Week One

Hi there. Having survived the drive back to Seattle (accomplished in a mere three-and-a-half days, I might add), I started at Canlis last Monday, the 9th. As part of our Externships, the CIA requires that we write weekly modules about a variety of topics. For example, the week #1 module asks you to explain the restaurant's orientation process and summarize your first week. I figured I'd just go ahead and paste these essays right into Blogger, so you can see what I've been doing. Some modules might be more interesting to you than others, and I'll probably have additional comments now and then, but for now here's my first essay.

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I arrived at Canlis Restaurant on the first day of Externship shortly after one-thirty on a typically rainy Seattle afternoon, having never set foot in the restaurant before. I was early for my two p.m. start time, but since early is good, I walked to the front entrance. Locked. Following the "Office and Deliveries" sign, I made my way around to the side entrance, rang the bell, and was buzzed in.

Nearly four hours before service, the kitchen was cool, calm, and quiet. It was also large—not extraordinarily so, but bigger than anything I was used to or was expecting. I introduced myself to Norm, the sous chef, who told me Chef Aaron Wright, one of two co-executive chefs, was in a meeting but would be out shortly. Chef Jeff Taton, the other co-executive chef, hadn’t yet arrived. Norm led me downstairs, showed me where to find uniforms, aprons, and towels, and left me to change.

Back upstairs, I was taken on a tour of the kitchen. Once you get past its size, the kitchen is like that of a typical restaurant—dish washing station, pot washing station, a line for pantry and prep, a pastry station, and the hot line, made up of sauté, vegetable, and plating stations. One unique feature is the grill station, which sits in a small room open to the dining room and accessible to main part of the kitchen through a small door. There’s also a window between the plating station and the grill room, as all food flows from the hot line, to the grill, and then out to the servers.

We continued on a tour of the restaurant, making our way through the main seating area ("the floor") and the Executive Room (a small, private room for up to 20 guests) on the main floor, then upstairs to the Caché (a very small, very private room for up to four guests) and the Penthouse (the largest private room, for up to 90 guests, featuring a grand piano and full bar). While the kitchen is impressive in its functionality, the rest of the restaurant is immaculate. From the walls and the stunning views down to the tables, chairs, and carpet, every detail at Canlis is just right. I felt out of place walking around in my whites; a tuxedo would have felt more appropriate.

Back in the kitchen, Norm informed me that Steven, who normally worked the vegetable station, had the day off and that I’d be working the station that night. This was a pleasant, if a bit unnerving, surprise as I’d expected to be doing prep work at the beginning. He said it was a good night to get my feet wet, as we would be slow—"only" 155 guests on the books, including a party of 40 in the penthouse. We went about setting up the station, which primarily consists of making sauces and blanching vegetables. When service began I watched him work, then gradually took over more and more responsibilities. About halfway through service, I realized he had left me entirely, that I was running the station myself. "Running" is probably an overstatement—"holding down" is more accurate, as it was far from smooth sailing. Still, at the end of the night I was proud of myself for surviving my first shift at what is, by far, the most upscale establishment I’ve ever worked.

With Steven back on the line after that first day, the rest of my first week was split evenly between setting up and working the vegetable station and doing other prep work. Highlights include preparing staff meal, as well as working with pork cheeks for the first time, on my second day. I worked the vegetable station again on Wednesday and Friday, only to have the station taken over by Chef Aaron when things got really busy. Although I was disappointed to be taken off the line, seeing him work the station was a tremendous learning experience and I improved a great deal just by watching him for an hour. Saturday I helped plate a party for 50, as well as cleaning 30 more pounds of pork cheeks.

The orientation process consisted of my tour of the restaurant, and then going through standard new-hire paperwork with Chef Aaron on my third day at Canlis. The usual topics—uniforms, professionalism, parking, harassment, clocking in and out, and so on—were covered.

Monday, my sixth day at Canlis, was once again Steven’s day off, meaning the vegetable station was all mine. I had the station set for service a full half-hour before we opened, and while I’m still far from having it mastered, service itself went fairly well—I really only felt the pressure during the very busiest push. If I can improve each week just half as much as I did in my first week, Externship will be an incredible success.