Saturday, July 21, 2012

Restaurant Daniel: A Stagiaire's experience...



 Oh no he dih’ent…
 Yup.
 Been there.
 Done that.
This was literally the only photo I had time to sneak.

To those well tuned to the international staging scene, you may be skeptical to my claim of working in Daniel,The flagship restaurant of Chef Daniel Boulud. That would make sense, because it’s a fact that he does not accept stagiaires off the street and also I tend to lie for attention. However, and I am seriously being serious here, I got lucky. A know a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy conveniently at the helm of this Three-Michelin rated establishment.

After a couple email exchanges sent back and forth to establish how runnnn-Forest-runnnn lucky I was and other details, I was on my way. Immediately upon arrival I set myself apart from the rest of the English-speaking world by misreading simple emailed instructions and accidentally entered into the main dining room to report for duty.


 So I got to see the F.O.H. 
 
The B.O.H. is intimidating at first.  There is a lot going on.  Boulud runs his catering company from the same property so there are like, 50 quadhundred Cooks running past you with whole cuts of everything at all times.  The staff are ridiculously polite if you follow universal laws of the kitchen (Never use someones knife without permission, always yell out “BEHIND” when passing by, and if it happens in a kitchen, its not gay), and nobody says anything dumb. 

I had nothing to do with the catering aspect but everything to do with the restaurant.  As usual, I was stationed with multiple high-octane stressed out Cooks to help out with prep and basically ask whatever I wanted to about the menu.  It’s obviously French.  Go online and read it here.
  
What caught my attention in the kitchen was their strong emphasis for classic techniques.  You are making a fava bean coulis?  Blanch, shock, shuck, and vita-mix using beautiful veg stock.  No u-tex, xanthum, kitten bone marrow or corn starches.  Just classic and perfect methods.  That was my big take away.  Now it seems like most spots I have worked before this were simply thinking too hard about technique. 


The kitchen is hard to describe.  Picture a square-style European professional kitchen (with the range as your center), but turned into a triangle shape.  Add some video monitors of the outside and F.O.H. to gauge rushes or to creep on the celebrity guests and you got a Three-Michelin rated DB kitchen. 

To simply say the service is tight and controlled would be an exercise in lazy writing.  What is truly bath salts fantastic at Daniel is most dishes are plated by Executive Chef Jean-Francois Bruel or Chef de Cuisine Eddy Leroux.  Here, Cooks cook.  While I was impressed to see both Chefs working, it paled in comparison to when I was told to stand back and observe Daniel Boulud, wearing his whites, expedite food.

I need to frame this into proper context for everyone to understand.  A Cook being told to stand near the pass so Daniel Boulud can start service is much along the lines of hearing, “Hey, can you sit tight for a few so Neil here can warm up?” 


So there I was, all 6’0” of me squeezing into what I hoped was a tiny ball of invisibility so as to not interrupt what obviously was world renowned culinary history in the happening.  I felt like a time traveler going way back in the past trying not to disturb anything in fear that I and I alone would screw up the future forever. It was then when I nonchalantly shifted my weight from one foot to the other and pumped an elbow right into the ribs of Boulud himself.  In reality, it was not a big deal.  I did not launch him or really do anything aside from simply glance a man right in his chest cavity…where his heart is…    I just happened to physically touch him as he attempted to squeak by.  However, that doesn’t matter. In my mind, I had just sucker punched Mother Theresa in the back of the head.  Up to this point, we had not yet met.  He slowly turned, gracefully looked upwards to my shivering soul and said “..and you are?”.

Sporting a grin like a contestant in the Miss America Pageant, I answered “Jerek!” as I launched a hand out to show him I was not crazy.
  
A little jumpy and cautiously reaching for my hand, he said, “Uh-huh, and how did you get here?”

Me (still smiling): “A Chef I know, well, knows your Chef de Cuisine…”

DB: ”Eddy.”

Moi: “ and…Yes, Eddy! and so I am observing…”

DB: ”Ahhhhhh, great, I see.” Relaxing, he said, “ We normally do not accept stagiaires here, but you know Eddy…”

Moi: “I do.” (Stopped shaking his hand about here)

DB: “So I hope you have a great time and you are here for the weekend?”

Moi “Yes Chef” I said as I started to calm down my breathing.

DB: “Excellent.  What do you think of my food?”

Moi “An epiphany.” (Kudos for the quick originality in that answer)

DB: “Great, Thank you!”

Moi: “THANK YOU CHEF!!!” I said slightly too desperate, as we ended our direct encounter.

I stayed the weekend.  All in all it was as great as the reputation makes them out to be.  I left them on the highest note I could expect (contact info was offered all around) and I cannot wait to go back to NYC just to be around them again.  This was true cooking at its finest. 

So I really suck at maintaining a consistent and predictable timeline for this blog.  FOR NOW ON I WILL SCREW MYSELF BY FORECASTING THE NEXT BOHK ENTRY.  So, every two weeks seems like a good idea. 

NEXT FUN-TASTIC BLOG WILL BE POSTED AUGUST 4th, 2012!

-Jerek

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