Freddie Delim Junior left drinking water has already served breakfast before starting on lunch

Freddie Delim Junior (left, drinking water) has already served breakfast, before starting on lunch. Now he will be constantly interrupted from prepping the mis-en-place for his station by requests from the bar at Saint M and room service. His opposite number on the cold larder is busy drying washed salad leaves in a giant salad spinner (top left), neatly set over a kitchen drain. By 4pm the hotel’s repair men (above) have appeared to weld some sauceboat hooks onto the servery.

They start work while the kitchen is still quiet.2pm to 5.45pmAnyone on a split shift can leave at 3pm, provided their station is ready for the evening They must be back by 5pm. Peter Denham (right) snatches 40 winks in the quiet of his office. Upstairs, in Asia de Cuba, it’s Paul Thomas’s turn to make enough staff dinner for 80 people (top right). At 4.30pm his spicy chicken wings, roasted potatoes and salad disappear on to the plates of the queuing hungry waiters (above). Someone shouts, “Watch your backs, watch your stomachs,” as he waits in line The chefs only eat after the waiters have had their fill. The air begins to buzz with anticipation of a busy evening service Everyone chats and jokes together. A double portion of Vietnamese banana bread pudding with ginger and a lime syrup is caramelised for a hungry photographer.6pm to 7.45pmBeyond the kitchen doors the hotel begins to fill with a constant stream of elegantly dressed guests.

A private drinks party for 150 people is being held in the Light Bar and Ian Sutton (left) is placing the finishing touches on the first of many silver canape trays. Croustades of Scottish lobster with sevruga caviare are set in neat rows with maki sushi rolls (from the Seabar) and duck rillettes with prunes on a garlic crouton. Asia de Cuba has a list of the table bookings and is expecting a busy night feeding around 300. But Phil Thompson (right) is still feeling relaxed as he sautees the first orders of the evening.8pm to 9.30pmThree of the kitchen’s five female chefs work in pastry. Kerstin Procopius (above, pictured right) is on a split pastry shift and will work until the last dessert is served in Asia de Cuba Some nights she will not leave until 2am. Phong Sahn takes a quick snap of her with Peter Denham’s camera. It is all part of the romance of working in an intense, hard-working team Life outside the kitchen seems far away.

By 8.30pm the orders are pouring in and Peter Denham’s sous chef (right) has been set the task of calling out the orders. He has to learn to orchestrate them so that the kitchen runs smoothly.9.30pm to 11.45pmThe next few hours pass quickly as the orders fly in. Saint M’s head chef, Ian Sutton (above, pictured centre), acts as a trouble shooter for any problems that arise in his kitchen. These can include anything from getting the bins emptied to the arrival of a VIP guest in the restaurant. Room service operates around the clock from a separate pantry The orders automatically come through to the kitchen. Once ready, room service (far right) collect them, arrange their trays and send them upstairs Tension mounts as everyone is besieged with work. Dirty plates fly into the steaming wash-up area (right) from both restaurants.Midnight to 1amAs service draws to an end, the chefs clean down their sections and stack everything but their own knives in the pot wash (far left).

Soon the porters are obscured from sight as they manually scrub every burnt tray and sticky pan It is the worst part of their day. Once the head chef gives the OK, the chefs leave their stations and start to relax (above). Head chefs may have to inspect fridges and fill in the next day’s order sheets, but jollity is allowed. Riotous shouts erupt from behind the changing room lockers (left). Dirty whites are stuffed into bags for washing at home, splattered towels and aprons are left in the hotel’s laundry bin. Soon a blast of fresh night air will remind them of that other life, outside.1.30am to 7amCalm descends on the kitchen as it empties of staff.