Al Roker Couldn’t Cut It As a Line Cook

In the most random pairing of all time, Al Roker has a delightful little interview with the second-best website in the world, Modern Farmer — home to the lambcam — where he talks mostly about eating lamb but also about his short-lived career as a line-cook:

MF: You’ve written a series of mystery novels with the chef as the main character, and starred in and produced a series of shows about food. In another life, would you have gone for a career in food?

AR: Yeah, maybe, I think so. Well, but also, my oldest girl is a chef at a very high-end restaurant here in Manhattan and she works like a dog. I don’t think I have the work ethic for it, to be particularly honest.

MF: But, I mean, what time do you get up to do the morning weather?

AR: Well, I get up at 3 a.m., but it’s a different lifestyle. One of the scariest evenings of my life was spent working as a line chef, pre-theater dinner, on a Friday night at Daniel. I’m just shocked that there aren’t bodies coming out of there on a regular basis. You’re literally in a knife fight. There’s pressure to produce an exquisite meal in a certain amount of time. And look, when people have an expectation of what’s supposed to come out that door, brought out by that waiter, you darn well better meet that expectation or you’re not gonna last very long and that’s a lot of pressure. And it doesn’t let up, that’s the thing. You come back, and the next day, and you do it all over again. That’s why I don’t know if I could do that.

“You come back the next day and you do it all over again” — yep, that’s a job. He goes on to point out that at least “no one sends back the weather” but you know we would if we could, Al.

Photo: Jim Greenhill

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