The staff that eats together …

Order up: Chefs at Savoy fine-dining restaurant display the shift’s “family meal.”

There are people who eat at Asheville’s finest restaurants every single night. These people are, of course, the workers who staff them: the servers, sommeliers, bussers, bartenders and hostesses who can’t duck out of a bustling dining room for a traditional lunch break.

Staff meal isn’t always a humble affair: At Frankie Bones, servers eat from the evening’s featured dishes. “There’s always a salad, appetizer, two or three entrees,” says Norris. “We plate them exactly how they’re going out to the guests. Sometimes it’s like a bunch of vultures going in for the kill.” When Xpresspaid a visit, swordfish vesuvio and blackened chicken alfredo were up for grabs.

Restaurant owners have devised various ways to get their crews fed—most corporate eateries use a 50 percent-off scheme that allows employees to dine on select items at just-north-of-wholesale prices (steak, lobster and other luxe entrees with thin profit margins are almost always excluded from the staff-approved list.) But the best restaurants still serve a communal meal at the start of shift, the so-called “family meal” that’s become a bit of a foodie fetish.

At Fig Bistro in Biltmore Village, co-owner Treavis Taylor helps prepare the family meal. At left, staffers dig in. “We typically don’t eat until after service, which means “we bring in snacks,” says server Dawn Treneman. “We’re here at 4:30 p.m., so by 10 p.m., we’re pretty ravenous.” Although Fig’s staffers typically eat in staggered shifts, Xpressfound them sitting down together for a meal of Caesar salad and macaroni with curried crumb crust and Swiss chard. “One of my favorite meals is the vegetable plate, because we always get vegetables in season,” Treneman says.

The revered chef Thomas Keller devoted an entire chapter in his French Laundry Cookbook (Workman Publishing, 1999) to “The Importance of Staff Meal,” declaring, “If you can make great food for these people … then someday you’ll be a great chef. Maybe.” Enticed by Keller’s characterization of the staff meal as a studio for courageous cookery, food writers have flocked to his kitchens to dine behind the swinging doors and chronicle how “ingredients were alchemized, how that same English cucumber, vacuumed, compressed and barely recognizable in a Sunday-night salad, became the dice in a fine, simple yogurt sauce Monday afternoon for a North African family meal of lamb and falafel.”

Minus the English cucumber, the lamb and the fawning New York Times reporter, it’s a scene that plays out daily in restaurants across the country. Although the table is sometimes set with takeout pizza or barely thawed burgers—culinary wit Anthony Bourdain dismisses those menus as “shaft meals”—front-of-the-house workers typically sup on simple dishes crafted from leftovers. Mac and cheese with mackerel. Italian-sausage meatloaf. But the camaraderie matters as much as the cuisine: Staff meal is where workers forge the alliances needed to make a dining room hum.

As Frankie Bones Restaurant and Lounge general manager Paul Norris says: “It’s always a good start to a shift.”

SHARE

Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

About Webmaster
Mountain Xpress Webmaster Follow me @MXWebTeam

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

One thought on “The staff that eats together …

  1. Trey

    Yes, feed the staff nightly in the hopes that they won’t rob you blind.

    Bit of advice… feed them well.

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.