Chef's/Kitchen Tables

[Truffle]

I'd like to start a discussion/querry on the variant Chef's-or Kitchen-Table.

Opinions?

Experiences?

Where?

Both the decadent and primative.

Thanks!

Truffle

[mikeycook]

I know Charlie Trotter's has had one for a while, but I have never sat there. They seem to have a separate menu for it.

Kitchen Table

Kitchen Table Menu

[Truffle]

Ah, dining in The Heartland.

Trotter's I hear and I think of Tru. They both have Kitchen Tables although I have never dined at either, and while Trotter's table is right in the line of fire, Tru's is out of harm's way, so to speak.

Anyone had the pleasure of dining at either table? Can anyone offer notes on service-do the Chefs and cooks serve and describe the food, or servers?

What a curious way to dine....

[Suzanne F]

Can someone please explain the thrill of eating at a table in the kitchen? I mean REALLY in the kitchen? Even if room can be made, and the table is not in a glassed-in, hermetically sealed area, what is the point? Okay, at The Inn at Little Washington, the kitchen is beautiful, and huge, and the table has a great view but no contact. Anywhere else -- ??????

I mean, a dining room is designed with the customers' comfort in mind, in terms of temperature, noise level, lighting, etc. A kitchen is the factory floor. Why?????

(from one who spent several years on that factory floor)

[docsconz]

For the show. To be in on the action. To see the artists at work.

[Basildog]

For the show. To be in on the action. To see the artists at work.

If you want to see a show...go see a show

If you want to be part of the action..apply for a job

If you want to see artists in action..go see a play

Artists haha...i think you should stay in the nice room out front...its not pretty back here

[docsconz]

For the show. To be in on the action. To see the artists at work.

If you want to see a show...go see a show

If you want to be part of the action..apply for a job

If you want to see artists in action..go see a play

Artists haha...i think you should stay in the nice room out front...its not pretty back here

I have never dined in a restaurant kitchen table, but why should you think it uninteresting to the non-professional? Actually, I think restaurant kitchens and techniques are fascinating. I might not if I worked in one all the time. I work in an operating room daily. To me that is nothing special anymore, but my sister-in-law always questions me about "interesting cases". It's rare that I ever have something to offer her, even though the most mundane surgery is interesting to her. It is not boring, it is simply routine. That being said I can understand a chef or the cooks not liking being under what amounts to an extra spotlight.

[vengroff]

At Maestro is Tysons Corner, Virginia there is simply no wall between the kitchen and the dining room. If you have a table on that side of the room, you are just a few feet from the kitchen. There is an island on the threshold where Chef Fabio Trabocchi oversees final plating before dishes are sent out to the tables.

One of the most amazing things to me is how quiet the kitchen is. Even if you are sitting at a table right in front of it, you don't hear any noise from the kitchen. There are no pots clanging and it appears as if the members of the brigade communicate telepathically. Upon closer examination, you notice that everyone in the kitchen has a small radio on their belt linked to an ear-bud in one ear and a tiny microphone clipped to their collar.

It is fascinating to see the precision work that goes on in Fabio's kitchen. It's even more enjoyable when his fantastic creations reach your table.

[Truffle]

Ok, move to the active: Anyone from the inside care to revel in the limelight, share a bit of what it's like working in the spotlight?

[chefg]

I feel the kitchen table at Trio and Trotter's is what a kitchen table should be. You are in plain view of the team at work. The sights, sounds, smells and emotion are in your face. I don't understand "kitchen tables" that are removed from the kitchen, parted by glass walls or even worse, in the dinning room. (I guess that's called a "chef's table" in most cases.) Isn't the idea to feel the pulse of the kitchen. To smell when a cook

burned something, to hear the chef yell at the food runner for tilting a plate, to feel the heat radiating off the flat tops, to become one innidated with pressure.

I am mixed about kitchen tables. I have had some great experiences with guests in the kitchen. It gives us the opportunity to watch the excitement and satisfaction of diners, something we rarely get to experience as cooks. It brings us into the dinning room as much as it brings the guests into the kitchen.( Most commentary generally comes second hand from service.) It allows us to get to know the people, the people who support us on a regular basis. Two of Trio's best customers came from ice breaking kitchen table experiences. They dine at the restaurant nearly once a month and are, in my opinion, the biggest vip's we have. Not because I respect their food knowledge (which is emense) not because they dine at Trio every 6 weeks, but because of the relationship founded by tangible communication at the kitchen table. They have become friends of the restaurant.

On the other hand, kitchen tables can be disastarous. We have had our share of disrespectful diners in the kitchen. At the table because it was the cool thing to do. These people are loud, rude and inconsiderate. To me that is the ultimate insult. I spend more time in Trio's kitchen than I do anywhere else. You are in my home. Be respectful.

From the diner's perspective it is a two fold experinence. It is certainly a different experince than the dinning room. At Trio some of the service is handled by the kitchen staff, admittedly we do not have the grace at the table as a trained captian. But we can give you intimate details or a personalization of the food that the service may lack. The contact with the chefs' is there, which is why most people dine at the table.

Personally, if I had a choice, I would not have a kitchen table in my kitchen. I feel the only people in my kitchen should be my staff. There are things that an average person will not understand in the professional kitchen setting. I am not talking about the grunge you read about in kitchen confidential. I am talking about peoples' romantic perception of being a chef and the jarring reality. So maybe I am talking about kitchen confidential???

Edited September 8, 2003 by chefg (log)

[Jonathan Day]

We dined at the "kitchen table" at Chicago's TRU this summer. It is actually the chef's office, converted into a pleasant private dining room in the evening. It's just slightly removed from the noise and action of the kitchen: one glass wall gives on the pastry kitchen, another on the main kitchen.

I had spent enough time doing prep work in commercial kitchens that I was very happy to be a bit away from the action, to enjoy the food in peace. Our guests, Britons who had not visited the US for 30 years (and then only to Florida) had had a "full on Chicago" experience that day, culminating in the 14 course TRU extravaganza. For them, it was an unforgettable experience. They have gone from being vaguely contemptuous of America to stunned awe at the vitality, the friendliness, and the complete, in-your-face energy of the country and of Chicago in particular...not to mention the enormous serving sizes in restaurants.

We had very little interaction with the chefs -- which was fine, in my view, since they have other work than to chat with customers. But our waiter, who almost never left the room, was the most extraordinarily competent I have ever experienced, anywhere in the world. She knew every dish in detail (and since early in the service, they switched to serving distinctive variations on a given dish, e.g. foie gras, to each of four diners this involved a lot of different dishes); she understood and helped us understand exactly what the restaurant was about; she was funny without being obtrusive; she matched our mood exactly. I am kicking myself now for not asking for her name: she was at least as important as the kitchen team in making the experience magical. In fact, I am going to contact the restaurant and ask for her name, before writing up a review of the food for the Heartland forum.

At a break during the meal, our waiter offered us a tour of the kitchens and dining room. I was struck by the different quality of energy in each room -- the kitchen, though quiet as restaurant kitchens go, was of course lively. The dining room, by contrast, was dark and almost sombre. Our room was somewhere in between.

One other aspect of the TRU kitchen table deserves mention. You are not given menu choices. Our waiter asked whether any of us would not eat anything, and from there the kitchen team decided what we would have. At one stage in the proceedings -- I believe during the caviar service, which is presented on a distinctive glass "staircase" for each diner -- our waiter noticed our happiness and excitement, and asked whether we would like a photograph of the evening. She stepped in with a digital camera. As we departed, we were given our photographs to which had been added a complete menu of the evening, wines included. A lovely, personal touch. The menu, minus photos, will appear in the Heartland Forum, when I get this written up.

From a diner's perspective I share Grant Achatz's ambivalence about kitchen tables. The experience is a bit like being invited backstage at the theatre. There is a sense of privilege, of having special access to a part of the house normally forbidden to visitors. You gain perspective on the preparation in a way that you wouldn't otherwise. Yet the restaurant's art, like the theatre's, is aimed at a patron who is in the front of the house. If I lived in Chicago, I would readily return to TRU -- but probably not at the kitchen table. It was a wonderful icebreaker, rather than a habit I would care to form. But an unforgettable evening nonetheless.

[Mark Sommelier]

The restaurant where I work has a marvelous chef's table (click my WWW icon, if you are interested). It seats 6-8. The table is in its own alcove inside the kitchen, fully visible from the dining room, as the entire kitchen is on display from the room. Many times, the kitchen is the quietest place in the restaurant. One of the advantages of an exhibition kitchen is that the cooks must constantly clean after themselves. The only person allowed to raise his voice is the chef. The chef's table offers a 10 course dinner with wines paired by me for each course. Our maitre d' goes to great lengths to explain to people asking about the chef's table that it is for people interested in food and in trying new things. It is not intended for people who only eat meat and potatoes, vegans , well, you get the drift. When the chef sees that people are excited about his food, it sparks his creativity. We tend not to have people with long lists of "I don't eat this, this and that". Some of the best times I can remember at work have involved the interaction with the chef's table clientele.

[browniebaker]

The idea of a kitchen table or chef's table bores me. If I want to eat in the kitchen, I'll eat at home. This trend toward the restaurant as a show to watch has gone as far as it can, I hope, with the "The Restaurant" television show. Why do people need entertainment during dinner beyond the companionship of fellow diners at the table? I'm sitting out this whole trend, just as I sat out the whole mini-skirt trend of the '80s.

[tommy]

when do you think this "trend" will be over?

Edited September 8, 2003 by tommy (log)

[Jonathan Day]

It isn't clear that it will.

Some diners like to be close to the action, and chefs are responding -- as witness Robuchon's "Atelier" and a good number of open-kitchen restaurants. I suspect that for many of us the same behaviour holds at home. It is very difficult to keep guests out of the kitchen. The increasing media presence of top chefs must add to the allure of these "kitchen tables". My sense is that they are in fact on the rise and will, like it or not, be with us for awhile.

[Busboy]

It seems in a lot of restaurants you have a choice not only of kitchen dining, but a table in the wine cellar...someones dropping hundreds of thousands of dollars on their dining rooms and no one wants to eat there.

Il Laboratorio at Galileo offers a great show, as well as astounding food. I like watching chefs (and bartenders and butchers, for that matter) work - there's something balletic about it, and it certainly doesn't hurt my technique to watch the pros do it.

Before I tried making risotto for the first time I leaned over the bar at Luigino's and asked the cook (it was very slow) how to make it. Delivered in tentative English and a strong Italian accent, and followed with a demonstration, (and a bowlfull) it was a lesson I've never forgotten.

[tommy]

someones dropping hundreds of thousands of dollars on their dining rooms and no one wants to eat there.

no one?

seems that the percentage of people who would rather eat in a wine cellar/kitchen is pretty low.

Edited September 8, 2003 by tommy (log)

[Busboy]

My impression has been that the kitchen/cellar tables are the "hot" tables. Of course, my experience is largely limited to advising my wife when she's been asked to put something together for clients and conference attendees. Maybe they're just getting booked up when there's a big event in town, and the locals are still dining out front.

[Toliver]

This isn't in the same league as "real" restaurants, but the Buca di Beppo chain of Italian restaurants usually has a kitchen table. It's supposed to be one of the most popular tables (my guess is the "Pope" table comes in second).

It really can't compare to a "real" restaurant though since Buca is supposed to be more of an entertaining experience than a dining experience. Part of the schtick is that the kitchen staff (faux italian-type "New Yawkers" with attitude) are supposed to toss insults over to those dining at the kitchen table.

I can't imaging having to work the line and entertain the customers at the same time...

[Schneier]

The restaurant where I work has a marvelous chef's table (click my WWW icon, if you are interested). with the chef's table clientele.

You also have three tables with great views of the kitchen. One of my joys of solo dining in DC is to book one of those three tables at Citronelle and watch the kitchen work. It's not the same as the kitchen table, but it is great fun.

(It's been a while, but I'm the one fiddling with his wireless e-mail device when he should be eating.)

Bruce

[vengroff]

The restaurant where I work has a marvelous chef's table (click my WWW icon, if you are interested). with the chef's table clientele.

You also have three tables with great views of the kitchen. One of my joys of solo dining in DC is to book one of those three tables at Citronelle and watch the kitchen work. It's not the same as the kitchen table, but it is great fun.

I totally agree. If you don't have a large enough group to book the kitchen table, those three tables are fantastic. All the tables in that section of the dining room are great, but those three at the front are even better. Next time I think I'll bring a pair of opera glasses so I can focus in on the minute details of how the eggs are assembled.

[jat]

The restaurant where I work has a marvelous chef's table (click my WWW icon, if you are interested). It seats 6-8. The table is in its own alcove inside the kitchen, fully visible from the dining room, as the entire kitchen is on display from the room. Many times, the kitchen is the quietest place in the restaurant. One of the advantages of an exhibition kitchen is that the cooks must constantly clean after themselves. The only person allowed to raise his voice is the chef. The chef's table offers a 10 course dinner with wines paired by me for each course. Our maitre d' goes to great lengths to explain to people asking about the chef's table that it is for people interested in food and in trying new things. It is not intended for people who only eat meat and potatoes, vegans , well, you get the drift. When the chef sees that people are excited about his food, it sparks his creativity. We tend not to have people with long lists of "I don't eat this, this and that". Some of the best times I can remember at work have involved the interaction with the chef's table clientele.

Hi Mark, I spend alot of time in the kitchen at Citronelle in Santa Barbara, THe

Kitchen is immaculate and the ingredients are of the highest quality and

freshness. It's great that the cooks can see the ocean from the kitchen.

I had a great lunch with Michel Richard this last July when he came for a visit,

tell him "Jennifer" loved his company. He is very generous, I love that, more

food and more drinks and more drinks.

[Truffle]

Great thoughts on the querrilous Chef's Table. Sentiments divided between those working in the line of fire and those observing. Especially enjoyed the gracious comments of Jonathan Day and Chef Achatz. Thoughtful, honest and looking at both sides of the experience.

Curiosity and grace don't come hand in hand. At the zoo, some gaze in quiet awe, others have to yell and play 'knoc-knock' with peanuts.

Nothing more rewarding than an appreciation of art with requisite sublimation.

[browniebaker]

when do you think this "trend" will be over?

When people tire of it, as they do of every fad or fashion, eventually.

This fad of the restaurant-kitchen as show is related to the recent rise of the "celebrity chef." But the vaunted celebrity-chefs may be on their way down, if waning sales of celebrity-chef-authored cookbooks by in Britain are any indication.

What goes up must come down. I waited out the mini-skirt fad, and eventually skirt hems did go down.

[enthusiast]

the faddish end of it will die very quickly because it adds nothing but the genuine thing is here to stay. if the point of the kitchen table is that it is for enthusiasts and the kitchen reponds to that enthusiasm with something new/special/different as described above then both parties are getting something out of it and it should thrive.