I would like to start off this post by thanking a few people and organizations that made this all possible.   First, my wife Mindy, for letting me spend time away from her and allowing me to cook food for other people instead of being her personal chef at home.   Next, Chef Lisa Nakamura, Chef Anna, and the rest of the crew at Allium for taking me in for a few days at their amazing restaurant.  Foodbuzz, you have been nothing but great to me ever since I became a Featured Publisher with you…I can’t believe this is my fourth 24×24 event you have sponsored for me. Lone and Jeremiah for giving me an affordable place to stay in your lovely home on Orcas….I can’t thank you enough and sorry for not being able to at least make breakfast for you both. My parents for sponsoring my trip and for helping me sponsor my tuition at school….I can’t wait to show you what I’ve learned when you come visit in November!    Finally, I would like to thank the people that visit this blog. I see people visit this blog from all around the world and I would really love to come visit your places and learn about the great food you eat, I’ll keep studying and working hard so we can meet up one day and break bread together……if you have a restaurant or know of one then let them know I’m crazy and I like to work in kitchens on my days off!!!

Eric, what is a stagiaire?!?!?!??!!??!?!  Well, it’s like an internship but it’s more of a tryout for a new person coming into a kitchen.  It’s a great way for restaurants to see if that fancy resume of a new employee will hold up.  Basically, you send your information to a restaurant….they look at it and say, “yeah, come on in for a day or two”.  Then you walk in and show them what you’re capable of.  Depending on the position you’re trying out for they will assess if you’re the right person for the job.  A stagiaire can last for a few hours, days or months with each second in the restaurant being a test and also being unpaid……like an internship but you’re actually doing something important (sorry office workers, I was one of you once and this is a whole different ball game).

At the end of the stagiaire the person trying out will typically meet up with the chef and then they will talk about how they faired during their stagiaire.   I’m not sure about the bad side but my experience is that they offer you a job or an open invite to stagiaire as many times as you want until you graduate from culinary school and your schedule opens up (I’ll explain this in a separate post).  :)

Why Allium?

It was an extremely easy choice for me.  A few months ago I went to The Herbfarm and had a great dinner there courtesy of Foodbuzz and I had the pleasure of meeting Chef Lisa Nakamura.   My reason for going to The Herbfarm was simple, I wanted to meet Chef Nakamura and at the time my only way to do this was to ask Foodbuzz to pick up the bill at the restaurant that was a budget killer for me.  Foodbuzz accepted then sent me for a dinner there. (Here is a link to my original post about The Herbfarm)  I met Chef Nakamura after dinner service and she acknowledged me as “the culinary student”, which was pretty awesome.   She asked me a few questions about what I wanted to do after school and what type of food I liked to cook. I wasn’t really sure at that time so I said, “anything and everything, that’s what I like to cook”.

I found out about Chef Nakamura through the cookbook from The French Laundry and also through a random conversation I had with someone at Metropolitan Market in Federal Way.

When I first started culinary school the first two books I checked out were The French Laundry and Alinea.   I was curious to read these two books and both of them went in different directions.   Grant Achatz had spent some time at The French Laundry then went on to open his restaurant Alinea in Chicago and he would bind his world of molecular gastronomy into the classical French techniques he had learned at The French Laundry.   When I read both books at the same time it blew my mind and still does to this day.

(Chef Nakamura in The French Laundry Cookbook)

I was in Metropolitan Market one day and in the line I struck up a conversation I had with a lady in line who noticed I had a bunch of random ingredients in my cart.  She asked if I was a chef and I said, “not yet but I’m working on it”.  She told me that she had a friend that was just named the Chef de Cuisine at The Herbfarm and that she was a fantastic chef that had spent some time at The French Laundry.  I said, “holy crap, that’s incredible”.   I had no idea who or what The Herbfarm was so I did my research, submitted my proposal to Foodbuzz then there I was, meeting Chef Nakamura for the first time.

I met Chef Nakamura one more time when I worked at The Herbfarm for a few days as a server.  She asked me, “why are you working on the dark side?”  I said, “I don’t know, I want to cook”.   Well, things didn’t work out at The Herbfarm with me as a front of house person…….I’m back of house material!!!

I started following Chef Nakamura on Twitter just so I could get tips or just insight so I could figure out a way to work alongside her at The Herbfarm.  I wanted to go back there and show everyone that I could work at a restaurant at that level.   Well, a few months passed then Chef Nakamura announced she would be leaving The Herbfarm.  I didn’t know if I would get my chance but then she announced she would be opening up her own restaurant on Orcas Island named Allium.   I contacted her, she accepted, and then the planning started.

Orcas Island from Seattle is about a three hour commute.   You can drive then take a ferry and drive some more or you can take a Kenmore Air flight and be there a lot quicker, the choice is yours.  My first experience with Orcas Island was brief.  Mindy and I owned a courier/notary company that would deliver/have signings on the island every once in a while and I made a trip up there  with her to do a signing.  We were there for a total of three hours and at the time I didn’t understand why anyone would live there.  An intense focus on food has changed my opinion on the places where people visit and call home but I’ll get to that by the time this post ends…you’ll see.

Wait wait wait……how did Chef Nakamura end up on Orcas Island?!?!?!!??!  The French Laundry, The Herbfarm, the Orcas Island?!?!?? What?!?!?  Here, read her blog post (CLICK).  Yes, she blogs,  another reason I love her work…..A CHEF THAT BLOGS!!!!

So now it makes sense.  Orcas Island……Allium…..a stagiaire…….a visit for a few days……call for favors……make a trip……let’s go.

DAY 1

Taking the ferry ride in the early morning when it’s drizzling rain and cold is not very exciting…..there, I said it.  Stop complaining though because you’re on a kind of brief vacation.  Yes, I’M ON A BOAT!!   The views bring me back into a sense of normalcy and calmness. It’s f’ing June and it’s in the 50′s….seriously?!?!?!?

The trip is beautiful and as the minutes on the ferry go by I start to realize that things are going to slow down a bit. Relax, let things happen, accept “Island Time”.   Ok! I work at a restaurant now that does an average of 150 covers per night. I have worked a few nights where it has been 350 and I have prepped a few days where it has been over 400.  The change of pace was needed. I needed to feel the artistry of food again and focus on making great food instead of worrying about how many people came in through the door.  Each dish is special and even if it’s just 1 then that dish is a work of culinary art…..this was my expectation for Allium.  My expectations were met.

I arrived on the island, stopped at the house I was staying at then changed my clothes and walked to the restaurant. It was about a 1 1/2 mile walk but it wasn’t uncommon for me to walk to a restaurant/school/or other places.   I like the walks, they help me focus and think about my next step in my career.  It helps me slow down to 3MPH walking while my brain races at 100MPH.

If you have read my blog you have probably noticed that I like to walk around Seattle and just post information about new restaurants or places I have visited.  It’s a fun way for me to see the city without having to worry about $20 parking.   I kept that same thing in mind for Orcas Island and decided to walk around as much as I could.

One thing I wasn’t expecting was the smells and scenery.   Deer don’t hang out in Seattle so once again, this trip was going to be different.

There isn’t tall grass and fields of wild flowers in Seattle.

Eric, you’re not in Seattle anymore.  Welcome to Eastsound on Orcas Island.

This place doesn’t seem real. It’s an oasis, it’s a dream, it’s something, I don’t know yet but I’ll try to make sense of it somehow.   Keep walking and go to the restaurant and don’t get distracted by the views!

I arrive at the restaurant.  I walk in through the rear door and say meet Chef Anna for the first time and she guides me upstairs to me with Chef Nakamura.  Chef Nakamura isn’t there but I get to see what she’s working on.  Breaking down some high-quality chickens for the evening’s dinner service.  Chicken coq au vin would be the destination for these chicken parts as well as a chicken stock for the carcasses.   I can’t help but notice the view from her station on the line……it’s amazing.

Don’t stop there.  Check out the patio for yourself.

I go back inside and I notice how clean and consistent each chicken carcass is.  No meat left behind.  Perfect for stock. This is art to me.

Chef steps in and says hello then directs me to the refrigerator next to the line that has pasta dough in it. She ask me, “do you know how to roll pasta?”  I said, “well, I’ve done it once with a machine…”.  She says, “ok, let me show you how to do it this way”.   No machine, just a manual pasta roller to roll out the dough for her duck egg ravioli.   She tells me it’s her best-seller so I feel like the pressure is on….. The amusing part is that she never acts like that, I just created the pressure on myself.   It takes me a lot longer to cut press these pieces of pasta than I wanted to.  Right off the bat I’m feeling like I’m wasting everyone’s time there but chef comes by and tells me that I’m doing a good job.   Great, 9 orders of duck egg ravioli are finished.

I ask her about her source for duck eggs then she proceeds to tell me about the difference between Seattle and Orcas Island.  It’s a small island and around 3,000 people live on it.  During the summer months the population triples.  The largest amount of people will be there for the 4th of July which is another week away.  She tells me that when she started the restaurant she ran into a guy that sold duck eggs.  He told her that if she wanted some she could find them in a cooler at a disclosed address. She was thinking big city style cooler but when she got there the cooler was nothing more than a beer cooler.  Adjustments were made and now the duck eggs are part of a much larger order on a day to day basis….less than 1 mile away from the restaurant, very awesome.

Next, she pulls three boxes of mushrooms and tells me about how these mushrooms got to the island.  She has a great relationship with the people from Kenmore Air.  They bring her ingredients that she needs that she can’t get on the island.  At that moment I start to realize how hard it would be to be in chef’s position.   She has worked at these amazing restaurants like The French Laundry and The Herbfarm.  They specialize in growing a lot of their own ingredients and sourcing local products, Chef Nakamura was doing the same thing but at a much faster pace. It took her less than a month to open the doors there and a short time after she had all her resources working for her and even got her liquor license in the State of Washington in under 6 weeks which is unheard of.   She is setting the pace in more ways than one.

The mushrooms are cleaned and ready to go. I place them on chef’s station.

She begins to work her magic and makes  filling for her ravioli. I’m done so she tells me to help out Chef Anne downstairs with her pastry/baking work.  I portion out cookies for a VIP visitor and baste biscuits with buttermilk for the evening’s service.   I have people at school that hate me (in a joking way) because I can work the bakery and pastry side along with the “regular” culinary side.

I find it amusing because my first experiences with cooking were baking…….those just add water, oil, and egg boxes of cakes were my first experience with bakery products.  My sister and I would work on them together then I would find myself taking a spatula and working icing on the finished product.  The best part? Licking the icing off the spoon.  Those days are over now, I want big flames, fire, and high heat where I work but if no one is looking I want to see what the pastry chef is doing.   They are the future of the culinary world (more on that in a separate post).

Chef Nakamura is completely different than the last time I saw her.  The chef jacket is gone.  I brought my black chef jacket with me in anticipation of wearing it to fit into the kitchen…..it would stay in my bag.   Chef told me that she was done wearing a chef jacket.  She wanted all the same things for her restaurant but didn’t feel like a formal chef jacket would accentuate or enhance the diners experience so she chose to go without them. Like she said to her servers later that evening, “I want to give my guests white tablecloth service without having white tablecloths.”

It’s just before dinner service and chef tells me that I need to go outside to view the deck again before the madness happens. I go outside and take the best picture of the trip, in my opinion.

The view from the deck is worth the price of admission but the food completely undermines the view.  You’ll see what I’m talking about.

I talked a little with Chef Anne and she asked me why I came up to Orcas Island from Seattle and away to work there on a few days off for me.  I told her it’s simple.   This is the best chance I would get to see a new restaurant opening up from the ground up.  In addition to that I would get to see a world-class chef personally serve every dish that came out of the restaurant.

I work in a restaurant right now where the focus is to get as many people in as possible.   It’s true that every restaurant focuses on this but Chef Nakamura is a rockstar in the culinary world to me.  French Laundry, The Herbfarm, etc……..working/eating here is like having your own personal chef cooking for you with a resume that would make any chef jealous.   It’s amazing and I’m right in the middle of it….working with chef at her own restaurant.

Chef Anne walks up from her pastry/baking floor and the two chefs meet up for a crew meeting.

They talk about what’s going to happen that evening. They discuss specials, VIP guests, and changes to the menu. Everyone is locked in now, there’s no going back.  Dinner service is minutes away from beginning.

At this point in time my job is to sit back and observe.  There are employees that chef has hired that are being trained to work there full-time/part-time so they get full attention.  This stagiaire is a little different for me because at this time I’m not pursuing a job at Allium, I’m just there to observe and hopefully line myself with a job later on with Chef Nakamura.

I sit back and watch. Chef Nakamura putting together her Half a Chicken: Coq Au Vin, Roasted Breast

This dish is a revelation for me. I love coq au vin…..chicken leg braised in wine and I also love an airline chicken breast sautéed but to put them together with an amazing sauce is just brilliant.   This is the first dish I see at Allium….I’m amazed.

More tickets come in and I notice the way the tickets are held down.  Very different than a typical kitchen where there is a stainless steel bar that holds tickets in place…..Chef Nakamura has chosen a lava rock to hold her tickets.  There isn’t much space in the kitchen so I understand how this is a quick and efficient way for her to see what tickets she’s working on.

The night goes on.  I watch, take notes, and start to remember the components of each dish.  I won’t be needed this night but I get a chance to photograph the dishes as they pass by.

The Daily Gnocchi: the season’s best with a drizzle of white truffle oil and Oregon Bleu Cheese Brioche “Pizza” with Bacon Crumbles, Mango-Spring Onion Relish.

Barley Mis Marinated Alaskan Halibut with Ginger Risotto Cakes and Sugar Snap Peas and Painted Hills New York Strip Loin Steak with Yukon Gold Gratin, Black Dog Farms Braising Mix with Oregon Roquefort

Coriander-Crusted Wild King Salmon Filet with Black Dog Farm New Potato, and Elephant Garlic Confit, Braised Celery.

It was towards the middle of dinner service and chef told me that at 8:45 I needed to decide what I wanted to eat for dinner.  I wanted to tell her that I wasn’t here for the food but I learned that when I’m in a chef’s domain I should just listen and follow so I chose the Halibut dish.

Absolutely amazing.  Each component of the dish worked so well together. Perfectly seasoned, the fish was cooked with perfect.  Dammit, the whole thing was perfect…..yes, perfect! I wasn’t just kissing ass, this dish showed a lot of things I lack…….restraint, execution, and perfect pairings across the entire dish along with a wine pairing that blew me away.   This is amazing, I thought to myself…..how did I end up here…….how do I stay here…….what…..when….why…how……yes!  This is the effect of great food.  You feel happy, you question it, you appreciate it, then you try to break it down, you are lost, you are happy, you are full.   This is great food.

Day 1 comes to a close with chef telling me that the next day is normally their day off but they have a banquet for the local Lion’s Club.  They will cover their expenses and not make a profit in order for them to create exposure amongst the community on Orcas.  This is a bold move for a new restaurant but with the guidance of Chef Nakamura it’s just another day at the office.

I am told that I will have a fun day on Orcas.  I’ll hang out with Chef Anne and we will go to Black Dog Farms (one of their main sources for ingredients on the island) to tour the facilities.  I walk home in the dark and sleep until the next morning in anticipation of the next day of cooking.

Day 2

Today I’ll be more involved in the kitchen work during service.  The Lion’s Club is coming in for a private dinner with a set menu of the halibut or schicken coq au vin with accompanying dessert.  Chef starts me off on breaking down the chickens. I don’t get enough practice doing this so the first few take me a little longer than I want but that’s ok, the point is to cut nice pieces because they’re going to be showcased for the dinner party.

This is my first encounter with the “one-butt line”.   I’m used to a 7 butt line at work so this is a welcomed surprise.  I get tired of all of the hustle and bustle sometimes so it’s nice to be able to be the only one that can physically fit in there……you have no choice!!! GO THE OTHER WAY I’M COOKING HERE!!!!

Chef Anne comes upstairs then whisks me away once I am done with the chicken in order to get some lunch at a local restaurant (I’ll write about it in a separate post….EAT THE STREET!) then we will go to Black Dog Farm to pick up the daily produce order.

The farm is about 2 miles away from the restaurant and it is one of the many farms available to Allium.  Chef Lisa and Chef Anne have great relationships with the farmers and have some great stories about a few of their first encounters with Black Dog Farm….I would get into it but I’m not much of a storyteller.

The farm is open to the public and they do a great job displaying their own products that are for sale.

Our order is ready so we stuff everything into Chef Nakamura’s car (almost a one-butt car!).

We say hi to the farmers on the field then get back to the restaurant to prep for the private party.

When get back I start working on the peas we just picked up from the farm.  Chef wants them cleaned and cut.  Unfortunately, I end up taking a little too much off and I chef lets me know about it but not in a demeaning way….she just says, “I like to do it like this”, which is a subtle hint to do it like her next time……I’m just happy that chef says there will be a next time.

The crew moves towards completing the prep for dinner service. Tonight I will be working on the side of the line next to the oven which will house the saute pans with each dish that will be staged and ready to be served to each table.   This isn’t a normal dinner party where 38 people come and they eat out of a buffet trough….no, this is not that kind of restaurant.  Each dish will be plated individually with care and a pursuit of perfection.

It’s dinner time and chef starts to call out orders.  The President’s table goes first then each table is served.  A few people show up late and chef calls the orders to complete each table at the same time.  It’s a balancing act that chef plays beautifully.   I’m a little nervous but looking at the chaos that chef is controlling calms me down.  45 minutes and we’re done with dinner service.   We take a few more late-comers then Chef Nakamura and Chef Anne prepare for dessert.

All 38 desserts are plated at the same time. It’s chef Anne’s angel food cake with strawberries from Blackdog farm.

38, all perfect and amazing.   Service is over so we clean the kitchen.  It’s a successful evening and I overhear one of the patrons tell Lisa, “you’re going to be rich”.  Every item that has been served has a high level of execution that proves that Chef Lisa and crew know what they’re doing….they have been open for less than a month.

Day 3

The weather on this day is perfect. It’s my last day at Allium and I will be to see lunch service.  In three days I have seen dinner, a banquet and lunch. The timing of my trip worked out  perfectly. I’m a little sad that I have to leave but I start a new job at a new restaurant and oh yeah, that school thing too.  I want to stay on Orcas!

Lunch service is relaxing to set up. We’re not expecting too many people so chef has me make a few different things then has me make some spaetzle.  It’s going to go with the special of the day, goulash.  I have made spaetzle in class before but the recipe we used was complex.  Chef Lisa has me write down five ingredients and I make some pretty damn good spaetzle.  I wrap it up and get it ready for lunch service.

It’s slow and chef asks me what I want to eat before I leave.  I tell her that the goulash with that amazing spaetzle is my choice

It’s sooooooooooo good and once again I start trying to figure out if there is a way I can stay……how about? Ugh, fine, I have to leave.

I say goodbye to everyone at the kitchen and make my way to the ferry dock.  I have learned a lot in three days.  This is the way I want to learn how to cook in a restaurant.  This food takes time to prepare.  All of the ingredients are fresh and the level of execution on them is flawless.   It’s going to take a lot of work to get there but I am confident I can achieve those goals.

Chef Nakamura and Chef Anne are living my dream right now. One day I’ll open up a restaurant and hope it will be half as successful as Allium on Orcas. Until then, the door is open for me to go back again and stagiaire.  I cant wait to go back.

Allium On Orcas (click)

Eric