So... we are in the middle of our Fall Tasting which, has been a fairly challenging and interesting part of my Week. Tastings are the bread and butter of any dining experience.. its an opportunity to work in a controlled environment.. putting yourself out there ... basically saying.. here its, this is what I got to offer- wadda ya think?
I remember my first tasting... it was for a job- I spent weeks... planning it, shopped for it and when it came time to cook- I was such a mess... luckily, I pulled it out, and eventually got my gig. Funny that it was as if it was only yesterday- now, we hold tastings 3-5 times a week. its barely a blip in my day.
A server once told me, "it is harder to work a tasting for 4 people than it is to cook for 400". Its probably true- in a grand cooking environment- minute mistakes can easily slip unnoticed. In a table of 4- any detail miss is a mistake that will scream out.
Our Fall Tasting is a grand tasting- for about 30: from sales teams, Chefs from other restaurants, cafes and our venues- discerning members of our Plaza staff as well as our Cafes through out NYC (and the Owner and
President of the Company). I am point for this endeavor- with Exec Chef Chris and Chef Marc the leads-I set it up and when it is time to hit the nittty gritty, I'm usually the guy pumping out the food to be plated.
There is a certain elegance in Tastings with the Chef- a balancing act of anticipating his every move as to make it as seamless as possible- if he reaches for something, you gotta be there to hand it to him, usually without a word being uttered. Its almost like a concert- as he builds the plate your there with the next component- and moving in slow motion you start to see what he sees, and eventually in a perfect Tasting- barely a word is uttered as you go from course to course- to be on the same page from plate to plate. While everything slows down.. the reality is, its getting plated in under a two minutes.
Our Fall tasting is so big its broken down into two days- I just finished the 1st part, I have the 2nd to look forward to the next day. 1st round was almost perfect- we zipped thru the first 4 course- only to slightly falter at the last course- stinking Spinach!! But still Chef was happy with the results- it went smoothly- its the Art of Controlled Chaos- With Chef calmly explaining and doing the plating demo for everyone- the rest of us move with quiet panic- its chaotic, its crazy- 15 different dishes, with at least 5 components need to get set up, cooked and plated- all in perfect unison with Chef's plating- so that when he finishes his plate- we our done with ours to feed the 30.
The cool thing about this tasting, is that this time Chef has everyone standing right in front of us- so, everyone watching and hovering and watching our every move. Three guys plus Chef feeding 30 people, multiple courses- multiple sides, multiple proteins from Fish (4 kinds) to Duck, Chicken (2 types), Beef (2 kinds) and Lamb (2 kinds)- add to that first courses all under 3 hours. It brings back my line cook days... And I realize that all that suffering, and longs hours has led me to this moment of proficiency. I am enjoying this moment- when Chef is willing to trust me to cook the food without his supervision anymore- a level of trust has been brokered- As if he understands..that if he jumps across the great divide..ill be on the other side to catch him... or at least pass him the spinach....