بخش 05

Congratulations. You were able to repeat your accidental success.

But you’ll need to know more than soup if you are to survive in my kitchen, boy.

Colette will be responsible for teaching you how we do things here.

Listen, I just want you to know how honored I am to be studying under such.

No! You listen. I just want you to know exactly who you are dealing with.

How many women do you see in this kitchen?

Well, I.

Only me. Why do you think that is? Well, I.

Because haute cuisine is an antiquated hierarchy built upon rules written by stupid old men.

Rules designed to make it impossible for women to enter this world.

But still I’m here. How did this happen?

Because, well, because you.

Because I am the toughest cook in this kitchen.

I’ve worked too hard for too long to get here and I am not going to jeopardize it for some garbage boy who got lucky. Got it?

Whoa!

wow!

Easy to cook. Easy to eat. Gusteau makes Chinese food, Chine-easy.

Excellent work, Francois, as usual. It’s good, isn’t it?

I want you to work up something for my latest frozen food concept.

Gusteau’s Corn Puppies.

They’re like corn dogs, only smaller. Bite size.

What are corn dogs?

Cheap sausages dipped in batter and deep fried. You know, American.

Whip something up.

Maybe Gusteau in overalls and Huckleberry Tom hat.

Or as a big ear of corn in doggie make-up.

Yes. But, please, with dignity.

Get my lawyer!

Well, the will stipulates that if after a period of two years from the date of death no heir appears, Gusteau’s business interests will pass to his sous chef. You.

I know what the will stipulates.

What I want to know is if this letter. If this boy changes anything!

There’s not much resemblance.

There’s no resemblance at all. He is not Gusteau’s son.

Gusteau had no children, and what of the timing of all this?

The deadline in the will expires in less than a month!

Suddenly, some boy arrives with a letter from his recently deceased mother claiming Gusteau is his father?

Highly suspect!

This is Gusteau’s? Yes, yes, yes.

May I? Oh! Of course, of course.

But the boy does not know.

She claims she never told him, or Gusteau, and asks that I not tell.

Why you? What does she want? A job for the boy.

Only a job? Well, yes.

Then what are you worried about? If he works here, you’ll be able to keep an eye on him while I do a little digging.

Find out how much of this is real.

I will need you to collect some DNA samples from the boy. Hair, maybe.

Mark my words. The whole thing is highly suspect.

He knows something.

Relax, he’s a garbage boy. I think you can handle him.

What are you doing?

I’m cutting vegetables. I’m cutting vegetables?

No! You waste energy and time!

You think cooking is a cute job, like Mommy in the kitchen?

Well, Mommy never had to face the dinner rush when the orders come flooding in, and every dish is different and none are simple, and all of the different cooking times, but must arrive on the customer’s table at exactly the same time, hot and perfect!

Every second counts, and you cannot be Mommy!

What is this? Keep your station clear!

When the meal rush comes, what will happen?

Messy stations slow things down.

Food doesn’t go, orders pile up. Disaster.

I’ll make this easy to remember.

Keep your station clear, or I will kill you!

Your sleeves look like you threw up on them.

Keep your hands and arms in, close to the body. Like this. See?

Always return to this position.

Cooks move fast. Sharp utensils, hot metal, keep your arms in.

You will minimize cuts and burns and keep your sleeves clean.

Mark of a chef: Messy apron, clean sleeves.

I know the Gusteau style code.

In every dish, Chef Gusteau always has something unexpected.

I will show you. I memorize all his recipe.

Always do something unexpected. No. Follow the recipe.

But you just said that. No, no, no.

It was his job to be unexpected. It is our job to Follow his recipes.

How do you tell how good bread is without tasting it?

Not the smell, not the look, but the sound of the crust.

Listen.

Symphony of crackle. Only great bread sound this way.

The only way to get the best produce is to have first pick of the day and there are only two way to get first pick.

Grow it yourself, or bribe a grower.

Voila! The best restaurant get first pick.

People think haute cuisine is snooty. So chef must also be snooty.

But not so. Lalo there ran away from home at 12.

Got hired by circus people as an acrobat.

And then he get fired for messing around with the ringmaster’s daughter.

Horst has done time.

What for?

No one know for sure. He changes the story every time you ask him.

I defrauded a major corporation.

I robbed the second largest bank in France using only a ballpoint pen.

I created a hole in the ozone over Avignon.

I killed a man with this thumb.

Don’t ever play cards with Pompidou.

He’s been banned from Las Vegas and Monte Carlo. Larousse ran gun for the Resistance.

Which resistance?

He won’t say. Apparently, they didn’t win.

So you see. We are artist, pirate. More than cooks are we.

We? oui. You are one of us now, oui?

oui. Thank you, by the way, for all the advice about cooking.

Thank you, too. For what?

For taking it.

The rat!

But he is a.

I just dropped my keys.

Have you decided this evening?

Your soup is excellent. But we order it every time.

What else do you have? Well, we have a very nice foie gras.

I know about the foie gras.

The old standby, used to be famous for it.

What does the chef have that’s new?

Someone has asked what is new! New?

Yes. What do I tell them?

Well, what did you tell them? I told them I would ask!

What are you blathering about?

Customers are asking what is new. What should I tell them?

What did you tell them? I told them I would ask!

This is simple.

Just pull out an old Gusteau recipe, something we haven’t made in a while.

They know about the old stuff. They like Linguini’s soup.

They are asking for food from Linguini?

A lot of customers like the soup. That’s all we are saying.

Were we saying that?

Very well. If it’s Linguini they want tell them Chef Linguini has prepared something special for them.

Something definitely off menu.

Oh, and don’t forget to stress its Linguini-ness. Oui, chef.

Now is your chance to try something worthy of your talent, Linguini.

A forgotten favorite of the chef’s, sweetbread a la Gusteau.

Colette will help you. Oui, chef.

Now, hurry up. Our diners are hungry.

Are you sure? That recipe was a disaster.

Gusteau himself said so.

Just the sort of challenge a budding chef needs.

“Sweetbread a la Gusteau.” “Sweetbread cooked in a seaweed salt crust with cuttlefish tentacle, dog rose puree, geoduck egg, dried white fungus?” “Anchovy licorice sauce.”

I don’t know this recipe, but it’s Gusteau’s, so.

Lalo! We have some veal stomach soaking, yes?

Yes! The veal stomach, I get that.

Veal stomach?

Okay.

I’ll be right back. Where.

Hey, I got to. Hey!

Don’t mind me. I just need to borrow this real quick.

Let’s see, over here.

I’ll be back.

Thank you.

Excuse me. I’m going to.

Apparently, I need this. I’ll be right.

I’m going to pick that up.

I got some of that spice.

Okay.

What are you doing? You’re supposed to be preparing the Gusteau recipe.

This is the recipe.

The recipe doesn’t call for white truffle oil!

What else have you. You are improvising?

This is no time to experiment. The customer are waiting.

You’re right. I should listen to you!

Stop that! Stop what?

Freaking me out! Whatever you are doing, stop it.

Where is the special order? Coming!

I thought we were together on this. We are together.

Then what are you doing? It’s very hard to explain.

The special? Come get it!

Whoa, whoa. I forgot the anchovy licorice sauce.

Don’t you dare. I’m not, I’m not. I’m.