A year from Opening Day

by Daniel Patterson (see part one and two of Opening Day)

I know what you’re thinking: haven’t I said quite enough? Well, yes.
But Pim asked for a “where are they now” perspective, and I can’t say
no to her (and really, why would I?).

I’m not sure exactly where we are now, but wherever it is, it’s a long
way from where we started. After a year out of kitchens, I was beyond
rusty when we opened – I had dismantled everything I knew about
restaurants, and it took months to sort through the piles of prejudices
and preconceptions that had accumulated over decades, trying to decide
what to keep and what to discard. I was also exhausted and vaguely
depressed from having pushed myself so hard before we opened. I had no
problem getting writing assignments in the first few months, but in the
kitchen I wondered if I had anything left to say.

But then something happened.

I started to get excited about coming in
to work every day. I bought more and more from farmer’s markets, until
I was finally able to do without a produce distributor. I gathered wild
greens and flowers near my house. I tromped around farms. And in doing
so I reconnected with a place where I have lived my entire adult life,
and with the people who live here. Little by little the restaurant grew
busier, until finally even I had to admit that it was going to be just
fine. I found an incredible partner to help me run the restaurant. I
got married. And I fell in love with cooking again, with its incipient
sense of wonder and discovery – I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed working
in a kitchen as much as I do now.

When we celebrated our first anniversary a few weeks ago, those of us
who had been there from the beginning – and there were several –
reminisced about those early, clueless days. I even pulled the “Mental
Notes” from their folder and read them aloud, which provoked much
hysterical laughter. As I looked around the room I felt a satisfaction
as profound as any I have ever felt in restaurants. I had, contrary to
every bit of personal historical precedent, created a happy place, full
of nice people who like what they do. We still have a long way to go,
but I think that it’s going to be a fun ride.