Today, not only did I do my first Split Shift in the restaurant, but I also became a cold blooded murderer of both Lobsters and Crabs ! More later – read on !
A split shift at Steins is a start at approx 08.30am , an hours break at 16.30 ( well it was for me today), and then back on to end of service- being 22.30 for me tonight. That’s a long day and many of the chefs at the restaurant did that today and live with this style of work week in, week out. Not only that but many did not take a break at all, other than maybe stopping for a 10 minute breakfast and then 20 minutes at 17.30 for staff early dinner. Some were there before me and were still cleaning down when I left – hats off to them. These peeps work very hard.
I had been advised I would be on Mains again today but I went “rogue” and started chatting to the 2 guys on “Larder” and got working with them up until my break at 14.30. This section is mainly dealing with Seafood – Crustaceans, BiValves, Cephalopods etc. Just as I arrived the mornings Lobster catch appeared and the first job was dividing them into various trays dependant upon size and weight, so I assisted here. Then it came to the kill and I had my first experience of plunging a large knife to the back of the head and then cutting down the head in the claw direction. Thereafter 5 went for a boiling water plunge for 12 minutes to be utilised at the lunch service.
About to meet their maker …..
Next it was to the crabs and I was shown the precise point – a small triangle in the centre of their underside where again a large sharp knife had to be driven down hard so that the crab would cease to be , expired and gone to meet its maker, an Ex – Crab (apologies Monty Python) . 5 crabs expired in such a way under the guidance of my Leiths Blue Blade!
5 “Ex”Crabs
Up next I was presented with a huge box of Prawns which needed peeling leaving on their tails, and then deveining. I do this at home when we buy prawns but not in the quantity we had here so this job took some time to complete even if I am a little experienced in the task. They were then sent over to become Deep Fried Coconut prawns as a starter on the menu.
This was non stop fun and as soon as I finished the Prawns I was told to open 2 large boxes which contained 60 Scallops in their shells. My task was to sort out 20 of the best looking with corals and send these to the bar for sashimi and then shuck the remaining 40 for other purposes.
So I went :
From this…..
To this …..
to this !!!
and basically the cleanest way to get them from the shell is to use a spoon not a knife !
My morning was flying by and my next task was Squid. These had been pretty much prepped so they just needed the body to be sliced open, the membrane scrapped off and then scored in criss cross fashion before being cut in thick slices which are used to pan fry and then to be added to the Thai Green Curry as a Main. We had done this at Leiths but with a baby squid, but the principle was the same, just a much larger scale.
I then cut up loads of Seabass and cod into 50g chunks and put them into small pots ready to be thrown into the curry – I think, by now I was a little lost !
Finally I made a surprise discovery. Not all fish arrive fully prepped. There are 3 types that the restaurant still clean and fillet themselves, namely- Salmon,Tuna and John Dory. We had 2 boxes of John Dory arrived and Tom – who was in charge of Larder – asked me if I wanted to have a go at filleting them. Of course I did but watched the expert first and he advised they were tricky because their central spine does not go in a straight line but a wavy line : his advice was – Don’t saw and be confident with your knife !
Before and after Pics :
When Tom saw my first attempt I was really chuffed when he said that it was pretty good and he had seen a lot worse in the restaurant!
My fish filleting practice and my special knife (which I took along ) had not been in vain ! By the way I did not do all the fillets above as Tom was a little quicker than me but I managed about 6/7.
My experience on Larder was great and just what I had come to the restaurant for, so I am really thankful to Tom and Johnny for allowing me to get my hands dirty in all areas today.
After my break I was back on Mains and performing my usual task of plating up and being in charge of garnishes and salads in the evening. The only real difference was that again I was working with a different team of people and also a new job – before the service began I was given the glorious task of finding 2 enormous boxes of spinach and asked to rip off the stalks and wash them all before spin drying them in an industrial style hand driven drier. This took an hour or so but somebody’s got to do it !
I don’t even really like spinach …..
Today was my favourite day to date and even though it was quite tiring being on a split shift I got to know more and more of the team – even those on pastry – Stewart and Paige – and the crew seems a really happy team, working really well together with excellent communication. This came shining through today as only one shout from one end of the kitchen is required for another end to respond, and each individual trusts their counterpart to react quickly and efficiently or the service and plating would be disrupted to a catastrophic level. It is real teamwork and without it the kitchen simply could not work.
In the meantime I hope those crabs and lobsters are forgiving of my murderous actions earlier today, but their lives were not wasted, especially the lobsters, earning RS £ 66 per head !
Back on earlies tomorrow ! For now to bed ! (After I finish the glass of red by my side ! )