Garde manger is supposed to be pretty laid back, but when half your team doesn’t show up, things start to get hairy.

It was one of those days where I made a lunch plate for both Tom and I, and it sat on the bottom of our station mostly untouched for the entire afternoon. (Maybe I’ll start to shed the seven pounds I’ve gained while being in school.)

Onion soup

By 1:30, we had a system. I plated the onion soup, and then Tom popped it in the too-high-for-me-to-reach salamander (basically a broiler). At the same time he’d get the pork belly ready, and I’d set up the vegetable terrine and frisee salad. It wasn’t always as seamless as I make it sound, but it definitely deserved a chest pump by day’s end.

Salad plating station

TIP OF THE DAY: For a darker onion soup, let your onions develop a rich caramelized state where some almost look burnt.