Back of the House by Scott Haas

Author:Scott Haas [Haas, Scott]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
ISBN: 9781101619278
Publisher: Penguin Group US
Published: 2013-02-04T16:00:00+00:00

TWELVE

Theory versus Practice

IT WAS A CONUNDRUM, THAT MUCH WAS CLEAR, AS TONY AND THE COOKS struggled to come to some resolution. In theory, Tony was shifting, or trying to shift, toward a more inclusive model in which the cooks felt able to think independently, propose ideas to him, and in doing so move up the food chain. In practice, neither side was budging much.

On top of this, a quiet, almost undetectable discontent was becoming evident in the front of the house. Since Meredith had given notice, a kind of fairy-tale atmosphere had developed. Not a happy fairy tale, but one in which the queen left the castle after making love with one of the knights, where all the other ladies-in-waiting and knights did not know what would happen to them.

In the midst of all these changes, it was summer and many regulars were gone, while in their place were tourists, businesspeople in town for conventions and meetings, and “foodies” who had heard about Tony’s winning a James Beard award a couple of months back.

“It’s a difficult crowd to cook for,” Tony told me on the hot July night when James went over the edge, Bobby showed his stuff, and waitstaff pulled together. “They don’t know what to expect, and it’s hard to make them happy. We can do it—we’ve done it before—but it’s harder than usual. When we don’t know our guests, it becomes more of a challenge.”

The first guests or customers had arrived and been seated. In a far corner facing the room, at a choice table, a much too casually dressed couple (Obama T-shirts and baggy old jeans) took their places, held menus out that Chuck had handed them, and started to look nervously around the room.

“Are they regulars?” I asked, nodding in their direction.

“Not at all,” Tony said.

“But you gave them a great table.”

Tony smiled, sharpening knives, and calling out, over his shoulder, “I need a lobster, bass, and sword.”

“I’m in the hospitality business,” he said. “There aren’t any VIPs in for this seating, so they get one of the best tables in the house.”

I watched from the short distance of the kitchen, beside Tony at the pass, as the couple looked over their menus. It didn’t take long for them to put in orders: Fried clams, striped bass.

“They ordered the same things,” I said.

“They probably think it’s safer that way. Look, a lot of the features of my menu items aren’t familiar to people coming here for the first time. I designed Craigie that way—that’s how I like it. That’s one reason I won’t serve California wines. Because people might know them. I want them to step out of their comfort zone.”

I understood the theory, but thought that the practice of keeping great California wines from small or exclusive producers like Peter Michael off the list uninspired. I also thought that if the chef wanted to hear my opinion, he would ask me.

I took a menu from the clip that held it on the wall, and Tony and I studied it.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.