The other day, J4 and I had brunch with a couple he used to live with. One of them is a sous chef, and was telling us about working in the restaurant. J4 used to cook at a few different restaurants and I have years of experience, so this is all something we can relate to, but as I’ve never been in fine dining, I didn’t know what a sous chef did exactly.
J4 explained the hierarchy of a fine dining kitchen. Apparently there’s a person called an Executive Chef. She’s the ideas woman. She dreams up the menus and recipes. However, she doesn’t really cook anything. And she’s probably not even in the restaurant when you’re there. Her name is probably on the website for the restaurant.
Then there’s one or two Sous Chefs. They’re the grunts who are actually at the restaurant 14 per day. She’s the one who actually cooks the food that you order. The Executive Chef may have dreamed up the Mahi Mahi with Mango Salsa, but she’s the one who didn’t burn it, and made sure it looked good on the plate. She’s the unsung hero of the kitchen. Her name is probably not on the restaurant’s website.
So, as J4 was describing this to me, I realized something. J4 is my sous chef. Frequently I think up some idea of something I want for dinner, i.e. poached eggs over tomato on English muffin, and I make J4 cook it for me. I don’t really like to cook that much, except for when I do. I would much rather just sit down and have somebody hand me food to eat. That’s why I like eating out so much.
Having a sous chef is awesome. If you have the means, I highly recommend it.
Just sayin’.
Playlist: Alton Ellis Be True To Yourself – Anthology 1965-1973
Peggy Lu Who's Just Sayin' 