Behind the Stainless-Steel Curtain

Nate Kristel  

Late one night after finishing a hectic Wednesday service at South Edison in Montauk, New York – my parents’ restaurant – I sat at the bar gripping my shift drink with frustration. It seemed like all night long patrons had something negative to say. Whether it was wait times or portion complaints, there was always someone dissatisfied with something. It seemed as though the customers saw us as enemies rather than servers that night. As I attempted to cool off, my manager drunkenly stumbled into the restaurant to share his last drink of the night with his employees. It was his first day off in two months, which he had clearly taken advantage of. Irritated, I turned to him and asked, “Why do customers complain about problems they know nothing about?” First he said, “Welcome to the service industry, bud.” But then he looked me in the eye and laughed: “Well, you know about the problems; you work in the industry… Tell them for God’s sake.”

I felt stupid. He was right. You can’t blame someone for not knowing something they were never informed of in the first place. It’d be like getting an exam question on a topic you hadn’t reviewed in class. Realizing this fact forced me to consider a new idea: in an age when restaurants and chefs are given so much publicity, and new cuisines and dining experiences are becoming extraordinarily pervasive in everyday life, it seems odd that the “behind the scenes,” technical stuff is continually pushed to the back burner. Never before have so many people known and readily eaten so many diverse foods—from cuttlefish to callaloo—and not fully understood how it has come to arrive at their table. They say that if you like sausage, don’t ask how it’s made, but I think the dining population is ready to see kitchens become more transparent. With the recent farm to table, locavore, and organic dining obsessions, diners should take time to examine how these highly selective ingredients are handled once in the kitchen.

In my five years of working nearly every restaurant position imaginable, from busser to expediter, I’ve learned all the aspects that go into running a smooth kitchen. Yet as I became more involved in the industry and began to broaden my perspective beyond my parents’ place, I saw and learned about the various systems utilized in other kitchens. And while it is true that there is a universal understanding about the general working system of a restaurant, hardly any restaurant operates in the same way as another. There are several reasons for this, such as the physical layout of the kitchen, the style or concept of the restaurant, and of course, the preferences of the managers and chefs. Besides providing an interesting insight into the world of restaurants, knowing these differences is important because it creates a harmony between diner and restaurant that provides an overall better eating experience

• • •

Welcome to the column inspired by my manager’s drunken wisdom. We will step through the swinging double doors – what I like to call the “Stainless Steel Curtain” – and into the shrouded kitchen. I will tour through various Ann Arbor restaurant kitchens in Ann Arbor to demonstrate the diversity of kitchen systems. By following one dish from its conception, through its preparation, pick-up, plating, and finally consumption, we’ll learn about the variety of techniques, strategies and even personnel that all contribute to making it a successful finished piece. Do you want to know what goes into creating a positive dining experience? Well, I’m gonna tell you, for God’s sake.