Facing the challenge in New York

From July Roland Oláh, formerly the chef of Café Erte, tries his luck in the USA. He regularly reports to our magazine: “I was really calm before setting off, despite that it was a big decision that would influence the future of my family. Some said I was irresponsible, others thought I was brave to give up everything for nothing. What do they mean by nothing? For me it is more motivating to learn than to be a head chef. All the restaurants and bars are jam-packed. My ex-bosses and colleagues gave me great references and at a few restaurants they turned me down saying I was too good for them. I landed my first job: I work 12 hours as a line cook in a café. I get USD 14 per hour for roasting burgers and frying huge pancakes. Surfing on the Internet I find a vacancy at Daniel Boulud’s. I call them and in two days’ time I am at Café Boulud for my trial day. It is like a fairy tale, the chef is a nice person of about the same age as me. There are 14 cooks and more than 100 guests, people work in a relaxed atmosphere, in close cooperation. At the end of the day the chef tells me I am hired!