And were off and running here in Bray. 72 hours over 5 days this week at The Fat Duck. Needless to say I was a bit exhausted. I have seen so much over the past few days explaining every detail might take some time. I’ll only point out the highlights and keep the post broad.
3 Michelin stars…I now understand what it takes to be a 3 Michelin star restaurant. The devil is in the details. Detail is a word I have become familiar with over the past week. From brunoise carrots and celeriac, to laying out mushroom plates, its all about the details. Time consuming, often times painstaking details. For the first 3 days I did nothing but prep work. I found it really hard to understand why I was picking the individual cells out of 3 grapefruits. Then on the evening of my 3rd night I had an observation of the kitchen for dinner service (The restaurant kitchen and prep kitchen are in separate buildings). That is when it all made sense. I now understood why my brunoise had to be perfect. Seeing the detail and time spent on every dish made me realize that the painstaking work I had been doing for the past 3 days was such an integral part of the menu at The Duck.
The following day I spend all day in the kitchen at The Duck working the line on the amuse station. I was responsible for the oyster with mango gellie and lavender, the red cabbage gazpacho, the quail jelly with foie gras mousseline, and I also helped plate the infamous Sound of the Sea dish. What a fantastic feeling to complete a full day of work in the the kitchen at the second best restaurant in the world.
The first week is done, 11 more to go. I am beginning to miss it state side. I miss my friends, my apartment, things of the sort. I am just now realizing how much everyone has meant to me over the past year. I know if i don’t learn any more techniques here at the duck, I know I will grow mentally into a stronger more dedicated person. and for that I am truly grateful.
