Mason's stage at The Jane in Antwerp, Belgium gave him a new understanding of personal endurance and what a team united around a common goal can achieve.
My 2023 grant project was a 2 month stage at The Jane in Antwerp, Belgium. I wanted to go to a kitchen where I would be fully immersed and integrated into the team and quickly feel like I was contributing to the operation. This stage and experience allowed me to do exactly that.
Chef Nick Brill’s cuisine is truly something to note. He has great technique in his dishes with bold flavors and nuances of Asian cuisine from his many travels to Asia, especially Thailand. The way he balances different fresh herbs and garnishes to enhance the overall composition of a plate is awesome and leads to delightful bites. At the beginning, I started at the garnish station. We would push our time, four days a week with 7 services. One big change for the restaurant was that Chef Nick had recently decided to close for lunch on Thursday afternoons. This was great from a prep standpoint for each section because it allowed us to complete a bulk of the week's prep-intensive jobs.
On my Thursdays I would start off by assisting on kitchen set up; turning on hoods, lighting the josper, refilling charcoal/wood, grabbing ice, turning on griddles, preparing the beurre noisette, clarifying butters, stocks in the steaming to come to temp to place on the line. Then I would do my daily knife work needed for dinner service: brunoise 400g shallot and chop 6 different herbs. Our section’s goal was to get 80-100% of our herbs picked, washed, cleaned, and stored for the next few services. We would then move on to sorting and punching kohlrabi leaves, cleaning and cutting 3 kilo cut porcini and pimenton mushrooms. Then on to cleaning/cutting baby leeks, braising/cutting baby beets, and radish. Then cleaning all the kale, spinach, and sorrel. Whilst I was doing this, my station partners typically handled the emulsions and sauce work for the section.
We would wrap up everything by mid afternoon, then clean down and race to get chawanmushi filled, wrapped, and set on a speed rack for PM service. Then I would shave 40-50 sorrel nests for the bream dish. We always tried to have this done quickly so we could finish any last minute small projects and then get a really good scrub down before service/service set up. At 5:00 PM guests would start to arrive and then the show would begin. Everyone worked as a team. The last person on the line goes to the front of the pass and wipes plates as Executive Chef Liam or Chef Nick check the plates. Then the pass is scrubbed down and plates are pulled for the next course and the process is repeated.
The energy of service was exhilarating! The respect I have for chef/owners that still make the time to work on the stations during a service to give back to their team and see their cuisine being executed to their standard is an awesome sight. It truly makes the difference in the food and the development of individuals on the team.
Once service ended, then breakdown would start. The design of the kitchen was world class, from the placements of the drainage grates on the floors to the kitchen suite with induction burners and water spouts for cleaning the griddles. The set up is designed so you can execute your dishes with grace. After the cleaning was done, we did the post shift meeting, changed, and left for the day. I would bike back to my flat, make a quick bite to eat, shower, and sleep to repeat this grind for the rest of the week but with lunch services. With that added service you have to manage your prep time even more and run faster.
I took a lot away from this experience which showed me a different level of attention to detail in a high paced environment that expected a standard commonly found in two Michelin star restaurants. That gave me a renewed outlook on personal endurance and what people and a team united around a common goal can achieve together. These things are not taught, it is something that has to be worked for daily and earned. There has to be grit and tenacity involved along with the choice of wanting to be a part of a team that wants to simply create delicious food at a very high level. Many people can't do it or simply will not.
There were a lot of great ingredients and techniques that I learned about. From awesome local vinegars, oils, seafoods, to citrus fruits that I have not worked with prior to coming to Europe. At The Jane they scale all the fish with a knife, saving the scales for a crisp garnish, which is a great technique and helps with the effectiveness of dry aging. I learned how to make some fantastic crumpets from the Executive Chef Liam. I was able to go on this stage and truly felt like I left a part of the team. I made memories for a lifetime and networked with some amazing people.
It was rewarding to train my replacement and see his growth from when I was there until I left. Seeing the look in his eyes when I explained to him the amount of prep that happens at the garnish station and what he will be responsible for was priceless, his hair not tight and apron not properly tied. I would stress the importance of prepping and managing his garnish because of how much time is spent from seed to processing. Also how if it’s not good enough it will be tossed right out when you bring it to the pass. You don't want to be the person that stalls a series of plates from going out and know that you wasted so much time. On my last week in Antwerp Chef Bril invited me, my fiance, and a good friend to the restaurant for dinner. I saw my replacement, Tao, crushing it. This brought a smile to my face, he was flying around the kitchen with purpose, and his attire was on point with a tight bun for his long hair and apron on correctly. It was truly a sight! I shook his hand before I left and he thanked me for teaching him what I learned. It just shows you that no matter what section or station you are on there is always learning and mentoring occurring.
A good culture fosters this cycle much like Ment’or’s grant program. Having a foundation like Ment'or is truly a gift to young culinarians in our profession. The memories and time spent on this internship have been life changing and I am truly forever grateful.
