never let your guard down

24 hours cooked laverstock farm lamb shoulder, spiced lamb patty, spinach gnocchi, chlorophyll oil, lavender yoghurt

this dish stayed from the very first menu till the last due to very simple reason that it was hard to find anything like that. it was so soft that it was difficult to eat with just knife and fork. the recipe was quite simple but methodical., miss one step and it was easy to ruin the final dish.

it was beautiful British sunday morning. i entered kitchen by 8 as i had lot in hand. we had 42 diners booked for lunch and 22 for hi tea. i started off mise-en-place and after an hour or so Danny the restaurant manager came to kitchen for some work. i asked any extra booking, he said we are house full, no more booking will be entertained. i had so much to do so thought lets prep only for 42 diners. finally just before first guest walked in i got over with mise-en-place.

orders started pouring in and i didn't realise when service was over. it was time for mise-en-place for hi tea. i was due to start at that very moment Danny came to kitchen and told chef Mr. Mackenzie has just arrived with three other guests and asking for table, what shall i do? Mr. Mackenzie was a very regular to Vatika. he was seated on terrace and he ordered four 5 course menu, i cursed British Summer. i dishes out 3rd course and that time i realised sauce for lamb course was almost finished and the remaining would not be sufficient for 4 portions. i ran to walk in and got lamb drippings and started reducing it while i was doing that chef called for lamb. i cooked lamb and finished the sauce but i forgot to taste it.

lamb went out and within 30 seconds all four came back. Danny informed chef that guests have complained that amount of salt in sauce is too much. chef tasted sauce and i saw frown on his forehead. almost instantly i realised something heavy got stuck in my throat. chef called me asked to taste sauce, i did and stood there to be butchered.

chef almost murdered me. i did another fresh 4 portions of lamb with carefully tasted ( almost 5 times) lamb sauce. chef was so pissed with me that he left pass out of sheer disgust and i had sent it out.

in the evening when chef was wee bit in good mood he asked me to come and meet me him with coffee and cigarette at outdoor office ( outdoor office was just a bench and table at the one corner of beautiful vineyard where restaurant was part of it). he spoke to me over coffee and narrated his own story somewhat similar to me. at the end of it i got the message NEVER LET YOUR GUARD DOWN. 

beautiful bright sunny summer day overlooking vineyard 

holy grail moment

pan seared sea bass, spiced coconut reduction, wilted Asian green 

this dish is inspired from my ex head chef Jitin Joshi at Vatika, Southampton. i started as chef in charge for canape, starches for main courses and petit fours section. it was easy for me and i was quite happy to do that. but some where within me i wanted to be the king of stove and fryer section. on occasions i had word with head chef about me cooking orders. to get the opportunity sooner i started doing extra work than i was expected to do and did blunders and got dam bollockings from chef. but it was all worth the day chef asked me to take over stoves during lunch time. after few orders i crumbled and i was sent back to my section with another load of bollockings. matter of fact i never gave up to bollockings as i knew for sure that i am learning and in days to come bollockings will turn into silence (which was a form of praise from my head chef). it was clear to me from day one that "The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking you've got to have a what-the-hell attitude".

next day i went up to chef and asked to allow me to cook orders, he looked very hard at me and after about 10 seconds or so he said "margin for error is zero". in between when i was handling stoves all alone it happened (DISASTER), it was friday dinner service and orders started pouring (i was cursing Danny the restaurant manager for punching all orders in one go)in and i started to crumble again. it was 5 course menu for table of 4. chef called for 3rd course and started cooking 4 sea bass pan fried. after about 7-8 minutes i shouted "Chef bass on pass", almost immediately he said it bloody over cooked, do it again and do it right. bloody me i under-cooked the second batch. that was enough for chef to piss off. bass plates started flying around in the kitchen and it was dam pin drop silence. he said this is your last chance either do it the way its suppose to be done or that's the exit door. 

i started off cooking the same order third and final time. i was sweating and bollockings were piling up. after about 7 minutes i shouted "chef bass on pass". pin drop silence. i couldn't bear to listen "fuck off from kitchen" hence started off doing next order by which time there too many piled up. and i got to hear the most beautiful sound, SILENCE (PAUSE), SERVICE BASS AWAY. 

after that incident i never either over cooked nor under-cooked any fish, but always cooked it to the right donenes. i got praised about my fish cooking skills from even Michel roux junior at Master chef UK professional.  

that friday dinner service was my holy grail in cooking, after that i learnt to handle and treat any ingredient with utmost respect and "the philosophy of MARGIN FOR ERROR IS ZERO STUCK TO ME FOREVER."