A day in the life of Food with Varinder
By the time you arrive in our restaurant, Siamack, myself and our team of lovely student chefs and preppers, will have already had a full day of peeling, chopping and cooking for you. I thought you might be interested in seeing a typical timeline:
Unless I need to bake cakes, Siamack and I arrive mid morning perhaps with a few ingredients we have run low on.
1030 – Make the bread dough and set it aside to rise
1100 – Make ourselves and whoever is working with us some breakfast – usually masala fried egg, toasted leftover bread from the day before and Iranian or Masala tea depending on what I’m craving that morning
1130 – prep vegetables, wash rice and measure out spices for the curry
1200 – Prep herbs, pomegranate seeds and chop nuts and dates
1230 – Bread goes into the oven (enough for 30 guests)
1300 Boil rice until par-cooked and ready to steam or bake
1400 – Heat oil to begin the process of frying spices for the Iranian, Indian or Palestinian curry
1430 – Curry should be simmering by now
1430 – Rice is either in the oven or being steamed in a pot depending on how I want it to be prepared.
1500 – A break with something to eat and some tea
1600 – Vacuum and mop the restaurant floor. Disinfect table tops and start planning out which guests will sit at which tables.
1700 – Set tables, iron and fold napkins
1730 – Front-of-house service people arrive to help prepare for the arrival of guests
1800 – Write our guest names on chalkboards.
1815 – Write out menu of 3 mini-bites, 4 main dishes and 2 desserts (for the evening)
1830 – Check wines and cocktail spirits. This is the latest I can chill a bottle of wine in time for evening service
1900 – wipe down countertops, and bring serving dishes to the bar, ready for service. Begin assembling the mini bites and cutting bread
1910 – First guests arrive!
11-1130 – Last guests leave
1145 – Home sweet home!
Important to note that our days are full of tastings. We taste everything at every step of the cooking process. Siamack also loves to play around with new, invented recipes. Some work out, but many don’t!
All the while, we are also washing pots, pans, and the kitchen floor. Hygiene and cleanliness is my absolute, number one priority.
Oh and I don’t allow any meat to enter my restaurant, either in a sandwich if someone is having lunch or a shopping bag en-route to our house (everyone else in my family eats meat!)