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THAT FIRST NIGHT ON THE LINE ALL OVER AGAIN

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One thing is for sure – we will be back.  We don’t know exactly when, or what it might look like, but we will be back.  A year has gone by and most cooks have now forgotten what it was like to have a full dining room, to feel the anxiety of the wait for those first tickets, of feeling that you don’t know how things will turn out.  It has been a long year of uncertainty that has pulled you away from what you do best; a year that maybe even made you question whether or not this “cooking thing” is what you want to do any more.

It was the exercising of your skills, relying on your competence and confidence, of getting ready for battle and conquering the beast that made you want to crawl out of bed in the morning and face another day of craziness.  With all of it’s speed bumps, curve balls, and relentlessness – this job is something that you were good at, something that brought excitement along with a touch of fear, a job that made you feel alive and pushed you to your limits.  It has been far too long since you felt all of these emotions.

One day it will all return.  One day customers will fill those restaurant seats, look at your menu with anticipation, test your abilities and sometimes your patience, and give you reason to click those tongs with anxious anticipation.  I don’t know if it will come this summer or fall, but I do know that the day will come and I hope that you will be ready.

Consider this to be the off-season for cooks, a time to relax a bit and shed some of the stress, but also a time to get into a new rhythm of conditioning.  This is the time to build your physical strength, hone your technical skills, exercise your mental acuity, and dig into more of the “why” that you cook a certain way.  This is not a time to forget and lose a step, this is a time to get ready for the real season to come, and it will come.

I am certain of this because people need us, our communities need us, the economy needs us, growers and producers need us, and we need to do what we do best – it is our calling to cook.   People crave the opportunity to gather again, to laugh and cheer, to break bread and tell stories, to raise a glass and toast to today and tomorrow.  This is human nature and it cannot be denied forever – restaurants will rise again as soon as they are able.  The time is getting near; if we all work to contain this virus and stand ready to receive the vaccine – the time will come soon.

So here are a few reminders for cooks immersed in the off-season – we are about to enter spring training camp – a time when we put aside what we have lost and bring ourselves into competitive condition.

[]         PHYSICAL STRENGTH

You remember – don’t you?  Pulling a 10-12 hour shift off is physically demanding.  You will be on your feet for most of that time, always lots of movement – turning, lifting, bending, stretching to reach, using your shoulders and back, and gripping and flipping filled sauté pans allowing the food to dance with the syncopation of orders coming and going.  You will need to be ready for this.  You will perform best if you are in condition.  This is the time to immerse in a physical exercise regiment.  Walking, running, weight lifting, sit-ups, push ups, chin ups, hand exercises, stretching and good nutrition will be the keys.  Keep that weight down and hone your diet to that of one most aligned with an athlete.  GREAT LINE COOKS REALLY ARE ATHLETES!

[]         MENTAL ACUITY

Being able to think clearly is essential if you are to win the battles on the line.  Remember – those orders will come at you with relentless rapidity.  The expeditor will challenge your retention skills, the steps in cooking that differ from dish to dish will test your memory, your flavor memory will be your friend once again as you taste-season-taste, and your ability to problem-solve when things go sideways will be your saving grace more times than you can imagine right now.  Take time every day to walk through those steps in cooking that made you superb at your job; run through all of those problem scenarios that came your way in the past and jot down how you solved (or failed to solve) the problem, and push yourself to multi-task in your current environment – fill your head with too much to do and try like crazy to work your way through the list.

[]         SKILL TUNING

It will be the foundations again that save the day, that will make you valuable to an employer, that will separate you from those who don’t quite have what it takes.  Knife skills, mise en place, sanitation, and speed and dexterity are all part of your bag of tricks.  Practice them at home or work even when business volume doesn’t demand it.  Keep your knives sharp, organize yourself every day, and keep your lists of things to do (even if not related to cooking) – all of this will pay off when that day arrives.

[]         KNOWLEDGE

Read professional cookbooks, study the cuisine that you are focused on, and make a list of those processes that you followed in the kitchen – “because that’s the way you were taught” – and commit to finding out “why” those processes are important.  Commit to being more knowledgeable when business returns – the more you know the more confident you will become.

[]         TEAM BUILDING

I know it’s hard to work on team skills when the team is not together, but what you can do is to mentally walk through scenarios in the past that can help to drive your “team savvy” approach in the future.  Think about those actions of yours or others that drove a wedge between team members and think through ways of avoiding that in the future.  Write down those “team defeating” actions that drove you crazy in the past and commit to working through them in a more positive way in the future.  Think about “why” things might have gone sideways in the past and how honest sharing with the team can help to work through those events in the future.  Don’t let correctible problems raise up their ugly head in the future and put a damper on the effectiveness of a team.

[]         RE-COMMIT TO YOUR COMMITMENT

Most importantly, this is a time to ask yourself a very important question: “Now that I have been forced to step back or step away from the life of a cook – do I want to jump back in when the opportunity arises?  Am I willing and able to re-commit what it takes to be GREAT at what I do?”  If the answer is “no or I’m not sure” – then this is a perfect time to start thinking about your next career choice.  If the answer is “yes” then roll up your sleeves and get to work on your conditioning.  The time WILL come when restaurants are back in full swing.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

Restaurant Consulting

www.harvestamericacues.com  BLOG

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CULINARY SCHOOL – STICK YOUR TOE IN THE WATER BEFORE BUYING A BOAT

18 Monday Jan 2021

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There are a handful of very significant decisions that we make in life – decisions that involve tremendous commitments of time, effort, focus, and yes – money.  Starting a relationship, a decision to marry, buying a house or an expensive car, opening a business, and enrolling in college are all decisions that would be considered “monumental”.  The right decision can lead you to self-awareness, long-term gratification, rewarding careers, and the foundations of family.  The wrong decision – of course will be the opposite.  How we go about making those decisions is the real question.

Making a decision to marry another person without taking the time to understand who he or she is and what makes that person tick can lead to loads of pain and disappointment.  Buying a home without researching what is available, how that location fits your life situation, and how you will manage paying for that home can weigh heavy on your shoulders. Choosing to attend a college, especially one that is focused on a very specific career path without having a clear idea of what that career path is and how it will impact your life – will oftentimes lead to heartache and years of burdensome debt.

So – you are a young (or not so young) person who loves food, enjoys restaurants, and finds the media depiction of becoming a chef to be exciting and rewarding.  “This looks like something that I would love to do for the rest of my professional life.”  This might be true, and if you like games of chance, maybe this is a “roll of the dice” that is intriguing.  If you understand the implications of: “You can’t always judge a book by looking at the cover”, then you should understand that the sizzle may sell the steak, but the sizzle doesn’t always tell the full story.

It has been my experience that those who choose culinary school as a way to build a strong foundation for a career in the kitchen fall into one of two brackets: 

  • Those who do so from a place of experience (they have worked in a kitchen – preferably one that is run in a professional manner)
  • Those who do so by placing all of their decision making powers in the hands of the media

In other words those who understand what they are getting into vs. those who don’t.  Now, I do not have any statistical data to support my next observation, but I have found that those who have spent time in a kitchen before entering culinary school are more committed, more intent on doing everything they can to absorb all that is offered, hungrier to learn and apply new skills, and far more likely to succeed and stick with their career choice.  Again, an unscientific conclusion, but I would bet that many culinary instructors and restaurant chefs would agree.

My plea to those who are wrestling with a decision about culinary college is to get a job in a kitchen first.  If you are a high school student – find a part-time position on weekends while in school and full time in that summer period.  If you are a career changer – knock on a chef’s door and tell him or her of your plans to attend school, ask for a position in the kitchen (yes starting off as a dishwasher is a good decision), tie on an apron and give it a whirl.  You will learn what you need to know about the type of work, the physical demands, the stress of timing, how decisions are made, the organization of a kitchen that sometimes is chaotic, the dynamics of team, the demands of a customer, the heartache that comes from a rejected meal, the joy that comes from an occasional compliment, the exhilaration of serving more guests in a meal period than anyone thought was possible, the crush of defeat when things go sideways, and the effort that will be required to move from dishwasher to chef at some point in time.  Just imagine how shocking it would be to enter that culinary school classroom or kitchen without having those experiences under your belt.

Those decisions in life that are monumental are learning experiences, but proper research will help to minimize the negative impact of wrong ones.  Culinary schools understand all of this, but at the same time they are intent on making sure that enough students enroll to make a class viable.  After all – everyone should have an opportunity to succeed or fail, but when students discover mid-term that this is not for them, then everyone suffers from a realization that did not have to be.  When a student fails to complete a program or loses the energy to remain passionate then it hurts the instructor and the school as much as it does the student.

There was a time when prior experience was a pre-requisite to acceptance into a culinary program, but the feeling that this is somehow counter-intuitive to a persons right to choose what he or she wants took over the logic of requiring prior experience.  I believe, that this is a harmful change in approach. 

If a prospective student is wrestling with the college decision then there are avenues that can help.  Working in a restaurant is a natural step in the right direction, but there is also the vocational education option for high school students or if all else seems to not fit your situation – at least schedule appointments with local chefs and ask if they would talk with you about “what it takes”.  Spend a couple days as a stage’ (working or shadowing without pay) in a restaurant just to get a feel for the environment.  Dine in as many different restaurants as you can and ask for a tour of the kitchen.  Do whatever you can to paint a more accurate picture than is portrayed in the media.  You owe this to yourself!  Restaurant work is NOT FOR EVERYONE.  Once engaged in a restaurant you will find that 98% of what you do in the kitchen is just plain hard work.  You need to learn about the heat and the sweat, the physical demands, the emotional requirements, the infringements on what is considered a “normal” life/work balance, and the time that it will take to accumulate the skills, knowledge, and experience to become a chef.

Stick your toe in the water before you choose to buy the boat.  You might start by reading the 650 articles in this blog.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

Harvest America Ventures, LLC
Restaurant Consulting

www.harvestamericacues.com  BLOG

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A COOK’S SENSUAL OVERLOAD – SMELL

07 Saturday Nov 2020

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Now that I have your attention – allow me to walk you through a cook’s journey of experiences that activate the senses.  One of the most amazing aspects of the human mind is its capacity to store and remember every single experience from birth to last breath.  These experiences whether they are tactile, social, psychological, or spiritual are stored in the subconscious mind – a person’s “built-in” hard drive.  Sometimes those experiences are buried deeply in that hard drive and take real effort to bring to the surface while others simply require a small prod to jump into the conscious realm and activate all of the senses.  It truly is amazing.

What cooks and chefs talk about quite often is “food memory”.  Oftentimes the difference between a good cook and an exceptional one is the breadth of a person’s food memory.  Sometimes we refer to them as flavor benchmarks – significant additions to a food memory data bank that become the standard-bearers of how we approach and compare food experiences moving forward.  Cooks and chefs are bombarded with these benchmarks – each and every day.

WHAT IS THAT SMELL?

*Bacon – is there any deeper, more intoxicating, more all consuming smell than that of thick strips of bacon frying in a pan or rendering in an oven.  Every kitchen is filled with this gratifying aroma that greets cooks and chefs as an old friend wrapping his or her arm around their shoulder and telling them that life is good?

*Onions – what makes us salivate, wake up and direct our attention to our palate is the rich smell of caramelization.  Onions are the mistresses of the kitchen – that irresistible link to the passion of eating.  Every cook snaps to attention when those onions hit the surface of a hot pan and squeak and hiss as they turn from white to transparent, to lightly brown.

*Garlic – Ahhhh – garlic.  What is that smell that reminds us of home cooked meals, of the beginnings of a rich Bolognese, the foundations of shrimp scampi, or the start of a sear before the long and slow process of braising those veal shanks or short ribs?   Garlic, to cooks, is the magic ingredient that only gets better as it is used with reckless abandon.

*Grilled meat – a cherry red grill fed by the flames from briquettes laps around that ribeye, New York strip, or Black Angus filet.  The marbled fat that webs through the eye of those steaks begins to melt and drip – fueling the flames even more and sealing in the flavor and moisture of the steak with grill marks and an exterior crust that shows the power of the Maillard Reaction.  This smell is like no other – it reminds us of a good life, of summer bar-b-que with family and friends, and the best partner that a robust red wine could have.  This aroma welcomes cooks to their station and reminds them of why they do what they do.

*Sauté’ mushrooms – When we use the term umami we often think of the savory aspects of roast pork or a 109 rib pushing it’s internal temp close to 120 F.  But the smell of fresh mushrooms like porcini, shiitake, crimini, morels and chanterelles is as close to umami nirvana as one might ever expect to achieve.  This is the environment that cooks live in.

*Bread from the oven – the work, the time, the physical handling of a living product, the elegant simplicity of four ingredients, the marvel of a sour dough starter uniting the gluten strands and lifting a dough to a remarkable stature pales in comparison to the smell of the finished product being pealed from the oven.  Let the loaf dance in your hands as you flip it over, pull it close to your nose and drawn that completely unique smell into your being.

*Cinnamon Danish – if you have worked in a kitchen where breakfast is served – then you are familiar with the sinful smell associated with cinnamon rolls or Danish pastries fresh from the oven.  You know that you shouldn’t, but it is nearly impossible to get anything else done until you break apart the rings and allow that first bite to melt in your mouth.  You must take a moment with a familiar cup of coffee to relax and just let the magic happen.

*Simmering Stock – I always made sure that every kitchen that I orchestrated had a stock working every day.  Sure, the stock was important as the foundation to soups and sauces, but maybe even more importantly it sets the tone for a kitchen dedicated to foundations, to building flavors in layers, and to respecting the traditions of a professional kitchen.  Stocks are a statement and their deep aroma welcomes every cook to his or her station, allowing them to know that they are part of something special.

*Fresh brewed coffee – We all have a relationship with coffee.  To many, it is the first thing that we seek in the morning, the finish to a great meal, and the last acknowledgement to signal the end of the day.  Each sip allows us to engage our olfactory senses as well as our taste receptors.  In professional kitchens – coffee is a baseline aroma that is always there, always luring us over for another jolt of caffeine.

*Cured meats – The inspiration for this article was a video clip that I watched a dozen or so times – a walking tour through a curing room filled with thousands of Prosciutto hams hanging and working their way through the long process of fermentation that yields one of the culinary worlds most heavenly aromas and flavors.  Picture what it must be like to walk through that cure room, take a deep breath, and let your senses turn to high alert.  This is a cook’s moment.

*Cheese affinage – As enticing as the prosciutto cure room might be, the musty, fruity, deeply fragrant smell of a cheese cave takes it a step further.  It is the affinage that takes the pressed curds from milk and transitions them into signature cheese from runny soft, and stinky Epoisse, to firm, mature Manchego, or the aged and intelligent aromas of Parmigiana Reggiano.   Cheese, bread, cured meat, and great wine combine to tempt the nose to understand the mystical nature of the food that we eat.

*Shaved truffles on scrambled eggs or pasta – Not an every day experience, even for the most experienced chef, but if there were an aroma that’s impossible to describe except to say “truffle” this would be it.  Nothing else smells remotely close to a truffle, nothing will make you stand tall and give all of your attention to food, and no smell is more addictive than a fresh truffle that is shaved over loosely scrambled eggs or fresh pasta.  If there were a smell to describe heaven – this would be it. 

As cooks we are privileged to work with, be enticed by, and enjoy the pleasures of aromatic foods.  This is the environment we work in and this is quite possibly one of the greatest benefits of choosing a life behind the range.

Up next:  TOUCH, TEXTURE, and CHEW.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

www.harvestamericacues.com  BLOG

CAFÉ Talks Podcast

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COOKS – THE COMFORT OF HEAT, SWEAT, AND HARD-WORK

28 Tuesday Jan 2020

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Staring at the POS printer, waiting for those orders to start their tap dance building to a crescendo in an hour or so, clicking a pair of tongs by your side, shifting weight from one foot to the other, and beads of sweat beginning to roll down your back and collect under that scull cap that fits just a bit too tight – is this one of those moments when you begin to wonder what in the world you are doing?

Physical work is stressful and gratifying at the same time. Sweat and aching muscles is uncomfortable, yet somehow a sign of work worth doing. Building beautiful, flavorful, aroma filled, satisfying dishes for people every night is a result of this hard work, this sweat, and these aching muscles. These tangible works are also a result of an intelligent approach to a process, constant reference to flavor memory, and a level of mental and physical organization that is parallel to that of an architect, a pilot, or a surgeon – this is work that is far more complex that many give it credit for. There is also the emotional part – putting it all out there for others to critique leaving the cook wondering: “what did they think?” We sweat not just due to the heat, not simply because we are physically all in, but also because cooking is draining intellectually, emotionally, and even spiritually. Being a cook is complicated.

You know that those orders are coming – in just a few minutes that printer will push out that relentless sound of more orders than you think you can handle. This is the most stressful time – let’s get on with it! You remember a couple quotes that stick in your brain:

“Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.”

-Stephen King

Ok, you can understand that for sure. You think that you have some talent as a cook, but you KNOW that you put in the effort and then some. You wonder: “Is there a difference between talent and hard work when you come down to it?” How many successful people do you know who work hard without talent? Maybe their talent is knowing what they don’t know and finding ways to get things done anyway. Anyway – soon enough those orders will fill that space in your brain that is wandering right now. Then there was that other quote:

“It’s not so much whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game.”

-Grantland Rice

Right….try telling that to the chef or the owner. You are part of a line team – there is no room for failure. If you fail, so will the rest of the team. One mistake can lead to chaos on a busy night. This is not the place or the time to learn from your mistakes – NO MISTAKES, NO MISTAKES! “Damn – let’s get these orders in before I start to over-think everything.”

Maybe, just maybe, this sweat and these aching muscles, maybe the nervous energy that is obvious from my dance of anticipation, maybe all of this is fuel for the job ahead. Stay calm, stay calm. I sure hope that my mise en place is tight enough. Did I mince enough shallots, clarify enough butter, flatten enough chicken breasts, and peel enough shrimp? Let me check those scallops again – did I clean them properly? Where are my backups on vegetables, extra bottles of white wine for deglazing? What is the temp on those sauces in the bain-marie? Let me draw my knives over that wet stone one more time – can’t afford a dull knife. You look to the expeditor and tell him to grab you a few more side towels – can never have too many.

restaurant-food

The sweat is starting to pool up on your back, feet are hurting from inactivity, and hands are cramping up from nerves. Come on with the orders already!   You stack and restack plates, move your pan handles a few degrees to the right, and fold and refold those side towels. You drop your tongs – CRAP! Run over to the pot sink and wash them quick. Grab another pair as a back-up.

You grab another energy drink and kick it back like it was that after shift first beer. You look to your right and look to your left. Acknowledge the rest of the team and share a few fist bumps. It is coming – you can feel it. Then, the sound you were all waiting for – the printer spits out that first early-bird deuce. Both items for the grill – nothing for you – damn. A few seconds later – a four top – all yours. Here we go. You grab four pans and slide them onto burners – make sure the pans are hot first. Two orders of Diver Scallops, a Chicken Piccata, and Tournedoes Rossini mid-rare. An ounce of clarified butter for the chicken (dredge it in flour and give it some great caramelization – keep the pan moving), a touch in the pans for the scallops (sear them on one side and pull away from the heat for finishing later), and a little more heat in the pan for the tournedoes (this item will be done last minute). The expeditor had called the table as an order fire (no appetizers – ready to rock) – but you know that it is best to wait to finish until the server is standing on the other side of the pass. Two minutes is all it will take to finish this four top.

Pull the caramelized chicken breast and put it aside, add sliced mushrooms to the pan and a touch more butter. Caramelize the shrooms and deglaze with white wine, and fresh lemon. Sweat is pouring freely down your back now. Two more orders just came in – a few items from your station that can wait until this four top is gone. The server appears and the expeditor calls out – pick up on that four top. “Yes chef”! Chicken back in the pan – the flour from the dredged chicken blends with the white wine and lemon and the sauce comes together. A few capers and chopped parsley and this dish is ready to go. The scallops return to a fresh hot pan to finish the sear, hit the pan with a touch of wine, salt and pepper and done. While you and the middleman plate up the first three dishes – the tournedoes hit the very hot pan for a sear along with two slices of foie gras. Flip all items quickly – cooking only takes a minute. Deglaze the beef with Madeira and demi-glace and assemble the dish on toast medallions – top with some truffle shavings and off it goes to the pass. Four top complete. Move on to the next order.

You wipe your brow, take a drink of water and start with fresh pans. The orders keep coming. Now the expeditor is in control of your world. He tells you what to start, what to finish, and what to plate. Every few moments you ask for an “all day” (a review of what should be working on your station), and back to it. No time to chat with others – an occasional look or nod is enough of a signal. Plates are flying now – you turn to plate up an item and the dish is there ready with accompaniments. Only one re-fire so far (you hate that, but try to push it out of your mind).

For the next three hours – this is the frantic pace of the line. Those 180 minutes go by in a flash. You stay on top of your station cleanliness and are relieved to see that your mise en place is holding up. A few little finger burns from hot pan-handles, nothing you can’t work through, and one dropped item to replace – not bad. You haven’t screwed up any orders or messed up your teammates thus far. You are now working like a well-oiled machine. Your brain works through processes, your palate is fine tuned, and there is real economy of motion in the steps that you take.

When 9 p.m. rolls around – the board is almost clear. Just a couple deuces to finish up and that inevitable table that arrives 15 minutes before closing, but you breathe out knowing that you made it through another night.

Painted in Waterlogue

By 10:30, it’s all over. You breakdown your station, scrub your area, chill sauces, label and date items, make out your prep list for tomorrow and a friendly note to the morning prep cook. The sous chef points his finger and gives you a “thumbs up”. The mental and emotional stress is over – the physical pains will take a few hours to come to the surface, but you know they are there. Hey, it’s good pain – an honest days work. The heat, sweat, and hard effort feel OK. This is what you do, and this is how it is suppose to feel.

Tomorrow is another day.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

WORK HARD, SWEAT A LOT, AND SMILE WHEN IT IS OVER

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

Restaurant Consulting

www.harvestamericacues.com BLOG

 

 

 

WHEN A COOK IS TRULY IN THE ZONE

23 Thursday Jan 2020

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In the zone is a phrase commonly used to describe a musician, athlete, or even a cook who experiences an “everything going right” situation, and when the person, or persons, involved are totally focused on the task at hand– but, being fully in the zone is really so much more.

When a musician is in the zone – he or she becomes one with the instrument – feeling, sensing, and intellectually connected as the instrument becomes an extension of who that person is. The audience can see and hear this phenomenon as real magic occurs. I have witnessed this with some incredible musical talent: Stanley Jordan, the incredible jazz guitar genius can close his eyes, block out all that is around him, and offer his uniquely original style of plucking with both hands and expressing through his instrument what he is feeling inside. Aurelien Pontier, a world-class French pianist finds his heart, soul, and fingers in total sync as he perfectly executes all of the nuances of a Rachmaninov piano concerto – some of the most difficult music to feel and play. And, the late Al Jareau could seem to drift off the stage while every inch of his being was engaged with scat vocal interpretations of jazz instruments. These great musicians were able to float into the zone and release more than music; they were facilitators of a musical experience.

Michael Jordan defied gravity when he was in the zone; Steve Kerr made it seem as if hitting three-point shots was inevitable; Simone Beal tumbled through the air and stuck a perfect landing as if the mat, bench, or parallel bars were simply there to accent her perfection; and Joe Montana and Jerry Rice were in such sync that no defensive player was ever able to disrupt another touchdown. These athletes were able to switch on their relationship with the zone, at will.

Every line cook and chef has experienced those nights when things go right. Timing is perfect, plates are beautiful, food is prepared as it should be, and service staff appears the moment that plates are put in the pass. To all of us who have been there – this would seem to describe a “zone” event. But that out-of-world experience that truly defines being in the zone requires much more. A cook in the zone feels the joy of a perfect palate for seasoning, the ability to hear, see, and smell when an item is perfectly done, all other line personnel are able to sense what needs to be done next without being told or asked, the plate is ready to receive an item from the grill before the line cook needs to request it, and a simple nod or cursory eye contact from the chef or expeditor is enough to signal what must be done next. Being in the zone is a total sensual experience, and intellectual connection, an emotional alignment, and a physical melding of activity that is a fluid and tight as a perfectly synchronized symphonic orchestra. The experience is rarely planned or anticipated; yet without organization, skill, planning, and confidence it will never happen.

Have you been there? The planets are aligned – those orders clicking off the POS seem to suddenly move in slow motion. Every nuance of understanding is there as the cook assimilates what the expeditor calls off, organizes those orders in his or her head, and begins the structured process of starting a sear, deglazing a pan, reducing a pan sauce, and grabbing pans that are at the ready and hot so that the process is not delayed. You taste, season, and taste and your flavor memory bank kicks into motion as adjustments are made to each pan making sure that the end result is a consistent product. Plates are meticulously assembled so that they look exactly like that picture in the cook’s mind and when the chef calls fire and pick-up, those pans are returned to the stove for finishing and assembled plates are slide into the pass where the expeditor adds an herb garnish and wipes the plates edge. It all seems so easy tonight, so natural, and so much in sync with everything and everyone. Have you been there?

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Are you in the zone – really? If you are – is it good luck or something else? So, how does a cook or chef set the stage for “in the zone” experiences? Here are some essential elements:

[]         SKILL MASTERY

It would be impossible to experience the scenario portrayed without having mastered those foundational skills that are part of a cook’s bag of tricks. Superior knife skills, a full understanding of all the cooking methods, flavor memory, impeccably tight mise en place, time management, and a deep understanding of each ingredient, its flavor profile and how it acts and reacts under certain conditions and in combination with other ingredients. Being in the zone is no accident.

[]         ORGANIZATION

Take a moment to observe an excellent cook’s station. It is precise, always clean, perfectly spaced, and always so even during the busiest time of service. Don’t mess with a cook’s station – it is exactly how he or she needs and wants it. The cook can point to everything in that station – blindfolded. Back-ups are ample and are labeled and easy to access. Towels are folded a certain way, every plate is checked for cleanliness, water spots, chips and cracks. Nothing is left to chance.

[]         TEAM DYNAMICS

When zone work is realized it is because every member of the team knows his or her job and is equally prepared, and every member of the team also knows every other station and can step in at any time and function with the same level of efficiency and passion as the person who typically owns it. It’s all about team.

[]         PRACTICE COMMUNICATION

Just as best friends, brothers and sisters, spouses and significant others know what the other is thinking or about to do, so too must team members on the line have the ability to anticipate the action of others, use verbal and non-verbal communication techniques, and function, as a result, as one cohesive unit. Have you been there?

Painted in Waterlogue

[]         RESPECT

Respect and Trust are one and the same when it comes to preparing for “in the zone” work. When the magic happens it is because every member of the team is aware of strengths and weaknesses of others and respects what can be done and what needs to be done to make sure actions are seamless. Respect must be earned daily on these teams and it is easy to see that the last thing that a cook would ever do is to allow that trust to wane. Have you been there?

[]         PRACTICE

If you are waiting for luck to create those beautifully orchestrated service events – you will be waiting a long time. Whether it is a sports team, a band or orchestra, a military platoon, or line team in a restaurant – practice does make perfect. Every service is another opportunity to fine tune, to discuss those things that are not yet right, and practice ways to bring them there. Individuals or teams that are “in the zone” got there through meticulous practice.

travis

[]         UNDERSTANDING

Michael Jordan knew everything about the ball, the court, the game, and his competition. He understood how to approach a game. Aurelien Pontier became Rachmaninov when he sat at the piano to play one of his compositions, he understands muscle memory, how to accent a certain phrase in a piece, how high to lift his hands, and how strong or soft to lay his fingers on the keys. A great cook must understand everything about the menu, the ingredients, the cooking process, the flavor profile, the history and traditions behind the design of a dish, colors and textures, and even how to lay out a plate to emphasize its uniqueness. True understanding is behind every “in the zone” experience.

If you have truly been in the zone, then you understand the depth of satisfaction that comes from control over that experience. When you are ready then that experience can be predicted and expected. When others are able to witness this in the works then the chaos of the kitchen seems to flow like a well-orchestrated piece of music, or a perfect game. Great teams can somehow make it look easy, but in reality it is nothing more than great planning, meticulous work, loads of practice, and un-compromised levels of confidence in this process.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

Prepare yourself for the ZONE

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

Restaurant Consulting

www.harvestamericacues.com BLOG

 

Aurelien Pontier plays Rachmaninov

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMkfIx5Hy4Y

Stanley Jordan plays Eleanor Rigby

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4M22XWM2qbo

Al Jareau sings Step-by-Step

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AA1C-_OfQY

When Air Jordan was born

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mny1kAxF2zQ

Simone Beal on the balance beam

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7LzYjEsu-w

Montana to Rice

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yH4_zSPB7XQ

The dance at a Michelin starred restaurant

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0yisRiLwGA

 

 

A COOK’S NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS

25 Wednesday Dec 2019

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Yep – another year, another moment in time to reflect on where you are and where you might be going. To many people a resolution is a futile attempt at changing poor behavior, lost opportunity, broken promises, and failed attempts at positive change. Making a resolution is often a noble attempt at making corrections, while knowing that there is little chance that you will actually follow through.

The three most perplexing statements in life are: could have, should have – didn’t. Most of us can relate to this assessment of a previous year, an assessment that is depressing and self-limiting when we expect that it might be the norm – just the way it is. What is even worse is when we relegate the responsibility for inaction to others: “I didn’t do that because so and so – held me back, placed limitations on me, didn’t support me, or got in my way, etc. More often than not, the responsibility for inaction is ours alone.

“We don’t grow when we stay inside our comfort zone.”

-Unknown

So, if you choose to set a path for the future, knowing that you are in control – then here are some thoughts:

[]         TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR MY CAREER

Have a goal, determine what will be needed to achieve that goal, set a course, and work the plan. So, if you know you don’t want to be a line cook all your life and have a desire to be a chef of a property some day: talk with other successful chefs and ask what it takes to get to that point. Should you build your skills by seeking out cooking positions working with certain chefs or restaurants? If this is the case – then send out your resume and ask for an interview. Should you develop your background in some type of culinary program? Then apply to a school and sign up for any scholarships available. Should you enroll in an apprenticeship program? Then do it – you can’t win the lottery unless you buy a ticket. If you really want to reach the goal – then you can. So much of success is attitude and commitment to stay the course. Take the leap!

“If it doesn’t challenge you it won’t change you.”

-Unknown

[]         WORK ON MY PHYSICAL HEALTH

This is probably one of the most frequently defined resolution and one of the first ones to fall by the wayside. Make this goal realistic if it is to stick. Try a one-mile walk every day as a start. Sign up for “myfitnesspal.com” (it’s free) and start tracking your calories towards a weight loss goal. Ride a bike to work, cut back on the after work drinks, take the stairs instead of an elevator, start with 10 sit-ups each morning and add two more at the end of each week. Do something that allows you to have a goal and reach a goal. Small steps work.

[]         WORK ON MY MENTAL HEALTH

Try not to bottle things up inside. Life is stressful – so is working in a kitchen. To some – the kitchen is a safe haven, a place to escape to, an environment where everyone is accepted and where you can push aside all of life’s challenges and focus on the task at hand. When work is over then all of those life challenges rear up their ugly head and they can be overwhelming. Some are able to cope, while others hit a wall. Some of those challenges are ones that can be rectified by seeking physical assistance or identifying a new source of funding, while others are far deeper and more difficult to address by yourself. Share your issues with a family member, friend, welcoming ear of a coworker, or in some cases – professional help. This is a serious societal problem, but one that there are solutions for. Don’t try to deal with it on your own.

[]         ADD A SKILL – SHARE A SKILL

If you fail to commit to improving then you relegate yourself to a stalled career. Adding a skill can be invigorating as well as career enhancing. Align with a coworker who is accomplished with a particular skill and commit to learn, attend a workshop, read a book, watch a YouTube video, stage’ with an expert, and then practice until you get it down. The pride associated with mastering a skill should never be downplayed. Do it for yourself.

[]         LEAVE MEDIOCRITY BEHIND

Take the pledge: “I promise, from this day forward, to strive for excellence in all that I do. To treat the smallest task as if it were the most important, and treat the largest task as if the details were just as important as the volume of work. Excellence is a habit – not a goal.

[]         FOCUS ON TEAM

Life is a team sport and life in the kitchen is an ultimate team sport. Spend more time developing the attributes of team: listening, respecting each others strengths, and helping every member with their weaknesses, jumping in when and wherever needed, offering critique without being critical, applauding others when they exceed expectations, and patting them on the back when they fail – this is what it means to be part of something bigger than yourself, this is what it means to be part of a kitchen team.   Invest the time in this process and it will pay back in benefits.

[]         FIND SOME BALANCE

Commit in the New Year to finding ways to balance your kitchen life with a daily routine that takes into account your physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing. Commit to finding that balance point of spending time with friends and family, clearing your head, exercising, taking part in a hobby, reading, listening to music – something that gives you a chance to take a deep breath, push aside the challenges of the job, and feel good about yourself.

[]         DON’T SETTLE

If you wake up in the morning, look in a mirror and think: “what am I doing”; if you walk through those kitchen doors and feel the drudgery of the “same old, same old”; or if you find little excitement in what you are doing or how you are doing it – then make a change. You know what you are capable of, even if others may not – never feel as if “this is it” and relinquish control of your destiny. You have the ability to step out of your current situation and move to something that inspires, aligns with your capabilities, challenges you, and brings that excitement that makes you want to jump out of bed in the morning. Even if it means moving on from the food business – DON’T SETTLE!

[]         SIGN MY WORK

Anything worth doing is worth doing well. Everything that you do carries your signature and is a reflection on your personal brand. No matter how small or large the task – do it as if it were the sole determination of your professional reputation. Peeling onions – make them perfect and do it fast – this is your signature. Filleting fish – do so with care and speed, paying due respect to the fish. Make sure that you work at being the best fish butcher around – this is your signature. Plating up orders on the line – do so as an artist would while presenting a painting – this is your signature. Anything worth doing is worth doing well.

[]         STAY PROFESSIONAL / BE THE EXAMPLE

Stay above the fray – don’t succumb to the pettiness that sometimes takes place in the workforce. Don’t criticize others behind their back, don’t allow your work habits to stray from being exceptional, never demean others, always be on time, make sure that you look the part of a professional cook and earn the respect of others in the process. Be the example for others to follow.

[]         STAY TRUE TO THOSE STAKES IN THE GROUND

If there are parts of being a cook and a caretaker of Nature’s ingredients that are important to you, then don’t set them aside when it is convenient or inconvenient. If they are important then they are part of your character – this is how you want to be perceived and how you are perceived. Stay true.

[]         LIFE’S TOO SHORT TO BE NEGATIVE

It may seem easy to drift from viewing your cup as half full and begin to look at life as if it were more difficult than it is. Remember it takes far more facial muscles to frown than it does to smile. In the big scheme of things it is always much more gratifying to find the positive in a situation than to relegate your attitude to being negative.

[]         CHECK THESE RESOLUTIONS EVERY DAY

“Is what I’m doing right now bringing me any closer to achieving my goals.”

Happy New Year!

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

Restaurant Consulting

www.harvestamericacues.com BLOG

 

WHEN COOKING BECOMES MORE THAN A JOB

25 Monday Nov 2019

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Typically, it starts off that way – old enough to work, they’re hiring, no experience required – it’s a job. Maybe it’s a local diner as a dishwasher or assistant to a short order cook; maybe it’s a fast food operation as a “sandwich artist” or grill person for that hamburger chain; or maybe it’s a summer snack bar where you learn to walk through all of the steps. At some level, it is great to have a paycheck, but any real connection to food or cooking is something that rarely crosses your mind. What is important is that at the end of the week there is some cash in your pocket, albeit – not very much. There is never enough to be independent, and certainly no vision of a future in the food business, but for now – it serves a purpose.

For a few, at some point that changes. It might be a “moment” of inspiration, while to others it might be a slow and steady process of acclimation, but in time your thought process changes. It could be that incredible home cooked meal from a grand parent or a family dinner at a friends house; it might be that special occasion dinner at the “nice restaurant” in town when a perfectly prepared steak, chop, or seafood dish arrives at your table; or it might be that first “dare to eat” showdown with a friend when you allow that first fresh oyster to slide down your throat and savor that ocean brininess that is hard to describe – but, there is an a-ha moment when you suddenly realize that what you had been doing is not cooking – real cooking is an art, a passion, a life calling. It could be that transition from the lack of any taste 6 x 6 box of tomatoes that are out of season, to your first heirloom tomato, and then eventually picking a tomato off the vine that was sun sweetened in the month of July – taking a bite and realizing what a gift a tomato can be – but, again, there is a moment.

I say: “If you don’t know how to cook, I’m sure you have at least one friend who knows how to cook. Well, call that friend and say, ‘Can I come next time and can I bring some food and can I come an hour or two hours ahead and watch you and help you?”

– Jacques Pepin

When enlightenment happens, a person who thought he or she was a cook knows that there is so much more to the craft. That – “I wanna be a cook” individual takes a deep breath and makes the commitment to seek knowledge, to experience the lifestyle, to build the skills that are necessary to truly carry the title. There may or may not be a desire to become a chef at this point -today it is all about the craft.

Those entry-level positions offer a multitude of advantages and truly serve a need. They provide work for new entrants into the job market, they offer an immediacy that opens the door to everyone, they fulfill a definitive need in the marketplace, and they can provide an important step in building work ethic and a resume. On the other hand, these jobs rarely include the skills and knowledge necessary to be a cook in any way except title.   It is that a-ha moment that sets the stage for cooking to move past being a job.

So how do you know that you have moved past the paycheck and into the realm of a professional cook? Here are some indicators:

Painted in Waterlogue

YOU KNOW YOU HAVE MOVED BEYOND A PAYCHECK WHEN:

  1. You are proud of the uniform that you wear.
  2. When you get excited about that new restaurant cookbook that is being released next month and pre-order it through amazon.
  3. When asked what your most prized possession might be, and you answer: “my chef’s knife”.
  4. When almost all of your friends are also cooks.
  5. When you try to convince your family and friends to tighten up their mise en place.
  6. When you are walking down the street and constantly shout out “behind!”
  7. When you wake up in the middle of the night and break out in a cold sweat thinking about your prep for the day.
  8. When you call in, or stop in to work on your day off to make sure everything is in order.
  9. When your preferred gift list is a link to Extreme Culinary Outfitters. https://extremeculinaryoutfitters.com/
  10. When you get excited about visiting a farm, cattle ranch, commercial fishing boat, or flourmill.
  11. When you own more than three fishing tackle boxes filled with personal culinary tools.
  12. When you know all of the emergency room technicians at your local Urgi-Care because of the number of stitches that you wear with unusual pride.
  13. When you start complaining about people who work normal hours as “part-timers”.
  14. When asked – you can recite the names of the chefs who head the ship of the best restaurants in town.
  15. When you start building that “bucket list” of restaurants around the world where you must dine before you die.
  16. When you appreciate and crave a crusty slice of warm, artisan bread fresh from the oven with a smear of salted butter more than just about anything else.
  17. When you accept that great technique requires discipline and practice.
  18. When you know that dependability above all else, is the trait that is important in the kitchen.
  19. When even when you didn’t agree with the chef you know that: “Yes Chef” is important.
  20. When pride is directly connected to clean plates returning from the dining room.
  21. When you feel that every plate presented in the pass carries your signature.
  22. When letting down your fellow cooks would be the most egregious sin.
  23. When the title of cook, or later on – chef, becomes part of your persona. When your friends introduce you as a cook at such and such restaurant or refer to you as chef, rather than use your name.

When cooks move beyond a paycheck it is due to a shift in attitude, a commitment to self-improvement, a desire to build that palate, a need to truly understand why foods taste a certain way, and how a selected cooking method can elevate that taste and flavor. Many will never make this transition – they may simply use that job as a means to an end and then move on with a different career track – that’s fine. For those who catch the fever – they will never view what they do in the same manner.

There will be many challenges along the way, and ample opportunity to revert back to the “job” mentality: sub-standard wages, lack of benefits, excessive hours, isolating schedules, physical and mental stress, and occasionally a challenging work environment are all there to move the bar in the wrong direction. But, even the most frustrated cook will still admit that this is what he or she loves, this is what he or she was meant to do, and in many cases – “I can’t imagine doing anything else.” This is when becoming a cook moves well beyond a job.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

Restaurant Consultant

www.harvestamericacues.com BLOG

 

 

 

 

LINE COOKS WHO TAKE THE LEAP

13 Thursday Jun 2019

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At some point, fairly early on, restaurant cooks make a decision to either view what they do as a transitional job while they look for something that they really want to do, or decide that cooking is their life calling and they intend to become exceptional at the craft. This is true for nearly any job/career, but quite apparent in the restaurant world as the phrase– “love it or leave it”, strikes a chord. There are too many legitimate reasons to not choose a career in the kitchen if a person doesn’t “love it”.

So, if a cook does choose to love it, then what are the next steps? What must a now serious cook do to work towards excellence – to become exceptional at the craft? Here are a few pointers that will set the stage:

[]         BE READY

Be ready mentally, physically, and emotionally for a day in the kitchen. Be on time, dressed properly, and geared up from the moment you arrive.

[]         BE HUNGRY

The best cooks thrive on developing new skills, enhancing the ones they have, trying new ingredients and meeting new challenges – head on.

[]         MASTER KNIFE SKILLS

Accuracy and speed must align. Every cook knows how critical those knife skills are. Sharpen knives, and build the muscle memory necessary to use those knives as if they were an extension of a cook’s hand. These are the foundations on which great cooking is built.

[]         BE ORGANIZED – EXTREMELY ORGANIZED

Mise en place wins! If you are organized and prepared with sufficient mise then any challenge can be met.

[]         BE A SPONGE

The best cooks relish information, food knowledge, concepts and procedures, and techniques that others are willing to share.

[]         RESEARCH AND EXPERIENCE

The best cooks dig in and seek out experiences that will enhance their understanding and ability to cook well. Great cooks invest in their professional growth.

[]         DEFINE YOUR BENCHMARKS AND STUDY THEM

Who do you admire, what do you admire, how do those whom you admire do what they do, and how can a cook model his or her own performance as a result?

[]         REPRESENT THE UNIFORM

Great cooks know that the uniform they wear is representative of a proud history, a history that – as Julia Child once said (and I paraphrase): “Every significant change in society has been paralleled by a change in the way we grow, process, or cook food.” Every professional cook represents this history.

[]         WORK ON BEING HEALTHY

Great cooks cannot perform at an optimum level unless they are well rested, healthy, and physically fit. Great cooks take care of themselves.

[]         WORK ON WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW

Great cooks know what they don’t know and seek to find answers and build new skills. Obstacles can become advantages.

[]         BECOME FAST WITHOUT SACRIFICING QUALITY

Speed is essential in a busy restaurant – time is not on your side, yet sacrificing quality for speed is never an option. Great cooks work on both.

[]         BUILD YOUR PALATE

There are so many variables in cooking (maturity of ingredients, method of cooking used, seasonality, type of cooking equipment used, and – the person doing the cooking) that must come under consideration. In the end, a dish must meet certain flavor expectations and a great cook has developed a palate that is sophisticated enough to allow them to make adjustments to end up with the right results. Great cooks work on building their flavor memory and researching how they might compensate for ingredients or environments that might push a dish in the wrong direction.

[]         CREATE YOUR COOKING/PLATING SIGNATURE

Every great cook develops, over time, a style of cooking that, to some degree, can be identified. It may be the way that an ingredient is approached, or the manner with which he or she assembles ingredients on the plate. Even in an operation where process and design are prescribed, a great cook finds a way to sign the plate.

[]         EMBRACE TEAMWORK

Career cooks learn early on that their effectiveness is not a solo act. Great cooks are, first and foremost, a member of a team, and as such they understand how critical it is to communicate effectively, understand each team members strengths and weaknesses, and work to align and support those understandings.

[]         KNOW WHAT THINGS COST

The cook’s position exists because the restaurant functions in a profitable manner. To this end, every cook must become an owner of the operations cost structure. They must learn and appreciate the cost of ingredients and equipment and understand that profitability is not drawn from the onion, but rather from the onion peel. Everything has an associated cost and as such – value.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

www.harvestamericaventures.com

Restaurant Consulting

BECOMING A GREAT LINE COOK

21 Tuesday May 2019

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Whether you are a product of a formal culinary education or working your way up through the school of hard knocks, it is likely that all roads leading to the position of chef will move through the line cook position. Line cooks are the backbone of the kitchen and the sought after position by all who have a future in the back of the house. Dishwasher to prep cook, breakfast cook to afternoon of evening line – these are the steppingstones, the right of passage, for a serious career cook.

To be an effective line cook, the individual must possess certain attributes and he or she must adhere to certain “rules of play” that make the job much more fluid and goal focused.

To those who are fresh off the culinary school treadmill or hard knocks folks moving from that prep position to the glory of the line – here are a few attributes and tips that will make your transition much easier.

ATTRIBUTES:

  1. BE ALL IN:

If cooking is just a job, then your food will be more fuel than an expression of skill, tradition, and art. When you are all in then it becomes obvious that cooking is your chosen career – an extension of who you are.

  1. BE DEPENDABLE:

The most significant attribute of a professional is dependability. Start with this and you will set the stage for a lasting career. Be on time, be ready to work, be trusted to complete a task as required, in the amount of time required, and always be that team member that others can look to for support.

  1. BE PASSIONATE:

To be passionate about cooking requires that you are always interested in the why and how and are focused on constant improvement. You take pride in the presentation and flavor of the food that you are responsible for and would never place a dish in the pass that failed to meet those standards.

  1. BE AWARE:

Cooks need to be aware of what is taking place around them, what environmental factors might impact on their ability to perform, and how they might problem solve to minimize any negative impact caused by those factors.

  1. BE PART OF “WE”, NOT “ME”:

Solid line cooks are team players. They understand that cooking is a team sport and everything depends on the synchronized efforts of the group.

  1. BE ORGANIZED:

Organization is the heart of a successful kitchen – from the placement of mise en place to the stacking of plates and folding of side towels – every great line cook is an efficient machine.

LINE COOK TIPS:

  1. SHORT CUTS DON’T WORK:

Sure, some will point to tricks that they may have learned that speed up a process – saving time and energy, but short cuts that circumvent the time tested way that food is prepared will more often than not result in an inferior finished product. Never sacrifice quality for speed; yet at the same time always look for ways to be efficient without moving away from a process that yields the best product.

  1. KNOW THE METHODS:

Great cooking is all about understanding methods, not necessarily recipes. Recipes have their place, but do not factor in the variables that can pull a cook away from the goal of excellent finished dishes.

  1. PRACTICE TECHNIQUES:

Technique is an essential partner to methods. Techniques are where a cook can become more efficient, leading to greater speed and quantity. Knife skills and understanding how to use the tools available so that everything becomes second nature – this is efficiency.

  1. HEAT YOUR PANS FIRST:

Caramelization is essential in bringing out the flavor in certain dishes. Caramelization also requires that a product move freely in a pan, taking advantage of the best properties of heat. When the pan is hot enough first and technique is fully understood, then an ingredient will move freely in the pan without sticking.

  1. SLICE DON’T SAW:

When slicing through meat, poultry, fish, or vegetables – there is a technique that takes advantage of the knife-edge – offering a clean, even cut. Slice forward using the full length of the knife and then draw back in the same fashion. A dull knife, or improper technique will leave layers of saw marks and ruin the presentation of the food.

  1. KEEP AN EDGE ON YOUR KNIVES:

A cook’s knives must be sharp – bring an edge to the blade on a wet stone at the beginning of every shift and keep your steel close at hand throughout the shift to bring back that edge when needed. A dull knife at a line cook’s station is inexcusable.

  1. LONG SLEEVES SAVE LOADS OF PAIN:

I get it – the kitchen is hot and the tendency is to minimize clothing in an effort to ward off some of that heat. But, the kitchen is a dangerous place with super hot pans, cherry red flat tops, leaping flames from the char-grill, spitting oil from pans, and sharp knives working furiously through the demands of service. The reason for long sleeves on a chef’s coat, heavy cotton, long pants, aprons, and head brims on a chef’s toque is to protect the cook from burns and cuts.

  1. SALT AFTER COOKING:

Salt is certainly a common flavor enhancer and as such a well-respected seasoning in every kitchen – but salt on foods during cooking can also tend to draw moisture from the ingredient. Salt is oftentimes better used at the end of cooking to accent rather than penetrate.

Painted in Waterlogue

  1. YOU CAN ALWAYS ADD MORE SEASONING, BUT YOU CAN’T TAKE IT AWAY:

Herbs and spices, especially those that impart heat, are best when added towards the end of cooking. Some spices, such as all versions of pepper, increase in potency the longer they cook with a dish. To this end, if too much is added early in the cooking process it becomes very difficult to counteract the negative impact of a spice improperly used.

  1. HOT FOOD HOT, COLD FOOD COLD:

The first rules of thumb in the kitchen always apply. Hot food should be maintained as such and cold food likewise. Hot food should be placed on hot plates and cold food on cold plates. Even down to coffee served in a warmed cup and salads served with a chilled fork.

  1. THE STEAK DOESN’T WAIT FOR THE SERVER:

The quality of cooked food will deteriorate quickly. The pass on the line is properly named since the food should quickly pass from the cook to the server. Every second that a dish sits in the pass results in a loss of product character. Timing on the kitchen line is as essential as the process of cooking.

  1. TAKE CARE OF YOUR FEET:

Every part of your body is impacted by the care of your feet. Proper shoes with support, white socks, floor mats, and frequent movement all result in healthier feet. When the feet are not cared for then there is an impact on legs, knees, back, and even headache pain. Never underestimate the importance of foot care over those 10-12 hour shifts.

  1. TAKE CARE OF YOUR HANDS:

The most important tools that you have in your kit are the ten fingers at the end of your arms. Wash them frequently, cover them when appropriate, use care when handling blades, use towels when handling hot pans, and use hand lotion at the end of a shift. Protect your most valuable kitchen tools.

  1. STAY ALERT:

One second is all it takes for something to go terribly wrong in the kitchen. Hot liquids, flames, sharp tools, heavy pots and pans, slippery floors, splattering oil, or a rushed employee moving around the corner without warning – so much can go wrong – stay alert!

  1. HYDRATE AND FUEL UP:

It is not uncommon for a line cook to lose a pound or more of water weight on a kitchen shift. Dehydration can be very dangerous – resulting in heat stroke. Cooks need to drink lots of liquids during a shift to rehydrate and maintain an even body temperature. At the same time – your body needs fuel to maintain peak efficiency, build muscle, and stay focused. A staff meal – preferably with an opportunity to sit down and properly digest it, is critical to a line cooks performance.

  1. NEVER RUN OUT OF MISE EN PLACE:

Enough said.

  1. DRY TOWEL, WET TOWEL:

Both are important – the dry towel for handling hot pans and stove tops and wet towels (from a bucket with sanitation solution) for cleaning. Never mix the two.

  1. CLEAN AS YOU GO – EVEN WHEN IT’S CRAZY BUSY:

A functional station is one that remains organized and clean – the opposite results in chaos.

  1. KNOW WHEN TO ASK FOR HELP:

Every line cook, on occasion, winds up “in the weeds”. Know when you are headed down that path and turn to a teammate for help before it gets out of hand.

  1. KNOW THE MENU – REALLY KNOW IT:

Know the ingredients, their flavor profile, know the methods of cooking used, understand the appearance desired, and know why a dish was designed a certain way. The more you know, the better the dish.

  1. EACH PLATE DESERVES YOUR ATTENTION:

All cooks have favorite dishes, but in a restaurant every dish must be treated as if it is your favorite.

  1. IF YOU DON’T HAVE THE TIME TO DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME – WHEN WILL YOU FIND THE TIME TO DO IT OVER:

Time always gets in the way and far too often we look for short cuts to adapt to time constraints. In the end if it is not done correctly at first then the time constraints associated with a re-fire are compounded. Do it right the first time – this is the best approach.

There are probably dozens of other tips for success that every seasoned line cook can come up with, but this is a good start. Being a line cook is a challenging, focused, skilled, and extremely important job in the kitchen – make sure you are prepared to do it justice.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

APPRECIATE YOUR LINE COOKS

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

www.harvestamericaventures.com

Restaurant Consulting

 

 

 

A LINE COOK’S VIEW OF SUMMER MONTHS

11 Saturday May 2019

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It’s pushing 10 a.m. when an evening line cook finally rolls out of bed. The July sun is starting to really show its ability to bear down with penetrating heat and the humidity is bringing those first beads of sweat to the cook’s forehead. Ah…the start of another summer day. The primary role of the morning shower is to cool off and by the time a cook pulls up on both hounds tooth pant legs that sweat has already returned.

The walk to work is filled with angst about the job ahead, mise en place yet to be built, the unknown number of reservations for tonight’s service, and most importantly the heat and humidity of the kitchen.

As much as every cook would enjoy the ability to take part in what summer means to so many others, to the cook it is all about pale skin that rarely sees the sun as a vehicle for those deep bronze or brown tans. Too much sun for may cooks means the lobster red color of a burn. Walking into the kitchen is like moving from the frying pan to the oven. The curtain of heat hits every cook as an awakening for even more intensity to come.

One would think that water would be the most important beverage in the kitchen, but to a line cook it is likely to be hot coffee. Coffee seems to equalize the personal inner and outer heat that is so prevalent in the kitchen for the duration of the 12- hour shift ahead.

Soon the cook is into a rhythm. Knives cut through everything in their way, and the staccato of chopping and dicing sounds on cutting boards become the beat of the kitchen as the team pulls together their mise.   By now the flat top, chargrill and ovens are fired up to max and add rawness to the temperature in the stainless steel jungle. Once the dish machine kicks into play there will be the added intensity of humidity that soaks through uniforms, drips from the rim of kitchen hats and blurs the cooks eyes. Even the cook’s socks are wet from sweat.

The day is young and the looming anticipation of a busy night is starting to creep into everyone’s psyche. “Which station will be the most painful tonight? Who will feel the weight of an impossible number of orders? Will every cook be ready physically, mentally, and emotionally? The heat is ever-present and makes it ever more difficult to stay on task and put aside the lack of comfort. The kitchen could be a steel plant at this point – physical work in front of blast furnaces – pretty much the same as a kitchen – this is the closest thing to Dante’s Inferno that you will ever find.

Five o’clock hits soft with just a few early bird tickets coming off the printer. This is a good way to build up the energy and adrenaline levels in preparation for the first real push. Sweat is starting to roll down the cooks back, and every line cook’s skin feels like it is alive and able to detect every nuance of pain, heat, and that rush of hot adrenaline that is beginning to course through his or her system. Five-thirty: the pace is starting to pick up, a few more senior citizen deuces and the dining room is now a third full. The board shows a dozen tickets – somewhere around 30 people. This is still child’s play, but even at this pace the sauté station is filled with waiting pans and a significant number of steaks are being marked on the grill. Six fifteen and the first push has begun. The dining room is full and more waiting for the early birds to finish their coffee and open up another ten tables. All hell is about to break loose. Instead of the usual early deuces, the dining room is filling up with four tops and even a large table of ten off to the back. The bar is full with guests waiting for the next push that will happen around 7:45.

Back in the kitchen the heat has been turned up. Every sauté pan is either in use or being washed in ready for the next dish. The grill is filled with steaks and chops and the flames from the broiler are mixing with the fat drippings from meat creating four to six inches flames to leap out at the line cook in search of that last bit of hair on his arms. Some of the line cooks have complemented their skullcaps with bandanas to keep the sweat at bay. Everyone has been passing around the cornstarch to fight off chafe and shirts are now glued to everyone’s torso thanks to the rivers of back sweat that never seem to cease. There are a few hand burns to work through, some splattered hot oil from the deep fryers, and an occasional super hot pan handle that managed to find that part of a cook’s palm that wasn’t quite covered by a dry towel.

The grill guy nicked the top of his index finger with a super sharp Japanese carving knife – no time to worry about the throbbing pain – wash it, slap on some disinfectant, bandage the cut and throw on another latex glove. Maybe a stitch or cauterization is called for, but that can wait until later, or maybe never.

The expeditor is doing what he can to keep the line calm and flowing smoothly. Serving as liaison between front and back of the house – this kitchen expeditor is the peacekeeper, and grand communicator. He watches the eyes of each line cook, seeking out any sign of that “deer in the headlights look” that always precedes a meltdown. Caught early enough, a good expo can talk a cook down and bring him or her back into focus.

7:15: the calm before the storm. Suddenly everything seems all too quiet. Almost all of the tables have been served and thirty people are just finishing their coffee and waiting for credit cards to return. Once they leave, those tables will fill immediately and the push starts all over again. These are the serious diners – the ones with the highest expectations, the greatest demands, and the palates that warrant the full nine yards – appetizers, salads, entrees, dessert and lots of decent wine. There may only be another 30 or 40 guests sitting for this push, but it could result in well over 100 different plates of food. The team is seasoned now – they take this lull in the storm time to replenish depleted mise en place, tidy up stations, hydrate, and catch their breath. They look like a second line on a hockey team waiting for the coach to send them in the game. They bounce on their toes, stretch, bend their knees, click their tongs in anticipation, and wait for the printer to start ticking off another stream of orders. When it hits, it hits hard and everyone takes a breath and kicks it up a notch – this is the last real push for the night – bring it on.

By 9:30 it’s pretty much over. There are a few late night tables, mainly deuces looking for that romantic dinner, but for the most part it’s time to start consolidating and cleaning. It’s time to try and push the adrenaline down and bring your pulse back under 120. By the time it’s over, a typical line cook may have lost a couple pounds in sweat. Don’t worry though, they will add it back on in calories from after work beer, and maybe a greasy burger from Shake Shack or Five Guys.

The sun is down, but the humidity remains. The cool breeze from summer sunsets now tempers that kitchen sweat. Cook’s throw some water on their faces, finish cleaning up, change into street clothes, roll on some deodorant and drag a comb through their thinning hair. Time to unwind with friends – who by the way are the people you work with. Tomorrow is another day, but the night is still young. Cook’s will wake up again with a bit of a hangover, sore muscles, aching feet, those cuts and burns that were never properly attended to, and that skin color that never seems to deepen from the sun. Tomorrow will come quick enough.

The life of a line cook in the summer months: not their favorite season.

Stay cool.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER AND HYDRATE

HARVEST AMERICA VENTURES, LLC

Restaurant Consulting and Training

www.harvestamericaventures.com

 

 

THE IMPORTANCE OF FIRE TO A COOK

04 Saturday May 2019

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Fire has so many meanings, but to a cook – it is essential. Cook’s exist because of fire; it is the one ingredient that they cannot work without, the critical ingredient that brings everything together, the literal fuel of the craft. Cook’s apply and control heat, and most importantly, the flame that represents fire in all of its glory and poignant danger. Fire can result in the beauty of the maillard reaction or the destruction of a burn.

When cooks enter a kitchen it is with the resolve to face the fire head on and demonstrate their ability to win the battle for control. When they win, cooks can proudly present a perfect sear, the caramelization of a steak, a delicate sauté that cooks without adding color, or the golden color from deep frying in oil or lard. Just as other professions seek to control their primary ingredient (water, wind, the sun, electricity, kinetic energy, etc.) it is the magnificent flame that stands before every cook and tests his or her ability to understand and master the expected and unexpected power of fire.

“Once fire was discovered, the instinct for improvement made men (and women) being food to it. First to dry it, then to put in on the coals to cook.”

-Brillat Savarin (1755-1826)

Fire has other meanings – it is not enough to learn how to control the physical attributes of the flame, the cook must also understand the emotional, mental, and spiritual nature of the word. Fire in the belly refers to the level of passion that a cook brings to the kitchen and to the craft of preparing food. Is this passion focused or overwhelming, for some cooks and chefs are unable to differentiate their passion for cooking from their uncontrolled anger at themselves and others when the expectation of perfection is not met? This, to many, is much more difficult to face and control than the beauty and danger of the flame.

“It is not light that we need, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake.”

-Frederick Douglass

When a cook is pushed to his or her limit, when those hours add up into a gross example of excess, then the cook is said to flame out or burn out. Just as a flame deprived of oxygen or other fuel will eventually lose the ability to display its power, so too will a cook lose that ability to function, to demonstrate the alchemy of kitchen work.

Fire is also a hyperbole used to describe the emotions of fear, love, desire, and lust, yet there is an honest connection to the intensity felt by both. Cooks are all too familiar with these emotions, not necessarily in relationships with people, but more in relation to food and the skill needed to bring a raw ingredient to a state of preparation that stimulates all of the human senses. When a cook is in control of the emotion of fire then he or she is able to approach the sense of sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste. Yes, these senses are tangible, but the fire needed to manipulate them through cooking is emotional.

Professional cooks lust over the kitchen skills that others may seem to have (a wonderful palate, incredible knife skills, the ability to multi-task), they love to watch a master at work, fear the inability to compete with others on a busy line, and desire to constantly improve; but it is the control of these emotions that is so critical. Cooks can be emotional powder kegs who sometimes allow these feelings to take the drivers seat. When this happens then fear turns into anger or retreat, lust turns into the defensive maneuver associated with condescending attitudes, and love into jealousy. None of these reactions will result in positive outcomes. The intensity of the kitchen can be so great, the emotions so high, and the stress so intense that the symmetry of work deteriorates and the orchestrated flow of service turns into chaos.

Finally fire in the kitchen refers to a process, a strategy, and even a sophisticated system that every cook understands. It is this process that drives the cook to work with speed and agility, maintain a level of attention that overrides everything else, and an ability to quickly problem solve so as to always maintain the integrity of the system. The process begins with mise en place, works through team, and exists because of confidence in oneself as well as others. Without this fire it would be impossible for a kitchen to present food to guests in an orderly, timely fashion.

So what does a cook need to do to keep fire under control?

[]         RESPECT

Respect the fact that fire can be unpredictable, that fire depends on fuel to act either in a positive or negative manner. The cook may not be able to control the actions associated with fire, but he or she can surely control the fuel that is present.

[]         UNDERSTANDING

Understand that fire is always on the edge of good and bad. Know that planning and training are essential with the cook is to maintain the upper hand with fire. Whether the fuel is emotion, systems, adrenaline, or the physical fuel that feeds the flame, it is an understanding of those ingredients that allows the cook to be the driver and not the driven.

[]         MENTAL ACUITY

When fire is involved (physical flames, emotions, adrenaline) then it is imperative that the cook stays focused and not become diverted from the control seat. Once a cook is distracted from his or her purpose and fails to remain alert to the possibility of the chaos that fire can bring, then what he or she fears the most will inevitably come true.

[]         SELF-AWARENESS

The best cooks are ones who not only have the technical skills associated with cooking, but are aware of their strengths and weaknesses, in tune with their control points, cognizant of the consequences associated with losing focus, and confident in their ability to either regain control or seek the help needed to do so. They are acutely aware of those people who can help them through a time of faltering control of physical or emotional fire, and that occasional despondent fear of losing their inner fire, but are never afraid to ask for help.

“In everyone’s life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.”

-Albert Schweitzer

When the fire goes out – the cook is left without the ability to make a true connection to the preparation of food and the beauty of a well-designed plate in the pass. When physical fire is gone then the cook is left without a purpose and when the emotional and orchestral fire is missing then there is a real gap in how that plate is expressed, how it tastes, how it smells, and how it is received. It is the fire that makes a cook a cook, an interesting person who is truly dynamic, and a coworker who inspires others.

“So keep the fire burning tonight
See just what comes into sight
Don’t take forever
Take it through the night”

-Kenny Loggins – Keep the Fire BurningPlan Better – Train Harder

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

www.harvestamericaventures.com

Restaurant Consulting and Training

*Thank to all of the cooks and chefs in my life who keep the fire burning.  You know who you are.

**PICTURE:  The Flame by Chef Curtiss Hemm

 

 

 

 

COOKING FOR THE RUSH

07 Sunday Apr 2019

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I remember when I first encountered the jazz influenced improvisational music of Eric Clapton as a member of Cream. Many of my age were in awe of the speed and almost frenzy nature of this adrenaline infused music that started with structure and then blasted away in a hundred different directions. No one really knew where Clapton, Bruce, and Baker were headed with a song (they likely didn’t even know themselves) and we all sensed at times like they were heading to the edge of the cliff. The band was feeling the rush of energy that comes from a level of synchronicity, a baseline of real skill, and the energy created by the audience and the environment in which they played.

Every accomplished young line cook in a restaurant understands this feeling and, for a period of time, thrives on the rush of the push. When those orders are ticking off at lightening speed – when your mind is able to stay ahead of the game and when your hand and body motions are able to keep up – you feel super human. Each plate that carries your signature is an affirmation of your ability as a cook, your speed and agility, your mental acuity, and your control over muscle action. At the end of the shift those endorphins are running wild and you feel super human – you could conquer the world. Of course, the rush begins to fade in a short period of time – especially if you add a few drinks to calm down after punching out.

clapton

Over time – Eric Clapton began to mature, his body aged, his mind was likely not as sharp, and his need for the rush was replaced by that reflective state that allowed him to really think about the music, to reflect on its meaning, to study its history, and to enjoy true understanding that went beyond the rush. His music was different – more nuanced where each note had a purpose and a structure that was apparent. The lyrics became as important as the notes and his guitar work was deliberate and well thought out. He was able to earn a higher level of respect from fellow musicians, and eventually shed his image as an innovator while replacing that with a standard bearer’s suit of armor. In this role he became less of a showman and more a teacher.

Those young cooks who embrace and seek out the rush will eventually mature. Their need to push the envelope in search of those endorphin rushes will, at some point, be replaced with a desire to really understand cooking, to search for flavors that take time to develop, and to research the history of a dish so that real understanding can result in better cooking. They will channel this new knowledge towards a position of maturity where the big picture is far more important than the adrenaline rush. These young cooks will eventually mature into knowledge workers and chefs.

But, in the meantime – it’s all about the rush. So what is it about the rush that is so addictive?

TELL ME HOW DO YOU FEEL? A BAKER’S DOZEN:

[]         KNOWING THAT THE TASK AT HAND IS NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE

Watch line cooks when they arrive at work. Although many may try to hide the level of anticipation that is gnawing away at them – we all know that it is there. Their eyes dart around the space, they reach for their prep sheet, quickly assess ingredients, jump at setting up their work area with damp towel under a cutting board so that it doesn’t slide, sharpen their knives, tie on an apron, and start the methodical process of chopping, dicing, caramelization, finishing sauces, mincing herbs, clarifying butter, trimming proteins, lining up detailed mise en place, checking pans, folding side towels, and stacking plates to complete their stations. Will they have enough time to complete everything? Will their mise hold up to the rush? Which station will get pounded tonight? Will they be on their game?

[]         MENTAL ACUITY AND THE NEED TO ORGANIZE

Staying sharp, focused, totally committed to the plate, and ready for whatever comes their way – this is foremost in a cook’s mind. They know that the answer will always be organization and that mise en place work that defined their first 2-3 hours on shift. If they are prepped then the world is good – if not, then they are facing a load of uncertainty. When they are ready to play then that positive adrenaline is building up steam.

[]         ANXIETY AND THAT FEELING OF AHHHHHH!

Some may think that anxiety is a negative- but line cooks are able to use it to their advantage. The exhilaration of knowing that you could end up victorious or fall off the cliff is energizing and unnerving at the same time.

[]         THE ENERGY BOOST

If you are a runner, or exercise junkie you know how incredible it is to reach that point in your workout when those chemical endorphins kick in. It’s like punching the accelerator on your car and feeling that turbo jump into action pushing you back against the seat, and the jump of the car as it lurches forward with a new boost of energy. Cook’s feel the same thing at some point during a shift. It might happen close to opening if your mise en place is 98% done and you have to find the energy to tighten everything up, or it might not kick in until the tickets start flying off the POS, but at some point it will be there. Cook’s seek this out – this is what brings them back time and again for those 12-hour shifts.

[]         FEELING THE POSSIBILITY

Every cook thrives on goals. Pushing to hit those goals is a personal competition that is intoxicating. To be 100% ready at opening, to stay keenly organized throughout service, to run the busiest station, to top the number of guests served last night, to run through service without any re-fires – these are all goals that cook’s have on their active wish list every night.

[]         AFFIRMATION OF SKILLS

Cooks are proud of their skill set. They are in the game because they have a proven track record of sharpened abilities. The more they know how to do, the quicker their response, the more they can accomplish without sacrificing quality, the more charged they become about their status on the kitchen team.

[]         HANGING THE PICTURE ON THE REFRIGERATOR

Not too dissimilar to that early student experience of bringing home a classroom accomplishment to the praise and pride shown by parents – the cook inherently loves to present a beautiful plate of food in the pass for peers, servers, and eventually guests to admire. This is the fuel that every great line cook needs.

[]         I’VE GOT THE RYTHYM

If you could step back and simply watch a line of cooks working through a push of orders you would be reminded of the grace of classical music and the syncopation of jazz dance.   This is energy and orchestrated motion.

cooks

[]         HIGH VOLTAGE TEAMWORK

Wow – this is so fluid – line cooks working as a seamless unit where communication is a nod or point of a finger, where chatter is minimal, but non-verbal clues result in a plate of food coming together in such a natural way, where acknowledgements are as simple as “yes chef”. This is super-charged teamwork.

[]         LIVING ON THE EDGE – THE THREAT OF SUDDEN DOOM

Like a daredevil skier positioned on the precipice of a steep vertical drop, every line cook knows that every moment on the line provides an opportunity to cut a perfect run or tumble with skis flying and their body buried in granular face burning snow. As scary as this seems – cooks are rarely risk averse.

[]         BLISS AND PRIDE

Cooks thrive on the pride of well-prepared food, of trouncing a big rush of orders, of making guests happy and of exceeding the chef’s expectations. The feelings associated with this are truly intoxicating.

[]         PHYSICAL STRENGTH FOLLOWED BY PHYSICAL EXHAUSTION

Like a great workout, both extremes are invigorating. That super-human rush of strength to get through a busy night and the total depletion of energy that follows are gratifying experiences.

[]         THE ADDICTION THAT HAUNTS YOU

The irony of all of these roller coaster feelings is that once you experience them they become the drug that brings you back for more. Cooks live for the rush, thrive on the rush, and seek it out time and again.

Know your cooks, understand their needs, feed the adrenaline, but help them to mature as technicians and artists.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

Restaurant Consulting and Training

www.harvestamericaventures.com

 

THE CHEF – DECISIONS EVERY 30 SECONDS

09 Saturday Feb 2019

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Ah…the good old days when it was just about cooking. Remember those days when your stress, considerable as it may have been, was focused on your mise en place, keeping orders straight on your station, making sure that your knives were sharp and your station clean and organized, being sharp and alert, and taking those extra few seconds to make sure that plate presentations were spot on? Now you are a chef and everything is different.

You are in this new position because others trust and expect that you will be a consummate planner, a strategic planner, a problem-solver, the person who has the answer to every question, and the solution to every challenge. Decision-making takes on a new dynamic when your jacket says: “Chef”. Most chefs relish those rare times when they can tie on an apron, take on some prep, fill in for a time on a line station, orchestrate through the expo station, or even run a few trays of dishes through the machine. It is the weight of decision-making that takes its toll on chefs and the feeling that the chef must be there when those decisions are called for – thus a primary reason for the excessive hours on the job.

So, what decisions are now on a chef’s desk that might not have been there before, and how can the challenge be met- head on?

[]         MENU DECISIONS

Although one of a chef’s most pleasurable tasks – menu planning is on going, and sometimes – relentless. Decisions with regards to menu must factor in the desires of the guest, the financial viability of a menu item, the availability of the right ingredients, the ability of the kitchen team, the right equipment to pull it off and whether or not the choices are reflective of the restaurant brand and philosophy of the chef. Each item must be tested and proven workable and then executed consistently. Menu decisions should never be taken lightly.

[]         VENDOR SPECIFICATIONS AND TRUST

Selecting vendors must go beyond their ability to provide the ingredients ordered – the chef must make decisions based on service, price, payment terms, and most importantly – trust that the vendor will live up to the purchasing agreement standards.

[]         HIRE RIGHT

A chef will (and rightfully so) spend more time with hiring the right individuals who will complement the kitchen team, than anything else. Hire right is more complex that simply finding cooks and other team members who have experience – it involves team chemistry, professionalism, dependability, commitment, and passion. The wrong decision with hiring will cause a ripple effect through the organization.

[]         INDIVIDUAL APPROACH WITH EMPLOYEES

One over-riding reality in any business is an understanding that every employee is different. As a result, the most effective leaders (in this case- the chef) must learn how to treat every employee the same (standard performance requirements), yet everyone differently (discovering and reinforcing individual strengths and providing the right support to correct or complement weaknesses). Every interaction with an employee involves a decision that will prove to be either effective or ineffective. Chefs wrestle with making the right choice.

[]         BUDGET AND CONTROL

Cooks may know that they are responsible for controlling waste and as such impacting the financial success of the restaurant, but it is the chef who has to build and live by the budget and make the sometimes tough decisions that lead to meeting the demands of his or her projections.

[]         PRODUCTION DECISIONS

What a chef wrestles with is a balance in decision-making that considers a commitment to quality, an understanding of time and deadlines, the abilities of the kitchen team, storage space, and efficient use of kitchen equipment.

[]         SCHEDULING

Scheduling may seem like a lock-step process – but it’s not. Demands on position schedules can change daily in restaurants with the ebb and flow of reservations, last minute bookings for banquets, and the never ending call outs that need to be filled. On top of this, the chef may try to accommodate special requests for days off, vacations, etc. Scheduling decisions impact every individual and the operation as a whole.

[]         SCENARIO PLANNING

The worst feeling in the world is to be caught with a situation that you have never planned for. Effective chefs are planning in advance so that crisis decisions can be made from a well thought out advance process. Power outages, snowstorms, late deliveries, coolers breaking down, the dish machine off line on a Saturday night, a wave of sick employees calling out, etc. One thing for certain – all of these situations (and many others) will occur at some point. Plan in advance so the decision is easy.

[]         BRAND RELATED ISSUES

Sometimes chefs need to make decisions to enhance or at the very least – protect the brand of the restaurant as well as his or her personal reputation. These issues are never easy and require a strong will, a determination to not sacrifice those stakes in the ground, and do what is right vs. what may be most expedient.

SOLUTIONS FOR THE CHEF:

[]         ENGAGEMENT

The more you engage your staff members in the decision making process, the more they are in tune with what is going on and what your expectations are – the easier those decisions become. When you don’t have to stop and explain why, or even worse simply drive a decision without apparent consideration for the employee – the less likely you are to encounter resistance.

[]         TRAINING

Training is always the key to fluid decisions. When your crew is well trained, the more likely they are to not just support the restaurant leadership, but also oftentimes rectify a situation before the chef is required to intervene with a decision.

[]         DELEGATION

The most effective managers are great delegators. However, this delegation is only effective if employees are well trained with regard to the task that is passed on to them.

[]         EMPOWERMENT

Well-trained employees can and should be empowered to make their own decisions. When they understand how their decision impacts others then they are much more likely to act in the best interest of the operation. The caveat is that empowerment reaches beyond responsibility – empowerment only works when the authority to make a decision and support for their decision is firmly in place. Responsibility without authority is useless and ineffective.

[]         MEASUREMENT

Part of every employee’s evaluation should be how well he or she executes this empowered responsibility and the additional duties that the chef delegates. What gets measured – gets done well. When this happens then the chef will have the ability to shed some of the stress of decision-making.

[]         TRUST

Trust happens when delegation is supported with training, responsibility, and authority. Trust is one of the most powerful motivators and the key to a chef winning the ability to be most effective in his or her position.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

www.harvestamericaventures.com

*PHOTO:  Chefs Michael Beriau and Joe Faria

IN THE KITCHEN – SKILLS ARE THE DRUG, CONFIDENCE IS THE HIGH

03 Sunday Feb 2019

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Many have pointed to the abuse of drugs and alcohol that seems far too commonplace among restaurant employees. It may be part of the culture, possibly a release from the accentuated stress that exists in kitchens, and it may simply be more visible yet just as prevalent in other careers. This does not take away from the reality of use and abuse. What those who point their finger fail to note are the non-chemical drugs that are just as commonplace in kitchens and a source of pride and very positive outcomes.

Some cooks and servers may choose to lean on drugs and alcohol to help them escape, forget, or celebrate, but in reality it is the achievements in life, the process of learning and growing, the chance to work with others, and the act of giving back that provide the greatest adrenaline high. Here are some thoughts on the best ways to feel good about you as a cook.

“One of the greatest pleasures of my life has been that I have never stopped learning about good cooking and good food.”

-Edna Lewis

[]         THE DRUG OF SUPERB SKILLS

Some may view the accumulation of skills as a requirement of the job, and they certainly are correct, but, as a cook builds his or her skill level, so too does that same cook build confidence. Every time that cook adds something new to his or her bag of tricks there is a rush of adrenaline that is a direct result of that confidence. Whether it is a technique, speed, efficiency, or an added flavor profile – the cook is invigorated by competence. This feeling of competence is as intoxicating and addictive as caffeine – after a period of time the cook needs to feel the rush, so they continue to build on what they know and are able to do.

“Skill and confidence is an unconquered army.”

-George Herbert

[]         THE DRUG OF SERVICE

Sure we talk about service as being the core of what we are about and a noble objective, but until a person really feels this they cannot measure the impact that service has on how they feel. True service providers – those who believe what they do helps to improve a person’s life, are invigorated when they are able to do so. Does the service of food help to improve a person’s life? Well – yes it does. When what you do puts a smile on a guests face – then life is improved. When what you do brings a little sunshine to another person’s challenging day – then life is improved. When you dedicate your time and skills to helping a person feel alive and well – then life is truly improved. This feeling of service to others is also addictive. When we give successfully, we are inspired to do more of the same.

[]         THE DRUG OF TEAM

I would dare say that anyone who has been a part of a team knows the feeling of being on the same page, working together for a common goal, accepting each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and doing whatever it takes for each person to be successful. Winning as a team is a real adrenaline rush, losing, as a team can be humbling, but unifying in a different way. Similar to the work of a competitive football, basketball. baseball, soccer, or hockey team – being part of a kitchen crew that functions in unison is so invigorating that it draws cooks back day after day for a grueling battle on the line.

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“Find a group of people who challenge and inspire you, spend a lot of time with them, and it will change your life.”

– Amy Poehler

[]         THE DRUG OF GIVING BACK

“I am a huge believer in giving back and helping out in the community and the world. Think globally, act locally I suppose. I believe that the measure of a person’s life is the affect they have on others.”

-Steve Nash

As I have previously pointed out – the act of giving need not involve extensive amounts of time or effort, or monetary donations to help a worthy cause. More often than not – giving back can be as simple as showing another cook how a task is done properly, taking a moment to thank someone else for an effort they made in your behalf, donating a small amount of time to prepare a meal for someone in need, or offering an attentive ear to someone who simply needs a person to listen. There are few things in life that are more rewarding, more invigorating, and more important than giving back.

“It is literally true that you can succeed best and quickest by helping others to succeed.”

– Napolean Hill

[]         THE DRUG OF ORGANIZATION

Good cooks are obsessive when it comes to organization. Mise en place isn’t a task; it is a way of life. Cooks understand full well that their success is very much dependent on the ability to organize and plan and when their mise is spot on then a smile comes into play, confidence is riding high, a sense of readiness and accomplishment over-ride the fear of the unknown once the printer starts ticking off orders, and good things do happen as a result. Mise en place is more than this – to cooks it becomes their philosophy, a way of life – how they interact with others and a definition of how the world must be to make them feel right. When they are organized, they are good.

“Everything has a place and everything is in it’s place = confidence and happiness.”

-Me

[]         THE DRUG OF WINNING THE BATTLE

There is no substitute for being part of a winning initiative, of winning the game, the battle, the project, or the goals that are set. When a cook finishes service and finds pride in the number of guests served, the satisfaction of great food from his or her station, a complement from the chef or paying guest, and the knowledge that his or her station was totally on fire (in a good way) then the feeling is physically, mentally, and emotionally charged.

When it comes to the work that we do as cooks and chefs – then much of what Coach Vince Lombardi said during his career holds true:

“Winning isn’t everything, but wanting to win is.”

-Vince Lombardi

It is that desire and the effort that accompanies it that makes us all feel proud to cook and willing to do the hard work necessary to accomplish goals. This attitude is our second cup of coffee, our feeling of purpose, and the spark of enjoyment that brings us back tomorrow.

[]         THE DRUG OF REPUTATION AND CHARACTER

It is always important to an individual that his or her reputation is strong among allies and foes. That feeling that we are good people is always more significant than being good at what we do. Others respect us and give a thumbs up to our reputation when we are of strong character and never falter from those stakes in the ground that define the kind of person we want to be and that we are. Above everything else – this is the fruit of our labor.

“The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear.”

-Socrates

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

www.harvestamericaventures.com

Restaurant and Culinary School Consulting and Training

*Second Photo:  Part of the team at Quail Valley River Club

GENEROSITY IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR COOKS AND CHEFS

27 Sunday Jan 2019

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This month I had the pleasure of working in the kitchen with three of my most treasured friends. These consummate professionals represent, to me, the most vivid reason why I have truly loved working in the food business for five decades. I went on a culinary journey with these chefs as we found ourselves in the competition arena at the 1988 Culinary Olympics. As exciting as this moment was, it was the process of learning about team, accepting each other’s strengths and weaknesses, pushing us to constantly improve, and thoroughly enjoying the years of preparation that became the most important. Since that time we have continued to follow, support, and learn from each other as our careers moved forward.

On the surface, this time together in Vero Beach, Florida was a celebration of our friendship and our accomplishments as a team, but more importantly it was another opportunity for each of us to give back. This opportunity to work together was made possible through the efforts of Chef Joe Faria and Amy Haase-Hughes, the event coordinator at Quail Valley River Club. The event, recognized our team, but more significantly was an opportunity to raise funds to support charity efforts in the Vero Beach area.

Behind the scenes this time together was also an opportunity to work with and share what we know with the fantastic team of young cooks who are part of Chef Faria’s kitchen crew. The Quail Valley culinary team is a microcosm of backgrounds and nationalities that is representative of the wonderfully diverse foodservice industry. We had the pleasure of working with aspiring cooks from Kenya, South Africa, Portugal, and various parts of the U.S. Under one roof we felt the oneness that is possible and the responsibility that we all have to listen, understand, and support others with the generosity of our time, expertise, and uplifting words and thoughts. Following the dinner – Chef Faria sent me a letter that he received from one of his kitchen employees who masterfully pointed to how fortunate we are, how unaware we might be of the challenges that others face, and the importance of giving. I could not say it better so I thought that I would share these words with you.

A letter to Chef Joe Faria:

“Humanity is a blessing to some extent, we wake up to a beautiful sunrise, rub off the sleep from our eyes and stare at the beauty of nature around us, make plans for our day and go on with our daily business. To many it’s a routine that they have known from young age but to others bearing a smile on their faces in the morning is a gift. It’s a gift since it only comes about in rare occasions. Spend a lifetime fighting illness, go through a day without a meal, wake up in the morning and pray the sun never sets since you don’t have a sheet or for much better option a blanket to shield you from the ugly cold stare of the night, oh and not to mention you pray and hope that the trash will not be moved from that corner in the street so that you may dig in and maybe find some left overs that will be your dinner then lean your head on the trash can and hope to see another day. Who knows it might be raining in the morning, might be sunny or freezing cold.

We live in a society where all these is present and everyone plays their part equally both rich and poor, sick and health, old and young, deaf, blind, crippled, you name it. The question arises as to what we all do for each other. The sick will seek the doctors help, the jobless will knock on every employers door just to land a job that will drop a dollar or two in their pockets while the healthy ones break their sweat trying to figure a way on how to improve the society and make sure every living being is happy and safe at the end of the day. Be it directly or indirectly we all live by a code: “push and pull”. The successful one does his or her best to pull up the poor while the poor ones appreciate the effort and work hard to push up the effort showed to them. I believe in it, do you?

Let’s take a walk into the recent charity event that took place at Quail Valley River Club. Charity, to me, is not just about helping the needy, its more than just holding the hand of the weak -to me, charity is a chance one gets to give a sense of purpose in another person’s life, it’s a chance to help another person hold a bright smile on his or her face, it’s a chance we get to give someone else a reason to fight for tomorrow. We all work at aiming to improve our lives, and earn better pay at the end of the day, but what if we took a time off the daily routine and work hard not just aiming to improve ourselves but to uplift someone else’s life? Quail valley Golf club provided the platform for this to happen. I felt so humbled to be a part of the team that put the effort together to make that dinner a success. Having a chance to practice your passion and serve a group of guests just to achieve a target at the end of the day which is to build someone else’s existence, what an amazing feeling it is just knowing that your effort is focused on a motive for which there is no monetary value.

Chef Joe, a man that I hold great respect for, played a big part in ensuring that a strong team was in place that held hands with no compromise and ensured that perfection was attained on each single plate that the service team took out of the kitchen. Mistakes? Oh yes plenty of mistakes were made whilst preparing the meal but he always ensured that every mistake was rectified. He brought together a team of three of his longtime friends together to help build a scrumptious dinner, the love, the energy, and the hard work all put together with a common goal of ensuring that the big vision was attained.

When everyone left the club that night despite being tired, we all had smiles in our hearts knowing that someone’s future will have a strong foundation as they stand a better chance of receiving a good educational background made possible by every ounce of sweat broken by the strong, happy and loving team at Quail Valley Golf Club.”

To my culinary colleagues: Let us not forget how important it is for us to listen and support others. Let us never put aside our responsibility to teach and to share what we know with others. May we never lose sight of how blessed we are to live in this country with all of its flaws. May we always remember that America has always been, and hopefully will continue to be that shinning light of hope for others and that we hold true to our generous nature to help others in need.

Thank you Chefs Faria, Beriau, and Zuromski for taking the time to support, share, teach, and celebrate what it means to be a chef. Thanks to our other teammates who are always part of this giving team spirit but were not involved in this particular event: Chefs Johansson, Higgins, Carroll, and Varano, and Allen-Miller. Thanks to our team members and supporters who are no longer with us physically, but whose giving attitudes will always be within us: Chefs Flory, Connolly, Czekelius, Carroll, and Corelli. And thanks to every cook and chef who knows that giving is an essential part of our job.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

Restaurant Consulting and training

www.harvestamericaventures.com

 

 

NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE IMPORTANCE OF THE PREP COOK

28 Friday Dec 2018

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Chefs are acutely aware of the importance of their line crew and care is typically taken to hire those who have a complementary chemistry and skill set – team is critical to success. But, how much similar effort is placed on defining the role, and investing the time to hire right, and support the efforts of the prep cook? Furthermore, are chefs taking full advantage of the integration of an accomplished prep cook as a member of the team?

Behind every dish on a chef’s menu are foundational preparations that when done properly can set the stage for excellent line work and beautiful/delicious menu items. In the wrong hands, these dishes will inevitably suffer and the line team will find their positions far more challenging. An accomplished prep cook provides the road map for excellence.

Behind every refined sauce is a properly prepared stock; the foundation of every exceptional soup is a solid broth; every braised item finished on the line begins with fabrication, searing, caramelized mirepoix, proper seasoning and low and slow braising under the careful eye of a prep cook. Those beautiful vegetables are likely received by the prep cook as farmers and vendors seek the eye of approval on the freshness and quality of their ingredients; vegetable prep, salad dressings, rotation of a bounty of ingredients; clean filleting of fresh fish from the regional fish monger; exact cuts and portions on those steaks and chops; the step-by-step process of preparing and roasting meats; and the list of prep cook responsibilities goes on and on. The prep cook is such a critical member of the team – not any less critical than that exceptionally fast and organized line cook with a great palate. So, why do so many restaurants view that person(s) who may never finish a plate, but is the blueprint for every item that leaves the kitchen as any less important?

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What are the attributes of a great prep cook and where might a chef find the best candidates to complete his or her team?

[]         TIME TESTED – FOUNDATIONAL SKILLS

There will always be room for individuals to learn a great deal about cooking while contributing to the work in the prep station, but someone needs to possess a range of cooking skills that is only surpassed by the property chef. There should be little patience for a person in this position who seeks to learn how to fillet fish, cut steaks, properly make stocks and soups, or execute cooking methods with a high level of competence and confidence.

[]         DEPENDABILITY

When properly designed, a system that relies heavily on the prep position to set the stage for cooking success will contribute to the excellence of a restaurant food program and unify a team determined to thrive.

[]         FLAVOR KNOWLEDGE

The palate of the prep cook is as important as that of the line cook who finishes a dish. Where the line cook may put a specific signature on a flavor, it is up to the prep cook to maintain consistency in flavor even when the ingredients he or she works with may vary. To this end, it is critical that the prep cook know how to modify processes to end up with that level of consistency that the line cook requires.

[]         MASTERFUL ORGANIZATION

Multi-tasking for the prep cook is an essential skill. Unlike the line cook who works with a mind-numbing number of simultaneous a ‘la minute preparations – the prep cook will work with a multitude of processes that require varied cooking methods and techniques, and a wide gamut of timing. Prep cooks must complete all of these tasks in a prescribed amount of time – requiring efficiency and an understanding of priorities.

[]         THE KITCHEN SAGE

The best prep cooks are a resource for others who work in the kitchen. They must be fully aware of ingredients and their role in a dish, all of the essential cooking methods, problem-solving techniques, how to pull necessary flavors from each ingredient, and possess an encyclopedic knowledge of cooking for others to tap into.

[]         A PROBLEM SOLVER

The success of a restaurant menu begins at the point of ordering and ingredient receipt. The prep cook is the first person to identify problems (missed deliveries, short orders from vendors, adjustments to projected customer counts, inferior ingredient flavors, items out of season, etc.) and find solutions so that the line team can still execute their jobs and produce consistent results.   To the best prep cooks – this is second nature.

[]         A STICKLER FOR CONSISTENCY

The best prep cooks are those who are always focused on doing every task as it should be done. From the consistency of a brunoise or julienne, to the portioning on steaks and fish, to the flavor profile of those stocks and sauces – the attention to detail by the prep cook will truly define how well the line crew can perform their magic on the plate.

[]         A PENNY PINCHER

Cost control begins with how well the prep cook watches nickels and dimes. Full utilization of ingredients, attention to storage and product rotation, exact portioning, and finding ways to re-energize leftovers is a significant part of this cooks job description.

[]         A COOK WITH THAT ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT

When the prep cook takes control of his or her station then the whole energy in a kitchen changes. Ownership to a cook means that vendors will step up their game, daytime kitchen staff tend to follow through with their work, the kitchen stays organized and efficient, and the job always gets done. This spirit of ownership is one of the key elements that define a successful operation.

I find it interesting that so many restaurants view the prep shift as an entry-level position for the least skilled kitchen employees. In many cases this is where the culinary school intern will cut his or her teeth, or where that energetic dishwasher finds that first opportunity to handle a knife and a hot pan. Without taking away from the traditional logic behind that – if, in fact, the prep position provides the foundations for all finished cooking, then wouldn’t it make sense to hire and support real talent on the prep shift?

Think about the systems in your kitchen, the delineation of responsibilities, and the way that you define your culinary team and begin to view the role of prep cook as much more than that entry-level position – in fact, view it as the foundational position that defines your cuisine.

So how do you fill this position with the right individuals and where do they come from? Here are a few thoughts:

chuck and mickey

[]         Look to those retired chefs who have an interest in staying connected to the kitchen, who are likely less interested in the rate of pay, and far more focused on keeping their hand in it. Think about the level of expertise that these individuals can bring to your kitchen. They may only be interested in a few hours of work each day, or a few days per week, but the quality of their contribution can be significant.

[]         View the prep position as less of a steppingstone, and more of a career role in the kitchen. Let the rate of pay reflect the real skills and productivity that the position requires.

[]         Hire people with a connection to the cuisine. Whether that connection is ethnic heritage or simply a love of the type of food on the menu – this dynamic should never be underestimated.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

Restaurant Consulting and Training

http://www.harvestamericaventures.com

 

THE SENSUAL EXPERIENCE OF BEING A COOK

13 Thursday Dec 2018

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I miss the full experience of working daily in a busy restaurant kitchen. When that kitchen is the hub of activity in a hotel or resort then the experience is even more pronounced. From the moment that a chef walks into the hustle and bustle environment of the hotel kitchen, his or her senses are bombarded with the smells, visuals, textures, tastes, and cacophony of sounds that make up the kitchen experience. These are my memories:

[]         THE SENSE OF SMELL:
Walking through the back door of the kitchen at 7 a.m. The intoxicating aromas of the early morning kitchen always greeted me. It was these smells that brought me to attention and energized me for the day ahead. The aroma of bacon exiting the oven, the deep yeasty aroma of bread on the rise, the caramelization of sugar that gave breakfast Danish and croissant their unique character, and of course onions and potatoes taking on that crisp exterior en route to becoming the early risers home fries. There are few smells that are more enticing than fresh brewed coffee and eggs over easy – the daily wake-up call for cooks and guests alike.

By this time, prep cooks were well under way with their morning checklist. After browning veal bones in the oven to release their marrow, and caramelizing a mirepoix to sweeten and strengthen the mixture, a stock was taking form. Garlic is being roasted lightly for a batch of hummus, and fresh rosemary was added to the seared lamb shanks as they were being prepared for the long and slow braise that would mark the evening feature. The blend of smells might seem conflicting, but I was always able to pick out their uniqueness and determine at what stage each production was at, even without seeing the process.

Later in the day as work turned towards lunch and then dinner, these aromas would be replaced by steaks and chops grilling over open flames, butter and shallots from sauté, crisp pommes frites coming from the fry station, and countless sauce reductions as line cooks signed their plates with mouthwatering creations. It might be the smell of popovers being pulled from a 450 degree oven as they await a slice of prime rib, buttermilk onion rings on a New York strip, the garlic butter and white wine reduction in a pan of scampi, or crispy duck breast with it’s fat rendered perfectly while maintaining that beautiful pink medium rare color to the meat – in all cases the aromas throughout the day kept multiplying.

[]         THE SENSE OF SOUND:

To the novice, the cacophony of sounds that emanate from the kitchen may seem chaotic, but to the chef and the cook, they are as interesting as a symphony. Many chefs claim that they can tell how well a dish is progressing by assessing the sounds that surround it. The way that a knife blade sounds on a cutting board can indicate whether or not the tool is properly sharpened, that sound of carbon steel on a wet stone is quite musical and the rapid chopping of a French knife as it works through 20 pounds of sliced mushrooms is as rhythmic as a professional drummer might produce.

The clanging of pots and pans can bring a smile to a chef’s face and the clink of clean plates being stacked as they arrive hot from the dishwasher is even more melodic. As the day moves on and more cooks arrive to start their mise en place, the sounds of the kitchen become more complex. The sear of a fillet of salmon or breast of duck, and the sizzle of a steak produced by blue and yellow flames lapping up from the char grill, are complemented by the barking of orders from the expeditor, the cadence of the POS printer, and the resounding response from line cooks: “Yes Chef!” One person’s version of chaos is another’s recognition of beautiful organization.

[]         THE SENSE OF SIGHT:

If the chef were to walk through the kitchen with open eyes and a sense of wonder, he or she would see beauty in everything. Organized walk-in coolers filled with clear Lexan tubs displaying fresh vegetables, fruit, herbs, and in-production preparation. Perfectly marbled beef being cut for steaks, glistening fresh fish being scaled and sliced into fillets with a knife so sharp it seems as though it is moving through butter, and piles of onions, carrots, and celery cut for mirepoix are visuals that represent the intense sensual overload that the kitchen offers.

Walking through the dining room just prior to service is equally stimulating amidst perfectly pressed tablecloths and napkins, shimmering Riedl stemware to support the wine list, fresh flowers that welcome the season, starched bistro aprons, and freshly dusted bottles of liquor on the back bar. Back in the kitchen, as the chef prepares to inspect the line before service, cooks are putting their finishing touches on station mise – polishing stainless steel, folding side towels, adding monte’ au beurre to sauces in the bain marie, lining up ingredients in 1/6th pans, and organizing sauté pans with their handles pointing to 5 o’clock. Soon attention will be directed to the proper marking of steaks, the even caramelization of sautéed proteins, the grill marks on whole fish, and the artistic assembly of finished dishes as they are placed in the pass for that final plate rim wipe by the expeditor. But, the most visually pleasing part of the kitchen is the orchestrated motion of line cooks working in sync – this is the dance that is worthy of a permanent place on You Tube.

[]         THE SENSE OF TOUCH

Textures are ever-present in the kitchen, but we rarely take the time to truly notice them. There is something really comforting about holding a quality knife in your hands. The handle, the bolster, sensing the weight and balance of the blade, feeling how the blade slices through vegetables, meat or fish without any effort, gives a cook a sense of completeness. The knife at times, becomes an extension of a cook’s hand – more than a tool, it is one with the cook who can control the actions of the blade when the two are in sync. When the sauté cook grabs the handle of a sauteuse that same connection takes place. A push forward and a quick, controlled flip back allows the contents in the pan to move in a wave like motion, turning over and balancing the cooking time while blending the flavors of the dish. This motion becomes second nature to the cook and happens hundreds of times during a shift without ever losing an ingredient or drop of liquid.

Cooks can tell how fresh a vegetable is by simply holding it in his or her hands. The snap of a green bean helps to assess when it was picked and the crunch of an apple is as accurate as looking at a calendar. When there is a snap and a crunch to the apple then it must be September. Throughout the shift – touch plays an important role in a chef or cook’s existence. The clicking of tongs at the ready – one of the line cooks most important tools, the touch that evaluates the spring of a steak or chop and signals to the grill cook when the item is rare, medium rare, or worse. The sense of touch and the cook’s hands are the first line of defense in establishing control over the activities that he or she engages in throughout the day.

[]         THE SENSE OF TASTE:

The sensual experience for the cook comes full-circle with the social sense. The sense of taste ironically does not exist on its own. Taste is a culmination of all of the senses combined and how they come together determines the true experience of taste. The absence of, or any change in one of those components of sense will change the experience of taste. There are few places on earth where taste is more pronounced, more exciting, and more exact, than in the kitchen.

That first cup of coffee is uniquely satisfying, necessary, and delicious. There will be numerous other cups during the day, but none as gratifying as that first one to help you greet the morning. The smell of the morning bacon is only a precursor to the salty crunch of a piece or two while you walk the kitchen to inspect the activity taking place. Maybe a full breakfast will follow, or at least that second cup of coffee and a croissant hot from the oven.

Throughout the day you will be required to taste everything from a reduced demi, to salad dressings, a cream soup for the luncheon special, that hummus with roasted garlic, a few new wines being considered for the list, cheese from a local producer, a Georgia peach that is at peak season, a new sorbet flavor, and a couple fries from a fresh batch of fryer oil. The tasting never ends, and it rarely gets old. The chef may never sit down to a legitimate meal throughout the day, but might end a very long shift after the evening push, sitting in the office while reviewing tomorrows production schedule and enjoying a simply medium rare burger on toasted bun – simple and unaltered with excessive add-ons.

I miss this. I miss the people, the smells, sounds, visuals, textures, and flavors. I miss the kitchen – a place that epitomizes the complete food experience.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

www.harvestamericaventures.com

Restaurant and Culinary School Consulting

THE SPORT OF COOKING

09 Sunday Dec 2018

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Is it too far fetched to consider professional cooking – a sport? Are there enough similarities to view how a restaurant line operates and interject many of the facets of a winning sporting teams development and performance? I think that the comparisons are obvious.

[]         TALENT

Restaurant or team locker room – every successful performance group needs to always seek out the most compatible talent. At the same time – every sports team or kitchen understands that talent alone will not necessarily lead to success.

[]         CHEMISTRY

Beyond individual talent is the critical factor of group chemistry. Kitchens succeed when every player is in sync and individuals work from the premise that skills must complement every other member of the team. This “fit” is of consummate importance and the best leaders make sure that they hire for fit and train in an effort to always improve that reality.

[]         STUDY

When a football, basketball, baseball, or hockey player is not actively engaged in a game – he or she is engrossed in studying past performance, and how opposing teams operate. When on the field these players need to think like the opposition in order to combat their action plan. In the kitchen, it is essential that cooks self-critique and observe how each member of the team functions independently and as a group. It is this methodical study of action that allows cooks to improve and avoid making the same mistakes again.

[]         PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

The more that a group of people works together the stronger they become; the stronger they become, the more confident they are; the more confident they are, the more likely it is that success will result. Whether on the field of play or standing in front of a cherry red flat top range, the results of practice will always improve performance.

[]         SUPPORT

The best team is comprised of players who understand and support each other. When one member falters, others are there to step up and fill in the gaps. Even leadership within these organizations may move from player to player. Leadership need not simply be assigned to a person with that title. We have all seen this happen in great organizations – when the need arises, someone will stand tall and take the responsibility on his or her shoulders.

[]         REGIMENT and DISCIPLINE

“Yes Coach” or “Yes Chef” is an essential response in organizations where immediate performance is expected. In the heat of the moment there is little room for any individual to question a method or decision. There will be plenty of time to ask those questions and pitch an alternative approach after the immediate need has passed. In the meantime, discipline is the rule of thumb.

[]         SCENARIO PLANING

Murphy’s Law proclaims that if you open the door to the possibility of something going wrong – it likely will. The best individuals and teams plan for the unexpected so that they are able to respond in a timely fashion if things go sideways. When you fail to plan, you are likely to fail in performance as a result.

[]         CROSS TRAINING – THE IMPORTANCE OF A STRONG BENCH

Effective teams understand that there must always be someone else who is trained and mentally ready to step in to someone else’s shoes. Every football team has a bench replacement or two, or three, for every position on the field. The same is true in every sport and in every kitchen. The person working grill must be able to step into sauté or garde manger, every line cook must be ready to man the expeditor station, and every chef or sous chef must transition seamlessly to fill in for the breakfast cook if needed. Cross training is the key to consistency in kitchens.

[]         THE PLAYBOOK

What wins games? Is it the individual talent of players, the attitude of the team in the moment, the level of passion that exudes from leadership – or is it primarily a result of the game plan going into a competition? Every team has a game plan, every coach is judged on his or her prowess at building a plan, and many games are won because the plan is executed, as it should be. In the kitchen the plan includes, recipes, mise en place, effective station training, proper front-of-the-house door management, and the orchestration of timing through the kitchen expeditor. The playbook is as important as the talent of the individual cooks.

[]         COMPETITIVE SPIRIT

When a team is confident and prepared; when the team knows the playbook and individuals know the part that they play; when individuals know that they can and should be able to win – then the stage is set for great results. This is absolutely the same in a kitchen. Well-trained cooks, sufficient quality equipment, tight mise en place, and a desire to produce consistently high quality food within the time frame allowed will result in a great service.

[]         FRANCHISE PLAYERS

Every member of a team is important, but when that rare exceptional person with talent, leadership ability, dependability, team orientation, and loads of confidence comes along – then the team will go the extra distance to keep him or her a part of the team. This is a key element of success in any organization – including restaurant kitchens. Take care of everyone who performs well and fits, but pay extra attention to those who command respect, work for the betterment of the whole, and who always step forward when needed.

[]         RESULTS ORIENTED

We all long to work in an environment where a sense of family exists, but at the same time it does not serve the team (family) well if a person fails to contribute, improve, and work as a member of that team. Results do matter. This is true in sports and in kitchens.

[]         AVOID PENALTIES, BUT LEARN HOW TO BOUNCE BACK WHEN THEY OCCUR

We all make mistakes, but we need to learn how to work around them when they occur and work harder still to avoid a repeat of the mistakes. To assume that any athlete will always perform well is naïve – the same is true behind the range. Cooks do have bad days – it is the responsibility of the team to help those individuals shake it off, learn, and come back even stronger. In the meantime, the game is still being played and the customer must never feel the pain of defeat that the cook or athlete is experiencing in that moment.

[]         KNOW THE IMPORTANCE OF THE 12TH MAN

If you have ever been to a football game for your home team and felt the surge of energy that comes from the crowd, then you can understand just how important that crowd (12th man) is to the team. The adrenaline shared by the audience can lift a team and push them further than they thought was possible. In the kitchen, it is the positive vibe from the chef, the manager, owner, service staff, and guest who can energize the team and get them over the hill to realize a great service.

The kitchen team seems vividly similar to a sporting team, or for that matter any group of people with a common goal. It takes the same discipline, preparation, cohesiveness, and talent to succeed in the kitchen as it does on the court, field, or ice.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

www.harvestamericaventures.com

Restaurant Consulting and Training

ANYTHING WORTH DOING IS WORTH DOING WELL

01 Saturday Dec 2018

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What does it take to get ahead? Maybe the more appropriate question is what does it take to feel good about what you do? Self-Esteem is important, maybe one of the most important motivational tools available – tools that are always within your grasp, are personal, and truly beyond anyone else’s interference. The answer to Self-Esteem is doing what you do – well, never being truly satisfied with the results, and constantly dedicating the time and effort to improve. I guarantee if this is your approach – then it will be noticed, and in time – rewarded. In the meantime – when you look in a mirror you will do so with the knowledge that you are heading in the right direction.

We hear friends and associates cry foul when it comes to how they are, or are not rewarded for the work they do, but how often can these same individuals say: “I am approaching each task with passion and the commitment to doing the task as well as I am able to in the moment. I know where I need to improve and have set a course of action to improve on that skill.” So what does this really mean?

“If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as a Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.”

– Martin Luther King, Jr.

How appropriate is this quote and does it apply to how a cook may perform his or her job in the kitchen? The answer is simple – a cook will never be allowed to progress in a professional kitchen unless he or she is willing to approach each and every task with the context of this quote in mind and heart. Here is some food for thought:

[]         EVERY SINGLE TASK IS IMPORTANT

A common mistake that cooks make is viewing one task as more important than another. When you begin to realize that everything is important then excellence is within your grasp. Is it important that those knife cuts be perfect? Is it critical that items placed on a sheet pan be spaced equally? Is a simmer really important when a boil is so much faster? Is it important to fold side towels a certain way or make sure that panhandles are facing in the same direction? Is it real important that my uniform is spotless and pressed? The answer to all of these questions (if your goal is to set the stage for personal success and positive self-esteem) is YES! This is what great cooks do.

[]         THERE IS ALWAYS ROOM TO BE EXCELLENT

Look at your work, any part of your work – from the way you dress and groom yourself, to the sharpness of your knives, the organization of your work station, your attention to sanitation, the care with which you print out your prep sheet, and the way that you time your work – is the quality of your effort noteworthy? Do others recognize you for your attention to detail? Treat every task as if it is the most important work that you will do today.

[]         EXCELLENCE IS A HABIT, SO IS MEDIOCRITY

When we view excellence as a goal we tend to miss the point. Excellence is how you live your life – it cannot be turned on and off, and should not be viewed as a destination with an end in mind. You don’t reach excellence – you live excellence. Mediocrity, ironically, is a close cousin to excellence. It is a fork in the road that requires the traveler to stay the course of excellence, or turn towards mediocrity. Excellence is not a “sometimes” effort; it is a habitual “all-time” effort.

“If you are going to achieve excellence in big things, you develop the habit in little matters. Excellence is not an exception, it is a prevailing attitude.”

– Colin Powell

[]         BE THE EXAMPLE FOR OTHERS

If the rule that you follow is to approach each task differently, to categorize certain tasks as more important than others in terms of effort, then how can you expect to be viewed as truly committed to your craft? The best scenario should be a work environment where others use you as the example for how things should be done.

[]         ASK THE QUESTION: “IS THIS THE BEST I CAN DO?”

Excellence, as a process, infers that your work, in any given moment is the best you may be able to do, but will improve incrementally as you repeat the process. The adage: “Practice makes perfect”, is based in truth. Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are both excellent golfers who are never satisfied – they strive to be better than the best and as a result become their own worst critics. Watch their self-assessment after a successful match and you will note that they rarely focus on what they did well, but instead talk about where they made mistakes and what they need to do to improve.

“I have always looked at it this way: If you strive like crazy for perfection – an all-out assault on total perfection – at the very least you will hit a high level of excellence, and then you might be able to sleep at night. To accomplish something truly significant, excellence has to become a life plan.”

-Charlie Trotter

[]         FIND YOUR ROLE MODEL AND USE HIM OR HER AS A REFERENCE

Everyone benefits from a positive role model. Find people who have become advocates for doing everything well and constantly seek ways to improve – seek their counsel, discover their methods, and as you approach a task, ask yourself; “How would my mentor approach this work?” Focus on accomplishing each task with this commitment to excellence.

“Nothing builds self-esteem and self-confidence like accomplishment.”

-Thomas Carlyle

[]         BE PROUD OF WHAT YOU DO – NOT SATISFIED

Having pride in your work and knowing that it can still be done better is the sign of a person who has made excellence a habit. Look at your work and note that the effort is there, but that there is always room for improvement. The Japanese call it “Kaisen” – the process of constant improvement.

[]         WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO SIGN YOUR WORK

Can you imagine that there would be a difference in effort if every task completed by a cook carried his or her signature? Can you envision what it would be like if every guest, co-worker, and business leader was able to make the connection between the task and the person who completed it? Treat everything you do as if it were a representation of your personal brand and a statement of your commitment to quality work.

Anything Worth Doing is Worth Doing Well can and should apply to everything that you do: how you present yourself, the quality of work that you do, how you treat others, your professionalism, the passion that you show for your craft, and your desire to learn. If you want to “get ahead”, improve your status in the kitchen, earn more money, or simply feel great about what you do for a living, then welcome the habit of excellence into your life.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

www.harvestamericaventures.com

Restaurant and Culinary School Consulting

*PICTURE: With my mentor: Laster Chef Anton Flory – The Adirondack Food and Wine Festival 2005

THE LINE COOK COUNTERCULTURE

28 Sunday Oct 2018

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From that first job as a dishwasher in 1966 when I was 16 years old – I knew I was part of something interesting. Who knows what struck a chord – it might have been the pace, the banter between employees, the time spent helping out the breakfast cook during a rush, or even the young college girls who worked as servers – but there was something that made me think that this was work that I was going to enjoy. Working in restaurants remained a part of my life for the next fifty years, but initially it never occurred to me that the job, as enjoyable as it was, was part of anything larger than my interaction with the people where I happened to tie on an apron.

Somewhere along the way this changed. There must have been a moment when I realized that I was a part of the population who knew the positive and negative aspects of kitchen work and who felt compelled to stand tall and proclaim their connection to all whom would listen. The job became a career, and with that career came a connection to a somewhat underground population of folks who worked through the heat, the burns, the cuts, the heavy knees and swollen feet, the abusive nature of some egotistical chefs and owners, people who felt the stress associated with the unpredictable onslaught of orders every day, and that feeling of winning and losing that accompanied a typical week behind the range. I never stopped to think about it, but I had joined a special club – maybe more than a club – this was as significant as ethnicity – a family that went beyond the place where I worked – it extended to anyone and everyone who worked in nearly any type of restaurant. We were one.

I’m not sure exactly when it went to the next level – maybe it was Anthony Bourdain with his tell-all book: “Kitchen Confidential”, or maybe that was just the most vivid example. At some point working in a kitchen was an application to a counter-culture, not too dissimilar to that counter-culture of people in the 1960’s who separated themselves from the norm, felt compelled to express themselves in dramatic ways, and who knew they were part of something bigger than one – they were a movement.

Cooks and other restaurant employees are different. They look, act, feel, and talk differently than many other groups in society, and they are proud of it. They are unified in their difference, they tend to look at the unrealistic demands on their time, the physical nature of the work, and the strain on emotions as martyrdom – something that they hold as a badge of courage even though they might complain about how it impacts their lives.

Here are some aspects of this counterculture that cooks now own, relish, and love to hate all at the same time:

[]         SELF-EXPRESSION:

There are many ways that line cooks tend to express themselves today. Some are subtle while others are straightforward. It is hard to find a cook today without multiple tattoos. These are, from my experience, forms of self-expression and in most cases the choice of tattoo tells a story about the cook. It might be detailed ink depicting knives and other tools of the trade, specific ingredients, depictions of demon dreams, or not so subtle logos of brands. In all cases, it seems like the tattoo is part of the modern kitchen culture. Aside from the physical appointments – each line cook worth a grain of salt is expressive on the plate or in the pan. Sometimes it is a signature marking on a steak, the way that their station is set, the motions of a pan in sauté mode, or how a plate is assembled – each cook thrives on finding a way to make their personal statement.

[]         A SOMEWHAT UN-NATURAL LINK TO THE BRAND OF “COOK”:

Most line cooks and chefs identify with the title almost as much as to their own name. I haven’t physically worked in a kitchen since 2012, yet most people I know (even some of my family members) call me “chef”; for some reason I haven’t tried to convince people otherwise. The same is true with all who take their role in the kitchen seriously – we all like the brand – it has meaning, it exudes pride, and helps to explain some of our quirky actions and habits.

[]         THE BROTHERHOOD/SISTERHOOD OF THE KITCHEN:

There is a real connection between all cooks, a connection that extends to anyone, anywhere who shares the battle scars and stories of fire, sweat, and nights when demand exceeded capacity.

[]         RESPECT THROUGH PAIN:

I have mentioned this before and still I find it hard to explain, but those cuts, burns, swollen feet, and beginning stages of carpel tunnel syndrome are looked upon as a right of passage, battle scars that come with a story, things that are almost bragged about. We all have them, we all talk about them, and most of us tend to exaggerate the stories behind them. Many cooks, like me, had a special relationship with doctors and nurses in the local emergency room.

[]         CONFUSION OVER “NORMAL” JOBS:

After years of working 60 or more hours per week, going sometimes weeks on end without a full day off, watching schedules change multiple times in a week, and missing out on those family holidays and special events – cooks tend to scratch their heads when trying to relate to people with “normal” jobs. The thought of working 40-hour weeks with two days off is often referred to by cooks as a part-time job.

[]         ADDICTED TO ADRENALINE:

It’s all about the rush. As hard as it is to work in a busy restaurant, as nervous as every cook tends to get just before the floodgate of orders start ticking off the POS printer, and as much as self-doubt creeps into their lives with a disappointed look from the chef – when the machine starts to flip into full-gear, and that adrenaline kicks in, every cook stands tall, clicks his or her tongs, wipes his or her brow, chugs another espresso and proclaims: “bring it on”. This is what we wait for – that adrenaline rush of excitement and call to arms.

[]         THE UNDERGROUND LIFE CLOCK:

Maybe more than anything else – cooks live in a world that is separate from most others outside of kitchen work. They sleep later (unless a breakfast cook), and then crawl out of bed for a waiting cup or two of coffee, shower and bound off to work. They typically work 10-12 hours a day, more often than not – 6-days per week, and find that after that peak hour adrenaline rush and continued work until closing – there is never a desire to simply call it a night. A few hours of celebration after work with fellow cooks and servers brings them to their bed well past most reasonable persons threshold. After a late night with little sleep it’s time to start all over again. The life clock of a cook is socially isolating – thus they work and hang with the same people, the only ones that there is time to meet, and the only other people they understand.

[]         A MUTUAL RESPECT FOR ORDER:

Cooks learn early on that order (mise en place) is the most sacred of processes and must become the standard by which they approach everything in life. Without order there is chaos, and chaos is the ruin of any good cook. Just watch with fascination how a cook sets up his or her station – the preciseness, the symmetry, and the attention to detail.

[]         A MILITARY LIKE RESPECT FOR THE CHAIN OF COMMAND:

Cooks may complain on occasion about the chef and his or her relentless level of expectation and sometimes unreasonable attacks on anything that doesn’t fit into the plan – but, they respect the chain of command, they respond with a resounding “yes chef”, and know that to entertain any other approach will lead to kitchen disasters.

[]         INNATE ARTISITIC TALENT:

All cooks are frustrated artists who are always seeking ways of expression and subtle moments of approval for their work. The plate is their canvas.

[]         STAGE PRESENCE – STAGE FRIGHT:

When set – the line cook is in character. He or she is ready to perform and in full control of their script. At the same time, just like actors in a play, those last few moments before the printer starts to tick off orders is filled with self-doubt, anxiousness, and near fear of what might lie ahead.

[]         A RATHER STRANGE LOVE OF THE TOOLS OF THE TRADE:

This is something that outsiders learn very quickly – a cook’s knives are the most sacred possession to them. They treat them with respect, care for them, keep them sharp and ready, gingerly place them in their roll bag, and always keep them close to their side. Anyone who makes even the slightest attempt to touch them without permission or use them inappropriately will witness the wrath of the cook.

[]         A CRUSTY EXTERIOR WITH A FRAGILE INTERIOR:

Every cook has a crusty exterior persona. Sometimes they bark with contempt when someone messes with their system, and oftentimes he or she expresses himself or herself with colorful language in the process. Those who know these cooks usually realizes that this is a façade and underneath the cook is a warm, and oftentimes fragile being looking for approval and harder on themselves than any outsider might attempt to be.

This is who cooks are– unique persons who are members of the kitchen counterculture that only they can truly understand and appreciate.

“Our confused society badly needs a community of contrast, a counterculture of ordinary pilgrims who insist living a different way. Unlike popular culture, we will lavish attention on the least deserving in direct opposition to our celebrity culture’s emphasis on success, wealth, and beauty.”

-Phillip Yancey

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

Respect the Counterculture

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

Restaurant Consulting

www.harvestamericaventures.com

 

LIFE IN THE KITCHEN – WHAT A LONG STRANGE TRIP IT’S BEEN

06 Monday Aug 2018

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Quite often I have read posts from individual cooks who express a high level of dissatisfaction with their choice to work in kitchens. In some cases this dissatisfaction leans towards contempt – loads of anger pointed at the job and those who employ cooks in service of the guest. While many of the concerns expressed by these cooks has merit (rate of pay, lack of benefits, commitment of hours, etc.) I feel that much of their distaste is a result of their own doing, or lack there of. Maybe I am just fortunate, but I tend to feel that the first job in a kitchen is just a springboard toward opportunities that you can make on your own. This is a reflective moment of my trip and one that many of my friends have experienced as well. This is food for thought.

A TIMELINE (TRIP) THAT PROVIDED “FORK IN THE ROAD OPPORTUNITIES”:

[]         THAT FIRST JOB:

Like many other chefs – it was that first job at maybe 15 or 16 years of age that set the course of their career. Like many, I was a not so inspired high school student who fell into that first job as a dishwasher. I didn’t know at the time that this would be the start of a lifelong career.

[]         FALLING IN LOVE WITH THE ENVIRONMENT:

I loved that job. Maybe it was because I received a paycheck for the first time, maybe it was being around food all day long, or maybe it was the immersion into the lifestyle of food service workers that made it special. Whatever it was – I thoroughly enjoyed my time diving for pearls.

[]         ROCK AND ROLL OR HOSPITALITY:

At the age of 17, like so many, I was faced with a decision – what was I going to do with my life? My parents saw college in my future – I saw playing drums in a band as my life pursuit. My parents won, so I chose a school that focused on hospitality. Since I loved the dish area and my time assisting the breakfast cook during the daily rush, then maybe I could become a hotel manager some day.

[]         CAN I LIVE UP TO THE CREDENTIAL?

Leaving college after two years I found myself interviewing for an assistant managers job at a Holiday Inn dining room. The manager was brutal during a three- hour interview as he pointed out everything that I didn’t know. In the end he did me a tremendous favor when he suggested I go back into the kitchen, learn whatever I could, and then gradually work my way back into a management opportunity.

[]         BACK TO BASICS IN A REAL KITCHEN:

I fell into a position as formal apprentice in the kitchens of the Buffalo Statler Hilton Hotel. This was a real kitchen with a talented and experienced Executive Chef and the classic brigade of chefs and cooks that was established a generation before by Escoffier (or so I learned later on). I rotated through every position from butcher to banquets, garde manger to pastry, and saucier to line work. It was a two-year whirlwind of immersion in a busy 1,200 hotel with hundreds of events every week and two active restaurants. I started to actually learn how to cook and build my confidence. My connection with a diverse team would become invaluable in the future.

[]         COOKING IS EASY, MANAGING OTHERS – NOT SO MUCH:

As much as I enjoyed and learned in that kitchen, I felt still compelled to move towards a management position. I knew very little about managing operations or managing people. Through a friend I heard of a position as assistant manager in a cafeteria operation. I jumped ship at the Hilton and traded in my chef whites for a jacket and tie. A different type of operation, a significantly different level of commitment to cooking, a union shop, and comfortable cooks without much desire to improve was a real wake-up call. Learning how to interact and try to help others self-motivate was a real education. I struggled and was successful to some degree and failed miserably with other tasks. In the end, I became better at what I did because I took the leap.

[]         IT’S A BUSINESS:

What I did learn was that operating a kitchen is more than producing great food and demonstrating your skill at logistics management – operating a successful kitchen is a business endeavor. I learned about inventories, and recipe costing; I picked up the ability to determine selling prices that work and I discovered the realities of profit and loss. Everything that I did learn through this experience would be essential throughout the rest of my career.

[]         ESCAPE:

All said – as much as I learned, I was totally stressed by the level of resistance to change, the lack of commitment to solid cooking, the 9-5 mentality that I was not accustomed to, and the back-biting environment that came from a lack of team. I had to go back to my happy place – the kitchen. I worked in fine dining restaurants as a line cook, traveled with my wife to Canada to run a kitchen at a experimental school for wayward kids, and finally found myself in the Adirondacks as a chef for a destination resort. It was refreshing and draining at the same time, but it helped me to regain my footing and focus on the importance of food. Yes, it was an escape, but more importantly it was an opportunity to return to my stakes in the ground.

[]         SURE I CAN TEACH:

The toll of the kitchen, like many cooks point out today, is measured in missed family opportunities, excessive hours, physical and emotionally demanding work, and little opportunity for a pat on the back. I was fairly good at what I did and when I felt as if my skills fell short, I simply put in more hours. Something needed to change. I stepped into an opportunity to take on a position as instructor at a hotel management college with a desire to start up a culinary arts degree in the future. This decision would take me through the next 26 years as teacher, department chair, and eventually dean. As comfortable as I was as a cook and chef, I was now very comfortable as a teacher and administrator. I moved from dishwasher to Program Dean – quite a leap.

[]         DEDICATION TO LEARNING ABOUT FOOD:

One of the first things that I understood about teaching culinary arts is that I knew very little about culinary arts. Sure – I worked in busy kitchens, I paid my dues on the line, I prepped for thousands of banquet meals, and I was adept at making stock in 50 gallon kettles and a version of Bordelaise for 1,200, but I really didn’t have a clue about food, how ingredients were grown, why certain cooking processes were done a specific way, what happens during the cooking process, how to develop a palate, or the intricacies of effective plate presentation. In other words – I could cook, but I didn’t have the answers to teach. So, I set out to discover, study, research, shadow, find mentors, participate, and learn. The teaching job gave me an opportunity to become a better chef, and a much more effective teacher/trainer.

[]         COMPETITION AND TEAM:

Hey – why not. As I learned more about food I became enthralled with pushing myself in competitions. I entered show after show and grew with each experience. I even made it to the Culinary Olympics as part of the New England Culinary Olympic Team and we won more gold medals than any team since. Along the way I discovered the importance of team, not just teamwork. I became friends with some of the most talented people around and built my personal brand on the skills and aptitudes that were a result. I was beginning to really understand food and the importance of what chefs do.

[]         DOZENS OF NEW FRIENDS – OPENING THE DOOR TO A LARGER INDUSTRY:

These new friends opened many doors through the competition network, the ACF, The World Association of Chefs, the Research Chefs Association, Slow Food USA and the Center for Advancement of Foodservice Education. My personal network was becoming substantial. Friends are there to help friends.

[]         MASTER CHEF OR MASTER’S DEGREE:

At one point I was trying to decide whether to team up and take a year to study for the ACF Master Chef exam or take two years and work on a Master’s Degree. In the end I decided on the Master’s Degree that seemed most appropriate in my current career in education. Besides, I felt that my odds of completing an advanced degree were far greater than my chance of passing the grueling Master Chef exam. In 2001 I was recognized as the ACF National Culinary Educator of the Year.

[]         THE INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE:

I began to develop programs for students to experience a semester abroad. With incredible international partnerships we created those experiences that allowed students to work in Michelin star restaurants, work the vendage in prominent vineyards, and immerse in the culture of central Burgundy. I traveled to France, Monaco, Germany, Austria, England, Norway and Italy in an effort to grow my network and learn about other cultures. Such an incredible education.

[]         BACK IN THE SADDLE – PROMISES KEPT:

In 2005 I had a falling out with the administration of a college after 26 years and decided to return to industry. It had been some time and I naturally felt a bit out of touch. Could I still get it done as a chef? I promised the owner that we would earn a fourth diamond for food within two years and we made that mark in 2 years and 4 days. Promise delivered. I felt refreshed and reconnected to the industry that I had been teaching students about for decades.

[]         JAMES BEARD HOUSE:

My greatest memory was being invited to represent my employer and cook at the James Beard House in New York City. Such history, such a tremendous honor.

[]         EDUCATION AGAIN – A DIFFERENT ROLE:

After four years and “mission accomplished” I accepted an opportunity to return to education as the vice president of a school totally dedicated to culinary arts. Now as a senior administrator my new responsibilities included contracts, strategic planning, facilities planning, faculty assessment, curriculum revisions, and accreditation. This was a far cry from cooking, although I took as many opportunities as possible to work alongside the chefs in our kitchens.

[]         BRANCHING OFF ON MY OWN:

After four years back in education I decided it was time to try a hand at entrepreneurship. In 2012 I started a company dedicated to restaurant and culinary school consulting and training. I have presently worked with nearly 40 different businesses through this firm. During this time I wrote two novels and started an industry blog that has attracted almost 1.5 million views.

[]         WHAT’S NEXT?

We all have stories, we all have a love/hate relationship with the field, we all feel a lifelong connection to something bigger than us, something that takes control of us and pulls us in directions that we could never have predicted. I started at the age of 15 as a dishwasher, I sweat on the line of many restaurants, struggled with my own inadequacies, pushed myself to become better, and never thought twice about jumping into something new. What’s your story? Take the time to talk with at least one of those young cooks who fail, at this point, to see the opportunities before them. Challenges are either roadblocks, or steppingstones – help them to see what they might be able to accomplish. You never know.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

Restaurant Consulting and Training

www.harvestamericaventures.com

 

 

 

THE FALLACY OF RECIPES

30 Monday Jul 2018

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Let me begin by setting the stage for this articles title: I do believe in the importance of recipes, but…. they are not the answer to consistently great cooking. Recipes fail in the following ways:

  • Recipes do not factor in variances in the quality of raw materials based on freshness, maturity, the impact of soil and climate, storage and handling of those ingredients, etc. etc.
  • The skill and experience of the cook
  • The passion and commitment of those same cooks
  • The palate and eye of the person who developed the recipe

The intent of a recipe is typically to ensure that whoever follows the steps as outlined will be able to produce that product at the level expected by the person who wrote the recipe. I would guarantee that ten cooks given the same recipe and the same ingredients would produce ten slightly different results.

So, where does a recipe fit in the big scheme of consistency? There is tremendous value to the creation of recipes: they provide the operation with the basis for determining likely costs of production and in turn – accurate selling prices. And the recipe is a superb communication tool that defines what ingredients are included in the production of a menu item and which methods of cooking are used in its production. But consistency is hardly ensured simply because a recipe is well developed.

I recently read a post from a young restaurant cook who asked the best way to study and learn new recipes to be used at a line station. This was a great question that cannot be answered without changing the cook’s focus entirely. Memorizing recipes will never result in great cooking or consistent dishes. The ability to cook anything well is a result of understanding methods and technique and having a real appreciation for the dish and its history. So, here is my answer to that cook:

  1. KNOW YOUR INGREDIENTS

I am not just referring to being able to identify an ingredient visually, but      rather KNOW your ingredient’s flavor profile, changes by season, texture, storage, how it changes when heat is applied, optimum ways to preserve its characteristics, and even more importantly – what to do when the ingredient is not at its optimum.

  1. UNDERSTAND THE PRIMARY COOKING METHODS

Understanding refers to knowing the steps and process in the same manner             that you know how to breathe. When you know it, the process is automatic and you understand how to control results. Know the steps in proper braising, know that sauté is a delicate process, know that a plancha will result in different results than if you were to grill the same piece of meat or fish, and know the difference between poaching and boiling, and when to use either in the process of preparing various ingredients. When you truly know how to apply the foundational cooking methods then you are in control of the results – not the recipe.

  1. BUILD YOUR PALATE

An educated palate is the key to creating memorable flavors. When the         combination of taste buds and olfactory receptors are trained through experience then it becomes possible to adjust a process or the amount of certain ingredients to replicate the expected flavors from a dish. There are far too many variables to simply rely on a recipe to accomplish this goal.

  1. KNOW HOW THE DISH SHOULD TASTE

One of the most important keys to becoming an accomplished cook comes from understanding how a dish should taste. In this case the old adage that “experience is the best educator”, certainly applies. A solid cook needs benchmarks to aspire to. You MUST taste and savor a dish numerous times and catalog the taste, smell, and texture of the dish so that you are able to re-create it time and again.

  1. KNOW THE HISTORY OF A DISH

Most times the missing ingredient in a memorable dish is a connection           beyond the physiological aspects of eating. Knowing how a dish came about, the root of its existence, why certain ingredients were initially put together, what cultural influences came into play, and something about the people who   made those early decisions is essential in building memorable flavors.  History is important to a cook.

  1. KNOW HOW THE DISH CAME TO FIND A PLACE ON THE MENU

The best cooks do not simply accept that a dish is on the menu – he or she    takes the time to talk with the chef or person who designed the menu in an          effort to understand the “why” and even the objectives associated with a      dish. Does it pair well with certain wines, is the item there as a place card    holder or does the chef expect that this will be one of those signature items, are there certain appetizers and desserts that the chef feels are important complements to the dish, and is there some type of tradition associated with this dish or maybe it holds a place in the chef’s personal history. The more the cook knows the better he or she is prepared to do it justice. What is the story behind each menu item?

  1. KNOW WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND THE ABOVE

When that dish is prepared without a deeper understanding as stated in this           article – then what happens? A good exercise would be to start by having a cook prepare the dish from a recipe without digging deeper into process, technique, understanding of flavor, researching history, and determining how important the product is to the chef and the operation. Smell it, taste it, critique it and have others talk about the experience of eating that dish. Is it lacking, is it boring or exciting, is it what the chef expects? Odds are that the dish will fall way short until a deeper understanding is present.

How does a cook memorize all of those new recipes and preparations? Memorization without understanding is very shallow and will always fail to produce the results that are expected or needed. Anyone can memorize and follow a recipe, but a true cook is much more than a technician.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

www.harvestamericaventures.com

Restaurant Consulting and Training

THAT KITCHEN SENSE OF URGENCY

26 Thursday Jul 2018

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There are some things in life that can’t be taught. Only the experience of impending doom can push a person to dig deep and find solutions that they never thought were possible, discover skills that were never present before the challenge occurred, and either sink or swim under the pressure of creating order out of chaos.

The curve ball destroys the best plans of even the most seasoned batter. The problem is that this pitch lacks the one thing that allows people to feel at ease: predictability. The curve ball however can become predictable after experiencing how the pitch will break at a certain point in its trajectory. This repeated experience would allow the batter to anticipate where the ball will be even though its path looks uncertain. This analogy fits with the pattern of work that a line cook faces every day. No one can truly teach a cook how to prepare for the unexpected until he or she has dealt with the unexpected numerous times. Experience is the best teacher – certainly applies.

When inviting a new line cook to join the team a seasoned chef will look less at typical credentials and spend more time trying to determine what experiences in a cook’s past have prepared him or her for calm action, for creative problem-solving, for an understanding of the need for a sense of urgency – ALWAYS. The chef knows that only those cooks who have endured crisis after crisis truly know how to be ready for just about anything.

So, for all those young, flashy cooks who think that have it all together and who strut their confidence with a bit too much swagger – know that until you have stood on the edge of uncertainty, until you are one step away from totally losing it on the line, and until you are faced with knowing that you screwed up and need serious help to bail you out, then that swagger is without merit. The best cooks approach every day, every shift with a sense of urgency through preparation, thinking ahead about what might go wrong, and building solutions to problems that may not even exist yet. So what can go wrong and where and how does that sense of urgency come into play? Here is just a taste:

[]         NOT HAVING YOUR MISE TOGETHER

By far, the most frequent problem that arises from that lack of urgency is not having control over your mise. It has been rightfully stated that a line cook can handle nearly anything if his or her mise en place is tight. The best line cooks NEVER run out of prep, NEVER allow their station to become unorganized, and NEVER approach service unless everything is in order right down to how side towels are folded.

[]         RUNNING OUT OF PROPANE

OK, this may sound far-fetched to some, but I know there will be quite a few cooks who will read this and say: “That happened to me!” Cooks and chefs, who are in tune with that sense of urgency, work from a mental checklist that will always include checking the gauge on those propane tanks before service.

[]         THERE IS NO GOOD TIME FOR THE POWER TO GO OUT

We are all familiar with Murphy’s Law that proclaims, “If something can go wrong – it will.” So, what is your plan if the power does go out? Oh, and by the way – if it does go out it WILL happen on the busiest night of the week – probably a weekend or holiday when finding a resolution to the problem is compounded. Do you have a power outage limited menu in the waiting? Is your service ready to move to candlelight for guest tables and focused on making the experience a positive one? Do you have enough china and flatware to get through service without a dishwasher? The restaurants that are prepared will have this protocol lined up and the cooks who have that sense of urgency will drop into this problem-solving mode without losing a step.

[]         IT’S JUST A LITTLE FIRE

A little too much oil dripping into the clean out pan on the char-broiler or flat top, un-noticed fryer oil levels dropping a bit below the heating elements, the pot of butter clarifying on the back of the stove that inadvertently boils over – it does happen, it will happen. If you are tuned in then that little fire is managed without any panic: a box of baking soda close by, a sheet pan to snuff out the oxygen feeding that fryer fire, a small fire extinguisher at the ready by the grill station to stop that drip pan fire from setting off the Ansul system. There is little difference between a sense of urgency and methodical planning.

[]         IT’S A GAME OF CHESS – PLAN AT LEAST THREE OR FOUR MOVES AHEAD

When the kitchen is firing on all cylinders the expeditor is orchestrating the work of line cooks, creating a cadence of activity that could be put to music. That expeditor (best if a cook or chef) is the chessmaster who is pacing orders, looking ahead to the complexity of orders and where there might be a back-up, and communicating effectively with the front of the house manager to assure that potential problems are addressed before there is a melt down and before a misstep impacts on the line. Pre-marking steaks before the crunch, having some pan sauces reduced in advance, blanching extra vegetables, picking garnishes in advance, and double checking every stations mise is a seamless process all designed to minimize chaos.

[]         MAN DOWN – THE SHOW MUST GO ON

We all hope it never happens, but that is just when it does. A line cook becomes ill, a burn or cut disrupts the flow, a grill person overcome from heat, and suddenly you find a station without a player. If you know that this is likely to happen at some point – where is the sense of urgency, the creative planning? Are line cooks cross-trained so that they can slip into a different station? Does everyone know the system of each other’s mise en place? Can the expeditor drop into a station and a lead server take over at calling out orders? Scenario plan for the worst and eliminate panic – this is a rule of thumb in a house with that sense of urgency.

[]         REFIRE THAT ENTIRE EIGHT TOP OF VIP’S

Can the expeditor shuffle orders to make this happen? Is the cook cool enough to go with the flow and re-arrange, borrow from another order, shift his or her concentration? Remember urgency and mental preparation are one and the same.

[]         DEER IN THE HEADLIGHTS – SAUTE COOK IS TOAST

The best cooks can see it coming on. Communication with a fellow line cook is a bit strained, the quick pace that is normally present seems to falter, the glazed look of panic begins to creep in, the hands begin to shake a bit, and tongs, pans and plates slip off of counters and on the floor. These are all signs that a fellow cook is starting to lose it. It happens to everyone at times and the best cooks know that this is always a possibility. They watch for the signs, nod to the chef that things are starting to go sideways, pat the line cook on the shoulder and guide him or her to the office with a large glass of water. Now is the time for everyone to step up, share an extra station or shift responsibilities. When this happens the show must still go on.

[]         BURNS, CUTS, AND SWOLLEN ANKLES

Of course, we live with this every day. Business doesn’t stop when we experience minor injuries, but nevertheless they make our work that much more difficult. It is hard to ignore a hand burn when standing over a cherry red flat top or char grill with flames jumping around a steak. It is impossible to ignore that annoying little finger cut that throbs with every movement. Yes, you washed it out, dabbed it with antiseptic, covered it with a bandage and finger cot, but damn it hurts. Maybe it needs a stitch or two, but it is really hard to leave your co-workers in the middle of a rush. “I’ll tough it out until the end of service and then go to the ER.” That sense of urgency must always include acts of caution and smart work. When there is a lack of urgency and planning then accidents are more likely to occur: cause and effect, cause and effect.

When chefs are asked what they look for in cooks – the typical response includes: dependability, working clean, the ability to work as a team, solid knife skills, speed, and understanding the importance of urgency. If you have it – then you are able to fit into any kitchen environment, learn their system, and adapt to their style of cooking.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

www.harvestamericaventures.com

Restaurant Consulting and Training

 

MORE LAWS OF THE KITCHEN

06 Tuesday Feb 2018

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A while back I posted an article that pointed to the Unwritten Rules of the kitchen. It seemed to strike a chord with almost 100,000 views. Any list that tries to address how a complex environment like a kitchen works is destined to be incomplete, so I thought it was time to add another handful of rules and observations that ring true in most kitchens. As usual, you should feel free to add those standards and understandings that are uniquely applicable to your kitchen.

[]         PUT YOUR CELL PHONE AWAY

Of course I understand that we are all glued to our smart phones, but the kitchen demands your full attention and to be perfectly honest – being separated from your phone for 10 or more hours a day is probably a blessing. Your phone creates more stress than joy, so put it on vibrate or lock it up for the duration of your shift.

[]         KEEP POLITICAL VIEWS OUT OF THE KITCHEN

The country is so politically polarized now that any reasonable discussion will never result in bipartisan attention or compromise. The best rule of thumb is to keep all politics out of the kitchen. We should do everything possible to bring team members together rather than find ways to drive a wedge between opposing views.

[]         SUPPORT YOUR TEAM

All for one and one for all is the rule of thumb in functional kitchens. Team members may take the opportunity to critique each other and even point out shortcomings among themselves, but no one outside of this tight group will ever have the right to criticize or harass any member of your team.

[]         BE ON YOUR GAME

There is no excuse! Every member of the kitchen team expects everyone else to be on his or her game every day. Any weak link will quickly bring a team to its knees. This is not going to happen!

Painted in Waterlogue

[]         CLEANLINESS ALWAYS

Cleanliness in a kitchen is a constant. You don’t leave cleanliness till the end of the shift, it happens after every move, every task, every plated dish, and every flip of a steak or caramelization of a sauté dish. Work, clean, sanitize, and back through the process again and again.

[]         TAKE CARE OF THOSE INGREDIENTS

Cooks are only as good as the raw materials they work with. Professional cooks take care to properly ice the fresh fish, wrap and store meats, wash and contain fresh produce, gently handle that delicate cheese, ice bath a stock or sauce, and take care in handling all dry goods. These ingredients deserve a cook’s respect.

[]         IT’S A BUSINESS OF PENNIES

Cooks understand what things cost in a kitchen. Not just the food ingredients being used, but the cleaning chemicals, china and glassware, disposables, small wares, and major pieces of cooking equipment. If a cook fails to understand and practice cost control savvy, then those pennies fade quickly. The fate of the restaurant is in the hands of every employee.

[]         NO ROOM FOR DULL KNIVES

Cooks taking care of their knives means that they keep them honed with the sharpest possible edge, clean, polished and protected. A dull knife is a crime in the kitchen and any cook who fails to understand this should look for a different career.

[]         FEET, HANDS, AND BACK

Knives and ingredients are only effective as part of a special dish if the cook takes care of him or herself. The most common aches and pains in a kitchen involve feet, hands, and backs. The right socks and shoes, isometric exercises for your hands, learning how to bend and lift, including stretching exercises in your daily routine, using dry side towels when grabbing hot pans, using gloves when appropriate, and care when using kitchen equipment will all help to prevent cuts, burns, pulled muscles, falls, carpel tunnel, and swollen feet. This is paramount.

[]         DON’T PUNCH DOWN MY ADRENALINE

Every cook goes through an adrenaline cycle, every day on the line. Too much adrenaline early on in a shift can cause careless mistakes, too little adrenaline when orders are flying off the POS printer will back up service, and the inability to temper adrenaline after the last orders leave the kitchen will result in late nights and bad decisions. The cook needs to find rhythm to make the best use of his or her energy and part of the chef’s job is to set the stage for optimum adrenaline management. Doing anything to upset this rhythm can be disastrous.

second cook

[]         COLD PANS DON’T WORK

Take those extra few seconds to make sure your pans are hot enough to sear, caramelize, and reduce. The sound of perfectly heated pans is music to a chef’s ears. Cold pans simply don’t work.

[]         SIMMER – DON’T BOIL

For the most part you can assume that there isn’t much need for boiling in a kitchen outside of a light boil for pasta and potatoes. Simmer takes time, but helps to extract flavors and protect the integrity of ingredients while they cook with grace. A stock left to boil will result in cloudy, harsh flavored broth and will give a chef premature grey hair. Be in control of the heat rather than have the heat control you.

Painted in Waterlogue

[]         YOU’RE NOT REALLY GOING TO THROW THAT OUT ARE YOU

Back to a business of pennies – there is a use for most every part of a vegetable and every part of a sub primal cut of meat, piece of fish, or shellfish. Scraps of certain vegetables can work in broths (not stocks), bones for stock, scraps of meat for pate and sausage, stale bread for croutons and bread crumbs, stale cakes and puff pastry for crumbs, egg shells to help clarify a consommé or compost for the chef’s herb garden, somewhat sour milk for pancake batter, and shells from shrimp and lobster for shellfish butter or fumet. The list goes on and on.

[]         IF YOU CAN’T TAKE THE HEAT

The oldest kitchen quote in the book is still applicable. Kitchens are hot, kitchens are stressful, kitchens are intense and much of the time on the verge of chaos – if you can’t see yourself working in this environment then you should probably look for a different career. Certainly we can make things more amenable to order and comfort, but the odds of dramatic change is probably not going to happen any time soon.

[]         FLAVOR IS MORE THAN JUST TASTE

Every good cook knows that taste is only one part of the formula when it comes to cooking. Flavor involves understanding how a dish tempts the olfactory senses, the texture impacts on bite and chew, the visual aspects of food affect the anticipation of taste, and even the positive sounds of cooking drive the experience of eating. Flavor is a combination of everything that builds up to an experience.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

The Rules are there for a reason.

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

www.harvestamericaventures.com

Restaurant Consulting and Training

**THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE:

A COOK’S UNWRITTEN, BUT FULLY UNDERSTOOD KITCHEN LAWS:

www.harvestamericacues.com/2015/11/09/a-cooks-unwritten-but-fully-understood-kitchen-laws/

 

IS THE KITCHEN A COOK’S “SAFE PLACE”?

16 Tuesday Jan 2018

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Look around the kitchen and pause to really assess what you see. The lifeblood of the kitchen is not found in stainless steel, contemporary equipment, or even the ingredients that fill cooler and storeroom shelves. The lifeblood of the kitchen is the people who stand tall in their hounds tooth pants and double-breasted white jackets. Now look more closely at those people and begin to see who they are, what their connection to the kitchen might be, and why they just seem to “fit”.

What I truly love about the kitchen, and what many other “lifers” will tell you is that these people are special. They might also be surprised to find out that the person that they know in the kitchen is a totally different person outside of that environment. There is a comfort level, a sense of purpose, and a camaraderie that exists around a battery of ranges that moves way beyond whatever a person’s life is on the outside. This kitchen to many is a safe place, a place where they no longer feel that they have to be that other person, but rather can breathe free, be expressive, demonstrate a skill that has been developed over time, smile, high-five and fist bump, and know that they are part of a team of like-minded individuals with a common goal.

Think about it for a moment. We have all been around big, rough and tumble cooks with scars and tattoos that tell a story of a hard life, delicately place a fresh herb on a plate of beautiful food, wipe the rim and smile as it is placed in the pass. We have all been around that cook who is shy and lacking in social skills interact as a confident, self-assured person when in their station on the line. We have all been around that cook who is typically stoic and antagonistic tear up when the chef tastes his or her food and nods in appreciation of something that is truly delicious. Why the change in character – the metamorphosis when a person is faced with heat, sweat, incredibly hard work, and the threat of cuts and burns around every corner? Is the kitchen a “Safe Place”, and what does that mean to so many cooks?

Here are some thoughts:

[]         ACCEPTANCE

A cook who takes his or her job seriously is on equal ground in the kitchen. No one cares about a person’s past, how he or she acts or is perceived out of work; what their views, beliefs, color, ethnicity, or lifestyle might be – if they put forth the effort they are simply accepted as an equal.

[]         OPPORTUNITY

There is always a chance to be great in the kitchen. A cook may have developed a skill that demonstrates loads of potential, potential that may have never been recognized in other settings – but in the kitchen cooks can shine if they so choose. The opportunity is here.

[]         THE SENSES

What an opportunity the kitchen provides – a chance to appeal to all of the human senses with everything a cook prepares. Every cook is a potential artist with an ability that no other artist has – the chance to appeal to a person’s sense of sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste. Incredible!

[]         APPRECIATION

Outside of the kitchen there may be very little appreciation for a cook’s potential or the work that he or she is capable of doing, but in the kitchen there is ample room for a nod from a fellow cook, a high-five from someone else on the line, a thumbs up from the chef, and a clean plate coming back from the dining room. Appreciation is something that everyone craves and where it happens becomes that safe place, a place of comfort for the individual.

[]         BROTHERHOOD AND SISTERHOOD

We are all in this together, this place of hard work, sweat and toil, danger and opportunity, stress and the joy of success – this is the kitchen – a place where we are all in this as a team and as a result are bound in a manner that is only experienced by those with a common goal in mind. The team is family.

[]         WE MADE IT THROUGH

At the end of every shift there is an opportunity to feel as if the battle was won. We made it through the push, the time when it seemed as if we might be on the precipice of falling apart, yet we pulled it together and put out some incredible food. Every end of shift provides this opportunity to celebrate, to feel a sense of accomplishment.

[]         THE COMMON CHALLENGE/MISSION POSSIBLE

When those first tickets start flying off the printer the team kicks into action. There is a silent recognition that everyone is ready and focused on his or her role. Everyone knows that it is the sum of the parts that makes the service work, they know that their common mission goes way beyond getting through it, the challenge is to do that with grace, passion, and a commitment to preparing excellent looking and tasting food. It is really mission possible – not impossible.

[]         CREATIVITY INSPIRES

Even a crusty pirate who sees the world as an unfriendly place responds well to the opportunity to create and make something that others appreciate. People are inherently tactile individuals who love to make things that are sensually stimulating. The kitchen provides this every day.

[]         MISFITS UNITE

I have always been amazed at meeting cooks that I have worked with off the job and out in the real world. I sometimes scratch my head and think, “Is this the same person that I worked with?” Whatever the inclination of a cook, however they want to act or be perceived outside of the kitchen, once they put on the apron they are transformed into a person of talent, skill, and passion for excellent work. The kitchen is their safe place.

I always remember those times when my children would be on vacation with my wife and I, in a different place, far from their normal friends and associates and how different, free, and happy they were to just be themselves. That is exactly what the kitchen provides – a place for people to be their true selves.

[]         JUDGEMENT ASIDE

The over-riding sense of comfort in a kitchen comes from these facts alone: there is only one important assessment in the kitchen – “Are you ready to put your best effort into this task, are you prepped for the shift, are you committed to making food the way it should be, and are you ready to support your teammates?” If the answer is “yes” then everything else is unimportant and not worthy of another person’s concern.

Is the kitchen your safe place?

PLAN BETTER –TRAIN HARDER

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

Restaurant Consulting and Training

www.harvestamericaventures.com

*PHOTO:  Dream Team in Chef Joe Faria’s kitchen – Vero Beach

COOKING THROUGH THE SENSES – THE CHEF’S UNIQUE SKILL

02 Tuesday Jan 2018

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We are familiar with the human senses and likely understand that they are all connected as individuals try to distinguish flavor and the experience of eating. As cooks we know that there are many more opportunities for people to distinguish smells than tastes, that texture impacts how our mouths separate the experience of one ingredient or dish from another, and fully appreciate that the visual impact of food is paramount to the guest experience. We might even appreciate that certain sounds that encase foods can stimulate the appetite – the crunch of a potato chip, the sizzle sound of a steak or onions on a grill, and even the snap of an apple picked in late September at the peak of its growth cycle. What me might take for granted is how sophisticated a cook’s senses become as they aspire to the position of chef and make their mark on the culinary arts.

If you stop and think about the acuity of a chef’s senses you will discover one of the true distinctions between a cook and a chef. Time and experience will help fine-tune a cook’s senses to the point where they become one of the greatest tools in his or her kitchen arsenal.

[]         A BAKER FEELS FLOUR FOR ITS STRUCTURE POTENTIAL

A baker develops a special relationship with the ingredients at his or her disposal and develops the ability to determine a great deal through the sense of touch. Sifting through a baker’s fingers – flour is evaluated to determine how well it will absorb liquid and what its structure potential might be. Flour is never a product of definitive consistency and it is up to the baker to tap into this sense of touch and adjust how the ingredient is approached. Until this sense is developed over time the end product will likely be plagued with inconsistency. At the end of baking – a light tap on the bottom of a loaf reveals the hollow sound signifying a finish to the baking process.

[]         A CHEF CAN DETERMINE IF A SAUTE ITEM IS ON TRACK BY THE SOUNDS IN           THE PAN

Walking through a busy production kitchen – the chef must be able to assess what is going on, determine how well cooks are approaching methods and techniques, and how products will reach their intended outcome. Each process reveals a great deal through the senses – one in particular is this sense of sound.   When a protein hits a sauté pan the chef will be able to tell, even from a distance away, whether or not the pan is hot enough to produce that essential caramelization enhancing flavor and whether or not this same protein will dance and slide during cooking or stick to the pan leaving it’s real flavor stuck to the metal. A chef’s ears are always tuned-in to these sounds, keeping track of how dedicated each cook is to correct process.

[]         THE SMELL OF CARAMELIZATION

By far, the most acute sense is smell. Over time, we are trained to distinguish certain smells as positive or negative and can, through experience, quickly assess a smell and determine the ingredient and the process being used. A chef will know if those onions are caramelizing or burning, if the oil is too hot for garlic, if the oil in the deep fryer is in need of changing, if those sliced almonds or pignoli are on the verge of burning in the oven, if it is too late to save the bacon, when bread is perfect and even when a coffee pot has been left to dry on a brew burner. The chef’s sense of smell is always on high alert.

[]         THE SNAP OF A GREEN BEAN

How will those vegetables taste once prepared? How can a cook tell if produce is acceptable from a vendor or not? Each vegetable has a story to tell and the chef has read those stories many times. Do those green beans snap signifying their freshness, does the apple crack open with first bite, the sound of a French knife slicing through an onion will talk to it’s power, the resistance of a potato to being cut into pommes frites will signal it’s sugar content, and the firmness of a grape reveals how well it was stored and when it might have been picked. The textures and sounds of produce speak a universal language to a chef pointing those responsible for cooking in the right direction.

[]         THE TOUCH OF A STEAK

One of the most tactile positions in the kitchen is that of the grill cook. Some may say that the only surefire way to determine degree of doneness is with a thermometer – yet a highly experienced grill master can delineate a perfect medium rare from medium with the touch of a finger. At this stage the cook has become one with the meat – he or she understands how the muscle works and the give of that muscle will send a message of doneness through the cooks fingers to the brain. The grill cook knows, through the sense of touch, just how long the steak or chop needs to rest before cooking, understands when to turn the steak to get the perfect grill marks without impacting the continuity of doneness throughout the meat, and can quickly assess how much longer it will take that meat to reach it’s intended outcome. This is mastery of the sense of touch.

[]         THE VISUALS

The visuals of food are important to the chef. From the standpoint of understanding the ingredient – the chef will be able to determine how fresh the ingredient was to begin with, how it was handled, whether or not the cook followed proper technique, and how flavorful the final dish will be without ever sampling the results. When a chef stands at the pass as expeditor – he or she is able to immediately assess all of those factors in a split second, wipe the rim, adjust the fresh herb garnish and transfer the plate to a waiting server knowing full well that the product meets the standards of the operation.

[]         THE SIGHT OF AN EMULSIFICATION WHEN IT HAS REACHED ITS ABSORPTION

Egg yolks will only absorb so much clarified butter, the right amount oil and egg yolks will marry in a perfect mayonnaise, a beurre blanc is sensitive to the right proportions, and egg whites will reach their peak as a meringue, but can quickly fall if the process carries on too long. All of these simple, yet sensitive products rely heavily on not just recipes, but more importantly the cook’s visual interpretation of the right proportions and the timing of incorporation. The longer a person cooks, the more astute this assessment becomes.

[]         WHAT IS THAT FLAVOR – DOES THIS DISH BRING EVERYTHING TOGETHER THROUGH THE SENSE OF TASTE?

I remember talking with a friend who is an accomplished flavorist and owner of a flavor company. I started the conversation with the assumption that his lab would be totally dependent on tools like a gas chromatograph to separate the chemical components of an ingredient or a taste to figure out how to replicate it and computer modeling to build a formula to that end. Yes, he had all of those tools, but he told me that a flavorist relies on his or her palate more than any other tool.

The chef doesn’t have access to the equipment of the flavorist, but he or she does have a palate – the tool developed over many years of tasting and assessing. A seasoned cook (no pun intended) is able to taste a product and define its components and what might be missing in achieving a flavor goal. Like a master sommelier for wine – the chef is able to pull together the senses of smell, touch, sight, sound, and taste to evaluate a dish and establish a protocol of adjustment or evaluate a raw material and determine how it will be addressed in cooking and menu planning.

Some cooks are born with well defined olfactory senses and taste buds, but this gift without multiple experiences with tasting and building flavor benchmarks is somewhat wasted. Cooks need time and exposure to be able to fine-tune the most important tools that a chef relishes – the tools of human senses.

PLAN BETTEER – TRAIN HARDER

Patience and Experience Help to Define the Chef

Restaurant Consulting and Training

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

www.harvestamericaventures.com

 

A CHEF’S ESSENTIAL INGREDIENTS – #3 – SALT AND PEPPER

03 Friday Nov 2017

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As cook’s we may not give much thought to how important salt and pepper are to our craft. Walking from one end of the kitchen to another it is likely that there will be a few containers of kosher or sea salt waiting for the grip of a prep cook or baker, line cooks will include a pinch pot of salt and pepper at their station, and servers stand ready with salt shakers, Himalayan pinch pots for tables, and filled pepper mills lined up and ready for guest commands. More sophisticated cuisines might even demand a larger variety of specialty salts and pepper seeds from Hawaiian black to flaked salts and fleur de sel from the coast of France – as well as pink, fresh green, Szechwan, and traditional black pepper designed for a specific dish flavor profile.

Salt, in particular is a mineral that has become inseparable in cooking and storing of food across all cultures – its value far exceeds the meager cost that is generally associated with it.

“Salt is the only rock directly consumed by man. It corrodes but preserves, desiccates but is wrestled from the water. It has fascinated man for thousands of years not only as a substance he prized and was willing to labor to obtain, but also as a generator of poetic and of mythic meaning. The contradictions it embodies only intensify its power and its links with experience of the sacred.”

-Margaret Visser – 20th century author

Pepper, has been a staple of the spice trade for centuries, a spice used as a form of currency and weighed to determine its value in an exchange, a flavoring that adds rather than enhances, and a spice that consumers can build immunity toward – requiring them to increase its use over time.

Here are some of the uses and reasons for the significance of these two ingredient categories as essential to a chef’s bag of tricks.

SALT:

[]         FLAVOR ENHANCER

When salt is used in cooking and finishing of foods it tends to suppress bitterness and sweetness and accentuate umami, also known as the fifth taste or best describe as the uniqueness of savory. If used in the right proportions salt will “bring out” the best of a particular ingredient or dish – when used excessively then salt will take over as the prominent flavor – this is not the intent of the chef, although the American palate has become far too accustomed to over-salted foods.

“It took me all my life to learn how to salt a tomato.”
-Chef Eric Ripert

[]         PRESERVATION (cures, marinades, pickling, canning)

In curing salt is a drying agent that draws water from the ingredient creating an environment that is not supportive of certain bacterial growth. In pickling, salt works in the same fashion in concert with an acid (vinegar, wine, citrus) to create an environment that eliminates the opportunity for this same bacterial growth. This acid/salt environment can protect foods for months or even years if canned properly.

[]         FOOD SAFETY (botulism prevention)

Kosher and pickling salts (some of which do contain sodium nitrite-read more on the cautions associated with this product) are used extensively in curing meats as well as canning and pickling. Aside from the flavor imparted and the drying effect of salt for these uses – the product will reduce the risk of botulism that is a very dangerous bacterium affecting the human neurological system leading, in some cases to death.

[]         A FLAVOR SUBSTITUTE (salt shakers elbow)

Unfortunately salt is often abused as a flavor replacement for foods that do not peak a persons palate. As mentioned, the American palate is far too accustomed to the use of salt and as a result “salty” is a choice rather than something to avoid. Salt is in nearly every processed food product that we buy and relied on in home and professional kitchens. Some chefs have gone to the extreme of removing saltshakers from dining room tables so as to encourage guests to taste the food before they exercise their saltshakers elbow.

[]         A TENDERIZER

Salt – either applied dry or in a brine will help to destabilize or break down the muscle of meat. This helps to tenderize the product, but at the same time can and will modify the flavor profile.

[]         A STABILIZER (controls leavening agents)

Aside from flavor, salt is used in baking to help stabilize or control the action of leavening agents such as yeast and baking power. Control of the development of carbon dioxide resulting from fermentation will result in a more stable product in baking.

[]         TEXTURE (role in gluten development)

Salt also works with the development of gluten in bread baking to help with the structure of the bread. The great mouth feel of chewing properly prepared bread products owes a great deal to the addition of salt.

[]         AN INTENSIFIER (drawing out moisture and concentrating flavor)

Some of the most satisfying flavors come from proteins such as meats, poultry and fish. Salt, as an additive, not only draws out moisture, but in the process helps to intensify the flavor of the product. This is evident in charcuterie, bacon and fish products such as gravad lax and cured/smoked fish.

[]         SALT AND HEALTH

There is much debate over the excessive use of salt and it’s impact on health. There is little question that many people are prone to increased blood pressure as a result of consuming salt and many of the highly salted processed foods such as charcuterie add the other concern of fat and nitrites that can cause heart disease and certain forms of cancer. Moderation is always the best choice and a chef thus has a responsibility to use salt as that enhancer and not a substitute for flavor.

[]         A CONDIMENT – THE CONSUMER IS IN CONTROL

Salt, as a condiment, is thus in the hands of the consumer. Chefs typically seek to create a flavor picture for the dishes they create. There is a predetermined flavor outcome that drove the chef to add a particular dish to the menu and teach his or her cooks how to properly and consistently prepare it. When salt is provided as a condiment at the table then the outcome of that dish will no longer be in a chef’s control. Some will say that this is a choice that should be left up to the guest, but on the other hand it is easy to see how this will potentially alter the experience of a restaurant menu – not necessarily in a positive way. To this end, some chefs have made salt a service condiment like pepper from the peppermill, giving the guest a chance to try the dish first. Additionally, by up scaling the type and variety of salt on the menu the operation can move away from salt as a reaction and transition to salt as a well thought out action on the part of the cook, the server, and the guest.

[]         A STATEMENT OF INTEGRITY and CHARACTER (salt of the earth)

Salt is even a part of our vernacular, as we have grown to make reference to the product to portray the attributes of personal character, work ethic and integrity.

“Let’s drink to the hard working people 
Let’s drink to the lowly of birth
Raise your glass to the good and the evil
Let’s drink to the salt of the earth”

-The Rolling Stones

[]         A STATEMENT OF TRIVIALITY (Take it with a grain of salt)

Also in our vernacular is a phrase used to trivialize a persons statements or actions. “You should take what that person says with a grain of salt” – meaning that what they say is as insignificant as a tiny grain of this mineral and that you should be skeptical of its truth.

[]         A STATEMENT OF ADDING PAIN (salt in the wound)

Finally, our interesting language has given birth to a way of emphasizing how a person can add pain to an already painful situation or event: “Saying what she stated was only rubbing salt into an already painful wound.” Since salt does, in fact, intensify the pain from an open cut this is an appropriate use of the idiom.

PEPPER:

[]         THE WAKE UP SPICE

There are many foods that have what is referred to as a finish. In other words, how long and to what extent does a flavor or food experience stay with you. Pepper, ironically, does have a distinctive flavor but the “finish” is more often referring to the tactile experience of pepper – it burns. To this end, I like to state that chefs, when using it properly, add pepper to “wake-up” the guest experience and make them take notice. If it is overdone then the finish can be unpleasant for a period of time.

[]         THE KING SPICE

One of the reasons that pepper is referred to as the king spice is not simply due to its flavor and tactile impact on the palate, but because once dried this spice will retain its flavor and tactile intensity for a very long period of time (years), or at least until it is ground and the oils are released. So revered was the almighty pepper that during the early years of spice trading – pepper was weighed and used as a currency.

[]         THE SPICE THAT KEEPS ON GIVING

Chefs learn early on that pepper (in all of its forms), unlike most other spices only intensifies as it cooks. This is why many cooks will encourage using pepper toward the end of the cooking process rather than early on. You can always add more, but it is quite impossible to take away the impact once the pepper has begun to marry with a dish through cooking.

[]         A CONDIMENT – THE CONSUMER IS IN CHARGE (the peppermill is a medium of power)

One of the great visual experiences of dining is any moment during which the server is able to interact with the guest and the dish. Using a pepper mill creates such an opportunity to become part of the full experience and draw attention to the table. At the same time this step pays homage to the importance of the king spice.

Learning to appreciate and control the use of salt and pepper is a task that chefs work on their entire careers. “It needs salt” must come with a caveat: “Does it need salt to bring out the natural flavors of the dish or has the dish not been properly prepared and salt is the only way to rescue an otherwise uninspiring product.” Use salt to enhance and highlight and use pepper to accentuate and wake-up the palate.

***Terrific resource for every cook: “Salt and Pepper”, by: Jody Vassallo

www.amazon.com/Salt-Pepper-Jody-Vassallo/dp/1552858162/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1509738421&sr=1-6&keywords=Salt+and+Pepper

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

Restaurant Consulting and Training

www.harvestamericaventures.com

 

A CHEF’S ESSENTIAL INGREDIENTS – ONIONS, SHALLOTS, GARLIC

31 Tuesday Oct 2017

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One of my real wake-up moments as a chef was the night when a message was sent to the kitchen from a guest who stated he was allergic to onions and wanted to know what items on the menu were OK for him to order. It was in that moment that I realized that I was addicted to the use of onions, shallots, garlic and other ingredients in that family. As I thought through the menu I truly began to see how important these ingredients were and wrestled with an answer for this guest. There was onion in every stock, soup, and sauce; every dressing, nearly every salad, and used quite extensively in many of the sauté items on the menu; and of course – use with abandon in those wonderful braised items that I relished as part of my cooking signature. In other words, there was very little on the menu that wasn’t influenced at some point in the cooking process by these potherbs. I would need to carefully, and very consciously prepare something for this guest that was void of onions, garlic, shallots, scallions, scapes, or leeks.

In paying tribute to these “essential ingredients” I offer this story of the onion family.

ON THE FARM

Like many vegetables – onions and all members of the allium family require care and attention that is somewhat unique. Although farmers may grow these common vegetables from seeds, many choose to use smaller, immature bulbs (faster growth cycle). The onion, shallot, leek and garlic varieties require a bit of a sandy soil for adequate drainage. The real challenges come as the bulbs form and near the harvest window. It is important to expose the bulb to the air for drying since onions, if kept too moist will tend to rot. Once harvested, onions, shallots, and garlic will store in dry, minimal light for weeks or months, so they are less of an issue for kitchens in terms of shelf life.

Farmers plant and harvest different onion products at different times of the year and with the advent of centralized farming it is possible to offer almost all varieties 12 months of the year. However, certain products are traditionally seasonal: spring scallions, scapes in June, spring and fall leeks, etc.) Most professional kitchens will stock almost all of these items, even different varieties depending on their menu.

FROM THE VENDOR

Unfortunately, produce from the onion family is viewed as a commodity. Once these essential products leave the farm they are rarely addressed with the same care and passion, as was the case on the farm. Onions, shallots, and garlic are after all, very durable. They store well and have a shelf life that is rarely matched by anything outside of other root vegetables and tubers. It is common to see these items manhandled during the process of storage, loading on a truck, and delivered to the restaurant’s back door. As a commodity and product this durable in nature, it is easy to forget how important they are to a cook.

FINDING A HOME IN THE KITCHEN/FINDING A PLACE IN COOKING

Readily accessible, kitchens tend to stock 50 bags of yellow and red onions for stocks, mirepoix for roasting, and braising; caramelized mirepoix for finishing sauces, marinades, dressings, pickled red onions for salads, and battered and fried as a side for steaks or sliced red onions – slightly grilled and served as a garnish on the house burger. Garlic is peeled, smashed and minced for sauté work and certain sauces, and for aioli and hummus. Shallots are minced and pureed for sauté work and used in marinades and salad dressings, and relished by grill cooks for their finishing compound butters. Leeks become integral in soups and fried as a delicate and sweet garnish on a variety of dishes, while scapes find their way into soups or pickled as a garnish throughout the season and beyond. It is actually difficult to find many items in a kitchen that are not impacted by some product from the onion family. Cooks are comfortable with this versatile kitchen staple.

Onions and shallots, in particular, are often times peeled in advance and stored in large containers in a cooler. Although many cooks understand that some of the flavor and aroma is lost in doing so, there are so many instances in a kitchen when they are used that peeling them becomes a responsibility of prep cooks or dishwashers. Coolers will frequently be a home for peeled onions, garlic, carrots, and celery – when you need them they are ready.

DEEPLY ENGRAINED IN COOKING – TASTED BUT NOT SEEN

While, as mentioned, there are many instances when onions, garlic, shallots, leeks and scapes are visible in the dishes prepared in many kitchens, there are just as many instances when the flavor is present, but the product remains invisible. It is through this use of items from the allium family that cooks understand their real importance. The balance created in a stock through the use of onions as part of a mirepoix or caramelized and added to a braised leg of lamb or veal is essential. The subtle influence of flavor that a onion pique has on a properly prepared béchamel or an onion brulee on a secondary sauce is instrumental in developing the true character of a sauce, and the sweetness of leeks or Vidalia onions in a marinade for sauerbraten or pickling in corned beef helps to define the flavor traditions that make these items generational favorites.

AT THE FINISH

What are most unique about onions, garlic, shallots, and leeks to a chef are the versatility and “bang for the buck” that these items deliver. In most cases these essential ingredients are some of the most affordable in a kitchen and at the same time some of the most utilized. These items are essential to most kitchens.

A NOTE OF ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

In my first article in this series I stated that: “I challenge anyone to find a kitchen without these ingredients readily at hand and used frequently as the foundation of one dish or another.” A reader corrected me and stated that there are millions of kitchens worldwide that do not use the stated eight essential ingredients in their cuisine. I will acknowledge that my statement may have been a bit over-zealous and at some level incorrect, I do find however that in some form they are present in far more kitchens than not. There are examples of butter in Asian cooking, salt and pepper everywhere, stocks in Korean, Thai, and Chinese cooking (although they will certainly differ from those used in American and European cooking), eggs as a key component in most cooking styles that I am familiar with, and onions, leeks, and garlic flowing freely from storage in kitchens around the world. I will stand corrected but am comfortable in stating that these ingredients tend to unify cooks and cuisines rather that separate them. Thanks for the comment.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

Restaurant Consulting and Training

www.harvestamericaventures.com

 

A CHEF’S EIGHT ESSENTIAL INGREDIENTS – #ONE – BUTTER

24 Tuesday Oct 2017

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Every cuisine has it’s own list of critical ingredients – ingredients that give a unique character to the dishes that define that genre. However, every kitchen that I know, every chef with whom I have worked, every person who has chosen the heat of the kitchen as the environment for his or her career will relish the following eight ingredients/ingredient categories:

  • BUTTER
  • SALT AND PEPPER
  • ONIONS, SHALLOTS AND GARLIC
  • FLOUR
  • EGGS
  • MIREPOIX
  • STOCK
  • OLIVE OIL

I challenge anyone to find a kitchen without these ingredients readily at hand and used frequently as the foundation of one dish or another. I thought that it might be worth the time to talk about each, investigate their historical use, and point out the reasons why they are so critical – so, hang on for this series of eight articles on the essential ingredients of every kitchen.

BUTTER

“With enough butter anything is good.”

-Julia Child

This famous quote from Julia Child may be an over-simplification of the relationship of butter and cooking, but it does point to a universal appreciation for the qualities of this dairy product. There have been ample attempts over the years to demonize this ingredient and as a result try and develop alternatives that address the negative impact of saturated fat in our diets, but a true substitute has never been found. Here are some of the important attributes of the magical spread.

[]         WARM BREAD AND BUTTER

A perfect loaf of bread from the oven is still a bit too hot to slice yet you can’t wait. It took the better part of a day to get the bread to this finished state, but another hour of waiting is just too painful. The serrated blade cuts through the crust and into the tender meat of the loaf that a moment ago had sounded hollow to the fingertips. The steam rolls from the knife and the heart of the slice as you spread a generous portion of salty butter on the bread that quickly turns the golden spread to a liquid and absorbs all of its goodness. You raise the slice to your nose and then take a bite – is there anything more worthy of a cook’s adoration?

[]         THE PERFECT COMPLEMENT TO VEGETABLES

There are some who for whatever reason are not great fans of vegetables, yet most cooks know that there are far greater opportunities to be expressive with produce than with meats, poultry and seafood. Pick a vegetable: fall squash, summer zucchini, beets, carrots, broccoli, spring asparagus, green beans, first harvest peas, or luscious corn on the cob – properly cooked they are simple, to the point, unique, and full flavored. A dollop of fresh butter and maybe a squeeze of lemon and these gifts of the earth are transformed into something truly grand.

[]         FINISHING A STEAK OR CHOP

The line cook working the grill knows full well that placing that slice of compound butter on top of a steak or chop is the final touch that brings out the best of every cut of meat.

[]         A MOTHER SAUCE OF GRAND PROPORTIONS

All chefs are aware of and usually competent at preparing the five “mother sauces”: Espagnole, Tomato, Béchamel, Veloute, and Hollandaise. The time-tested methods for making these velvety sauces is well established and methodical, but none are more sensitive and rich as clarified butter, egg yolks, salt and lemon – Sauce Hollandaise. When masking a poached egg and Canadian bacon this sauce completes one of the most revered items on any menu – Eggs Benedict. When a chef has mastered the steady stream of butter as it emulsifies with slightly warm egg yolks then he or she can rightfully hold a whisk high in the air and assume the kitchen title.

[]         TRANSFORMING A SAUCE TO A FINISHED MASTERPIECE

What elevates a gravy to a sauce is certainly the method of preparation and the proportions of ingredients, but it is the final stage of montee au beurre (mounting the sauce with raw butter) that gives it the rich and velvety texture and flavor of a grand sauce.

[]         BISCUITS AND BUTTER

Just as warm bread and butter are a match made in heaven – warm buttermilk biscuits with salty butter are even more worthy of adoration. You can’t have one without the other.

[]         JUST TO CLARIFY – A MOST PRECIOUS FAT FOR COOKING

Many fats used in cooking are neutral and do not impart much flavor during the process (exceptions are olive oil, peanut oil, and duck fat) – butter on the other hand can be instrumental in changing the character of a dish quite dramatically. Once the milk solids are removed (clarify), butter becomes a pure fat with a higher smoke point – perfect for sauté and poaching. In fact, although there is a fair amount of poetic license used in sauté, the process is not legitimate without that golden, rich clarified butter.

[]         A THOUSAND LAYERS AND COUNTING

Baking is certainly a science compared to the much more variable art of cooking and no product is more in tune with that science than laminated dough. Danish, Croissant, and Puff Pastry Dough are marvels of process and science. The layering (mille feuille) creating the thousand layers (not necessarily literal) is only possible through the use of perfectly tempered butter, chilling the dough between folds, and the systematic process of book folding the dough between rolling. Watching the baker follow these steps is only surpassed in amazement by the light buttery flavor of the finished products.

[]         WHAT ELSE WOULD DO A BAKED POTATO JUSTICE

Without question one of the great joys of eating comes from pulling a russet potato from a 400 degree oven, cutting through the crunchy skin and into the milky white flesh of this magnificent tuber and slathering this with loads of salted butter. Serious potato fans also know that the crunchy skin is the best part, especially with the addition of more butter.

[]         THE CULTURE OF BUTTER

One of the recent restaurant trends is to stock different butters for different tasks. Salted butter for most cooking, unsalted butter for pastry, and cultured butter for dining room tables. Cultured butter has the additional lactic acid incorporated during the churning process making the product a bit tangier. Butter moves from a relatively neutral buffer and complement to a dish to a condiment that stands on it’s own. Held at the right temperature – cold, but not hard, this unique and far more expensive butter becomes a signature for a special dining experience.

[]        CARAMELIZATION IS THE KEY

It was Chef Phil Learned at the Balsams Grand Resort who emphasized to me the importance of controlling the process of caramelization in cooking. What he was really referring to was the Maillard Reaction, which is a chemical reaction, involving the browning of proteins and carbs in a food product. This process adds sweetness and a nutty flavor to the item being caramelized. Control over the fat, in this case butter, using the right amount of heat and pan motion will maximize the positive coloring and flavor derived from caramelization.

[]         THE PERFECT PARTNER WITH MAPLE SYRUP

Maple syrup is a gift from nature that is only enhanced with the addition of butter. What can be better than pancakes with real maple syrup (preferably from Vermont or New York) and rich creamery butter?

[]         WHAT IS GRILLED CHEESE WITHOUT IT

The resurrection of grilled cheese into a true center of plate for restaurants (some featuring only grilled cheese menus) has paid well-deserved attention to the whole package. The cheese is the centerpiece, but it is the quality of bread, soaked in quality butter and slowly caramelized in a pan so that the exterior of the sandwich is crunchy, nutty and rich, that transforms a simple grilled cheese sandwich into a true thing of beauty.

[]         LIQUID OR SOLID, HOT OR COLD

Butter is so versatile and morphs its identity depending on its state (liquid or solid) and temperature (hot or cold). Great for cooking, fantastic for finishing, perfect as a condiment, useful as a binder (in a beurre manie as a thickener), or instrumental as a separator (in laminated dough). Few ingredients have so many uses.

[]         DESERVING OF IT’S OWN SHELF IN THE WALK-IN

One of the easiest ways to determine how important an ingredient might be to a chef is to look at how much shelf space is dedicated to that product. Butter is typically one of main characters in restaurants – given first touch shelf space in a cooler and designated as the only ingredient that can grace that shelf.

“The history of the world is the record of a man in quest of his daily bread and butter.”

-Hendrick Willem van Loon

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

Restaurant Consulting and Training

http://www.harvestamericaventures.com

WHY COOKS HANG OUT WITH COOKS

07 Saturday Oct 2017

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In the era of social media the term “friend” has been misconstrued. A Facebook friend is likely distant from the true definition that has been an essential part of a full life since the beginning of time. A social media friend is likely only a person who chooses, in the moment, to click on that designation displayed on a person’s page, but comes with little or no real connection between the two. If you think about the components of real friendship each of us would probably narrow down a friend list to those people we could count on both hands.

Friend: “a person who has a strong liking for and trust in another person.”

-Webster’s Dictionary

The key element in this definition is “trust”. Trust is something that doesn’t come easy, it allows us to be exposed and transparent – it makes those people involved in friendship to be vulnerable, yet comfortable at the same time. How many people in your life do you truly trust?

Something unique happens in a kitchen, something that defies the norm while creating an environment that builds bonds of trust and vulnerability. It is this “something” that transitions a group of people into a cohesive team. This is what every chef strives to help create – this is an environment of friendship that leads to success.

So, why is the kitchen environment so unique in this regard (at least from my perspective)? Here are my thoughts:

[]         NO ONE UNDERSTANDS A COOK LIKE ANOTHER COOK

The work, the challenges, the stress, the demand for consistency, the level of commitment that is required, the talent and skill, the fears, the joy of accomplishment, the terror of failure, the heat, burns, cuts, and aching feet culminate in an environment that is very difficult to describe and even more difficult to imagine unless you have been there. There is a bond that exists among those who tie on an apron, a bond that is universal. Cooks feel this connection with every other cook no matter where they work, what type of food they cook, which language they speak, and what part of the world they call home. There is a universal understanding among cooks.

“One of the most beautiful qualities of true friendship is to understand and to be understood.”

-Lucius Annaeus Seneca

[]         COMMON POINTS OF INTEREST

What pulls individuals together in the bond of friendship is more often than not, some type of common interest. Due to the nature of the work, cooks think and talk about food and life in the kitchen – a lot. This common area of interest is the starting point and the lasting connection that feeds a friendship.

[]         COMMON FRUSTRATIONS

As much as cooks (most of them anyway) enjoy the work of cooking, there are common frustrations that pull at their commitment. The hours, the unpredictability of scheduling, the physical and mental work, the emotional nature of presenting their work for critique, and the inevitable stress of working under extreme conditions is another point of common interest. When cooks are not talking about food and cooking in a positive vein, they are complaining about those frustrations that they all share. This is something that friends do.

[]         NO ONE ELSE WILL HAVE THE PATIENCE TO BE YOUR FRIEND

Let’s face it – if you are not in the restaurant business it is way too hard to be friends with a cook. They work obscene hours, they can never plan ahead, they think that they work harder than anyone else (might be true), they accentuate their conversations with more expletives than you thought were possible, and they have no patience for people who work at a “normal” job.   Only cooks accept this from other cooks.

[]         WELCOME TO THE CLUB

It is hard to appreciate this unless you are a card-carrying member, but there is a club for cooks and chefs – a club without formal membership, without financial dues, without meetings and without any form of structure. This “club” is reserved for anyone who works in the kitchen – all are welcome. This club only requires a nod and a smile to another cook – this acknowledgement states that you know what they are going through and as such can enjoy a bond through experience. Although not every member will be your friend – the potential is there.

[]         SKILLS BIND

Just like in the trades, music, art, writing, and theater – cooks respect the skills that every other cook exhibits. They know what it takes to acquire and master these skills and feel a connection with those who dedicate themselves to gaining proficiency. At the same time – cooks have little patience for those who wear the uniform and fail to dedicate themselves to gaining the proper skills to perform at a high level.

[]         TRUST IS A FACTOR

Back to that “trust” factor: cooks who work together must develop a high level of trust in each other’s skills and commitment to excellence. When this trust is present then a few things happen: goals are achieved, the operation runs efficiently, and friendships are made.

“Learning to trust is one of life’s most difficult tasks.”

-Isaac Watts

[]         THE NON-TRADITIONAL HOURS ARE A CATALYST

I am sure that other professions where non-traditional hours are a factor develop a bond that is a direct result of that form of isolation. When your shift begins in the morning and doesn’t end until midnight or later then you connect with those who share in this challenge. When you go to work in the dark and come home in the dark, then there is a bond that is made out of necessity. Who else are you going to be friends with?

[]         WE SPEAK THE SAME LANGUAGE

The language of the kitchen is developed out of necessity. We use acronyms, abbreviations, words that can’t be found in the dictionary, and a staccato delivery of these driven by the need for simplicity and effect. We use four letter words as nouns, verbs, adverbs, and adjectives as a way of accentuating the emotion behind a communication and a release from the stress of the moment. Watch a cook attempt to mingle with a crowd of non-cooks and carry on a conversation – those around will look on with confusion and sometimes embarrassment. Only cooks will nod with approval and understanding when another cook has the stage.

[]         THAT FRUSTRATED ARTIST THING

Certainly cooking is an art form and those who prepare food – artists. Every, yes every, serious cook that I have known is an artist at heart – an artist looking for a medium of expression that works for them. Look around at how many cooks you know who play an instrument (maybe not too well), paint, draw, carve, write, or build. Cooking is a unique, tactile craft that serves as a perfect medium for that inner artist. Every day that a cook stands in front of a stove he or she is entering the world of the artist. At the same time, this artist, unlike any other, is able to appeal to every human sense and build an experience that others can enjoy at multiple levels. Knowing this is a bond that brings friendships to the surface.

[]         COOKS ARE NON-JUDGMENTAL

Can you cook, are you dependable, will you have my back, and are you serious about your work? These are the defining characteristics of a team member, a fellow cook, and a friend in the kitchen. If you live up to these parameters then there is trust. Cooks do not care about anything else regarding your lifestyle – your likes and dislikes, your beliefs and your flaws. Cooks tend not to be judgmental.

“A friend is someone who gives you total freedom to be yourself.”

-Jim Morrison

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

RELISH THE FRIENDSHIPS MADE IN THE KITCHEN

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

Restaurant Consulting and Training

www.harvestamericaventures.com