A night at the Michelin.

When you hear someone say “I work in the hotel industry or in a restaurant”, you quickly imagine Gordon Ramsay screaming, Jamie Oliver cooking with passion or Sanjeev Kapoor cooking explaining the ‘swaad'(taste). Its more to it. We all choose this profession to be great like them initially. When things don’t work out we stopped working for it and eventually give up. There are a handful of people who I know didn’t continue down this path; but there are a few passionate souls who will not stop until they achieve what they want to achieve. Mine was to be the best in the profession I am in. Now the best a Sommelier aspirant can achieve is to be a Master Sommelier or a Master in wine.

Entrance to Le Grand Maison

It has been over 7 months since I left Bordeaux and it had been the best time of my life. While in Bordeaux I got an opportunity to work for the Michelin Star Restaurant known as Le Grand Maison (2 stars). Anyone working in this industry is aware about the Michelin Guide and the restaurants who have achieved the stars. The book is like the bible for the french chefs. There was a point in time that the chefs only cared about the stars they got and would not stop until they reach 3 stars. 1 star is great; 2 star is amazing and 3 stars well, they are for the Gods. Getting to work at the restaurant truly was an overwhelming experience.

You are greeted by this exhilarating, mansion and fanciful entrance of the restaurant which is suited for royalties only. I was easily intimidated by the view of this restaurant. The mansion has five rooms upstairs and the restaurant downstairs which are divided into three rooms. The restaurant serves lunch and dinner. The kitchen is run by a very well known french chef Mr. Pierre Gagnaire. Pierre Gagnaire began working as a pastry chef before spending a summer in Paul Bocuse’s restaurant. He took over his father’s restaurant for six years before opening his first restaurant in 1981 in Saint-Étienne. His creative cuisine is sometimes known as iconoclastic. He has opened close to 20 restaurants all over the world.

Working at the restaurant really opened my mind of how service at a Michelin Restaurant works. Its a process of allowing the guest to enjoy the ambiance, food and wine, rather than your company. Its a play. A dance between the chefs and the servers. The customer being the audience and enjoying the flow of course appear before them in all shapes and sizes whilst introducing the wine and food pairing. The Sommelier’s job is to give you an experience of the pairing and also identifying the right wine according to your taste. The main perk of being a Sommelier is tasting wines before you serve it to the guest for checking whether the wine is good or bad. By the end of the evening I was drunk with knowledge; literally as well. The flow of service is like any other restaurant only classier. The night progresses towards closing down of the floor and heading to make the back area sparkle. Being an outsider I was welcomed by the staff and was treated as if I have been working there for a really long time. Even though being inexperienced in working for this type of restaurant, I was not hindered to bring out the hospitable gentlemen that I am.

Working for the Michelin has opened up new avenues for me to venture and explore in this unfamiliar journey I tread. I urge anyone if given an opportunity to definitely grab the offer given. It will not only be a delightful experience but an intoxicated one as well.