Saturday, May 30, 2009
I worked for food
Setup: Last November, I took a charcuterie class taught by Jamie Bissonette, the chef at Toro. A few months later, I was at Toro and asked the floor manager if Jamie was around because I wanted some of his recipes. We struck up an email conversation and as school was ending and I had spare time, I asked if I could work in his kitchen to get some practical experience in the industry. A few weeks later, I show up for my first day at work.
Now, you need to understand that Toro is a high level restaurant. It's tapas and Spanish food with a commitment towards quality ingredients and handcrafted flavors. Jamie is also very interested in charcuterie and makes use of space in the restaurant's walk-in and wine cellar for curing, storing and ageing hams, pates, rilletes, sausages and whatnot. These are then prominently featured on the menu.
Back to me. Apparently, it's common for restaurants to have outside cooks (or, in my case, civilians) come in for a short while to observe, learn and help out. So when I sauntered in, it was MUCH less of a deal to them than it was to me. They gave me a jacket, a knife, directed me towards a work area and a binch of parsely and I got to work.
Either I chopped the parsely very well or they figured they might as well use me while they had me but the tasks kept coming. I sliced roasted poblanos for a halibut special that night, fried churros for dessert, very finely chopped a variety of zests and finally, shelled about 5 pounds each of fava beans and sugar snap peas. It was mostly prep work, or nothing that couldn't be undone by someone else later, but it still felt good to be part of the process and a member of the team.
At this point, dinner service was beginning, the kitchen kicked into high gear, and I went from participant to observer. I watched as the line went into action, handling the first rush of the night with the experience and skill of professionals. I had to leave before long but I enjoyed the experience and hope to go back sometime soon.
Thanks to Jamie for letting me do it, Thanks to Greg for taking care of me and thanks to Kathryn, Paige and Jason for putting up with me.
Now, you need to understand that Toro is a high level restaurant. It's tapas and Spanish food with a commitment towards quality ingredients and handcrafted flavors. Jamie is also very interested in charcuterie and makes use of space in the restaurant's walk-in and wine cellar for curing, storing and ageing hams, pates, rilletes, sausages and whatnot. These are then prominently featured on the menu.
Back to me. Apparently, it's common for restaurants to have outside cooks (or, in my case, civilians) come in for a short while to observe, learn and help out. So when I sauntered in, it was MUCH less of a deal to them than it was to me. They gave me a jacket, a knife, directed me towards a work area and a binch of parsely and I got to work.
Either I chopped the parsely very well or they figured they might as well use me while they had me but the tasks kept coming. I sliced roasted poblanos for a halibut special that night, fried churros for dessert, very finely chopped a variety of zests and finally, shelled about 5 pounds each of fava beans and sugar snap peas. It was mostly prep work, or nothing that couldn't be undone by someone else later, but it still felt good to be part of the process and a member of the team.
At this point, dinner service was beginning, the kitchen kicked into high gear, and I went from participant to observer. I watched as the line went into action, handling the first rush of the night with the experience and skill of professionals. I had to leave before long but I enjoyed the experience and hope to go back sometime soon.
Thanks to Jamie for letting me do it, Thanks to Greg for taking care of me and thanks to Kathryn, Paige and Jason for putting up with me.
# posted by Yossie @ 7:34 PM 
