Amy Eubanks tried to give Chef Laurent Tourondel her resignation many times, and for many years. She was tired of the grueling kitchen work and of the sacrifices, thought she had made the wrong career choice. But each time he said no, only allowing her to leave him when he felt she had outgrown her position and would benefit from time spent with another chef. Today, as chef de cuisine at BLT Fish, handling fine and private dining, she can justifiably say that she wouldn't be cooking if not for him. Eubanks started working with Tourondel as an extern at Cello, where she ended up staying for two and a half years. While there she spent a year as poissonier, no small feat considering that the famed restaurant specialized in seafood. Because she wanted to learn how to cook meat, she then went to Café Boulud, where she worked with Daniel Boulud and Andrew Carmellini. When Tourondel opened BLT Steak in 2004, he hired her as a lead line cook, followed by a promotion to sous chef. Because of her strong seafood skills, she became sous chef of BLT Fish upon its opening, before obtaining her current position this past April.

Eubanks always knew she wanted to cook, but decided to attend college first, being the first one in her family to do so directly after high school. Because she essentially did not have to worry about future career choices, Eubanks picked her major "for fun" —a definition of fun that tells a lot about her disciplined attitude: she double-majored in anthropology and social history. She then moved to New York, spending a challenging first year that included a work-study position and classes at ICE and a full-time job at La Fourchette. She was so broke, she says, that she could not afford the subway and instead walked everywhere, from her apartment to her classes to the restaurant. Today, surviving that time, 100-hour work weeks, and eight years in New York City kitchens are her greatest source of pride, she adds.

Eubanks' father was in the U.S. Army, which meant that she moved around a lot as a child. She was born in Korea and lived in Germany, Oregon, and Alaska, among others. The one constant was that her dad shopped and cooked every single night, with his daughter at his side.

At BLT Fish, Eubanks has created the kitchen she always wanted to work in. "It doesn't have to be so hard," she says. "You don't have to have 17-hour work days, to miss your stepsister's wedding, to eat standing up." So each day, she and her crew sit down for lunch all together. And she no longer tells Tourondel she wants to quit.

Winter, 2007