DREAM and AM LIVING IT TO ME FULLEST! Are you?
Dream big and inspired!
A la prochaine
SDM
The patio station is a difficult one, not only because of the variables but also because of the physical stamina and clarity of mind required to be there. This past weekend was the official opening of the patio and our little historical corner of Toronto was alive and buzzing with hundreds of people each day. On Friday not only did I have to ensure that the grill and the fryer were clean but I had to do some prep for a party and then prep for the patio menu.
The patio menu is uncomplicated in terms of its structure. The menu consists of the following;
Pulled Pork Sandwiches with spicy tomato and red onion salsa and BBQ sauce
Fire Grilled Ahi Tuna Burger with pickled ginger and garlic essence topped with dill aioli
Smoked Chicken and Gruyere Quesadillas with vine tomato and diced pepper pico de gallo and sour cream
Pacific Peel and Eat Shrimp with a house made cocktail sauce
Chicken Fingers and fries
Fries with pineapple ketchup and garlic aioli
Angus burger with smoked Gruyere
Nachos
Mini Empanadas with chipotle aioli.
Naturally the menu sounds easy enough right. Well when you consider the amount of space that you have in order to have your prep contained in the fridge and freezer the question becomes how do you set up the station properly. I was thrown into it on Friday and was given little instruction as to how to prep appropriately for the station. Being disorganized and having to run your station is probably the worst nightmare of anyone who works in a kitchen. The work itself was not the issue as to prep was not difficult. The difficulty arose in ensuring that the station was set and ready to go.
To put this into perspective the station consists of an eight foot stainless steel fridge which doubles as my production and assembly area. A four foot freezer that is used to store the chicken fingers, empanadas, fries and burgers. A bread warmer that is doubling as a storage unit. On the opposite side there is the grill and fryer and a space of about two and a half feet between both sides ( I’ll include a pic after this weekends service). All told the total area is maybe thirteen feet long by two and a half feet deep.
Further complicating the station is the fact that currently we are using wax paper lined plastic baskets that have little to no area for storage and limit the possibility to assemble more than fifty to seventy five at a time. That said by the time that your baskets start dwindling you have NO time to assemble more as by that point you are fielding orders ten or twelve at a time.
Our current set up requires people to buy tickets from the bar and then to present them at the equivalent of the pass. This means that from the time of ordering to the time of starting the order there is absolutely no lead time and it is a pick up window with no service. Thus it is necessary for you to plan ahead perfectly in order to make sure that people are not waiting forever for their food.
This would be all well and good if the fryer was not in constant use and therefore was not keeping temperature that made it next to impossible to prepare the orders in a timely fashion.
Friday went smoothly enough as I was only open for five and a half hours. I was able to service the orders without any assistance and felt as if I would be able to wrap my head around all of the issues I have outlined. I felt as if on Saturday I would be able to overcome some the issues by setting up the station properly.
Well Saturday morning came and not only did I have to transport everything over to my station I also had to prep a lot of things in order to be ahead of the game. I realized that without shelves in the fridge that my space was limited and I had to come up with a workable solution. From the time I got to Reservation to the time I had to open I had two and a half hours during which I also needed to drain a remi, start a demi and start a new stock. Thus my time was very limited. I did seem to manage it well enough though.
At this point Head Chef had come over and the two of us worked both the grill and assembling the orders for the next six hours without a break at all. No time to eat, drink and in a remarkable twist we were still both merry. It was great watching how he worked under the circumstances and gave me an opportunity to see how I need to handle certain things. We spent the whole day effectively on the patio burning off calories and serving more than 200 burgers, at least twenty chicken fingers, one hundred orders of fries, ten orders of empanadas, twenty nachos and about ten pork sandwiches. We both realized that there would need to be some tweaking of the station for the next day. He left me around 7 to go and work the line at Reservation and I was alone for about the next two hours and had steady business but nowhere near what we had had during the day.
Again as I broke down the station and started transporting everything back to Reservation I started considering what I could do differently on Sunday. My first issue that I had to overcome was that I had lots of prep that needed to get done as we had gone through so much the day before.
As I sliced tomatoes, lettuce, made burgers, assembled sauces, got baskets, wax paper, cutting board, fryer baskets and everything else I needed to get the station set I started to imagine how I would set everything up. I thought I had set it up in an appropriate way given the circumstances but lo and behold by the time the lunch rush had come (starting at around 1 o’clock) I was WAY out of my league. For a multitude of reasons as I have already explained I had a line that was thirty people deep and orders coming out the wazoo.
Sunday presents a new set of challenges. The first being that we are also running a full brunch that means that we have no bodies to spare. Chef had come in in order to assist me that day again. He spent the first while showing me the best way to set up the station. And his system did seem to make things better. But again we got slammed. I thought I had done enough prep that I clearly didn’t and it reflects poorly on me. Though who could have expected that we would get slammed just as bad again. A kept on coming over to check out how Chef and I were doing. As he watched what I was doing he was giving me some good advice to help me speed up and let me know that I was doing fine. That this problem was not limited to me by any stretch. By about two o’clock Head Chef and I were in the shits again and the Saucier, A, had to step in and help us.
With Head Chef on the Grill, A taking orders and assembling, and me doing assembly and frying we seemed to be okay. I do say just okay though. We were slammed. I stood there putting sauces into two ounce cups, putting together baskets and always making sure that the fryer was full. It was a little disheartening and with A’s lighthearted jabbing my moxy was certainly being tested. But it was good natured. It was interesting watching how Head Chef and A worked and I did pick up a lot of pointers that I will save for another time.
By the end of the day I was tuckered. I had spent the last thirty seven of seventy two hours at work and my legs were feeling it. Though after I had broke down the station all of us (who had worked just as hard) assembled on the patio for a beer or three. A reassured me that everything would be okay and that I just needed to keep doing what I was doing.
Today, (after working on Monday and Tuesday) after a six day stint I was extremely tired. My body literally wanted to give out on me. I wanted to sleep in but of course, as Murphy, that prick with some laws mandates, there was excessive amounts of noise that caused me to get up. So today I’ve caught up on blog posts, read about one hundred pages of Marco Pierre White and now I really want a nice glass of wine or a beer and to spend some time loving C. But I need to write one more post so I will be back.
I remember a quote from Anais Nin which seems very appropriate right now; “I am an excitable person who only understands life lyrically, musically, in whom feelings are much stronger as reason. I am so thirsty for the marvelous that only the marvelous has power over me. Anything I can not transform into something marvelous, I let go. Reality doesn't impress me. I only believe in intoxication, in ecstasy, and when ordinary life shackles me, I escape, one way or another. No more walls.”
I am so thirsty for the marvelous that I live it everyday. I LOVE MY DREAM and AM LIVING IT TO ME FULLEST! Are you?
Dream big and inspired!
A la prochaine
SDM
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