Saying Goodbye to kitchen family

So last night our Trotter family lost two members Neil and Mike. Neil has worked at Charlie Trotters for a year and a half and was like a big brother/mentor to me. If I had any questions I would turn to him and he would give me a straight no bullshit answer, he was there for me when Chef Trotter scowled at me for making noise when putting some dishes away. We also shared the same love for Skyline Chili and everything Cincinnati.


Mike was a stage from San Diego; we hit it off as soon as we met. He drove me home every night and it was much appreciated. He worked Amuse station and helped out on sorbet and Garde manger when it was needed. He has worked at the famed Le Bern with Eric Rippert and with a few other awesome chefs.

Well as a going away gift the kitchen decided to say goodbye in kitchen fashion. Mike was in the back scrubbing coppers when James told me to get a large cambro of ice and I did, James filled it up with water and when mike was scrubbing coppers James and everybody went to the back and drenched him with the water, it was too funny, and mike took it great. For Neil what they did was he was scrubbing the copper pipes under the back sink and that’s when it happened, James got tahini paste and egg whites and radishes in duck fat and a few other things and poured it all over him along with a lot of butter. It was so funny and Neil took it in stride and got the hose and sprayed all of us down.

After work on Saturday night the entire kitchen crew and some servers go to the bar right around the block called the Store. We were all there to celebrate with the two leaving, while Neil was drinking his beer all of us went out and got paper plates and filled them with shaving cream and just doused him all over his face and body, he fell down and then people kept squirting shaving cream on him and sang he’s a jolly good fellow and then we all helped him up.

James and a few people said to me “this is nothing like what we will do to you”

In all the other kitchens I have worked in I have never seen anything like this, usually when a person leaves you go out for a beer afterward and say thanks and such. I wonder what they have planned for me.