Getting fired up

Flames may be an essential and every-day part of a chef’s job, but never make the mistake of assuming you’re in control of fire.

What two words instantly increase the stress levels of a GM or Director of Operations? Simple: ‘fire’ and ‘kitchen’.

A fire in any other room can usually be contained, providing the correct precautions are in place. But if the hardened pyromaniacs (chefs) in the kitchen ask for help to put out a fire, that means we have already used the fire blankets and extinguishers and now it’s serious!

But fire is an essential part of a chef’s job — and it’s a manageable one, as long as it is treated with respect.

I have experienced my fair share of fires over the years. As an apprentice chef, every Saturday we were taught the art of flambé by the waiters in the property’s fine-dining revolving restaurant.

One day I was making Crêpe Suzette for four guests while the waiter went to collect the ice cream. Alone and impatient, I decided to show off by adding more alcohol to give the guests a show.

But I forgot the one golden rule of flambé cooking; it was only after a full hotel evacuation, hundreds of disgruntled guests and a major telling-off from the chef that I remembered that golden rule: always check if you are under a fire detector before you flambé.

One of the jobs I like doing is bisque, as I get to flambé the alcohol. However once, I used slightly more than the recipe requires. (Don’t try this at home kids; it’s dangerous.)

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So there was me, stirring the lobster shells so they didn’t burn, with no arm hair and a smouldering beard and chef’s hat, reeling from the fumes. I shouted at my CDP to hurry and add the fish stock, at which point he threw half the bucket of stock at me to put out my hat and beard, which I didn’t know were on fire.

But my most memorable and scary brush with flames was in London. As a junior sous garde manger, I was doing butchery with the chef when suddenly there was a ‘phoomf’ sound and then screaming.

We turned to see a massive fire ball go up from make-shift deep fat fryer — a wok with 30l of oil in it — then go straight back down towards a screaming sauce chef. Just as it reached him, a quick-thinking kitchen porter rugby-tackled the chef to the ground.

Suddenly, the other chefs sprung into action. Those closest to the restaurant bolted the doors — we couldn’t let the fire get out of the kitchen. Someone else dialled the emergency services.

The chef and I went over with a fire blanket each but the fire just chewed these up. It took four CO2 extinguishers before I could get to the sauce chef and kitchen porter trapped under the flames.

The chef had no hair and his face was blistering — we had to get him out. I pulled at them so hard I dislocated the chef’s shoulder and broke three of the porter’s fingers, but at least they were still breathing.

After what seemed like ages, but was in fact only two minutes after the alarm was raised, the fire team turned up.

In the end, the best we could do was to get everyone out and the two men to hospital.

They both recovered, although the chef has some nice scars on his face to remind him of his carelessness for using the wok as deep fryer. He’s lucky — he could have died.

So to all: respect fire and be careful please!
 
Culinary regards,

Marcus Gregs