Making the Chef

Second Stage, Delirium and Fox

Second Stage

So there's been a lack of updates this past week. Part of it has been due to the fact that I've been working hard. On Thursday I went to another restaurant in town to just hang out and do a short stage. A guy I used to work with had recently been hired there and the restaurant has a reputation as one of the best in city. I had heard rumors about this kitchen, specifically about their high food costs and when I was there I saw why. Not only do they spring for the best ingredients, but they use expensive bottled mineral water in all of their cooking ... making their soups, as a cooking liquid, etc (no, they don't blanch their veggies in it, but it's close). Their staff is some of the most experienced and talented I have ever seen in a kitchen, with many of the line cooks having experience as sous at other restaurants. They have a tremendous attention to detail, a perfectionism that I loved to see. These people really cared about the plates they were putting out.

And, to make things even better, they're fun to hang out with, an absolute blast. When you're working 10-12 hours a day in close quarters with people, you'd better make sure you like them, and these guys fit the bill. We were regaling each other with incredibly crass stories (the cooking of a wife's placenta, who's shit their pants the worst, etc). They even have a bong over the walk-in.

This place has everything I want in a kitchen. Serious food, fun people to work with. The only problem is that I don't have the experience for it right now. In a kitchen where everybody was a sous, I'm definitely the odd man out. But I'll be keeping my eye on it.

Delirium

Kitchen people are party people. And on Saturday night, I partied. Hard. There was a blues party in Seattle and I was invited to DJ. I had originally planned to go there early, do a short set, and leave in time to get a good amount of sleep. Instead, I got talked into staying for the rest of the party.

It was worth it. But.

In some ways I think that working in the industry is a grinding test of endurance. You can do anything you want on your off time, but when you're on your shift, the house owns your ass. Example? I drove from the party to work. Yeah, it was one of those parties.

7:30 AM and I'm doing great! It's Father's Day, we're going to be slammed, and I'm having a fun time prepping the fruit garnishes for the dishes. I was just cruising along, chop chop chop. Not a problem, and it felt like I had hit my second wind. I was going to be fine.

I was fine until around 9:00 AM. The sous also had a rough night as well, and we were both kind of passing out on the cutting boards in between tickets, so it was time for caffination. 4 shots of espresso, a Mountain Dew and a Diet Coke later, and I am still passing out, occasionally saying something that resembled a sensible remark, but most of the time I was lapsing into delirium. Time for some serious intervention. Since I had been DJing at the party, I had my laptop with me, so I plugged it into the kitchen's stereo and started playing some high energy swing music. So there I am slinging hash browns on Father's Day while doing jazz steps behind the line. It was the only way I was able to stay up through service.

As soon as I got home, I passed out on the couch for a 6 hour nap. Got up and watched TV for 3 hours, then went to bed for another 4 hours. What happened then? Well, it was time to get and to open the restaurant, of course.

Crazy.

Fox

Last night on Fox I caught another enjoyable episode of Hell's Kitchen. It's nice to see the teams finally starting to come together, with the red team finally serving all of their plates at service. After seeing Mary Ellen's performance, I wasn't surprised that she was the one to go. Andrew did well. He demonstrated that he could keep his mouth shut, even when he was put into the crucible of making a mistake and getting a tongue lashing from Ramsay. His ability to keep his mouth shut was a step forward. Mary Ellen's inconsistency was a step back.

Predictability is highly valued in the restaurant industry. Even if you're not doing exactly what you're supposed to be doing (say a slightly larger dice than expected) at least you're doing it consistently. Your product will cook at the same rate and be done at the same time. Where you are and what you are doing can be relied upon. Inconsistency keeps people guessing. If you're predictable and a fuckup, at least you're a predictable fuckup.

But back to the TV. It was interesting to see the teaser for the TV version of Kitchen Confidential. I can tell you already, I don't like the name change of the main character, and it looks like the show is basically a kitchen based comedy that uses some of Bourdain's stories and paid him a hefty sum for the stories and the naming rights. Hell, if they wanted stories, they could just walk into a kitchen and ask for them. It's all about having Bourdain attached to it that provides them any sort of value.

He's selling out, in effect. Good for him. Bastard.

posted by LindyChef @ 8:30 PM