At 7 p.m. on a school night, as orders pile up and tickets print 10 at a time, sophomore Roland Plante chops, plates and touches up ingredients before they go to customers. In a kitchen where a single misstep can ruin a dish, Plante is learning to keep up with the chaos.
Plante has always had a passion for cooking. It began as a way to connect with friends and family, he said, but it has recently evolved into something more serious: he now works alongside professional chefs at La Morra in Brookline Village.
Plante said taking the Culinary Exploratory elective at the high school during his freshman year transformed what was once just a hobby.
“After last summer, at the start of the year, I just started cooking every day and doing more and more of it with more complex dishes,” Plante said.
This past fall, Plante emailed his resume to the owner of the local Italian restaurant La Morra, and asked for a job. After an interview and training stage, he got the job.
Plante is the only high school–aged chef working at La Morra, and he said he has to juggle school with part-time shifts on Wednesdays and Sundays. He said his role marks a shift from casual home cooking to performing under real pressure with speed and precision.
“I prepare the salad, appetizer and dessert stations. I need to make sure all the ingredients are stocked and there’s enough of everything until around 6 o’clock, and then service starts,” Plante said. “Then, I get into my station, set everything up, unwrap everything and tickets print from a machine. I make the orders on the tickets. That goes until around nine, and then I clean up the basement, put everything away and leave around 10.”
According to Plante, the restaurant can get really busy some nights, and as the youngest chef in the kitchen, his duty to perform well is stressful.
“It can get really stressful at times,” Plante said. “On a busy night when all the orders come in at once, it’s hard to keep up sometimes, but I’m getting better at it.”
And while the stakes are high, Plante said mistakes have become a natural part of his learning process.
“I’ve messed up a few dishes before, but I haven’t had anything returned,” Plante said.
Mild Pitchapat Kelley, Plante’s coworker at La Morra, said she has observed his talent and dedication firsthand.
“It’s not very common to see someone at 16 who already knows what they enjoy and is actually putting in the work,” Kelley said. “He also learns very fast, but at the same time, he knows he still has a lot to learn. I think he has a really good mindset.”
Kelley said she is able to see him develop and adapt to his environment by embracing the learning experience.
“He learns very quickly,” Kelley said. “For example, if I tell him we need to open oysters the next day, and I don’t have time to teach him, I ask him to watch videos online. Also, many of our coworkers don’t speak English—some speak Spanish, and some don’t understand English well—but Roland adapts and tries to speak some Spanish with them.”
Sophomore Raj Appavoo, Plante’s friend, has cooked with him since the fifth grade. Over time, he has witnessed his friend’s cooking knowledge evolve.
“It’s impressive to see how much he’s learned,” Appavoo said. “Before, he was a lot less organized and less streamlined, but now he definitely knows what he’s doing a lot more.”
According to Appavoo, Plante enjoyed math before coming to high school. However, recently, Appavoo asked Plante whether he plans on continuing to pursue math, and Plante’s response came as a surprise.
“He said he’s happiest when he’s cooking, so he’s going to keep cooking,” Appavoo said.
Kelley also thinks Roland is on the right track and that his young age is an advantage for his future.
“I believe it’s very important to discover what you are passionate about to have a clear vision of your future, and then take action early,” Kelley said. “I think he is doing exactly that.”
