Good Bruni backgrounder piece on the various Blue Ribbon properties in NYC. I thought this was especially good:
Here’s another interesting fact about the Blue Ribbon brood: the Bromberg brothers — Eric, 45, and Bruce, 41 — have apparently never hired a cook who immediately and directly took charge of a Blue Ribbon kitchen. They insist that anyone hopping aboard the Blue Ribbon train start out doing dish-washing or prep work. Even a person slated for big cooking responsibilities has to work his or her way up, at least for a short term.
The Brombergs said that it promotes a culture of respect among workers while ensuring that anyone running one of the restaurant’s kitchens has become fully aware of the Blue Ribbon way of doing and making things.
I think this is a great idea. It reminds of when I worked on a television cooking show. One of the hosts had been executive chef at a Mobil Five-Star restaurant, and now was heading his own very successful restaurant group, including a Mobil Four-Star. Not only is he very accomplished; he is insanely busy. Me, I’m just some guy in a chef’s jacket who had quit a perfectly good job six months prior, so that I may prep ingredients and switchouts, dress the set, and clean up afterward, all for no money (cunning plan on my part).
Anyway, after the show, the chef, now in street clothes, came back to the kitchen to thank me for helping. I asked him about his education and how he’d gotten to this point in his career. Suddenly, he is at the dish tank next to me, his sleeves rolled up. He is washing dishes with me, telling me of his early experiences in school and working as a young man in France. He also had both career and educational advice for me. It was amazing. What respect for the work this guy shows — he still understands and knows what it is like to do the work and to be learning. Simple acts like this demonstrate much about someone’s character and leadership qualities. It’s also the kind of moment that makes doing that work for no remuneration worth it.
I just remember thinking, “That’s the kind of chef I want to work for. That’s the kind of chef I want to be.”
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