What do you do?

"Technically, prep cook. Which can be monotonous--cutting up five-gallon buckets of onions. But I get to cook and get paid for it! Once or twice a week I get to cook for the whole cast and crew of 55."

So the chef eats your cooking? Is that scary?

"In the beginning it was, a little. I get to pick out whatever I want to cook, so I keep it simple. I cook mostly Thai, because it's fun. I can't get totally out of hand, since I've only got two and a half hours to prepare a meal for 55."

Do you wear clogs and loud chef pants? Do you ever get to wear one of those big clock hats?

"No. But what we do [wear] is very much cued into the show. It's this old-style cabaret/circus inside a spiegeltent made mostly of wood and stained glass. It's amazing. Inside there's a stage, and a platform that raises for contortionists and trapeze acts. The waiters are all dressed up; not only do they serve, but they dance and sing while they do it. We know all our cue lines for getting different courses out. I get to see parts of the show--it's very fun."

Do you dance and sing?

"No. Nobody sees us. We are too messy, our cook shirts are too big."

Has anyone ever choked on their salad laughing at Kevin Kent?

"Hee-hee. Kevin makes fun of everyone. But they pace it so the big acts happen before or after dinner, not to distract or pull people's attention in too many directions. It is very circus-like, though, with a lot going on."

How did you get your start cooking?

"I've cooked at home all my life with my mom--it's a family thing, a Thai thing--and we were always throwing lots of parties. Cooking professionally is sort of like cooking at home, for more people."

Do you think Americans eat too much?

"Um, I don't know. America is just a bigger country. Thai people eat all day long, from morning until night; they eat these tiny meals. They are small, snack-like things from fresh ingredients, more vegetable-based, with lots of fruit, not a lot of beef or cheese."

Interview by Rachel Kessler