Purple Garlic

Brandon Jones
May 14 2018
My last week spent at Steel and Rye has been one of progression and increased trust and responsibility. After a short period of acclimation, Chef Brendan has allowed me to take part in more complex parts of food preparation and cooking. I’ve had the opportunity to look through his recipe book and work alongside him creating new dishes for the menu. On Tuesday, it was a classic day so to say. I did my usual daily prep — de shelling fresh garbanzo beans, English peas, steamed mussels and clams. Then, I worked specifically with chef Jeff to prepare his pasta station, which would primarily be serving crab spaghetti with ramp basil pesto and macaroni and cheese with sausage and breadcrumbs. With him, I learned how to make several types of pasta. By the end of the night, I had earned chef Brendan’s trust to make a specific type of pasta— spinach cassarecce— that would be served later that week with a ragu made from a whole boar. On Wednesday, I worked mostly in the back of the kitchen on appetizers, where I learned to butcher chickens and to prepare a series of appetizers ( fried green tomatoes, fried olives, duck legs, etc.) For Thursday, Chef instructed me to come in early to work with Chef Kezze in receiving fresh produce and meat orders. Together we received and prepped about dozens of pounds of ribeye steaks, duck wings, chickens, fish, mussels and clams, pork belly, and dozens of types of produce, from ramp weed to wild morels, from wood sorel to purple garlic. We then made more pizza sauce. That night during service, I worked with chef Brendan to make more cassarecce pasta and we started butchering the pig for the ragu. At around 11pm that night, the pastry chef abruptly quit, leaving us in the lurch regarding the baking of breads and prepping of desserts. Chef Brendan again called me in early to help out and ease the load. He handed me his recipe book and instructed me to cook lemon curd, rhubarb jam,
several batches of brioche and English muffins. For my first time preparing any of those recipes, Everything came out really well. I worked that night almost exclusively with chef Brendan, butchering salmon and striped bass, slicing different cured meats for our charcuterie boards, making different breads and pastries for the weekend. As the week went on, I felt that I became more trusted and relied on in the kitchen and it felt really rewarding. There are some really talented chefs in that kitchen— some that have even worked in Michelin Star restaurants— and to have them rely on me for certain things, no matter how menial or important, gave me confidence about my own skills in the kitchen. As I look forward to his next week, I have a bunch of new experiences to look forward to. I may be able to work with the manager of finances, learning how to restaurant makes a profit and how it sources it’s ingredients and prices it’s meals based on demand and supply. I may also get to travel to steel and ryes sister restaurant, prairie fire, in Brookline mass to experience working in a smaller kitchen and expecting new culinary skills like butter, cheese, and ice cream making along with learning how to butcher different cuts of meat. I look forward to building on this increase responsibility and hope to advance my learning even further through new challenges.