Sore feet
July 31, 2008
Well, it's day 1 over in the kitchen after a normal 10 hour shift and I have very sore feet with blisters. The hardest part of chefing when you're past your 20s, which is normally when people start in this career or earlier, is the toll on the body of standing long hours on your feet in the same position hunched over peeling, cutting, cleaning, etc. There is a lot of repetitive motions in cooking and you have to get used to this to survive. Also, in kitchens where I've worked there is usually no time for breaks and ones where you actually get to sit down, and despite being surrounded by food all around, except for some tastings, it is usually frowned upon or not allowed to sit down and eat something during your shift. You just have to carry on with some drinks and tastings along the way, eating quickly something en route to something else if you can. And by tastings, this is just tasting the size of a teaspoon or less to see if something is seasoned properly or done or still good, etc. and not the pleasurable kind of tastings and tasting plates that are in right now.
The first day was spent in the basement prep kitchen. Millennium has two kitchens, two dishwashing stations, etc., one is the prep kitchen in the basement, which is quite usual, and the second is the service kitchen upstairs where prepped food is brought up for service for the cold pantry station and the hot station with stoves, grills, etc. The restaurant seats around 120 or so I believe so it's a large restaurant and is usually full. Last night, there were 120 covers or reservations before the evening began so it would seem like it would be a busy night as this doesn't account for the people that just walk-in to eat. There were probably around 200 people served in all, and they usually come in for the prime period of 7-9 pm, and that's the tough part about a restaurant and eating. Most people don't want to eat at 5:30 or later at 9:30 pm, so you can usually get only in one seating for a table as someone wants a reservation at 7 and you can't use that table in case the people are not finished in time, and you can't guarantee what time these people will finish. Some places like Chez Panisse get around this by having set times when people come to eat.
So, it was hopping. I was last there during a February period and it was busy and this is prime time summer season in downtown San Francisco so you can imagine the volume of people that are in the city and want to eat good food. Many come to Millennium because of the philosophy - supporting a sustainable and healthy lifestyle, local farmers and suppliers - the wonderful ambiance and of course the food, which is beautiful, complex and delicious, and by the way it's vegan. That's what I've always loved about the place.
Actually, it was a colleague of mine that suggested I try Millennium many years ago as he said it was one of he best and most creative restaurants in San Francisco, and he said "by the way it's vegan". I'm not sure if Dave and I were vegetarian at the time but we wanted to try the place and fell in love with it and Dave even got a cook book signed by the chef - who knew that I would later work with this chef? It's strange what can happen with your life. We tried to cook from this cook book a few times but the recipes were quite complex and we gave up (it was always meant for the more experienced cook I found out later), but I did read the intro and saw that Chef Eric attended the Natural Gourmet Institute for Health and Culinary Arts in NYC. That must have stuck in my subconscious.
After many years of looking for a career change but not knowing where or what, I took several life mission courses and one that impacted me in particular by Julia Cameron of the famous book called the Artists Way that helps artists and people in general bring more creativity and passion into their lives and unblock challenges in their way preventing them from doing so. From this course, I started writing every day, called the "morning pages", and taking weekly adventures (one hour of doing something that you've wanted to do for awhile and alone - it doesn't have to be expensive, like going to a store or restaurant that you've wanted to try, etc.).
For me, the words food and health kept on popping up. I've always wanted to open up a restaurant or something similar like a wellness centre with a cafe, but I wanted to serve food that was good for people, and how to do this. Hire someone?
In the end, I decided it had to be moi and tried a course at Cordon Bleu in town, which was not for me, the environment was the standard militaristic style and during the class one nice woman put up her hand and asked the chef during the cooking demonstration if there was anything they could do to reduce the butter content as it seemed like a lot of butter... butter in the sauce, butter in the chicken, on the chicken, on the sauce over the chicken, over the vegetables. The chef paused and seemed very agitated and said in his strong French accent "What do you mean too much b-u-t-t-e-r? There can never be to much butter!!!". Well, the woman slumped back into her seat, and I decided then and there that I would explore other options.
I had seen ads for the Natural Gourmet for years in my Vegetarian Times magazine and always wondered about them, but it seemed impossible in terms of location in NYC and cost. But, for some reason, after the experience with Cordon Bleu and continuing to write my morning pages, there I was in NYC with Dave, and before I knew it I had signed up for the fall session.
See what happens when you truly follow your heart and passion. Incredible! I'm not sure why I have taken this sidestep to tell you this story but I guess it's still fascinating for me what happens in your life, and the small actions of others that you listen to, and your own heart, that can make all the difference.
So, day 1 was spent getting used to the kitchen again, prepping a lot of produce, which I love. It's a joy to be working with such wonderful fresh organic seasonal produce from local farmers that Eric knows and loves personally, and you got to love their names like "Dirty Girls", "Happy Boy". The farmers often drop by with their produce or to get Eric to try something new, which he loves to know about. Yesterday, a farmer dropped by with some beautiful bright yellow cucumber flowers for Eric to try, that tasted like cucumbers, and was used for topping of a cold ginger melon soup. The walk-in fridge for produce, there are three in all, is incredible with the range of produce and it takes awhile for an Ottawa gal to learn about the different kinds of produce when you're asked to make something, with boxes and boxes filled with different types of plums, peaches, oranges, gourmet mushrooms (morels, maitake, king eryngi, shemeji, and others I can't remember), etc, which are often not labelled and you have to recognize by sight or smell or taste or all. And, with wonderful weather all year round it's hard to know what is in season here - it's plums right now for a short time and are they ever wonderful - my favourite so far is the Plutot after trying several at the farmers market here last time.
Later in the evening, I went upstairs to the cold station, where they serve the wonderful desserts and complicated cold appetizers, usually one raw entree, and some other cold items. I helped with serving the desserts, which is always the trick to catch on to at first with so many components to the plating part... use only this plate, this powder sprinkled this way, then this sauce done this way, then this sauce but not too much, then the cake from the fridge cut this way and placed this way, then sprinkles here but not there, then ice cream here but with the yellow scoop, and not the white or purple or silver one, and in this direction, and not too early but at the last minute, then the tuille on top in this direction, then fresh fruit but use only these and only in these places, and mint, but not that Thai basil or regular basil for garnish as it's for something else. See what I mean? The hardest part is the memory work without any notes and under stress. I find the stress the most detrimental so I try to continue to remain calm and breathe while doing so. Of course, while you are doing this, you look up and there is a captive audience sometimes as the cold and hot stations are open to the dining room, so you have to look like a dog in water... calm and cool on top but paddling like hell underneath.
But, it was exciting, challenging and fun, and that's what chefs love about service. The adrenaline rush like climbing a mountain and going from rock to rock, hanging on for dear life, and just keeping your head down, or up in rock climbing, and going at rapid but sure speed from one movement to the next, although it's like climbing several mountains at once as you have to be the supreme multitasker with so many things on the go at the same time. The hot station is always exactly that "hot" and it's exciting to watch the "heat" build up with the orders and the two cooks, and the Executive Chef Eric was there tonight, working the station and trying to keeping on top of the orders that keep on piling up and not get "in the weeds" or in trouble. It's quite the skill and art to be able to keep on top of everything.... appetizers and mains that are coming in a at rapid speed, and there is always one area that gets overloaded than the next. It's quite the game and I don't think there is anything like it. To put out a high quality hot creation each time while handling massive orders coming at you at the same time. You've got to either love or hate it.
Well, got to take off to get ready for my next shift. I promised I would write for 15 minutes but that has become an hour as I get so excited about writing about my experience, and again see what happens when you do something from passion...
Well, it's day 1 over in the kitchen after a normal 10 hour shift and I have very sore feet with blisters. The hardest part of chefing when you're past your 20s, which is normally when people start in this career or earlier, is the toll on the body of standing long hours on your feet in the same position hunched over peeling, cutting, cleaning, etc. There is a lot of repetitive motions in cooking and you have to get used to this to survive. Also, in kitchens where I've worked there is usually no time for breaks and ones where you actually get to sit down, and despite being surrounded by food all around, except for some tastings, it is usually frowned upon or not allowed to sit down and eat something during your shift. You just have to carry on with some drinks and tastings along the way, eating quickly something en route to something else if you can. And by tastings, this is just tasting the size of a teaspoon or less to see if something is seasoned properly or done or still good, etc. and not the pleasurable kind of tastings and tasting plates that are in right now.
The first day was spent in the basement prep kitchen. Millennium has two kitchens, two dishwashing stations, etc., one is the prep kitchen in the basement, which is quite usual, and the second is the service kitchen upstairs where prepped food is brought up for service for the cold pantry station and the hot station with stoves, grills, etc. The restaurant seats around 120 or so I believe so it's a large restaurant and is usually full. Last night, there were 120 covers or reservations before the evening began so it would seem like it would be a busy night as this doesn't account for the people that just walk-in to eat. There were probably around 200 people served in all, and they usually come in for the prime period of 7-9 pm, and that's the tough part about a restaurant and eating. Most people don't want to eat at 5:30 or later at 9:30 pm, so you can usually get only in one seating for a table as someone wants a reservation at 7 and you can't use that table in case the people are not finished in time, and you can't guarantee what time these people will finish. Some places like Chez Panisse get around this by having set times when people come to eat.
So, it was hopping. I was last there during a February period and it was busy and this is prime time summer season in downtown San Francisco so you can imagine the volume of people that are in the city and want to eat good food. Many come to Millennium because of the philosophy - supporting a sustainable and healthy lifestyle, local farmers and suppliers - the wonderful ambiance and of course the food, which is beautiful, complex and delicious, and by the way it's vegan. That's what I've always loved about the place.
Actually, it was a colleague of mine that suggested I try Millennium many years ago as he said it was one of he best and most creative restaurants in San Francisco, and he said "by the way it's vegan". I'm not sure if Dave and I were vegetarian at the time but we wanted to try the place and fell in love with it and Dave even got a cook book signed by the chef - who knew that I would later work with this chef? It's strange what can happen with your life. We tried to cook from this cook book a few times but the recipes were quite complex and we gave up (it was always meant for the more experienced cook I found out later), but I did read the intro and saw that Chef Eric attended the Natural Gourmet Institute for Health and Culinary Arts in NYC. That must have stuck in my subconscious.
After many years of looking for a career change but not knowing where or what, I took several life mission courses and one that impacted me in particular by Julia Cameron of the famous book called the Artists Way that helps artists and people in general bring more creativity and passion into their lives and unblock challenges in their way preventing them from doing so. From this course, I started writing every day, called the "morning pages", and taking weekly adventures (one hour of doing something that you've wanted to do for awhile and alone - it doesn't have to be expensive, like going to a store or restaurant that you've wanted to try, etc.).
For me, the words food and health kept on popping up. I've always wanted to open up a restaurant or something similar like a wellness centre with a cafe, but I wanted to serve food that was good for people, and how to do this. Hire someone?
In the end, I decided it had to be moi and tried a course at Cordon Bleu in town, which was not for me, the environment was the standard militaristic style and during the class one nice woman put up her hand and asked the chef during the cooking demonstration if there was anything they could do to reduce the butter content as it seemed like a lot of butter... butter in the sauce, butter in the chicken, on the chicken, on the sauce over the chicken, over the vegetables. The chef paused and seemed very agitated and said in his strong French accent "What do you mean too much b-u-t-t-e-r? There can never be to much butter!!!". Well, the woman slumped back into her seat, and I decided then and there that I would explore other options.
I had seen ads for the Natural Gourmet for years in my Vegetarian Times magazine and always wondered about them, but it seemed impossible in terms of location in NYC and cost. But, for some reason, after the experience with Cordon Bleu and continuing to write my morning pages, there I was in NYC with Dave, and before I knew it I had signed up for the fall session.
See what happens when you truly follow your heart and passion. Incredible! I'm not sure why I have taken this sidestep to tell you this story but I guess it's still fascinating for me what happens in your life, and the small actions of others that you listen to, and your own heart, that can make all the difference.
So, day 1 was spent getting used to the kitchen again, prepping a lot of produce, which I love. It's a joy to be working with such wonderful fresh organic seasonal produce from local farmers that Eric knows and loves personally, and you got to love their names like "Dirty Girls", "Happy Boy". The farmers often drop by with their produce or to get Eric to try something new, which he loves to know about. Yesterday, a farmer dropped by with some beautiful bright yellow cucumber flowers for Eric to try, that tasted like cucumbers, and was used for topping of a cold ginger melon soup. The walk-in fridge for produce, there are three in all, is incredible with the range of produce and it takes awhile for an Ottawa gal to learn about the different kinds of produce when you're asked to make something, with boxes and boxes filled with different types of plums, peaches, oranges, gourmet mushrooms (morels, maitake, king eryngi, shemeji, and others I can't remember), etc, which are often not labelled and you have to recognize by sight or smell or taste or all. And, with wonderful weather all year round it's hard to know what is in season here - it's plums right now for a short time and are they ever wonderful - my favourite so far is the Plutot after trying several at the farmers market here last time.
Later in the evening, I went upstairs to the cold station, where they serve the wonderful desserts and complicated cold appetizers, usually one raw entree, and some other cold items. I helped with serving the desserts, which is always the trick to catch on to at first with so many components to the plating part... use only this plate, this powder sprinkled this way, then this sauce done this way, then this sauce but not too much, then the cake from the fridge cut this way and placed this way, then sprinkles here but not there, then ice cream here but with the yellow scoop, and not the white or purple or silver one, and in this direction, and not too early but at the last minute, then the tuille on top in this direction, then fresh fruit but use only these and only in these places, and mint, but not that Thai basil or regular basil for garnish as it's for something else. See what I mean? The hardest part is the memory work without any notes and under stress. I find the stress the most detrimental so I try to continue to remain calm and breathe while doing so. Of course, while you are doing this, you look up and there is a captive audience sometimes as the cold and hot stations are open to the dining room, so you have to look like a dog in water... calm and cool on top but paddling like hell underneath.
But, it was exciting, challenging and fun, and that's what chefs love about service. The adrenaline rush like climbing a mountain and going from rock to rock, hanging on for dear life, and just keeping your head down, or up in rock climbing, and going at rapid but sure speed from one movement to the next, although it's like climbing several mountains at once as you have to be the supreme multitasker with so many things on the go at the same time. The hot station is always exactly that "hot" and it's exciting to watch the "heat" build up with the orders and the two cooks, and the Executive Chef Eric was there tonight, working the station and trying to keeping on top of the orders that keep on piling up and not get "in the weeds" or in trouble. It's quite the skill and art to be able to keep on top of everything.... appetizers and mains that are coming in a at rapid speed, and there is always one area that gets overloaded than the next. It's quite the game and I don't think there is anything like it. To put out a high quality hot creation each time while handling massive orders coming at you at the same time. You've got to either love or hate it.
Well, got to take off to get ready for my next shift. I promised I would write for 15 minutes but that has become an hour as I get so excited about writing about my experience, and again see what happens when you do something from passion...
posted by Caroline at 10:14 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home