05.28.07
Posted in 1. The Story at 9:20 pm by Chef Matt
It has been pretty much ten straight days on the job to get things started for my tenure at Rustico. Technically I had a day off on Wednesday, but I went in anyway to work on some spreadsheets for the inventory for the new menu. It was nice not to be pounding away in the kitchen that day, but working is working, and a ten day stretch of mornings is always rough.
Every Memorial Day, I always lay a wreath at the tomb of the unknown chef. |
But today, Memorial Day, as you all are facing your third day off and getting ready to slog back to your collective jobs, I am kicking back, taking it easy and enjoying my first day off since the Thursday before last. A few cool glasses of my newly-invented margaritas (or “Matt-aritas” as I like to call them) are helping my relaxation along. Thankfully I have tomorrow off as well which I am going to dedicate to sleeping them off.
“So what is going on at Rustico?” I can hear you all asking. I have not been in touch as frequently as I would like to be if only because I have not had enough time to write to you all. It has been a whirlwind training session for yours truly, and I have found myself not only learning all the recipes for the restaurant, but also learning how to do total restaurant inventories, taking on more accounts and more non-food items to keep track of, and making sure the food costs for the restaurant meet our overall goals. But as if learning how to do all this in a few days is not hectic enough, Frank is working on shifting our kitchen’s dishes to the summer menu. Thankfully this is not going to result in an across-the-board change to the inventory - I just have to make sure I am not still ordering the items we aren’t going to be selling any more.
Umm… that was our last piece of cake,
and it’s only 7:30… |
It hasn’t all been smooth sailing so far, I can assure you. My arrival at the restaurant on Sunday morning was accompanied by an account of how we had been forced to 86 multiple desserts the night before. I couldn’t believe it - I had placed the order the day before - on time even! I assumed they had just fucked me over by not taking the order, or not delivering them. In a panic, to protect my good name, I rushed to the office and tore through invoices. There it was - my order, delivered in full. There was nobody to blame but me. I simply had just not ordered enough. Sure, I had kept food costs low, but the result was people who wanted dessert went without. This, dear readers, is NOT a good thing.
But at least I will know for next time.
Another tricky ordering challenge was the fact that most of our distributors were not delivering today because of the holiday. So Friday’s order had to be huge to take into account everything we may need in the coming long weekend. Alas, all sorts of ingredients that I thought we had an ample stock of disappeared in no time. The real creativity of being a chef - making what little you have go as far as it can - was in full effect yesterday.
I can only imagine what it was like for them today…
When those delivery trucks finally arriver tomorrow, I am sure they will be receiving them with open arms. Trucks of salvation bearing a copious supply of fresh produce. All I know is, when those trucks finally do come to their rescue… I will be fast asleep.
Matt
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05.22.07
Posted in 1. The Story at 8:26 pm by Chef Matt
I forgot what it felt like to stand in front of a hot sauté line. But the sweet kiss of sweat rolling down my forehead welcomed me back to the line this past Sunday. So much is happening at Rustico so fast for me, it is almost impossible for me to sum up. I guess I have been unable to post an update if only because I am too overwhelmed with all that is happening to write about it.
No, these are not them, these just look awesome… |
But let me cut to the great day in front of the hot stove. We have six burners - just like at Tirolo - and one flat top - just like Tirolo as well. So the layout was pretty much the same (only with the flat top on the right of the burners instead of the left) and there was even a large pot on the back burner with pasta cookers in it to make me feel at home. To start off the service, I had to pre-cook the grilled cheese sandwiches which are a wonderful creation with smoked ham and balsamic onions. I only messed up a pair of them (and they later became my dinner when I came home) so I figured this was a good sign as I am known for getting flummoxed during set-ups of unfamiliar areas.
My station was responsible for salads (no problem of course) and all sauté items, like the halibut with onion/tomato/lemon compote, the pastas and the deep fryer - which is pretty much just for French fries. It’s a lot to cover for one person, so it was fortuitous that I was being trained on a Sunday. The orders came in slowly enough for me to get up to speed, and learn each dish individually. The real difference with this kitchen was how much the dishes all worked with the other stations. I experienced some of this in Vero - but that was really in the form of telling them to cook things that I would garnish. Here, there are items like the chicken pot pie which the pizza chef cooks in his giant oven, then hands off to the sauté line to be finished under the flat top’s broiler with chicken liver pate and garnished with sautéed fresh vegetables. It is a real team effort to make sure the dishes get out the door, and I think it was more of a learning effort to get my rhythm down with my fellow line-mates than in learning how to cook the dishes.
The lunch shift completed itself free of any major incidents (just one burnt pot pie - that crust goes fast under the broiler if you’re not careful…) and it was seemingly over before it began. Chris - the guy who I’m replacing who is training me as fast as he can before he heads off to work in Craft restaurant in New York - came over and told me it was time to clean up my station. I couldn’t believe it was already over. I was just getting warmed up to the action on the line again. But the paperwork associated with my new job was beckoning me, and I had to run an ordering inventory for the restaurant.
Portion control is key when serving halibut… |
As I scrubbed down my station and wrapped up the food for holding before the PM shift, another order came in for our halibut. I rubbed the fillet down with spices and flour and dropped it (carefully!) into the pan. As I spooned hot butter over the fish to help brown the crust I felt the wave of heat coming off the sauté line wash over. I could feel it seeping through the three layers of clothing on my chest. I soaked through like a warm friend embracing me after a long absence. I stood there and soaked it in, reviving myself of this life-giving heat that provide the sustenance for chefs. After standing in front of a refrigerated lettuce tray for half a year, this was the feeling I had been longing for. Like a sunflower leaning towards the warmth of the morning sun, I found myself leaning ever closer to the burners…. and then realized I should probably flip that halibut fillet and get it into the oven.
But that heat was nothing compared to today’s foray into working on the wood grill. This is a real wood fire in the middle of the kitchen! I didn’t know health departments still allowed such things! I am so glad they do though, as it allows us to feature real wood-grilled hamburgers as well as tuna steaks and skewers of lamb, chicken and shrimp. The heat is tremendous. Not one I lean in closer to, but rather the kind that takes off arm hairs. But that heat, while intense, was still a life-giving thrill that I couldn’t help but enjoy. I know I was only supposed to watch Oscar at the grill today, but I couldn’t help but jump in over and over - if only to get closer to the heat.
OK, so maybe these guys take a little more abuse on the job than chefs… |
Long hours, knife scars, abusive chefs, demanding customers, constant scrubbing… chefs are a breed of people who can handle abuse. I have come to grips with this masochistic side of my psyche long ago. But I was only able to understand just how deep this collective sickness went when I found myself watching a burger on the flames of the grill this afternoon, and seeing just how long I could hold it in my tongs before I finally had to let go.
I love the heat, and I am glad to be back. Next up - the giant pizza ovens!
Matt
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05.18.07
Posted in 1. The Story at 10:20 pm by Chef Matt
The alarm clock awoke me at the ungodly hour of 6:15, and I struck out the door with hopes that I had left myself enough time to get to work for my first day on time. My commute is now 25 minutes each way, and thankfully I seem to be missing rush hour by just a little bit on both ends. Ahhh.. to not have to listen to the traffic report is still pure heaven to me.
I arrived at work ten minutes early, and was greeted soon thereafter by Chris who walked up and let me in. We were the first ones there. This is to be my job. To set up the restaurant before anyone else shows up and make sure we are ready to go as far as prep, inventory and overall cleanliness are concerned. The job seems to have a lot of the elements of a senior position - there is the responsibility of getting the place in shape for lunch, there is the all-important mid-day inventory and food ordering. There is the calculation of food costs with the ongoing spreadsheet, and there is the work that has to be done as an expeditor to make sure that everything is going as smoothly as possible during lunch.
This job seems like it is the next logical step forward in my career. The cooking is still there, but the added skills of office work - like taking an inventory and running line checks - will only help to further round out my skills for running my own place some day.
Back to the story though, the lunch rush was not ever incredibly busy, but the head chef, Frank, did place an order unbeknownst to us in the middle of the service. When the order was delivered, he called the two sous chefs and me (since I guess I am approximately at that level) out there to take a look at what was sent to him.
“Can anyone tell me what is wrong with this dish?” he asked putting the fish in front of us. I had my guesses, but this was one of those moments where I could tell that being quiet would only work to my advantage. It was my first day, and I had been on the payroll for all of about 5 hours at this point. To chime in and explain what I thought was wrong with the food at this point would just be a really stupid idea. So I kept it zipped.
We went through the dishes, and Frank showed to me that what I had heard about him was true - he is a no-nonsense kind of guy when it comes to his food, and he is dedicated to improving the menu and overall quality of Rustico by leaps and bounds. He possesses great skill and a lot of knowledge about cooking and kitchens, so this will surely be a place where I can learn a lot.
That is, if the morning commutes don’t kill me first…
So in that vein, since I have to switch my internal clock to get in touch with my new schedule, I think I need to go to bed. Sorry no pix with this post, I just need to get some sleep instead of researching funny picks and thinking up funny captions. More will be on their way for sure.
I just wanted you all to know I love the new job so far, and yes, I survived day 1. Here’s hoping to many more!
Matt
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05.17.07
Posted in 1. The Story at 3:55 pm by Chef Matt
Well, my time at Vero has come to an end. Those of you who read these posts closely may be wondering what I mean, seeing as how today was supposed to be my last day. Well, you are right, today was supposed to be it, but Thursday night is the slowest night of the week for us, and so there was no real need for me to show up for a final night. As it turns out, last night was my, well, last night.
These darn butternut squash seem to follow me everywhere I go. |
It too was a slow night which had no moments that really seemed to stand out at the time. The only thing that I really noticed was just how comfortable I was in my position. I was doing some prep work for the catering side of things (peeling and cubing some beloved butternut squash) when a ticket for the salad station came in. I heard the order and noticed it came with a plate of crab ravioli as well, so I knew I had some time before I actually had to create my share of the appetizer order, so I kept on cutting the squash.
Another ticket came in for me, and this had two more salads, but they were second course after a soup, so I picked up another squash and began peeling it.
A third ticket came in - two more salads for me - one of which is one that takes me a little longer to prepare. But I still had a few more seeds to pull out of the squash in my hand, so I decided to finish that before heading back around the table to my station.
I was three tickets deep into my station, and while I walked over, a dessert order came in as well. I was, by the dictionary definition of the term, “in the weeds”. Yet I still calmly cleaned my knife of the excess butternut squash juice and washed my hands of any remaining seeds. I then went into full salad making mode, glancing at the clock as I started.
Do you really need a picture to show you what it is like for a salad to be made?… |
My station became a fury of lettuce leaves, dressing bottles and assorted toppings. Throwing together beds for hot entrees, and rolling asparagus spears in sheets of paper-thin Prosciutto, my hands were working at top speed, but seemingly on their own. The first salad went down fast and the prep for the second course salads was easy as well. Constructing the third order took some time, but I was heating the dessert while building it to save some time. The salad was dressed at about the same time I was dropping the scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of the rhubarb crisp. All in all I had brought my side of things together in a mere four minutes.
This was a sharp contrast to my first week on the job - where everything seemed to take forever for me, and any order I received I attacked as soon as I could for fear of falling behind. I am leaving this job fully comfortable in my abilities for that station. And what turned out to be my last order showed that I hadn’t lost my touch on the hot side either…
I was back by the mop sink filling up the bucket so as to clean the floors. It was 9:35 (five minutes after closing) and Jay & Edwin had already gone home seeing as how we had not received a new order in the past 20 minutes. The kitchen was officially closed, and clean-up was in full swing. Anne came back with a ticket in her hand which I assumed was one of the last tables ordering their dessert so they could finish up and hit the road.
But it comes with a salad, so it’s healthy, right?… |
“Can we make a caramelized apple salad?” she asked.
I looked at the clock.
“I know, we’re officially closed, but that’s all he wanted…”
This was one of those moments. A crossroads was in front of me. Down one road I could set the standard for myself of being that guy who works only so much as he has to before going home. This is the kind of guy who sees getting out of the restaurant as the ultimate goal of a day’s work. All I had to do was stand by the kitchen closing time, and I could go home a lot sooner. Down the other road was the recognition that working in a kitchen means your efforts focus around the customers, and helping them to have a good time is what your life is really all about. But this was not my kitchen, and I was leaving tomorrow, so what did I care?…
“Sure, let me wash my hands.”
I fired up the already clean stove top, turned on the hood and got to work. A clean pan dropped down from the shelf, and I dove into my low boy (reach-in fridge) to retrieve my block of butter. When the pan was hot, in went the butter with that fabulous sizzle that just screams out: “You, my friend, are now cooking!” Four slices of granny smith apple joined the butter, and when it was all coated to my liking, I added a healthy splash of vanilla syrup (the kind you flavor your lattes with) and let the heat do its magic on the sugar.
That lovely Zen feeling of being at the stove and cooking on the sauté line is something I really miss from my time at Tirolo, and I am glad I will be getting back to that (eventually) at Rustico. I was enjoying the hot side so much, I almost didn’t notice that an order for a crème brûlée had come in for another table. Looks like everyone wanted caramel in one form or another…
I have to admit, it wasn’t really very hard to choose the right path… |
So it is only now, upon reflection, that I realize this apple salad was indeed my last order at Vero. I hope he enjoyed it, and I am still happy with the path I chose to take. I now get one day to rest up before the new job begins at Rustico. And I had better be ready.
I report to work on a Friday - one of the busiest nights of the week. It will be a real trial by fire, and I have one more major obstacle working against me:
I report to work at 7 AM.
Wish me luck! If I am still alive, I will report tomorrow on how the first day went!
Matt
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05.16.07
Posted in 1. The Story at 9:29 am by Chef Matt
Every chef is different and composes flavors in unique and characteristic ways. Just as you could identify which chef made your dish by the fingerprints he may have left on the side of the plate, you can also identify a specific chef’s handiwork by the spices, sauces or special ingredients he chose to use. The trick to developing as a chef is to learn how to incorporate the special ingredients that other chefs use into your own personal pantry, marrying them with the set of flavors and techniques that already characterize your own style of cooking. In this way, one becomes their own chef with their own style, and the creativity and inventions of the culinary world continue to grow and branch out.
Broccoli Rabe (or “Rapini”) was something I avoided as a child, but now embrace as a chef.
(Photo from gourmetsleuth.com) |
That being said, there are also ingredients that I don’t like and therefore typically won’t use, or perhaps I don’t use them from sheer ignorance on how to cook them. For example, growing up I always thought of broccoli rabe as a bitter and disagreeably pungent side dish that was loved only by Italian grandfathers or people who pretended to enjoy it. Then I attended a cooking demonstration by Giuliano Hazan (son of the great Marcella Hazan) and he showed me how to blanch the broccoli rabe to draw its bitterness out before then sautéing it for a long time over low heat in garlicky olive oil with red pepper. It was fabulous, and gave me a new appreciation for this otherwise inedible green.
Or perhaps some of you remember my earlier post on how to make Brussels sprouts. These little green nuggets of flavor were one of the most dreaded additions to my plate as a child. I would go to incredible lengths to avoid them, or hide them, when they were plopped down on the dinner table. Again, it was through the work of another chef that I learned how to caramelize them in butter or oil instead of boiling or steaming them. The result is that I often use them as a go-to side dish when they are in season instead of avoiding them like the plague.
So in this light of incorporating new ingredients into my repertoire, there are two ingredients that I’ve gained a new appreciation for in my tenure at Vero that I