I wake up in the morning to the sound of cows and my roomates alarm clock. I have two roomates, both Sarah. We live in a tiny apartment next door to the restaurant. One bedroom. Two Sarahs. One Leslie.

I get to work at 9am. I make mini panna cotta’s with an herb called melissa that looks frustratingly like mint when I have to pick it from the garden. I make almond tuilles and candied nocciola, grapefruit and ginger. Then, pronto caffe, time for espresso. I then help with the bread, or prep for lunch service. And…pronto pranzo. Lunchtime, we sit down and eat a proper meal, vegetables, pasta, meat, bread. I am always tired afterwards during lunch service. Lunch service is a mix of the fine-dining ristorante of La Palta, and the osteria they run downstairs for the locals. We clean up and have a break from 3:30pm – 6:30pm. In the evening we have another meal together and get ready for the dinner service, which is all fine-dining. I work on the appetizer station with the sous-chef and I am responsible for makin sure all those treats I made in the morning get out to every table – pre-dessert before the magnificent deserts reach their tables. We clean-up and finish between 11pm and 12:30am. This is my day. 6 times a week.