The only other things they needed to get were some sauces and some supplies. The supplies were nothing more than butter, oil, heavy cream and some condiments like candied apples in a can and capers in a jar.
The sauces were in a big, square bain marie, a tank big enough to take a swim in if it were deep enough, which of course it wasn’t. The sauces were a simple brown sauce, fond de veau, au jus, and a rosemary lamb sauce which was the same fond de veau finished with rosemary, mint jelly and white wine vinegar. Three small steam table inserts, about a half-gallon of each.
Jimmy happily danced his way through the whole of the kitchen rounds. His cousin Jimmy accompanied them and when the cart was loaded, they made a time to meet later. Bill was soon to discover that Jimmy G, his partner, really was lazy and that he would disappear for hours at a time once he was sure that Bill could handle things on his own. Mostly, Jimmy G, his partner, would go spend time with Jimmy G, the banquet chef, both of them doing nothing when there were no banquets or parties and nothing to do.
The cart loaded with everything they needed, Jimmy G and Bill took it back to the Falstaff Room. By this time it was later in the afternoon. Bill had been working nearly ninety minutes. He started at two and his working hours were from two to eleven. But like in any restaurant and any restaurant outlet in a hotel, the cooks and waitresses worked until the work was complete. So many evenings, Bill would discover, he would be working later than eleven. On weekends the room closed later, so he would be working sometimes until one A.M.
They parked the “truck” close to the double doors. Jimmy, kind of laughing because he was feeling silly about it, told Bill they should have fired up the kitchen before they’d gone to the main kitchen for supplies. So before they carried anything in off the “truck” they went into the little line-kitchen and lit things up.
This was simple and easy too. They filled the steam table and set it up with the inserts that had been left there. Jimmy told Bill that once they were set up he would show Bill where to get all the kitchen equipment such as steam table inserts, kitchen spoons, utensils and of course knives if any were needed. As he spoke, he opened a kitchen drawer and showed Bill where he kept the knives. He told Bill that sometimes they magically disappeared but the hotel had plenty and so they could always get and have what they needed.
Bill checked out the knives. Since it was an easy operation, all he actually needed was a chef’s knife and a carving knife. But there were boning knives and bread knives in the drawer too, and of course the much need sharpening steel.
Jimmy showed Bill where to start up the exhaust fans, a switch on the wall just outside the entry. When he threw the switch, the fans hummed, a similar rattle then hum to that at Suburban only much less. He showed Bill where all the light switches were too.
Then it was all things Bill knew. They unloaded the cart, put everything that needed putting away, away. They set up the steam table and placed the sauces inside. Jimmy put away the cold items he would use in his little reach-in, and he and Bill set the prime rib in place and put the baked potatoes into the steam table place for them.
Everything done, Jimmy checking out everything to make sure everything was done, they took the cart, the “truck,” and headed back to the main kitchen.
