Behind the Culinary Curtain

You gotta love it. You REALLY have to love the work. If you're going to work in restaurants, especially in the kitchen, and especially in The Hamptons, you really have to love what you're doing. Speaking with Damien O'Donnell, chef and partner of Bostwick's on the Harbor, you get no other sense than this kid loves the work. The way he describes the feeling of victory after a hard night "on the line", the sense of accomplishment of having made it through another night unscathed in one of the most difficult, demanding, unrewarding jobs around, is its own reward. Of course, the job does have its benefits, the action and the accomplishment aside, the people you meet, the teammates you get to bond with, and the feeling of pride of satisfying hundreds of hungry, demanding people in a night. But if you stick with it, one day you might just end up owning your own restaurant, or even two, or becoming partners with some of the best restaurateurs in their market. Who knows, you might even meet the woman of your dreams.