What it’s like to work in a Michelin-starred restaurant

Working in a Michelin-starred restaurant is a dream for many; it represents cuisine at its highest, most refined, and most perfect level.

It is a symbol of technical perfection, the highest quality, and a deep understanding of the raw material and how best to work with it to bring out its best qualities.

Michelin-starred restaurants are paved with dreams. Dreams of young men and women who hope one day to open their own restaurant, where they can freely express their creativity and passion. And above all, to continue giving their all, without having to endure bullying, nepotism, patriarchy, and a ridiculous salary.

Working in a Michelin-starred restaurant means many things.

Certainly, entering a very rigid hierarchical system governed by strict rules.

It means that if you mess up a recipe, you might have to spend your two-hour break running around trying to recreate what you threw away, all while trying not to get caught by the chefs de partie (any resemblance to actual people or events is purely coincidental, of course).

It also means that everything has to be perfect.

I’ll never forget the time the sous chef at the Michelin-starred restaurant where I worked threw a cannolo made of almond paste and filled with carbonara cream and caviar at me (it had an insane umami flavor, I swear).

At the time, I was working as a garde manger; my job was to prepare seven different amuse-bouches for each guest, including that amazing cannolo, which—since it had arrived at the pass a bit wobbly and ended up breaking—was thrown at me.

Those who are part of a Michelin-starred kitchen don’t rush; they move fluidly, methodically, and precisely, keeping every step of the process under control.

Working in a Michelin-starred restaurant, however, allows you to engage with a form of art. It allows you to handle food with care, to respect it, and to bring out its best qualities. It allows you to discover it and takes you on a journey to faraway places through new aromas and flavors.

Working in a Michelin-starred restaurant is often seen as a privilege—a chance to learn from the best and soak up as much culinary knowledge as possible, even if it means being an underpaid intern and working 16-hour days.

The months I spent working in a Michelin-starred kitchen were intense, difficult, and exhausting for me, but they were also an incredible experience.

I fought hard to prove that, as the only woman in a team of 16 people—having come from the outside world—I was skilled, precise, and just as capable as everyone else, who, on the other hand, had “grown up” in the kitchen.

I say “the outside world” because the kitchen is a world of its own. You can find talented chefs who can spherify Parmesan cheese while standing on one leg, but as soon as they step out of the kitchen, they’re just ordinary people—almost disappointing, I might add.

I’m grateful that I gave myself this opportunity; I’ve learned a lot, and I treasure everything I’ve learned. Including how to open a case of 40 oysters in 10 minutes.

What does it mean to work in a Michelin-starred restaurant? Courage and passion—in spades.