02x07 - Forks

[bunniefuu]

INTERVIEWER:
So as you've been
coaching over the years,

what would you say are the
most important, uh, lessons

of leadership
that you've learned?

COACH K:
The very first thing is that,

you know,
in order to get better,

you change limits.

And when you change limits,

you're gonna look bad
and you're gonna fail.

And at West Point,

I learned that failure
was never a destination.

In other words,
when you are knocked back,

you know, figure out why
and then, then change.

The other thing is that you're
not gonna get there alone.

You know, be on a team.

You know, surround yourself
with good people

and learn how to listen.

You're not gonna learn
with you just talking.

And when you do talk,
converse,

don't make excuses.

Figure out the solution.

And you don't have to
figure it out yourself.

I always wanted to be
a part of a team

and obviously I wanted
to lead that team.

You know, what a,

what an interesting life

it is to be a leader.

That's something.

(alarm beeping)

(beeping continues, stops)

(sighs)

(alarm chirps)

(engine starts)

f*ck you, cousin.

(ominous music playing)

Jesus f*ckin' Christ.

You gotta be kidding me.

(discordant music playing)

♪ ♪

Hey, forks.

No, no. I'm Richard.

Okay.

I'm Garrett, back wait staff.

You're forks.

Change your shirt.

(forks clanging)

(mouths)

Chef, are we done
with the forks?

Yes, Chef. Almost, Chef.
Let me ask you.

Every stage
shine f*ckin' forks
his whole first f*ckin' day?

-First week.
-Week?

GARRETT:
First week is forks.

And if you get lucky,
you make it to spoons.

Can we chill out
on the swearing, too,
please?

-How long am I
supposed to be here for?
-A week.

Alright.

You want me to fork,
I'll fork.

I'm not gonna give cousin
the satisfaction

of coming home early.

I can do my time
standing on one foot.

So let me get this straight.

He's punishing you
by making you work

at the best restaurant
in the world?

Yep. He's punishing me
for being ancillary.

GARRETT: Great. Let me
give you some purpose then.

Dry those properly.

You see those streaks?
That's bad.

Thanks, Junior.

-Where's the boss?
-Which one?

Big boss. Capo. Terry.

Chef Terry is always watching.

(Richie scoffs)

f*ck you, cousin.

("Glass, Concrete & Stone"
by David Byrne playing)

(alarm beeping, stops)

♪ Now I'm wakin'
at the cr*ck of dawn ♪

♪ To send
a little money home ♪

♪ From here to the moon ♪

♪ Is risin' like
a discotheque ♪

♪ And now my bags
are down and packed ♪

♪ For traveling ♪

♪ Lookin' at happiness ♪

♪ Keepin' my flavor fresh ♪

♪ Nobody knows I guess ♪

♪ How far I'll go, I know ♪

♪ So I'm leavin'
at six o' clock ♪

♪ Meet in a parkin' lot ♪

♪ Harriet Hendershot ♪

♪ Sunglasses on ♪

♪ She waits by this ♪

♪ Glass and concrete
and stone ♪

♪ It is just a house ♪

♪ Not a home ♪

♪ And my head ♪

♪ Is feet high ♪

♪ Let my body and soul ♪

♪ Be my guide ♪

(fork clangs)

Yo. Garrett. Chef.

I've been doing this forever.

Can I... wash dishes
or something?

No, we got the best
dishwashers in the world.

You're just gonna
slow 'em down.

That wasn't clean.

I've been doing this
for nine hours.

I think I know what's clean.

I'm telling you,
that's not clean.

That was not clean either.
Please do them properly--

Yo. They're g*dd*mn forks.

Outside.

GARRETT:
Do you think this is
below you or something?

(scoffs)

Man, I think I'm years old,
polishing forks.

No one is asking you
to be here.

I don't think anybody
remembers your name.

Nice try.

You think I don't know
how hard it is

hiring people since COVID?

We don't have that problem.

You really drink
this Kool-Aid, huh?

Yeah, I do.

-Why?
-Because I love this, Richie.

I love this so much, dude.

Did you know that
when this restaurant
opened years ago,

it won the best restaurant
in the world the same year?

It's retained three stars

because we have
a waiting list that's long.

Five thousand people waiting
at any given moment long.

Do you see their faces
when they walk in here?

How stoked they are to see us

and how stoked we have to be
to serve them?

It takes people
to keep this place in orbit.

And at any given moment,
one of those people

that is waiting in line
gets to eat here.

They get to spend their time
and their money here.

I'm sorry, bro,

but we need to have some forks
without streaks in them.

Every day here
is the freaking Super Bowl.

You don't have to drink
the Kool-Aid, Richie.

I just need you to respect me.
I need you to respect the staff.

I need you
to respect the diners.

And I need you
to respect yourself.

I can do respect.

Lovely. I'll see you inside.

-(flame hissing)
-(chopping)

MANAGER:
Tonight's PONs include

Kimberly Foxx,
district attorney
of the city of Chicago.

-We have Maurice Cheeks...
-What's a PON?

Person of note.

MANAGER: ...as well as

comedian and musician
Bo Burnham.

On at : ,
we have Tim and Jill Perry.

They're both
Elmhurst High School teachers.

And according
to Jill's Instagram,

it's always been her dream to
dine at a three-star restaurant.

And they have been, quote,
"Saving up for this."

I wanna go
above and beyond tonight.

Every supplement
and caviar, please.

A tour of the kitchen,

a champagne tour
in the gallery as well.

And, guys, we're not gonna
let these people spend a dollar.

Do not drop a check.

I wanna blow
their f*ckin' minds.

ALL: Chef.

MANAGER: Last thing,

still, no one is
owning up to the smudge.

I wanna clarify that it's not
so much the smudge,

but rather the fact that no one

is taking responsibility
for the smudge.

We're not children.
It's okay to make mistakes.

We can smudge things,
but we need to own up to them

with immediacy,
integrity, and honesty.

Does anyone wanna talk
any more about the smudge?

Couple menu updates.

Uh, per Chef Terry

the duck roulade
will now be served

with a, uh,
Concord grape reduction

instead of the cherry.

We're gonna be adding
a dish to the menu.

That's gonna be the six-course,

a Dungeness crab
with grapefruit and champagne.

-Did you talk about the smudge?
-Only a lot.

I know this sounds ridiculous.

I am aware that I've had to say
the word f*cking "smudge"

times
in the last two days,

but we had to reset
the plate with the smudge

because the persimmon glaze
was smudged,

which f*cked the set because
we had to take it to a four-top,

which meant we have to match
the other three plates

to the smudge plate,
which cost us seconds.

-Forty-seven seconds.
-Forty-seven seconds.

Now, if you cost us
that kind of time,

you sure as sh*t
better own up to it,

because we sure as sh*t
are gonna pay for it.

Now get back to work!

f*ck you, Garrett!

Yes, Chef. f*ck me.

(cell phone ringing)

Hey.

Hi. Hey. How are you?

RICHIE: I'm, uh, I'm good.

I'm great, you know.

What's going on?
Is Eva okay?

No, she's great.
She's totally great. Um, yeah.

Oh, yo, uh, Jimmy... Um...

I got those Taylor Swift tix.

-TIFF: You did?!
-Yeah.

That's ama...
Oh, she's gonna be so excited.

-RICHIE: I know, right?
-That's incredible.

RICHIE: Actually I got three
if you wanna come, you know.

You don't have to.

No, no, no. It's n... I-I...

That's so sweet.
That's so sweet.

Um, I... I just, uh...

I know you're really busy,
so I wanted to just
tell you something,

um, and it's
a little bit hard to say.

Okay.

Are you alright?

TIFF: I'm fine.
Yeah, I'm fine. Uh...

I just want you
to hear it from me.

Um...

Uh...

RICHIE:
What do you mean?
Hear what?

Um...

Frank proposed to me.

(scoffs)

What did you say?

I said yes.

He's like a really good guy.

That's great, Tiff.

TIFF: Thank you.

And, and I want you to know

that nothing's gonna
change between us.

That's awesome.

TIFF:
You know. And...

Um...

I... Um...

And I love you. (sighs)

I love you.

(train rumbling)

♪ ♪

MANAGER:
Hi, I'm sorry to interrupt.

I just wanted to let you know,
no check tonight.

Thank you so much
for dining with us.

WOMAN:
Oh, my gosh.

MANAGER: Alright.

(man gasps)

MAN: Is he serious?

♪ ♪

(alarm beeping, stop

(sighs)

♪ ♪

You're trailing today.
Get changed.

No more forks?

No more forks.

(claps)

You look good.

Feels kinda like armor.

Yeah, man, that's the point.

Start with tables
, , , , so forth.

Stagger the reservations
by minutes

so we do not stack the kitchen.

Start with the two tops,
move to the four, so forth.

All the servers
take temperatures of the room.

They communicate.

How do they do that
if they can't speak?

This is our Hamachi.

You can see that it's frozen

in liquid nitrogen and curled,

served on our basil gel.

Nineteen are
a bunch of assholes.

Bogeys on .
Walk everything fast.

ALL: Chef.

Chef, what do all these
different colors mean?

JESSICA:
Orange is a dietary restriction.

Yellow is outta town.
Green is a VIP.

And blue means kitchen tour.

And what about those notes?

Table likes to eat faster
so we speed up their tickets.

Twenty-three likes it slower,

so we add an extra amuse
not to back up the kitchen.

Twenty-two doesn't like
people to speak to them.

-How do you know all that?
-Know what?

About the people eating?

We have
a designated staff member

that researches each guest.

Yeah. Wiretap those
m*therf*ckers.

-What's that ticking?
-Waitlist.

The minute somebody
no-shows or cancels,

we pull somebody up.

How do they get here that fast?

Oh, we'll send a car.

Gangster. Okay.

This sh*t is crazy.
How do you do this all day?

I need you to stand
in that corner

and get the f*ck out of my way
for one minute.

Five, distillation.

Eyes on four.

-Twenty-four walking in five.
-ALL: Chef.

Two, tasting amuse on deck,

get them out fast,
please, thank you.

Twelve, walking out.
Let's pick it up.

-Every second counts.
-ALL: Chef.

Three going to .

-Pick up two Hamachi, please.
-ALL: Chef.

JESSICA:
Eight walking in five.

Triple-check five, please.

-White chocolate allergy.
-ALL: Chef.

-Every night you make
somebody's day.
-Huh?

You asked me how I can do this,
and that's how I can do this.

I think I see the pattern.

I'm very happy to hear that.

Thank you.

-Three going to .
-ALL: Chef.

Uh, One minute.
Table desserts, please.

Nineteen, go. Twenty, go.

-Hold .
-ALL: Hold , Chef.

Thank you.
We have a birthday on .

Pick up a cake, candle,
and two balloons, please.

k*ll .

Thirty-three, go.

Pick up Wagyu, please.

-And walking in four.
-ALL: Chef.

Three-oh-five, hands, please.

My hands, Chef?

Garrett's hands, please.

-Follow Garrett.
-Yes, Chef.

Corner.

(indistinct conversations)

Oh.

(gasps)

-WOMAN: Oh, wow.
-GARRETT: Alright.

-(woman chuckles)
-We have the hibiscus tea

surrounded by a series
of small bites.

And to finish it off,

the hibiscus cloud.

-Beautiful.
-GARRETT: Hmm.

How do we eat it?

That's my favorite part.

-(women gasp)
-WOMAN: Wow.

-WOMAN : Oh
-WOMAN : Fun.

-f*ck me.
-Language.

Took the words
right outta my mouth.

Enjoy.

WOMAN : Thank you.

WOMAN : Oh, my gosh.
Do we just dive in?

WOMAN :
Chef Terry's done it again.

-Chef!
-Relax.

-Chef.
-Go.

RICHIE: Guest on nine.

Emily overheard her
tell her family

that she was bummed
that she was leaving Chicago

without getting a chance
to try deep dish.

Got it. Thank you.

Slow down, eight and nine.

Surprise on nine.

-ALL: Chef.
-What's the surprise?

Take a wild guess.

You're gonna make 'em
a deep dish.

Nope.

-What's up, dude?
-Pick up for Richard.

Corner.

Corner. Behind.

Behind, Oliver. Behind.

Corner.

Chef.

JESSICA:
Walk four Wagyu to .

-P is no dairy.
-ALL: Chef.

JESSICA:
Pick up canapé for two.

Behind these two canapé,

go right into four more canapé.

That's six,
you're going on two by four.

-ALL: Chef.
-Faster, please.

-Fire six rabbit.
-ALL: Chef.

JESSICA:
Fire four Hamachi.
One is nondairy.

-I'm looking for a back on .
-ALL: Chef.

-By round.
-Yes, sir.

JESSICA:
Twelve, walking out.

Three going to .

Pick up two Hamachi, please.

-CHEF: Basil gel.
-JESSICA: k*ll . , go.

-CHEF: Tweezers.
-MANAGER: Yes, Chef.

-Micro basil.
-Yes, Chef.

-Micro basil. f*ck, yes!
-Language.

JESSICA:
Pick up Wagyu, please.

Three going to .

Send it.

Chef, can I
b-bring it to the table?

Go get 'em, Richie.

Thank you, Chef.

Walking add-on on table nine.

ALL: Chef.

(indistinct conversation)

Alright. Look alive, team.

-(patron clears throat)
-Almost there.

-Just another seven courses.
-(laughter)

I know you guys
have probably waited
a very long time to be here.

Thank you.

Uh, but I couldn't
live with myself

if I let this beautiful family
leave Chicago

without sampling one
of my personal favorite dishes.

Pequod's deep dish.

WOMAN: No. Oh!

You did not
hear me say that. (gasps)

Mangia, baby.

Oh, my God.
You all are wonderful.

No, stop it.
You're wonderful.

-You guys good on drinks?
-WOMAN: I can't believe this.

That old fashioned's
not gonna drink itself.

You guys want some
Bacardi and Diet?

Little B&D,
should I send some over?

-(all laughing)
-Enjoy, guys.

What a service.

It's way better than New York.
Right?

-WOMAN:
Don't you say that to my mom.
-MAN: Hey, hey.

-WOMAN:
Don't you say that to my mom.
-MAN: I'm just saying.

(indistinct chatter)

WOMAN:
I think it's magic pizza.

Go.

Four seconds.

Three seconds.

Uh, apple cider gastrique.

Apple cider gastrique!

That's my freakin' boy
right there!

-Alright, let's go.
-(Garrett grunts)

-Another one.
-Go.

Oh, come on.
That's Bercy.

W-wait. Wait. No.

Velouté derivative.

-That's an Allemande.
-Ooh, yeah, it sure is.

Oh! Oh! Hadouken!

MANAGER: Uh, what year
did the restaurant open?

- .
-Yes.

And what year
did we get our third star?

- . Trick question. Nice try.
-JESSICA: Correct.

And lastly, what were
tonight's specials?

We don't have specials.

We do however have supplements,

including tonight's
caviar pairing.

Up your ass!

(laughter, applause)

Whoo!

(indistinct chatter)

♪ Romeo, save me,
they're tryin' to tell me ♪

♪ How to feel ♪

♪ This love is difficult,
but it's real ♪

f*ckin' go.
f*ckin' drive!

♪ We'll make it
out of this mess ♪

♪ It's a love story ♪

♪ Baby, just say, "Yes" ♪

(mouths) Thank you.

f*ck.

♪ Oh, oh ♪

♪ Marry me, Juliet ♪

♪ You'll never
have to be alone ♪

♪ I love you
and that's all I really know ♪

♪ I talked to your dad,
go pick out a white dress ♪

♪ It's a love story ♪

♪ Baby, just say, "Yes" ♪

♪ Oh, oh, oh ♪

♪ Oh, oh, oh-oh ♪

♪ 'Cause we were both young
when I first saw you ♪

(alarm beeps, stops)

RICHIE:
Yo, let me ask you,
am I the oldest stage

that's ever staged here?

GARRETT:
I don't know, dude. Probably.

-How old are you?
-That's an HR violation.

-You're not supposed to ask--
-f*ck off, Garrett.

-How old are you?
-I'm , dude.

-Thirty.
-And you're like a chef?

-What?
-RICHIE: You like to cook?

-You like, uh, rattle
the pots and pans?
-GARRETT: No, I don't like--

No, no, I don't like to cook.

Then why you work
at a restaurant?

GARRETT:
I don't know, man, because...

A couple of years ago,
I had a drinking problem.

And I got sober.

I'm good now, you know,
like I feel healthy

and I'm happy and I'm grateful.

And through that experience,

I learned about
acts of service and...

I just like being able to serve
other people now.

You know?

-Service.
-GARRETT: Yeah.

You know, I used to work
for this guy who used to say

that taking care of people
at the highest level

was like working at a hospital.

You know,
like it was like medi--

Okay. That's a little much.

I'm just saying,
I think that's why restaurants

and hospitals use
the same word, "hospitality."

Yeah, no sh*t.

Hospitality.

I wanted to say thanks
for a fun week, man.
It was dope.

Thank you, my man.
It was fun.

GARRETT:
Yeah. Um, you know,

we have a new stage
coming tomorrow morning,

and, um, I think we're all
really gonna miss you here.

Aah.

f*ck, man.

I'm just gettin' the hang of it.

GARRETT:
I know, I know. I know.

We have one more
shift tomorrow, but, yeah.

Damn.

Let me ask you,
like, what if, uh...

I mean, I don't know
what the situation is like,

you know, but...

if something opens up,
you know...

Richie.

That'd be awesome,
but you know it's not my call.

Alright.

I mean,
I got another job anyway.

I am needed elsewhere.

Thanks, bro.

(sighs)

(exhales)

(cell phone ringing)

-Yo, cousin, what's up?
-What's going on?

CARMY:
I'm watching Fak
do something--

-FAK: I'm recalibrating.
-I'm watching Fak recalibrate.

Yeah, I'm recalibrating.

We, uh, we failed
the fire suppression test.

Another one, dude?

CARMY:
Yeah, yeah, another one.

We have one more sh*t.

RICHIE: How bad is it
if we fail that one?

It's f*ckin' bad--

-(screams) Goddammit.
-sh*t! f*ck, man!

-FAK: Okay, I'm just--
-CARMY: Please be careful.

It's bad, cousin.
What do you need?

RICHIE: What do I need?

(scoffs)
I don't need anything.

-Just calling
to tell you I'm done.
-CARMY: Yes, yes.

No, that's right.
How'd that go?

Bro, you're going
to f*ck yourself.

RICHIE: It was fine.

(Fak groans)

Yo, I know you sent me there
to get rid of me.

What... To get rid of you?
Fak. Fak. Fak!

-I f*cking told you.
-RICHIE: Yes.

-Please!
-Yes.

I was annoying you and you
wanted me out of your hair.

-(Fak screams)
-What?

-RICHIE: Yeah, you sent me--
-No, no.

-RICHIE: No, cousin--
-No. No, no, no.

-I-I-I sent you there--
-RICHIE: No, cousin.

You sent me there

to f*cking humiliate me,
you f*cking jagoff.

Make me look like
a f*cking jagoff.

You're the f*cking jagoff,
Carmen.

What the f*ck you talkin' about?

-(screaming) f*ck! f*ck!
-Yo! f*ckin' Christ!

-Fak! Jesus!
-Stop! Stop it!

-CARMY: Just f*ckin' stop.
-FAK: Stop!

-Yeah, I'll talk to you later.
-CARMY: Take a break.

FAK: I actually think
I hurt myself.

(alarm beeping)

(water running)

Um...

(clock ticking)

(footsteps approaching)

Hey, I'm about
to go over staff reviews.

-You wanna observe?
-Oh, uh, thanks.

I gotta finish this last bin.

'Kay.

We loved having you here.
Thanks for everything.

Thanks, Chef Jess.

(sighs deeply)

You know where the polish is?
That bullshit keeps moving.

Try that drawer over there.

What are you making?

I'm just peeling mushrooms
for the lamb des tournelles.

Peeling mushrooms?

Yeah. It's just
a nice little fun detail.

So when the diners see it,
they know that someone

spent a lot of time
on their dish.

Do you wanna have a go?

Alright.

Okay, so hold it like this.

-Mm-hmm.
-Kn*fe, .

Grab the end
and just peel like that.

So slowly.

Yeah.

Thirteen hundred, huh?

-TERRY: Yeah.
-Did you serve?

-Dad did.
-RICHIE: Yeah. Same.

Staff sergeant.

Corporal.

A lot of standards.

Yeah.

Turns out, I like standards.

(Richie scoffs)

(Richie sighs)

Did you move around a lot?

Yeah. You?

-I know Carmen.
-RICHIE: Yeah, I know.

I'm sorry
that he pulled a favor.

Not at all.
I don't do favors.

-How's that?
-That's great.

-Can I do another one?
-TERRY: Yes, please do.

So why do you do this?

(laughs) I do it for a living.

No, but, like, don't you
have stages that do this sh*t?

Yeah, well, I like
starting the day with this.

-Why?
-TERRY: Respect. Feels attached.

I think time spent doing this
is time well spent.

RICHIE: Time well spent.

That's what it's all about?

Yeah, I think so.

When did that start?

Oh, I st... I tried to open
a giant place years ago.

I had all these accolades.
I was younger, I was on fire.

I was arrogant, and, uh...

I tried to move too fast.

I couldn't keep the place open,

and the market crashed
and I got k*lled.

Public wipeout?

Oh, yeah.
The most public wipeout.

So how'd this place happen?

Well, now, that was on my...

-My th birthday.
-Hmm.

I was out walking all night,
unemployed, angry, depressed.

Blaming everybody else
for all the time I'd lost

and the money I'd lost,
all of it.

And it was raining.

And I was walking
through Lincoln Park.
My phone had d*ed.

And so I stood under this awning
waiting for the rain to stop.

And I just stood there
and stared.

And eventually the sun came up

and it turns out
I was right there.

And then I walked
'round to the front

and I saw the sign.

It was an actual sign.

It was a restaurant
for lease sign.

Like, um... (clicks tongue)

-...never too late kinda thing.
-TERRY: Yeah.

Never too late to start over.

How did you get
the money to open?

Um, well, my dad had d*ed
the summer before,

and only child, my mum sold
the house and put it in here.

-Oh. Family business.
-TERRY: Yeah.

You close with your ma?

Yeah, she's my best friend.
You?

My best friend's ma
was like my ma.

TERRY: Ooh, yeah?

What about your dad?

-No.
-Yeah. (laughs)

Are you close to yours?

-Hmm.
-Yeah. Yeah, it's funny.

I learned the most about him
when I was packing up his house.

All his belongings,
like, his whole life.

And I found this
stash of pocket notebooks

that he must have taken with him
when he was on tour.

And full of all these details,

like the palm trees he'd seen
or escargot he'd tried.

Or this time
the ocean looked purple.

And, um, the way
he wrote everything,

it was like a reminder,

like a...
don't forget this moment

or don't forget this
interesting, strange detail.

Hundreds of these entries.

JESSICA: Chef Terry?

And he'd-he'd sign each one off
the same way every time.

-Chef?
-Yes, Chef?

Arnaud upstairs.

TERRY:
Oh, thank you, Chef.

Don't be a stranger, Richie.

Say hi to Carmen for me.

Yeah, will do.

TERRY: Thank you.

He believes in you,
you know.

(Richie scoffs)

What makes you say that?

He told me.

He said you're good with people.
He's not wrong.

Nice talking to you, Chef.

TERRY: Likewise, Chef.

Uh, ch... Chef?

Uh, you never said
what he signed off with.

What'd your dad...

("Love Story"
by Taylor Swift playing)

♪ Marry me, Juliet ♪

♪ You'll never
have to be alone ♪

♪ I love you
and that's all I really know ♪

♪ I talked to your dad,
go pick out a white dress ♪

♪ It's a love story ♪

♪ Baby, just say, "Yes" ♪

♪ Oh, oh, oh ♪

♪ Oh, oh, oh-oh ♪

♪ Oh, oh, oh-oh ♪

♪ Oh, oh, oh-oh ♪

♪ 'Cause we were both young ♪

♪ When I first saw you ♪