Orders Up!

Our last night on the Entremetier station, I had mushrooms on my mind and wanted to make something with them. The storeroom usually carries shiitake, oyster and cremini mushrooms so I knew we could count on them as being a core ingredient in whatever we made for the vegetarian option.

Chef asked Tim and me what we had in mind for the impromptu vegetarian choices for the evening. We discussed doing an orzo salad with sautéed wild mushrooms, roasted red peppers and fresh herbs accompanied by an Arugula and petit pea salad dressed with a lemon vinaigrette, ricotta salata and a macédoine of tomatoes. Chef liked the idea and added frizzled leeks and carrots to the mix for garnish.

For the vegetarian fish option I suggested a tomato and grilled peach salad – and after discussing components I went to work to create it. I grilled slices of red onion and tomatoes, peaches were quartered and grilled as well. For the presentation I chose rounded edged rectangular plates – a small amount of dressed Arugula was placed in the middle section of the dish, then three slices of tomato, some soft red onions and two beautiful slices of grilled peaches on top. We drizzled an amazing balsamic reduction over the peaches and sprinkled a little Maldon salt over it. Balsamic was artistically drizzled on the plate around the food and chopped pistachios finished the entire look. It was a gorgeous looking dish.

With service beginning at 8:00 pm sharp, the team was on its toes and we were flooded with lots of orders, more so than any other night. We were thrilled to make so many dishes and were careful to make each one an exact replica of the last one. It was a busy night in the restaurant and the energy was great – the Entremetier team is a cohesive, hard-working group and we are happily on our way to the Garde Manger station.