Oliver Dovey
2017 Final Diary at Restaurant Sat Bains with Rooms
Day 1
Today was a challenging day as it was the first day at Restaurant Sat Bains with Rooms. I had to learn the layout of the kitchen, the people and all of the menu, off by heart, as fast as possible. I worked in the preparation kitchen for most of the day but my highlight was moving over to work in the Nucleus restaurant. There was just Leon (Jr Sous Chef) and myself cooking and plating the dishes for the customers. It was a very interactive restaurant because as we were cooking the customers were asking us questions about the dishes and our experience too. I could see how the customers reacted to each dish and hear the excitement in their voices while they spoke about them. It was the best place for me to start as it gave me time to learn the whole menu in depth, from the preparation to cooking and then plating.
Day 2
Today was amazing, I spent most of the time in the hot kitchen doing preparation in the morning and in the evening I was working with the larder, plating all of their dishes, mainly the Chicken Meusli, Potatoes roasted in the wood fire oven and the Veal Sweetbreads. My favourite dish was definitely the Chicken Meusli as it was an amazing balance between sweet, sour, hot and warm.
Wood Fired Oven
Day 3
Today I spent the morning in Pastry, I made the milk Crisp for their Milk dessert. I also made their Chocolate Marquis dessert, from start to finish. They had a lot of trust in me and let me do a great deal during preparation. They gave me everything to taste but their truly exceptional dish was their conclusion of Green Thai Curry and Candy floss. It was absolute perfection in the balance of all 5 tastes. In the evening I was in the hot kitchen as it was very busy. I was plating their Beef Tartar dish as well as the others from yesterday. They also had a new dish for their chefs table, which is amazing watching how new dishes come about in Restaurant Sat Bains with Rooms.
Day 4
Today was by far the best day! I spent all day moving between each section doing jobs that I picked up during the week but with more speed and skill. When it came to the cook off, I was not sure of the result, it was very nerve wracking to show Sat and John your own style of cooking, there was a lot more pressure than I thought I was going to feel but overall I am happy with my final dish.
Olivers Final presentation of his original entry dish
John said the dish was lovely and the Duck was cooked on point which I was very relieved at as I thought it was slightly over cooked 🙂
In the evening I was helping pastry at the beginning. I was helping plate Sat Bains well known Duck Egg dish. It was incredible to see the effort.
Then after I moved over to work in the Nucleus again as they had a very busy service in there. the customers were very friendly and chatty towards myself and Leon (Sous Chef). They were absolutely blown away by the conclusion that I ate yesterday. It was a great pleasure to watch the customers fall in love with the food and knowing the hours and hard work it was really worth it!!!! It was a slightly sad ending as I really did not want to leave. They welcomed me as a family member and it truly touched my heart how nice everyone was towards me. I want to thank the whole team for the experience they have given me this week.
