Royce
Schlittenhart spent his summer
vacation from school at Johnson & Wales…working to finish his externship
requirement.
Royce, a 2012 Arizona C-CAP scholarship winner, worked at Daniel in Manhattan.
Yes. That Daniel, the signature and flagship of the Boulud international empire.
How'd he get that job?
Arizona C-CAP director Jill Smith with Royce Schlittenhart before dat Cafe Boulud, Manhattan
It may not
have been the easiest thing (although Royce surely makes it look so), but, like
many not-too-easy tasks, it was mostly simple: He went in, he tried out, he got the job.
Okay -
that's only kinda so. Here, in
Royce's own words, is how he got to spend
A New York summer with Daniel by Royce Schlittenhart
To get my
internship at Daniel, I arranged a trial shift (stage) with human resources for
a Saturday in November of last year.
I took the
train down from Providence around 7:20 am to arrive in Penn Station at 10:50 am
with enough time to walk to the restaurant for my noon start time.
As I was
rereading my copy of Boulud’s book, Letters to a Young Chef, the train stopped
due to some mechanical error. I am a very punctual person and I definitely
didn’t want this day to be an exception.
After 15
minutes of being stopped, I called the restaurant to let them know that there
was a chance that I would arrive late. I can’t remember just how long we were
stopped, but it wasn’t a great start to my morning.
I ended up
making it into NYC with just enough time to walk from Penn station to East 65th
street. Coming from the suburbs of Tucson, I wasn’t terribly confident of my
navigational skills in such a large city; therefore (I) ruled out the subway.
I made it
to the restaurant with minutes to spare and a little more air moving through my
lungs than usual, probably more so because of my own trepidation rather than
the amount of aerobic activity it took to walk 35 blocks.
I began my
shift helping out the cook on the rotisserie station by preparing some
feather-shaped garnishes out of endive that would go on the duo of beef, a dish
with braised short ribs, chestnut puree, pioppini mushrooms, Wagyu beef
tenderloin, glazed parsnips, and bordelaise sauce that I would later get to eat
while watching service.
After I
finished helping the line cooks get ready for service, I was given three menus
and a spot to stand and observe the action.
With all
of the precision and care the chefs put into each dish, I knew right away that
this level of dining experience was something that I would love to be a part
of.
Towards
the middle of service, Chef Jean Francois gave me one of the Wagyu beef
tenderloin portions and a plate (with instuctions) to “cook him something” in
the downstairs kitchen.
What an intimidating
experience that was: down in a completely unfamiliar kitchen to cook for a man
immensely more experienced than I. He instructed me to keep it simple. That I
could do.
I pan
seared the beef medallion then basted it with butter, thyme, and garlic as it
cooked. My luck faltered again when I was using the range in the kitchen.
Halfway through cooking my steak, the banquet team rushed to the back line to
prepare the main course for a party that was already underway.
I took
corrective measures to ensure that my steak would not overcook and I waited
patiently for them to be done.
The final
result of my efforts yielded the Wagyu tenderloin with roasted fingerling
potatoes, braised Brussels sprouts, sautéed oyster mushrooms, Jerusalem
artichoke puree, and red wine and veal glace based sauce.
My dish
wasn’t anything special, but I knew that the beef was cooked to medium rare and
the dish in its entirety was well-seasoned. Chef Bruel was satisfied with what
I made and sent me back downstairs to clean up.
I stayed
observing dinner service at the restaurant until the orders for food ceased, at
which point I began to help the cooks clean their stations.
When
dinner service came to a halt, I spoke to the executive chef about the
internship I had yet to complete for my associate degree. I informed him that I
could begin it in March at the start of our spring term. He extended to me the
offer to complete it at Daniel and I accepted.
It was
around 2am when I finally left the restaurant.
The pain
in my back and throbbing feet provoked me to take a taxi back to Penn Station
to catch my 2:50 am train back to school. Needless to say, it wasn’t long
before I fell asleep on the train; it had been quite an exhausting day.
My long-winded
anecdote, in addition to me having fun recounting my experience, illustrates
that the foodservice industry is a physically and mentally demanding
environment.
It takes
nothing less than passion and determination to thrive within the
industry.