On Trial

Not infrequently, the daily doings of the kitchen are enhanced by the unfolding drama of a potential new cook on trial. When a restaurant is looking to hire new staff, the common practice is to have candidates come “trail” behind the current kitchen staff so that chefs can observe various things about his work ethic and skills. At Chapter One, I have heard our chef, Ross, explain that he is looking for a diligent work ethic, an attention to detail and intellectual aptitude. After that, Chapter One patiently invests an enormous amount of time into training and teaching their cooks. It is not uncommon for a cook to spend six weeks just getting acclimated to the pace, techniques and standards of this environment.

There is no set program for a trailing cook. In one moment they may be expected to complete simple prep tasks like scaling fish or peeling vegetables, and the next moment they may be replicating plated dishes. Trailing cooks are expected to accomplish tasks independently to the best of their ability and yet, no staff member is going to watch a candidate flounder or fail – it is still a working restaurant after all! Trailing often thrusts cooks into an exhausting sort of limbo. Slaving ‘round the clock at the mercy of the chef, they are torn between the desire to be sent home to rest and the deeper desire to be invited back tomorrow. The darkness of the future may not even sink in, however, because trailing cooks are also inundated with new flavors, tools and techniques. Desperately jotting down recipes, frantically memorizing the bottles and bins of a station’s mis en place, they may not even remember that they are being observed. Some cooks, for better or worse, can be evaluated in one day. Others may require a week for a fair trial. Whether one day or several days, I think the experience brings nearly every cook to his knees. When the verdict finally arrives, I imagine it either feels like deserved dismissal or the mercy of a benevolent chef judge.

For the last couple weeks, Chapter One has had a few cooks trailing in our kitchen and no matter how busy you are with your own work, it is impossible not to have one eye on the “new guys.” Sometimes, however, watching the new guy is more like witnessing a hanging. Last night, for example, it could only have been morbid curiosity that kept me glued to the following scene:

An experienced young cook – one more victim of the recent recession- had been laid off from his sous chef position at the Four Seasons Hotel and came looking for work. Chapter One had given him a week to trail in the Cold Starter section – a bit of a step down for someone of his experience, but potentially enjoyable none-the-less. While I helped prepare hot starters, I watched as this lad scrambled to keep his space tidy, posting his tickets with a panicked expression. When a ticket for “Charcuterie” came through, he frantically slapped a terrine of foi gras onto his cutting board. For the next five minutes (an eternity in kitchen time) he desperately willed his shaking hands to cut a perfect, right angle slice from the crooked terrine sitting on his chopping block. After the third failed attempt, I became conscious of the grimace on my face. It was all I could do to keep from crying, “Line it up, man! All the guidelines are already there: straight counter, straight cutting board, straight knife blade – just line it up and press down!” But no amount of compassion on my part was going to bridge the gap in sense for this chap. Really nice guy … really not going to make it at Chapter One.

I’ve watched the unfolding drama of potential new cooks on trial with intense personal interest. This is what I have to look forward to in the not-so-distant future! Hopefully I will remember the following advice to trailing cooks: You are still cooking for real people in a real restaurant! Beautiful cooking has never been motivated by fear. It will always be about putting yourself in the seat of the diner and making every plate the plate you would want to be given.