Sous Chef: 24 Hours on the Line by Michael Gibney

Author:Michael Gibney [Gibney, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Biography & Autobiography, Personal Memoirs, Cooking, Essays & Narratives, Methods, Professional
ISBN: 9780804177887
Google: IbA9AQAAQBAJ
Amazon: B00FIN2IRM
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Published: 2014-03-25T04:00:00+00:00

The permutations of interpretation are almost limitless; the ticket becomes a Choose Your Own Adventure story. Sometimes you need clarification from the front of the house.

Back waiters like Hussein can often help. They overhear the servers’ conversations with guests; they see orders being punched in. Plus, because they usually resent the servers—for being short with them, perhaps, or for making more money than they do—back waiters are always eager to jump at any opportunity to sort out the dimwitted mistakes of the waitstaff. But since they’re not having those conversations with the guests, and since they’re not punching in those tickets, they can’t interpret everything. Which is why the server’s name is always on the ticket as well.

Chef snaps in the direction of the back waiters. Hussein appears in an instant.

“What on earth does this mean?” Chef says.

“I don’t know, Chef,” Hussein says. “Fucking Candi, so stupid.”

“Get her in here,” Chef says.

And Candice will rush in, nervous, flustered, to explain the ticket.

The only logical system, especially once service begins to accelerate, is to send out tables in groups. These groups are called “pickups.” As expediter, Chef choreographs the pickups. He does so by maintaining a steady line of communication with the front of the house and by keeping track of what food has gone out. As Catalina and the entremets chug out appetizers, Chef rearranges the corresponding tickets in their new order, the order in which second courses will be served, depending on what appetizers go out first. This is the way the flow is developed. Four or five tables get their first courses, and then the cooks start on the second courses for those tables, while Catalina proceeds with the first courses for the next batch.

Chef must also keep track of the productivity of all the stations, their comparative levels of busyness. If VinDog on meat entremet is bogged down by pastas, Chef will rearrange the next pickup so that it’s meat-light. If Warren can’t get to the pass on time with the fish garnish, Chef will rejigger the pickup to accommodate him. If Catalina is inundated with salads and desserts, we’ll slow down all hot food until she catches up.

Once a pickup is set, there’s no turning back from it. Chef calls out the tables by number, and the cooks say “Oui, Chef” and sequester the four or five dupes in the pickup section of their boards. Since meat and fish are most sensitive to time, Julio and Raffy have a brief conference when the pickup is called. They decide, based on their respective levels of readiness, how long it should take.

“How long?” Julio belts out.

“Four,” yells Raffy.

“Four,” confirm the rest of the cooks.

Every station has a digital timer. When the time is decided, each cook sets his or hers, and away they go, stirring, sautéing, searing. Only cooking sounds can be heard at this point, pops and fizzles, bubbles and squeaks. This is when the din is so rhythmic it can be mistaken for silence. Everyone knows

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.