First Night in the Kitchen

I arrived at Pierluigi a little early and flipped through a cooking magazine and chatted with some of the waiters as the staff ate their dinner and argued over what to watch on TV, starting with something like E! then to the history channel and finally the news when Roberto (the owner) had had enough. At seven everyone had finished eating, the tables were set and the kitchen started to get busy. I had no idea what to expect going into the night but as I walked toward the kitchen one of the chefs asked if I had another clothes to change into (I was wearing a dress shirt and slacks), I said no and he sort of shook his head and then threw an apron my way, which I somewhat confusedly put on as I walked into the kitchen lagging behind him.

The kitchen at Pierluigi is a room probably close to 60' by 40', a very sizable space. In the center is an island that has all the basic ingredients that can be prepared well in advance, i.e. all the chopped vegetables, some sauces, spices etc. They are all in tubs in the middle of the island and are surrounded by counter space which the four main chefs each use a section of, where they have their cutting board, olive oil, broths, wine, vinegar etc. The central parts of the two long walls are more or less mirror images of each other, with two sets of stoves with six burners each on either side of a large cook-top (on one side) and a vat of boiling pasta water on the other. The the corner farthest from the entrance is the freezer with every kind of fish imaginable (including a swordfish about 6 feet long sitting on the counter next to me and which was constantly jabbing into my back), as well as the dish-washing station, manned by a very nice guy from Muldovia who started calling me "America!". In the corner closest to the door are the ovens and the deep fryer, which I did not see much of as I was with one of the pasta chef's all night.

I spent the entire night standing next to Cherif, one of the two pasta chefs, Lorenzo asked if I wanted to move around a little more, but I thought one area at a time, I can only take in so much at once. We stared off making a massive batch of Pasta alla Norma for a group of 20 that was coming in on the early side. While that was going on he was also putting the finishing touches on the Crema di Scampi for all the risottos later in the night. (I will include recipes later on once I have tried them myself and confirm that I have written everything down correctly) On the other side of the kitchent they were preparing and appetizer for the group that was fresh buffalo ricotta wrapped in light pastry shell and baked until golden brown and then served on top of cubed eggplant, tomatoes and basil. Lorenzo came in and explained the recipe to me as the plates were making their way out to the dining room. Other dishes we cooked that night included pasta mal tagliata (badly cut), tagliolini (really thin spaghetti) with a salsa fiori di zucca (zucchini flower sauce), Amatriciana al Mare (lightly spiced tomato sauce with bits of pancetta and an array of shellfish), basic Marinara, Ragu, Burro e Parmigiano (butter and parm), Cacio e Pepe (pecorino cheese and black pepper), clams with tomatoes and white beans and finally a swordfish with tomatoes and capers.

Throughout the entire night Cherif explained every move he was making, why he was doing, what the effects were, as well as passing on little hints here and there. When cooking pasta he said there are two elements, the pasta and the sauce, and it's important to make sure they are combined correctly. If you simply pour the sauce on top of the pasta mix it up and serve the pasta doesn't absorb any of the flavor. So instead you add the pasta to the pan with the sauce and let it cook together for another 5 minutes or so, that way when you're eating it if you take a bite without much sauce or any of the toppings the pasta itself still has the flavor of the sauce. Another little one, when you're preparing any kind of chopped meat or fish that is going to be with any spices, chop the spices first (garlic most effectively) and then chop the meat in the same place because the raw meat will absorb the flavor better than after it starts cooking.

Every fifteen minutes or so Lorenzo came into the kitchen barking orders and then would look my way to see if I had any questions or needed help with some translation. He could not have been nicer. He also made sure I had a break and a nice plate of pasta, (mussels with peas, garlic and parsley and pasta mal tagliata). I'm going back on Tuesday morning to learn how to make some sauces and think it will be a little more hands on then when dinner is in full swing.