Making the Chef

Kitchen Speed

I worked my first shift on the line on Sunday. Sunday brunch. I was responsible for the crab benedict, poached eggs, omelet of the day, and the scramble.

I got my ass handed to me.

We did 100 covers and I was mainly responsible for about 25% of them ... at most I would have 4 tickets in the window at once, and when I did, I was just utterly lost, but I wanted to dig myself out of my hole on my own. The trick is picking up the rhythm of the orders. A ticket comes in.

• OMELET
• CRAB BENEDICT
• EGGS ANY poached, wheat
• SCRAMBLE

1) Pull out plates in the window for the dishes

2) Take the pan for the scramble, throw it on the flame, with some oil in the pan. Put in seranno ham, shallots, zucchini. Season with salt and pepper.

3) Take a pan for the benny. Throw in some clarified butter, spinach, crab and red onions. Season with salt and pepper.

4) Take a pan for the omelet. Throw in some clarified butter, then pour in the eggs. Season with salt and pepper.

5) Take a pan for the omelet fillings. Throw them in over heat, then cut some brie for the omelets cheese.

6) Walk over to the saute station. Throw some potatoes in the pan and bring it back to the grill station. Put it on the back burners, where there's no heat, but they'll stay warm.

7) Cut the bread for the benny. Throw it on the grill.

8) Toss the fillings, flip the omelet. Flip the bread for the benny.

9) Crack the eggs for the poach and put them into the poaching liquid. Pull the bread for the benny and put it in the window.

10) Pour eggs, herbs and salt and pepper into the scramble. By now the benny filling and the omelet filling should be done cooking. Pull them off the flame and place them by the warm part of the grill.

11) Scramble the eggs in the scramble.

12) Pull the omelet and place the pan on the counter.

13) Put cheve in the scramble.

14) Pull the poached eggs and place them in ramekins.

15) Pull the scramble off of the heat.

16) Plate potatoes on the omelet, scramble and poach plates. Assemble the omelet in the pan, then plate. Garnish with herbs.

17) Plate the scramble onto the the potatoes on the scramble plate. Garnish with herbs.

18) Place the benny filling on the toast. Place poached eggs onto the filling. Put a few sliced tomatoes on the plate, season with salt, then pour hollandaise over the benny. Garnish with herbs.

19) Call out the server's name on the ticket.

20) Look and see what else is on the board (but you should have been doing this all along).

All of that happens in the course of about 7 minutes. And that's not even that bad. Me? Well, I had no idea that this was the rhythm that I was supposed to use, so I was just going along and figuring it out. It was trial by fire. I did alright and held my own, but to be honest, multitasking is not one of my best strengths ... This is forcing me to do it and I'm applying it in other aspects of my life (organizing dancing events, being the Treasurer of my co-op, and trying to live my life, along with working). But I can tell that it's going to be a difficult process. And the dining season is going to start picking up in the next month.

posted by LindyChef @ 7:09 PM