This spring I was asked to participate at the Great American Seafood Cook off in New Orleans, Louisiana, where I started my post culinary school training when I was 20, 14 years ago.

My first job out of culinary school was at NOLA restaurant, Emeril’s second establishment. I was there for a year and a half from 1994 to 1996. I always state that I did three years of living in that time. It’s easy to chalk it up living in the land of excesses, in all fairness a lot of stories start with… So I/My friends were at this bar…
Like the time I almost killed my friend with a fire extinguisher… the same friend that I had to help get up off a floor after an ill fated table dance atop a bar (don’t do this in August, when the fan blades are in full swing!) …the tribulation of a transvestite strip club…”Does it bother you that I’m a man?” This is a family friendly blog, so you have to catch me out and about for those stories…

What I learned during my 50 to 55 hour (line cook) week was the work ethic and dedication it took to stay in this industry. The Food Network was in its infancy and was not yet available in Louisiana. As far as I knew, Emeril was the “Bossman” that owned two restaurants. My first experience in this profession was hard, blue collar work.
Nola sat 150 people. We did 300 most week nights and 450 to 500 Friday and Saturday. During Jazz Fest we would push 550 to 600 with extended hours and reduced selections in the third floor private dining room. The biggest impact for me was witnessing quality product being produced in-house. A full time butcher processed all proteins and produced charcuterie. There was a full time Pastry Chef with a team of four assistants that made all the bread and desserts.

My first week, I was in the walk in cleaning (dessert station duties at the beginning of service) I stepped out to find the building evacuated with alarms going off, they left me in the walk in! After evacuation the fire inspector did a walk through- a quick line sweep and service was back on, just like that. On more than one occasion I line cooked in water (ON THE LINE) almost up to my ankles while the bussers and dish staff lined up sand bags in the door ways to block off the dining room… Ahh, storm season in a city located six feet under sea level…
Electricity is out? Make salads and sauté, don’t grill it will produce too much smoke-basically if the building was standing, service was on.

Other lessons learned, some the hard way…
Teamwork and accountability- During service if you need help and don’t know how to ask for it or delegate it… you are in for a long night. Not to mention you have to answer to the chef why you couldn’t handle your station.

Versatility- The night crew was a seven-person line. The AM production crew was a five-person line. Cross-training was promoted. It was common to work two to three stations in the span of a week once a crew was cross-trained.

Transition- recipes change, people move, nothing stays the same, get over it and move on, cross train and keep learning.

Composure. The kitchen is open, no matter what kind of day you had and night you are having- Your mood/attitude affects the guest and co workers, suck it up.

Dedication- After work at Nola, I would come home and write down recipes, mise en place lists, schematics of plates, compile menus, how to ‘roll” a station. This was collected in a three ring binder that I still have today. The culture was embodied from the top down. My Chef Dave McCelvey walked his talk as did all the management, many of whom are the backbone of the Emeril empire to this day. The learning environment that was provided there impacts me to this day, and gave me the tools and resources to face challenges successfully in my career later down the road.

During the Great American Seafood Cookoff, Chef Michael Rouss and his staff let me return to my old stomping grounds and prepare my Mise En Place. I was overrun with pride showing my assistant Jay all the stations, temperature controlled wine room and bakery, how you have to step down 6 inches into the outside courtyard to get to the walk-in and freezer. The production stove that my friend and I used to brand ourselves with the NOLA swirl…

That restaurant and city mean a lot to me, I do hope the staff and city at large the best for a speedy recovery, and smoother years to come during hurricane season.