Chef Wars--Good Food Good Friends

We are taking our own place in the media stream and are participating in the SJHotchefs "Chef Wars".

I'll be competing against Richard Marsh of Andreotti's this Thursday night at Elements. And following that up with a dinner at his place in cherry hill on the 18th of June.

This should be a lot of fun and a seriously good match-up. With Rich's classical background and schooling from the Culinary Institute of America I know we are going to turn some great food.

So wish me good luck.

I'll follow up with some pictures on Friday and hopefully a winning score.

What drives you to succeed?

Our Deepest Fear...

is not that we are inadequate, 
our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. 
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. 
We ask ourselves, "Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?" 
Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God. 
Your playing small does not serve the world. 
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. 
We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us. 
It is not just in some of us, 
it is in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine, 
we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. 
As we are liberated from our own fear,
our presence automatically liberates others. 


- Marianne Williamson -

An inspiring quote that makes me think. Does it make you think? 

Why do I do this?

I spend a better part of waking hours thinking about food, thinking about how to make my food better.

For What!

Most people in this industry would give the PC answer of "for the guest".

Sorry, that's just not me. I do it for me. Don't get me wrong, it makes me very happy even proud like a daddy when I go in the dining room and a guest tells me they enjoyed their meal. But at the end of the day I'm my harshest critic.

And don't misunderstand, I want everyone to like it-my food. But....

There have been only two people in my entire life that I actually cared what they thought of my food.

My father is number one and always will be.

For a long time I don't really think he understood what I was going for. But then when I graduated from the Greenbrier and he was able to come down and stay at the hotel, come in the kitchen and see me work, and see my graduation table he got it. I didn't want to be the fry cook at the local restaurant, I wanted more and still do.

The second person is chef Peter Timmons of the Greenbrier Hotel.

After my first year at the hotel Chef Timmons came on board as sous chef of the main kitchen. A position completely beneath him. But I'm so grateful that I had the opportunity and good fortune to work with him for two years. He, more then any other chef, has shaped how I think about working in the kitchen, how I think about food, and how I teach others.

On graduation night, after being up for about 3 days straight we had our graduation dinner. A grand event with my comrades, with wine and food cooked by Chef Timmons himself. After a few glasses of wine, great food, and no sleep I couldn't tell you if this actually happened but I remember it happening so it must have--- Chef Timmons said "you know Fred your a good cook". After 2 years of working with him that is the biggest compliment he ever gave me and a bigger compliment then anyone probably ever will when comes to my job.

That's all I'll ever need. The smile and understanding of my dad and a 7 word sentence from my teacher.

No Class

Yo! Asshole in the dining room right now, you know who you are. We take a lot of pride in ourselfs as restaurant employees and we think it shows in our work.

Don't ever come into my F--ing restaurant again and suggest that "we can share your scraps because your done". We eat better then you do because you have the palate of a 4 old with your well done steak and coke for dinner.

Thanks for your money but next time head to Mcdonalds it's more your speed.

P.S. --Just because your over 60 doesn't mean being a complete ass is ok. You would think that at your age you would have learned some manners by now.

Vegetarian vs. Vegan

Just a short word.
I have no problem at all with vegetarians. I always have vegetarian options on my menus, not vegan but vegetarian. My problem is when someone comes into the restaurant and looks at all the options and decides they don't like any of the 4-7 vegetarian options(not counting soup and salad) we have and wants something special.

Then on top of that they say that they are vegan, but they eat cheese.

Well, here it is.

Attention vegetarians--- you're not special! If you don't like the options we have I'm sorry but this is what we have.

Attention vegans--- If you don't know the difference between vegan and vegetarian don't bother to ask for vegan food! Vegans don't eat cheese!!!

Keeping Up

Just wanted to say this blogging thing ain't easy. Between running a small restaurant, participating in the local restaurant association and trying to have a family life, it just doesn't leave a lot of time for writing.

But I'll get back to soon.

Sustainability

In 1989, the World Commission on Environment and Development (Brundtland Commission) articulated what has now become a widely accepted definition of sustainability: " to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."-- Wikipedia

Sustainability has become the next catchall marketing phrase applied to everything from the food we eat to the gas we put in our cars--have you seen the ads for citgo they actually are trying to make us think that by buying their gas we are supporting our local community. 

I'm just as guilty as everyone else, I have come into the dining room and talked about "this sustainable farm or company" or the server uses the phrase "grown on this sustainable farm" but does this make my business sustainable?  No and Yes

I think as a conscientious member of the community and maybe more importantly a parent, we all try to do our part to save and prepare for the future. We pick up trash that is blowing by, we recycle everywhere,  not just at home, but at work and school as well, and we purchase items that agree with our personal ideas of right and wrong.  

But can a industry that survives on the idea that we want a guest to leave their home, burning fossil fuels in the process, then pay us for something they can do at home less expensively, really market itself as green or sustainable. (As I write this, I can't believe I'm suggesting people stay at home.) I just don't understand business owners that use terms like 'sustainability' or 'going green' to describe their business when their real and only motive is to increase their bank account any way possible. One should not be marketing themselves in the narrowest terms possible, just to claim they belong to a certain group so that they may attract more business.

I think that we all can do more and should do more to insure a better tomorrow. When I go into the dining room and I'm fortunate enough to hear the kind words of a guest about the food I always thank them and tell them " I'll do a better job tomorrow".  It's how I think, how I feel and I hope that that attitude rolls into my life outside of the restaurant. But I'm not trying to sell it.

If you want to "go green"-- do it. If you want to support the local farm-- do it. But don't do it to increase your revenue, do it because you believe in it, you'll get so much more from it then just a couple of dollars. You'll get a better tomorrow. 

 

Education

What seems like too many years ago, a person that I consider to be a mentor, told me "as soon as you start to work for money, instead of education, your career has ended and your job has begun".

When I think about why he would say that to me or anyone else, it has to be taken in context. I was finishing up my apprenticeship at the Greenbrier Hotel and getting ready to leave. A point ahead of where many culinary school graduates find themselves but facing the same decisions. What I needed to do, was balance my desires to express myself by taking a job as a sous chef or chef in a small restaurant where I would have to teach myself and others, or a line cook in a larger more well known place where I would learn from others. 

Too often, when a young person is at school, their heads are filled with "you're the next Bobby Flay or Thomas Keller" and they very well may be. But those great chefs didn't get there with their first job out of school. Read their books they'll tell you. For a person of 23 or 24 to take the job as sous chef or chef at a place right out of school - they will only hurt themselves in the long run. That's not to say there aren't exceptions to this or that they won't do a good job. But by and far most of them find a never ending circle of bad jobs with worse bosses that they can't seem to get out of. The money is too good or needed to much, the keys to a restaurant that isn't yours is too appealing, and the late nights at the bar too fun to give up--- or talk yourself into giving up.

"as soon as you start to work for money instead of education your career has ended and your job has begun"

I agree with that thought, live by it, and preach it to my staff. But at this point in my life I've come to the conclusion that my mentor was wrong. Your career ends when you stop striving to learn, and only the individual can control that. 

I find myself after 25 years in the business learning all over again, feeling like a freshman at college. There are so many new ways of looking at what we do and how we do what we do that if you really care about your career (your life) you can't help but try to learn. 

Over the next few months I will be posting about the things I'm learning but I thought I would start by thanking the people that make it possible for me to learn. I'm not going back to school of the traditional since but in the modern way. The Internet.

I read a lot of cookbooks and blogs, and recently it has been nothing but blogs. These people that write them are the new breed of chef, the ones that care more about the craft and are willing to share it.  I have noticed a new trend, it may have been started or at least pushed by Michael Laiskonis, of not only talking about what they are doing but posting recipes about it.

Thank You...

When you can't go out and purchase all the latest stuff needed to produce all these recipes from a cookbook. You can pick and choose which ones you do work on by a chef's first hand, up to the moment account of the recipe on their blog. They explain there thoughts, their process, their mistakes and you learn, from their mistakes and the yours.

When I learn how to use the back office system a little better I will start a blog roll of all the blogs I'm reading but for right now I thought I would just list a few.

Chadzilla -- excellent writing from a hotel chef's daily experiences

Workbook -- Michael Laiskonis pastry chef at Le Bernardin

Cannelle et Vanille -- great pastry chef with a great eye for the camera

Playing With Fire and Water -- a freelance chef in Connecticut

These are just a few but... But thank you all. 

 

Time for me to get on my soap box

I haven't been posting much but I think it's important. I friend sent it to me in an e-mail and I decide to post it.

Nationalized food? Say goodbye to the small town American farmer. No more tomato stands on the side of the road. Forget the fresh chickens from the coup. All your food will have to come from the grocery store. All your food will have to be checked through the government. Don't dare to grow corn in your own back yard or they just might come after you. This legislation is so broad based that someone with a backyard garden could have their property siezed. On the table before Congress is HR 875 which was introduced by Democrat Rosa DeLauro from Connecticut whose hubby Stanley Greenburg WORKS FOR MONSANTO. Does something smell fishy? Oh, watch out you salmon farmers. Remember Monsanto is the world's biggest producer of herbicides and genetically engineered seeds and wouldn't they love to throw the small farmers out of business. H.R. 875 is called the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009 and if you want to talk about Socialism, here it is. This horrific bill would establish a "Food Safety Administration" within the Department of Health and Human Services. The mandate of this new department would be "to protect the public health by preventing food-borne illness, ensuring the safety of food, improving research on contaminants leading to food-borne illness, and improving security of food from intentional contamination, and for other purposes." Section 3 of HR 875 defines what type of establishments would be subject to the regulations in this legislation. It that section, a "food production facility" is defined this way: The term 'food production facility' means any farm, ranch, orchard, vineyard, aquaculture facility, or confined animal-feeding operation. Stalin nationalize farming methods that enabled his administration to gain control over the food supply? Stalin used the food to control the people? HR 875 gives the government the power to regulate what is "safe" farming. and therefore farmers are not using enough herbicide on their plants to be "safe" or they aren't following the same "quality control" procedures as the big guys they could be instantly put out of business. So if you want to go to the local farm stand and buy some fresh strawberries just picked by farmer Jed who uses no pesticides, you won't be able to. And what about meat? You won't be able to go to a local farm and pick your cow. You won't be able to buy fresh farmed milk. And the only fresh egg you will see is in a carton. What will America be without the roadside farm stand? What will happen to our families if the freshest blueberries they get to eat are from Chili? How will our children know the fresh taste of watermelon if the only one they taste has been shipped from Mexico? We cannot allow this bill to pass. Please forward this to every person on your email list Call your representative and demand that HR 875 NOT PASS http://www.congress.org/congressorg/directory/congdir.tt full text of the bill http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h111-875 We need to be free to feed our own people! Darla Shine www.housewifearmy.com Call Nancy Pelosi and say NO to HR 875 (202) 225-0100

What Happened?????

I'm sure by now most people that enjoy good food have heard that the Fat Duck has temporarily closed due to a possible food poisoning outbreak.

I'm sure if you want you can find many blog posts that speak of the over reaction by the public and possibly Heston Blumenthal himself. But I won't link to them whether I agree with the blogger or not.

I'm more interested in someone that does not know the whole story, but I don't want to try to make you think I do. 

Everyday when you go out to eat, you trust that the restaurant you choose, and their staff is safe and responsible with the work they do.  But in this day and age, where you get your news from, the tv, internet, or your next door neighbor is more interested in shocking you then giving you all the information.  If that 'breaking news' happens to be wrong or skewed, where you got the information will never come racing back to you and say we were wrong. They'll bury it on page 12, not put it on your news home page, and they won't call you to tell you all is okay. Your favorite restaurant is run by people that work on the spur of the moment all the time. But people make mistakes. As much as I tell everyone that I don't, and I don't, people make mistakes. 

Now we try everyday to adhere to every health code there is and I'm positive that the Fat Duck adheres to standards that a lot of medical research labs would be proud of but something happened and the Fat Duck staff will learn from it and move on. I just hope that the public will give them the respect that they deserve and the time they need to figure this out.

Modern Cuisine

Anyone who knows me, knows I take a long time to make a large purchase. Well I've been talking about buying an immersion circulator for over a year now and I finally jumped. I found a Fisher scientific 73 on EBay for a $175 and could not resist.

So I did like I always do, I wrote a menu using new techniques or food or recipes that I don't know and now have to figure out. It forces me to learn-- sounds dumb but it works for me.

Although I tried something different this time I actually tried to cook something before it was needed and had to be perfect.

The Experiment-- 130 grams Rib Eye Steak and 1 clove of roasted garlic cryovaced and cooked sous vide for 10 hrs at 54' C.

I seared the meat in a hot pan with a little 10% olive oil blend.

I've been reading about sous vide cooking on every blog I can find and books that I can't afford for over a year now and today I got my first taste---

Wow. The meat was a perfect medium-rare, tender as it gets.

All this did is really get my juices going. I can't wait to get i to work tomorrow and try lamb, pork, different cuts of beef. This is going to be interesting.

Long Week

Just got done a long week, we had a party on Saturday for 210 people. Time to get back to the restaurant work and get ready for Restaurant Week. Restaurant Week is 3 weeks away but I just wrote the menu and it's time to start practicing. 

What is my Direction

If you read from the beginning you might have said that this blog would be a marketing arm of my restaurants website. 

Then it it became my personnel complaint center...

Then it turned into my personnel soapbox.

It will be all of those things, but most importantly it will be my scatter brained view on life.

 

So where is it going? 

Forward.... 

Why you don't bring food to a restaurant

In case you didn't know this restaurants sell food, it's what we do. The idea of asking to bring snacks for your party or a cake is just plain rude. 

There are so many business reasons that I could go into but I shouldn't have to.

~ the restaurant makes money by selling food... duh

~ the wait staff makes money by selling food... duh

~ it costs the restaurant money when you take longer to finish eating especially if you're not eating our food

~ the restaurant does not want to be associated with other business or your friends food.. it doesn't meet our standards that's why we don't sell aunt Cathy's cakes

~ it costs the restaurant money to serve the food, wash plates, and clean up the extra mess from the food you didn't buy from us.  

Restaurants provide a service, a place to dine and visit with friends. We make money by SELLING food and drinks while you are here. If you don't want to buy our cakes or hors d'oeuvres why did you choose to come here?

Lisa is Back!

If you've been dining at Elements for a while I'm sure you remember Lisa. 

Well, we are very fortunate that she got some time off this winter and chose to spend it at home. 

She worked all last week including Valentine's Day(made my job so easy) and will continue through the end of the month.

If we're lucky she'll do a guest chef dinner in the beginning of March before she goes back for her senior year at the world famous(my alma mater) Greenbrier Resort.

Some come on out and say hello.

A Valentine's Day Thank You

Just wanted to say thanks to all the brave souls that came to dinner saturday evening. It's was our best Valentine's in six years, the staff, the customers it all came to together great.

Common Courtesy

This weeks has to be one of my least favorite times of the year. Everyone in this business works long hours but we enjoy it, but the week before Valentine's Day is especially difficult when the dining public has no respect for anyone. Not their dining companion, not the server, and least of all the person waiting for the table when your done eating.

We know that your going out for that special meal at a place you can't always afford....

We know that you want everything to be perfect.....

We know that you know better then we do how to do our job.....

But just once, just once, if you decide to come to our little slice of the world known as Elements Cafe please assume we know what we're doing. The young ladies that work in the dining room will move as fast as they can, they will give you the table that we have available and they know this night is special and will treat it that way.

 I'm in the kitchen with my entire staff and I'm cooking the best I can to make this night perfect for you. But know this, in the past you've been rude, condescending, and down right mean, and if you do it again I'm coming out of the kitchen and I'm going to embarrass the shit out of you and treat you like the child you are!

So come out enjoy yourself, but be nice because I'm not!

Saturday Night

Well I'm finally starting to get my feet under me. The staff did a nice job while I was less then ready to go. So I thought a better get back to updating folks.

Here's tonight specials:

Soup du Jour-- Potato and Corn Chowder-- vegetarian with a little cream

Salad Special-- Salad Italiano-- Roasted Baby Eggplant Pearl Onions and Roma Tomatoes with a Red Wine Vinaigrette

Fish Special-- Pan Roasted Golden Tile Fish-- Very similar to sea bass, thick white mild flaky fish
in a fish chowder style stew

Meat Special-- Short Rib Wellington
Slow cooked Boneless Beef Short Rib topped with mushroom duxelle, onions and arugula all wrapped in puff pastry

Hope to see you tonight

Sundays--My Day Off

Today is my regular day off. You know the day I usually reserve for cleaning, ordering, and paper work. But I'm not writing this to get sympathy.

This is actually the second day in a row that I've been off. On a regular Saturday I stomp, growl, scream, push and pull everyone around me through what I hope is the busiest day of the week. But on this day I barely had the energy to come to work let alone lead my team. My staff saw this early in the morning and all pitched in to carry their load plus mine. 

So on a day when we had a very important party of 15 in the afternoon and 40 on the books for dinner. I wasn't there!

 

I say thank you to everyone that works for me everyday when they go home, I know it's small but I don't remember my various bosses saying thank you and I want to be different.

But after awhile I'm sure it just sounds like words, so today I wanted to say thank you to my staff for giving me my first Saturday off in 3 years with the restaurant open (and did very well from what I've been told) when I really needed it.

The Kitchen -- Adam, Lauren, and Kevin

The Servers -- Dana, Alexa, Madison, Julie, and Kate

Thank You

 

My Complaints

Every once in a while I'm going to let everyone know what bothers me. People let me know all the time so this blog will also serve as my sounding board.

We are in the middle of our Haddon Heights Taste of the Town and thanks to you we're quite busy. Some might not know, we are a small restaurant only seating about 40, so when guests don't show or are late, or don't show with number of people they left a reservation for it's hard on the staff and me.

Well tonight we had a classic that I must tell you about. We had a reservation for 2 people at 5:30pm-- a great reservation for a restaurant(if the people show). Well needless to say, but I will, they didn't show. It gets to be a little after six so--
I call-- "Yes is Mrs. So and So in"-- "yes this is she"---"Hi this is Fred from Elements, you have a reservation at 5:30"--"NO I didn't!" she said--" Oh I'm sorry, it must be the other Mrs So and So at the same number as yours."

For gods sake people it's bad enough that she didn't keep her reservation. didn't call to cancel it, but then blatantly lied about it. Come on grow up, have a little class.

This is the crap that small business owners have to deal with everyday.