To understand what’s behind the chef coat you need to get the details from the chef. This is my story of an average day for this chef at a golf club.
Beginning of the day… 7-9am
So, the chef wakes up at 7:30 to be at work by 9ish.
The Muddle through the morning goes something like this:
Shower… Shave… Brush… Coffee… Breakfast and vitamins… Walk the dog… Run a few quick errands…
A quick stop at Dunkin donuts for one of many daily cups of coffee… Settle in for
the drive to the club.
In through the back door… 9-10am
What will the day be like?
Are there notes on your desk about something that might have happened the night before?
Is the morning line cook in control?
Will the counts for today’s banquet be change?
Is the bread delivery here yet?
Planning the day… 10-11am
Great… It all went well the night before.
Purveyor orders for the week prepared: bread, produce, and dry goods.
Banquet prep lists completed and set for the prep cooks who are (hopefully) on their way in.
A call to the purveyors to enter the week’s orders; then off to the managers meeting to coordinate all of the week’s events.
Mis en place or everything in its place 11-1pm
Time to start a golf outing banquet… this one’s for 140 hungry golfers.
Sautee the veggies & peppers and onions… Bake the potatoes…
Get the banquet cooks started on the salads… Make sure the grill guy has the grill fired up…
Don’t forget the dessert and rolls… Help the grill dude time the chicken and steaks…
Hope the group of 140 golfers finishes their round on time!
Organized chaos 1-2pm
Serve time has arrived.
Get the golf outing food to the banquet hall fresh, hot… Final check on all of the details… Back to the grill
our afternoon golfers want to eat lunch… return a call from a sales person… Get the prep list ready for
the evening cooks to ready the kitchen for our hungry evening league players… Back to the banquet hall
to make certain our outing golfers are enjoying their chow.
A quick rest 2-3pm
If all went well, and it usually does, time for a quick break which includes taking inventory… cleaning up… making sure that all kitchen employees have taken a break, and drinking plenty of water — it gets really hot in the kitchen!
Rinse and repeat 2-10pm
The golfers are happy, but if it’s a Friday or Saturday it’ll be time to do a wedding.
Appetizers… proteins… kid’s meals. Yep… a repeat of the day!
Reflections 10-11pm
On the way home (or to the bar in my younger days) a chef often reflects on the day and wonders:
“How & why did I choose to become a chef at a golf club?”
Serve time has arrived.
