My dining experience was very different than that of any Chanterelle regular later that night — or likely any other night in the restaurant’s previous 30 years of service. There was no ordering or waiting for the next course; I didn’t sample the artisanal cheeses or foie gras. In fact, what I ate wasn’t even on the menu. I had arrived at 16:00 to experience a daily ritual that takes place in 100s of restaurants across the city, and in 1000s more across the country: family meal. Chanterelle was the last stop on a month-long, 8-venue culinary tour of Manhattan. My mission was simple: to see how a restaurant, with seemingly endless talent and resources in the kitchen, nourishes its staff, and how that 20-minute meal impacts the 7 hours of dinner service that follows.

The meal restaurants serve their staff.

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