Opening a Restaurant. day one {for me}

Zow. Busy busy busy. A thousand details, and those only scratch the surface.

Today:

dish choosing, glass and stemware options, deep cleaning the kitchen and every single piece of equipment, deciding where new equipment will live, discovering unlovely things in the walk-in, rejoicing at windows that open, meeting the owner and his family, figuring out press issues, looking at tablecloths, filling out purveyor credit applications, interviewing possible staff, moving tables, bringing in canning jars, arguing about produce companies, staking claim, figuring out the dishwasher, climbing inside a reach-in refrigerator to clean every last visible surface area, brainstorming, throwing out weird stuffs, trying to understand the layout of the space-- kitchen and dining areas, thinking on recipes for delicious non-alcoholic beverage choices, discussing cuisine and vision of menus and restaurant,

and attempting to visualize

food in empty plates, wine in empty glasses, diners in empty {comfy} chairs, people in an empty kitchen, the clean floor beneath the grimy one, food in an empty walk-in, organization where there is none, see pictures on empty dark walls, a night sky in a morning room, hear sound in the quiet,

and more and more and more and more questions

for the chef.

(TUES) day one: 9:30 am to 9 pm.
meals eaten: 2

attitude on a scale of 1-10, 10 being the best:  9

highlights of day one:

         Getting a text which read:

        "You are talented, professional, {sexy and) fabulous. Today will rock."

        Explaining to 3 people why I loved one particular dish, for 7 minutes.

          A phone call from Gerry.

       Hearing the GM say he would not hire a bartender because the man did not know what gin was made of.

        Cleaning a balance scale.

        Seeing my chef both relaxed and extremely satisfied after we'd deep-cleaned the kitchen.

       

Comments

[Jennifer Jeffrey]

I'm so so so happy and thrilled and excited for you.

The start of something new is always special.

I agree with your texter: you're fabulous, talented and sexy and professional, and you have great taste in shoes, too.

[Jennywenny]

Wow, exciting! I cant wait to hear more. I hope it goes well!

[shuna fish lydon]

Jennifer Jeffrey,

Ha! this made me laugh out loud! thank you for noticing my footwear choice. {I do indeed always try and look spiffy in a new pair of adidas!

Jennywenny-- thanks for your well wishes. I am trying to take each day as it comes although it's hard not to be freaked about about the future too.

[monica glass]

congratulations, shuna! i'm so excited for you and can't wait to hear about it every step of the way...

[radish]

oh this is so lovely and great - congratulations! are you going to tell us what it is? :)

[TBTAM]

A new restaurant! How exciting! o wish I was there to try it out after it opens.

Best of luck to you and the rst of the crew there.

[McAuliflower]

Ooo?! Looking forward to more!

Good luck and happy tasting

[Dr. Biggles]

"Seeing my chef both relaxed and extremely satisfied after we'd deep-cleaned the kitchen."

Oh man, I just got a chill. That, right there, hands down, is like a sleeping pill of love to hear. That right there is love.

xo, Biggles

[Dad & Ellen]

These are great columns about your first days at work!! There's clearly a lot more to being a pastry chef than baking desserts!! You give a wonderful sense of action packed days. Please, get some sleep sometime!!

[Pete]

hi Shuna, this is very exciting. you are opening this restaurant in the bay area? can't wait to hear more

[shuna fish lydon]

Hello Pete,

Look at day three and four for the answer to these questions--

Yes, all the answers will be here eventually.