05.19.08

One Year at Rustico

Posted in The Story at 11:49 am by Chef Matt

Can you believe it my loyal readers? It has been a year since my first day at Rustico. (Actually the anniversary was yesterday, but give me a break, I had to work that day…)

As I mentioned before, when I took this job, it was my third restaurant in one year. I was worried about the implications of how I could possibly be perceived as a “jumper” who could not commit to a restaurant for any serious period of time. In short, while I was gaining experience, I was turning myself into someone who was undesirable as a hire. Thankfully, I’ve now proved to all the naysayers - and to myself - that this is not the case.

And that being said, I’m hardly looking for a new place. Hell, I worked for WWF for 8 years, so it is of course possible for me to stick around in a place I enjoy working. And such is the case for me at Rustico.

I have NEVER understood why Kevin Costner posed like that for this movie poster…

I look back over the past year, and there is so much I have learned. Before this, I was much more in the “Field of Dreams” state of mind with respect to restaurant entrepreneurship: “If you cook it, they will come.” I thought that the only thing that really mattered was the food - if that was good, everything else would fall into place. But after a year of doing the purchasing (and making sure we meet our necessary food cost), employee scheduling, hiring, discipling and even letting a person or two go, it has taught me that the cooking is hardly the whole story.

But that’s not to say I haven’t learned a ton of new cooking tricks and recipes as well! Brewpops not withstanding, I have learned more about pickling different foods than I ever thought I would need to know. (I swear, these guys would pickle a brick if they could…) From making homemade sausage, to learning how to brew root beer, to butchering whole pigs, to making prefect roulades and terrines, my time in the Rustico kitchen has been a non-stop learning experience for me.

And now, with summertime approaching once again, I’m looking forward to long days and weeks of filling in for my staff as they all get to go on vacation while I stay behind and fill in the gaps. I’m not going to lie to you, it’s rough work running a restaurant. But each day I learn a little more, and am preparing myself that much more for the day when I take the ultimate jump.

So, in honor of one year at Rustico, here are some links to some of my favorite stories of what has happened in the past year:

• New Pants - The first time I had you all vote to guide my actions.
  
• Heavy is the Head… - One of my first experiences where I realized I really was in charge and had to solve all the problems of the kitchen myself.
  
• The Recipe for a Rough Day - It was a hell of a Sunday then, but I read it now and laugh seeing as how this the case for pretty much every Sunday now…
  
• Making Root Beer - What a fun learning experience this was - even though I spent more time inventing the recipe than we spent selling it.
  
• Yet More Kitchen Humor - One of the all-time great food pranks.
  
• The Real Use for the Pig Heads… - A pig’s head and a reciprocating saw. Awesomeness ensues.
  
• A New Pizza for Autumn - By far my most successful menu addition.
  
• Death in the Kitchen - Some of my beloved equipment shuffles off this mortal coil.
  
• A Surprise Field Trip - A pack of kindergardeners is about to descend on my restaurant. Anyone wanna give me a heads up?
  
• My Very Own “Big Night” Moment - Not necessarily about Rustico, but still an amazing internal dilemma that strikes at the core of my becoming a chef.
  
• Don’t Fear the Nettles - I think the discovery of how to use new ingredients is one of my favorite aspects of being a chef.

Chef Matt

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