Who Watches the Fire at Night?

by Rose Allred

June 12, 2024

Coq au Vin

Portland, Oregon

In the course of an engaging conversation during one of our iconic farm to table dinners, a good friend and customer told me about a book called Catching Fire, by Richard Wrangham. The book discusses the impact of fire on the evolution of human health and diet, as well as its role in protecting early humans against predation. It iterates the difficulty of starting fire and the vital importance of protecting and keeping the flame.

Tending the flickering flame in our rustic wooden smokehouse all hours of the day and night, turning thick slabs of bacon, plump sausages and glistening hams, I’ve come to the conclusion our ability to wield fire is the origin of cuisine.

Whilst breathing soul into the smoke and admiring the graceful dance of the interlacing gray ribbons, I often ponder the intricate dance we weave with the sun, moon and stars. On the farm, we rise with the sun and set with it too.

I often feel immense regret for rising after the cock’s first crow or after dawn is past her nautical phase, because there is magic in that time. It is almost as if the birds are alarmed by tones of the sun we cannot hear, and harmonize with them as the sun awakens from his horizon. Oh, the tranquility and wonder of that first light.

But at the restaurant, we watch the fire at night.

I am now embracing my newfound role as night watcher. At this juncture in my life, I recognize the vital importance of wielding the flame at night, protecting and feeding the village.

I can’t help but fantasize what my newly found restaurant-centered life would look like in primordial times. As I go about service each night, the aromas and flavors of the kitchen trigger ancestral memories. In my mind’s eye, I envision a primeval self smoldering meat and forage over the amber embers. Basking in the warmth of the glow, I tell stories through the night, spun from the dreams of the fire which the smoke unravels, until those first birds of the morning sing and the elephant gray hue breaks from the black of night, signaling dawn.

At Coq au Vin, we watch the fire at night.