Watching Gordon Ramsey on “Hell’s Kitchen” is like eating a funnel cake at a street fair. You enjoy every second, but feel a little sick after.
The bleeping worthy of Rod Blagojevich, the raw or overcooked food that goes straight to “the bin,” and the contestants complaining make for entertaining television, but is that how a high-end restaurant kitchen runs?
I spend a recent Saturday afternoon and evening behind the scenes at Charlie Trotter’s to find out for myself if “Hell’s Kitchen” exists in Chicago.
During the prep time—1:30-5:30 p.m.—I shelled fava beans; used a cookie cutter to make perfect circles of hibiscus gel; chatted with Chris Guzman, the pastry chef, while he tempered chocolate; and learned about cool ingredients like agar agar from Jennifer Petrusky, sous chef, and Pierce Buckman, one of the cooks. No screaming, no pans thrown. Very few tattoos.
But prep is supposed to be calm. I shared the staff meal—the best pork belly I’ve ever eaten—and when the orders started coming in I was ready for the knives to fly.
The kitchen felt as hot as the wood-fired grill searing the veal loin. The sorbet on the fruit course melted if it sat for even a minute. Heat. Pressure. But total grace and professionalism from the staff.
“Behind you chef.”
“Four grands coming in.”
The speed and coordination were breathtaking. Nothing is rote, since the menu constantly changes and every table seemed to have a special request: no mushrooms, no red meat, doesn’t like onions. Hello? For $165 try the mushrooms. But Pierce just laughed when I complained about all the variations, “We like a challenge.”
So when I was thoroughly wilted by the heat and ready to leave, the staff still had 160 copper pots to clean and polish, a kitchen to sweep and counters to wipe down. No complaining, no whining. Just the good-natured pitching in I’d seen all night.
So “Hell’s Kitchen” Chicago? Absolutely not. But when “Top Chef” has their next casting call, I have a kitchen full of candidates.
Home Cook Takeaways: Here’s what the pros do that you can, too.
- Start with a clean work area. They take this seriously. No extra ingredients or bowls are cluttering their counters.
- Prep (chop, measure and line up) before you start cooking.
- Label everything. A black sharpie is your friend.
- Buy quality ingredients. Charlie Trotter’s sources exotic finger limes—you don’t need to go crazy—but fresh lime juice will make a huge taste difference versus a bottled concentrate.
Not Everything Can Be Duplicated: Some things are worth going out for
- Sous vide is huge in restaurants. The food is vacuum-sealed in a bag with herbs or a gastrique and then cooked in a gentle water bath at a low, consistent temperature. You can’t easily duplicate this at home, so if you’re trying to make Trotter’s squab breast, it’ll never be as good.
- Don’t buy copper pots. Will your spouse and children help you polish EVERY NIGHT? If not, stick with high quality, but no-need-to-polish pans.
- If a recipe has 15 ingredients and just as many steps, which almost every course at Trotter’s does, leave it to the pros. Trying to duplicate Steamed Tasmanian Ocean Trout with Green Tea & Coriander Dusted Garbanzo Beans will result in tears. There’s a reason we go to restaurants.
