Take Two of a Cooks’ Snow Day

It has been at least a decade since Toronto has seen snow like it has been getting lately. Last night the North Pole visited our fine city again and dropped at least seven or eight inches making getting to work a very ‘fun’ (read pain in the ass) experience. Usually getting to work by the Streetcar should take about an hour. If I am fortunate enough to be driving (today I had no choice) it should take about twenty minutes. Well I guess the memo to Toronto drivers (read invading 905ers’ and beyond) didn’t get out. I was to punch in at 10 (though start at 9 as part of my learning experience which I’ve explained earlier.) as such I left my house at 8:10 thinking I would have more than enough time to get there for 9. Wishful thinking I assure you. It was my worst Sunday nightmare come true on a Wednesday. I got there as fast as I could. 9:21. Don’t get me wrong. I love the snow and I love Toronto. But I don’t love the invading hordes more marauding than Ghengis Khan and Hannibal combined. And yet I smiled. Which shocked everyone that saw my face driving and singing to Lauryn Hill.

Of course when I got there there was no parking and I read this as an indication of the day to come. Finally after moving my car a second time and paying another four bucks Chef told me that I could park in the Green P on the premises for a $10 max for fourteen hours. Done and done. But it did let me sneak in a smoke (only three today).

How did my day start? Bueller, Bueller! Naturally with draining and straining the stock, putting it into 16 litre pails, covering, label and organizing and then putting in the fridge. The other day I had let the pails sit out for a few minutes and Head Chef ran (not really running as it is ABSOLUTELY FORBIDDEN in the kitchen) by and explained to me why we put it away right away. BACTERIA growth and our success to keep bacteria at bay. Easy enough lesson to learn and one that only needs to be explained once. This applies to all food. Not just stock. Don’t ever leave anything out AND definitely make sure that you mark what it is, what the date was and then put it away.

Today was the first day I didn’t really ask anyone what to do. Common sense, which is by no means common, dictated that I start getting the Mise ready for everyone on the line. As such I roasted an entire bus pan of beets. Peeled the carrots. Cut potatoes in three different ways with three different varieties. Naturally there was the Yukon Gold for the hand cut (my hand) French fries, Russets for gauffrettes and Fingerlings for rounds. Two of those starches are used by the Saucier and J who is the Entremetier uses the other.

This is a good time to explain the stations of a professional kitchen. Essentially you have the Executive Chef, then the Head Chef. These two positions are pretty self-explanatory. Then you have the Saucier (A in our kitchen). The Saucier in our kitchen is responsible for prepping all the meats, trimming, carving and creating the proper portion sizes. He is also responsible for preparing the sauces, grilling the meats and final plating along with Head Chef. In the absence of Head Chef and Exec it is he who runs the line. A is in his middle twenties and at the top of his game. He is about to go on another stage (10 days or so from now, maybe even less) at a fabulous restaurant in Oxford, England. After him you have the Poissonier (D in our kitchen). It is his job as the name suggests to butcher the fish, prepare it and then serve it. After him you have J who is the Entremetier who is responsible for all hot apps, soups, vegetables and starches. Finally in our kitchen you have S (a woman from Korea) who is the Garde Manger, it is her duty to prepare all the salads, cold apps and deserts. This team is amazing and very good at what they do. It is quite a spectacle to behold. And if you have the option to see a professional brigade at work you should. They are lighting fast and laser accurate. Think of SEALS, RANGERS, MOSSAD, GHURKAS or any other special force in the world.

I then had to vacuum pack various items including duck that our Saucier had just prepared and package it in units of ten. The Poissonier finished portioning some fish (Mon Fish, Salmon, Grouper) along with the help of SH who is one of the cooks at our sister restaurant. I had to pack away 3 different type of fish. I then vac packed the jus that I had completed last week and put it away for safe keeping in the walk in freezer. I learned another lesson on that note tonight. Do not lose any of the jus.

It literally is a sheeny black gold. I lost about a litre tonight as the vac pack seal did not hold. It put me in a pretty low mood for a bit as I know how valuable it is to Chef and in hard currency. I did apologize profusely. The problem was that I didn’t remove the spacer boards and as such the jus flowed over and spilled covering a good sixth of an inch of the vac pack machine. Good times, really! I told Head Chef that I owe him a few beers when the opportunity next avails itself.

I was scheduled to work until 8 tonight and as I mentioned earlier I got my snow day. I punched out at 7:48. AND I forgot to sign the sign out sheet. I was just excited to get home and write about my day I suppose. I realized it after I was about five minutes away. No big loss.

Exec Chef loaned me another of his books for my day off tomorrow. It is In Search of Perfection by Heston Blumenthal. Though he did tell me to just look at it and not get to deeply into it. This plays on a component of our conversation last night in which he cautioned me from only devoting myself to this. A wise man; Exec Chef said that I need to devote time to my other passions (here is one obviously) but he made it clear that it had to be separate from the kitchen and with as much enthusiasm. He explained that eventually I will have to put the other on the back burner but for now it is important so that my head stays in the game. I understood what he was saying on numerous levels.

Another one of the fantastic benefits of chasing my dream is that it has caused me to start looking at myself, inwardly and those around me. It has helped me to start questioning certain things and to start writing again. A passionate soulful writing that is directly related to me as opposed to the world around me. It feels wonderful and it is a great legacy to hand to my children so they can see how I became the man I became.

None of this would have been possible without my family. Directly the love of my life C who has been an unconditional supporter of mine (which at times has been beyond hard she must be an angel, certainly mine). A constant source of inspiration and a graceful source of sage like wisdom. Her family, my family and my closest friends and you know who you are (who are part of my family of course). I thank you all for your guidance, your support, your love, your criticism but most of all your continued faith in me. I will show you all that you were right in more ways than one. I love you all! I value you and hope that some day I can repay your unfettered kindness.

J.R.R. Tolkien once said; “If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.”

Which brings me to another point. As I studied Political Science and History while at University I’ve often wondered how much depends on the meals they (you know the marble halls and mahogany desk types) eat. I heard someone else say that the other day and I laughed as I thought I was the only one to think about that. I mean really, if Khrushchev and Kennedy had eaten a horrible meal in Vienna would I be writing this at this very moment? Would mushroom clouds have filled the sky because the Carbonara or Thermador was cooked incorrectly? Or if Kissinger had sat down a little earlier over some great French meal with the Vietnamese would less Americans have died? Pardon the pun but it truly is food for thought!

I hope you had a day filled with wonder and delight and make tomorrow an inspired day in your own personal pursuit of excellence.

Bonne Journee et a la Prochaine!

SDM