The Unknown Diner

I've been interning for about 2 months now at my favorite restaurant in Paris. I prepare food that will be consumed by people I will never see and never know. Every day I ask how many covers we will do that day and the answer ranges from 25 to 69. I ask in order to mentally prepare myself for a service that lasts for about 1 1/2 hours for lunch and 2 1/2 or more for dinner. The kitchen is a hard life. In that short amount of time you must be focused and at the top of your game or you will be lost and once you are lost it is difficult but not impossible to recover.

Each morning my chef de partie asks me how I am and how I am feeling. This happens again a hour or so before service. This polite question is part of the mise en place of service. He needs to know if I am highly motivated and prepared to work quickly and accurately for the service that is just about to commence. The answer is always, "yes, I am motivated. I want to do service today". This is the answer I give even when I feel sick or tired because once I say I am ready, I'll be ready. I suck it up, put on my toque, get focused and think of nothing but having an amazing service.

I love working in the kitchen. I love serving beautiful food. I adore seeing a person's reaction to the food I've made. As I mentioned, this does not happen in a closed kitchen. Recently, I made dinner at a friend's house in order to cook my own food and enjoy the pleasure of seeing and hearing the results of my efforts.

A few photos of the starters, below.

Citrus salmon, chevre and chives, on toasted baguette


Plump grape tomatoes and jambon


Fingerling potatoes and salmon, salad of chervil