Fernando Polack is a
man of science
.
But he has an in vitro charisma
.
It
he engendered while becoming the Argentine scientific face of the coronavirus.
Today they tell him:
“I have been following you since the pandemic
. ”
Infectologist, pediatrician and researcher, already established in the United States, and his claim to fame was consolidated here when he directed the tests at the Military Hospital of the Pfizer vaccine against Covid, which allowed the laboratory to launch it to the world.
Today Polack is also a
man of gastronomy
.
He leads a culinary venture that, he defines,
"is the most important test of my life
. "
Next Friday, Alamesa will open, the first restaurant where
neurodiverse young people
cook and serve .
Since Polack is also a man of semantics, from one of those tables in Las Cañitas, during one of the test lunches, he explains to
Clarín
that that word includes the
40 boys and girls on the staff
- like his daughter Julia, from 25 years old -, who are within the autism spectrum, were born prematurely with some degree of maturational compromise or are experiencing other neurocognitive challenges.
The doctor designed everything so that it would not be a space “for melancholy or charity.” That it would be a
profitable business
.
Photo: Fernando de la Orden / Sociedad - Alamesa the neuroinclusive restaurant of infectious disease specialist Polack 02-22-2024 FTP CLARIN 320.JPG Z DelaOrden
He is convinced that it is the only way for
integration to be real
and change the paradigm.
That until now, he says, “is limited to a quota of inclusion in the State and companies, so that in Society
they can pretend to work
.”
Success is already seen in the trial period, with
real clients
who, since February, have lunch for 5,000 pesos on dishes from the menu specially designed by renowned chef Takehiro Ohno.
But, again, everything goes beyond a new
aesthetic
proposal .
Three large companies have already approached Dr. Polack's restaurant to
reproduce his model
of inclusion
in disciplines totally different from gastronomy.
Diners during testing at Alamesa, which opens March 1.
Photo: Fernando de la Orden
A model to integrate
Camila, who is part of this psychological team with an apron and a chef's hat, has been working with the two groups of staff kids on the restaurant project for more than a year and a half.
The biggest professional challenge, he says, “is not getting involved in what they do.”
Being able
to guide them
without action
(without intervening).
“
Let them do everything
and simply help them with what happens to them on an emotional level while they do their work.
They don't get stressed, but if they get tired, you have to be careful to notice it before that person 'can't take it anymore'.
Which is not the idea,” he explains.
In addition to skills, the psychologist highlights the “social evolution” in that kitchen.
“A job is much more than coming and receiving financial compensation.
It is having
a space in society
.
It really includes you.
They are friends at work, who later go out for ice cream and arrange to go out on the weekends.
“It is no longer the same support they need (now that they serve 40, 50 dishes) as they needed when they started,” she notes.
That was the central conception that Polack had, and developed together with his project directors, Sebastián Wainstein and the psychologist Raúl Borgiali, who for years has been organizing bowling or movie outings for neurodiverse kids.
Preparation of dishes in the restaurant kitchen.
Photo: Fernando de la Orden
The idea of the infectologist also attracted the filmmaker Juan José Campanella, who in April is going to release on a streaming platform everything he recorded during the formation of Alamesa.
Far from prejudice, there are objective questions about how a neurodiverse restaurant works.
Polack has all the answers.
One of the young employees at Alamesa prepares a dish.
Photo: Fernando de la Orden
Lunch is
by reservation
, without exception, so as not to break a method that proved to be effective.
The staff comes in at 9, 10 and 11, depending on the team and
they work 6 hours
.
They are located in different stations and the chain is that of any top-class restaurant.
With its peculiarities.
A model
based on colors and letters
that, through trial and error, as in the laboratory, was methodically tested.
Each dish is served on tableware of the same color as all the jars of ingredients that,
in their exact measurements
, are already portioned for preparation.
“It is more likely that there will be more errors in other restaurants than here,” Polack remarks.
There are
12 colors, for 12 plates
.
For example, as the burgundy dish is for the Milanese of loin with arugula and cherry tomato salad;
The jars containing the panko, flour and egg for breading will be that color.
The Alamesa chefs in full action.
Photo: Fernando de la Orden
At the time of production, one of the guys may be dividing the panko, egg and flour, so that another one can bread it.
These ingredients will be in the exact measurement to make each dish.
During the lunch delivery, there are the
walkers
, who take the chicken or meat from the freezer or refrigerator (which another member also portioned), and bring it to whoever is in charge of the oven.
There, to prevent food from falling, the rule is
that the plate is not passed from hand to hand
.
You always have to support it on the metal counter.
Then it goes to the plater, someone else places it on the level of the cart that corresponds to the color and letter (A, B, C or D) where each diner who ordered it is seated, and one of the waiters will bring the cart closer to the table and deliver each order.
Like Clarita, who previously asked that the name of the diner and the food choice be written “in print” on the form, because she does not understand italics.
At closing, at 3 p.m., only 8 workers remain, dedicated to fair production according to the next day's reserves.
Or the next 4 days, in the case of sauces.
Each dish on the menu has a color, the ingredients it contains respect the same color in their jars.
Photo: Fernando de la Orden
“It is very rewarding to work with the kids.
They teach you all the time.
We are directing them in the kitchen.
But they do everything,” clarifies Agustina Davrieux, Alamesa's sous chef.
“Screens were installed at each station that, soon, with a new system, will show them what dishes they are ordering (it will replace the physical form).
The challenge in any kitchen, not in this one, is patience,” details the former IAG teaching assistant.
In this kitchen
there are no stoves or knives
.
There are no fires or edges.
But they also took care to avoid noisy stimuli that cause them discomfort.
In smart ovens (like those used by the best grill in Argentina) each line of trays is assigned a type of dish.
By selecting which one on the screen,
the cooking program and minutes are already pre-set
.
Since an alarm warns which one is ready, that entire “fire without fire” area is soundproofed.
A Milanese with potatoes finished and served.
Photo: Fernando de la Orden
Despite the particular interest of each member - because there are “those who prefer to work more alone” and they are given a specific task - the steps of the recipes are so divided that together they all build a dish.
“In this kitchen, there's no question of
'such a person can't'
make that dish, and that's why it's given to someone else who is really good at making it.
No. If someone cannot make an empanada due to fine motor skills, for example, the empanadas are eliminated and a dish that everyone can make is selected.
The motto is that in this kitchen
everyone
can do it
,” says Polack.
Profitability as the key to inclusion
“In addition to the fact that it is a restaurant and you cannot be served chicken that is in bad condition, that is, all the food safety controls have to be in place, here the food
has to be delicious
.
That is what will make the project profitable.
Because when the novelty of neurodiverse wears off, kids need people to come for the food," Polack points out.
If salaries were paid with money from foundations, he considers, it would not be real integration.
"The kids would not be earning money from the fruits of their work. It would be like
playing at making them work
. To be serious, they have to
do
and earn a salary within the law, like any gastronomic employee. For that equality of rights, entrepreneurship has to be profitable," says Polack.
You can go to the restaurant only by reservation and for lunch.
Photo: Fernando de la Orden
The thing is that when they integrate into society, he says, "they stop being their parents'
little children
."
An enormous challenge in this population.
"One overprotects one's children a lot when they live in the context of neurodiversity. It is not the same as asking for money and buying candy, as being in a dependency relationship and earning
a
salary. We must
stop ignoring them
in the process. productive. Here the work that each person does matters for the restaurant to function. It is not symbolic," he reinforces.
Without being a therapeutic action in itself, Alamesa has four pillars of support.
The first is lunch.
They promise to be very competitive in price, to even out monthly expenses.
“We have weekends exploited in two months.
People are already booking for April.
But we are not going to serve 300 people if we see that the kids are stressed.
There's no hurry.
The premise is quality.
Inwards and outwards.
Delicious food and zero stress,” says Polack.
Then there are agreements with international brands, which
sponsor each table
and will pay per month for an advertising package that allows them to appear on other people's screens and organize events.
Part of the Alamesa staff.
Photo: Fernando de la Orden
They also have a neurodiverse dark kitchen, with which they are about to launch the first
100 corporate lunches a day
, and with the capacity for 500 orders, adding more companies.
A model to share
“This was like doing the Pfizer vaccine trial.
It wasn't for everyone and you had to put your shoulder to it.
Today anyone can do it.
We don't want to get rich with this restaurant, we want it to
work
but we are always open to being able to help those who want to do the same in the future.
In a restaurant, a hardware store, a bakery, or wherever, with the Alamesa method.
"That continues to be rehearsed," concludes the doctor, infectious disease specialist, researcher and, also, neurodiversity entrepreneur.
P.S.