Facing the challenge in New York – part 10

From July Roland Oláh, formerly the chef of Café Erté, tries his luck in the USA. He regularly reports to our magazine: ‘I have started working in Greenwich L’escale – it is not my dream job, but we have to start paying back our debts. The head chef, Francois used to work with Wolfgang Puck for 16 years. He is a good man and unlike many French chefs he is cool as well. The kitchen is huge and the personnel are badly qualified. L’escale is not a cheap restaurant and I think that the price of food we serve exceeds their enjoyment value. It is situated at a beautiful place and in the summer months the place is crowded with guests. Besides being the sous chef, I am responsible for the fish section as well. Chef Francois loves using the grill so our dishes are a bit alike. We do flounder, salmon, tuna, grill scampi, halibut, scallops and dozens of other dishes. For an average Sunday lunch 200-250 guests turn up. I would prefer working in a smaller restaurant with fewer people.

The chef likes simple dishes and the way food is presented is very boring. The money is alright but every day I keep asking myself: What am I doing here? On the other hand, chef Francois lets me create new dishes – I really missed this. It is a great feeling that our guests like my creations. Dishes here are similar to those in DB, only the presentation is poorer. Still, Greenwich dwellers love the place and come back every day. I often think about opening my own restaurant – all I need is an investor. On one of my days off my phone rings and it is chef Laurent with an offer: he invites me to return to DB for the mornings and the door will be open for me to become sous chef after a while. The only problem is that I would only get USD 12.50 per hour. After two days of thinking I decide to refuse the offer. Chef Laurent understands me and says that if I have problems I can call them any time I the future.’