The Maine Sunday Telegram has publisned an article about the less well known chefs de cuisine that lead daily operations in Portland’s kitchens.
Kristen Cote’s job begins at 11:30 a.m. each day, when she arrives to help with lunch service. Cote, the chef de cuisine at the Grill Room and Bar in Portland, makes all the restaurant’s sauces, from the chimichurri to the bacon-peppercorn-cream, and butchers ducks at her station in the open kitchen. She writes menus, changing them with the seasons. She sets the specials and makes staff meals, and she orders all the food. She hires and fires. She sauces and she salts. She’s the last person to eyeball your plate before it arrives at your table.
Have you ever heard of her?