Merrid4

A new restaurant in downtown Opelika is hiring... see below... Main Street Opelika Chamber

*** WE ARE HIRING A CHEF ***
If you are someone or know someone - https://www.indeed.com/job/head-chef-5945864cbe75a06a
Our Chef…
Chef, Chef, wherefore art thou, not here?
If Piedmont on Piedmont is to be unlike any other restaurant, then its Chef must be unlike any other chef.
At the core of the hospitality which we aim to share and embody, we find the home kitchen, and the production of the slow and considered style of cooking which it engenders. Whereas modern kitchens are built as tiny little mixed-use factories, historic kitchens would have looked much like counterparts at home, albeit at a different scale. Yet in these kitchens, dishes are routinely made which would be the utter ruin of the modern American restaurant; Osso Bucco, Boeuf Bourguignon, Confit, and endless other permutations of the theme of something very precious, taking a very long time to prepare.
Modern cynics would ascribe this to the lack of required production, but this is nothing more than an apologetic for a polemic against quality. The great Noble houses of Europe have long been creating elaborate feasts for massive guest rolls, and they don’t have anything even remotely comparable to the kitchen line at a Mcdonald's. No, the size of the kitchen does not determine its ability to create spectacular experiences for a large number of guests ( the Caterers Among Us have known this for years ).
The issue at hand is that of producing on demand. Can you imagine going to a Shakespeare production, and demanding that they play any of the bard's masterpieces on demand? Obviously, this would be obscene, you may say. After all, doesn't a theater troupe need months to build sets, learn lines, and find the magic of the interactions between the actors? No, you cannot have Shakespeare on demand. But those same people will show up at any number of fantastic restaurants, take the most essential form of human connection, dining, and demand that it be played like a record in a jukebox.
This sort of commoditization of food is more than just ridiculous modern entitlement, it's a vulgar perversion of one of the most sacred acts of humanity. If we want to have incredible experiences around the table, we need to give the artist in the kitchen the space to produce real work. This means limiting choices, focusing on quality, and creating an environment of creativity where consistency is not a goal, but quality is an expectation. I don't give two sh*ts if we ever have the same dish twice. If the seasonality of the ingredients, the morale of the staff, the experience of the guest, and whatever other intangibles make a dish great are not there, we have no need to make it.
So we come to the issue of our chef. The person we are looking for is more passionate than skilled, though they must be skilled. They have to create anticipatory experiences that build upon each other and crescendo in a symphony of flavors, textures, and tiny moments that are so fleeting that they can barely be said to have happened at all. And in doing so, they must be out of the kitchen during service. Our Chef needs the ability to move between the tables and transfer their passion and perspective to our guests In a way that empowers them to experience a version of their world that they had never considered possible.
Essential to this goal will be an attitude of anticipatory hospitality. They must constantly think of the moment, or rather the collection of moments, which will fold into the stories of everyone who sits at our table. They must be assertive and bold with experience while creating a sense of space in which our guests feel that failure is as impossible as it is inconsequential.
When I was a child, I used to cook with my grandmothers. They would always want to know in the morning how many people they would have for dinner, because they would cook all day. Every dish was more than made from scratch, it was made as an intentional expression of love for everyone at the table. By the end of seven or eight hours, you can forgive them for feeling like dinner was something holy. I think I've ended up much the same way, and can barely make anything that takes less than an hour and a half. Most dishes take four, and plenty take two or three days. This isn't some sort of high-minded sa**sm but the reality of making the slow, beautiful dishes that are the birthright of every home cook, and fill the dreams of every great chef. Find me one Chef who will tell you that the best hospitality experience they've ever had was outside of someone's home, and I'll show you a liar.
Thus, there is this dichotomy in the personality of our chefs; they must simultaneously believe that every detail is of Paramount importance and that no amount of work is too great to create something truly special, but they must also create experiences with ease and fluidity that express true hospitality. They must always remember that our guests are not there to be lectured, and they're not there to be entertained. They are there to be loved.
If I were to imagine an avatar for our chef, I don't know if I could say whether or not they were young or old, but I do know that they will be passionate about being in the kitchen, and that they would share that Joy with everyone they meant. Everyday out of the kitchen would be torture, and every moment in it would be joy. On their very lowest days, they would drag themselves to the stove, and feel their spirits lifted as they entered into the act of creation. Our Chef is closer to a home cook than a restaurateur. This person loves being surprised, and is as excited to be wrong as they are to be right. They are ever the amateur, but strive to attain mastery and everything they do. And every time they turn a corner and find some new facet of cuisine or dining that they didn't know before, they're like a starving fat kid who walked into a Cheesecake Factory with a $100 gift card.

this is good to know!

It’s a great time to support local businesses!👏

waverly market happening

swipe left👈👈⬅️⬅️ to see this amazing transformation!! . i have appointments available. dm me or text to schedule

say goodbye to frizz and long blow drying time! i’m now certified in . keratin complex also helps block out humidity. schedule your treatment today & have great summer hair 👱🏼‍♀️👩🏻‍🦰👩🏾‍🦳🧒🏻👧🏽

Merri Claralyn Defoor

and on the one and only Jordan D4. my oldest daughter and most difficult client 😆🙃