WHAT I LEARNED FROM A DAY IN THE DANTE KITCHEN
I truly believe there is no other job quite like working in a restaurant. As I’ve gotten to know more and more people in the hospitality industry and learned about their lives, I’ve found myself wishing everyone could spend a day in their shoes and really understand what they go through.
But how could I speak intelligently on the subject if I’d never done so myself? In the past year, I’ve worked shifts at Dandelion Pop-Up, Virtuoso Pizzeria (which at the time was only offering takeout orders), and the Wonton Jon’s food truck. But I’d never served in-person diners in a restaurant environment.
That is, until one of my favorite restaurants in the world, Dante, reached out with the proposition: come spend a day in our kitchen. Do some prep work. Get on the line.
See what a day is like.
I jumped at the chance. How could I say no to that?!
Not only would I get to learn from chef and owner Nick Strawhecker, but I’d get to see how Drew Statz leads his talented team through a service. I’d get to create dishes for diners and, if I was lucky enough, do it without cutting off one of my own fingers.
But what I experienced shocked me. The level of talent these people have and the sheer amount of work that goes into every service is staggering. Here are my main takeaways from a day I’ll never forget.
1. You Never Know What's Going on Behind the Scenes
There’s an analogy commonly used to describe the restaurant kitchen: picture a duck peacefully gliding on the surface of a pond. It’s elegant, calm, and serene just like the dining room of a restaurant.
But underneath the glassy water, away from the eyes of the beholder, the duck’s feat are kicking furiously to propel it. This is the kitchen.
My wife and I attended Dante’s wine diner with Nicola Biscardo on Sept. 15, just three days before my shift in the kitchen. The meal was extraordinary, and the fusili dish with braised suckling pig will be something I remember for a long time.
What we didn’t know is that Dante was seriously understaffed that night. A few team members had left recently, including the sous chef just days before. Working with a barebones staff, Dante had to alter some of the dishes it planned on serving, a disappointment to the cooks.
My wife and I never would have known. We were absolutely thrilled with our meal.
So much goes on behind the scenes that diners can’t understand. During my Dante shift, service was essentially executed with four people cooking/preparing food, one dishwasher, Nick, and one goober with extremely limited skills (hand raised). And yet, they made it happen.
Dan Harrington rocked the grill, executing both the saute and pasta stations. Jamie made every pizza and managed the tricky wood oven by himself. These are stations that normally would require at least two bodies, but there wasn’t additional help one available. These guys crushed their jobs, and no complaints reached the kitchen.
All restaurants are going through a bear of a time with staffing, and this is why patience is essential now more than ever. You don’t know what the people cooking your food are going through, how hard they’re working, or how many days straight they’ve toiled. Grant some grace, even if the experience isn’t quite as perfect as you remember it last time.
2. The Job Is Physically and Mentally Exhausting
Picture this scenario: you and two friends go to dinner at Dante. You order the Wood-Roasted Plum Creek Farms Chicken, while your friends opt for a pasta and a steak. These three entrees require vastly different cooking times and methods, yet they all must arrive at the table hot and fresh at the same time. And they must come about 10-15 minutes after the appetizer you ordered. That would be tough to execute for one table; Dante does it for dozens at a time.
Just imaging that balance is enough to tie my brain in knots; seeing it in motion was mind-boggling. Pans, pots, and pizza paddles moved in a symmetry that was all at once chaotic yet in perfect balance. Everyone was constantly busy, but no one seemed overwhelmed.
I worked the garde manger station with Garrett Rinehart, a 19-year-old superstar with the attitude and patience of a man a decade his superior. Every time an order for a salad, appetizer, or dessert came in, I quickly had to rack my brain: was this our responsibility? What’s the first step for this dish? How many tigelle (an Italian flatbread similar to an English muffin) do I need to bake for an order of Bread Service? How do I make the quenelle to go with the famous Butterscotch Budino?
It’s a lot to handle. And keep in mind, I was handling one station, and with help.
And that’s just the mental part of the job. Between prep and service, cooks and chefs are typically on their feet for 12+ hours each day, constantly moving, lifting heavy containers and pots, and hand-mixing ingredients. Their arms and hands are marked with burns and blisters, none of which they have the time to leave the line to attend. And they work these crazy hours with the knowledge that tomorrow is going to be exactly the same; a fact that they both fear and boldly embrace.
3. The Creativity/Ingenuity Is Off the Charts
Dante’s menu changes nearly every day based on what’s available and fresh in the walk-in cooler (which, by the way, went down the night before and forced the restaurant to completely pivot its refrigeration methods), what it has served recently, and what the cooks have time to prepare. Each day around noon, the team gets together to make changes to the menu. Some tweaks are minor (swapping out quinoa for fregola on a dish), some major (flipping bison loin for venison), but they all require adjustments to the prep schedule and cook time.
But the changes are made seamlessly. One team member suggests an adjustment; the others either confirm it or express concerns. Some menu additions are crafted just hours before service, such as the wonderfully spicy, sweet, and sticky Wood-Oven Braised Swiss Chard. Owner Nick Strawhecker suggested it just hours before diners took their seats for dinner, but by the time it arrived at their tables, it was darn near perfect.
Bottom line: these people basically play the TV show Chopped every day, and they execute it with precision.
4. These People Love What They Do
While I find it important to acknowledge the rough circumstances and unforeseen curveballs the hospitality industry deals with, I have to highlight the lack of despair and negativity in the kitchen. Rather, everyone was upbeat, even as sweat poured down their brow and a ticket for six to-go pizzas leapt out of the printer.
The whole service was just fun.
Banter and barbs were prevalent, though always friendly. Dave and Drew smiled and joked as they busted through their responsibilities, and Jaime playfully yelled while prepping the pizzas. These weren’t people that hated their jobs at all. Maybe they could’ve used more help, or perhaps a day off. But I didn’t hear a complaint about workload all day, and these people executed to the best of their abilities until the end of service.
That was my No. 1 takeaway from this unforgettable experience; kitchen life isn’t for everyone, but some people are just made for the job. They thrive under the pressure and grueling hours. They embrace the overtime. They humbly take constructive criticism with a hearty “Yes, chef!” and keep plugging. It’s astounding to witness in person.
I wish there were a better way to share this experience with you. I wish I could show you the positivity, hard work, and passion I witnessed in the Dante kitchen. But you’ll have to take my word for it; or you can just go to Dante and order a plate of food. If you can’t taste the effort, creativity, and desire in every dish, you and I have very different palates.