The sweat is rolling down your back like rivers nearing flash flooding. The hair on your arm is singed, once again, as open flames leap in tongues from the cherry red char-grill. Blisters on your hands need to be put out of mind, at least until the end of service, and your feet, ankles, and legs are numb from standing on your feet for twelve hours a day. Focus, focus, focus…you work to keep pinpoint attention on the mountain of orders clipped to the dupe rail, keeping one ear dialed into directives from the chef on expo station. The orders keep coming: “order, three trout; two filets mid-rare; four picatta and a pork chop – pink.” The response from the line is automatic: “yes, Chef!”. Again, the orders seem constant: “order/fire – three shrimp, one halibut, two rib – rare, and a crab cake – no remoulade.” Again, “yes, Chef.” The chef wipes sweat from his brow as he cleans the rims of plates and navigates the transfer of orders from the pass to the open hands of service staff. “How’s that four-top on table 24 coming?” It’s all from sauté as the line cook responds: “three minutes, Chef.” Then the tenor of the chef jumps up a notch: “I need that refire on three strips, stat!” The guy on the grill is tense: “heard, Chef!”

In the dining room, the cadre of servers and dining room manager are trying to portray a sense of calm. Servers take a moment for light conversation with guests while their heads are swimming with order pick-ups, coffee service, and punching in those last two table orders taken a few minutes ago. The manager leans into conversations with three servers: “We need to buy the kitchen some time; they are in the weeds. Turn on your smiles and hospitality.”

The garde manger station is being hit with appetizer orders from the most recent seating, a flurry of salad course orders, and dessert plating from the early reservations. The lone cold kitchen cook, notes that her mise en place is starting to dwindle – fast! She calls the dishwasher over: “Wash your hands and start to wash and spin more greens for salads. The dishes can wait for a few minutes.”

It’s a bit past 7 p.m., peak service time and the dining room is full. The first seating is working through their desserts and coffee as servers anxiously await the chance to place checks in front of guests. They will need to clear and reset tables for that last seating at 8 p.m. The pressure is building, everyone is anxious.

In the kitchen, tempers are on edge as the relentless flurry of orders continues and will do so for another 90 minutes, or so. The grill cook clips his index finger with a razor-sharp scimitar. He steps away for a minute while the chef jumps in to keep everything moving. The cook rinses the cut, puts on a dab of disinfectant, dries the wound, wraps it with gauze and adhesive tape and pulls on an extra pair of gloves. No time to worry about stitches that will be required – back to work. Five minutes later the chef returns to the expo station and the injured cook soldiers through the pain. Nobody missed a beat.

A pass-through cooler was stocked earlier with a few dozen small plate amuse bouche tastings for this very moment. When guests seem a bit anxious while waiting for their entrees, servers know to carry a gift from the chef. Placing the tasty morsel in front of the guest, the seemingly calm server says, “this is a gift from the chef. They are quite busy in the kitchen, and he apologizes for your wait. Your order will be coming up soon. Please enjoy.”

Forty-five minutes later, only a half dozen table orders remain on the board, and the line team is preparing to plate and slide plates down the pass. The chef wipes the rims, changes his apron, and decides to visit guests in the dining room. He takes a deep breath, tips back a quick espresso, changes his apron, and enters the dining room with a smile. Passing from table to table he thanks guests, asks how their meal was, talks about wine choices in the future and reminds guests not to forget dessert. He causally gives a thumbs up to the dining room manager and returns to his domain.

Giving high fives and fist bumps to each line cook, he simply says: “Thanks, good service.” He checks out the grill man’s cut index finger and confirms that a few stitches will be in order. “If you feel okay to drive to the hospital, we can cover the clean up on your station. Go take care of this and then remember to fill out an accident report tomorrow.”

The atmosphere in the kitchen is changing as the last orders head to the dining room, and everyone turns to clean-up and making their prep lists for tomorrow. It’s 9:30 and in 15 hours they will be back to do it all over again. The dishwasher is backed up with stacks of plates, glassware and silver. Once line stations are buttoned up, the cooks remove their jackets and jump in to give the dishpit a hand. One for all and all for one. In a professional kitchen – every job is everyone’s responsibility.

By 11 p.m. the only people left are the dishwashers and the bartender. Some cooks and servers will likely meet up for an after-shift drink at a local bar, while those with families will probably head home to soak their feet, scrub the smell of onions and garlic from their hands, pop a few ibuprofens, and try to decompress. The adrenaline is still flowing through their veins, but the tiredness is deep enough to overcome. Back in the kitchen, the dishwashers finish mopping floors, take out the trash, and turn off the lights. All that can be heard is the hum from refrigerators and a constant drip from a leaky faucet. The place is asleep, at least for a few hours. Another day down.

For those unfamiliar with what happens in a busy restaurant – this is just a taste. It is intense, pressure filled, physically, mentally and emotionally exhausting, but totally exhilarating at the same time. Those who live it, love it. Being a cook is something special, being a server takes a unique individual who can handle adversity, and working together takes a willingness to accept roles and support even the weakest link.

A day in the life.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

www.harvestamericacues.com – BLOG

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https://paulsorgulebooks.com