Many months ago, I was a stagiaire at a fantastic little restaurant in Paris. The food was classical, and the kitchen packed with copper ware. I helped on the line with the appetizers and desserts for lunch. Before service , I did the mise-en-place which entailed cleaning squids, battling live scallops and chopping things into perfectly tiny bruinoise among many other things. I also ended up doing everyone’s least favourite task: plucking the beard off the mussels. But that also meant, I got to make lots and lots of moules en papillote. On some days after service, when the kitchen staff took off for their break, I’d hang in the kitchen with the chef making kouign amann with Bordier butter. Good times.