Us and Them (file under inherently different)

I touched on this in numerous earlier posts but I wanted to expand a little.

Working in a restaurant in a professional kitchen people fall into two types of categories. At least for me. Us and Them.

Us, we are the ones that cut, chop, dice and slice. Sear, grill, fry and blanche. We are the ones that are at the restaurant hours before it is even a thought in your mind. We are the ones who take the raw ingredients and with passion and with some know how transform the inherent beauty of that ingredient into something else. We are the ones who cajole, push, tempt and even sometimes threaten our ingredients demanding from them that they be the best damn thing that we can create. Us, we are the ones who drink, smoke, laugh, curse and make fun of one another, while standing over a searing piece of Foie Gras or Tenderloin or whatever. We are the ones that after a long day at work seek to let our hair down the same way as you but our manner is much different not to mention the hour. Us, we are the ones that choose or fate and celebrate it everyday and could never, I mean EVER sit behind a desk. Its not in our blood. And now after doing this for nine months I can tell you with no uncertainty that I have NO IDEA how I ever did sit at a desk.

Them – You, reading this. You are them. And them can basically be described two ways. Not us. And finally the ones that we seek everyday to wow, impress and tantalize. We are your servants and that is who we are. What we do truly is who we are. And you, THEM, are not us.

Pink Floyd once wrote;

Us, and them
And after all were only ordinary men.
Me, and you.

Are you dreaming big and inspired?

A la prochaine

SDM

To Slice and Dice (file under Chop Chop, the right way)

The basic cuts that any chef should know are chopping, mincing, chiffonnade, julienne and batonnet, dicing, paysanne or fermiere, diamond or lozenge, rondelle, bias, oblique and roll cuts.

The aim of all these cuts in consistency as well as uniform size and shape. It takes a lot of practice but you can get there. The following are the size of cuts. Where possible I have included a picture reference. Eventually I will add my own images but these are good for now. Moreover, some of these cuts are a lost art. I plan to ensure that I use some of the more less used cuts, Paysanne, lozenge, etc as a tribute to my culinary heritage and development.

Fine Julienne is a 1/16 Inch x 1/16 Inch with a length of one to two inches (http://www.dkimages.com/discover/previews/767/325011.JPG )
Julienne is 1/8 Inch by 1/8 Inch with a length of one to two inches (http://soniatasteshawaii.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2007/07/25/bamboo_shoot_preparation_julienne.jpg )
Batonnet is ¼ inch by ¼ Inch with a length of 2 or 2.5 inches
Fine Brunoise is 1/16 by 1/16 by 1/16 inches (http://www.11er.at/Portals/0/Produkte/GV/Serviervorschlag/gv-sv-brunoise.jpg )
Brunoise is 1/8 by 1/8 by 1/8 inches
Small Dice is ¼ by ¼ by ¼ ( http://www.ehow.com/images/ehows/steps/cookrutabegas_2L.jpg )
Medium Dice is ½ by ½ by ½ inches
Large dice is ¾ by ¾ by ¾ inches
Paysanne is ½ by ½ by 1/8 inches (http://www.culinarycultures.com/Images/Other/PaysannePot.jpg )
Lozenge is a diamond shape and is ½ by ½ by 1/8 inches
Rondelle is 1/8 to ½ inches with your desired thickness
Tourne is two inches long with seven faces (looks like a football)

Each of these cuts requires a good eye, great hand eye coordination and lots of practice. I’m getting better with each of them and spend countless hours each week working on them both at work and at home.

I will be back with a post about my week at Reservation and then yet another about Food in History by Reay Tannahill.

As the great first century Roman author Publilus Syrus once said; “Practice is the best of all instructors”

Be Inspired. Dream. Love. Laugh and Love. These are the key to success in life.

A la prochaine

SDM