Reay Tannahill who recently died (November 2007) first published this book back in the 70’s. Since then food has undergone a revolution of sorts in that what was available in a standard supermarket then is vastly inferior to what is available today. People have gained a new found (or at least reinvigorated) love of food. This can be witnessed through the proliferation of ingredients that used to be labeled as somewhat exotic and that today are listed as commonplace. Especially in this great country, Canada, because of the wealth of immigrants that we have to this country. Who, unlike other travelers, to other countries, have to abandon much of what they were in order to assimilate. Here we decided that our tapestry is enriched by the incorporation of multiple cultures into our own and vice versa. I for one am thrilled that food has been one of the many areas that has been enriched by this factor.
Tannahill looks at the history of food from as far back as 10,000 BC. At that time the lifespan for the average human was less than forty years. This is largely due to factors such as climate, lack of appropriate nutrition, shelter and clothing. As humanity made advances in each of these areas there was an advance in our lifespan as well as our appetite.
One of the interesting points that she makes early on is that many of the “advances” we have made with regard to food and food science are in fact based on ancient principles that lacked the scientific and technological advances that we have today. She points out that the first deliberate use of fire is somewhere between 1,400,000 and 500,000 years ago depending on which theory of human evolution you ascribe to (meaning the African centered development or the Asian). With the purposeful use of fire humanity began to use that tool to cook meat that previously was eaten raw (and in my estimation may have directly led to such a low lifespan).
The importance of agriculture can not be understated. It is by far the single greatest thing that humanity has accomplished in terms of survival. By eliminating the need to forage and thus move from place to place humanity laid down the basic roots to civilization. Permanent settlements seem to have developed in order to collect harvests that used to be moved to caves, etc. That distance could have been as far as fifty miles or more. Agriculture seems to have taken hold over a 2000 year period somewhere between 9000 to 7000 BC. This shift is clearly delineated by a move from gathering to cultivating.
Perhaps through trial and error and incredible powers of observation humanity learned that by cultivating a harvest too well the next years harvest would not be as great. As such we started to leave portions of the harvest for two reasons, one to produce a better crop and two for regeneration of the crop.
With the advent of agriculture it became necessary for humanity to domesticate animals. The reason for this is simple; animals would travel around from place to place wrecking havoc on crops. This mandated a response from early settlers which was limited to three possibilities. The first was to defend the fields in a non lethal way. Force the animals to go somewhere else. The second option was to mount a battle against the animals which would lead to mass slaughter and the waste of a valuable food source and the third (ultimately the best and winning option) was animal domestication. The first animals domesticated were sheep and goats.
These two animals are clearly important to the early survival of humanity. They played multiple roles in our development. First as a food source they both were brilliant. Their importance is further understood by the use of lambs as a burnt offering to the gods first and then as society advanced the one true God, whether Christian or Jewish (and eventually Muslim). The second reason for their importance is that these animals are natural foragers. The goat was an exceptional tool for clearing fields once deliberate farming had begun. Sheep moreover were capable of clearing more than a hundred times their weight of green space in a single week. It took approximately another two thousand years for humanity to domesticate the pig predominantly because they were never a threat to crop harvests. Pigs like the same food as humans and so until such a time that there was a food surplus pig farming did not develop. Cows became domesticated somewhere between 6100 and 5800 BC.
Where did cooking develop first? Why did it develop? Is it possible to mark the delineation by saying that from fire and cultivation came settlement? What we do know is that somewhere around 5000 BC was the first evidence of “pit cooking” of meat. What we do know for certain is that the shift from pottery as the main cooking tool to metal also greatly advanced humanities cooking procedures and indeed the very flavour of foods.
From settlement it is somewhat easier to mark the dawn of civilization. Civilization, once settlement began to my mind became a fore gone conclusion. With permanent settlements there was a spread of knowledge through migrating tribes which would visit and then bring that knowledge elsewhere. That pattern continued and continues unabated today. With rapid advances of food surplus so too came population explosion. The correlation between the two is massive and had there not been the ability to produce surplus perhaps we would not know the world we know today.
With cultivation of these new agricultural centers came new foods that people would eat. A lot of these foods came out of weeds or off shoots of the predominant plant. For example from wheat came rye and from maize and beans came the tomato. This type of cross breading also resulted in a much larger food supply which again correlates to the furthering population explosion. By 7000 BC wheat and barley were being intentionally cultivated over vast swaths of land. By 6000 BC peas and lentils. By 5000 BC Persian Gulf farmers (think Mesopotamia and modern day Iran) had figured out irrigation to a distance as far as 3 miles. This is an incredible achievement which resulted in the further development of permanent settlement along flat lands near fresh water. By 4000 – 3000 BC olives, figs, dates, grapes and pomegranates.
A note on fresh water. As we all know fresh water is the life blood of humanity. Without it we would cease to exist the way we do today. As the Persians figured out irrigation this led to the need for an administration of some sort for the canals and ditches dug to irrigate the land. This administration led directly to administration of towns and eventually to cities. Once cities began to pop up in earnest this is the true mark for me of the dawn of civilization. People were now more free to concentrate on other things that food and water. Arts, Philosophy, Medicine, etc. all began to rise up in the great civilizations and gave rise to what we know today. It took less than 7000 years for humanity to go from massively independent survivalists to interdependent members of civilization.
The dawn of civilization gave rise to new issues. One such issue has still not been resolved today. Before this paradigm shift men and women were essentially equal partners in life. The means for survival were equally dependant on the man and the woman. The woman was responsible largely for the gathering (for specific evolutionary reasons) while the man was responsible largely for hunting. As civilization developed this equality was quashed. The woman became the “home” keeper. While men tended to the flock which gave them time to think, to dream, to develop. This dawn of civilization saw massive population explosion that went from 3,000,000 at the true dawn to 100,000,000 in a 7000 year period. That is remarkable growth that ONLY could have happened with the domestication of animals and purposeful farming of crops. We had become so efficient in our farming techniques that early Egyptian farmers (peasant farmers) were capable of producing enough food for their family in a multiple of three times or more. Hence the development of trade. To put this into perspective even more crop yields in the 1950’s in Egypt were roughly equivalent to crop yields in 1000 BC. That is a truly remarkable fact.
The next post is going to deal with beer and its importance on humanity.
W.R. Whitney once said; “In the advance of civilization, it is new knowledge which paves the way, and the pavement is eternal.”
Dream big and inspired!
A la prochaine
SDM
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Functions, Parties, Events (file under always an adventure)
So when I joined Reservation I was completely unaware of some of the things that go on in a kitchen of that size. Of course when I started I was beyond green. I had only passion, drive, a great work ethic and a desire to be the best that I could. Since starting I have learned so much and I am grateful for every day that I am there. One of the things that has struck me is the preparations that are made for functions, events and parties. There is always something going on and as we go into the summer season I have become aware of the fact that we may have days where we have ten functions of all different sizes. So far we have been busy but not nearly as busy as I know we will be by the time I get back from Mexico in a couple of weeks.
At Reservation we can do functions for as few as ten people and as many as we can fit in the establishment. The largest event we have done since I have been there was for around two hundred but I’ve gotten the feeling that in the summer that number can multiply by two or three.
In terms of functions the first thing that happens when L and I get into to work is to look at the function sheets. A function sheet is filled with all the pertinent data that we need to structure our day to prepare. It has the event name, the person throwing it, the date of the event, the revision date for any revisions that have been made, the starting and ending times, the number of people expected, the location as well as the menu broken down into canapés and dinner offerings.
We have quite a few canapé options at Reservation. Some of these include crab cakes, shrimp lollipops, fish and chips, quiche, vol au vent, carpacchio, Bruschetta, spring rolls, duck crepes, Vietnamese rolls and butter chicken stay just to name a few. As you can imagine some of these are fairly easy to prepare and assemble. Others not so much. L and I are capable of preparing these fairly quickly and when it comes time to plate them we can go from zero to one hundred in a minute flat. The cold canapés take a little bit longer to plate as they are a little more labour intensive. The hot canapés merely require to be fired and plated and we can send out five dozen in a matter of minutes.
Dinner options are always to the client specification but usually entail a soup or a salad, an entrée and a dessert. But some menus are more intensive and have a soup, salad, appetizer, entrée and dessert. L and I have developed a system where he and I can do a party for up to forty five people on our own without assistance from any one else who happens to be around. We can plate those forty five in approximately three minutes from start to finish for each course and have them at the table within four. Over forty five it becomes quite difficult to manage and we have to use the line method.
A note on the plating line. Obviously the plates start at the far left of the line. Starch is laid down first. The plate then moves to the right where it gets its vegetables. Next are protein, then sauce, garnish and a wipe. In this manner we can send out a party for one hundred approximately the same time as if it is just L and I doing it. I do expect that as the summer approaches we will be doing parties like this even faster and that so far I am just on my learning curve. As well either Executive Chef, Head Chef or Chef J will expedite the line result. So lets for instance say that we have a table of nine. The Chef will call out the order which we acknowledge. We get all the plates down for that table which he then expedites through the servers. All the while we are working on the next table so that there is a steady stream to the guests. It really is one of the most beautiful ballets I have ever seen. Six or seven people plating in a very tight space. All the while making exceptions to the plates. Some want rare, medium rare, well done, some have nut allergies or preferences. It is remarkable to see but even more remarkable to be a part of it. While at the same time the front of house servers are streaming out with plates that we have done in less than a minute for a table.
For example we recently had two parties going at the same time. One was a wedding which had 68 guests and the other a wedding “celebration” for 56. We had to try and juggle the canapés in such a way that the parties that were overlapping would have a staggered service. One party had twenty dozen canapés while the other had fifteen (I think, I’m going from memory not my notes). Even though they both entered their respective venues at the same time we were able to get the canapés out for the second party first so that we could start concentrating on dinner. Even though we timed our stagger perfectly the second party delayed sitting down but we had enough cushion built in that we were able to work it.
For the wedding celebration that we started to plate first we had orders for 26 soup, 26 salad, 26 chicken, 26 salmon and two vegan meals. For the wedding at the other venue we had to add an extra course. For that one we had 68 soup, 68 gnocchi, 30 salmon and 38 beef as well as one vegan meal. And as I’ve come to learn this dance is one that needs to be choreographed perfectly, especially as we approach the summer “busy season.”
Also communication is key. It is imperative that the left hand know what the right hand is doing and if there is a problem it needs to be vocalized and dealt with. That type of clarity and quick response is something that I thrive on. I love the rush, the excitement and the result.
I pay attention to every aspect of what we are doing. I recall the first time I was on a line I was as slow as molasses. Now I’m better but there is always room for improvement. I pay attention to what everyone is doing; I pay attention to the Chefs and even the servers as I feel that all of this will serve me in my goals.
Aldous Huxley once said; “There is only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that's your own self.” How true it is.
Dream big and inspired.
A la prochaine
SDM
At Reservation we can do functions for as few as ten people and as many as we can fit in the establishment. The largest event we have done since I have been there was for around two hundred but I’ve gotten the feeling that in the summer that number can multiply by two or three.
In terms of functions the first thing that happens when L and I get into to work is to look at the function sheets. A function sheet is filled with all the pertinent data that we need to structure our day to prepare. It has the event name, the person throwing it, the date of the event, the revision date for any revisions that have been made, the starting and ending times, the number of people expected, the location as well as the menu broken down into canapés and dinner offerings.
We have quite a few canapé options at Reservation. Some of these include crab cakes, shrimp lollipops, fish and chips, quiche, vol au vent, carpacchio, Bruschetta, spring rolls, duck crepes, Vietnamese rolls and butter chicken stay just to name a few. As you can imagine some of these are fairly easy to prepare and assemble. Others not so much. L and I are capable of preparing these fairly quickly and when it comes time to plate them we can go from zero to one hundred in a minute flat. The cold canapés take a little bit longer to plate as they are a little more labour intensive. The hot canapés merely require to be fired and plated and we can send out five dozen in a matter of minutes.
Dinner options are always to the client specification but usually entail a soup or a salad, an entrée and a dessert. But some menus are more intensive and have a soup, salad, appetizer, entrée and dessert. L and I have developed a system where he and I can do a party for up to forty five people on our own without assistance from any one else who happens to be around. We can plate those forty five in approximately three minutes from start to finish for each course and have them at the table within four. Over forty five it becomes quite difficult to manage and we have to use the line method.
A note on the plating line. Obviously the plates start at the far left of the line. Starch is laid down first. The plate then moves to the right where it gets its vegetables. Next are protein, then sauce, garnish and a wipe. In this manner we can send out a party for one hundred approximately the same time as if it is just L and I doing it. I do expect that as the summer approaches we will be doing parties like this even faster and that so far I am just on my learning curve. As well either Executive Chef, Head Chef or Chef J will expedite the line result. So lets for instance say that we have a table of nine. The Chef will call out the order which we acknowledge. We get all the plates down for that table which he then expedites through the servers. All the while we are working on the next table so that there is a steady stream to the guests. It really is one of the most beautiful ballets I have ever seen. Six or seven people plating in a very tight space. All the while making exceptions to the plates. Some want rare, medium rare, well done, some have nut allergies or preferences. It is remarkable to see but even more remarkable to be a part of it. While at the same time the front of house servers are streaming out with plates that we have done in less than a minute for a table.
For example we recently had two parties going at the same time. One was a wedding which had 68 guests and the other a wedding “celebration” for 56. We had to try and juggle the canapés in such a way that the parties that were overlapping would have a staggered service. One party had twenty dozen canapés while the other had fifteen (I think, I’m going from memory not my notes). Even though they both entered their respective venues at the same time we were able to get the canapés out for the second party first so that we could start concentrating on dinner. Even though we timed our stagger perfectly the second party delayed sitting down but we had enough cushion built in that we were able to work it.
For the wedding celebration that we started to plate first we had orders for 26 soup, 26 salad, 26 chicken, 26 salmon and two vegan meals. For the wedding at the other venue we had to add an extra course. For that one we had 68 soup, 68 gnocchi, 30 salmon and 38 beef as well as one vegan meal. And as I’ve come to learn this dance is one that needs to be choreographed perfectly, especially as we approach the summer “busy season.”
Also communication is key. It is imperative that the left hand know what the right hand is doing and if there is a problem it needs to be vocalized and dealt with. That type of clarity and quick response is something that I thrive on. I love the rush, the excitement and the result.
I pay attention to every aspect of what we are doing. I recall the first time I was on a line I was as slow as molasses. Now I’m better but there is always room for improvement. I pay attention to what everyone is doing; I pay attention to the Chefs and even the servers as I feel that all of this will serve me in my goals.
Aldous Huxley once said; “There is only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that's your own self.” How true it is.
Dream big and inspired.
A la prochaine
SDM
Butchering a Tenderloin (file under so much to learn)
So a few days after learning how to butcher a striploin I also learned how to butcher a tenderloin. Both of these are expensive cuts of meat and I was like a little school girl at the mention of the Back Street Boys learning how to butcher them.
To butcher a tenderloin;
1) Carefully remove all excess fat off the tenderloin with your fingers. The fat on a tenderloin is very stringy and loose and is easy enough to remove with your fingers. You can get a good amount of fat off this way.
2) Isolate the head of the tenderloin. The tenderloin has a natural front (head) and tail (back).
3) Carefully cut off the head of the tenderloin. This takes great skill and attention to detail as this is an expensive cut of meat. If you cut too little you are left with a weird cut of meat and if you take too much you are creating waste.
4) Remove the silver skin. (See image below). The silver skin is part of the connective tissue and it does not break down. It makes for an ugly chewiness and should always be removed where possible.
5) Portion the cleaned tenderloin into appropriate sizes.
When butchering a tenderloin it is very important to use fluid movements. A sawing motion on a tenderloin produces jagged “tears” in the meat which are visually unappealing. Not only must you be fluid but you must also make the cut in one slow motion.
An old Chinese proverb says; “Tell me and I'll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I'll understand.”
I will be back with more shortly.
Dream big and inspired!
A la prochaine
SDM
To butcher a tenderloin;
1) Carefully remove all excess fat off the tenderloin with your fingers. The fat on a tenderloin is very stringy and loose and is easy enough to remove with your fingers. You can get a good amount of fat off this way.
2) Isolate the head of the tenderloin. The tenderloin has a natural front (head) and tail (back).
3) Carefully cut off the head of the tenderloin. This takes great skill and attention to detail as this is an expensive cut of meat. If you cut too little you are left with a weird cut of meat and if you take too much you are creating waste.
4) Remove the silver skin. (See image below). The silver skin is part of the connective tissue and it does not break down. It makes for an ugly chewiness and should always be removed where possible.
5) Portion the cleaned tenderloin into appropriate sizes.
When butchering a tenderloin it is very important to use fluid movements. A sawing motion on a tenderloin produces jagged “tears” in the meat which are visually unappealing. Not only must you be fluid but you must also make the cut in one slow motion.
An old Chinese proverb says; “Tell me and I'll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I'll understand.”
I will be back with more shortly.
Dream big and inspired!
A la prochaine
SDM
Monday, April 21, 2008
How to Butcher Striploin (file under always something new)
So I’ve learned how to butcher striploin now. When they come in the way about twenty to thirty pounds each one. Of course it was a bit crazy learning how to butcher one as it was not something I had ever done before. The steps are easy enough but you require a delicate hand and a good feel for the cut that is in front of you.
The steps to cutting a strip are as follows;
1) Remove the bag by cutting on the fat side of the strip so that you do not damage the meat. No problem if you damage the fat a bit but strip is expensive and you don’t want to hurt the meat. Nothing worse than making a dead cow cry.
2) Remove excess moisture by patting the strip dry.
3) Place the strip with the fat side down. Trim off excess fat paying careful attention not to rip the chain. (The chain is a piece of meat that runs along the back side underneath some fat. It is especially tender and moist and tastes awesome.)
4) Flip strip to put the fat side up. Trim the line of fat opposite to the chain.
5) Trim off any other excess fat.
6) Portion.
Sounds easy enough right. Sure the steps are relatively easy but it requires a great attention to detail. Good feel. Good sight and a sure hand. I got nineteen portions out of the first strip that I cut. I was making them into eight ounce portions. The first portion that you cut is your indicator of the relative size that you will be portioning. Of the nineteen I cut I was able to get twelve bang on. Four were off by less that half an ounce. Two were off by more than an ounce and one was way off. But that became Head Chef’s dinner so it worked out pretty good.
Robert Heinlein once said; “A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly.”
I’m so close to being a human. How about you? Dream big and inspired.
A la prochaine
SDM
The steps to cutting a strip are as follows;
1) Remove the bag by cutting on the fat side of the strip so that you do not damage the meat. No problem if you damage the fat a bit but strip is expensive and you don’t want to hurt the meat. Nothing worse than making a dead cow cry.
2) Remove excess moisture by patting the strip dry.
3) Place the strip with the fat side down. Trim off excess fat paying careful attention not to rip the chain. (The chain is a piece of meat that runs along the back side underneath some fat. It is especially tender and moist and tastes awesome.)
4) Flip strip to put the fat side up. Trim the line of fat opposite to the chain.
5) Trim off any other excess fat.
6) Portion.
Sounds easy enough right. Sure the steps are relatively easy but it requires a great attention to detail. Good feel. Good sight and a sure hand. I got nineteen portions out of the first strip that I cut. I was making them into eight ounce portions. The first portion that you cut is your indicator of the relative size that you will be portioning. Of the nineteen I cut I was able to get twelve bang on. Four were off by less that half an ounce. Two were off by more than an ounce and one was way off. But that became Head Chef’s dinner so it worked out pretty good.
Robert Heinlein once said; “A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly.”
I’m so close to being a human. How about you? Dream big and inspired.
A la prochaine
SDM
Mantra (file under awakening)
So I’ve been reading a lot this year. I would say that I’m reading a book every three days. Most of them are food related but others are related to becoming a better man, a better lover, a better friend and true to myself a better cook (can’t quite call myself a Chef and even when I can I think I’d rather be thought of as a cook). I’ve been reading everything from James Joyce’s “Ulysses,” to The Dalai Lama, Osho and Einstein just to name a few. You know a little light reading. At any rate, it really does feel wonderful to be on the path that I’m on. Life is revealing to me that the universe works in wonderful ways and that I am more than just a cog in the wheel of my life. I am the wheel. So let’s roll!
At the start of each day I write a note at the top of my notebook. For example on April 12th I wrote; “Love is my teacher, passion my guide and life my resource and I AM THAT!” These Mantras are a great way to frame my day and direct my mind in the right direction.
I’ve started tracking everything at work. I track the products that come in, the weight, whether they were of good quality or just so so (not that it happens but when it does I send it back to the supplier). I’ve started tracking the yields of the stocks that I make as well as the demi that is produced. By tracking all this I am able to get a good idea of whats needed in the future based on the knowledge that I have of the seats in our restaurant and the number that are filled for service. This is absolutely invaluable to me and the mission that I have.
I have also started paying attention to things such as product weight as it relates to the portion costs. L and I were having a conversation about it in relation to cheese. I was cutting the cheese (lol) for a cheese platter to be served at brunch. Looking at it he said that I should cut the cheese differently as the sizes I was cutting would force the customer to take my big size whereas if I cut it smaller they would take two or three but that was roughly equivalent to the size that I was originally cutting. It might make a four cent difference on that particular piece of cheese. But when you are cutting two thousand pieces. It all adds up. And this is something that I need to become more aware of. If you want to own your own restaurant you need to have a perfect understanding of where every dollar goes. Even if it is one cent at a time.
So here is my two cents for each of you today brought to you by none other than Osho; “Any human being who is becoming independent of conditionings, of religions, scriptures, prophets and messiahs, has arrived home. He has found the treasure which was hidden in his own being.” I have found the treasure inside my own being by accepting what was inside me all the time. I have become the man I always wanted to be. Are you willing to look inside your being?
Dream big and inspired. I will be back with more in a few minutes.
A la prochaine
SDM
At the start of each day I write a note at the top of my notebook. For example on April 12th I wrote; “Love is my teacher, passion my guide and life my resource and I AM THAT!” These Mantras are a great way to frame my day and direct my mind in the right direction.
I’ve started tracking everything at work. I track the products that come in, the weight, whether they were of good quality or just so so (not that it happens but when it does I send it back to the supplier). I’ve started tracking the yields of the stocks that I make as well as the demi that is produced. By tracking all this I am able to get a good idea of whats needed in the future based on the knowledge that I have of the seats in our restaurant and the number that are filled for service. This is absolutely invaluable to me and the mission that I have.
I have also started paying attention to things such as product weight as it relates to the portion costs. L and I were having a conversation about it in relation to cheese. I was cutting the cheese (lol) for a cheese platter to be served at brunch. Looking at it he said that I should cut the cheese differently as the sizes I was cutting would force the customer to take my big size whereas if I cut it smaller they would take two or three but that was roughly equivalent to the size that I was originally cutting. It might make a four cent difference on that particular piece of cheese. But when you are cutting two thousand pieces. It all adds up. And this is something that I need to become more aware of. If you want to own your own restaurant you need to have a perfect understanding of where every dollar goes. Even if it is one cent at a time.
So here is my two cents for each of you today brought to you by none other than Osho; “Any human being who is becoming independent of conditionings, of religions, scriptures, prophets and messiahs, has arrived home. He has found the treasure which was hidden in his own being.” I have found the treasure inside my own being by accepting what was inside me all the time. I have become the man I always wanted to be. Are you willing to look inside your being?
Dream big and inspired. I will be back with more in a few minutes.
A la prochaine
SDM
Guess Who’s Back? (file under working lots and catching up with love)
Hello all! I’m sorry for the brief lapse in posts. It has been an interesting couple of weeks filled with ups and downs. Mostly ups though. It is beyond amazing to have C back. It was difficult being apart for so long but it is for the best. Our love has consistently stood the test of time and space. Transcending it and it will again when she returns to NYC. That is the nature of love and I am grateful everyday for it.
At Reservation everything is going amazing. I have really begun to pick up on my speed and technique and I am feeling beyond comfortable in the kitchen. Some of the things that stood in my way (perhaps because of a lack of understanding) are no longer issues at all.
For instance Aioli. It is difficult to make Aioli to begin with. I had been splitting my Aioli’s quite a bit and it was driving me nuts. Executive Chef came over when I was making one and he walked me through it again after I had split yet another. Aioli is extremely temperamental and requires exceptional skill and masterful timing. Naturally Aioli is made with eggs and oil as well as a flavouring agent. To start the Aioli you must separate the yolks and then add them to the robo coupe. It was generally believed (before science had proved differently) that an egg yolk was only capable of incorporating 8 ounces of oil. In fact, as science has now proven (as well as trial and error) an egg yolk is capable of incorporating 16 ounces of oil.
As I was making my Aioli’s to begin I was not giving the protein enough time to stretch and thus was not able to incorporate the oil properly. The result is a kind of stringy and bubbly mixture (that almost resembles cellulite is you can believe it). Now though I take the appropriate time (which is dictated by the protein itself) before I start to incorporate the oil. The last stage is to incorporate your flavouring agent. More often than not I have been making Truffle Aioli, Mango Aioli or Lemon Caper Aioli. Each used in various ways. The Truffle Aioli is used as a compliment for our hand cut French fries (my hand!!!!), the Mango is used for mini crab cakes (a canapé at parties and functions) and the Lemon Caper is used with another canapé of shaved beef carpacchio on olive oil crustini. The Mango is still a bit tricky for me but all in all I am comfortable with making any Aioli now.
As I have gotten better it has been observed and my responsibilities have gradually taken on different and new tasks. We all are accustomed to the way that my days start. I know that I have given you all a picture of what it is that I have to put away. It usually starts with the vegetables. Right now we go through approximately three hundred pounds of vegetables a day. I imagine in the summer that that number is going to triple. Dry goods, which includes things such as flour, sugar, oil, frozen products and dairy amount to approximately two hundred pounds on a slow day and on a Friday it can be as much as one thousand pounds. This would explain why my already chiseled physique (if I don’t say so myself) has become even more like Michelangelo had made a marble of me. I also put away fish and meat. Fish usually is about fifty to sixty pounds a day and meat can be as much as two hundred pounds on a busy day. If you add all these numbers up you’ll see that on a slow day I’m moving about three hundred to four hundred pounds of product. On busy days I could be moving as much as fifteen hundred pounds. Can you say biceps?
My stocks are incredible now. My consistency is there and I am producing approximately eighty litres of finished demi each week. Of course the remi is the result of approximately 180 – 220 litres of liquid being reduced down to about 16 litres. I have also expanded my repertoire of stocks. I am now responsible for making Veal Stock, Fish Stock, Light Chicken Stock, Dark Chicken Stock and Lobster Stock. One day before C came home I noticed that I had developed a zit. I’ve never had zits. Ask anyone that knows me. Well the reason for the zit was that I made every one of the afore mentioned stocks over a twelve hour period. All that fat steaming up at my face brought out a zit or two and while my stock was great my face paid the temporary price. You’ll be pleased to know that my face is back to normal now.
I have also started searing off the proteins for events and functions. I have seared salmon, Black Cod, White Fish, European bass, Tuna, Grouper and Artic Char. I have seared Chicken, tenderloin and striploin. I am learning how to do the various proteins properly and how to deal their “doneness” by feel, smell and sight.
My next post is going to deal with functions and how they come into being. The work that is required and my role in them.
I also wanted to say that it is normal for people to have questions about where they are and what they are doing. I myself had to search deep within myself in order to establish what is was that makes me happy and what I could do for the rest of my life. In the past I have done more jobs than you can imagine. Some have been incredible and others have been quite pedestrian. Through it all though I have strived to be better. This year I have really opened my soul, my heart and my mind. I have become the man that I always thought I was supposed to be. My making the selfish decision to join a professional kitchen has been the most transformative event of my life (next to C entering it). I hope that all of you realize that questions, doubt, self loathing, fear and complacency are a part of life. But they are not the end all. They are the beginning. You need to reach beyond and find what truly resides inside you. What is your passion? What is your drive? WHAT IS YOUR DESIRE? Ask these questions and answer them and I can guarantee that you will find a joy that is unparalleled. That said I remember fondly Descartes; “Dubito ergo cogito; cogito ergo sum.” Which translates to; “I doubt, I think, therefore I am.”
Life is the oyster that you’ve always wanted. You just need to dream big and inspired.
Back shortly.
A la prochaine
SDM
At Reservation everything is going amazing. I have really begun to pick up on my speed and technique and I am feeling beyond comfortable in the kitchen. Some of the things that stood in my way (perhaps because of a lack of understanding) are no longer issues at all.
For instance Aioli. It is difficult to make Aioli to begin with. I had been splitting my Aioli’s quite a bit and it was driving me nuts. Executive Chef came over when I was making one and he walked me through it again after I had split yet another. Aioli is extremely temperamental and requires exceptional skill and masterful timing. Naturally Aioli is made with eggs and oil as well as a flavouring agent. To start the Aioli you must separate the yolks and then add them to the robo coupe. It was generally believed (before science had proved differently) that an egg yolk was only capable of incorporating 8 ounces of oil. In fact, as science has now proven (as well as trial and error) an egg yolk is capable of incorporating 16 ounces of oil.
As I was making my Aioli’s to begin I was not giving the protein enough time to stretch and thus was not able to incorporate the oil properly. The result is a kind of stringy and bubbly mixture (that almost resembles cellulite is you can believe it). Now though I take the appropriate time (which is dictated by the protein itself) before I start to incorporate the oil. The last stage is to incorporate your flavouring agent. More often than not I have been making Truffle Aioli, Mango Aioli or Lemon Caper Aioli. Each used in various ways. The Truffle Aioli is used as a compliment for our hand cut French fries (my hand!!!!), the Mango is used for mini crab cakes (a canapé at parties and functions) and the Lemon Caper is used with another canapé of shaved beef carpacchio on olive oil crustini. The Mango is still a bit tricky for me but all in all I am comfortable with making any Aioli now.
As I have gotten better it has been observed and my responsibilities have gradually taken on different and new tasks. We all are accustomed to the way that my days start. I know that I have given you all a picture of what it is that I have to put away. It usually starts with the vegetables. Right now we go through approximately three hundred pounds of vegetables a day. I imagine in the summer that that number is going to triple. Dry goods, which includes things such as flour, sugar, oil, frozen products and dairy amount to approximately two hundred pounds on a slow day and on a Friday it can be as much as one thousand pounds. This would explain why my already chiseled physique (if I don’t say so myself) has become even more like Michelangelo had made a marble of me. I also put away fish and meat. Fish usually is about fifty to sixty pounds a day and meat can be as much as two hundred pounds on a busy day. If you add all these numbers up you’ll see that on a slow day I’m moving about three hundred to four hundred pounds of product. On busy days I could be moving as much as fifteen hundred pounds. Can you say biceps?
My stocks are incredible now. My consistency is there and I am producing approximately eighty litres of finished demi each week. Of course the remi is the result of approximately 180 – 220 litres of liquid being reduced down to about 16 litres. I have also expanded my repertoire of stocks. I am now responsible for making Veal Stock, Fish Stock, Light Chicken Stock, Dark Chicken Stock and Lobster Stock. One day before C came home I noticed that I had developed a zit. I’ve never had zits. Ask anyone that knows me. Well the reason for the zit was that I made every one of the afore mentioned stocks over a twelve hour period. All that fat steaming up at my face brought out a zit or two and while my stock was great my face paid the temporary price. You’ll be pleased to know that my face is back to normal now.
I have also started searing off the proteins for events and functions. I have seared salmon, Black Cod, White Fish, European bass, Tuna, Grouper and Artic Char. I have seared Chicken, tenderloin and striploin. I am learning how to do the various proteins properly and how to deal their “doneness” by feel, smell and sight.
My next post is going to deal with functions and how they come into being. The work that is required and my role in them.
I also wanted to say that it is normal for people to have questions about where they are and what they are doing. I myself had to search deep within myself in order to establish what is was that makes me happy and what I could do for the rest of my life. In the past I have done more jobs than you can imagine. Some have been incredible and others have been quite pedestrian. Through it all though I have strived to be better. This year I have really opened my soul, my heart and my mind. I have become the man that I always thought I was supposed to be. My making the selfish decision to join a professional kitchen has been the most transformative event of my life (next to C entering it). I hope that all of you realize that questions, doubt, self loathing, fear and complacency are a part of life. But they are not the end all. They are the beginning. You need to reach beyond and find what truly resides inside you. What is your passion? What is your drive? WHAT IS YOUR DESIRE? Ask these questions and answer them and I can guarantee that you will find a joy that is unparalleled. That said I remember fondly Descartes; “Dubito ergo cogito; cogito ergo sum.” Which translates to; “I doubt, I think, therefore I am.”
Life is the oyster that you’ve always wanted. You just need to dream big and inspired.
Back shortly.
A la prochaine
SDM
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