67. Alinea
https://content.alinearestaurant.com/html/index.html
April 2006: first stage(no position opening)
August 2007-March 2008: full time chef de partie
February 2008-June 2009(4 months break@Australia from Sep to Jan): stagire once a week(every Sunday)
"Describe working Alinea in one word would be "INTENSE", I'd say it's not somewhere you learn cooking' cooking, more like the place where we expand culinary creativity, approach on composing dishes & width of culinary inspiration... Alinea & chef Grant Achatz completely changed my cooking..."
*The story I wrote following is based on my personal view/opinion. And this is the story when I was in Alinea '07-09. It was before entering the world top 50 restaurants/Michelin guide came out, so probably far different from current Alinea '14. Please keep that in mind before you read ahead!
Since first I staged on 2006, Alinea became #1 kitchen I want to work. I had a job offer at my second stage on 2007 after I came back from Paris. Yes, I got the job!!! ..... but I opened my mouth and asked "... is it possible to work for short terms like 3 months???" It was a big gamble, I took a risk to be myself..."honest". You could imagine chef Achatz's face when he heard my word. I must be first and possibly last guy asking straight up short term job(not stage) in Alinea history!
Why I said that? I explained the reasons to chef Achatz. 1.Chef Laurent Gras is my mentor, I'm not here without him. So I want to help his first namesake restaurant(L2o) opening and I need short term job until the restaurant open. 2.On my next job I wanna be sous chef and I'm missing one last thing which is refining my fish butchering skill. I don't think I can do that in Alinea. So I wanna work as a butcher at L2o, seafood restaurant. 3.If you accept my offer, I'll come back to Alinea once a week after switching my job to L2o. Because I know I can learn lots here in Alinea. I don't need single penny for that! *Probably he didn't believe about my word on 3...
He told me "let me think bout it" and eventually he gave me a job offer... thanks god!! Anyway... eventually due to delay of opening L20, I worked full time at Alinea for nearly 6,7 months. After that (as I promised) I worked at L2o 5 days a week and came to stage at Alinea every Sunday which was my regular day off at L2o. When people ask me favorite restaurant I ever work, my answer is same "Time when I worked L2o 5 days and Alinea one day a week. Working for two of best chefs in the world same time... I felt like I was the luckiest cook on the planet.... it was miraculous!!"
Let me remember what it was like when I was in Alinea.... we had two tasting menu of 14ish and 26ish courses. The station breakdown was completely different from French kitchen I worked. If I remember correctly, there was 8 chef de partie (no commis, 2 on meat, 2 on pastry, fish, lamb, bread and one biter) plus 3 sous chef, cdc and chef Achatz..... total of 13 plus 2 stewards. As time went by, there were some changes like having chef tournant & AM day crew who taking care some of m.e.p. Stagire was time to time, 1-4, short/long terms, young & old, American & foreigner, all mixed up. I think we regularly did over 50, busy night over 80 covers. Least I don't recall any single peaceful slow nights! Once service started, lots of restrictions/allergies, bang x3, non-stop!!! I remember I call back expo something like "4 Wagyu next!! 26 all day, 2 no meat, 1 no mushroom, 1 no gluten!!" .... I mean EVERY SINGLE NIGHTS .... It was INTENSE & Brutal service ever....
My station was called meat, 4-6 dishes out of 26ish courses depending on the menu. Yes, I recall the menu changed very often, every week I came back once a week for stage, couple dishes were changed. Anyway despite the station called "meat", it was nothing like meat station of French kitchen. For example, I had 2nd, 11th, 13th, 17th & 26th dishes on 26 course tasting. It could be like salsify, yuba, pork, wagyu & caramel dishes. My station used to have last course of the menu, caramel.... but the station is still called "meat" station... weird, eh?
Random Alinea memories: *First 3wks I thought I get fired every day since I couldn't set up on time and keep it up on service. Oh, I got trained only 1 DAY, then the guy is GONE. I had to learn lots of food chemical I never used since I was classically trained French cook who's good at roasting meat and making jus(which was useless skill at Alinea/laugh) *I was in charged of making main for family meal, need to fill up one big brazier pan to feed 30+ ppl, BUT when I started there was no "liquid"(vege, chicken, veal stocks) to fill!!! We had lobster/mushroom consomme, but obviously can't use it for family... So I have to make broth/bouillon from scratches to make some volumes, it was very challenging to make it especially in 40mins timeline with all other station m.e.p.!! *I saw cooks crying, stagire walked out, people shrink & losing weight. *Regular schedule if I remember correctly, start 10,11am-ish to finishing 1,2am-ish. but...>>> *Twice I met baker coming to work during I was working on dehydrate my m.e.p. for next day(actual day). I told him(Mike) "I love you like brother, but hate to see your handsome face at 4:30AM!!" *After staging nearly 170 restaurants, I still say Alinea's expo station is the hardest station I ever seen in my life. *Best dinner in my life would be tough to answer, BUT most inspiring dinner I ever have gonna be dinner @Alinea'09!!! *I got 3 pictures on Alinea cooking book, I could say one of my biggest achievement in my career!!
People often ask me my favorite dish in Alinea. But it's tough call to make, too many! Flavor profile I never come up, soigne concept, super cool techniques, mad cool dish presentation.... endless dishes to remember.... I do RUB silicon mattress table dessert, but I personally love less complicated simple presented dishes like cold/hot potato, yuba, caramel, raspberry & bacon. Lamb 86, Balloon, Salad center piece.... Alinea breaking the limit of culinary imagination... always fun to watch what chef Achatz comes up next. Hail & horns to Alinea!!!
http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=16360&start=30
http://www.tangmeister.com/alinea/
http://gastronomyblog.com/2007/06/23/alinea/
http://hungryhedonist.blogspot.com/2007/10/alinea.html
http://chadzilla.typepad.com/chadzilla/2008/02/alinea-tasting.html
http://www.kevineats.com/2009/05/alinea-chicago-il-2.htm
http://www.alifewortheating.com/chicago/alinea
http://archive.feedblitz.com/596763/~4059711
http://www.nordicnibbler.com/2010/08/alinea-chicago-restaurant-review.html
http://www.cookingforengineers.com/article/302/Chicago-2011-Part-7-Alinea
http://www.alifewortheating.com/chicago/alinea-revisited
http://willtravelforfood.com/2012/06/09/dinner-alinea-chicago/
http://gastronomyblog.com/2012/04/05/alinea-2/
http://theheidireport.blogspot.com/2013/12/food-alinea.html
Thanks list: Chef Grant Achatz, Mr.Kokonas, Mr.Catterson, Pikus, Dave, Nathan, Greg, Matt, Graves, Craigie, Rene, Brian, Corley, Justin, Daniella, Anne, Haruka, Dennis, 160, Dan, Rich, Joseph, John, Josh, Nell.... and the rest of BOH & FOH team Alinea!!
Coming up next, straight up >> Tribute to the past vol.IX: el----two----ou------ L2o!!!!!