Chef Ben settles on a Table 14 menu about ten days out, and it starts with what's actually ready, not what he hoped for. Last month it was squash blossoms. Stone Arch had a Scottish Highland strip loin worth building a course around and Mangalitsa pork shoulder ready for the rillette, Central Market had heirloom tomatoes with a good balance of sweetness and acid.
The duck breasts go into cure first, salt and sugar packed on by hand, cured for sixteen hours before they're seared and finished. The corn for the amuse gets shucked, cut, salted, and packed into jars to sour on its own for the better part of a week, checked daily by taste rather than clock. Pork shoulder for the rillette goes into a slow confit the same week, then gets pulled, shredded warm, packed tight into ramekins under its own rendered fat, and left to set overnight in the walk-in.
The day before, the pasta dough is made and left to relax, covered in the walk-in overnight. The AM cook has a note that says to pull the dough out at 10am so later that day Chef can roll out the fava bean raviolo by hand, egg yolks reserved and refrigerated separately so they hold their shape when the raviolo gets filled. Pork belly goes into cure for the lardon, plum mostarda reduces slow on the back burner until it holds a trail for two to three seconds when spread with a spoon, and the ube potato pave gets built in layers, pressed under weight, and left overnight so it slices clean instead of falling apart on the plate.
The day of, focaccia comes out of the oven early enough to cool before service, spoon bread gets mixed to order in small batches so it never sits, and the broccolini is trimmed and blanched to the exact point it needs to finish on the flat top in under two minutes. Demi glace gets skimmed one last time. Chef lays out his mise en place and plateware in the same order as the previous month's Table 14 menu.
Sous Chef Shane takes the lead in the kitchen for service that day so Chef Ben can concentrate on Table 14 execution. By 6:30pm, six plates of the amuse bouche leave the pass and head for the dining room with Chef Ben in tow.
-Paul
