You LIFT my Spirit, Take Me Higher, Make Me Fly...

Hello family and friends!

Last week I worked at the final plating station during evening service at Le Meurice. It was glorious. Four small LIFTS (elevators) are located in the kitchens which are used to transfer the plated/warm food from the basement to the restaurant level. I am usually in the garde manger section making the amuse buche/cold entrées/salads. However, last week I worked upstairs! Behind the actual restaurant of Le Meurice are smaller cuisine, pastry and room service stations. When the warm food is prepared in the basement, it is placed on the lifts and sent upstairs to the smaller cuisine/lift station. When Chef Francoise told me that he wanted me to work the lift station with him, a few of the younger chefs voiced their concern, being that I am not… well… French (in that, while my language is improving drastically, I am still not a native speaker). However, Chef was confident that I would be able to perform under pressure. Before service began, Thomas whisked me away upstairs and explained the mise-en-place which I would prepare in order to ensure a smooth service. I shall explain. After dinner every evening, I make crumuski and place a fresh sprig of basil on tomato aparative.

Crumuski – Purée of peas which is strained and mixed with gelatin leaves in order to ensure a smooth and consistent liquid state. It is then poured into half-circle molds made of silicone (about 1 inch diameter) and placed in the deep-freeze. When pouring the liquid pea puree, I use a hand-held funnel-type apparatus which can open and close with a press of a lever (oh… you probably thought that I was going to say ‘press of a button.’ Tricksie hobbit.) During the said pouring time, I like to pretend that I am a machine racing against the clock as the green liquid streams from the funnel and into the silicone mat that is dotted with hundreds of small molds. (Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto? Not so much?) Ok… anyway… The molds are then placed in the deep freeze. When frozen, the crumuski are rolled in flour, egg yolks, Japanese breadcrumbs, then frozen again. After dinner, I fry the crumuski, then place an elegant toothpick (seriously… even the tooth-picks at Le Meurice are trés chic) into the center of the fried purée of peas.

Apéritif – I believe I already explained this concoction. A cherry tomato with the outside skin removed… inside are diced and sautéed fennel and black olives with roquette. The cherry tomato is then placed in a small bowl on a fennel foam-mousse. To top off the tomato is a tiny sprig of fresh basil.

Placed on top of the granite table-tops upstairs at the cuisine/lift station are “Meurice trays.” The waiters carry the plated food on the trays which measure about four feet long by one foot wide. They also cost 1000 Euros. Each. The trays. To carry the food. Three star Michelin. Need I say more? During service, a waiter will yell, “Deux canapé!” (Meaning ‘two canapé’ … which are the tomato apéritif) and I begin to fly. I reach for two small, magnetized plates and carefully place them on the trays. I then move to the small refrigerator which houses the tomato apéritif which I mentioned earlier. After placing the tiny, magnetized bowl on the center of the plate, I drizzle a spoonful of (no, not sugar…) basil-oil on the top of the tomato. Running over to the crumuski, I carefully grab a porcelain plate which is shaped like a rectangle with a divider in the middle. I fill one half of the rectangle with dried peas, and then place two or three crumuski on top of the pea mound. On the other half of the rectangle, I carefully draw a single line of carrot sauce. The vibrant orange pops on the white porcelain and compliments the green peas and golden-fried crumuski. This small plate is placed on the tray with the tomato apéritif and whisked away by the service to the clientele.

A sheet with the clientele reservations is printed before service begins. It reveals important information regarding the upcoming service… the number of clientele, the time of their reservation. Requests or notes are also listed. For example, VIP if the clientele knows the chef, politicians, celebrities… one client requested rose petals to adorn the table-top for a wedding anniversary, marriage proposal one night, a princess dined one night (every little girl’s dream), birthdays, requests for specific tables. Basically, whatever the clientele want… they get.

Now for the food. When the food is plated downstairs, it is placed on the lifts, then sent up to the upstairs station which I worked last week. This is the final check and plating before guests experience the absolutely exquisite dining experience known as Le Meurice. The lifts beep when the food arrives and I fly/hover to the lift/elevator and throw open the set of double doors to revel the anticipated plates. Since the plates are hot, I carefully/quickly place them onto the correct positioning on the trays according to the seating arrangement of the clients at the table. The Dance of the Chefs features Chef Francoise and me elegantly dodging/avoiding crashing into each other as we both are rapidly adding the final touches onto the plates… diagonally placing the salmon onto a square bed of cooked greens, balancing soufflé potatoes onto the strips of duck, strategically placing the beef between the already plated vegetables, carefully spooning asparagus butter onto the asparagus tips, sprinkling chives and estragon around the veal, placing the foie gras in a specific pattern, using a hand held-blender to create foam in the Wasabi sauce which is then added to the white fish… details, details, details. As soon as the final plating is complete, a heavy, durable porcelain or silver dish cover is immediately placed onto the dish and the waiter delivers the works of art to the marble/gold-decorated, hanging crystal-chandeliered, candle-lit, live mini-orchestra/piano music-filled Meurice. Before the service began, Chef Francoise explained that the stagiaire who proceeded me had dropped a silver dish cover onto a plate… one of the cracked Meurice trays is evidence of the catastrophe. The stagiaire has not been seen since… just kidding (or am I?) Needless to say, I clutched those covers with dear life. No fear, yet no butter fingers!

I absolutely love the high energy and fast paced service. I perform the best under pressure, which I attribute to the years of sports and fabulous coaches who challenged me to “never, never, never give up” (Winston Churchill). I love every day increasingly because I am being given more responsibilities and expected to deliver to Meurice standards. I am so grateful to be around such determined and driven individuals. I love the environment… if you have ever seen “Hells Kitchen” – well, it does a night of service justice to the Chefs at Le Meurice with two exceptions: our chefs simply do not make mistakes and even the shouting in French is romantic. I love you all so very very much!!

All my love from Paris,

SB =)