Le Bernardin

Stage #6

LE BERNARDIN Upper West Side

155 West 51st Street
New York, NY 10020

www.le-bernardin.com

So this is what its like to be in a 3 star Michelin restaurant! For those of you who do not know, Michelin (yes as in the tire) is a restaurant and tour guide book that originated in France. The Michelin guide employs anonymous inspectors to dine in restaurants and judge the service/food. If the restaurant meets expectations the restaurant may be visited again and again and if the inspector thinks that it is up to Michelin standard they are rewarded a star. Obviously the more stars a restaurant has the better it is perceived. Some chefs dedicate their whole careers striving for one of these proverbial stars and Le Bernardin has three.

As I walked into the kitchen I tried not to feel intimidated but its difficult once you recognize the caliber that surrounds you. Michael Laiskonis (one of the country's top pastry chefs) was 10 feet away from me perfecting his desserts for service, Maguy Le Coze (owner) was up at the pass speaking to the sous chefs; the people you read about and here I was sharing the kitchen with them.

After I got the tour of the kitchen and met the chefs, I figured I would just stand in the corner and watch; surely they weren't going to let me touch anything, however next thing I hear is "do you know how to clean foie gras"? "We have about 60 lobes to clean for torchons; we're having a foie cleaning party". I was thinking to myself, who can afford to have a foie gras cleaning party but I am down! I helped clean the foie gras with a couple sous chefs and a stage from Germany and another stage from Chile. At this moment I really felt immersed in my industry and was proud to be apart of it. The kitchen had such an energy to it, filled with chefs learning from one another and preparing for the perfect dinner service.

cleaned Foie Gras

Let me explain why I say it is the perfect dinner service...

Cooks that are hired at Le Bernardin start off at the Garde Manger station (cold food) where the food is prepared ahead of time and is pretty much fool proof. If the cooks do well at this station they will move up to the next station and so on and so on. It can take as long as 2 years for a cook to reach the fish station (the Poissonnier) and trust me in a restaurant known for their fish you better believe the Poissonier in Le Bernardin knows how to cook fish perfectly. Once the tickets come in, (which are all still hand written by the way) the line functions preparing one table at a time dedicating the most care to those specific diners. After that table's ticket is cooked and completed it goes to the pass and is tasted and inspected by 3-4 sous chefs, if and only if, it is perceived to be perfect it goes out to the diner. This was amazing to watch; everyone relying on each other, communicating with the upmost trust and respect for one another, all working together in synergy to create the perfect dining experience.

Stage Lockers

every kitchen in New York has lockers for their employees because everyone walks and usually needs to change before work. Not to mention the winters suck and you need to shed about 3 layers before putting on your chef whites

Hiramasa

Seared Yellowtail King Fish; Truffle Risotto,

Baby Vegetables, Black Truffle Emulsion

Family Meal

chili, rice, crab fritters, salad

Pan Seared Duck Breast

Turnips, Dolce-Forte Sauce Pine Nuts and Caramelized Orange

Sous-Chef Colby

Canape

Baby Shrimp, Shellfish Foam

Torchon

Octopus

Fermented Black Bean-Pear Sauce Vierge

Ink, Miso Vinaigrette, Purple Basil

Lobster Carpaccio

Hearts of Palm, Orange Vinaigrette

Mini Steamed Buns

Hoisin-Plum Jus

Codfish

Leek and Grape Parfait, Caramelized Endives,

Green Peppercorn Marinere

Spices that are specifically blended just for Le Bernardin

Red Snapper

Saffron "Fideos", Smoked Paprika Sauce

Making Pasta

I'll never forget the feeling I felt when I walked out of Le Bernardin. It marked the end of my trip and it reminded me how passionate I am about food. It is such an art and a profession that allows you to showcase your creativity and share it with others that are just as fervent about it as you are.

I say this to all aspiring, young chefs out there; live life to the fullest, experience all food, work in every type of restaurant you can, immerse yourself with other chefs, cooks, restauranteurs that are just as passionate about this field as you are and learn from those experiences and let them shape you into the person/chef that you are and want to become.

Something tells me my New York journey isn't over and I truly do miss the city. Maybe I will find myself here again in the future; either way I am so thankful for this opportunity; i'll never forget it!