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One of the Perks of Working in Michelin Star Pastry
It turns out guests don’t finish their wine
I had been on my feet for twelve hours. The last few tables lingered in the dining room deciding on the chocolate coulant or the fruit vacherin. A cold glass of Vouvray sat next to me on the stainless steel counter, condensation dripping down its stem, similar to my sweat, from the heat of the oven.
On this particular night, some guests had ordered an $8,000 bottle of wine and unknowingly left a bit behind for the girl in pastry. Yes, it was $8,000 — and no, it wasn’t 800 times better than a $10 bottle. But at the end of a night like that, it tasted priceless.
I glanced over at the savory crew, packing up their mise en place while I waited for the ticket printer to do something. Maybe they felt sorry for me, stuck in pastry purgatory, having to stick around until the last order was placed.
Or maybe they were jealous of my glass of Vouvray.
A glass of wine was a luxury, as I waited for the last orders come in. Befriending the sommelier — the source of these precious wine scraps — had been a good idea. I never counted the glasses I had enjoyed at the tail end of service during my culinary career, but there were many, and they were well-earned.
