French Laundry Alum Schools Culinary Grads, New Cooks

French Laundry alum Lisa Nakamura of Allium on Orcas Island has some advice for novice cooks joining a restaurant kitchen. Nakamura kindly granted Eater permission to publish her Facebook rant, "Things I would like culinary schools to teach their students BEFORE sending them out into the world."

1. Bowls are not storage units. Bowls are for mixing, carrying, holding things temporarily. Don't store things in bowls. Just don't do it.


2. Use the smallest container possible. The SMALLEST. Not the largest. Please don't store a cup of stock in a ten gallon bucket, or a bowl.


3. Put the label on the container, not the lid, wrapper, plastic film, etc. ON THE CONTAINER, facing forward, with the name of what the item is, the date, and your initials.


4. Learn to say behind. That's it. BEHIND. This is so I don't stab you as I turn around with my knife, not realizing you are BEHIND me.


5. Clean as you go. And get the effing food scraps off the floor.


6. Proper spelling. Chicken T-H-I-G-H-S.

Finally and most important of all, "Don't ever, and I mean, EVER, tell the chef you are tired. What we hear? 'I don't want this badly enough to put in my dues so one day I can be where you are.'

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