Another Opportunity (file under heading Chef’s advice)

Thomas Edison once said; “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” Not for me though. I love to work. I love what I do and where I am going. As such today presented another opportunity that I must weigh all the options and ensure that it is exactly what I want. That said I felt pretty good at the meeting.

As I blogged a few posts ago, I had a meeting with the Executive Chef of a prominent club in Toronto. I arrived sharply at 3 and spoke with him about what he needs, wants and desires as well as what I want, need and desire. We then walked around the various facilities to give me a feel for the place.

Its operations are huge. Perhaps four times as big as Reservation and at least ten times as big as Without Reservation. There are three distinct levels of service and thus expectation. The walkins are massive and filled with the most delicious, fresh and awe inspiring ingredients. The general feel of the place was good and seemed to be something that I might like to do.

When we returned to Chef’s office we spoke for a few more minutes. By the way, it really is true that all Chef’s get a bright corner office with lots of natural light, the best computers possible, etc. True in dreamland that is. Chef’s offices I have come to learn are small, filled with endless amounts of knowledge, clipboards, prep and staff lists, etc. But the office was nice enough and clean. We spoke all in for about an hour and within a few minutes I had the feeling that this was someone I could work for. He made sure that I was willing and able to be at work for those hours at which I had to chuckle. I always show up. He liked that!

Thus, the opportunity is, to work breakfast and lunch services for the time being. I have the freedom to create specials every day which include pasta, pizza and sandwiches as well as fish, meat, etc. This sounded very good to me. He was very honest in saying that it may not be the dream job for everyone out there but it is one which has the opportunity to create, to move up and to be part of a team. All things which resonate with me greatly.

Steady work. Stable. BENEFITS. I can buy into the pension plan.

So next I need to speak with my incredible fiancé and get her opinion on the matter. Executive Chef and I are scheduled to speak again on Friday. I look forward to resolving these issues so that I can start the process of working my way up the ladder to achieve exactly what it is that I intend to achieve.

As I was typing this Executive Chef sent me some material regarding menus, etc. He also looks forward to speaking on Friday.

I guess I have some serious soul searching to do. Luckily I am good at searching and have a soul.

Arthur Rimbaud once wrote; “The first study for the man who wants to be a poet is knowledge of himself, complete: he searches for his soul, he inspects it, he puts it to the test, he learns it. As soon as he has learned it, he must cultivate it! I say that one must be a seer, make oneself a seer. The poet becomes a seer through a long, immense, and reasoned derangement of all the senses. All shapes of love suffering, madness. He searches himself, he exhausts all poisons in himself, to keep only the quintessences. Ineffable torture where he needs all his faith, all his superhuman strength, where he becomes among all men the great patient, the great criminal, the great accursed one--and the supreme Scholar! For he reaches the unknown! ....So the poet is actually a thief of Fire!”

Are you dreaming big and inspired?

WHY NOT?

A la prochaine

SDM

Breakfast no more (file under a good idea but…)

So the hammer has dropped on breakfast. And it is kind of funny because Friday was my busiest yet having served 11 people. So while I’m sad that I won’t be getting the hours I understand the realities of the business and understand that it had to be done. However, I do believe that in the future, like the phoenix, it will rise from the ashes to once again be served.

Randall Jarrell once wrote; “It is better to entertain an idea than to take it home to live with you for the rest of your life”

Are you dreaming big and inspired?

A la prochaine

SDM

Breakfast Week 1 (file under It’s a Start)

Well my loyal friends. Week one has come and gone. Day one nothing. Day two nothing. Day three we did one breakfast. Day four we did three breakfasts and Day five we did eleven. And all I can say is that it is a start. I have done a couple of Breakfast Sandwiches, a few Eggs Benedict, a couple two eggs, and a few three eggs.

In the first week I learned how much fun it is to wake up at four thirty in the morning. But I found that I quickly got used to it. In fact this morning I woke up before my alarm went off which says to me that my body clock is both still ticking and accurate.

As I said when I mentioned breakfast in the first place. Until it is promoted and people really know about it there is virtually no way it can get off the ground. But I know in my heart of hearts that it is going to work.

The feedback we have gotten in the first week is great. My first Hollandaise in a while was less than stellar due to the fact that the first one I made was a few hours old so I did one on the fly but neglected to add enough acid. As such it wanted to break and was on the verge of breaking on the plate but fortunately it stayed put. I have since then made sure that my Hollandaise is solid and will last all through service.

Other than that everyone has liked Breakfast so far and I know it is going to fly.

Steven Wright once said; “I was at this restaurant. The sign said "Breakfast Anytime." So I ordered French Toast in the Renaissance.”

Are you dreaming big and inspired?

A la prochaine

SDM

Breakfast (file under Damn it was early)

There used to be a time when I would still be ready for the next party at four thirty in the morning. Not waking up to go to work. But that said, it was far easier than I expected. When the alarm went I was somewhere between here and there in a less than memorable or mentionable for that matter dream. I sprung to my feet thinking that if I did so the dream would end. Only I came to realize that this was my new reality. 4:30 am. So I grabbed a cup of Greens Plus (http://www.genuinehealth.com/ ), which I strongly recommend to every one. If you are interested let me know. And then into the shower. Out the door at five to five so I could catch the approximately 5 am streetcar.

I had all kinds of things running through my mind as I locked the car and turned on my Ipod. As there has been next to no promotion of the breakfast I didn’t expect to be busy. In fact as I rode the streetcar I was mentally making my prep lists both for breakfast and lunch. The streetcar became full by Dufferin, which I must say, I found shocking. Who knew that so many people were up to go to work at five in the am.

Getting off at Queen and Yonge I bopped as my Mos Def played most elegantly (and loudly) in my ear. Followed by Jackie Wilson. Man do I love Jackie Wilson. WHAT A VOICE. So I lit my cigarette, still without a coffee in me, and quite happily, sauntered down Yonge Street. Surprisingly I made it from my door to work in forty five minutes. Which in my opinion is not so bad. Nothing that the Ipod, a book and a coffee can’t overcome.

I walked in the door and started the coffee punching in at 5:47 am. I thought to myself how funny it was that this was usually when I was punching out in my younger and more party oriented days. So I went through the mental lists that I had prepared as I got changed. Came out of the change room and went to get a coffee. Only I had forgot to put the basket with the coffee in the coffee maker. Oh no I thought to myself. Is this a sign of the day to come. Luckily it wasn’t.

As I expected we did absolutely no business for breakfast this morning. That does not mean that I didn’t have to complete my prep list though;

Home fries in third pan
Savoury French Toast Batter shallow half pan
Slice Cheddar and Havarti in six pans
Eggs in third pan
Peameal
Bacon
Sausage
Fresh Fruit
Muesli
Pot on for Eggs Benedict
Hollandaise
Clarified Butter
Lettuce
Tomatoes
White and Brown Bread for Toast
Texas Toast for French toast
Sliced Turkey
Basil

These are just some of the things that we had to get done. As we were not busy I started doing lunch prep at the same time. I did fifty pounds of fries, a 20 litre pail of fresh Chips and made a Tomato Basil Bisque.

I know that breakfast is going to work here. It is just going to take us a while to get the word out that we are doing it. While doing breakfast is going to change my schedule quite dramatically, I have to admit that I love that I got to come home, write some blogs (as I will write a couple more today) and do some studying, speak with my lover, C, and just overall get things done. GREAT FEELING!

Og Mandino once wrote; “Welcome every morning with a smile. Look on the new day as another special gift from your Creator, another golden opportunity to complete what you were unable to finish yesterday. Be a self-starter. Let your first hour set the theme of success and positive action that is certain to echo through your entire day. Today will never happen again. Don't waste it with a false start or no start at all. You were not born to fail.”

How true. Are you dreaming big and inspired? Maybe if you wake up early in the morning you’ll find the motivation you need. Not to mention the quiet. It’s never too early to dream.

A la prochaine

SDM

Egg-cited? (file under the things we do)

We keep on hearing in the news about the impending economic doom. While I don’t think, unlike Chicken Little, that the Canadian sky is about to fall, it is undeniable that the economy has seen better days. Unlike all the other naysayers though I don’t feel that this is going to be a long correction. I don’t say this to lessen the impact that the recession will have though I tend to see things as half full rather than half empty.

At Without Reservation, our owner, is a good guy. His concern is less for his own pocket than that of the employees that depend on him to feed themselves, shelter and clothe themselves. As such, as is often the case, when I was having a cigarette with Chef, I looked at him and had a eureka moment. We already have the space. The location is a fixed cost and we currently are not utilizing it to realize our full economic potential. WHY ARE WE NOT DOING BREAKFAST? We are in a location that has a captive early morning customer base (the early morning overseas traders) who catch a bite between their overseas orders and the morning bell.

Chef walked back into the kitchen and approached the owner right away saying that I had had a great idea. What if we did breakfast? At first he seemed unsure. But as I assured him that I would be willing to do all the necessary work he warmed to it. As such I designed a flyer to be distributed in the building and set to work on a menu. Chef and I played back and forth with the menu and with the owners input came up with a menu that seemed both workable and appetizing.

Breakfast is a no brainer to me. Of course it will require me to get up at five in the morning in order to get to work for six. As I said in my last post I’m not making enough hours to survive. As such, by doing breakfast, I will be getting eight hours a day, from six until two and making my survival a little easier.

Breakfast is one of my favorite meals during the day, although most days I don’t get to have one. When C is here I try to cook her a breakfast as much as possible. I love eggs. Bacon. Toast. Omelettes and the like. And moreover, it is another cornerstone of the culinary world that I can get under my belt.

The owner has decided that we are going to give it a good shot. A solid run of two months to prove that it works. I think it will. It just seems to make sense. While I may not necessarily enjoy waking up at five in the morning I will enjoy that I will be able to come home and study for several hours while the sun is up.

Plus, I have a wedding to think about, rent that needs to be paid and food that I need to eat. Survival is not always pretty. But I always have and always will find a way. Plus if breakfast doesn’t work (though I’m sure it will) I always have the opportunity to find a second job in order to ensure that my dream continues on the course it is.

So if any of you know anybody that needs a hardworking, talented, quick study who is a team player and extremely motivated, let me know, cause I might just need that second job. But in the meantime, eggs anyone?

John Gunther once said; “All happiness depends on a leisurely breakfast.” I don’t know about all happiness but certainly some of it.

Are you dreaming big and inspired?

A la prochaine

SDM

More Food Made with Love and a burn or two (File under experiences)

A la Prochaine

SDM

More Food Made with Love and a burn or two (File under experiences)