Finally, A Video Series That Spotlights The Hard Work of Line Cooks

The perceived restaurant workflow is a simple one. The diner makes a selection from a chef-ideated menu, the order is sent back to the kitchen for execution, and within a certain window of time, the requested plate(s) pop out of the kitchen and onto your table, like magic. But while the freshly prepared foods you’re about to go HAM on look and taste magical (if you’re at the right joint), they didn’t come out of nowhere.

There’s a unique journey behind the plate you’re about to dive into, and that journey is rooted in the kitchen. This is where VICE Munchies’ new series Back of House is taking the exploratory reigns, inquiring the hardworking crews from top restaurants throughout the country about their culinary backgrounds and inspirations.

Back of House additionally takes the typical restaurant workflow and works it backwards, as we see in Episode One. Chef-host Richard Blais begins an evening at Nashville’s Husk restaurant by meeting and eating some Husk favorites (like Shrimp and Grits and Crab Rice) with chef/partner Sean Brock. By the end of the episode, he’s worked his way back into the kitchen to get the lowdown on the food served at Husk as well as hear stories from their very own cooking staff.

As the boys swap tales of how each found their place in cooking, things take a turn when Blais proceeds to cook for them for a change, serving up Husk-inspired Shrimp and Crab Burgers paired with cold Budweiser. This theme will continue throughout the series as Blais prepares Buds and burgers for, and inspired by, every restaurant crew his visits.

We don’t always step back to think about and appreciate where the food sitting in front of us actually came from, but Back of House makes us realize we should—because it’s the diligent cooking staff that keeps the heartbeat of the kitchen rocksteady, not just the chef. After all, a captain’s nothing without a loyal crew.