Tuesday, 16 August, 2022 – Today was supposed to be Elias’s day off but, as I mentioned yesterday, he volunteered to work. He said today, on our call, he “came for the full experience” so he’s taking advantage of learning as much as he can and staying busy.
And staying busy he is. Elias had an eventful day yesterday. He did indeed work in the restaurant. He started his day on the farm, at 7am. Then he went to the kitchen to help with the lunch service – the only meal the restaurant serves on weekdays – at 9:30 and did not leave until 6pm.
Of his day, Elias said, justifiably proud of himself, “Now I can say I have worked in a Michelin restaurant kitchen.” He was prepared for it to be a short day, getting scrutinized by the staff but it appears our boy made his bones. He started by washing produce, and then peeled cherry tomatoes (Really small ones. Try not to smush the little buggers while getting the skin off!) and then, when he was finished and looking for something to do, he said he would wash dishes. He said, “I think they appreciated that.” Yeah, I bet they did.
I am not sure at what point in the day he had proved himself. The head chef – the guy with the articles written about him, Armand Arnal – said something approving of Elias, which was gratifying to him, I think. The important point to convey is: Elias got to work with the food being served and he plated food! If I had not been around David and Elias in the last few years to appreciate the special pecking order that is the restaurant business and cooking, specifically, I would not know what a big deal it was that Elias got to plate food. (He assembled the food that was put on the plate.) But I do know. Those plates are small works of art when they are served to the patrons, who should be impressed by all aspects of the experience: the visual presentation as well as the taste and smell of the food. In any case, it means Elias did good.
Elias did well enough that the restaurant folks told him he was welcome to come back anytime and they would be happy to have him stay. High praise. The woman who specializes in the edible flower growing has been an especially fun person to work with. I expect Elias eats anything she suggests he try – which I can imagine endears him to her, too. I may be completely off-base but I have this image of her enjoying Elias because he is impressed with her work, since she may be overshadowed by the “real” chefs. I may be projecting, of course. I am probably projecting, but you never know.
He has tomorrow (Wednesday) off, for real. He said it is supposed to rain all day so the plan to go to the beach likely won’t pan out. Perhaps it will be a quiet day of napping and cooking. He is probably going to stay the rest of the week, working again on Thursday and Friday. Then he goes to Paris on Saturday and meets up with Ian and Kelsey!
I am not sure what I am going to do, once he is traveling with his friends and doesn’t have time to chat for half an hour about his day. I will be happy for him but it sure is nice to see him and hear his voice.
When I traveled in China, I went for a couple of weeks at a time without any contact with home. It must have driven my father bananas. In my defense, I did stand in line at the public phone company, where everyone went if they wanted to make a phone call. But I could not figure out how to call, with only Chinese on all the signs and phones, and only grumpy Chinese staff to “help” me. So I sent a fax. Or a telegram, as they called it. I would like to say, now: Sorry, Daddy. I gave you a few sleepless nights.
More Articles About the Restaurant
This may be tiresome that I include so many links, but I keep thinking if we ever get to travel to the South of France, we can look up these posts and get some ideas for where to go. Also, I like to imagine Elias being there. I want to be able to picture the place when he is eventually home and telling us about his travels.
- Condé Nast Traveler article in which Alice Waters calls it “heaven.”
- Travel blog post with lots of pictures.
- Not a lot written about La Chassagnette but lots of other places to salivate over.
- The flower gardener, Danielle (I think), is mentioned in this article. (Including a picture of some sheep, which strikes me as sort of funny. Are sheep emblematic of an organic, back-to-nature environment? Do they connote authenticity in the food? Maybe they are just cute? Or, this just occurred to me: the restaurant serves sheep’s milk and cheese, maybe? Oh, I know! The sheep evoke a pastoral tableau? My apologies. It is late and the later it gets, the funnier the sheep are.)