One of things I find remarkable about where I am is the amount of complaining I am subjected to. To put it in perspective I work in a kitchen with air conditioning. Access to just about anything I want. Every ingredient I could possibly dream of. Good hours. Great pay and so much more. OH AND BENEFITS. There are only a couple of complainers and I tend to just let it go in one ear and out the other.
Today was busy for me. I had a lot of prep to do and had a moderately busy service. But unlike some people I enjoy being busy. I enjoy working and I LOVE WHAT I DO. I am sure that I have mentioned that at least once or twice.
I was so busy today I did not have a chance to work on any specials. But that does not mean I don’t have anything to write about. As I pointed out above I am essentially in the cooks equivalent of paradise. One of the things that I haven’t touched on yet is the fact that I have an endless supply of side towels. Sound silly, well then, let me explain.
I have worked in a ten million dollar a year operation and about a two million dollar a year operation. In both there were efforts by every cook to hide towels to ensure that there was always an availability of towels. You see, Faster Linen, which is the one which we used at both Reservation and Without Reservation, charges an arm and a leg for towels. Quite literally. As such, a seemingly appropriate number of towels would be ordered, but because of hording, come certain days it would be like searching for the Holy Grail to find towels. I know that this may seem trivial to you as people that do not operate inside a professional kitchen, but it is far from trivial, cooks use towels for all sorts of things. To illustrate;
We need towels to handle hot pans, remove things from the oven, wipe down plates and dishes that we are serving, to wipe our hands, to hold our cutting boards in place, to dry certain ingredients, to place between ingredients. I mean the list of things that we use towels for is truly, quite endless.
One of my great joys at The Club is that Towels are NEVER an issue. The club always has a ready supply of side towels because it takes used towels from all over the club, rips them up appropriately and makes them our side towels. It truly is like Manna from heaven Towel Paradise. And I could not be happier.
At Without Reservation, Faster Linen would come twice a week and would deliver far less than we required. I make no judgments but I can tell you that between Tuesday and Friday, either late Wednesday or early Thursday finding a towel was like finding an answer to peace in the Middle East. I shit you not. It literally was. And now at The Club it might as well rain towels because I never have to walk more than six or seven feet to find a fresh one. Such a great feeling. And is quite a distinction in the world of cooks. You don’t need to accept what I’m saying at face value, look at Bourdain, Ramsay, White and Blumenthal, somewhere in their stories of their journey is one of a lack of side towels.
I have a lot on my brain recently. Well, no, actually, ALL THE TIME! I find myself now considering, as I have pointed out here, the possibility of traveling to learn new cuisines in order to enhance offerings at The Club. I am still a ways away from asking but it is on my mind.
I have a few other things that I am considering currently, but, it is too early to let you in on it.
Are you dreaming big and inspired. I know that I end my posts this way and lately I have been saying how can I help you. I am not saying this just to say it. If you have an idea and need to work it out, I am here for you. The greatest gift I gave myself is pursuing my dreams honestly, with my eyes and ears open, to be the me that I know I am. If I can help you, I am not hard to find. Please do.
Harriet Tubman once said; “Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” I know, just as I do, you all have it within you. DREAM ON! DREAM BIG! DREAM INSPIRED!
A la prochaine
SDM
Showing posts with label Without Reservation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Without Reservation. Show all posts
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Starting from Scratch (file under New Beginnings)
So again my friends, here I stand on the precipice of something new, wonderful and exciting. One of my favorite authors, F. Scott Fitzgerald once wrote; “Vitality shows in not only the ability to persist but the ability to start over.”
It has been one year, two months and eighteen days since I started this wonderful journey that I am on. I have worked in two different kitchens which have given me a good foundation from which to build. And now I find myself in the enviable position of starting anew in a great kitchen, where, with the knowledge I have gained, I know I need to stay and grow organically to best achieve the result I want. I am grateful to both Reservation and Without Reservation for giving me the opportunity to work with them, to learn and to grow. Each has a place in my heart and in my tale.
Today, I am readying myself for the new job at The Club which starts tomorrow. I had a meeting with Executive Chef and the Sous Chef that I will be working under on Thursday. Rather than writing about it immediately I wanted it all to sink in before I wrote a commentary.
To prepare for the meeting I went out and bought myself a treat! It is my intent (and I have been working on It for about a month now) to make sure that I am in great health for my wedding. I have started doing push ups and sit ups and have now added to my regiment by buying myself a pair of rollerblades to get to and from work. Excited doesn’t even begin to cover it.
The meeting went extremely well. I filled out some paper work and got a great tour of the facilities. Being introduced to the Sous Chef that I am to work under I was kind of shocked at his lack of animation. Here he was responsible for the inner working of a sizable kitchen and he exhibited the same kind of Zen like calm that Director of Operations did at Reservation. It was something that caused me to start thinking. I will expound on my thoughts later.
I became excited to be joining the team even before the meeting but after it I was thrilled. I am being paid a fair wage, am entering an environment which is extremely stable, where I can learn everyday, where I am part of a team, which will guarantee that I get a minimum of eighty hours per pay period, which leaves me with time in my day to do the many things that I do outside of the kitchen which are part of my learning experience. These are just some of the great things, what’s more, BENEFITS, they will pay for courses that I choose to take which I get a 75% or higher mark in. They reward attendance and promote from within. Do you get that I am a little excited?
I have a game plan for my time at The Club. I know what I need to do. I know what I need to be and Zen like is going to play a big part in it. I have learned valuable lessons from my experiences in the kitchen and plan on putting all of them to use in my new position. Officially I am First Cook and man is that exciting.
I know that I have found myself a place where I can learn and grow which nullifies some of the concerns that I have had to date. I look forward to becoming a member of the team and putting into action everything that I have learned in the past year and three months.
So the ride is going to get a little more interesting for me. And thus, for you.
Dante Alighieri once wrote; “Consider your origin; you were not born to live like brutes, but to follow virtue and knowledge.”
It has become time for me to release the sometimes brutish nature of my own existence in order to become a better man, a better son, a better brother, a better lover, a better friend and a better member of humanity. I look forward to the challenges that lie ahead and recognize the opportunity in each and every one of them.
Are you dreaming big and inspired?
A la prochaine
SDM
It has been one year, two months and eighteen days since I started this wonderful journey that I am on. I have worked in two different kitchens which have given me a good foundation from which to build. And now I find myself in the enviable position of starting anew in a great kitchen, where, with the knowledge I have gained, I know I need to stay and grow organically to best achieve the result I want. I am grateful to both Reservation and Without Reservation for giving me the opportunity to work with them, to learn and to grow. Each has a place in my heart and in my tale.
Today, I am readying myself for the new job at The Club which starts tomorrow. I had a meeting with Executive Chef and the Sous Chef that I will be working under on Thursday. Rather than writing about it immediately I wanted it all to sink in before I wrote a commentary.
To prepare for the meeting I went out and bought myself a treat! It is my intent (and I have been working on It for about a month now) to make sure that I am in great health for my wedding. I have started doing push ups and sit ups and have now added to my regiment by buying myself a pair of rollerblades to get to and from work. Excited doesn’t even begin to cover it.
The meeting went extremely well. I filled out some paper work and got a great tour of the facilities. Being introduced to the Sous Chef that I am to work under I was kind of shocked at his lack of animation. Here he was responsible for the inner working of a sizable kitchen and he exhibited the same kind of Zen like calm that Director of Operations did at Reservation. It was something that caused me to start thinking. I will expound on my thoughts later.
I became excited to be joining the team even before the meeting but after it I was thrilled. I am being paid a fair wage, am entering an environment which is extremely stable, where I can learn everyday, where I am part of a team, which will guarantee that I get a minimum of eighty hours per pay period, which leaves me with time in my day to do the many things that I do outside of the kitchen which are part of my learning experience. These are just some of the great things, what’s more, BENEFITS, they will pay for courses that I choose to take which I get a 75% or higher mark in. They reward attendance and promote from within. Do you get that I am a little excited?
I have a game plan for my time at The Club. I know what I need to do. I know what I need to be and Zen like is going to play a big part in it. I have learned valuable lessons from my experiences in the kitchen and plan on putting all of them to use in my new position. Officially I am First Cook and man is that exciting.
I know that I have found myself a place where I can learn and grow which nullifies some of the concerns that I have had to date. I look forward to becoming a member of the team and putting into action everything that I have learned in the past year and three months.
So the ride is going to get a little more interesting for me. And thus, for you.
Dante Alighieri once wrote; “Consider your origin; you were not born to live like brutes, but to follow virtue and knowledge.”
It has become time for me to release the sometimes brutish nature of my own existence in order to become a better man, a better son, a better brother, a better lover, a better friend and a better member of humanity. I look forward to the challenges that lie ahead and recognize the opportunity in each and every one of them.
Are you dreaming big and inspired?
A la prochaine
SDM
Monday, March 30, 2009
Open the door (file under Ever the Optimist)
The great Greek orator and statesmen Demosthenes (whom I was once referred to as ) once said; “Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises.”
I could not agree more.
Last week I wrote about the occasion of the Executive Chef at what I will call The Club and I meeting. It was a great meet and greet which enabled us both to determine whether or not there was an opportunity for me at The Club and sure enough on Friday last, while speaking with Executive Chef, I was asked if I would like to come aboard.
Would I? An opportunity to join a great kitchen. To have steady, stable and regular work. No more of this splits stuff barely making forty hours a week. With benefits. Naturally it was a no brainer for me after consulting with a few people in my life.
Naturally, when I awoke on Saturday morning I sat in front of the computer and wrote my resignation letter. I thanked Chef for the opportunity to work with him. When I handed in my letter, rather than having him read it, I let him know that it was my letter of resignation and I think he had to know it was coming. Without Reservation was about to start slowing down for the summer and it would be impossible for me to survive on the hours I would be getting.
It was a great opportunity to work at Without Reservation. It gave me many lessons which I have internalized and will take with me for the rest of my life. I have come to realize more about myself and my dream as a result of my time there. Not to mention that I gained extremely valuable line experience in a busy downtown restaurant which gave me a great starting point from which to grow into a great line cook.
I now find myself in the enviable position that I have a week to transition before starting the next chapter in my dream saga. It is going to give me the time to put keystroke to paper on some ideas that I have had but had little opportunity to work on.
I am excited for this opportunity. To continue to grow on this path that I started only a year and a half ago.
Winston Churchill once wrote; “The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”
I just want to remind everyone that I am now answering any and all cooking/kitchen related questions at www.askachefintrianing.blogspot.com . You can email questions to me at askachefintraining@gmail.com.
Are you dreaming big and inspired?
A la prochaine
SDM
I could not agree more.
Last week I wrote about the occasion of the Executive Chef at what I will call The Club and I meeting. It was a great meet and greet which enabled us both to determine whether or not there was an opportunity for me at The Club and sure enough on Friday last, while speaking with Executive Chef, I was asked if I would like to come aboard.
Would I? An opportunity to join a great kitchen. To have steady, stable and regular work. No more of this splits stuff barely making forty hours a week. With benefits. Naturally it was a no brainer for me after consulting with a few people in my life.
Naturally, when I awoke on Saturday morning I sat in front of the computer and wrote my resignation letter. I thanked Chef for the opportunity to work with him. When I handed in my letter, rather than having him read it, I let him know that it was my letter of resignation and I think he had to know it was coming. Without Reservation was about to start slowing down for the summer and it would be impossible for me to survive on the hours I would be getting.
It was a great opportunity to work at Without Reservation. It gave me many lessons which I have internalized and will take with me for the rest of my life. I have come to realize more about myself and my dream as a result of my time there. Not to mention that I gained extremely valuable line experience in a busy downtown restaurant which gave me a great starting point from which to grow into a great line cook.
I now find myself in the enviable position that I have a week to transition before starting the next chapter in my dream saga. It is going to give me the time to put keystroke to paper on some ideas that I have had but had little opportunity to work on.
I am excited for this opportunity. To continue to grow on this path that I started only a year and a half ago.
Winston Churchill once wrote; “The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”
I just want to remind everyone that I am now answering any and all cooking/kitchen related questions at www.askachefintrianing.blogspot.com . You can email questions to me at askachefintraining@gmail.com.
Are you dreaming big and inspired?
A la prochaine
SDM
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
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
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
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Camaraderie (file under Kitchen Love)
At least two or three times I have written about the camaraderie that develops in a kitchen. It is a bond of brothers and sisters that come together to complete a task together in the most beautiful and wonderful ways. But that camaraderie is not limited to just the kitchen in which you work.
Currently, at Without Reservation, when I go out for a smoke, I am facing the smoking area of another kitchen. A couple of times a day I will see their Pastry Chef, or Sous Chef or just some of the line cooks doing the same thing that I am, having a cigarette and working through whatever needs to be worked through that day.
There is the normal small chitchat but then there are also conversations which reveal the true camaraderie of the kitchen. I have been speaking with the Sous Chef and Pastry Chef there since I started at Without Reservation. They constantly give me good advice and are interested in my progress in the kitchen. This also filters down to the line cooks as well. I am struck by the camaraderie that develops.
It is a nice feeling to escape the constantly balmy thirty five degrees of the kitchen and to have a conversation with someone for a minute or two, or five as the case may be.
This experience has led me to believe that there is an unspoken bond between kitchens the world over. Anthony Bourdain has spoken about this many times too. Perhaps it is because we are all in the joyous suffering of burns, cuts, scrapes and failed experiments. Perhaps it is the cigarette or perhaps, maybe, just maybe, it is something deeper. Something more human. Something spiritual which transcends our humanity and instead highlights our shared experience and makes us reach for one another. I’m not sure what it is. But I can tell you this, it makes me feel extremely happy to know that this exists outside of the military or a hockey team.
Moreover, in going back to Reservation this week, I felt as if that camaraderie still exists even when people move on. I don’t think it is true in every case, but certainly, it would appear, in mine.
Just something that I’ve been meaning to write about for a while.
Todd English once said; “I liked the energy of cooking, the action, the camaraderie. I often compare the kitchen to sports and compare the chef to a coach. There are a lot of similarities to it.”
Are you dreaming big and inspired?
A la prochaine
SDM
Currently, at Without Reservation, when I go out for a smoke, I am facing the smoking area of another kitchen. A couple of times a day I will see their Pastry Chef, or Sous Chef or just some of the line cooks doing the same thing that I am, having a cigarette and working through whatever needs to be worked through that day.
There is the normal small chitchat but then there are also conversations which reveal the true camaraderie of the kitchen. I have been speaking with the Sous Chef and Pastry Chef there since I started at Without Reservation. They constantly give me good advice and are interested in my progress in the kitchen. This also filters down to the line cooks as well. I am struck by the camaraderie that develops.
It is a nice feeling to escape the constantly balmy thirty five degrees of the kitchen and to have a conversation with someone for a minute or two, or five as the case may be.
This experience has led me to believe that there is an unspoken bond between kitchens the world over. Anthony Bourdain has spoken about this many times too. Perhaps it is because we are all in the joyous suffering of burns, cuts, scrapes and failed experiments. Perhaps it is the cigarette or perhaps, maybe, just maybe, it is something deeper. Something more human. Something spiritual which transcends our humanity and instead highlights our shared experience and makes us reach for one another. I’m not sure what it is. But I can tell you this, it makes me feel extremely happy to know that this exists outside of the military or a hockey team.
Moreover, in going back to Reservation this week, I felt as if that camaraderie still exists even when people move on. I don’t think it is true in every case, but certainly, it would appear, in mine.
Just something that I’ve been meaning to write about for a while.
Todd English once said; “I liked the energy of cooking, the action, the camaraderie. I often compare the kitchen to sports and compare the chef to a coach. There are a lot of similarities to it.”
Are you dreaming big and inspired?
A la prochaine
SDM
Monday, January 26, 2009
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
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
Survival (file under Dreams ain’t always easy)
When I left Reservation to join Without Reservation though I was working a ridiculous number of hours I was making enough money to live. Currently I have been working less hours (last week because I was sick) and this week because we are in a period of transition. It is difficult given my current hours to survive. By survive I mean pay my rent, get to and from work, buy cigarettes and groceries. This will change and I will use the next post to explain how. However, I know that if the hours remain what they are I will have to search out a second job so that I can afford to live.
When I moved to without Reservation I was under the impression (as that was what I was assured because I knew I could not live on less than I was making at Reservation) that I would get between forty and fifty hours a week. As it stands I have been lucky to get between thirty five and forty five hours a week. Of course it always appears that the grass is greener and in this case (for the time being) it is. But it would really be difficult for me to get a second job just to meet my survival and continue the level of intensive studying that I have been doing.
But nobody ever said that living your dream was going to be easy. Nor should it be. I have and will always find a way.
Ella Wheeler Wilcox once wrote; “There is no chance, no destiny, no fate, that can circumvent or hinder or control the firm resolve of a determined soul.”
Is there any doubt for any of you that I am not determined? I know that I am and that I will get to where I need to go for myself.
Are you dreaming big and inspired?
A la prochaine
SDM
When I moved to without Reservation I was under the impression (as that was what I was assured because I knew I could not live on less than I was making at Reservation) that I would get between forty and fifty hours a week. As it stands I have been lucky to get between thirty five and forty five hours a week. Of course it always appears that the grass is greener and in this case (for the time being) it is. But it would really be difficult for me to get a second job just to meet my survival and continue the level of intensive studying that I have been doing.
But nobody ever said that living your dream was going to be easy. Nor should it be. I have and will always find a way.
Ella Wheeler Wilcox once wrote; “There is no chance, no destiny, no fate, that can circumvent or hinder or control the firm resolve of a determined soul.”
Is there any doubt for any of you that I am not determined? I know that I am and that I will get to where I need to go for myself.
Are you dreaming big and inspired?
A la prochaine
SDM
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Days like These (File under Mama Said There’d Be)
I had a rough day. Personally rough because I had to challenge my own person. I had to decide very quickly whether I would allow the demons deep within my soul to take control of my outward manifestations OR whether I would exercise some self restraint and learn something in the process.
We have a very hands on owner at Without Reservation. He does a lot of the expediting during lunch service and he has a bit of a problem, in that, he likes to jump chits and send out food that has been prepared for another bill. But first by way of explanation.
When a chit comes in the entire kitchen works in tandem to ensure that the bill is completed, in full, at the same time. Chef will call out a bill number and let us know the amount of time that is required for the longest element of that bill. It then becomes our challenge, task or obstacle, whatever you want to call it, to ensure that WE deliver within that time frame. Thus you can imagine what happens if an element of one bill is “jumped” and sent to another bill. The finely choreographed ballet soon looks like amateur hour at the community kitchen. AND I DON’T WANT THAT… EVER!
At lunch today I personally sent out sixty meals (approximately). SIXTY MEALS. At my busiest I was preparing eight different sandwiches and sides, two Penne and a Spaghetti. All of which was being done to coincide with the Chefs’ call. I put up the food that I could as I was finishing off the Penne and soon looked up in horror as my Spaghetti and a couple of the sandwiches had been shifted from bills that I was working to bills that had just come in. This was done ostensibly to finish off a bill quickly. Yes, it finished the bill of quickly, but, on the other hand, it screwed up three or four other bills that caused me to have to come up, on the fly, with a way to complete those bills.
The problem is quite simple. Chicken only cooks so quickly. It wouldn’t matter whether it was Chicken or Fish or Pasta. The principle is the same. When you are working in a fast paced environment such as a lunch service, you learn how to divide your time appropriately to make sure that you never are the problem with a bill. However, when a bill is jumped and the food that you have prepared for that bill is sent out it causes you an enormous amount of stress because you never want to let your Chef down.
I am Irish and Scottish. Which means by my very heritage, I have been known, to have a temper. That temper usually manifests itself in a lyrical tirade that may or may not be lost on the recipient but the intent is quite plain. At numerous points during lunch today, perhaps as many as six or seven, I would have loved to let my mind be known verbally. Instead, much to my amazement and intense pleasure, I swallowed my anger and did my best to fulfill the orders that were my responsibility. I came very close, a couple of times, to letting go, but I did not.
Thus I have in the process become a better man, a better cook and will become a better Chef down the road because of it. Believe me when I say though that my fellow cooks were aware of my anger through some of my actions. After all actions do speak louder than words. There is a certain sound that a pan makes when it hits a sink in anger. Needless to say that sound was heard quite a few times through service.
After service I went outside and could see that Chef was angry. I asked what was up. He kept it internalized and I knew it wasn’t me. As I took a deep drag of my cigarette I mentioned my displeasure with what had happened during service. He noted my displeasure and let me know that it would be resolved in the near future.
As I sit and write this now I am thrilled with two things that happened today. One because of something that Executive Chef said to me as I was leaving Reservation. “Ferme la porte.” THANK YOU CHEF! A valuable lesson and one which I am learning is absolutely right. The second is that I am in control of my destiny, my personal response and my future.
For the longest time I would blame my heritage for the way that I was. NO LONGER! I am in control of me. As such I need to wage a battle with my mistaken beliefs and hold dominion over my reaction and response to the world around me. All in all, I think that today was a valuable day of personal awareness. And the more I analyze it, the better I feel.
All I could think about when I wanted to explode were the following quotes, 3 in fact;
Seneca once said; “Most powerful is he who has himself in his own power.”
Lord Alfred Tennyson said; “The happiness of a man in this life does not consist in the absence but in the mastery of his passions.”
Jack Kerouac; “My fault, my failure, is not in the passions I have, but in my lack of control of them.”
Food for thought. Don’t you think?
There is an old Asian Proverb which states; He that will not reflect is a ruined man.
Are you dreaming big and inspired?
A la prochaine
SDM
We have a very hands on owner at Without Reservation. He does a lot of the expediting during lunch service and he has a bit of a problem, in that, he likes to jump chits and send out food that has been prepared for another bill. But first by way of explanation.
When a chit comes in the entire kitchen works in tandem to ensure that the bill is completed, in full, at the same time. Chef will call out a bill number and let us know the amount of time that is required for the longest element of that bill. It then becomes our challenge, task or obstacle, whatever you want to call it, to ensure that WE deliver within that time frame. Thus you can imagine what happens if an element of one bill is “jumped” and sent to another bill. The finely choreographed ballet soon looks like amateur hour at the community kitchen. AND I DON’T WANT THAT… EVER!
At lunch today I personally sent out sixty meals (approximately). SIXTY MEALS. At my busiest I was preparing eight different sandwiches and sides, two Penne and a Spaghetti. All of which was being done to coincide with the Chefs’ call. I put up the food that I could as I was finishing off the Penne and soon looked up in horror as my Spaghetti and a couple of the sandwiches had been shifted from bills that I was working to bills that had just come in. This was done ostensibly to finish off a bill quickly. Yes, it finished the bill of quickly, but, on the other hand, it screwed up three or four other bills that caused me to have to come up, on the fly, with a way to complete those bills.
The problem is quite simple. Chicken only cooks so quickly. It wouldn’t matter whether it was Chicken or Fish or Pasta. The principle is the same. When you are working in a fast paced environment such as a lunch service, you learn how to divide your time appropriately to make sure that you never are the problem with a bill. However, when a bill is jumped and the food that you have prepared for that bill is sent out it causes you an enormous amount of stress because you never want to let your Chef down.
I am Irish and Scottish. Which means by my very heritage, I have been known, to have a temper. That temper usually manifests itself in a lyrical tirade that may or may not be lost on the recipient but the intent is quite plain. At numerous points during lunch today, perhaps as many as six or seven, I would have loved to let my mind be known verbally. Instead, much to my amazement and intense pleasure, I swallowed my anger and did my best to fulfill the orders that were my responsibility. I came very close, a couple of times, to letting go, but I did not.
Thus I have in the process become a better man, a better cook and will become a better Chef down the road because of it. Believe me when I say though that my fellow cooks were aware of my anger through some of my actions. After all actions do speak louder than words. There is a certain sound that a pan makes when it hits a sink in anger. Needless to say that sound was heard quite a few times through service.
After service I went outside and could see that Chef was angry. I asked what was up. He kept it internalized and I knew it wasn’t me. As I took a deep drag of my cigarette I mentioned my displeasure with what had happened during service. He noted my displeasure and let me know that it would be resolved in the near future.
As I sit and write this now I am thrilled with two things that happened today. One because of something that Executive Chef said to me as I was leaving Reservation. “Ferme la porte.” THANK YOU CHEF! A valuable lesson and one which I am learning is absolutely right. The second is that I am in control of my destiny, my personal response and my future.
For the longest time I would blame my heritage for the way that I was. NO LONGER! I am in control of me. As such I need to wage a battle with my mistaken beliefs and hold dominion over my reaction and response to the world around me. All in all, I think that today was a valuable day of personal awareness. And the more I analyze it, the better I feel.
All I could think about when I wanted to explode were the following quotes, 3 in fact;
Seneca once said; “Most powerful is he who has himself in his own power.”
Lord Alfred Tennyson said; “The happiness of a man in this life does not consist in the absence but in the mastery of his passions.”
Jack Kerouac; “My fault, my failure, is not in the passions I have, but in my lack of control of them.”
Food for thought. Don’t you think?
There is an old Asian Proverb which states; He that will not reflect is a ruined man.
Are you dreaming big and inspired?
A la prochaine
SDM
Sunday, December 14, 2008
We Show Up (file under the show must go on)
Obviously with C home our social calendar is filling up more rapidly than the loss prevention room at Macy’s during the Christmas season. Of course you need to be able to balance work with play but sometimes you play a little much and have the choice of calling in dead (not really an option) or doing what every other person longing to be a chef does; SHOW UP!
Friday night C and I were at our good friends C and L. I finished work around 9 as we had a four course dinner party for forty which I addressed in the previous post. After work I had a pint of Guinness while I waited for C. We went to our friends place and drank and had an all around good time until around six am. Fortunately I didn’t have to be at work until three but even still though my head was clear my body was revolting a bit. As such I showed up to work early and made myself the best body repair dish I could after a night of debauchery, a grilled vegetable sandwich with Brie on pannini and truffle scented Poutine. SO GOOD! After that I felt like a million bucks.
One by one the brigade started filing in and it became immediately clear that we all had punished ourselves with a great time the night before. When Chef came in he looked like I felt. He, like most Chefs, suffers from sometimes debilitating arthritis and as such was not only hung over but in any extraordinary amount of pain. As such I immediately stepped up to the plate to make sure that everything ran smoothly.
There were only three of us to run the kitchen as Chef worked on paper work. We ended up not being overly busy but still had a lot to do. I ended up with some assistance from the Garde basically working the front line by myself. I did approximately fourteen steaks, a few chicken, six salmon, five penne, three ravioli, a few grilled veg sandwiches and a whole lot more.
Everything was running smoothly up until the last few orders when my eyes started failing me and I was reading the chits wrong. But, as any self respecting Chef would do I found a way to overcome the problem quickly. On two chits I read the order as if there was only one steak and one salmon. In fact there were two. As such, on the fly, and quickly, I had to get a medium salmon and a medium steak out. Almost without thought I seasoned both of them and put them on the grill to mark them. (By the way this is not the preferred method of cooking but it worked). As food had already gone out to the table I had to get this done quickly. After grill marking them I threw them under the salamander and was able to get them out to the table in less than four minutes after discovering my screw up. I apologized profusely to the waiter as it was my fault and not his that I misread the chit.
When I asked for a quality check after getting it out quickly he let me know that they were very happy, said the food tasted great and had no problem with the slight delay in food getting out.
I credit Reservation with giving me the ability to think quickly on my feet. Both Executive Chef and Director of Operations (not to mention A who has been invaluable to my progression) with teaching me that you need to overcome obstacles quickly. By using your head and not loosing your cool. So I thank all three of you for aiding me in overcoming the obstacles I faced last night.
In the end I have to admit that I feel amazing about being able, despite being somewhat hung over, being able to quickly address a problem. The whole night went off exceptionally well minus the two hiccups and I made sure to thank both the front of house and the brigade for their great work.
The night also gave me an extraordinary opportunity to learn. From our mistakes we learn much more than from our successes and the lessons stay with us for a lifetime. When I take the time to analyze where I was when I started this journey and where I am today I have come to realize that not only am I in the right industry, but I can and will achieve my goal.
After shutting down the kitchen I went to the front of house where the owner was. I had taken the time during the day to make a very special egg Nog which we were giving to the staff as a thank you when they were done their shifts. Walking out I felt very good about our week and what we had accomplished. The owner had the bartender pour me a double eggnog and he thanked me for the week. He let me know that we broke his previous sales record, not just broke it, but smashed it. As I pounded my first egg Nog and grabbed the rum to pour myself another, I felt satisfied that Chef and I and the brigade are starting to make a difference. All the more remarkable when you consider that many restaurants are soon going to feel the pinch of tightened pockets and financial restraint.
The great Canadian actress Mary Pickford once said; “If you have made mistakes, there is always another chance for you. You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing we call 'failure' is not the falling down, but the staying down.”
Are you dreaming big and inspired? START TODAY!
A la prochaine
SDM
Friday night C and I were at our good friends C and L. I finished work around 9 as we had a four course dinner party for forty which I addressed in the previous post. After work I had a pint of Guinness while I waited for C. We went to our friends place and drank and had an all around good time until around six am. Fortunately I didn’t have to be at work until three but even still though my head was clear my body was revolting a bit. As such I showed up to work early and made myself the best body repair dish I could after a night of debauchery, a grilled vegetable sandwich with Brie on pannini and truffle scented Poutine. SO GOOD! After that I felt like a million bucks.
One by one the brigade started filing in and it became immediately clear that we all had punished ourselves with a great time the night before. When Chef came in he looked like I felt. He, like most Chefs, suffers from sometimes debilitating arthritis and as such was not only hung over but in any extraordinary amount of pain. As such I immediately stepped up to the plate to make sure that everything ran smoothly.
There were only three of us to run the kitchen as Chef worked on paper work. We ended up not being overly busy but still had a lot to do. I ended up with some assistance from the Garde basically working the front line by myself. I did approximately fourteen steaks, a few chicken, six salmon, five penne, three ravioli, a few grilled veg sandwiches and a whole lot more.
Everything was running smoothly up until the last few orders when my eyes started failing me and I was reading the chits wrong. But, as any self respecting Chef would do I found a way to overcome the problem quickly. On two chits I read the order as if there was only one steak and one salmon. In fact there were two. As such, on the fly, and quickly, I had to get a medium salmon and a medium steak out. Almost without thought I seasoned both of them and put them on the grill to mark them. (By the way this is not the preferred method of cooking but it worked). As food had already gone out to the table I had to get this done quickly. After grill marking them I threw them under the salamander and was able to get them out to the table in less than four minutes after discovering my screw up. I apologized profusely to the waiter as it was my fault and not his that I misread the chit.
When I asked for a quality check after getting it out quickly he let me know that they were very happy, said the food tasted great and had no problem with the slight delay in food getting out.
I credit Reservation with giving me the ability to think quickly on my feet. Both Executive Chef and Director of Operations (not to mention A who has been invaluable to my progression) with teaching me that you need to overcome obstacles quickly. By using your head and not loosing your cool. So I thank all three of you for aiding me in overcoming the obstacles I faced last night.
In the end I have to admit that I feel amazing about being able, despite being somewhat hung over, being able to quickly address a problem. The whole night went off exceptionally well minus the two hiccups and I made sure to thank both the front of house and the brigade for their great work.
The night also gave me an extraordinary opportunity to learn. From our mistakes we learn much more than from our successes and the lessons stay with us for a lifetime. When I take the time to analyze where I was when I started this journey and where I am today I have come to realize that not only am I in the right industry, but I can and will achieve my goal.
After shutting down the kitchen I went to the front of house where the owner was. I had taken the time during the day to make a very special egg Nog which we were giving to the staff as a thank you when they were done their shifts. Walking out I felt very good about our week and what we had accomplished. The owner had the bartender pour me a double eggnog and he thanked me for the week. He let me know that we broke his previous sales record, not just broke it, but smashed it. As I pounded my first egg Nog and grabbed the rum to pour myself another, I felt satisfied that Chef and I and the brigade are starting to make a difference. All the more remarkable when you consider that many restaurants are soon going to feel the pinch of tightened pockets and financial restraint.
The great Canadian actress Mary Pickford once said; “If you have made mistakes, there is always another chance for you. You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing we call 'failure' is not the falling down, but the staying down.”
Are you dreaming big and inspired? START TODAY!
A la prochaine
SDM
Four Course Dinner Party for Forty (file under differences between current and past reality)
This year I have been a piece in the puzzle of joyful occasions for approximately six or seven thousand people. When I do my yearly roundup in middle January I can give you a more specific number but for the purposes of this post I believe that number will suffice.
At Reservation the function or banquet team had delivering happiness down to a science. L and I worked tirelessly to ensure that we made food look and taste good. We knew without thinking because of the number of functions that we worked how to do things and make the show run smoothly. I have to admit, I kind of miss the well oiled machine that was our function team. We could do functions at Reservation for twenty five as well as we did for six hundred or even double that.
So on Friday night at Without Reservation on top of our regular service we had a four course meal for forty, which incidentally, was going at the height of service, which made it rather interesting.
Simple set up, salad, soup, mains and desert. Salad was either a Caesar or house salad. Soup was a tomato herb. Main choices were steak, chicken or salmon and desert was crème brûlée. Chef and I have had experience doing parties like this and have it down to a second nature.
In order to smoothly run a function there are certain things that must be done in order to ensure that the food is good, the service is good and that it goes well. From our end Chef and I and the brigade knew what we were doing and how to do it. The Front of House well that is a whole different matter.
At Reservation it was a well oiled machine. Everyone knew their respective roles and how to fulfill to the best of our abilities. I feel that at Without Reservation the Front of House staff does not necessarily have much experience with doing parties such as this. And it showed.
To my eye, orders did not go smoothly. The count initially was wrong which adversely affects our ability to put out the right amount of proteins in a timely fashion. Naturally Chef and I were able to deal with it but it is my observation. So rather than having a coherent order sheet we had to three separate times try to figure out the front of house notations and in fact walk them through giving us the information in a meaningful way so that we could do our job. It worked out fine though and just took us a few shakes of the tree to get it right with the front of house. THIS IS NOT CRITICISM, it is OBSERVATION and more over is something that Chef and I will be able to correct going forward based on our experience.
The food we put out looked good, tasted great and was well received by the customer. He and his team will be back which is always a nice feeling. Compliments were sent from the client to the kitchen and I felt pretty good about what we accomplished.
Samuel Johnson once said; “Art and nature have stores inexhaustible by human intellects; and every moment produces something new to him who has quickened his faculties by diligent observation”
Are you dreaming big and inspired?
A la prochaine
SDM
At Reservation the function or banquet team had delivering happiness down to a science. L and I worked tirelessly to ensure that we made food look and taste good. We knew without thinking because of the number of functions that we worked how to do things and make the show run smoothly. I have to admit, I kind of miss the well oiled machine that was our function team. We could do functions at Reservation for twenty five as well as we did for six hundred or even double that.
So on Friday night at Without Reservation on top of our regular service we had a four course meal for forty, which incidentally, was going at the height of service, which made it rather interesting.
Simple set up, salad, soup, mains and desert. Salad was either a Caesar or house salad. Soup was a tomato herb. Main choices were steak, chicken or salmon and desert was crème brûlée. Chef and I have had experience doing parties like this and have it down to a second nature.
In order to smoothly run a function there are certain things that must be done in order to ensure that the food is good, the service is good and that it goes well. From our end Chef and I and the brigade knew what we were doing and how to do it. The Front of House well that is a whole different matter.
At Reservation it was a well oiled machine. Everyone knew their respective roles and how to fulfill to the best of our abilities. I feel that at Without Reservation the Front of House staff does not necessarily have much experience with doing parties such as this. And it showed.
To my eye, orders did not go smoothly. The count initially was wrong which adversely affects our ability to put out the right amount of proteins in a timely fashion. Naturally Chef and I were able to deal with it but it is my observation. So rather than having a coherent order sheet we had to three separate times try to figure out the front of house notations and in fact walk them through giving us the information in a meaningful way so that we could do our job. It worked out fine though and just took us a few shakes of the tree to get it right with the front of house. THIS IS NOT CRITICISM, it is OBSERVATION and more over is something that Chef and I will be able to correct going forward based on our experience.
The food we put out looked good, tasted great and was well received by the customer. He and his team will be back which is always a nice feeling. Compliments were sent from the client to the kitchen and I felt pretty good about what we accomplished.
Samuel Johnson once said; “Art and nature have stores inexhaustible by human intellects; and every moment produces something new to him who has quickened his faculties by diligent observation”
Are you dreaming big and inspired?
A la prochaine
SDM
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Politics (file under No, not going back… just considerations)
Machiavelli once wrote; “The more sand that has escaped from the hourglass of our life, the clearer we should see through it.” How true?
When I was working at Reservation there was a fair amount of politics. The politics that existed between the front of the house and the back of the house. The politics that occurred between the entire front of the house. That of the back of the house. That of suppliers. Customers, etc. Politics abounds everywhere.
One of the things that always occurs to me is that in our society we exist largely in a meritocracy. I say largely because in theory we exist only in a meritocracy. Though both you and I know that this is far from true in any meaningful sense. Although it is a great idea to cling to.
At Reservation, there was an excessive amount of politics. There were those that were the elite and were treated as such. Then there were the plebes and then the slaves. As I look back at it now, though a good experience, I was nothing more than a slave. Please understand that this is nothing more than an observation. I was a willing participant and allowed myself to be taken advantage of. What that says about me is a whole different matter.
Now, at Without Reservation, I am watching as the ugly face of politics is trying to unseat the very real progress that I have made. The disconnect between the front of house and back of house is a little less so than it was at Reservation. However, the politics at Without Reservation seem somehow more vitriolic. More designed to instill pain and suffering and in my opinion it is because of a complete lack of understanding as to how a kitchen runs.
There are always going to be differences between colleagues for any number of reasons that are too many to list here but I am considering each and every one of them. As I am getting older I am able (for perhaps the first time in my life) to remove myself from the rabble rousing and saber rattling. For the most part because engaging in the politics of the workplace does absolutely nothing to help me, to advance my career or to help me get to where I am going. As a point of personal privilege here I would also like to say that I don’t consider what I am doing as a career. I think it is a personal choice that I have made to bring happiness, joy, satisfaction and the like into my life.
My fervent desire is that I see the political issues lesson as time goes forward. My belief is that they probably won’t. However, knowing this arms me with a massive amount of knowledge and leaves me the ability to formulate my next move. A lot like chess or war really. What would Sun Tzu say?
At any rate, as I consider this, I know that I am becoming something closer to what I have always longed to be. And though we are all political animals (in the Animal Farm Napoleon kind of way) I think that my lack of participation in the entanglements of politics is actually making me a better person.
Orwell wrote in Animal Farm; "All that year the animals worked like slaves. But they were happy in their work; they grudged no effort or sacrifice, well aware that everything they did was for the benefit of themselves and those of their kind who would come after them, and not for a pack of idle, thieving human beings."
Are you dreaming big and inspired?
A la prochaine
SDM
When I was working at Reservation there was a fair amount of politics. The politics that existed between the front of the house and the back of the house. The politics that occurred between the entire front of the house. That of the back of the house. That of suppliers. Customers, etc. Politics abounds everywhere.
One of the things that always occurs to me is that in our society we exist largely in a meritocracy. I say largely because in theory we exist only in a meritocracy. Though both you and I know that this is far from true in any meaningful sense. Although it is a great idea to cling to.
At Reservation, there was an excessive amount of politics. There were those that were the elite and were treated as such. Then there were the plebes and then the slaves. As I look back at it now, though a good experience, I was nothing more than a slave. Please understand that this is nothing more than an observation. I was a willing participant and allowed myself to be taken advantage of. What that says about me is a whole different matter.
Now, at Without Reservation, I am watching as the ugly face of politics is trying to unseat the very real progress that I have made. The disconnect between the front of house and back of house is a little less so than it was at Reservation. However, the politics at Without Reservation seem somehow more vitriolic. More designed to instill pain and suffering and in my opinion it is because of a complete lack of understanding as to how a kitchen runs.
There are always going to be differences between colleagues for any number of reasons that are too many to list here but I am considering each and every one of them. As I am getting older I am able (for perhaps the first time in my life) to remove myself from the rabble rousing and saber rattling. For the most part because engaging in the politics of the workplace does absolutely nothing to help me, to advance my career or to help me get to where I am going. As a point of personal privilege here I would also like to say that I don’t consider what I am doing as a career. I think it is a personal choice that I have made to bring happiness, joy, satisfaction and the like into my life.
My fervent desire is that I see the political issues lesson as time goes forward. My belief is that they probably won’t. However, knowing this arms me with a massive amount of knowledge and leaves me the ability to formulate my next move. A lot like chess or war really. What would Sun Tzu say?
At any rate, as I consider this, I know that I am becoming something closer to what I have always longed to be. And though we are all political animals (in the Animal Farm Napoleon kind of way) I think that my lack of participation in the entanglements of politics is actually making me a better person.
Orwell wrote in Animal Farm; "All that year the animals worked like slaves. But they were happy in their work; they grudged no effort or sacrifice, well aware that everything they did was for the benefit of themselves and those of their kind who would come after them, and not for a pack of idle, thieving human beings."
Are you dreaming big and inspired?
A la prochaine
SDM
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Dishwashing (file under the Art of Getting Clean)
A perpetual problem for Chefs and owners of Restaurants is to find adequate if not good solid help when it comes to the dish pit. At Reservation every once in a while I would be asked (read required) to do some dishes. No big deal as in order to be a Chef you have to be able to do everything in your kitchen. Dishes being an intricate part of what we do it is therefore important for a Chef to lead by example and jump in the pit every once in a while.
Now, the love of my life C, she can tell you that I am not the best cleaner. Or at least I wasn’t. However, since starting my work in the kitchen I have found myself on more than one occasion doing dishes. AND LOTS OF THEM.
When I started at Without Reservation we were without a dishwasher. Chef looked around and asked for a volunteer. Naturally I was more than happy to jump in the pit. That first week I probably spent at least 15 hours doing dishes. I’m quite certain that some of you don’t spend fifteen hours a year washing dishes care of a dishwasher. Well, that’s me. Or at least it is if we don’t have a dishwasher and the job needs to get done.
There is a certain Zen like state that one develops when they are stuck in a dish pit and when no matter how quickly you go there is always another tell tale slap of a plate signifying that more dishes are ready to be done. The Zen like state involved finding your happy place and concentrating on something other than the task at hand. In as much as you can seeing as you had better make sure that the dishes are clean.
I remember being asked whether or not I minded doing dishes and I harkened back to a conversation that Executive Chef and I had had which illuminated the point that I made in the first paragraph. I chuckled to myself as I remembered back to the first dish that I washed this year. I for a moment was lost in that wholesale nostalgia that is usually reserved for some life altering moment like your wedding day or your child’s first day. I started to laugh louder as I realized that in fact the dish pit was the very embodiment in a practical way of the journey that I am on and the things that are required to get there.
Does that mean that I enjoy doing dishes? NOT REMOTELY! However, there are things that we need to do which are the reinforcement of the larger picture. And in my case. As a budding restaurateur it is necessary for me to get my proverbial hands wet. And believe me get wet they do.
So for that first week I spent a lot of time at Without Reservation in the dish pit. Of course I had to perform my line duties too. So not only did I have the caked on smell of doing line work seeping through my pores but I added to that the dish pan hands that plague many a house wife and duteous husband or chore laden child. But I looked at my hands for a moment and realized that every dish I wash brings me one step closer to my reality. A dream that was set in place a long, long time ago in what seems like a lifetime ago in a galaxy far away.
As the days have passed I have found myself in the pit quite regularly. I am not asked to be there. I go of my own volition. I’ve turned it into a kind of learning experience (not to mention humbling). So what am I learning? Good question. I’m learning what sticks to plates. What makes the most mess? Which dishes require a different complexity in cleaning the dishes? I’ve got it down to an art. Another benefit of working the pit is that I can see what comes back. How much was eaten. What was eaten on the plate and what wasn’t? I watch wastefulness as things that are left on the plate just go into the trash.
To the laymen these may seem insignificant. But the margins in restaurants are not nearly what people think they are. As such any knowledge that I can take with me now, making note of, and use in the future enables me to be a better Chef, a better restaurateur but to my view even more importantly, A BETTER HUMAN.
So what is the art? First is to ensure that you get all the dishes wet with the sprayer. Then you take steel wool or a green scrubbie and get off all the offending dirt. Another spray with the hose, both front and back and then into the rack. You send it through the sanitizer and then examine the result for any defects. Repeat as necessary. Stack and put away. SIMPLE!
All these lessons, no matter how seemingly small, are all the cornerstone and building blocks of what will make me successful. What will make me become more than even I had ever hoped. It is that attention to detail, that very act of being willing to do the smallest or grandest job, that will make my dream, all the more fantastic when I get there. And the dish pit is just one example of this.
Paul Carvel once wrote; “He who wants to change the world should already begin by cleaning the dishes.” Interesting quote don’t you think?
Are you dreaming big and inspired?
A la prochaine
SDM
Now, the love of my life C, she can tell you that I am not the best cleaner. Or at least I wasn’t. However, since starting my work in the kitchen I have found myself on more than one occasion doing dishes. AND LOTS OF THEM.
When I started at Without Reservation we were without a dishwasher. Chef looked around and asked for a volunteer. Naturally I was more than happy to jump in the pit. That first week I probably spent at least 15 hours doing dishes. I’m quite certain that some of you don’t spend fifteen hours a year washing dishes care of a dishwasher. Well, that’s me. Or at least it is if we don’t have a dishwasher and the job needs to get done.
There is a certain Zen like state that one develops when they are stuck in a dish pit and when no matter how quickly you go there is always another tell tale slap of a plate signifying that more dishes are ready to be done. The Zen like state involved finding your happy place and concentrating on something other than the task at hand. In as much as you can seeing as you had better make sure that the dishes are clean.
I remember being asked whether or not I minded doing dishes and I harkened back to a conversation that Executive Chef and I had had which illuminated the point that I made in the first paragraph. I chuckled to myself as I remembered back to the first dish that I washed this year. I for a moment was lost in that wholesale nostalgia that is usually reserved for some life altering moment like your wedding day or your child’s first day. I started to laugh louder as I realized that in fact the dish pit was the very embodiment in a practical way of the journey that I am on and the things that are required to get there.
Does that mean that I enjoy doing dishes? NOT REMOTELY! However, there are things that we need to do which are the reinforcement of the larger picture. And in my case. As a budding restaurateur it is necessary for me to get my proverbial hands wet. And believe me get wet they do.
So for that first week I spent a lot of time at Without Reservation in the dish pit. Of course I had to perform my line duties too. So not only did I have the caked on smell of doing line work seeping through my pores but I added to that the dish pan hands that plague many a house wife and duteous husband or chore laden child. But I looked at my hands for a moment and realized that every dish I wash brings me one step closer to my reality. A dream that was set in place a long, long time ago in what seems like a lifetime ago in a galaxy far away.
As the days have passed I have found myself in the pit quite regularly. I am not asked to be there. I go of my own volition. I’ve turned it into a kind of learning experience (not to mention humbling). So what am I learning? Good question. I’m learning what sticks to plates. What makes the most mess? Which dishes require a different complexity in cleaning the dishes? I’ve got it down to an art. Another benefit of working the pit is that I can see what comes back. How much was eaten. What was eaten on the plate and what wasn’t? I watch wastefulness as things that are left on the plate just go into the trash.
To the laymen these may seem insignificant. But the margins in restaurants are not nearly what people think they are. As such any knowledge that I can take with me now, making note of, and use in the future enables me to be a better Chef, a better restaurateur but to my view even more importantly, A BETTER HUMAN.
So what is the art? First is to ensure that you get all the dishes wet with the sprayer. Then you take steel wool or a green scrubbie and get off all the offending dirt. Another spray with the hose, both front and back and then into the rack. You send it through the sanitizer and then examine the result for any defects. Repeat as necessary. Stack and put away. SIMPLE!
All these lessons, no matter how seemingly small, are all the cornerstone and building blocks of what will make me successful. What will make me become more than even I had ever hoped. It is that attention to detail, that very act of being willing to do the smallest or grandest job, that will make my dream, all the more fantastic when I get there. And the dish pit is just one example of this.
Paul Carvel once wrote; “He who wants to change the world should already begin by cleaning the dishes.” Interesting quote don’t you think?
Are you dreaming big and inspired?
A la prochaine
SDM
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Round Up (file under One Week less a Day)
So I have now been at Without Reservation for almost a week. In that time I have come to learn how much I don’t know and even a bit of how much I do. But there is a whole lot less that I know versus what I don’t in the culinary world.
As I mentioned last week, I had to leave Reservation. I looked at what the next while was going to look like for me and further I felt I had stagnated and that that was not going to change in the foreseeable future. As such I believe I did what all cooks do. Leave on good terms and see if I really have wings or am just Icarus. I believe now, firmly, that I am not Icarus and that I am not going to come crashing down to the earth. I only mention this because Sous Chef A and I had a conversation about the move and he (quite rightly) let me know that in a move like this if I can not pick up the pieces quickly and survive the line that my dream might well be at jeopardy. The more I thought about it the more I found that he was A) Right and B) being a friend and mentor by giving it to me straight as opposed to sugar coating it. So for that I thank you A.
The first week was filled with more ups than downs which is always a good sign. I found that at the line I certainly can crawl and even pulled myself up to walk very quickly. Now I just need to learn how to run. And what’s more I know I will.
As a steakhouse we do exactly as the name suggests. A good thirty percent of the breakdown on food sales is grill. Another 30 sauté. The rest is Garde or as we call it upscale bar food. As such since starting on the line I have been responsible for about thirty to thirty five percent of the meals that go out to customers.
I’ve learned this week for the first time the proper construction and use of both a blonde and brown roux. Proper technique to cooking it and its usage. I’ve learned most of the recipe book and how everything is plated. I’ve worked both Sauté and Grill and yes, of course have done a tonne of prep. Not just for my station but also for the Chef’s station, the grill. Not because I was asked either. Instead because I am part of a team and I feel that where I am in that team requires me to set a good example. Not that it is really an issue in the kitchen that I am currently in. EVERYONE pulls his or her weight. Which is refreshing.
As I mentioned last week, and if I didn’t, I meant to, a lot of cooking on the line is preparation and organization. Without either you will be dead in the water before you even have your second chit on the board (more on this in my next post).
I can not stress enough the importance of organization on the line. I need to know exactly what I have, where I have it and if not on the line I need to know where it is stored so if I fall into the weeds I can verbally paint the picture of exactly where it is for whoever has the ability to grab it for me. On the line (which I will post a picture of soon) the main line consists of one line for sauté and grill. To the left is the Garde station and in the back is where all the upscale bar food comes off. As such there could be a disconnect between stations. This leads to another important point – COMMUNICATION. The main line consists of a six top, a fryer and a grill.
Our staging area is about eight feet long and consists of Chef to my right, a common ground in between for plating and then the station I am currently working. Again communication is key as space is limited.
The fridge space on the line is limited and requires great organization. In my past I would never have said that I could organize my way out of a paper bag. Though I would say that words don’t count when it comes to that statement, as I have always been organized when it comes to my writing. I have exactly two shelves which measure approximately three feet by three feet. Maybe a bit less. In that I need to keep all of my prep and backup for service. What I can’t keep in there, as I said earlier, I store in such a way that it is easily accessible.
Back to communication for a moment. Many times in the past year I have mentioned the importance of communication. On our team we have three cooks and Chef. It is quite interesting with that brigade pulling off anywhere between 150 – 200 covers, most of which come in a quick hit of one hour and fifteen minutes. SOLID sweat and motion. Purposeful motion. Which again, in such a tight space requires constant communication between the whole team.
These are all things that I am indebted to Reservation for teaching me. Without the fundamentals that I learned at Reservation I am not sure that I ever would have been able to jump on the line as I have at Without Reservation.
My hours are less, the work more stressful, the environment quite different from Reservation. But as I said in my last post. This move was necessary for me. To continue my growth. To lead me down the path that I chose for my dream and that I live every day.
I will be back with a post about the frenetic energy and pace of service shortly.
Paulo Coelho once said; “When we least expect it, life sets us a challenge to test our courage and willingness to change; at such a moment, there is no point in pretending that nothing has happened or in saying that we are not ready. The challenge will not wait. Life does not look back. A week is more than enough time for us to decide whether or not to accept our destiny.”
I could not agree more.
Are you dreaming big and inspired?
A la prochaine
SDM
As I mentioned last week, I had to leave Reservation. I looked at what the next while was going to look like for me and further I felt I had stagnated and that that was not going to change in the foreseeable future. As such I believe I did what all cooks do. Leave on good terms and see if I really have wings or am just Icarus. I believe now, firmly, that I am not Icarus and that I am not going to come crashing down to the earth. I only mention this because Sous Chef A and I had a conversation about the move and he (quite rightly) let me know that in a move like this if I can not pick up the pieces quickly and survive the line that my dream might well be at jeopardy. The more I thought about it the more I found that he was A) Right and B) being a friend and mentor by giving it to me straight as opposed to sugar coating it. So for that I thank you A.
The first week was filled with more ups than downs which is always a good sign. I found that at the line I certainly can crawl and even pulled myself up to walk very quickly. Now I just need to learn how to run. And what’s more I know I will.
As a steakhouse we do exactly as the name suggests. A good thirty percent of the breakdown on food sales is grill. Another 30 sauté. The rest is Garde or as we call it upscale bar food. As such since starting on the line I have been responsible for about thirty to thirty five percent of the meals that go out to customers.
I’ve learned this week for the first time the proper construction and use of both a blonde and brown roux. Proper technique to cooking it and its usage. I’ve learned most of the recipe book and how everything is plated. I’ve worked both Sauté and Grill and yes, of course have done a tonne of prep. Not just for my station but also for the Chef’s station, the grill. Not because I was asked either. Instead because I am part of a team and I feel that where I am in that team requires me to set a good example. Not that it is really an issue in the kitchen that I am currently in. EVERYONE pulls his or her weight. Which is refreshing.
As I mentioned last week, and if I didn’t, I meant to, a lot of cooking on the line is preparation and organization. Without either you will be dead in the water before you even have your second chit on the board (more on this in my next post).
I can not stress enough the importance of organization on the line. I need to know exactly what I have, where I have it and if not on the line I need to know where it is stored so if I fall into the weeds I can verbally paint the picture of exactly where it is for whoever has the ability to grab it for me. On the line (which I will post a picture of soon) the main line consists of one line for sauté and grill. To the left is the Garde station and in the back is where all the upscale bar food comes off. As such there could be a disconnect between stations. This leads to another important point – COMMUNICATION. The main line consists of a six top, a fryer and a grill.
Our staging area is about eight feet long and consists of Chef to my right, a common ground in between for plating and then the station I am currently working. Again communication is key as space is limited.
The fridge space on the line is limited and requires great organization. In my past I would never have said that I could organize my way out of a paper bag. Though I would say that words don’t count when it comes to that statement, as I have always been organized when it comes to my writing. I have exactly two shelves which measure approximately three feet by three feet. Maybe a bit less. In that I need to keep all of my prep and backup for service. What I can’t keep in there, as I said earlier, I store in such a way that it is easily accessible.
Back to communication for a moment. Many times in the past year I have mentioned the importance of communication. On our team we have three cooks and Chef. It is quite interesting with that brigade pulling off anywhere between 150 – 200 covers, most of which come in a quick hit of one hour and fifteen minutes. SOLID sweat and motion. Purposeful motion. Which again, in such a tight space requires constant communication between the whole team.
These are all things that I am indebted to Reservation for teaching me. Without the fundamentals that I learned at Reservation I am not sure that I ever would have been able to jump on the line as I have at Without Reservation.
My hours are less, the work more stressful, the environment quite different from Reservation. But as I said in my last post. This move was necessary for me. To continue my growth. To lead me down the path that I chose for my dream and that I live every day.
I will be back with a post about the frenetic energy and pace of service shortly.
Paulo Coelho once said; “When we least expect it, life sets us a challenge to test our courage and willingness to change; at such a moment, there is no point in pretending that nothing has happened or in saying that we are not ready. The challenge will not wait. Life does not look back. A week is more than enough time for us to decide whether or not to accept our destiny.”
I could not agree more.
Are you dreaming big and inspired?
A la prochaine
SDM
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