I’ve never been in a professional kitchen, and being in one for the first time during a lunch rush was exhilarating.

For the people who are unaware, the February 12th issue will contain a Q&A with Chef Sameh Wadi of Saffron and World Street Kitchen. There’s a video component to College Kitchen, so Chef Wadi graciously invited me to the kitchen at WSK.

The moment I stepped back into the kitchen area, I felt the immediate heat. It was really hot back there. And because there was a lunch rush, people were bustling around the kitchen and I felt like I was getting in everyone’s way.

But being in a professional kitchen setting was beyond cool. Seeing the line cooks in the zone, and seeing how things were expedited was a great experience.

You really begin to get a deeper appreciation for these chefs that cook the delicious food for you. Working hard in the hot environment is difficult enough, but to do it with such precision is incredibly impressive.

I had an incredible experience in WSK’s kitchen, and it really makes me look at restaurants in a different way.