#010// The Tao of a Sous

When I first became a sous chef it was under my mentor. It took over two years of hard work. The first year I wasn't paid with anything other than knowledge. I went from barely holding a knife to holding down the grill. It was a big day for me. I wasn't even twenty one yet. I had outlasted two sous, one a CIA grad. It was proof of my skill and dedication.
The reality was I became sous by default. Plus I was the only cook who didn't want to kill the chef.
You see, what makes a sous chef is loyalty. By definition a sous is the second in command in the brigade system and thereby the chef in absentia. In order to carry out all of the duties as the chef would one must buy into the chef's system. In theory, being a sous is more than a job, it's a mentality and requires an ability to be someone pushing the chef's agenda, inspiring those around to sign on themselves. A sous chef recruits additional believers who will hopefully follow the chef's theory and instruction to the letter and execute it perfectly - not out of fear for the chef but rather with belief that the chef's food is the best.
One must also have a resentment, which is why the chef nit picks the sous to death. If a sous really wants the big hat then he will have to earn it through being placed in the most difficult situations mentally and physically. He will have to be grille and saute when someone calls in. He will have to come in on Sunday mornings to do inventory. He will have to be the one overseeing the deep clean of the dishpit. If the sous is doing these things its important to understand one crucial detail: the chef is doing none of this. If the chef makes more money, then why isn't he there?
This is the egg that hatches in every linecook's head during sous chefdom. This becomes the motivating factor in his development into a head chef. Yes, he's learning how to stock, zone, order, schedule - the managerial duties that your average linecook is not doing. He has also, in theory, pushed himself to being the fastest and most efficient cook in the kitchen. If you are the guy who cooks fastest and is capable of accomplishing the management of the kitchen wouldn't you end up being pissed that the guy above you is banking on your work?
Is this how all junior management feels?
Is this the resentment that has the potential to morph into poison or greatness?
Stress is what tempers a good linecook. The heat, smoke and chef provide enough outside pressure to fortify a linecook into a diamond - a sweaty, smelly diamond. Creating this proper balance is what defines a good chef.
Yeah, I said it.
His food is only part of it. If a chef's food was subpar he would not be in the position he's in. It's a prerequisite, so let's just work under that assumption. A good chef is able to make those around him better. He is able to work a Saturday night service, holding down expo, all the while mumbling into his sous chef's ear all the theory, technique and critique of the way he holds his tongs, pushing the cook past his comfort level, towards excellence. Like Yoda on Dagobah running through the swap on Luke's back.
"Fire course three on seven. Why are you basting like that? Big spoon. Remember the entire point: coat the fish, its not just cooking from below now. Look at your grille, flaring up - and wipe that cutting board. You got this or do you need my help? And don't over-salt that sauce - remember, powerful is the salt inside the clams, very little seasoning is necessary. You must think and remember where all of this comes form and that it is interconnected."
"I'm trying-"
"There is no try, only do."
These moments are the real creation of the sous chef. He's the one who gets to work next to the chef all night long. He's the one in the office with a glass of wine afterwards. He's the only one with inside jokes with the chef. The chef cannot do his job well without a strong and capable sous. Without an overzealous number two he is not awarded the time to simply daydream. A chef needs time to think about how to be at the cutting edge of cuisine, where to source the caviar, how to structure a prefix menu - the details are never something that just happen. It requires a quiet moment, alone, staring at the ceiling and playing the upcoming event out in your head. The sous makes sure the hoods are clean while this is happening.
The crux is the eventual and inevitable overtaxed sous. The one who understands this aspect of the position and takes on too much for too long. A good chef will see this before it happens, but human nature will always allow someone to occasionally fall into delegation mode. Just like a good sous will inspire loyalty among the rank and file, a good chef will be able to care for and understand his sous chef and their stress level.
The chef is training the sous to be a chef one day himself. The hope is to pass on practiced technique and time tested systems onto the next generation in hopes that years down the line you will not be forgotten. I think that the immortality of ideas is fascinating and to add to the melange of culinary history is the goal. Escoffier did not set out to be the father of French cuisine - he had Careme, Verenne, et al. who already owned the title, depending on who you talked to. Escoffier's codification - in other words his theory regarding the work that existed before him - is what has given him that title in modern cuisine. It was his apprentices and sous chefs who spread his teachings. They were his disciples and it is the hope of any chef worth his salt to create a legion of these folk to take over any town where they sling their knife.
I was a sous chef for over ten years. Without a degree it seemed most owners did not want to hand over the most expensive and difficult aspect of their business to a 20-something. Who can blame them? I became a career sous chef, sought out by several notable chefs in several cities. I kept kitchens clean and slung hash at an impressive rate. I also am loyal to a fault and would buy into these men's systems hook, line and sinker - not because their food was the craziest shit, but rather I had things to learn and wanted to get them learnt. Now. I had places to go. There must be a reason they won't hire me as chef and maybe this guy knows what it is. That concept inspired a fervent dedication to my chef and my job. I regularly fell into the cycle of taking on to much in hopes to please.
It's a tricky point in a cook's career.
I will say this: I was last hired as a sous chef about six years ago and I hope to never be in that tenuous position again although I look back on it with the fondness one reserves for memories of summer camp or family holidays. I was sous to some very remarkable and flawed men who I hold in similar esteem to my father and grandfather. They collectively forged me into the cook and chef that I am today and I hope to inspire those under me with the same loyalty in hopes that my culinary legacy will not be lost as soon as I am.


James Pawl Kane
Chef & Sous Chef in Perpetuity