JUST BEAT IN BUTTER AT THE END…

CHELSEA ALGAR

Welcome to my second year…

Hello,

My name is Chelsea Algar and I am currently completing my second year at Silwood Kitchen. After a first year filled with practicals, guest lectures and cooking demonstrations, I am now off into industry to actually start learning how to cook.

Apart from limited experience in fine dining restaurants:

• Riverine Rabbit
• La Colombe
• Salsify at the Roundhouse
• Foxcroft

I will be entering 5 different kitchens for two months at a time learning and experiencing as much as I can. This year is all about growth, both in my professional career and on a personal level.

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How are those for some accolades!

La Colombe is an icon in the South African food industry. It has groomed and grown most of South Africa’s best chefs at some stage in their careers. One month prior to driving into Silvermist Estate for my first day of work I had witnessed Chef James Gaag and his team take home the coveted number one spot in South Africa at the 2019 Eat Out Awards. I was overwhelmed with pride at having been sent to an establishment of this magnitude for my first block but equally terrified to walk in as a slow and messy barely-a-second-year during their peak season.

I arrived to an extremely warm welcome from Chef Anlou, Chef Duncan and the team. I was ushered to the sauce section where I would be guided by my two CDP’s (Nick and Jarrod) as well as Marc and Chris, who are completing their third years at La Colombe. I was extremely nervous, and it was apparent that I was far too slow. But all the boys were amazing and offered me help and guidance along the way.

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The sauce section is responsible for the garnish, sides and sauces that accompany the fish and lamb/wagyu in their respective courses (this includes the tamale, tortellini, canneloni and gnocchi for the vegetarian/vegan options). Items such as vegetables, broths, fondants, creamed spinach and sauces all come out of this section. It is an extremely important part of the kitchen as it is responsible for the last savoury courses the customer enjoys before moving onto pre-dessert, cheese course and desserts.

My daily duties included vegetable prep (broccoli, spinach, baby carrots, asparagus, brunoised vegetables etc.), preparations for the bread course (This was served table-side. I was exposed to front of house service during my time in this block, assembling, explaining and heating the accompaniment to the bread and serving to guests), as well as cooking all of the onion, corn and garlic fondants for service. I was also responsible for running pots during serivice, cooking and heating garnishes, sides and sauces. I did not take to running immediately as I found it extremely overwhelming to follow what orders were coming next and getting what was needed up in time. There was also the added pressure of having to try and live up to the La Colombe standards- I felt like I owed it to them to try and get everything I sent up perfect- but as hard as I tried that was just unattainable in those first few services.

Some services went great- and others, despite my best efforts, fell far short of what was expected of me. One night in particular, after a rough set up, I was kicked off of pots. It was humiliating and I was extremely disappointed in myself. It was however, a big turning point for me. Walking in the next day and starting set up for lunch service again, I realized how important it is to learn from your mistakes, but to also just let it go and move on- a necessary lesson.

La Colombe is an amazing restaurant to go into as a student; obviously because of the standard and magnitude of what they do-but more so, because they are out to teach you and grow you as a chef. I felt like my whole time there was structured to push me. I was given responsibility and I was held accountable for what I did right and what I did wrong. I felt like I was part of the kitchen even though my time there was short. It was extremely challenging at times- the hours are intense and the focus and energy required to work at that intensity and standard takes a lot- especially when your body is trying so hard to adjust to the physical and hard hours on your feet. But I had a ray of sunshine in the form of Tasmin Reed. This girl is not only one of the most positive people I have been fortunate enough to meet- she is also extremely dedicated, calm and persistent in the kitchen. I learnt as much from her as I did from anyone else in the kitchen- everyone, even your peers, can be a mentor.

My final week in La Colombe was spent in the pastry kitchen with Kim and Kate- these girls were absolutely inspiring. Fresh out of third year and running the pastry kitchen at the best restaurant in the country. I was blown away at the standard and ethic of these two chefs. Kimbol went out of her way to teach me new skills, but it was a credit to both ladies how eager they were to mentor me despite their never-ending prep lists.

During my short time in pastry I helped wherever I could. This included helping wrap cheeses, dipping sorbet eggs, shaping and cutting breads, setting up for service and assisting during service. I loved plating and the rush of getting all the plates out on time. I love the precision of the pastry kitchen- it is so elegant and requires such a fine hand. It is an area of the kitchen I would love to become more skilled in this year.

I absolutely loved my time at La Colombe. It was an honour to be there during their time as the number one restaurant in South Africa. The leadership given by Chef James Gaag needs to be mentioned. He is not only an incredible chef with an insane vision and ability to merge food and theatre- he is also an inherently good person and humble leader. His ability to make every single person in the kitchen feel important is something I truly admire and something I will take into my future business endeavours one day.

La Colombe grew me and my abilities as a chef, but my time there grew me as a person and as a professional entering the early stages of my career- and I am truly grateful to have been afforded the opportunity to learn from them.

I started my block here with a big buzz as it was the first day that all the second years were together since we all started in industry. It was amazing to hear how everyone was doing and if they were enjoying it or not. There were a lot of tired faces. Silwood Kitchen had also very recently suffered an enormous heartbreak in the form of the loss of our beloved Azraa- you could feel her absence everywhere.

Michelle and Olivia showed us around the kitchen, and we were given our duties for the day. The pace was a lot slower, but it was a welcome break after a hectic month at La Colombe. Our duties ranged from organizing lunch for staff, setting up front of house (table setting, flower arranging and coffee/tea service), prepping for first year dems, assisting in practicals and helping with the day to day running of a busy school.

Each week on of the students was responsible for doing all of the prep for staff lunch. We needed to execute a menu compromising a meat, starch and two salads for roughly 20 people. The food was home-style, tasty meals. The tables needed to be set beautifully with flower arrangements in place each day.

We had a few functions to prep for during my month at Silwood. Firstly, we prepared breakfast and lunch for a film crew who was shooting a video at Silwood. We also organized a braai for the staff as a welcome to the new year lunch which was a lovely day with delicious food served under Silwood’s beautiful, old trees.

The biggest event we had during that first month was open day. This is where all the first years and their families come to the school for a welcoming with lots of food, coffee and introductions. I remember being so overwhelmed by the beauty of the school and food when I was there a mere year before. It was amazing to be involved with creating the spread this year- things come round full circle.

The duties were split for the spread. I was responsible for the petite fours, fondant cupcakes, fudge, millionaire shortbreads, flourless chocolate cakes as well as helping with other small duties. Everything had to be perfect and I really enjoyed trying to achieve that.

We worked with beautiful fresh produce every day. We got to pick vegetables and herbs from our garden and use them in dishes we created. The garden was flourishing, and it was a treat to cook from farm to table.

I learnt about receiving and checking orders as well as the correct storage and management methods for both fresh and dry goods.

What I am most grateful about from this block is getting to work with the people I worked with. We spent much of our time in the kitchen laughing and giggling. It was such a refreshing start to my year. Each and every one of the girls (and boy) made my experience that much richer. I loved our family lunches together each day outside in the garden giggling about our day.

Chef Gaie gave me a private fermentation lession (kombucha and kefer making), Chef Toni let me mark baked goods with her and taught me a lot about what to look out for in my products moving forward and Michelle and Olivia mentored us constantly and refined our basic skills.

Did I learn a massive amount during my time at Silwood? Honestly, not really. However, its not always all about that. I really enjoyed my time in a happy kitchen with my friends and that’s worth a lot in its own way.

Going into second year Chef’s Warehouse at Beau Constantia was a block I was desperate to have for several reasons. First and foremost, their food is nothing short of exceptional- contemporary Asian inspired small plates with the focus on flavour first. The food however was not the only driving force for my desire to do a placement there, I had heard time and time again that Chef Ivor Jones had created a happy space for his team to work and was committed to making his kitchen environment a place where his chefs enjoy their time.

I arrived on the 11th of February with equal parts nerves and excitement- I had been thrown into the deep end at La Colombe and was apprehensive that I would meet the same fate at Beau. Those fears were put to bed almost immediately when I saw how quickly both Otto and I were embraced by the whole team.

I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t in absolute awe when meeting Ivor Jones. He is a legend and I had followed him, his career and his food passionately for the past year and a half (in the least creepy way possible)- and he did not disappoint. He sat us down for a meeting straight away and welcomed us. He spoke to us about the kitchen and how it works, and how although we should strive to make things perfect- at the end of the day ”it’s just food”. He assured us that he was always available to chat and immediately established that we would be treated and looked after as though we were one of his permanent team- something that rang true our entire placement.

Chef Ivor is unlike any Executive chef I have worked with before- His dedication to his work is truly inspirational. He is the first person in that kitchen every day, set up and breaking down fish. He is with his team almost every service and is actively involved in prep beforehand. It is incredible to watch. It is so evident in all that he does and says how much CW and the food means to him. Also, his is a genius when it comes to building flavour- and is constantly innovating. He is currently holding the Eat Out Chef’s Chef award (for the second year in a row) and often referred to as ”The King”- too be honest, I see why.

I was placed on back starters for the majority o f my time at Beau. Although this is a small section responsible for only the oysters (additional menu item excluded from the tapas for two offering), rice rolls (alternative menu offering for vegetarians, pescetarians, vegans etc.) and the fried garnishes for the other sections- it would prove to be a big challenge for me as I would be running it alone.

An average day would begin with harvest. I was responsible for picking herbs and flowers for the kitchen for the day (this included basil, mint, lavender flowers, fig leaves, wild rosemary, wood sorrel etc.). We would then have our daily meeting with a hot bowl of cinnamon oats and a coffee where we would be briefed on the details of the day, any dietary requirements and any other news or feedback we needed to know. Prep woud then commence for the day. I was responsible for making sure each section had the fried garnishes they needed. These garnishes included deep fried onions and onion rings, fried brick pastry disks, garlic chips, potato stars and a number of deep fried herbs. The fryer and I became good friends.

The rice rolls needed to be prepped and rolled twice a day for service and oysters needed to be shucked. Prep also needed to be done including jellies, oils, mayos, pickles and bases.

My first day alone on the section was a bit of a disaster- I had to call in one of the third years to save the day- I was just too slow and without the confidence to multitask there was no way I was getting it all done. But it was amazing to see how much better I got as time went along- don’t get me wrong, from the minute I walked into that kitchen every day I ran around up until the minute of service but I got it done and felt proud of everything I made- even if it would cost me time, if it wasn’t right I would re-do it.

As the section was mine I was given the freedom to run it how I wanted to. I created my own prep lists and organized the section how I thought best. Although I was obviously always under supervision I did feel like I had responsibility and that I was accountable for the dishes. I was also trusted to do orders and hand-overs. I am very grateful to have been afforded the opportunity to gain experience in running a section- even though it was small- I couldn’t have handled anything more.

During my time at Beau I also spent some time on middles. This section is the bridge between starters and main course. It is comprised of two vegetarian dishes- a goat’s cheese mousse ball with a aubergine tart and the famous CW risotto which changes often.

My duties on this section differed day to day but included tasks such as peeling and dehydrating baby tomatoes, making and rolling mousse, weighing risotto, laying aubergine tarts and prepping garnishes.

Whenever I worked middles I was actively involved in the plating of the ”From the garden” dish. I thoroughly enjoyed the services and loved plating this beautiful dish.

Beau also exposed me to a wide range of new ingredients and techniques. They are innovators and change the menu offerings regularly. I really enjoyed that aspect of working at Beau- things don’t get stagnant and you’re constantly learning new things.

I absolutely loved my time at Chef’s Warehouse Beau Constantia and I feel extremely grateful to have experienced working in such a dynamic kitchen with such passionate, down-to-earth people. My time at Beau was cut-short due to the Corona Virus outbreak- a terrible period in South Africa and the world- but I have a lot of respect for how Ivor managed such a difficult period. I look forward to completing my last week at Beau once the dust has settled.