Secrets Of A Restaurant Chef (Intern)

Move over, Anne Burrell, there’s a new restaurant chef in town.

Some of you have asked about my internship, which has been well underway for a month now. I haven’t talked about it much simply because I wasn’t sure what to talk about. A lot of the things I’m learning don’t translate to blog posts easily. So I sent out a plea asking for jumping points and here are some of the FAQ I got.

What’s involved in a typical shift?

My shift starts at 10am. The chef lays out a list of ingredients that need to be prepped for that night or the next few days so often I get started on one or two of those tasks. Our service is 11:30-2, during which time I could continue with food prep if it’s a light day or if things are busy get pulled into the salad and pizza station. The dinner shift chefs come in at 2 and for the last hour I’m there I usually work on one or two things that still need to be done for that night. I get out at 3 and, even though it’s just 5 hours of work, I feel as though a truck hit me usually. Time spent in the kitchen is no joke.

How do you think this internship will help you get to where you want to go?

To be honest I have no clue where I want to go. As much as I love food blogging, I wouldn’t put much stock into it as a job. I thought that working in a restaurant would be a logical step towards a real career. The very first day, my shift boss told me outright “keep cooking as a hobby.” As much as I’ve enjoyed learning to cook in a restaurant setting, I’m not sure I could see myself doing it day in and day out. Regardless, I’m picking up a lot of practical skills.

How do you stay gluten-free in an Italian restaurant setting?

Simply put, I avoid eating anything at the restaurant as much as I can. The food isn’t bad; in fact it’s terrific. It’s just what I would call a “meat and wheat” kind of menu and that’s not how I eat at all. Since I have to actually ingest gluten to have a reaction, I can work with it as much as I need to. If I do need a snack, I keep a bag of cashews with me.

What has been your biggest kitchen mistake?

Thankfully, I haven’t made any huge, irreversible mistakes. The only thing I can think of is when I was chopping parsley and nicked a tiny piece of my fingernail chopping it fine.

Another time I was using the meat slicer to cut prosciutto thinly and I got maybe 15 slices out of it before the meat was torn to shreds and useless. I’m not sure if it’s the way the meat was marbled or if I mishandled it on the slicer but I felt pretty bad after that.

What’s the best thing you’ve learned so far?

My knife skills have advanced leaps and bounds since getting into the kitchen. I now know the proper way to hold it and how to dice all the different types of vegetables. I’m even becoming jealous of the fancy knives and cutting boards I’m spoiled with at the restaurant and think I might have to splurge on a set for myself at the end of the Summer.

What has been the best job so far? The worst?

My favorite jobs are the ones that are simple, repetitive, and take a long time so I can zone out. Cleaning sugar snap peas and rolling garganelli pasta are some of the best.

The worst are beets—anything to do with them, like peeling hundreds of tiny beets after they’ve cooled or having to devein the leaves. Both leave me with sore hands and dirt under my fingernails for a week.

What goes on behind the scenes of your place?

There’s really no behind the scenes dirt to spill, and not just because it’s an open kitchen. I love the restaurant and their commitment to using fresh, local ingredients whenever possible.

Well, that’s a glimpse into my internship. If you have any other questions, I’d be happy to answer them either in the comments section or in a separate post.