Harvest America CUES BLOG

kitchen

  • COOKING FOR THE RUSH

    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… Continue reading

  • THE CHEF – DECISIONS EVERY 30 SECONDS

    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… Continue reading

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

    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… Continue reading

  • GENEROSITY IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR COOKS AND CHEFS

    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… Continue reading

  • NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE IMPORTANCE OF THE PREP COOK

    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… Continue reading

  • THE SENSUAL EXPERIENCE OF BEING A COOK

    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… Continue reading

  • THE SPORT OF COOKING

    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… Continue reading

  • ANYTHING WORTH DOING IS WORTH DOING WELL

    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… Continue reading

  • THE LINE COOK COUNTERCULTURE

    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… Continue reading

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

    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… Continue reading

  • THE FALLACY OF RECIPES

    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… Continue reading

  • THAT KITCHEN SENSE OF URGENCY

    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… Continue reading

  • MORE LAWS OF THE KITCHEN

    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… Continue reading

  • IS THE KITCHEN A COOK’S “SAFE PLACE”?

    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… Continue reading

  • COOKING THROUGH THE SENSES – THE CHEF’S UNIQUE SKILL

    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… Continue reading

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

    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… Continue reading

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

    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… Continue reading

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

    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… Continue reading

  • WHY COOKS HANG OUT WITH COOKS

    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… Continue reading

  • COOKS – LEARNING HOW TO FIT IN

    There is a definitive culture in a professional kitchen – a culture that requires certain attributes of members. Membership is not automatic – far from it. It is this culture that attracts many to the profession – it is this… Continue reading

  • THE RECIPE IS A BOOK WORTH READING AND HOLDING CLOSE TO YOUR HEART

    There has rarely been a better time for a book like this. I don’t normally use my blog to talk about books that you really should read. My focus is to pay respect to cooks and chefs, restaurateurs and servers,… Continue reading

  • LINE COOKS – TOUGH AS NAILS – USED AND ABUSED, DRIVEN AND CONTENTIOUS

    We are who we are or – are we defined by what we do and the environment that we function in? Look into a person’s eyes and you can determine quite a bit. A cook’s eyes are focused, tired, often… Continue reading

  • WHY COOKS APPRENTICESHIP MAY BE THE ANSWER

    What goes around does come around. For the past forty years the restaurant industry has relinquished its responsibility for serious training to culinary schools across the country. From the days of Careme, Pointe, and Escoffier till the early 1960’s the… Continue reading

  • A COOK DEEP IN THOUGHT

    If you are a restaurant cook – how often have you paused to think: “Why am I doing this”? Every cook understands that there is a balance of good, bad, and ugly with most careers, but at times it does… Continue reading

  • WHAT DRIVES A LINE COOK CRAZY

    Recently, I pointed to the things that drive a chef crazy, but line cooks share a list of actions or lack thereof that push their buttons as well. Some of these actions are real and correctable while others are simply… Continue reading

  • ROCK SOLID – A COOK’S PROFILE

    A chef posts job openings for a restaurant kitchen “Looking for line cooks – dependable, experienced, strong work ethic”. These three descriptors summarize what most chefs are looking for. The resume is simply an elaboration on the critical traits of… Continue reading

  • THE MOST IMPORTANT TOOL IN A PROFESSIONAL KITCHEN – A COOK’S HANDS

    Cut, stitched, bruised, burnt, swollen and callused – a cook’s hands are a testament to the torturous work that they endure and the symbol of an incredible work ethic that they represent. It is not uncommon for people to take… Continue reading

  • HEY CHEF – IT’S ALL ABOUT VALUE

    I spend the majority of time with this blog talking about the kitchen environment, the great people who work in restaurants, the unique characteristics of serious cooks, and the challenges that these individuals face, but quite possibly not enough time… Continue reading

  • WALKING IN A LINE COOK’S SHOES – The Good, The Challenging, & The Ugly

    While television and even some books might portray the life of a line cook as exciting, edgy, competitive, and even dangerously glamorous, few really demonstrate an understanding of what it is like to walk in a line cook’s shoes. Start… Continue reading

  • A LINE COOK’S LIFE DIRECTION

    “There’s nothing worse than a feeling of being lost.” -Chef Daniel Boulud These are such important words from a chef and restaurateur whom many consider one of the worlds finest at his craft. They gave me a moment of pause… Continue reading