POV: Head Chef at a Top London Restaurant

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Sounds like a clickbaity title, but it's not :p

I found this very interesting. Having got hooked on Kenji's (of Serious Eats) POV cooks at home, I can see a lot of similarities in the way they move and handle the food. Also it's clear that if you're a wannabe chef at home then you need about 20 stainless steel bowls, 30 odd stainless steel prep platters (someone can tell me what they're actually called) and a lot of spoons? :p

Anyway, I thought it was an interesting watch.

 
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Scam said:
Sounds like a clickbaity title, but it's not :p

I found this very interesting. Having got hooked on Kenji's (of Serious Eats) POV cooks at home, I can see a lot of similarities in the way they move and handle the food. Also it's clear that if you're a wannabe chef at home then you need about 20 stainless steel bowls, 30 odd stainless steel prep platters (someone can tell me what they're actually called) and a lot of spoons? :p

Anyway, I thought it was an interesting watch.

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I'll give this a watch, probably PTSD inducing for me :D

Most important part of doing it professionally is mise en place, basically means having everything prepped and ready where it needs to be, with backups. Including an excess of pots, pans, trays, tongs etc.

You also need the ability to do lots of things at once. I'll see people cooking at home and they'll put pasta on then watch it boil for 10 minutes, that time could be spent doing so many other things. You might have 10 different dishes on at once, all with 4-5 components and different cook times. You want to line it up so that not only does each component come out ready at roughly the same time so do all the dishes.
 
Rai200 said:
You might have 10 different dishes on at once, all with 4-5 components and different cook times.
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I do find it incredible how he just shouts table numbers/orders at people and it's just done, perfect timing etc. If someone shouts (tells) any sort of lengthy info at me, I'm lost after 6 words :p
 
Scam said:
I do find it incredible how he just shouts table numbers/orders at people and it's just done, perfect timing etc. If someone shouts (tells) any sort of lengthy info at me, I'm lost after 6 words :p
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In this sort of scenario most of what he is saying doesn't affect you, each chef there will have a section and it will either be split up into dishes (so each chef will make 3-4 dishes) or each one will have a specialty. So one might do sauces, one proteins, one veg, one fried components and another cold items. So he might reel off 20 things, but only 4-5 apply to you.

Where I work it's lower volume so I'll often be working alone, but when it does get busy you can have multiples of every single dish (14 currently) on order at once, which gets a bit hectic.
 
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Did the waitress bring him milk when he asked for double cream? And he used it in the sauce?… wtf

Ref mis en place, My partner really helped me get more organised with cooking. It used to annoy me when I’d come downstairs at 2 and all the ingredients for dinner would be out. However now I do the same and do all my prep before cooking. Beforehand I’d chop the onions, then put them in the pan. Then try and find the herbs. Then rummage around the cupboard for the spices. Oh the onions are burning. Best take that off the hob and chop the garlic. Back on heat. Oh no, we’re out of spaghetti.
 
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Ahleckz said:
Did the waitress bring him milk when he asked for double cream? And he used it in the sauce?… wtf
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I assumed it was a catering size bottle of cream, which to you and I probably looks like a bottle of milk.

As for your second point, it certainly helps to be organised. But it depends what I’m cooking. Stir fried I definitely wouldn’t start until everything was ready.. but if you’re starting something with onions, carrot and celery then I’d happily get the onions going slowly whilst I chop a carrrot and celery. At home I guess it really depends what you’re cooking.
 
Scam said:
I assumed it was a catering size bottle of cream, which to you and I probably looks like a bottle of milk.

As for your second point, it certainly helps to be organised. But it depends what I’m cooking. Stir fried I definitely wouldn’t start until everything was ready.. but if you’re starting something with onions, carrot and celery then I’d happily get the onions going slowly whilst I chop a carrrot and celery. At home I guess it really depends what you’re cooking.
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Stir fry/Pad Thai is a big one, you do it on such a high heat that you kind of need everything pre-prepared or you risk burning everything.


Off topic - We're in a rental for 3 months, and there's a gas hob. I've really struggled with it, just seems so much hotter and even lowering the flame doesn't seem to reduce the heat! I did burgers last night and they got a brilliant crust on them really quick which i don't get at home, however i took them out when i would normally expect them to be done, only for them to be pink in the middle. Couldn't quite smash them as thin as at home as the utensils here are fairly limited.
 
That was actually a really interesting watch. Amazing to see how all the different cogs turn in the back ground and then how it all comes together in a matter of seconds on the pass. Will look into more of these for sure.
 
Martynt74 said:
Off topic - We're in a rental for 3 months, and there's a gas hob. I've really struggled with it, just seems so much hotter and even lowering the flame doesn't seem to reduce the heat! I did burgers last night and they got a brilliant crust on them really quick which i don't get at home, however i took them out when i would normally expect them to be done, only for them to be pink in the middle. Couldn't quite smash them as thin as at home as the utensils here are fairly limited.
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Hey Martyn, I just got the violin out at your hardship :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:, I hope the 23 degrees wasn't too taxing either.


:cry::cry::cry: Congrats on the move once again.
 
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