8 things I learned from working in a French kitchen that apply to life!

1. Heaven is in the details

It’s the way you clean snow peas, the extra drop of truffle oil, the spice mix for the steak, the

refolding of a napkin when a patron leaves the table for a bathroom visit, the way you present

your food as both a waiter and a chef.

2. Slow down. Take the time it needs to make the plate taste and look right

For all of this to happen, you do need to hurry up, but then you need to stop, breathe, fine tune if need be. Every step of the way needs a breath, a pause however small, just a short moment to make sure mistakes and flaws don’t slip in and sabotage your precious efforts. Before you punch an order, before you plate, before the plate is on the pass. If you think you don’t have the luxury of time, you are fooling yourself.

3. Communication

Talk to your colleagues and do so in an affirmative voice and proper volume (if in the kitchen), learn the “sign language” on the floor, and keep it fluid at all times.

4. Don’t over think!

Four tickets just printed for appetizers, then 3 more follow. Next thing you know, Chef needs you to drop fries and run downstairs to get more scallops. Where do you begin?

Urgency + most timely task = start here.

You’ll over think it at first but soon enough, with practise, it comes to you and like a dancer

performing a ballet, you run through the motions and get the balance right. Give yourself a chance but also a time frame. You can’t take 2 months to learn the line and get it right but change is always crazy at first, take it easy on yourself.

5. Don’t take things personal. Let it go.

There’s a reason why some say; “if you can’t stand the heat get out of the kitchen”. No one ever

literally meant the temperature -although it can be brutal in mid-July.

In the heat of the moment, things need to happen, problems need a positive outcome and troops have to be motivated, shaken up. Just take it as it comes like water on the back of a duck. After the shift, if your Chef is still pissed off and screaming, then he truly is insane.

Chances are, he or she moved on, so should you.

6. Inconsistency is the enemy

If the beef carpaccio should be plated so the beef rounds are an inch from the edge of the

plate then put them an inch from the edge of the plate on every freakin plate. Someone ate it as such last week and will expect the same plating this time around. Unless it’s a daily special, an ingredient should never be substituted. If you have a winning appetizer, keep it the

same, run with it.

7. Money is in waste

True that! Think before you discard. Egg whites, veggie scraps, fish heads, split aioli… Everything can be (re)used. Obviously if it’s past date, throw it out.

8. Keep it clean on a daily basis.

You’d be surprised how skipping a day here and there, adds up. Floors behind appliances become sticky, vents become gunky, pots and pans blacken up really quick. Like at home, make sure you go to bed with a clean kitchen sink.