I was talking to some friends on the phone today, some beautiful souls I had the pleasure to meet while working at The Last Kitchen, a small restaurant in an even smaller town called Fox Glacier, in New Zealand. There I met some people that now I am happy to call friends. Josie AKA "china" and her brother Augusto are from Buenos Aires, Argentina and they are so chilled and laid back that its just great to be around them.
We used to have so much fun working together at The Last Kitchen. Working as a chef is super stressful but having good coworkers that at the same time are your friends makes for a much enjoyable experience. a 10 hours shift feels like a 8 hour one when you are giggling and having fun with friends.
For the record, our positions were really stressful with lots of pressure. We were 3 chefs: Josie, Augusto and me and two dishwashers. Buy on each shift there would be two chefs and one dishwasher. That means three staff in the kitchen and we would cook about 50 to 150 main meals each night. That without counting entrees and desserts. Boy was that intense! But overall it was an epic experience. Our boss was so lovely, we could have superb quality coffees all the time and also staff meals were to die for!
The menu was quite simple, nothing too fancy but at the same time every meal was done with the best quality products. The favorites were: Lamb burger with beetroot chutney and rosemary and garlic alioli. Chicken burger with bacon, brie cheese and honey mustard mayo. Salmon fillet served over a fennel and lemon risotto, topped with dill and capers creme fraiche. Steaks were our best meal, served with either salad and fries or roasted vegetables, always topped with mushroom sauce, peppercorn sauce, garlic butter or fried eggs. The lamb fillet was also popular, served with a potato gratin and wok veggies. And last but not least the Venison Fillet served on a bed of noodles with wok veggies and stir-fry sauce... YUM!
Looking through this pictures gives me such nostalgic feelings. Reminds me of the amazing time I had while I was in New Zealand (4 years in total).
So... here are some pictures taken with my old Moto 3G while working at The Last Kitchen... hope you enjoy them!
Venison Fillet (this is the only pic taken with my Sony Nex5 with a 35mm lens).
Ribeye Steak with roasted veggies and garlic butter.
Burger at the back, Salmon fillet up at front.
Chicken Burgers.
Fire in the kitchen! 🤣
Me and josie
Doing the cleanup at the end of the day with Augusto.
When it comes to working on a kitchen, I am a clean freak.
Everything is better with good coffee.
Gluten-free chocolate mud cake (with homemade almond flour)
Prune Cake topped with coconut and caramel.
Staff dinner: Pizzas!
A little video with Josie guiding us through the kitchen (Spanish spoken)
Thanks for reading and for your support! I hope you enjoyed the tour 😊