It is turkey funny how life is. Last year at this time I was talking or typing about relationships and how being a chef affects them. Or in was just typing about relationships in general. This year has been a definite growing experience for me. I have grown in the area of relationships and finding balance with work. I have a new job that they seem to appreciate what I do. There are 5 outlets at this hotel and a whole bunch of employees tom watch over to make sure they are doing their jobs. A lot of opportunity to lose food, because of theft or improper rotation of the prepped product. I have done a lot of reflection over the past year. I want to find out why I move from job to job, and then realize that I am sold a bag of shit. I also have realized that I cannot lay all my cards out in one hand. I have to think like I am playing chess, I have to figure the move out before it happens, it is time to watch and learn, and suck the pride in. I have made a commitment to be a chef, and the best chef I can be. In order to that I have to open my mind to what is out there for me to learn. I have to become a sponge to absorb as much as I can.
Lots and lot of reading going on for me. Trying to make my self a better person. Reading on all the subjects that I do not know about. Don't want to say, reading on the subjects that arebmy negative. Thatbis not the way to look at things. I am looking to be positive and that is what I am focused on. You, cannot fault someone for trying to make themselves better. I have looked at the following subjects to make me a better person; balance as far as time management, budgeting and spending, me (my wants and needs for my life), and cooking. I have written my menu for my own restaurant but after working at the country club, I realize that it might not excute the proper way. I have learn to look at the labor matrix of owning a business and how to control that realm. It doesn't help if you always need to have a mim staff of 4 people to excute a menu. It has also made me focus innthe prodcution of the prep and space that you need to store such products. It is one thing that you can write a menu, it is another thing to run a profit not only from the food aspect of it but from a labor aspect. And let's not forget about the excution of the menu. People will only wait so long before they start getting upset. It has also made me realize that you need to make sure your people know what they are doing. The old saying, a good person is hard to find, well that screams at me. There are so many people I. This line of work that are in it because they depend upon the fast cash to full there drug addiction or what ever their vise is. You have to work on your people skills as well, how else are you going to get the best out of your employees. Being an ogre is not the way to be, gaining respect by doing the same job is the way to really get your employee to become engaged at work.
In the end what I do the most is think about food. I live to eat not eat to live, just like my old boss says. I have to reread what it is to be a basic cook. Reteach myself about the meaning of cuisine. Embrace French cuisine for what it is, the precursor to what you do today as chefs. I have to reprogram my thinking that, one has to know how to do the classics backwards and forwards to become a great chef. How does one learn how to run, they start by crawling, then walking and finally running. How does one cook the perfect egg. Well, the question should be whatbis the perfect egg? My perfect is not yours is it. When a chef says cut me ...you should reply in which way would you have me cut it. Or, please show me and I will cut it that way for you. But getting back to the egg. We know that the egg white is 90% water and the yolk is another 80%. We know the two cook or coagulate differently. The egg white coagulates at 120 to 135 and the egg yolk around 140. Knowing this basic knowledge we can then realize that is the reason we can have eggs over easy or eggs over hard. Or knowing how much water they have we can then realize why egg whites are used in flour less cakes, the moisture produces steam! Hence souffles were born. See, we should have paid more attention in chemistry and science class when we were in school. Cooking is not only a passion but a science!
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
2C
Well, it is off another wild adventure for me. I have a new job, I am out of the Country Club life and now in the Hotel life again. It is much different being in the hotel setting. There are a lot of outlets to manage,and the guests you have in front of you are only there a brief time. You have to really be on your A game to make that lasting positive impression with these types of people. Some are business people, some are families. It only takes a very small thing to turn their experience into a negative. There are so many opportunities to drop the ball. You may over order or under order in either cases it can bite you in the ass. I have challenged myself ever time I go into work, I push myself to the breaking point and than beyond. I am using everything I have learned and putting it to the test and seeing what works and what does not. I have worked to get the staff to respect me, by just doing their job faster, more efficiently and giving praise when needed. I have been more focused on being positive at work and trying to get others around me to be the same way. I have made it a point that I don't want to hear, "the am people do this and the pm people do that". I quickly nip that talk in the butt.
With this new job there is new times. That is the biggest transformation that I am having a problem getting use to. I work 2 nights, 2 days off (not in a row) and three morning shifts. I am not at all use to that. It is taking me some time to adjust. I have to force myself to do better if I want to achieve my goals. I am working less hours but the time schedule is what is really messing me up. I have to develop better time management skills. I have to find that balance in my life between work and social. I am more aware of the out time even though I am not married to someone. I am more focused on my needs and wants and second guessing if I should open my mouth to do more. I am not going to lay all my cards on the table this early in the game. I am going to play slower and watch each move carefully. Become a better chess player per say.
In the time that has past me by since last July (almost a year)I have grown into such a different person. I am more vocal about my feelings and not just saying what the other person wants to hear. I am saying what ever it is that is on my mind, even if it hurts the other person. It is better to tell the truth than to lie and try to hide.
I have read more than ever in my life. I am trying to soak up enough knowledge to become a better chef. I am testing myself and pushing myself to think outside the box. I am reeducating myself on cooking. I have bought a book on chemistry and I am looking to buy a little chemistry set to start doing my own experiments with food on the molecular level. I am not looking to reinvent the wheel, but from what some of the books have talked about what chemist uses to do what a chef might use, the chemists way is FAR faster then the old chefs equipment can do.
The TV show, I am still working on, and I will do it. I have to, I love to educate people on food. It is so simple and yet people do not know how much of cooking is science. People do not realize that some of us chefs are MAD scientists, pushing the pressure cooker to new PSI! To see that person's eyes light up because they just figured out what was actually happening, that is priceless. There is nothing more rewarding to me than when someone realizes that cooking is an art form, a science, and yet we are not killing anyone at the end of the day (hopefully). Check out the new place Marriott palm beach Singer Island resort and spa. Check out Solu the restaurant, you will see some of me in that restaurant. Simple but elegant decor and the food, taste bud blowing. Give me a couple of days I will have more to write about. I want to go read more on molecular gastronomy now. Ciao for now and happy inventing!
With this new job there is new times. That is the biggest transformation that I am having a problem getting use to. I work 2 nights, 2 days off (not in a row) and three morning shifts. I am not at all use to that. It is taking me some time to adjust. I have to force myself to do better if I want to achieve my goals. I am working less hours but the time schedule is what is really messing me up. I have to develop better time management skills. I have to find that balance in my life between work and social. I am more aware of the out time even though I am not married to someone. I am more focused on my needs and wants and second guessing if I should open my mouth to do more. I am not going to lay all my cards on the table this early in the game. I am going to play slower and watch each move carefully. Become a better chess player per say.
In the time that has past me by since last July (almost a year)I have grown into such a different person. I am more vocal about my feelings and not just saying what the other person wants to hear. I am saying what ever it is that is on my mind, even if it hurts the other person. It is better to tell the truth than to lie and try to hide.
I have read more than ever in my life. I am trying to soak up enough knowledge to become a better chef. I am testing myself and pushing myself to think outside the box. I am reeducating myself on cooking. I have bought a book on chemistry and I am looking to buy a little chemistry set to start doing my own experiments with food on the molecular level. I am not looking to reinvent the wheel, but from what some of the books have talked about what chemist uses to do what a chef might use, the chemists way is FAR faster then the old chefs equipment can do.
The TV show, I am still working on, and I will do it. I have to, I love to educate people on food. It is so simple and yet people do not know how much of cooking is science. People do not realize that some of us chefs are MAD scientists, pushing the pressure cooker to new PSI! To see that person's eyes light up because they just figured out what was actually happening, that is priceless. There is nothing more rewarding to me than when someone realizes that cooking is an art form, a science, and yet we are not killing anyone at the end of the day (hopefully). Check out the new place Marriott palm beach Singer Island resort and spa. Check out Solu the restaurant, you will see some of me in that restaurant. Simple but elegant decor and the food, taste bud blowing. Give me a couple of days I will have more to write about. I want to go read more on molecular gastronomy now. Ciao for now and happy inventing!
2C
Well, it is off another wild adventure for me. I have a new job, I am out of the Country Club life and now in the Hotel life again. It is much different being in the hotel setting. There are a lot of outlets to manage,and the guests you have in front of you are only there a brief time. You have to really be on your A game to make that lasting positive impression with these types of people. Some are business people, some are families. It only takes a very small thing to turn their experience into a negative. There are so many opportunities to drop the ball. You may over order or under order in either cases it can bite you in the ass. I have challenged myself ever time I go into work, I push myself to the breaking point and then beyond. I am using everything I have learned to the test and seeing what works and what does not. I have worked to get the staff to respect me, by just doing their job faster, more efficiently and giving praise when needed. I have been more focused on being positive at work and trying to get the others around me to be the same way. I have made it a point that I don't want to hear, "the am people do this and the pm people do that". I quickly nip that talk in the butt.
With this new job there is new times. That is the biggest transformation that I am having a problem getting use to. I work 2 nights, 2 days off (not in a row) and three morning shifts. I am not at all use to that. It is taking me some time to adjust. I have to force myself to do better if I want to achieve my goals. I am working less hours but the time schedule is what is really messing me up. I have to develop better time management skills. I have to find that balance in my life between work and social. I am more aware of the out time even though I am not married to someone. I am more focused on my needs and wants and second guessing if I should open my mouth to do more. I am not going to lay all my cards on the table this early in the game. I am going to play slower and watch each move carefully. Become a better chess player per say.
In the time that has past me by since last July (almost a year)I have grown into such a different person. I am more vocal about my feelings and not just saying what the other person wants to hear. I am saying what ever it is that is on my mind, even if it hurts the other person. It is better to tell the truth than to lie and try to hide.
I have read more than ever in my life. I am trying to soak up enough knowledge to become a better chef. I am testing myself and pushing myself to think outside the box. I am reeducating myself on cooking. I have bought a book on chemistry and I am looking to buy a little chemistry set to start doing my own experiments with food on the molecular level. I am not looking to reinvent the wheel, but from what some of the books have talked about what chemist uses to do what a chef might use, the chemists way is FAR faster then the old chefs equipment can do.
The TV show, I am still working on, and I will do it. I have to, I love to educate people on food. It is so simple and yet people do not know how much of cooking is science. People do not realize that some of us chefs are MAD scientists, pushing the pressure cooker to new PSI! To see that person's eyes light up because they just figured out what was actually happening, that is priceless. There is nothing more rewarding to me than when someone realizes that cooking is an art form, a science, and yet we are not killing anyone at the end of the day (hopefully). Check out the new place Marriott palm beach Singer Island resort and spa. Check out Solu the restaurant, you will see some of me in that restaurant. Simple but elegant decor and the food, taste bud blowing. Give me a couple of days I will have more to write about. I want to go read more on molecular gastronomy now. Ciao for now and happy inventing!
With this new job there is new times. That is the biggest transformation that I am having a problem getting use to. I work 2 nights, 2 days off (not in a row) and three morning shifts. I am not at all use to that. It is taking me some time to adjust. I have to force myself to do better if I want to achieve my goals. I am working less hours but the time schedule is what is really messing me up. I have to develop better time management skills. I have to find that balance in my life between work and social. I am more aware of the out time even though I am not married to someone. I am more focused on my needs and wants and second guessing if I should open my mouth to do more. I am not going to lay all my cards on the table this early in the game. I am going to play slower and watch each move carefully. Become a better chess player per say.
In the time that has past me by since last July (almost a year)I have grown into such a different person. I am more vocal about my feelings and not just saying what the other person wants to hear. I am saying what ever it is that is on my mind, even if it hurts the other person. It is better to tell the truth than to lie and try to hide.
I have read more than ever in my life. I am trying to soak up enough knowledge to become a better chef. I am testing myself and pushing myself to think outside the box. I am reeducating myself on cooking. I have bought a book on chemistry and I am looking to buy a little chemistry set to start doing my own experiments with food on the molecular level. I am not looking to reinvent the wheel, but from what some of the books have talked about what chemist uses to do what a chef might use, the chemists way is FAR faster then the old chefs equipment can do.
The TV show, I am still working on, and I will do it. I have to, I love to educate people on food. It is so simple and yet people do not know how much of cooking is science. People do not realize that some of us chefs are MAD scientists, pushing the pressure cooker to new PSI! To see that person's eyes light up because they just figured out what was actually happening, that is priceless. There is nothing more rewarding to me than when someone realizes that cooking is an art form, a science, and yet we are not killing anyone at the end of the day (hopefully). Check out the new place Marriott palm beach Singer Island resort and spa. Check out Solu the restaurant, you will see some of me in that restaurant. Simple but elegant decor and the food, taste bud blowing. Give me a couple of days I will have more to write about. I want to go read more on molecular gastronomy now. Ciao for now and happy inventing!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)