ParisCNN —
Located on the famous Rue Bretagne – known as one of the best bar streets in Paris – the terrace of Le Pinardier is always busy on summer evenings.
It’s a quintessentially French experience - regulars ordering the wines of the day alongside cheese and charcuterie - but one only made possible by one of the most divisive issues in the country right now: immigration.
At Le Pinardier, those food orders from the sunny terrace quickly end up 70 feet away, in the kitchen, in the hands of 24-year-old chef, Sazal Saha.
Originally from the city of Kuhlna in Bangladesh, Saha is in his fifth year at Le Pinardier after training in catering for two years at the Joliet-Curie School in northern France.
He’s typically the only person working in the kitchen, which means he does everything: buying the produce, preparing ingredients, cooking, washing the dishes and cleaning.
“Managing the kitchen is not easy when you’re working alone,” Saha told CNN. “It’s so complicated, sometimes I get tired, but I’m used to it,” he said with a smile.
“When I first moved to France, I didn’t know anything about cheese, but I know almost everything about them now,” he said.
One key reason behind Saha’s decision to become a cook in the French capital is because he saw the huge demand from the industry.