Kids in the Kitchen a Feature by Adam Craven (adam craven) With constant threats of knife wounds and pot burns, these daring individuals are taught to laugh in the face of danger. They must thrive under the intense pressure and find solace in the drudgery of repetition. Of course it helps if they happen to like food... Adam Craven investigates the trails, tribulations behind kitchen doors and the phenomenom known as the apprentice chef. Kids in the Kitchen claudia rowe(23) head chef at La Mensa, and her apprentices all 19 and under. (submitted by Adam Craven.) Kids in the Kitchen claudia rowe(23) head chef at La Mensa. (submitted by Adam Craven.) Kids in the Kitchen Hugo(19), one of La Mensa's apprentises and a rising star of the resterant chef scene. (submitted by Adam Craven.) Ever seen the bumper sticker- "old chefs never die"? Don't bother looking- they don't exist. There's no such thing as an old chef. Any one over the age of say forty, and still slaving away over a hot Zannussi is either a) Mad; b) running their own restaurant and as such refer to themselves as restaurateur (impute artistic as opposed to slavish); c) drug/alcohol/gambling dependent; d) hosting their own TV cooking segment or e) all of the above. The kitchen is no place for the frail at heart. Fortunately for us, the eating public, there exists at the other end of the gourmet food chain, that rare creature: the apprentice chef. The apprentice chef must forswear the frivolous pleasures of youth such as a social life. They are expected to rise early and work late into the weekend evenings as part of the standard fifty to sixty hour week. She or he must learn to enjoy the hot and cramped confines of the commercial kitchen and be grateful for their $3.60/hr remunerance. The apprentice chef should learn to laugh at knife cuts and boiling pot burns (tattoos are de rigeur). Apprentice chefs must have a passion for the dice and julienne; be diligent washers of dishes; be strong of stomach and brave in the pealing of offal. They must thrive under the intense pressure and find solace in the drudgery of repetition. Of course it helps if they happen to like food. The six apprentice chefs who work the bustling kitchen restaurant La Mensa in Paddington Sydney, like food a lot. Italian for student refectory, La Mensa means anything but fast food and crappy coffee. The restaurant is love child to fine-dining guru Steve Manfredi and providores to the stars (Rock pool, 41, Bilsons) B&J Lizard. Average age nineteen, the apprentice team are devout followers of head chef Claudia Rowe. After all she has done her hard time and is now on the fast track to foody-fame and fortune at the ripe old age of twenty three. Naturally the managers are much older-twenty five! Ageism aside it is fair to say that youth is on their side. So how do the budding La Mensens keep a discerning, up market clientele as well as a rapidly growing reputation fed? The good old fashioned way apparently: a stock of perfect consistency, a generous dash of adventurous creativity, a pinch of mama's comfort cooking and gallons of hard work and determination to make it stick. Of course the essential ingredient is a bloody good sense of humour. And the apprentice chefs of La Mensa can afford to smile they are young and successful and turning thirty is a career-span away. Created on Tue, 30 Sep 1997 and last modified on Thu, 30 Oct 1997.

LOUDonline - http://www.loud.net.au - Fri, 10 Apr 1998