up the prosciutto. I assemble the short ribs while Melanie’s able assistant, Nate, chops, slices and dices. Meanwhile, in the dining room, our night’s servers, Mary and Jordan, polish stemware, set tables and place daintily cut fresh roses in vases onto the tables.
All the while, Melanie teaches me little tricks and specialized cooking tech- niques; a semester’s worth of practical experience all in one day’s work.
---------------------------------- 7pm - Showtime!
Nate, Melanie and I have a natural flow, plating and then handing off each dish to Mary and Jordan who skillfully serve them all to the thirty-six hungry guests. From the kitchen I can here the pop of wine corks, the din of cheerful conver- sation, and the clatter of silverware on china.
Steaming short ribs go out and soon after used plates come back, get quick- ly whisked to Ziaer, our dishwasher, who washes, dunks in the sanitizing tub and then quickly dries them all, to be used yet again for the next course. He repeats this process once more for the third entrée, as well.
As the dessert sampler (black granite ganache, lemon meringue tartlet, Tiramisu) comes out, so do we to a hearty round of applause. To the tidy crowd tucked into their final course, I thank them all for joining us, explain who I am and how it has been my dream to feed and entertain others with- in what has to be the most perfect country café in existence, run by the nicest chef I know.
Of course, I thank Melanie for this amazing opportunity. Then we each make our rounds to the various tables, finding some folks who are locals, oth- ers having journeyed over thirty miles just to see what we are up to in Saint Peter’s.
As we prepare for the next (sold out) dinner, I’m putting the final touches on
the menu for the following one after that.
While I can’t say where the “Concierge Cooks!” series will lead, I do know one thing - Anything is possible, including turning your dreams, both
nocturnal and envisioned, into a splendid, unforgettable reality.
Ken Alan is the Vice President of Concierge Services for BPG Properties, Ltd., founder of the Philadelphia Concierge Association, a contributor to several regional publications, and an occasional local chef.
kalan@bpgltd.com
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Mid-Atlantic EVENTS Magazine 87
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