Marco Bahena, the second of the II Sammic Scholars for BasqueStage, tells us about his six months in the flagship restaurant of Martín Berasategui.
What was your best memory from kitchen Berastegui?
There was one night that we had a dinner for Chef Alain Ducasse. It was him and about 40 of his friends all there for the full tasting menu. All the food was pretty much the same, though the restaurant had a completely different vibe in the air. It was like everyone understood the pressure of how important this table was. You could see it by the desire for excellence in everyone’s eyes and hear it with the absolute pin drop silence in the kitchen. That silence meant focus. We have a saying that the food has to be “perfecto”, “todo perfecto” everything always perfect. Though that day things couldn’t be just perfect, they had to be more perfect than the most perfect, perfect ever perfected; and they were. No yelling, no ostia’s just perfectly pristine plates going out. Just the idea of being part of that is something neat to take away. To say that yes, one day I fed Alain Ducasse.
And your most “interesting” memory?
The mise en place story, for sure…
What about your best moment outside of kitchen Berasategui?
The first week I got into Spain was such a blast. We weren’t going to be starting work till the next week so we had a little vacation of which we spent hanging out in Bilbao, eating tapas in San Sebastian, taking a bus tour through the mountains of Basque country, tasting wine in France, having dinner at Arzak, and running with bulls in Pamplona(sorta). Definently a great way to be welcomed to Basque country.
What one thing will you miss the most?
The friends I’ve made here, hands down. Ill have trinkets from the places I’ve been, photos of the food I’ve eaten and scars to remind me of the lessons learned in the kitchen. Though unfortunately I can’t bring the friends I’ve made here back home with me. Apparently they want to stay in this incredible country too.
What are your future plans?
Ill be taking some time off in which ill be enjoying Christmas and new years with some friends from back home who are coming to visit for the holidays. Traveling through Spain, France and Italy. Essentially going on a road trip tasting Europe! After that I’ll be headed to work at a restaurant called Bistrot des Saveurs in Castres, France. To then eventually come back to the U.S. and work back home in Chicago at Everest.
Keep up with Marco via his blog and twitter.