The Storm, that lasts abt 16 hrs a day

The 'storm' starts at 8a.m. till close to 12 midnite. In the kitchen. On your feet. No. No rest hours in between. Staff lunch/dinner is gobled down in less than 10 mins, and only when you're sure you've everything set up for lunch/dinner service. (If not, you've to steal bites in between serving.) Even then, on your feet too, there are no chairs, benches whatsoever. And no, you can squat like some 'chinese cooks'. You'll wonder why you go through all these when you wake up 6.30a.m. from your disturbed sleep.

Someone commented, that is not internship, that is slavery. Well, as we know from experience in our own working environment, interns are made to do the most menial tasks that nobody wants to do, like making photocopies. Truth is, in the kitchen, every single step goes towards the final dish, there's nothing too menial. Take for example, some carrot juliennes, if you cut it up badly, it spoils the complete picture of the dish. Can you still eat it? Sure. But the presentation has gone off and you can no longer charge $20/dish, but $2/dish.

Some people wonder why fine dining costs so much, that one can get his stomach full at the local food centre at much less the price of the dinner ticket. Various obvious answers are the quality of ingredients used, rent, interiors, talents employed, sophistication of kitchen equipment (that is linked to the sophistication of the cooking techniques). Other answers that people might not know, is high quality control. If something doesn't taste right, look right, it goes into the garbage. No matter how much costly ingredients went into it, or time spent on it. (And getting berated by the head chef for it. Berated is an understatement.) Secondly, what we prep should be enough just for the lunch (or dinner, where we prep completely different items). Any extra is usually thrown away by the end of the day, and start afresh the next day. Thus, the long hours.

Sure enough, to maintain high standards of taste and presentation churns up high wastage. Another reason is creativity of creating dishes with remarkable and tasty combinations in a way nobody has thought of. Fine dining aims to surprise and entertain (all) your senses. This is also another artistic aspect of culinary work, not just the art of plating a dish.

Back to doing menial duties. The regular line cooks performs these tasks every day as well, it speaks as much about the final dish as the cooking of it. Even the head chef. Ok, except maybe it's more hierarchal in a hotel. My kind of place I want to set up is more intimate, smallish, and the only way is for everyone to take charge of the whole kitchen. But my food I want to serve will not be exclusive fine dining, it's good wholesome presentable food, I don't know how to put it, maybe it's like comparing izakaya food to kaiseki meal. That ideal is hopefully not too far away.

Right now, am finishing up the final details of my move to Paris for Cert IV, and hope to land another internship for a longer period of time, mentored by a good chef. Maybe if I can work for 2-3 yrs, that'll be excellent.