To call these dishes “sides” is an injustice – any one of them (we had five among the three of us) could stand alone as a signature dish. The chef here grills all the meat dishes called out, sending them to the front to be paired with side dishes – some from the saute’ station, others from the other half of the kitchen center – the salad, soup, and fry station. Sauté is where the chef is juggling eight or ten pans at a time, making flames, making things jump.Īround the corner at the rear of the kitchen is the namesake of the restaurant: a wood fired grill and oven. The sauté station anchors one half of the center this is where constant motion is an understatement. Rooster’s doesn’t have a large kitchen, but it is designed to function with efficiency. Today let’s look at efficiency next time, mise en place. It’s about two fundamentals of the restaurant business that can be applied to your organization: efficiency and mise en place. But this isn’t about the food, as good as it was. The food was excellent: fresh ingredients, prepared in such a way to bring out the natural flavors, served by a warm and friendly wait staff. The kitchen is right in the center of the restaurant, and we had reservations in the prime observation spot – the Chef’s Counter – where all the action was just a few feet away.

…it all starts with making sure you have everything in its place before beginning. Whatever your end product is – a worship experience, sermon, leadership class, playtime with kids, etc. The front of house staff were gracious in working with me to make sure we could have a front row seat to all the action the wait staff were friendly, knowledgeable, and attentive the chefs prepared wonderful food while displaying their skills to an audience.īut it was more than just a meal – it was a demonstration of excellence from top to bottom, one that any organization could learn from. Our evening at Rooster’s Wood-Fired Kitchen was delightful on so many levels. It’s about thinking through things before they happen, so that when they happen, you’re one step ahead. Mise en place is all about the knowing everything that is required to produce the finished meal, and making sure all the ingredients are ready to use when needed. It’s the dishwasher, knowing if he doesn’t get the dirty pans out and clean ones back, the whole kitchen grinds to a halt.

Culinary fundamentals day 27