First Night On The Line aka The Culinary Wonderment thread

[Piobaire]

Originally Posted by Eason

lmao, I always wish these guys would travel to china or most other parts of asia. They'd starve to death before they spited their palettes.

Why would a Gordon Ramsey starve to death there?

 

[Tangfastic]

Just remember when it gets really tough and you start to wonder what you're doing working for free, just think back to how you felt working in a crappy office job. It sounds like you've already got plenty of motivation, but that really worked for me in a similar situation

I second that you write well too. Does your school have a student publication? You should submit your accounts to them. It's always uplifting to hear of people doing something they love and you convey that enthusiasm really well.

 

[Eason]

Originally Posted by Piobaire

Why would a Gordon Ramsey starve to death there?

He likes good food, right? Fish without bones or scales? Chicken that isn't gristle?

 

[Master-Classter]

Originally Posted by Eason

He likes good food, right? Fish without bones or scales? Chicken that isn't gristle?
When I said... "in a single moment I understood what he's all about... the chef sent him a chicken with a small piece of bone in it and he told the guy "never let your mistakes leave the kitchen"." That wasn't meant to mean that he's a fussy prissy little *****... He hates lazy chefs with no attention to detail who are willing to lower standards and let mistakes leave their kitchens. Making a customer wait is better then sending them sht quickly. That's a major premise in all of his shows... Actually, one of the things that most impresses me about Ramsey is that he's the first guy to get his hands dirty. He deeply resents being called a "celebrity chef" because it makes him sound like he can't cook. In his Kitchen Nightmares and other shows, he's always getting right in the sht with everyone working as hard as any. His restaurants tend to be on the "higher end" but it's because he's anal about detail and getting things right. In most of his shows, his biggest complaint is a lazy chef that just buys stuff in or uses packages. In most cases his solution is to get them cooking simple, fresh and local stuff without too much fuss. Just because he "likes good food" doesn't mean it has to be filet mignon on risotto. Ramsey's isn't a pansey. Watch F-word, he eats everything from moldy shark to whale penis for fun. That being said, I'd still put more faith in Bourdain for eating anything and everything, but that's more his trademark anyway.

 

[CTGuy]

Originally Posted by gdl203

Congrats on (a) having the courage to change careers, (b) getting into the school you wanted, (c) landing the stage and (d) doing so well on your first day. a+b+c+d = you doing what you really want to do and building a career out of it. Few people can say that about their professional lives.

Seriously. Congrats Kwilk. Congrats and SF is proud of you buddy.

 

[CTGuy]

Originally Posted by Eason

lmao, I always wish these guys would travel to china or most other parts of asia. They'd starve to death before they spited their palettes.

Um...clearly you have no idea what you are talking about.

 

[Piobaire]

Originally Posted by Eason

He likes good food, right? Fish without bones or scales? Chicken that isn't gristle?

There's a place for perfectly plated food, and a place for peasant food. Great chefs appreciate, and eat, both. Actually, I'd say anyone with a good expansive taste does.

 

[kwilkinson]

Originally Posted by CTGuy

Seriously. Congrats Kwilk. Congrats and SF is proud of you buddy.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by Piobaire

There's a place for perfectly plated food, and a place for peasant food. Great chefs appreciate, and eat, both. Actually, I'd say anyone with a good expansive taste does.

+1! Like Matt would say, it's comparing apples and steak diane.

 

[Xiaogou]

Originally Posted by Eason

lmao, I always wish these guys would travel to china or most other parts of asia. They'd starve to death before they spited their palettes.

Are you saying that Chinese food or other Asian food tastes bad?

 

[CTGuy]

Originally Posted by Piobaire

There's a place for perfectly plated food, and a place for peasant food. Great chefs appreciate, and eat, both. Actually, I'd say anyone with a good expansive taste does.

Exactly.

 

[bawlin]

Motivating thread to say the least. I've worked in a kitchen before and I lasted all but 1 shift. It's hard work and I just couldn't do it.

 

[kwilkinson]

Okay guys, great week for me at the restaurant.

I first went in on Thursday. We were supposed to be pretty busy, so there was a lot of prep work to do. On top of that, each station got two new dishes on the menu, so we were really pressed hard to get everything done. So prep, comida, and then service began. Things were going well. It was myself, the mexican lady and the other trained LCB graduate. I wasn't making a ton of salads, for the most part I was doing the amuse-bouches, which were hamachi tartare with white soy, cara cara orange, and bull's blood herb garnish, or for the degustation menu it was a smaller version of the old beet salad that got taken off the menu. Then, we got slower and Chef sent the older mexican lady home, "phased" her out you might say. Then, I starting making more stuff.
On the menu, we have a prosciutto plate that gets red oak, roasted artichokes, sherry vinaigrette, micro mint, and lemon zest. It also gets garnished with two pansie leafs. I guess I put one out that wasn't quite up to Chef's standards. He told me to replate it, and watched as I did it. He mumbled something and came back to my station, behind the prep table to stand by me. At this point, I was scared/intimidated that I was going to get ****** chewed. He spent the next 30 minutes standing next to me, helping me make the salads, and telling me stories. He was the first employee hired at the restaurant when it opened 10 years ago. He told me how he worked the garde manger station for 3 whole years of that time, which is a lot of time to be at the low totem pole position of the kitchen. He said he misses it a lot now. Being on the line, being the expeditor, being the chef, just isn't the same he explained. Being at Garde Manger, you really get to be in touch with the food. You get to connect with the food more than the people on the line. He told me to cherish that and to take advantage of it, even when we got busy and needed to hurry. He told me that I needed to think of making the food as more than just putting the food out for a customer. It was more than just making a salad, it was making an impact. It was doing my part to maybe make someone's night special. It was part of a tradition of excellence that the restaurant has been upholding for over ten years now. Needless to say, it was pretty inspiring to see him talk like this and it made me want to work even harder.

That was pretty much the highlight of Thursday night. Then, after service, I was talking to the other cooks. It turns out, Chef has only been the Executive Chef at the restaurant for 2 months. The other guy got fired and Chef got promoted up. One of the guys also told me that before I showed up, they had a stage in the kitchen almost every single night, at least 6 out of 7 services there was a stage. When I came, they stopped that. Now I'm the only stage, and I work there three days a week. I think Chef has kind of taken me under his wing and thinks of me like his protege. I get that from the interactions between us but also from what the other cooks tell me about how he treats me differently than other stages/people with my experience level. It feels great. Indescribably great.

Then, we left at midnight. I got home at 12:30, woke up at 6:30 for class, went to class until 3:30, then right back to the restaurant after class for Friday night's service. The restaurant is only literally 2 blocks away from my school, so it makes it convenient. Also, I can already see how hard this career would make it to have a family or a relationship. From Wednesday night until Sunday morning, I barely get to talk to my girlfriend. She calls me at 6:30 my time when she goes in to work and class, then we're both either working or in class all day, and then I call her when I get off work around midnight, at which point she's already asleep so we just get to talk for 5 minutes or so. It's rough, seriously. And I'm only at 3 days a week. I realize that there are other things going on, like being long distance or the time difference, or the fact that she works odd early morning hours at the store, but damn.

Fast forward to Friday night. Yadda yadda, up early, class, go to work. We're prepping for work, and I find out that Friday night is really slow. Only 100 covers. Chef sents the mexican lady home at 6, right when service begins. Then he has the other girl go break down the whole new order of fish. So, my fourth night on the job, on a Friday, and I'm at the Garde Manger station completely alone. Doing all the bread, all the amuses, all the salads and all the cheese plates. It. Was. *******. Insane. I loved it. So much pressure. You are working so hard you have no idea what is even going on. You're just pushing and pushing and pushing. It's seriously just a blur. So awesome. When the first seating was done and I had a break, Chef came over and shook my hand for a job well done. It was perfect. Everything for me had gone out on time and there had been no complains. It was really exciting. Same thing happened with the second seating. Chef was very happy w/ me, as I was happy w/ myself. It felt so good.


So now we're at Saturday. We didn't get out until late late late last night. I was dead tired as soon as I woke up this morning. Not to mention but ****** had chafed like crazy and was hurting really bad. The baby powder recommendations helped, so thanks to all who gave me that advice. So let's just say I wasn't really feeling like going in to work and wasn't in that good of a mood when I got there. As soon as I got there, Chef starting ripping ******. About everything. It had nothing to do with whether the thing was out of my control or not. Seriously, it seemed like somebody had kicked him in the nuts when he first woke up, and he decided that it was my fault or something. Just all day long, riding ******. Go make the crostini, go clean 2 cases of morels. Why the **** is it taking you so long on those morels I told you to do that 30 minutes ago. "Yeah Chef, I've been working I'm almost through the first case" "Goddamn kid you need to pick up the pace." It was just a really rough time. That continued through prep, through comida, and through most of the service. I have no idea why, but he was just angry at Kwilk today. So the usual happens---mexican chick gets sent home (she always asked to leave, so don't think it was some racist thing), and I get stuck making the salads, which I'm fine with. Except I'm getting ****** chewed for everything I do. Too much citrus fleur de sel on the foie torchon. Not enough pepper on the endive. Too much garnish on the salmon tartare. Jaysus Christ. Well, we start to slow down and Chef's girlfriend came into the restaurant. He told me to make a salad and to make it perfect, because it was for his gf. So I made the simple butter lettuce salad we have. It's just butter lettuce, wax beans, asparagus tips, shaved hard boiled duck egg, brioche croutons, and tarragon vinaigrette. I made it, told Chef the pickup was ready, and he walked over. He looks at the salad, growls under his breath, and called the runner over. Empty plate comes back 10 minutes later with a note saying "Best made salad I've ever had here, good job to whoever made it." Chef didn't even say nice job or thanks for making my gf happy so now I can get laid tonight. He just showed me the note and then walked away. Fackin A. The night comes to a close, and it was another good service. At this point, I was pissed off. I wanted to punch the chef in the face. Either that, or walk out and never come back. I come in and work a 12 hour shift for abso-*******-lutely free, and you're gonna **** all over me all day? Well, it's about 1030, about 3 hours before we'd normally get out on a Saturday, and Chef calls me into his office. He says "Well, you came in and worked 10 hours today for free. I've been ridin your ass all day to see if you could handle it, and you took it like a man. You made my girlfriend happy, and you've made great progress and are doing a good job. Don't worry about cleanup; take the rest of the night off and I'll see you next Thursday, you earned it." My jaw dropped. Dude, you were riding me all day just to ******* see if I could take it? I walk out of Chef's office, and all the cooks and everyone in the kitchen just starts cracking up. I had been put to the test, and had passed. It was a rite of passage in this kitchen to go through a day like that, and I had made it without slitting my wrists. Everybody was all excited for me, hugging me, slapping me on the back, or just doing the usual kitchen talk bullshit. It was awesome. I stayed for another hour to help everyone out with cleanup. It was just such a relief to find out it was just a test or whatever that I didn't feel the need to run off. I was now officially a part of this kitchen. Finally, Chef told me to get out of there and to enjoy my Saturday night. He said he really appreciated my staying to help when I didn't have to and to have a great week.

All in all, a great week for me at the restaurant. BTW, I'm also beginning to get "Line Cook's Arms"

 

[Piobaire]

Nice Kyle. It sounds like you might have a real home there.

 

[dfagdfsh]

the one thing I love about gordon ramsey, in any of his shows, is that he isn't afraid to get down and get his hands dirty. he also seems to have a real respect for the customer, and believes that they should get something good - even if he has to do it himself.

 

[kwilkinson]

Originally Posted by Piobaire

Nice Kyle. It sounds like you might have a real home there.
Thanks! I think so too

Originally Posted by Teger

the one thing I love about gordon ramsey, in any of his shows, is that he isn't afraid to get down and get his hands dirty. he also seems to have a real respect for the customer, and believes that they should get something good - even if he has to do it himself.

Don't get me wrong, because I love Ramsay, but the boner you have for him everytime we talk is just not right.