There comes a time in a young line cook’s career when you’ve worked in a couple of high end restaurants, you’ve received a lot of good feedback and you’re feeling pretty good about yourself. So you decide to take your career to the next level.
This happened to me around year 3 of my career. I’d worked in the two best restaurants in San Mateo, where I lived in the bay area, and it was time for me to move to the city.
Stuart Brioza had just taken over as Executive Chef of Rubicon Restaurant. He had just moved from Michigan where he and his wife, Nicole Krasinski, headed up the kitchen at the nationally acclaimed Tapawingo.
I was overly confidant, but still smart enough to know to put my head down, do what I was told and move my ass as fast as possible.
Around week one or two Stuart summoned me from the hot line one night during service. Confused as to why he wanted me to leave my station during the dinner rush, I reluctantly followed him downstairs to the prep kitchen.
He pointed at a box of butter on the walk-in floor.
“Can you put this away for me please?”
I looked at him completely baffled as to why this couldn’t wait until after service, but agreed to it.
He left and I quickly unpacked the case of butter putting each individual piece on its proper shelf.
I scurried back upstairs to find my fellow cooks covering my station, leaving me completely disoriented for a minute while I caught up on the pick up.
Several minutes later Stuart returned.
“You failed miserably Sarah,” he said.
I looked up sweating, in the middle of plating an order.
“Huh?”
“You failed the butter test.”
I couldn’t help but laugh.
What is this guy talking about? Why are we taking about butter in the middle of service?
He called me off the line and I followed him back downstairs where he proceeded to show me my incredulous error.
“Look at this.”
Still confused I replied, “what?”
“The labels. They are all facing in different directions,” he said.
“Are you kidding me?”I said.
I was way too brazen back then.
“Do it over,” he said.
I went out with the cooks that night and laughed about it over beers, but I got the message. It’s why our walk-in was so nice and clean and so easy to find things in.
Every place I worked in after Rubicon I tried to mimic that walk-in and make it that organized. The point came through loud and clear and made a permanent mark, which to this day I really appreciate as crazy as it sounds.
The butter test.
Reinforcing the OCD in chefs since 19???