The Restaurants

Sebastián Varona

Manuel's, chef

While in New York City pursuing my studies at The Culinary Institute of America, I participated in many organized events designed to train and motivate students to adapt in high pressure, real-life situations. As in most school environments, culinary institutes also lend themselves to a bit of good-humored mockery and hazing when welcoming newcomers. On one occasion, I was instructed to bring several bottles of wine to dinner and was told to “slink” it with the conical strainer prior to serving. I had never heard of slinking wine before and was confused by this directive, but I never asked for clarification for fear of looking foolish. Assuming it was a known procedure to help the wine breathe, I attempted to follow the instructions. After failing miserably, my fellow students and I burst into laughter realizing the joke. From that point forward, no matter how reluctant I was to question authority or how absurd the order may seem, I made sure to clarify instructions given to me.