My Story Part 5-Miami Pt. 1

The Sunshine State

Miami is a like a gem that needs to be polished, for it doesn’t sparkle right away upon carving it from the earth. It requires meticulous attention and understanding in order for one to see the clarity, the vivacity and the enchantment that lies within. I used to loathe Miami and loathe, is even a forgiving word. The parties, the drugs, the “Woke” and “Yolo” culture were against the very fabric of my morality and principles. I am by no means religious nor pious enough to read the Bible every day and put it to heart, I just feel that Miami is different from the rest of the US, even now. You literally feel it once you step foot in this city, it’s either you love it, or you don’t. It has its own web of chaos and intricacies to deal with, but through that crucible, I gradually found the charm that makes it so desirable.

Miami is mainly occupied by latinos, specifically Cubans who fled and sought asylum during the time when communism was threatening their country. But now, people from around the world have been coming here to carve their own story of success. You have Colombians, Venezuelans, French, Russians, Filipinos, Koreans and Chinese to name a few. It has now become a city where people bring their own culture—whether good or bad and share them with pride.

As of now, this is where the money is. The cost of real estate has boomed in the past years while wages stayed the same. You have celebrities, billionaires, real estate moguls and top executives living here. If not, then they retreat to Miami whenever it is wintering up in New York. Rows and rows of mansions, floating homes, mega yachts and multi- million dollar condominiums are being built at a staggering rate. After the pandemic hit, a lot of northeastern folks decided to migrate to Miami to enjoy the freedom that we had during those difficult times. And now, who doesn’t enjoy a nice sunny weather, whether you play golf, swim, sit down and drink somewhere or just drive around? Miami is a city that just started spreading its wings, and it will keep on getting better and better.

The Transition

I arrived at the airport and started to complain about the scorching heat and how humid it was that day, an unforgiving 85F. Coming from a city that sits comfortably at 68F during the summer, my body took a while to adjust. It’s been four years since my last visit to Miami and a lot has changed. I remember Mary Brickell Village being the “It” place back then. Rows and rows of tables and chairs dispersed in the village center while people casually enjoy their drinks and conversing amongst friends. The afternoons were nice, especially around November to February. Stepping outside and seeing the palm trees, the Reggaeton playing in the background, the mega yachts with all the women dancing on board, the 1970’s architecture and the primos wearing their Panama hats, you can’t help but think that you are in a movie scene.

I had two weeks to enjoy before meeting the management team of Robuchon. Settling down to a new place is not easy, more so unpacking eight jumbo boxes full of personal things was something that I promised myself that I will never do again. Excited, I paid a visit to the site itself and found a pretty familiar wall. It ignited a positive energy within me that I haven’t felt for quite a while.

Design District 2019

The Big Apple

Before the team began, the company was generous enough to send its management team to New York for a week to train. It was an all-expense-paid trip that allowed us to learn our craft and enjoy New York at the same time. We stayed at a hotel that was being managed by the company, The Evelyn, a charming boutique hotel with less than a hundred rooms.

It was interesting to see New York again for it has changed a lot since the last time I visited. This time around, I was able to appreciate it as an adult. When you are younger, you don’t really appreciate a city since your mind is focused on something else. We were able to visit the Chelsea Market, Kat’z Deli and a couple of other places. New York is a vibrant city, there’s always something happening somewhere. Food, of course, is so much better than most states. Cleanliness, though, needs some work. Visiting Central Park and just walking around was a refreshing experience. You see a lot of characters.

We got introduced to the New York L’atelier team who helped us train and refresh our skills. It was a blissful week, at one point, we found ourselves walking back to the hotel at five in the morning, after partying on our last day, everybody was in high spirits. We got to visit nice restaurants like Jeju, a 1 Michelin star Korean Ramen place where “G”, one of the sous chefs, knew the Cdc. We got hooked up and they sent way too much food, but nonetheless, everything was wonderful. Of course, we did not miss out on grabbing some good New York Style Pizza and dim sum as well.

Dialing In

It was my first time opening a restaurant. I didn’t know what to expect, I just know that it’ll take a lot of time and effort, hearing from my friends who have done it before. I thought to myself, if it’s going to be the first time, better to open a really good restaurant. The moment we were able to enter the space, I instantly felt adrenaline and excitement. The familiar outline of the kitchen, the color scheme, the decor and the same atmosphere that resounds “prestige” once you step in, I didn’t know if Miami was ready for this, but I was delighted on the task ahead of us because we were to change the dining scene.

Pallet after pallet, we unloaded all of the goods. It was a total of 8 large ones, none was smaller or bigger than the other. From our highly prized Bernardaud and Nikko chinaware down to three hundred pieces of full sheet trays that we had to find a home, we unloaded them all under the heat of the Miami sun. We had very limited space and that required for us to be creative with how we organized things. It was “fun” removing all the stickers from every dinner plate that we pulled out from the boxes. It is an experience for one to do such a thing, you can really feel the prowess of French craftsmanship, no detail left unnoticed. Our Le Creuset cast iron pots were too heavy, but it’s a Robuchon classic to use them. All the kitchen appliances were new-Commercial Vitamix, Thermoblender and sous vide machines, it felt like Christmas in July.

The goods

We got to our respective departments and started preparing according to what we picked up from New York. News was circulating that the chef of Robuchon New York was to come down to Miami and check our progress. So we were focused on making sure that everything was spot on.

The Team

L’atelier had a Chef de Cuisine, 3 Sous and a receiver. Le Jardinier, which is the restaurant directly under L’atelier, had a Chef de Cuisine and a Sous. On top of the helm of the entire project was a regional chef.

It was time consuming to open a restaurant. We were averaging more than 60 hours a week. But the good thing about it is that you start with a blank canvas and you structure the culture and standards according to however you like it. Having a good crew that has one common goal is vital to the success of a restaurant, more so your management team. All the chefs were pouring out their hearts in order to make things right. I had two line cooks who were directly under me on the salad station, while “J”, the other sous, had at least five line cooks. J comes from Rouchon-caliber as well, same as “N”, the Cdc. So, as you can see, L’atelier management was loaded with Robuchon-caliber chefs. On top of the amount of Robuchon experience that we have, we were joined by a really good baker and a pastry chef. Also, completing our team were cooks who worked for big names such as Alinea, Boulud and Jose Andres. “O”, for example, who is our fish Cdp that time, worked at Bazaar in South Beach prior to joining our team. He is a brother whom I have kept a good relationship with. Now, he is running the show over there as the Executive Chef of the whole SLS Hotel and fathering a handsome son. “E”, who was our sauté guy, worked at Alinea and is now running Caviar Russe Miami.

I always found myself going to the bakery area where “M”, our head baker, just fills the air with wonderful aromas of her pre-ferments, starters and baked goods. One time she came up with a tart or something that resembled a pizza filled with sweetened creme fraiche and sugar. Dear lord, it was a treat. The mini baguettes that she makes, forget about it, they were divine. If you haven’t experienced witnessing freshly baked croissants being taken out of the oven while aroma fills the air, then you are missing out in life. The smell of butter lingering and the nutty aroma will remind you of wonderful childhood memories.

The Wolfpack

J, G and I had a really strong synergy. So strong that it was as if the NY chef saw the three of us running the restaurant ourselves. G at that time was the prep sous, he operated downstairs, killer guy, while J and I were in the main kitchen. He eventually found his way to join us in the main kitchen and that further solidified our team. We had a lot of fun times, too crazy even and too sensitive to mention. We almost got kicked out because of a short video clip that J posted on his IG where I was dancing like crazy to Spice Girls while on duty.

Other than that, some of our crazy moments involved a French sommelier, Churchill’s, Las Rosas, crazy sing along’s in the car while none of us were sober and somebody just randomly taking a leak in front of a building at two or three in the morning. Witnessing a colleague out a sudden just started making out with a mature lady was also impressive and at the top of my list of things that I don’t want to see again. During those times that it lasted, those two boys were like brothers to me. We had each other’s back, banging out everything that we had to do in order to be the best in Miami and at the same time, enjoy what we were doing.

A Crazy Week

To the chef’s surprise, he was impressed by how good everything was when he visited. He was startled that we caught the flavors pretty well. Of course, I wouldn’t say we were perfect, we had some tweaks here and there, but everything came out fine. Before we opened, we invited another Robuchon Veteran chef who was going to open Robuchon Geneva. He spent some time with us before his transition. I cannot remember the full detail of this crazy week, but it involved “C”, the Robuchon NY chef, saying at one of our friends and family night, to just go full on tasting-menu only, ON THE SPOT. ON THE FREAKING SPOT! Oh boy, did we run like headless chickens. I remember G saw J running downstairs like a mad man asking for more mash potatoes. He was puzzled of what was happening upstairs. The way he told the story was to die for. I caught myself serving mash potatoes like there was no tomorrow, helping out fish side and keeping an eye on salad station. J was making sure the hotline was functioning as intended. Plates were flying here and there, even the Geneva chef was shitting his pants and cried like a baby when we started running out of things to sell. I’m even chuckling as I am typing this. It was that memorable. Imagine, a six feet and three inches tall man jumping up and down like a kid throwing a tantrum saying, “I need mash potatoes!” and “What are you doing la!?” La, an expression only heard from Asian folks, he must have gotten that from his line cooks back in Robuchon Taiwan. Everybody got crushed that day and the following morning, C said sorry to everybody saying that he got carried away the night before to even think about doing such a thing. Funny. I saw that experience as a “break in”, a term more often used for brand new cars rather than cooks.

While some chefs despise or detest an open kitchen because they feel like that they are being showcased like animals in a zoo, I find that open kitchen concepts show authenticity and honesty. You’ll never know when the steak that you ordered fell on the floor before it landed on your table behind closed doors. On the other hand, you can see the people who cook your food and their level of skill at an open kitchen concept. I delighted in the fact that after service, I get to talk to the guests who dine with us. Touching tables is a thing of mine. I love talking to people and engaging in wonderful conversations. It is a skill for chefs to be able to entertain an entire table and not just say hi or hello. On top of that, you can see the beautiful faces who get to see you cook and we have a lot of pretty faces here in Miami. Did I mention that the chefs get a glass of wine after service? I probably did not. Yes, the chefs can get a glass of wine of their choice, within reason, at the end of every service. The owner of a well-known restaurant here in Miami and his family came by every single week to join us. Also, other high-profile guests who dined with us told me stories of how long they had to wait for the restaurant to open. It turns out that the construction of the establishment was done four years ago. I can remember a guest saying that “We gave up already, waiting for this damn place to open.” People know. There was also an instance when the whole restaurant got bought out for a night. One of the guests that I was talking to pulled out a notebook and a pen, asking me how we make some dishes while she wrote down every single detail. She started writing down the recipes while her husband was next to her feeling a little bit embarrassed, asking her to stop and just enjoy the food. I didn’t mind sharing.

Curing Foie

I poured all my effort into running the restaurant. It was very satisfying to be a sous chef at L’atelier. I finally saw everything in a different perspective. Now, I get to train people to work at a high standard. I get to give advice on how to become better. Most importantly, I get to inspire. But despite the title, I am and will always be a believer that nothing is too big of a job for a chef. I caught myself and Roe, our GM running the dish pit once. Our dishwashers didn’t show up and somebody had to take charge. Without a doubt, I jumped in and ran the back show for the entire service.

The Turning Point

L, the regional chef, got laid off. I think it was the beginning of the company’s effort to start trimming down fat. There came to a point where our purchases started to soar up through the roof. A lot of unnecessary things were being ordered and the bills were piling up. On top of that, our salaries were not cheap. Purveyors were starting to freeze our accounts and we had to find ways to substitute things. After L was gone, everything followed suit. The company also had to let Roe go, but it wasn’t after a couple of months down the road. The company let go of N next. From what I heard; C found her to be ineffective to run L’atelier. C needed a strong leader to run L’atelier, somebody who embodies strong delegating skills and energy. As the Cdc, you need to give the guests a little show and be “the boss” while running dinner service. C was very good at it. You can feel the intensity and energy when he runs the pass. N lacked the character, for she was very quiet and reserved.

Preparing the Egg Caviar Dish

Then, a new executive chef for Robuchon came. This guy was a Robuchon Alumni and through him, things started to turn sour for the whole restaurant. I started to become distant from my brothers. The wolfpack started to show its true colors. I’m not washing my hands clean saying that I didn’t do anything wrong. I was emotional and that added to the demise. We just started to have different goals and intentions. We all did something to contribute to the issues. What was once a brotherhood became something I can’t even put a word on. The exec ran the kitchen in an old school way. He loved yelling, he loved making people look and feel bad about themselves whenever someone makes a mistake. He also told us to “treat our purveyors like shit” so that they would cave in and give us their best prices. To add insult to injury, there were some things that happened that really made me question whether we still had each other’s back against this new chef. I don’t have to even write it down here anymore because I do not retaliate whenever somebody does something to me. I let karma do the work. O was a witness of everything. I got fed up with all the backstabbing and I decided to move down to Le Jardinier. The chef didn’t take it well. I didn’t care. I did not want to work with that kind of chef anyway.

Le Jardinier

Le Jardinier is a vegetable-forward restaurant. It is by no means a vegan restaurant since we utilize high quality proteins, although, the cuisine is light and highly seasonal. Seth, the Cdc who was running it, is a beast. He was the former Cdc of Alter, a modernist Wynwood restaurant. He is a moving encyclopedia of avant garde techniques, flavors and a perfectionist.

It was a bit difficult for me to transition from L’atelier to Le Jardinier. I had to adjust working to a real hotline again. I caught up after a while, Seth was forgiving to me and expected more from me since I come from upstairs. Through him I learned how to push the limits and be able to deliver the season’s best. We would change menu items quite often in order to keep up with what’s in season. He showed me how to do modern techniques from clarifying liquids, making crispy chips out of vegetables down to gels and many more. The food there had a lot of passion, flavors were on point. Seth doesn’t let a stupid thing get out of his sight, he will call it out. I admire that of him. But to every chef, there is a weakness. Seth had a short and a bad temper that can easily get triggered. There were a lot of times when he would drop the load on somebody, then it would paralyze the kitchen because we all had to work in fear. To the people around him, his temper was poison. I kind of gotten used to it, I understand the reason why, for he strives to maintain and even go beyond what Le Jardinier New York is doing. He believed in himself and his capabilities. Despite him being like the way he is, I always try to lift our line cooks up and explain to them why they got yelled at in a calm manner. Our GM noticed it one time. I remember hearing from somebody when he said, “No matter how much you bring your line cooks down, Stan lifts them right back up.” It worked. I just followed Seth, didn’t question his decisions. I complimented his shortcomings. I always give respect to the chef above me regardless of his character.

It was more challenging to work downstairs than upstairs. Downstairs was more of tough love, manual labor, real cooks sweating. Upstairs was more of a show, refinement and simpler execution. We were grinding hard, there were times when our spirits got crushed because we were cooking out of desperation, according to Seth. I didn’t understand that concept before until Valentine’s or New Year’s Eve happened, I can’t remember. All the tickets got jammed up and the front of the house were having issues that affected the flow of the kitchen. He doesn’t want to send food that is labeled “just because”, me neither. Although, sometimes, it just happens.

We trained a lot of cooks who came from nothing and now are really good at what they are doing. They all just had to go through the eye of the needle. It was really intense working with him, but once you come out of that kitchen and go somewhere else, life is going to be easy. Seth led the team to One Star stardom. I wasn’t there to celebrate the award anymore since I left long ago. But to me, he deserved that star. A real chef.

What Goes Around Comes Back Around

Karma, some believe and some don’t. But when it strikes, you’ll never know. Months passed and I was hearing rumors about something that happened upstairs. The executive chef of Robuchon got fired over some foolish thing that could have been easily avoided. He just had a big and foul mouth. He went overboard exercising his “executive” title and verbally harassed two line cooks, it didn’t sit well with management as it reached New York. In an instance, C flew down to Miami and let the guy go. What a disappointment.

The Pandemic

February was a slow month. I thought it was just the location to blame. There came to a point when Seth and I would grab some ice cream next door and sit outside the patio during lunch time. It was dead. Little did we know that it was the start of a temporary shutdown. We were sitting at a table while C was telling everybody over the phone that we were going to close our doors. We got compensated for a week, packed all our bags, donated whatever produce or grocery we could donate to nearby charities and closed our doors. It was bittersweet. Nobody knew what would happen next.

For some, the lockdown was catastrophic to their lives while others thrived, especially Amazon vendors who were selling face masks and alcohol. Some just realized that they don’t want to be married to their long-time partners. Some took it as a break from all the chaos and just reset and enjoy. It made people realize that nothing is certain. That life can cease to exist the next day. I saw the worst in some people during those times. On the other hand, I took time to discover new things like creating a youtube channel and keeping myself sane by exercising. I would jog from 10th St Brickell, cross the bridge to Key Biscayne where Rusty Pelican is and head back. It was nice breathing fresh air every single day while some people just stayed at home in fear that they might catch the virus. At the highest point of the bridge, you could feel the gust of wind just flowing, the skies were clear and the waters, blue. I didn't let the virus slow me down or limit what I can do. I was thanking God despite of everything that was happening.

This is when I realized how thankful I am to live in Miami. While the rest of the US was still in strict lockdown, especially Cali and New York, Miami, in September of 2020, started its reopening efforts. People hated the masks, and they were only strict in some places. I’ve seen people gone insane because of mask mandates here and there on tv and how even dining out can be a tedious thing to do. But Miami was at the forefront of going back to normal. We were fortunate. It was during those times that we started to appreciate where we live and from then on, I couldn’t see myself living anywhere, anymore.

I received a call from Seth about the reopening of Le Jardinier and L’atelier. Initially, I said yes, despite the fact that we all had to take a temporary pay cut. Until one day, N reached out to me saying that a hospitality group is looking for sous and exec sous. I did my tasting and called Seth immediately a week prior to reopening and stated that I no longer wish to come back. He was surprised by my decision and took it as a very unprofessional gesture. Well, I had to do what I had to do.

Lessons From Opening A Restaurant

One thing for certain is that you cannot be emotionally invested in the people you work with initially. There’s a lot that can happen during those first few months. People will come and go. And people will start to show who they really are and how far they are willing to go in order to get what they want. Some make it, some don’t. Some get karma and fail at some point while others move on to get better opportunities. Enjoy the journey, for life doesn’t end when a door closes.

It is important to learn, be a sponge and absorb everything. Stay true and honest.

Miami Part 2, coming.

I want to thank G for sending me the Robuchon photos. Thank you brother. Hope to see you soon.