Many of our editors here at Fine Cooking have spent time in restaurant kitchens and have lived to tell the tale. While my stint as a short-order cook is nowhere near the level of the experiences my coworkers have had, I certainly learned that working in a restaurant requires superhuman levels of organization, stamina, and tolerance for stress. It entails an entirely different lifestyle from the rest of the population, and maybe that’s a reason, among many, that the FC team ended up here, doing what we do. However, I know that I’m not alone in my fascination for restaurants; they’re a paradox of chaos and serenity, where two sets of people go to simultaneously relax and sweat, eat and feed, socialize and work.

If you share my fascination, then New York Kitchen will pique your interest, too. Photographer Miriam Babin visits restaurant kitchens throughout the city (and elsewhere) and documents what she sees. Some depictions are too pristine to be completely believable, but each photo tells a story of the people who occupy the invisible space at a favorite eating and socializing destination.