After an uneventful but none the less nerve racking trip into Lower Manhattan we arrive at the James Beard House. Unloading the truck is again a team effort with all pitching in a hand.
Arriving in the chilly home like kitchen surrounded by all of the serving ware, equipment and product the first thought in everyone's mind is "Where are we going to put all this stuff" and the second is "Did this kitchen actually get smaller?"
All of the prior planning is starting to really show now. Everyone has pre assigned tasks (on lists naturally) that they immediately start to attack. Some of the crew starts to unwrap and rack the individual copper sautoirs, rack up the cappuccino cups for the lobster cappuccino, while others place the different misenplace in the limited available refrigeration, all the while making careful note of where everything is being placed. A quick assessment is made of available serving plates and bowls and unnecessary items are moved out to the snow covered back patio to make space for the newly arrived wares. Two rolling racks that originally held product are coming in very handy right now, allowing of the specialty serving ware to be stored in a minimum amount of space with easy access, a trick learned from the previous visit. Robert checks his lists and tries to remember what ever might have been forgotten, so far so good. The kitchen is organized, all of the food has been stored safely, and it s time to get into production.
Brian and Pilar start assembling the crab salad for the Tasting of Shellfish appetizer. Chef Robert goes over the final assembly prototype and David and John preset the plates and garnishes and carefully stack them in the reachin.
