Five Things I Learned at Work this Week Vol. 10

Monday, July 14th: It’s important to slap or pat gnocchi dough instead of folding it because you don’t want any air bubbles in the middle. With something like sourdough, you practice bowl or coil folds, intentionally creating more gluten strands to create a chewy texture, but with gnocchi you don't want that added chewiness.

Tuesday, July 15th: It feels really good to be appreciated in the middle of a busy service.

Wednesday, July 16th: Chef thanked me for tonight, and said, "Great job as always," and I responded by saying it was slow tonight. He looked at me confused and said, "What? It wasn’t slow at all." It felt so steady—and mundane almost—I could do it without thinking, without feeling overwhelmed at all.

Thursday, July 17th: I wrote a crappy prep list and caused the new morning cook to over-prep all of the wrong things. Chef called me out for it. He said, "Not to be like that, but to be like that, your prep list stunk today." I think they were looking at the day before's, because he said I asked for things I knew I didn't need, but I'm not going to write off accountability. So oops, I guess.

Friday, July 18th: I made polenta croutons today. First, I blended polenta to make it fine enough to use for cornbread, then I baked off a sheet of cornbread, then I let it cool, flipped it, cut it, tossed the croutons in olive oil and salt and threw them back in the oven for 15 minutes. They're part of our new Hay Smoked Mozzarella set, with peaches, tomatoes, roasted corn, tarragon, and a sherry gastrique.