Facing the challenge in New York – part 6

From July Roland Oláh, formerly the chef of Café Erté, tries his luck in the USA. He regularly reports to our magazine: ‘I thought I would not have to work this week, but to my surprise I saw my name on the schedule. It also turned out that I have to train my French successor: I, who did badly in Boulud! My colleagues are puzzled by the whole thing, because I work well. I had to talk to Gavin, the chef – I needed to see clearly about my situation. He told me it was too much for me, especially because of my problems with English. However, he offered me a job in another Boulud restaurant. He asked me to be at the Daniel on Wednesday because the chef, Jean-Francois Bruel would like to see me work – I may get a job at Feas&Fetes Catering. I really wanted to prove my skills on Wednesday and I could hardly believe that I would do a la carte in the Daniel all evening. There were 20 cooks in the kitchen and the chefs; everybody worked really calmly. The chef told me to make ’ogli’ – a Hungarian specialty. I did not get it until the chef de cuisine explained how it was made: they wanted ‘nudli’. I made some plum dumplings for the staff to try it – the chef said it would not be his favourite, but we talked about other Hungarian dishes too. The following day I learned that Jean-Francois would not employ me. At the and of the day Gavin told me to go to chef Olivier Muller in DB Moderne Bistro, another Boulud restaurant, on Monday. I have a new job!’