Today

---

It bugs me when a female restaurateur or a New York journalist tells me about my work life. Most of them only want the pain and care little about the rest. 
 
Sixteen years—you haven't got a clue. 
 
Yeah, it was hell at times. But it was also so much fucking fun.

I've never laughed harder. 

Summer of 1999 at the Old Prune.

Ben's humour made the hard work lighter. He also made the best sushi rice for staff meal. You're made of the good stuff if you can cook nice for your work pals.
 
I was part of a big-hearted crew. We were mostly grown-ups. 
 
I'd been sober five years then. Sometimes in the afternoon, we took a break and went for a run. 
 
On Sunday nights, the bartender made me a beautiful alcohol-free cocktail before that was a thing. It was magic the first time they brought one to me in the kitchen. Years of walking past the case of staff beer in the walk-in, and finally, here was something just for me.
 
I felt comfortable in my skin, working for and with men who were okay with my having authority. 
 
Bryan Steele, me (both of us in the photo), Ben Baird, Anne Dunbar, Tim Anderson, Brett Stephens, and superstar dishwasher Paul Morgan.

One of those dear sweet men is gone.  
 
Sometimes we cried hard too.

---

Soundtrack - 2015