Support

I just returned from a quick trip out west to tape a television special for the Food Network (sorry, but I don't feel I can divulge any details!). Such travel is always a strain, as the fast pace at the restaurant never slows. And it always seems that important deadlines, special orders, or even planned menu changes often coincide with my time away. Yesterday afternoon found me rushing from the airport into a busy dinner service at the restaurant just in time to complete a special request for, of all things, a red velvet cake (I try not to ever say "no"). Of course, I wanted to put my own spin on the cake, and my inevitable spontaneous decisions meant a volley of calls and text messages back to my staff right up to the last minute, making sure that everything was ready to go. Having such a support network around is humbling. While it's my name and credibility out front, they do a lot of the leg work. Simply put, a lot of what they do day in and day out is to make me look good. And I spend nearly as much time with them as I do my own wife! There are over a hundred employees at Le Bernardin, each one performing a crucial task that makes the well-oiled machine run. But I wanted to take this opportunity to bring my own pastry team from out of the shadows.

Jose, our pastry chef, is among Le Bernardin's old guard. With the restaurant now more years than most can count, he is the number two man in the pastry kitchen. Essentially, his role is to take the reigns whenever I'm afforded the rare day day off, or when business outside the restaurant beckons. More than that, Jose's strong suit is taking my often improbable ideas and turning them into logistical reality. And he is indispensable for his skill at both turning out delicate chocolate work as well as heavy production. Jose and I have come to develop an almost non-verbal form of communication; at any given time we seem to be able to read each other's minds and anticipate each other's needs. And his quiet, dry sense of humor keeps the mood from becoming too intense and serious.

Ricardo is the sous chef, and another longtime fixture in the pastry kitchen. He is the brain and brawn that guides the day-to-day mise en place. I rely on Ricardo to keep us a day or two ahead on everything from mass production of tart shells, to intricate petit fours, to our large inventory of dry goods, produce, and other ingredients. With scores of individual components comprising the menu, Ricardo knows exactly where we stand and what we need at any given time. Arriving just as lunch hits its peak, he jumps in to help with the rush, and then begins to coordinate preparation for dinner, often with as little as an hour or so separating the two services. Through the course of the evening, he assembles the most delicate desserts faster than anyone. Ricardo closes the pastry kitchen after Jose and I have left for the evening, staying until the very last plate is served, usually well after midnight.

A mere five or six hours after the kitchen closes for the night, the next day has already begun with Jaime. Often the very first cook to enter the kitchen in the morning, he will retrieve nearly every piece of equipment needed for the day: plates, flat sheet pans, silpats, towels... you name it, Jaime is there first. He's perhaps the most rigid perfectionist of the entire team. Jaime's primary task is to assemble each single ingredient needed for lunch service, which also means making sure there is a smooth transition into dinner prep. By the time Jose or I arrive at noon, he has readied all of the garnishes, filled the squeeze bottles and their backups, and has cut several fruits, biscuits and mousses, all in addition to baking off hundreds of petit fours, which for lunch include tiny almond cakes and pistachio financiers. Jaime's hours of methodical, detailed prep and organization allow us to arrive just in time to begin our busy, rushed lunch service.

Making sure that Jaime has all of the necessary raw materials for each dessert is the responsibility of the morning production team. Walter, our master of ice cream and sorbet, begins his day at 7am spinning up to a gallon or more of a dozen different flavors, from basic vanilla to sweet potato. Each recipe demands individual attention to ensure the proper texture and consistency. In addition to this important daily task, Walter leads in making every dough, batter, cream, and puree that become the building blocks of each dish. And like every member on staff, he happily stays on to complete his prep list, even if it means staying on well past his appointed shift. There is also a bit of irony when I consider the fact that, due to the sheer volume and repetition involved, Walter probably makes some of my own recipes faster and more efficiently than I can now!

The second heavy lifter in the morning is Monica. When not tending to whatever is in the mixer, oven, or dough sheeter, she also assists in taking many of our newest ideas and recipes, standardizing the particular yield or formula for the rest of team. Monica is often the first to reproduce a small scale idea for consistency in production; it may take a week of tinkering to arrive at the precise texture of a gelee, or the proper baking time and temperature for a tuile garnish. And her keen eye for detail and knowledge of all the potential variables also come into play when we have to convert our production recipes down to something the home cook can use, as is often the case when we submit recipes for all sorts of media requests. Monica is also active in bringing new ideas to the table, which is something I try to coax out of everyone. I like that each member of the team can feel an individual pride and sense of ownership in what we produce as whole!

Just as we begin to break down the station at the conclusion of lunch service, and as the last big production tasks are being wrapped and labeled, the afternoon team descends to take over. While the first half of the kitchen's day is about bulk prep, the mood shifts toward more precise and detailed work between 3 and 4pm. When Simon arrives, his attention goes straight to evening petit fours, which are far more complex than those for lunch. First, three or more varieties are assembled, then individually plated for each guest. Simon will pass his first couple of hours on this final impression of the meal, laboring over paper thin corn tuiles or slicing perfect cubes of menthol gelee; on any given day we need to produce up to a thousand pieces of these single bites. But his enthusiasm for the job is infectious; he definitely helps Jose, Ricardo and I get our second wind for the longer more intense dinner service.

Assisting with petit fours, in addition to replenishing each bit of mis en place, is Shelly. In her calm and professional, yet slightly sassy manner, she makes sure that we're ready for the impending storm of orders by 6pm. With us for just over 6 months now, Shelly is our newest team member, but she is often the first to jump at any task, if not the first to take the initiative to get them started in the first place. With four or five bodies in the kitchen when service is at full tilt, Shelly and the rest of us are fully engaged in a complex choreography; we sometimes must produce a plate a minute when the dining room is at capacity. And when there is downtime, she and Simon are always eager to keep the energy going with various light prep work. It's also during these fleeting moments when we flesh out new ideas or put together spontaneous dessert tastings for VIP guests.

I've had the pleasure of working with so many talented young cooks over the years. For most, their hard work early on will pay them back double in the years to come. Not only have they all brought their own experience to the table and have each had some effect on me, but I also find it heartwarming that they will eventually go on to forge their own path as pastry chefs, taking what they've seen from their time at Le Bernardin to influence the next generation of cooks. It's like a big family tree of sorts, with an infinite number of potential buds.

While my job is to create the overall vision and recipes for our desserts, to set the tone of the kitchen, and to keep all of this activity running smoothly, you've seen here that I can't do it alone. Many of the items I decide to roll out are the direct result of input from the entire team. Here I present our newest  petit four, the chocolate-menthol gelee. The form came from one member of the staff, the flavor from another, and the fine-tuned recipe from yet another. This recipe is also a sneak preview of a workshop I will present at the annual StarChefs.com International Chefs Congress this September here in New York.

Download Chocolate-Menthol.pdf

For general notes on the recipes posted here, please read About the Recipes. And for hard to find ingredients or equipment, please refer to Resources.

Comments

[Patrice]

Thank you Michael for your blog, I've been reading it since the beginning and it's really great. I'll see you in september at the congress, can't wait for the workshop!

[Michael Laiskonis]

Thanks Patrice! It's great to hear from you!

[Andrew K]

I've got to say that it is really nice to see such a talented chef recognize and credit his staff. Many times we are the people pushing the food out the door and end up with very little credit. It is refreshing and inspiring to see and hear you commend your dedicated staff. Thanks so much!!

[annie]

Michael, thank you so much for this post, for recognizing your silent peers and shedding light on the real scene behind closed doors. I admire the staff at the restaurant I work in so much, and always make it a point to tell my friends and family about the work ethic and talents of so many unrecognized chefs. This post speaks volumes about your character and your ego, or lack thereof. Thanks again.

[monica]

thank you for this post! it goes without saying how much i truly appreciate every opportunity you have given me, and i'm happy to be your support. thank you for being a great mentor and always presenting a good challenge!

[Jeremy]

Michael,
Your blog is really great and I already used the chocolate tart recipe at work with a bit of dulce de leche under the ganache, thanks!
I would love to interview both you and Eric Ripert, tell Eric I have already had an interview with Anthony Bourdain, have a listen if you have a second?

Cheers!

[Gareth]

Michael,
Great blog. Interesting reading and great recipes - can't wait to give them a try. I'll be sure to check back often.
Cheers
Gareth

[Simon]

Thank you so much for the post. Not only is it great to work with great people, but it is also wonderful to work for great people. Your patience, humble nature, and incredible talent is inspirational. Thank you for the wonderful opportunity you have given me. It is truly an honor to work for you, and an experience that will forever shape my career.

[Nina]

Wow, what a generous and informative post. You're all so lucky to have each other. What a special place that kitchen must be!

[tulip]

What an amazing post about how many people go into making a wonderful restaurant run smoothly! It's so nice to see someone giving the support staff a loving nod. It's apparent that you have a great appreciation for these wonderful people and so nice for you to show them that love!
I am going to be in NYC this weekend and I have to say, just from reading your blog, regardless of the 4 stars, I wish our budget could stretch to come and eat with you! It will be a good goal for next time. :)
Thanks!

[Vicente Echeverria]

how nice to see the guys on your blog!, hugs to everyone, did you eat the dulce de leche bar?

[annie]

Hi Michael, I just wanted to let you know that I was so impressed with this post that I refer to it on my blog, along with some of the photos of your staff. I just wanted to make sure you're o.k. with this. Thanks.

[Y]

What a terrific team! And great post - I enjoyed reading every bit of it.

[Michael @ Herbivoracious]

Shuna just linked to this post, and even though I remembered reading it when first published, I had to take a few minutes to read it all over again. Your team is lucky to work for a chef that really appreciates them as individuals and sees how hard they work to make your desserts come out perfect every time.