Carrie Whitcraft spent years on the line in some of St. Louis’ most prestigious kitchens, including Westwood Country Club and Sidney Street Cafe, before moving to the line at Winslow’s Home three years ago. The day she sat down to talk with me it, she had begun a new position as its special events coordinator, responsible for booking and planning events in the new event space in the Winslow’s basement. Here, she talks about why a piece of her heart will always be on the line:
Working the line is fun:
“Sidney Street was a cool place to be. [Chef-owner] Kevin Nashan is eccentric and brilliant and brings a lot of passion to the kitchen. Prep time was the most fun because you’re just kind of yelling across the line, to the apps guy or to Kevin, funny things … I don’t think you could print any of it.”
Working the line is painful:
“The first big burn is always literally burned into your memory. I was at Westwood, and I was learning the saute station, and I’d never worked on the hot line. The No. 1 rule was don’t touch anything without a towel. I proceeded to grab a saute pan that had been in a 500 degree oven. It stays with you for hours.”
Working the line is glorious:
“I can’t speak for everybody, but I think its true that line cooks feel like their jobs and the more renowned the restaurant, the badder asses they are. There’s a lot of glory in what they do, and they take a lot of pride in how pretty their plate is and how beautiful the fish was seared… That sense that there is some glory in hot, dirty, dangerous line cook world is something I’ll always think about and always kind of miss.”
Working the line gives you confidence:
“Confidence is huge. In any sales job, if you don’t know what you’re selling, you’re not going to be an effective salesman, and [I know] what the kitchen is able to execute with any kind of time restraint or ability or seasonality.”
-photo by Michelle Volansky
This article appears in Guide to Beer 2014.