Greens

August 10, 2008

Well, I've moved on to "greener" pastures, that is Greens Restaurant (www.greensrestaurant.com) in San Francisco. I wanted to use the opportunity of being in San Francisco to take some time to intern at the legendary Greens restaurant as well so I started today for the week.

What interests me about Greens? It is their beginnings and their connection with the Zen Centre that is most interesting to me. The Zagat guide calls it the" grande old dame" of "haute Zen cuisine". Established in 1979 under the auspices of the Zen Centre, Executive Chef Annie Sommerville has a national reputation for putting Greens Restaurant and vegetarian cuisine on the fine dining map. The restaurant was a pioneer in establishing vegetarian cuisine in the United States. In the 60's and 70's, vegetarian restaurants were mostly small out-of-the way cafés. There was no high profile vegetarian restaurant in the United States. Greens changed that by raising the bar, by placing vegetarian cuisine on a level with other fine dining restaurants. Annie has written several well known cook books such as Field of Greens and still actively works at the restaurant.

What is even more interesting for me is the connection of Greens with the Zen Centre and its Green Gulch Farm. Greens also provided an opportunity for Zen students to work together, thus extending their Buddhist practice into the workplace. For many years, the only employees at Greens were Zen students. Traditionally, Buddhists have valued being in the world with an attitude of attentiveness and taking care - the basic elements of service. Greens provided, and still provides, an opportunity to put these basic values into practice.

I wanted to see what a difference this approach would make to the working environment and atmosphere in particular. The food is vegetarian, not vegan, but there are always vegan options and they use the freshest, organic and seasonal produce possible, with as much as possible coming from the Zen Centre Green Gulch Farm.

Greens is in a beautiful location by the water in a converted warehouse at historic Fort Mason (http://www.fortmason.org/) that is filled with non-profit cultural and environmental organizations. You walk into Greens restaurant and the view is stunning with floor to ceiling windows and a view of the marina, the ocean and the Golden Gate Bridge on a clear day. The restaurant was lovingly built by San Francisco Zen Centre carpenters and incorporates 12 types of wood with much of the wood recycled or reclaimed.


You walk into the kitchen and it is quite large, open and nice as well. And when you walk in the second kitchen area, which you have to get to through an entryway outside, you have a room with a view, a kitchen prep area with a view of the ocean. Imagine that!

It was not the normal evening I was told, relatively calm, as there was a wedding reception that used up the entire restaurant and they were only cooking for 100. Greens is very popular and constantly hopping with guests and staff as they are open for lunch and dinner daily and even have a busy take out counter. For Sunday brunch, they had around 400 people alone. There are two shifts, one for the lunch prep and service and one for the dinner prep and service. I'll be helping with the dinner service this week.

So you walk into the kitchen and it's like meeting a normal family after you've been raised with a dysfunctional one. It all seems very nice but a bit strange at first like Pleasantville. The environment is quite quiet and calm. Everyone is very nice and there seemed to be little stress or aggressiveness, no swearing, and everyone just worked very collaboratively and nicely together.

I helped prepare some of the food for the wedding event with a senior cook that has been there for 20 years and he said that most people stay for a long time there, both front and back of house (servers and kitchen). He said he started as a dishwasher and prep person and moved up over the years. A very nice, gentle and patient soul, he kept on giving me positive feedback. I, like a good dog, kept on soaking it in and wanting more, though it continued to feel strange to be in such an environment, which is definitely not the norm, quite the opposite, in most restaurant kitchens.

At service time, we went into the kitchen and assisted the crew. The one big danger of being in another chef's kitchen when you are assisting is that you automatically move into leadership mode, especially during service. At one point while helping to get out the plates as quickly as possible - I was at the end of the line with the final touches and wipe down with a damp cloth, the absolute must in fine dining so there are no messy looking plates - the servers asked if they plates were ready to go. In auto pilot, I said "Yes, as long as the plates are clean". The head chef said in a polite but stern tone to me, "It's my kitchen so let me be the head chef". Oops, I cringed and felt like a big sh..t about this mistake. But, a few seconds later, she told the servers, "Yes, as long as the plates are clean".

The head chef has been there for over 20 years as well and the executive chef and founder Annie since 1979. Unfortunately, Annie is away on holidays this week so I won't get the chance to meet her. The senior cook I was working with said that Annie's incredible passion and enthusiasm for the restaurant is contagious and you'll see why she is the lifeblood of the organization. I think every organization needs someone like this, a person who is the centre, the foundation for the concept and passion of the organization and carries it on through the years, even if this the only thing they do. Only from this natural source, like a well, can a organization and its staff continue to thrive and grow. They need the water from this well and direction, otherwise they can easily be confused and lose their sense of belonging and purpose. And, at the end of the day, I believe people want to the feel they are contributing, making a difference, even in their small way.

At Greens, they always make extra food and let the staff eat it after the main service is over, which is not the case in most restaurants. They even encourage people not to work beyond their normal eight hours and to take breaks! At many restaurants, either there is a special family meal prepared, usually from what there is a lot of or not in the greatest of shape for serving, or you nibble along the way if you can though a lot is frowned upon and you are not allowed to sit down and eat of course. You're usually up or down in the kitchen, meaning you're always ready for action and busy or you're off your shift and sitting or lying down, away from the restaurant or at home. There is usually no in between.

The food is quite simple at Greens, especially compared to the complex and highly creative dishes by Chef Eric at Millennium that is vegan and made with whole foods. But it is what it is - good vegetarian cuisine based on the freshest produce, sometimes from their Green Gulch Farm, that is presented quite nicely and tasty. Simple is also good sometimes. Look at the cuisine of Alice Waters and Chez Panisse that created a revolution and is legendary for simple food using the highest quality produce that is local, organic and sustainable. Also, if you are serving the incredible volume that Greens does daily - hundreds and hundreds for lunch and dinner service and the take out counter - the dishes must be relatively simple to create and plate.

That is often the trade off and the challenge I have in creating and in particular plating the dishes with the growing volume of customers to ZenKitchen monthly dinners. How to plate the dishes all in the same way and very quickly, with all the various components that I love to add, while keeping the highest quality to the plate of it being hot, cold, etc. and beautiful. Sometimes during service I feel like seal trying to toss and balance all these balls in the air with my nose, trying not to drop any balls on the ground and keeping the show going...