You know the saying, “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen?” Well, the kitchen of one South Florida restaurant is straight fire! Deco’s Alex Miranda is here to explain.
In the famous words of ’80s heavy metal band Twisted Sister, “I wanna rock!” and a restaurant in Fort Lauderdale has 1,200 rocks — lava rocks, to be specific — and there’s very specific employees tasked with handling them.
Hold up! Dwayne Johnson actually isn’t the hottest rock in South Florida!
Demitre Germain, Black Rock: “Do you wanna smell what this rock is cooking? We’re talking about 755 degrees. Typically, when we open that oven, you can feel a gust of heat hit you in the face — free facials every day.”
Black Rock in Fort Lauderdale allows guests to cook their meals tableside on lava rocks imported from Australia.
Those rocks need a lot of TLC, which is why the restaurant has rock tenders like Demitre. So, for the record, rock tender does not mean bartender.
Demitre Germain: “Every single time I tell someone I’m a rock tender, they’re like ‘So you make drinks?’ and I’m like, ‘No, I don’t make drinks at all, actually.'”
The job is key to the restaurant’s concept.
Kim Kilpatrick, general manager: “There’s several different standards you have to meet — not only in the service and hospitality sector — but also in the handling of the rocks themselves.
Demitre Germain: “What we do is extremely important. If we didn’t have these roles as rock tenders, and we didn’t explain to them how to properly use the stones, there could be a lot of accidents.
All of these ovens have eight-pound lava rocks in them.
The rock tenders monitor the temperatures until the stones reach 755 degrees, which takes several hours.
Then, it’s time for plating.
Demitre Germain: “Of course, we’re not using normal tongs. We’re using something I like to call a stone shovel.”
From the shovel to ceramic dishes to the table, where you cook your steak.
Demitre Germain: “These stones allow the steak to stay juicy the entire process. Through the searing process of this 755 degree stone, the steak is never dry.”
It’s a thing of beauty, and now we know it’s thanks to rock tenders.
Demitre Germain: “You’re not gonna often see an ad in the paper saying ‘We’re looking for rock tenders.’ Nine times out of 10, you wouldn’t even know what it was until you came in the door.”
Rock on.
Black Rock has both outdoor and indoor seating, and if you’re not a big steak fan, no worries! Their menu also includes chicken and seafood.
FOR MORE INFO:
Black Rock Bar and Grill
6200 N. Federal Highway
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33308
954-368-2525
blackrockrestaurants.com
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