It was only supposed to be a full time summer job, once I began school at the end of September, I would stop. I didn’t.
I had interned in a kitchen the summer before in the Meatpacking District in New York and had loved it. To look for similar work in London the following summer seemed to be an obvious ‘next step’. I had not been paid at my first restaurant, and I had had no responsibility at all- simple prep of vegetables and learning basic knife skills- so when I was called in for a trial period at Clarke’s restaurant in Notting Hill I was filled with excitement, disbelief and sudden terror.
The next day the head chef asked me to dice an onion. The result was an embarrassingly uneven pile of white that made me cry.
I officially started working at Clarke’s on the twenty second of July. I could hardly believe my luck at landing such a great second kitchen.
Clarke’s has been open now for twenty-six years, faithfully run by owner Sally Clark. When it first opened there was no choice on the menu, Sally decided what you were having and that is what you ate- a similar philosophy to Chez Panisse in Berkley California opened by Alice Waters in 1971. Alice is also Sally’s best friend.
The food served at Clarke’s is very simple, rustic with Mediterranean influences possible due to the Pugliese Head Chef and Sardinian Executive Chef. There is a strong focus on local ingredients and seasonality is given great importance. The lunch menu changes everyday and the dinner menu every week.
For me- brought up in Italy with a mother who obsessed over seasonal and local ingedients, Clarke’s was the perfect place to cultivate my excitement for cooking and food.
I think you did an excellent job of writing in Elif Batuman's voice; it's informative as well as personal. You mentioned turning this into the midterm bigger piece, and I think that's a good idea. I was waiting for more at the end of reading it, and it kind of seems like it could be an intro into a larger piece. I love the part about an "embarrassingly uneven pile of white". The only thing I noticed that you could adjust was a bit of repetition and an awkward opening sentence. Other than that, I think you've definitely found a fascinating subject to expand upon.
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