Thank You Chefs.

The baseball playoffs finished last night in St. Louis in exciting fashion. Most people probably don’t realize that both teams in the World Series are teams who utilize Delaware North Companies Sportservice culinary talents. Many of our best chefs have been traveling back and forth and working incredibly long hours to serve the many thousands and thousands of fans who love baseball so dearly. It takes an incredible effort and I want to thank them for everything they’ve done and the energy they’ve put forth. I am very hopeful that many of them will write something for the blog that talks about their experiences. Over the past few weeks, while all these chefs were making their playoff runs – there simply wasn’t enough time for the chefs to stop and download their thoughts to the blog. But, stay tuned. We will be getting thoughts and insight from all of them.

Thank you again for all your efforts.

A Thank You From Chef Torres.

A few weeks ago I posted a recap of the International Jeunes Chefs Rotisseurs Competition that Chef Reilly Meehan won. I mentioned that myself and Chef Randy Torres were very helpful in training and working with Meehan, who is a very talented you chef. The other day, I received this note from Chef Torres.

Hello Chef Henin,

Thank you for the nice e-mail, and once again, knowing you has really paid off. Thank you for all your help and guidance with Reilly. He really took to hear all you had to say, especially about the butchery and was even commended for his butchering skills by the judges. Because of your extra push, Reilly was really able to become the best of the competition. Our relationship over these years has made be a better cook, competitor and coach. I may be asking for your help again on keeping a promise I made to Reilly in that if he was the win the prestigious completion, we would celebrate at the French Laundry – and we were hoping with your influence, we might be able to make that celebration dinner extra special. More importantly, we would be honored to have you with us on the night we visit the restaurant if that’s at all possible.

Once again Chef, thank you for the years of knowledge and support.

Randy Torres

Latin Flavors, American Kitchens

This is a very important post from Chef Percy Whatley. He attended an event focused on Latin cuisine which is a growing segment in American food.  Enjoy.

I recently had the privilege of attending  the annual “Latin Flavors, American Kitchens,” – a professional development seminar at the new Culinary Institute of America in San Antonio, TX.

The seminar was a tightly held agenda of short demonstrations with prominent chefs from various countries.  Peru, Chile, Mexico, Brazil, Equador, Cuba, Guatemala and the Southwestern United States were all represented.

Some like it hot, others don’t.  What was eye-opening for me was the variety of spice levels the different countries desire.   There was everything from quite spicy, to almost no heat at all, just using the mild chilies for flavor only.

Many of the cuisines use similar in ingredients, however, just a different ratio to signify the unique flavor profile of the culture.  These ingredients include well known and widely used items such as:  cilantro, tomatoes, onions, masa harina, corn, pumpkin, mushrooms, etc.  The chilies are where it became new: aji Amarillo, chile tepin, chile pasado, chile Colorado, and the wider known, ancho, guajillo, arbol, negro and New Mexico.  The fresh ones included habanero, jalapeno, Serrano, Fresno, Hatch, Pablano, red and yellow sweet bells, etc.  The variety was colorful and inviting and each had their own flavor profile which added to each particular dish.

Many of the cooking styles are familiar to most of us.  There was, however, the iconic meat skewered on a cross, cooked over an open fire there though.  Something we don’t see very often.  This time it was a baby goat, or Cabrito, which was tender and juicy.  Lots of different kinds of salsas and salads, and an amazing Amazonian fish called Pirarucu that was amazingly tasty.  It is a gigantic, and prehistoric, fish.

Overall, the experience brought to light the diversity of Latin American cuisine.  Given that it is a major market segment within the United States, and an ever-growing population segment, we cannot ignore the fact our ability to deliver food inspired by this style of cooking has to continually evolve and improve.  It is not just tacos and burritos anymore, it is much, much deeper…OLÉ!!!

Saratoga Farmers’ Market.

I received an e-mail from Chef Brian Sterner a bit back that talked about Farmers Markets across New York State and how they were doing this year and season. I found it interesting to note that the Saratoga Farmers’ Market has been named the best farmers market in New York State. I know that Chef Sterner and his staff at Gideon Putnam often use this market for produce. It’s exciting to learn they have such a strong source of food and partner in this farmers market. Here’s a link to the best farmers markets for 2011 around the country. Give it a read and find one near you where you can being to shop for produce.

International Jeunes Chefs Rotisseurs Competition.

I wanted to post a link just as an FYI from La Chaine des Rotisseurs USA regarding a “young chef” who was selected to represent the United States last month in Istanbul. This is the very first time the USA won the first place/golf medal in the competition in its existence. I am happy to have been instrumental and helpful in the process of “fine-tuning” the candidate (Reilly Meehan).

Reilly has just graduated from the Professional Culinary Institute in Northern California and has many great talents and skills and will do well in his culinary future. Read the full write-up on Reilly here.

Three Tips to Hone your Creative and Culinary Edge

Thanks so much for these strong tips from Chef Scott Green. He read them on the Ideas In Food blog and was kind enough to pass them along. I encourage everyone to read them below and also the full post at Ideas In Food. Every chef should read and take something from these tips.

1. Be curious. Our favorite question in the kitchen is “why?” Finding out why things work or why they interact the way they do or simply why something tastes so good often leads to those inspirational “a-ha” moments. Never assume you know the answer to someone else’s question. If you’re curious about how someone did something then (respectfully) ask them. Their approach may surprise you. In this world of social media and shallow relationships, being able to reach out and make an actual connection with someone by sharing ideas is priceless. Creativity doesn’t flourish in a vacuum. We all need stimulation to stay motivated.

2. Be a problem solver. Never be afraid to try something new. Failure is your biggest success in the kitchen. Sound counterintuitive? Failures force us to look at things from a new perspective and take some chances. Success breeds complacency. The long road uphill is a lot more rewarding than the quick tumble down a slippery slope. Never assume something won’t work until you try it yourself. Even if you don’t get the results you want you will probably learn something valuable in the process. Time is never wasted if you gain new insights that will help you toward your goal.

3. Relax and enjoy yourself. Try to have fun with whatever you’re doing. Enjoy the hot breeze on your cheeks from the grill or the sizzle of the sauté pan. Look around the kitchen and revel in knowing that you’re part of a team sharing a common goal, to create a wonderful dining experience, be it at home or in a restaurant. Inhale and enjoy the scent of food cooking. Relax at the table with friends and family and take the time to really enjoy your meal. The memories you create will make you a better cook. The times when we get stuck creatively are the times when we think too much, put too much pressure on the idea of success and try to carry the load by ourselves. Smile, roll your shoulders and enjoy the process. Once you conquer this challenge there will be another. Might as well have fun with it.

More Thoughts On Culinary Cup.

This is feedback from the commis for the Delaware North Culinary Cup team. He is a student at the Cordon Bleu Culinary School in Boston. He also works part time with Chef Kevin Doherty. He is a well-disciplined young culinarian and I think he does a strong job of relating his experience.

Dear Chefs,

As le cummis for Team Delaware North, I learned a number of different things but some of the most valuable ones I learned are the following: I saw the importance of teamwork and using every person for a different job (not just the four chefs who are cooking and cutting and then le cummis stands around and cleans dishes like I’ve seen on other teams). Every member of the team has value that can be added even if it’s cutting mirepoix and then sweeping and cleaning then jumping right back into the fight to help out as needed. To be successful in a competition, you have to be quick, accurate and clean. Always be on top of what you are doing in case of a hiccup so that it can be corrected as quickly as possible. Equipment should be checked half way through just to make sure everything is working properly. We also has a proper plan of action to correct mishaps just in case something did go wrong.

When working, you shouldn’t have more than tone tool and one type of product on your cutting board. It truly is easier to complete the task at hand than to be jumping all over the place with different products and equipment. Make sure to separate garbage and compostable materials and try to minimize waste as much as possible t show the different values each part of the food we use can contribute to the dishes. If the judge asks you why you are using a certain method to do something, have a good answer and explanation as to why you are doing it that specific way. Training is an important key to be successful in any aspect of life. If we train as we fight, the outcome will always be known. But, when training under unexpected or harsher conditions, it will help the team develop and be able to adjust, adapt and overcome in any situation.

Having incredible and talented chefs to critique you beforehand and tell you what they think is wrong and what needs to be done to achieve your best and most excellent effort helps a lot. Being able to hear advice from a master chef as to how to be better truly is a priceless experience and the most important thing is when the experts speak and listen because rank is achieved with hard work and mastering ones trade and one would be dumb not to pay close attention to them. Proper time management is also an important role while competing and having a good and strong time sheet cal also help a lot in finishing in timely fashion.

Another thing I learned is that many chefs are backyard mechanics – they create their own tools to facilitate the job and still have a proper outcome – that can be an important key of creativity. When a budget is in place it is important to follow it to every last penny needed. If it gets bad, eat an MRE (meal ready to eat) or a salad, cheap and inexpensive can take you a long way and Golden Corral has unlimited food for $12.00. Lastly, the two most important things I learned from all the great chefs I had the pleasure of working with and learning from is to have fun and a passion for what you do. Without those two, there is no purpose in doing this. You would just be another cook in the masses.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Jonathan Restrepo

Northeast Regional Education Forum.

This is a wonderful recap post from Chef Brian Sterner about his recent experiences. He is right – we can never stop learning.

Here’s a recap of my past weekend.

I should first note the title of this Forum changed this year. In the past, it was referred to as the Northeast Regional Educator Forum. I believe this was a proper title change as it opened the door to Chefs of all walks. We all need continued education and we all must continue to educate our teams. We ended on Sunday while walking away with many new contacts and a few good things to share with our team.

Friday, Sept. 23, 2011

Opening reception was not necessarily the most beneficial. There were about 45 people in attendance, many just stopping by for a few minutes as they were arriving to the forum. There was no real introduction or welcome but rather a mixer type evening. We were left to basically introduce ourselves to one another to strike up casual conversation.

Saturday, Sept. 24, 2011

Morning started about 5 a.m. with Matt and I stopping by the hotel to finish prep and pack up for the evening “dine-around dinner.” We arrived at the Schenectady County Community College at 7 a.m. to unpack and begin dressing our display table for the dinner. We joined everyone for breakfast and quickly made our way to the General Session. There was a brief keynote welcome by the Regional Vice President (Williams Tillinghast, CEC, AAC, MBA) and an introduction of the National President (Michael Ty, CEC, AAC). From there, we were right into our first lecture/demo on pheasant cookery (MacFarlane Pheasants) by Christopher Tanner, CEC, WCC, CHE, MLA. Mary Jo Bergs talked about the farming of the Pheasant (history, breed, processing, shipping) while Chef Tanner prepared a few dishes to taste. Following this was a seminar on Math Skills for Chefs by Anthony Stianese, CCE. This particular seminar was far more geared to the educator on how to teach math skills to students. After a quick break we sat through a lecture on American Regional BBQ by Chef David Campbell, CCC, CCE. We learned of the differences between Texas, Memphis, Kansas City and North Carolina and what makes each unique to their region. This was a good setup to the lunch that was provided. We had the opportunity to taste the different styles of BBQ. After lunch we had the opportunity to choose a hands-on class. Classes to choose from were: European Pork Butchery (which I chose), Artisan Hearth Breads (Matt attended), a tour of Horizon Bradco, Maine Lobster (by Wlifred Berjau, CEC, CCE, AAC) or SMART Board interactive whiteboards. Matt and I chose what we figured would be most beneficial for us and our operation. Breads are something we haven’t done much with at the hotel and something we are considering doing with our new Combi Therm. As for pork butchery, we continue to do most of our own butchery in house. This class has shed new technique on Hoof to Snouth as CIA’s Chef Thomas Schneller, CHE, showcased the Austrian style of butchery on a local Flying Pigs Farm product. There is quite a bit of difference from the American way to say the least.

Upon completion of this Matt and I were right into preparing our table at the dine-around.  We joined five other local restaurants in serving tasting portions of NY Street Food.  Our Menu: NY State Fair Chicken Spiedies and Vegetable Dosas.  We seemed to be the highlight station of the night (not to toot our own horns).  I think many were surprised to see we would attempt something (Indian Dosa) clearly out of what one would think our comfort zone is.  The vegetarian training last year by Ambarish Lulay paid off (again)!!!!  Dosas are a fast growing trend in NYC it just seemed fitting for us to do it.  By 10pm it was time to end the day…..

Sunday, Sept. 25, 2011

Back at it by 7am.  After a quick bite to eat we were right into learning the art of Indonesian cuisine.  Chef Yono Purnomo, CEC took us on a trip from his childhood 50+years ago in Indonesia to present day.  He has been serving this melting pot cuisine for 25 years in Albany, NY.  From there we were into learning some Food Photography and Multimedia techniques from Stefan Ryll, CEC, CCE and J. Desmond Keefe III, CEC, CCE of the Southern New Hampshire University.  It was a short day but full of information.  We were able to share some of what we learned and experienced with our kitchen team in our staff meeting on Monday!  We even walked away with a little charcuterie…..

All in all, it was a great experience.  We have been approached to be the host sight for the 2012 Forum.  I will let everyone know how this unfolds.  Thanks again for allowing us to attend…………………………B

More Thoughts on Delaware North Culinary Cup Experience.

Chef Kevin Doherty (and Team Captain) also had some quick thoughts on the experience at the Culinary Cup competition. I wanted to share them below. He is also putting together a more formal reflection piece you will see in the next few days.

These are my quick running thoughts and reflections having just completed the Culinary Cup competition.

~ It was a busy year for the Boston Bruins with winning the Stanley Cup. When we started training for Culinary Cup competition one of the major thoughts was – do we have enough time to train so that we can truly compete?

~ Next thought: Who will be the team members? Who is the pastry chef? We need to identify quality chefs who won’t crumble under pressure.

~ Need to remember than when a chef undertakes training like this – it impacts their families. How will families react?

~ Establish a menu. What is possible? Where can we get stronger? Can we do this?

~ Time to schedule practices. Chef Jamie has a baseball game? Damn. Conflicts like this are a constant challenge.

~ That second practice was not bad, definitely better than the first. But, we are not yet medal material. We need to get there.

~ You know what will help? A review from three Certified Masters Chefs who are honest and willing to kick our butts. Let’s ask the Cordon Bleu if we can use their school…

~ Wait, I need to call Mary Burich to help with books. Sorry Mary, we sent you Greek and you turned it into a work of beauty…and you did it in three days.

~ Did we book flights yet?

~ Hotel rooms. Yes, we’ll need those. Let’s share rooms and save money.

~ Let’s go shopping for food. We are on a budget. We need potatoes, olive oil, fruit…

~ Hungry? The Golden Corral all-you-can-eat buffet is only $11.53/person. They have salads.

~ Babalous Bodatious BBQ – Texas Ribs = Yum.

~ You have to find time to de-stress. Let’s have some fun.

~ Somebody just lost their sunglasses when they blew out the car window…

~ What do you mean you don’t have a lift gate, my boxes weight 940 lbs…

~ Don’t let Jamie use iPhone to get us back to the hotel. He’ll get us somewhere, but it may not be our hotel.

~ I need to find some flowers in Florida, can you do a New England fall colors theme?

What We Learned As A Team

~ All jobs are of equal importance. No one person is too good for any task when it comes to team preparation.

~ When you get a seven-page critique from three Certified Master Chefs and you listen to what they say, you will win a gold medal. Thank you so much Chef Henin, Chef Dumont and Chef Mancuso.

~ Sleep is overrated. When you compete, you do what the team needs and you just do it.

~ We are a team. We eat together, travel together, iron napkins together. We do whatever it takes to be successful.

~ As we were taught, drive the route, know where you are going. Plan ahead.

I also need to give a quick list of people who were involved in this project and deserve recognition.

The Team: Jamie Caudy, Patrick Kilduff, Liz Silva, Jonathan Restropo (Student)

The Mentor: Chef Roland Henin, CMC

Delaware North Companies Leadership: Mike Zielinski, Richard Dobranski and everyone who supports the idea of pushing Culinary Arts

Back up Support: Chef Mancuso, CMC and Chef Dumont, CMC

Le Cordon Bleu – for letting us use the school facilities

Jon Espelage – Former chef at Marriott World Center and my college roommate

Jon Walsh Tampa Hockey – Sous Chef

My wife Maureen and the kids: Edward, Caitlyn and Joey

Chef Josh – For holding down the fort.

Thank You Chefs.

I have loved reading the responses from the Chefs who went to the Culinary Cup competition in Orlando. Their responses have been EXCELLENT…even better than their cooking, ah!

In all seriousness, I think they are great because they take reader into the action and they can experience it just the way it was and you still feel it. They capture the core of the story and are full of energy. I can’t thank them enough for sharing their experiences.

I know that other responses are expected and we also have some great posts about Farmers Markets coming up. I’ve also asked all the chefs who are experiencing their first “competition experience” to write one page summaries about what they learned and how their eyes were opened.

Congratulations to everyone for a great performance. Competitions improve the “breed” and make us better chefs and cooks than when we started the process.

In Good Cooking Always,

Chef Roland Henin, CMC

A Visit to The White House.

Even after all these years as a certified master chef (CMC) and the corporate chef at Delaware North Companies, I still get excited when I travel to new places and meet incredible people.

That’s exactly how I felt last Friday when I and five other Delaware North chefs visited the south lawn of the White House and met First Lady Michelle Obama. There are still moments that make my stomach flip and flop and this was one of them. The six of us had come to the White House to participate in the launch of the First Lady’s Chefs Move to Schools program, a call to action to chefs to partner with schools to provide nutritional information and cooking advice to schools, educators, parents and children.

I have been asked to lead this effort for our company. I must say I am honored. I have several passions related to cooking and teaching and I will take great pride in working through this Chefs Move to Schools program to help fight childhood obesity across our country. I firmly believe if people understand more about where their food comes from and how it is prepared, they inherently will make healthier decisions.

The event was extra special for me as I was able to share it with my “gang.” Also at the White House with me Friday were Sportservice Regional Executive Chef at TD Garden Kevin Doherty; Sportservice Regional Executive Chef at Progressive Field James Major; Parks & Resorts at The Ahwahnee Executive Chef Percy Whatley; Gaming & Entertainment Executive Chef at Fairgrounds Gaming & Racing Scott Green; and Sportservice Executive Chef at PETCO Park Ambarish Lulay.

Delaware North Companies Vice President of Corporate Communications Wendy Watkins and Great Performances CEO Liz Neumark also joined us. Both of them are very passionate about the childhood obesity issue in our country and working to stop it through their professional endeavors.

As you can imagine, it was a special event for me and everyone in attendance. It is just the beginning of what promises to be a great initiative in our nation’s schools. I have posted a few pictures below, but also, you should read the accounts of others here and here. I am stronger with food and cooking than I am with words.

Alright, now it’s back on a plane and back to work.

In Good Cooking Always,

Chef Roland Henin, CMC

Delaware North and Sustainable Foods.

Hello All,

I’ve been incredibly busy through the first half of this year, and now I can prove it. At home earlier this week, I finally had a chance to catch up on some media stories about Delaware North.

This story by Vicky Collins on her blog talks about our efforts at Yosemite National Park to use produce, meats, eggs and dairy from local growers within a 150-mile radius of the park who use organic standards. She published it around Earth Day, I’m just now finding time to read it.

I encourage you to read the article as it does a great job of capturing our relationships with those local growers. I can attest to Delaware North’s efforts to use local foods at Yosemite. Prior to my current role as Corporate Chef, I worked as the Executive Chef for our Yosemite Park operations. Even now, I still frequently visit for events like the Bracebridge Dinner and Chefs’ Holidays.

Yosemite is a top-notch example of our company’s commitment to local produce, but we have similar relationships across the country. At The Plaza’s Grand Ballroom in New York City, Delaware North has teamed with Great Performances to introduce a 100-mile menu, featuring ingredients that were grown within a 100 mile radius of New York City. We even went so far as to introduce the POMONA, a 100-mile signature drink, during the 10th annual TODAY Throws a Wedding contest reception last year.

I’ve also been working with all the Delaware North chefs I encounter at our ballparks, resorts and venues to help them identify local growers they can work with. We have had great success at places like Yosemite and The Plaza, but we’re making strides across our company.

If you’re looking for more information about our efforts, visit www.DelawareNorth.com or www.GreatPerformances.com.

Alright, I must keep working. I’ll blog again soon.

In Good Cooking Always,

Chef Roland Henin, CMC

Delaware North and the NBA Finals.

Hello All,

I recently spoke with Delaware North’s Sportservice Regional Executive Chef Kevin Doherty about everything that happened at TD Garden during the NBA Finals. I know most people were worried about what was happening on the courts, but our team had much business in the kitchen.

Chef Kevin told me before each of the games, our Sportservice chefs prepared hors d’oeuvres for an NBA VIP party in Banners, one of the restaurants in the arena. Our chefs handled client requests for everything from tofu dogs in a blanket to Boston-themed desserts. According to Chef Kevin, one of the league’s highest ranking officials said “it was the best VIP party food ever.” However, he said he could tell the food was a big hit because of how much the attendees enjoyed it.

I didn’t get much more information other than our food and beverage operations were a big hit. I know Chef Kevin and his team made some delicious desserts including Boston cream pie, toll-house cookies and molasses hermitas.
I will admit I don’t know much about basketball, but I do wish I could have made it to TD Garden during the NBA Finals.

Anyway, back to work for me. I have some proposals and a trip to Milwaukee to work on over the next week.

In Good Cooking Always,

Chef Roland Henin, CMC

Going to Culinary Olympics 2012!

Hello All,

I am proud to tell everyone that Delaware North Companies has decided to send a team to the 2012 Culinary Olympics. Those of you who are familiar with the company may remember our first trip to the international culinary competition last year. I helped coach a team of chefs including Kevin Doherty, Scott Green, Tab Daulton, Ambarish Lulay and Rick Ortiz to a strong showing. We collected two silver medals, a bronze medal and two diplomas – we proved we had the “chops” to belong. You can read all the details and stories about our last trip here.

I am very excited that I’ll be able to help another team of our chefs in 2012. We’re currently searching for the best and the brightest to be on our Culinary Olympics team. While the actual competition requires about a week in Erfurt, Germany – the training a chef must work through requires weeks and months. It is a long haul and only the strong chefs should take the challenge. I have coached chefs in several culinary competitions and I can tell you that the Culinary Olympics is one of the most grueling. Whoever is on our final team will work through the hardest culinary challenge of their lives. But, this is what makes us better chefs. That is why we do it.

I’m definitely excited to be going back to the Culinary Olympics. I live for the opportunity to work with new chefs and help them grow. I am very proud Delaware North has such a strong commitment to the culinary arts. Sending a team requires a big commitment of time, money and resources. It will impact many, many people on the culinary side of our business. But, in the end, we will be better chefs and a better company for doing it. Food is the backbone of our business. And I’m proud that we spend so much time and energy investing in the people who make it great – our chefs.

Alright, back to work, back to work.

In Good Cooking Always,

Chef Roland Henin, CMC

Massachusetts Avenue Project in Buffalo.

I am at home for a few days cleaning off my desk, checking off my to do list and planning my schedule for more trips around the country. It’s going to be a busy end to summer as I plan to work with many chefs on their CCC testing, begin preparing for the Culinary Olympics in 2012 and continue to oversee our day-to-day operations.

There is one event in early August I am very excited about. Delaware North Companies has begun a partnership with the Massachusetts Avenue Project and its Growing Green Program in Buffalo, NY. This program helps local school kids learn about healthy food and how they can help the Buffalo community through farming, healthy nutrition, and taking care of their environment. This is a very important issue and I’m proud of our company for teaming up with it. Kids need to learn the importance of eating healthy. It’s an important part of our lives.

Chef Certification Is Valuable.

Dear All,

I would say the best place for me to do some thinking (other than the kitchen) is when I get to spend a week at home. I’ve been able to catch up on mail and really think about what our company is doing from a culinary perspective. We have a tough job as chefs, but I think Delaware North does a great job at the end of the day.

One of best things our company does is require all chefs to be professionally certified. Anyone can wear an apron that says, “Kiss Me I’m a Chef.” It’s another thing to earn it through a professional organization like the American Culinary Federation. There are many different levels of certification: Certified Sous Chef, Certified Pastry Chef and my favorite – Certified Master Chef, just to name a few. Read about how they are different here.

It’s not easy to earn certification. Chefs must pass tough tests and prepare for months in advance. One of my biggest jobs as Corporate Chef is helping our “up and comers” get ready for these tests.

In the end, it’s worth it. It helps these chefs professionally and it goes a long way to ensure our culinary teams are preparing the best food possible. To my knowledge, we’re the only company that requires all our chefs to earn these certifications.

It’s back to the road next week. I will blog again soon.

In Good Cooking Always,

Chef Roland Henin, CMC

Thomas Keller in Men’s Journal.

Hello All,

If you love food and cooking there is one thing you need to do in the next month, pick up the newest copy of Men’s Journal. It features a story about Thomas Keller, one of the best chefs ever to live and a dear friend of mine. In the article, Thomas gives you recipes and ideas for “Five Meals Every Man Should Master.”

I had not heard about the article until someone sent me an e-mail about it last week. Once I found the issue, I was happily surprised at the number of pages and images dedicated to Keller. While the article says every “man” should master these meals, anyone who is learning how to cook or wants to try a new dish, will enjoy the read. It will help you spice up your approach to lamb chops and chicken, to name a few.

Vote for Sequoia and Grand Canyon

Hello All,

I only have time for a quick post today so I will be snappy. One of my colleagues at Delaware North recently informed me about the Pepsi Refresh Project, which is awarding grants to people who have ideas about changing the world. Anyone can vote on which ideas and projects are the best.

I encourage you to visit the voting page and read about all the wonderful ideas. Don’t feel bad if you really like the Sequoia Parks Foundation’s idea to enhance the environmental stewardship and preservation of Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks. The foundation is seeking a grant that would allow it to hire two additional rangers for environmental outreach program called Rangers in the Classroom. Through this program, the rangers would visit elementary schools and raise students’ appreciation of their national parks and environment. You can vote by following this link.

I think it’s a very good idea. I hope you take time to vote.

Now, back to work.

In Good Cooking Always,

Chef Roland Henin, CMC

Some “Fishy” Business in Buffalo.

Hello All,

Sometimes I work so hard I forget to enjoy the moments along the way, but that is not what happened last Thursday in Buffalo. Several of Delaware North’s chefs teamed up with me to put on a fundraiser for the Massachusetts Avenue Project and its new sustainable food production system. We worked hard – but we also had a great time.

Me with Scott Green looking on.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, it was some “fishy” business our culinary team put together at the fundraiser. The Massachusetts Avenue Project owns a one-half-acre organic urban farm and greenhouse where they produce fruits, vegetables, herbs eggs and fish for the surrounding community and local restaurants. Currently, the farm can produce 2,000 tilapia, but with the money we raised, they’ll soon have a new greenhouse that can house 35,000 tilapia. Delaware North is looking to further partner with the project as part of our constant efforts to be sustainable and green.

The other chefs who helped out were Chef John Davidson from Niagara Falls, Chef Scott Green from HSBC Arena, Chef Tab Daulton from Fairgrounds and Chef Larry Johnson at Ralph Wilson. Each of us created a recipe that incorporated the tilapia. We also had several new “sous-chefs” as the children who work with the program were on hand to help out. They were a huge help. One of the key focuses of the Massachusetts Avenue Project is working with children to teach them how to grow their own food, eat healthy and be leaders in their communities. I have to say a big thank you to everyone who helped.

Chef Larry Johnson.

It really was a great time and an event I’d been looking forward to all summer long. The people who attended enjoyed music, food and free tours of the farm. All of the chefs and children who worked to prepare the food did an excellent job. It was one of the many moments that makes me proud to be a chef and culinary teacher. There are several pictures I’ve included in this blog.

Oh well, enough with the fishy business for now. I must catch a plane to Target Field to help with a dinner event. I will blog again soon.

In Good Cooking Always,

Chef Roland Henin, CMC

Working with the next generation of great chefs.

Hungry Fans at New Meadowlands.

Hello All,

I don’t watch football much but there was no missing this Monday’s game for me. The Jets and the Giants played each other in the first game ever at New Meadowlands Stadium, one of the newest venues where Sportservice manages the culinary operations.

I have been to the new stadium several times to work with Executive Chef Eric Borgia and his strong supporting team. They are doing incredible work and the stadium is world-class. I have no doubt fans enjoyed their first taste of live football at New Meadowlands Stadium.

One of the neat things we’ve done at New Meadowlands is develop menus that offer regional food. We call the initiative Home Food Advantage and drew inspiration from local New Jersey and New York restaurants

Sportservice President Rick Abramson says we developed Home Food Advantage to make everything authentic…I say it’s because we wanted to make everything really, really delicious. Chef Borgia and his team offer items like The Boardwalk Fryer’s fried natural casing hot dogs, Italian-style hot dogs, fried clam strips, Custom Grind Brooklyn Burgers and Premio’s sausage and peppers. Fans might also enjoy Nonna Fusco’s meatballs, inspired by Chef Borgia’s grandmother Antoinette Fusco.

I know fans go to the stadium to watch their teams make the right plays and score touchdowns, but I can rest easy knowing they’re also enjoying their food. We have similar programs that focus on regional food at our other ballparks and stadiums around the country, as well.

Okay, that’s enough for now. I hope I haven’t made you too hungry from this blog.

In Good Cooking Always,

Chef Roland Henin, CMC

Delaware North Chefs at James Beard Event.

Hello All,

I am busy catching planes and jumping in-and-out of kitchens, so I only have time for a quick post. I wanted to take some time to tell you about how Delaware North’s chefs took part in the recent James Beard Foundation event.

Delaware North chefs with Martha Stewart.

For those who don’t know much about James Beard, he was a pioneer in the culinary world who changed our profession and the way we eat. He passed away in 1985 but his legacy and lessons live on through his foundation. It is one of the most respected culinary organizations in the world and it is an absolute honor to be selected to cook, prepare food or even wash dishes at one of the Foundation’s premier events.

I am very proud to say that our Chef from The Ahwahnee in Yosemite National Park Percy Whatley and his Sous Chef John Adams, along with Sous Chefs Beth Brown and Jeff Wheaton from New Meadowlands Stadium, recently took part in the Foundation’s annual summer gala in the Hamptons called Chefs & Champagne. They were four of just 30 chefs from across the country to take part. They should be very proud of their work.

I have not had much time to speak with them since the event, but fortunately Martha Stewart attended and blogged about it. You can read what she thought of the event and see photos at this link.

Alright, I need to keep moving. I will blog again soon.

In Good Cooking Always,

Chef Roland Henin, CMC

Look Out Fish.

Hello All,

Most of you know I am always blogging about the work that has to be done. This is because I am busy, but also because I love what I do. I call it work, but my greatest passion is working in the kitchen and teaching young chefs. I guess you could say my favorite place to be is in the kitchen.

Good thing he doesn't read my blog.

Well, there is one other place I like to spend a few weeks a year and that is out on my boat. Anyone who knows me is aware that I love to fish. Thankfully, I will be spending a great deal of time this week doing some fishing…and hopefully some catching.

Before I started this blog I looked back at the others from earlier in the year. Our team at Delaware North has done a lot of great work. I have been on the go non-stop to places like the White House, Kennedy Space Center, Target Field, Buffalo office, TD Garden and New Meadowlands. I guess I am grateful for this week to rest.

I’ll be back at work soon. In the next few weeks I’ll be back at New Meadowlands for the first regular season NFL game. I’ll also be working with the chefs we select to be on our next Culinary Olympics team. There are countless other events and places I’m sure to visit in the next four months, as well. It is exciting work.

I will blog again this week, but now I must go searching for some fish. I hope they haven’t been reading my blog…I don’t want them to know I’m coming.

In Good Cooking Always,

Chef Roland Henin, CMC

Are We Doing a Good Job?

Hello All,

As I told you a few days ago, I am spending this week doing lots of fishing, and so far, a little bit of catching too. It has been an enjoyable few days at home and on the boat as the first eight months of this year have been very busy.

When I travel for Delaware North Companies, I often am on the go so much that I don’t always get time to really think about all of our operations as a whole. It isn’t until I am sitting on my boat that I really begin to evaluate and ask myself, “Are we doing a good job?”

Back from fishing and catching.

Hello All,

I need to make my apologies for not blogging all last week. I used the week to catch up on many things, do some fishing, catching and a little relaxing. But, now I am rested and ready to blog about my travels again.

Before anything else, I wanted to talk about one of the areas of Delaware North’s business that I have the least involvement…Travel Hospitality Services. Our company operates the food and beverage concepts at several major airports like Los Angeles International, Detroit Airport and Ft. Lauderdale to name a few. Since many of these operations don’t require executive chefs to operate, I am not always super involved.

Still, our team must be doing things right. During my week off I read an article from Forbes that said a handful of our concepts – Salt Lick BBQ, Encounter Restaurant, Pink’s and Wolfgang Puck’s – are among the most notable in the country. I know our company has also partnered with other respected brands like Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf and Which Wich.

In the article, Pauline Armbrust says, “Many concession companies are bringing in fresh fruits and salads and using local vendors and products in their foods. Passengers want to feel a sense of place and get a taste of the local community.”

Anyone who knows me understands how much I value the use of local foods and produce. It is something I promote and work to include on our menus across the country. From The Ahwahnee in Yosemite National Park to New Meadowlands Stadium in New Jersey, you will find our chefs working with local produce.

It’s good to see that is also engrained in our work with Travel Hospitality Services. Recently, our team at Ft. Lauderdale partnered with local chef Allen Susser to introduce some of his famous South Florida cuisine to travelers. It has been well received and is another step in the right direction for our company.

All of this talk has me excited to get back on the road for travel, work and maybe a little airport dining. Alright, it is time to get back to work. I will blog again soon.

In Good Cooking Always,

Chef Roland Henin, CMC

Delaware North Teams Up With Food Network.

Hello All,

I am beginning to wonder if the rest of the chefs at Delaware North Companies are reading my blog.

In early August out Sportservice team at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati invited local bloggers, food writers and television news anchors to taste and report on its new Food Network Signature Suites Menu. Now, I understand I am not local, but I thought I would get an invite.

I am kidding of course. I’m sure I could have attended and shared my thoughts on the event. However, I probably would have put down the computer for blogging and helped out in the kitchen. I am a Certified Master Chef, not a Certified Master Blogger.

Delaware North’s partnership with Food Network is important as it helps us grow our culinary reach. Currently, our Sportservice division is working with Food Network to bring some of the TV station’s famous recipes to fans at sports stadiums. At the Cincinnati event the team served what Food Network Culinary Producer Charles Granquist called “comfort food with a twist.” The menu included variations on a meatball sub, a Caesar salad, potato skins and artichoke dip. Reds fans can enjoy these items from now until the end of baseball season in September.

Catching Up With Food Trucks.

This is a guest post from Sportservice Regional Executive Chef Kevin Doherty.

There is no denying that one of the newest trends in the culinary world is the emergence of food trucks that sell global cuisine. It seems that food trucks are popping up all over the country and having great success. I did a quick Google News search of food carts and learned the following: A late night food cart has been approved in Massachusetts; an organic food cart has been approved in New York City; there are now more than 500 food carts in Portland; and there are food carts in San Francisco now starting to sell cocktails. All of this news about food carts was all from the past 24 hours.

I have many theories on why this is becoming a popular trend. Most importantly, it fits our busy lifestyles as it enables people who are working or hurrying home from work to grab something quick. It also works best in densely populated areas, where most U.S. residents live. It’s also new to the American palate and popping up on street corners everywhere.

Food trucks are very popular right now.

I experienced the phenomenon personally a few weeks ago when I ate at a vegan food truck at MIT in Cambridge, Mass. The line was more than 100 deep but it was moving faster than what you’d see at Burger King. It was amazing. Plus, most importantly, the food is fresh. I ate a falafel with pickled cabbage, carrot and cucumber in a whole wheat pita…all for $5.

Now I’m hooked. I have apps on my phone that track specific trucks as does Delaware North Companies Sportservice President Rick Abramson. Every time I travel I look for a new cart to check out. And, with the popularity growing, it seems every time I come home to Boston there is a new cart with new food to taste.

Honestly, it’s one of my favorite trends in the culinary world in quite some time. It’s introducing people to all new types of foods – Mexican, Jewish, Vegan, etc. – And it’s just neat. It’s great to see this idea really changing the way we eat as a society.

Busy Weeks, A New Post.

Hello All,

It has been a few weeks since my last post and I really need to thank Chef Kevin Doherty and Rick Abramson for making guest posts while I’ve been busy. I actually love to have other chefs post from time to time to share different perspectives and create an open conversation about our culinary practice.

Most recently, I’ve been up in Boston training some of our chefs for their CCC exams. Training and teaching other chefs is truly what I am most passionate about. I enjoy watching our chefs grow and learn and work toward their goals.

In early October, I’ll fly to Buffalo for the Delaware North Culinary Council meeting. Every few months a group of the company’s leaders come together to evaluate where we are and where we are going from a culinary perspective. Incredibly, our focus is already on 2011 and beyond.

I should be able to post a bit more regularly now. Thanks again to those who posted over the past 10 days. I know that there are other chefs from other parts of our company planning to make guest posts…I look forward to reading them. I hope all of you do as well.

In Good Cooking Always,

Chef Roland Henin, CMC

Changing Seasons at Gideon Putnam Resort

Our world moves very fast, but I always believe it is easier for chefs to enjoy the change in seasons. We have to pay attention to changes in crops, flavors and local offerings to bring our customers the best food they could possibly want. That is what we do at Gideon Putnam Resort in Saratoga Springs on a daily basis.

This is my first blog and I am grateful that Chef Roland has allowed me to post. We are just coming off of our busiest season of the year – summer. It’s very fast paced at Gideon Putnam during the summer months because of everything that happens in Saratoga Springs. People from around the world visit our area for horse racing, ballet and orchestra shows and outstanding concerts. These people often visit us to spend the night and enjoy our food.

From Yosemite to New Meadowlands.

This is a guest post from Chef Beth Brown.

In March, I embarked on a journey from Yosemite National Park in California to East Rutherford, N.J., along with my husband and fellow chef, Jeff Wheaton. After having worked for several years as chefs for Delaware North Companies’ parks and resorts division at Yosemite’s lodges, including the historic Ahwahnee, we decided it was time for a change and for new challenges.

 

Beth Brown

 

So, we accepted sous chef positions at The New Meadowlands Stadium with Delaware North Companies Sportservice. Having never worked in a stadium or opened a brand-new facility, we really had no idea just how challenging this undertaking would be. I remember landing in Newark, driving to East Rutherford and then seeing the massive monolith for the first time. I was both excited and scared.

At first, the learning curve was huge, but I quickly found a mentor in Executive Chef Eric Borgia (just as Chef Henin said I would) and began to learn the ropes. I found that my experience in resorts helped me in Sportservice immensely. It did not prepare me for the sheer scale of the facility, the pallets upon pallets of food or the vast amount of labor it takes to run an operation of this size. However, it did prepare me to take on the Commissioner’s Club.

The Commissioner’s Club is a beautiful 400-seat venue, catering to 20 luxury suites. The club is adorned with leather, dark wood and two large fireplaces. I was excited this was my spot. With the guidance of Chef Borgia and Chef Chris Harkness, who came from the New York City caterer Great Performances to help oversee the stadium’s premium areas, I quickly began developing menus.

This is where my resort background really came in handy. I am still curing duck, butter-poaching lobster tails and glazing short ribs, but the menus are fun and interactive. I always include stadium fare because as much as people love lobster, it is a football game and people still want a hot dog. I love taking stadium fare and elevating it. Last week, for example, the baked-potato bar was decked out with all the usual accompaniments – chili, bacon, sour cream — plus some surprise toppings:  truffle butter, crème fraiche and caviar.

While I am settling in with Sportservice nicely and every event is becoming a little more natural to me, I am still in awe of all the people, food and planning it takes to feed so many hungry fans. That is just my side…my point of view. I work with many other chefs, my husband included, who also have stories about this huge undertaking, the opening of this giant we call New Meadowlands Stadium.

Helping Farm Aid Serve The Good Stuff.

If you read this blog or know me from my work or personal life, you know I love nothing more than using local and natural foods when cooking. I believe that these kinds of food are the real “good stuff.”

I wanted to spend a few minutes recognizing our Sportservice chefs at Miller Park who played a big role in helping put together Farm Aid’s 25th annual benefit concert. They served more than 30,000 people using mostly foods that were grown right in the state of Wisconsin.

I didn’t attend the event as I’ve been busy, busy, busy but one of my fellow chefs told me they served hamburgers, buns, pulled pork sandwiches, pizza, gourmet wraps and popcorn that was all produced nearby. Other items on the menu were caramel apples, muffins, and fresh cider from local orchards.

Farm Aid is a benefit concert that raises money for family farmers and helps people recognize the value in local produce. I’m happy that Delaware North helps with this event from time to time.

 

All I’m saying is that whether you’re preparing a five-star gourmet meal or making burgers for sports fans, it’s always good to use local foods. Now, all this talk of foods is making me hungry. I will blog again soon.

In Good Cooking Always,

Chef Roland Henin, CMC

 

Happenings at The Lodge.

Let me begin by saying thank you to Chef Roland for offering me the chance to post a blog about everything happening in the kitchens up here in Ohio at The Lodge at Geneva-on-the-Lake.

Steven Sterritt

It’s been a busy year and that’s a good thing, but I need to extend a kind thank you to our entire culinary staff at the lodge. I’m always blown away by how hard and how well our team works on a daily basis. It makes me proud to be the executive chef of such a great team.

I am very fortunate to be a member of the Delaware North team as it lets me do what I love and really connect with people. Recently I took part in the American Heart Association’s (AHA) Heart Health Day, an event that takes place along a 2-mile path and focuses on living well. I did cooking demonstrations on how to eat healthy and helped raise money for the AHA.

There is always great work to appreciate at the lodge and something to look forward to in the future. Our team will help host and execute such upcoming events as a featured Beer Dinner & Pairing with Sam Adams Brewery, Vintner’s Appreciation Dinner and a Victorian-themed holiday celebration in December. All of these events will require our chefs to work hard and be at the top of their game.

I’ll even have the chance to help those staying at the lodge cook at our upcoming “Cooking with the Chef” event, which features flavors of the Mediterranean. Some of the dishes will include seared scallops on saffron-infused risotto and braised lamb and goat cheese tartlet.

It’s an exciting time to visit the lodge. It’s even more exciting to work in the kitchen here.

Thank you for the opportunity.

Steven Sterritt

Executive Chef
The Lodge at Geneva-on-the-Lake

Buffalo to Yosemite to Florida….

Hello All,

I have blogged in the past about how much I look forward to and enjoy our Culinary & Hospitality Council Meetings that Delaware North holds in Buffalo, N.Y., every other month. I flew into Buffalo last week to attend another meeting and it was great to see the many different leaders of the company. These meetings are where we make the decisions that affect all the chefs working so hard around the country.

I am in the midst of another busy stretch as from Buffalo I will fly out to Yosemite National Park where we will work with a group of six chefs who are fine tuning their competency for higher professional certification. These weeks of training and testing are some of my favorite as they really enable me to instruct and help younger chefs.  Nothing makes me prouder than to see a chef learn he or she can achieve something they didn’t know they were capable of doing.

I even had the chance to catch up with Ralph Wilson Stadium Executive Chef Larry Johnson who will be one of the chefs taking his certification exam in December. He will be out in Yosemite this week working to further prepare for his exam. He has been practicing tirelessly over the past few months while also managing operations for a 73,000-seat NFL stadium. I have asked him to put together a blog post about what it’s like to have such responsibilities and commitments.

Once we are done in Yosemite it will be Bon Voyage time as I need to fly directly to the CIA in Hyde Park for a Certified Master Chefs meeting. Then I will head to Florida to help with efforts at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. Later this year I’ll be hopefully back in Yosemite for some of the impressive holiday events like the Bracebridge Dinner and the winter grandeur.

The past month has been a busy time for me and I apologize that I haven’t been able to comment on all the things happening at Delaware North and our culinary world. I am grateful for the other chefs who’ve shared guest posts. I promise to blog more regularly over the next few weeks.

Alright, there are planes to catch and chefs to coach. I must go now.

In Good Cooking Always,

Chef Roland Henin, CMC

 

Cold Platter Competitions: Nothing Easy.

A guest post from Chef Kevin Doherty.

There are many chefs who have turned their back on cold food competitions as they believe they take too much time and require a dying skill in the profession. I believe the exact opposite and encourage any and all chefs to take part in these competitions. In my opinion, if you can do cold food well, you’ll do hot food even better.

I recently took part in a cold platter competition in Ohio that required my full attention and energy. The event was located in Ohio which posed a large challenge for me as I oversee operations of TD Garden in Boston. To accomplish everything I needed to, I worked on some of the big pieces for the platter in Boston after my 10-12 hour work days at TD Garden. It required me to put in a lot of time on the weekends and evenings to manage my responsibilities at the Garden and put myself in the best position to perform well at the competition. In all honesty, it took me several weeks of preparation.

When the time came to put everything together for the event in Boston, I loaded all the items I’d prepared into a cooler and drove the 10 hours from Boston. When I arrived at the competition site, I had to become quickly acclimated to a different kitchen and working without any assistance from other chefs.

Any platter you create for these competitions requires a theme and I named mine “The Three Little Pigs.” As Chef Roland Henin would say, “you must theme your platter before you can build it.”

The platter itself consisted of three pieces of the pig that are traditionally unused – the ear, foot and tongue. The true skill of a good chef is to turn nothing into something and make it a thing of beauty. That was my intention with this platter.

Along with preparing the food items, I also needed to pour gelatin on the platter that would hold each item in place. This is an incredibly difficult step as you lose points for any ripples or bubbles that are created during your pour. You need to be extremely careful to get it right because once you set something on gelatin; you won’t be able to move it anymore.

In the end I received a high silver medal with a score of 33.9. I missed a gold medal by just a pinch. I received a perfect score for my gelatin pour but lost points because my platter had some empty spaces and my apples were considered too large. I have included photos of the platter in this blog post.

I am proud of my effort as these are not easy competitions. I know that I could have achieved gold had I made one or two slight adjustments, and that will motivate me for future cold food competitions.

Once I’d wrapped everything up in Ohio, it wasn’t time to relax. One of our chefs in Buffalo had a minor health problem and needed my assistance preparing for a weekend sporting event. As chefs who work for the same company, we always have to be ready to pitch in and help each other out. I was happy to quickly travel to Buffalo and oversee the long days our culinary team needed to prepare. Needless to say, it was a rewarding and challenging experience, but one that didn’t provide me much time to sleep.

Thank you for the time,

Chef Kevin Doherty

Healthy Eating At School.

A guest post from Chef Brian Sterner regarding his efforts with Saratoga Springs Schools.

I just want to keep everyone abreast to how we are doing in Saratoga Springs Schools.

After many weeks and speaking to many different folks I have finally kindled a relationship with the Director of Food Services for Saratoga Springs School District (Margaret Sullivan).   I met with Margaret last week for about an hour and a half.  We discussed the nationwide childhood obesity problem and how they have been combating it locally.  I cannot speak to other districts but it seems that they have had a handle on this for a couple of years.

They started the process here with the Farms to Schools initiative.  Due to this, they have built outstanding relationships with local farmers and have been serving these goods for a couple of years.

We both feel very strongly that this situation will only get better with proper education.  We determined that as much as the student body needs to be educated, it will only hit home when the parents and administration become educated as well.  There’s a lot of work to do and we want to get started right away!

So, less than a week later, I spent an entire morning with the local High School kitchen.  Lets just say, it was an eye opening experience.  So much that I will be back there on Friday doing a cooking demo with the cooks.  It will be focused on Beans (of all colors, shapes & sizes).  Each year they have tried to focus on a couple of areas knowing that they won’t be able to change overnight.  They can’t seem to get the children to eat beans…  Hopefully I can help.  My mission was to find out what they do like and now I am going to find a way to work beans into those items.  For example, they love corn and dips.  So a Corn and Black Bean Salad and maybe a Bean Dip (they love hummus so I want to do something to that style).  I will let you know how it goes!

My tour also showed where a big part of the challenge is.  Local farmers can’t keep up with the demand and the price of healthy products through vendors.  They rely heavily on government funding (in the form of food) and lets just say, there isn’t much healthy about those products.  Processed Cheese Food, Canned (salt water) Vegetables, and Protein Flavored Bases are not the answer to a “Healthy America.”  The challenge is set but we must obtain support from the top of the food chain (no pun intended).

Being a father of two young children I feel I have an obligation to teach my kids healthy eating choices.  Being a Chef, I feel I have an obligation to teach others just the same.  This is only the beginning, and as I continue to help the schools I will keep everyone informed.

Certification Training – Notes From The Chefs

Several chefs recently attended certification exam testing sessions in Boston and Yosemite National Park during which I helped coach them on various strategies and techniques. I’ve asked them to submit posts about their experience and we will run them over the next few weeks. Below is the first from Chef Rich Mathis, who took part in Boston.

First of all, thank you for the opportunity to participate in the Pro Chef II Certification process. There are not many companies so dedicated to the culinary growth of their team. I am honored to be included.

I think the expertise has forced my daily work routine to include a much more detailed planning and organization regimen, ultimately making for a better operation. Here is a day by day recap.

Day 1 – Upon arriving in Boston, we were greeted graciously and invited to a wonderful dinner which consisted of seemingly endless courses of goodness. The next morning we were introduced to the Pastry Chef who lectured for a few hours and walked us through all of the items we were to prepare. As a team, we created all of the baking and pastry items and discussed the ins and outs of the products. The information received here was very valuable.

Day 2 – Creating all of the items and getting on the same page as a group, with timing, was a challenge.  We seemed to be all fighting for equipment and oven space on the first day.  I also struggled a little with my work station being tucked in a corner with only one way out which was directly through another work station.  I quickly became acclimated and was able to work through the situation

Our Garde Manger segment began here as we fabricated our proteins and prepared ourselves for the work to come.

Day 3 – Get on with the terrines… this segment started off slowly as our confidence was being checked at every corner.  We managed to get our terrines and forcemeats prepared and assembled with direct supervision from Chef Henin.

Day 4 – As we ran through our Baking and Pastry this time around, our timing came together a little better. We realized this was crucial to our success as a group.  Critique was to the point and without reservation.

We also finished our Garde Manger section over the next several hours and received our critique from Chef Henin and Chef Doherty. Then,  we headed back to the hotel where we gathered our thoughts and had a one on one with Chef Henin where we received very good feedback.

Return – The following morning I boarded a plane to head back to Tampa and dove straight into work beginning a preparation for opening night of hockey the next day. This trip was definitely a huge help in preparation for the actual testing as we have run through our routines several times now. The tips and skills obtained while working with such talents was priceless. My thought process and approach toward food preparation has been improved.

Since the practice session I have run through both the Baking and Pastry and Garde Manger segments with a new drive and determination having fine tuned the timing and quality of product.

Thanks again for the opportunity.

Rich Mathis

 

Certification Training – Notes From the Chefs

Several chefs recently attended certification exam testing sessions in Boston and Yosemite National Park during which I helped coach them on various strategies and techniques. I’ve asked them to submit posts about their experience and we will run them over the next few weeks. Below is a post from Chef Will Cunneen, who took part in Boston.

Having now a few days to reflect, I believe that I have a better outlook on the experience as a whole as opposed to still recovering from the crush of it all. It was a challenging couple of days. As for my successful experience, I don’t know if successful is the right word. I learned a tremendous amount and came back humbled with a renewed respect for food and those that dedicate their lives to preparing it. I guess that could be considered successful. I would be lying if I didn’t tell you that a couple moments during the training session, I thought about reconsidering my career choice. But I guess that’s what you were looking for, seeing if we thought we belonged there and whether or not we would push forward or crumble. As for my opinion, goods, bads and others…here I go…

Of course I believe I needed more practice prior to the training and that’s our responsibility. Unfortunately, Garde Manager and Baking are two facets that we don’t’ do a lot of in Sportservice. I remember making a seafood terrine for the buffet at Soldier Field, it took me all day and than some…no one ate it.

I must say the “shock” treatment as you put it, was very effective in keeping our mind on task and thinking the next step but it also made us very nervous and when your body is tense I think you tend to mess up what you’re working on. Again, as chefs this is a part of everyday life and therefore we should be able to control it on our part. I like the repetition method of practice. Do it once. Completely screw it up. Do it again. Finish. Do it again. OK. Do it again. Fine Tune. I would have liked to just do baking four times in row with assistance for the 1^st one and critiques throughout. Same with certain parts of garde manager. Make a consommé, en gelee, slice and glaze then make new and repeat.

I know that everyone is different, but I found the previous years graduates of the program extremely helpful. If we could compile a worksheet from past CCCs on the dos and don’ts, examples of time lines, etc. and forward them out to future candidates it would be very beneficial.

Chef Kevin Doherty coming down to show me the baking practical and what to look for was very helpful. Once you see something once, you can recreate it by yourself. If you practice yourself without seeing it the right way you may practice many, many times and come to find out what you’ve been doing is the wrong way.

Practicing was tough, with the schedules we have in opening two new stadiums, you really have to commit yourself, meaning free time is not spent at home — it’s in the kitchen. As for my own experience, I believe in the food I put out, it’s just a matter of getting from point A to point Z in the most efficient, time effective manner possible. It’s all practice.

I think having others go through the same thing you’re doing helped too and gives you a couple different perspectives on something that you might not have though of.  I’m sure I could say more but I think I overdid it already.  I hope this helps, seeing it from the candidate’s perspective.  All of us should also remember and take comfort in knowing that all those who have faced this challenge before us had to go through this same process and came out on the other side better for it.

Thank you for the time and consideration.

Will Cunnen

Notes From The Chefs: The Journey to Certification.

I have been with Delaware North Companies for five years this January. Joining this company has been wonderful for my career and has provided me many new opportunities that I many not have experienced with other employers. Some of these opportunities have been very positive, and some quite challenging.

Even the challenges have, so far, produced positive outcomes. Some of these have been working in an isolated community at a large resort in Northern New Hampshire. There, not only did I have a chance to guest chef at the James Beard house, but I also got to visit the bears and moose on a regular basis. I also learned to adapt to the seasonal guests who were sometimes visiting for a ski vacation and other times for a golf/tennis getaway.

Now, working in Buffalo at Ralph Wilson Stadium, I have been able to learn a whole new aspect of the industry in working for Sportservice. Providing meals which have very specific nutritional guidelines for the players, while still needing to taste good, as well as preparing food for the most upscale client in the private suites and clubs of the stadium is a new challenge.

And now the ultimate challenge. While still in the throws of football season, I have been preparing for my certification, which is required by Delaware North for all of their chefs. Because of the demands of the job, I have several times had to reschedule my certification, but now “it’s finally my turn.” Knowing that I still have to manage my facility as well as prepare for this process, I probably should be careful what I wish for.

The challenge is not necessarily actually completing the certification process successfully. The challenge is continuing to be efficient in your responsibilities at the property level, which sometimes means working a 60-hour week and taking the time prepare and study appropriately in order to be successful with your certification.

In my situation, I was lucky enough to be in a “bye” week with the Buffalo Bills, when I traveled to Yosemite for my practice run. The weeks leading up to the practice however were filled with off-property catering, daily player feeding of at least two meals a day, and a home game. I am currently 50 percent down in staff, so the added stress of making sure I covered for those staff shortages as well as giving myself time in my day to prepare was a heavy load to carry.

I’ve now completed my practice run and have been told I performed well. I’m pleased with that outcome, but now have to begin the process of preparation all over again. Since returning from my practice in Yosemite, I now have three weeks to prepare for the “Real Deal.”

My actual certification will take place in Napa Valley, at the CIA at the end of November. In the coming three weeks, my regular job will continue. I have two home games, a few off-site caterings, player feedings, planning client holiday parties, and somewhere I will find time to study and practice for my exam. I know all the hard work will pay off, and hopefully my family will recognize me and welcome me home again when this process is all over.

Happy Cooking and Happy Holidays.

Chef Larry Johnson.

Notes From The Chefs: Certification Training.

“A Jedi must have the deepest commitment, the most serious mind…”

After reading the entries of my fellow chefs undergoing the rigors of certification, I wanted to take a moment to impart some words of wisdom from my experience at CCC certification last year. It was a truly incredible and humbling experience and I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to go to Napa Valley with a great group of chefs and to work for a company that is committed to the development of its chefs.

Chef John

1. A failure to plan is a plan for failure. Be prepared for the unexpected to happen. From what to do in the event your small terrine breaks during the flight to California, or being shorted on an item off your list (and it will happen). I brought an extra large suitcase in addition to my knives that had a digital scale and cake pans. There were times I thought I was moving in, but having your own grinding attachment to attach to the school’s Kitchenaid saved me valuable prep time instead of waiting for a grinder to become available.

2. Make sure you have all your recipes written down in a small notepad that is easy for you to locate. Have them grouped together by the practical.  It is also helpful to make Post-It notes for each of them so you can locate one quickly.

3. Have a timeline for all of your practicals. You will be glad you did. Practicing all your timelines is important as well. Writing the items into menus in your location killed two birds with one stone, and the guest feedback was great.

4. Taste EVERYTHING you make. In the heat of the moment during my baking practice in Boston, I pus salt in my pastry cream instead of sugar – once I discovered the mistake, everyone in the group tasted their pastry cream. Brain farts will happen. You will read your notes wrong and a mistake will happen. No matter how many times you practice.

5. Teamwork and communication is key – especially in the baking section. Having a timeline is very important, but the entire team needs to be on the same timeline. That also goes for the chefs you did not practice with in advance. Communication is important, especially when it comes to the ovens…and speaking of ovens…

6. Think about seasonality. You will gain points by using items in their season. They will nail you for using berries. Think dried fruits.

7. The ovens on the islands are good to warm plate…and that’s about it. Use the convections.

8. If you need to grill something or need to roast peppers, use the grill. Don’t put a grill grate over the burner. The judges will take away valuable points.

9. They will review information on the written exam before you have to take it. Nevertheless, make sure you do some review, especially the financial portion. That section is the one most chefs have to retake.

10. Have all your information on a jump drive: You will access a computer at the school and you may need to adjust your timelines, pull up a recipe or review notes.

11. Do your nutritional analysis prior to getting on the plane. I had a copy of Mastercook on a flash drive that had all my nutritional information. Items may not be available and you will need to adjust. Having that will mean spending five minutes instead of an hour.

12. If Chef Roland mentions something while you are cooking (Are you going to season your forcemeat before grinding?) I suggest you take his advice. He wants you to succeed.

13. Make sure you have a clean jacket, a toque and a bistro apron for the graduation picture.

I wish you all success and we are rooting you on from our home locations. One last thing – make sure you bring a dollar to tack to the ceiling at Ana’s Cantina after the final day of cooking. Victory will never taste so sweet. Now I’m off to work on vocabulary for Level III. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or if there is anything I can do to assist.

John DiGiovanni CCC, PC II

Notes From The Chefs: Steven Sterritt

It has been wonderful reading everyone’s thoughts about the certification training. I just wanted to give a quick summary of my experiences in Boston at the CCC practice session.

What an experience — Chef Roland’s “Shock Treatment” truly works. Since the practice session, not a day goes by that I don’t ask myself, “What did I do for my CCC training today?” I have put myself on a very strict regiment of discipline in an effort to hopefully score well on the series of exams in Napa.

I couldn’t even imagine attempting to take the exam without the pre-training session. The only thing I can say is a sincere “Thanks.” With only a few weeks left before the final trip to certification, the pressure is building. I know for myself, and I imagine all candidates, we are in the final stages of preparation and can’t wait for the experience we are all about to receive.

Thank you for the opportunity.

Chef Steven Sterritt

 

Chefs Compete at F&B Summit.

I recently attended Delaware North Companies Food and Beverage Summit in Buffalo. It was a nice event that brought our company’s culinary minds together. During the event, our six regional chefs took part in a cooking challenge. They had to run through a mock grocery store and purchase items that would help them prepare delicious food in just an hour.  I’ve asked them to share their thoughts on the challenge and the conference. Chef Percy Whatley’s thoughts are below.

Reflecting on the 2010 F&B Summit can really impress a feeling of what a great culinary team I am a part of. Arriving on Saturday, pretty late in the evening, Chefs James Major and Kevin Doherty were kind enough to come out to the airport to pick me up. I could have easily taken a cab downtown to Buffalo and not burdened them. They insisted.

After a night’s rest we all met in the lobby of the Embassy Suites where we split up as Kevin and James were going to Ralph Wilson Stadium to help out for the Bills’ game and Chefs Chris Matta, Christopher Tunnel and I began our mise en place for Monday’s grand meet and greet reception on the 9^th floor. We got as much as we could do without getting ahead of ourselves and called it quits for the day around 5 p.m.

The next day I awoke around 7 a.m. and went downstairs where I was able to meet Pastry Chef Jami Caudy. She was already hard at work on her sweet bites that were to be served 15 hours later at the reception. She was also making the best of a kitchen that was a little challenging for a pastry person as the hotel does not have a designated pastry area.

In the next hour or so, the rest of the crew began to show up and we were really on top of each other.  The kitchen is designed for small teams and we were 10 strong with only one being on the what we call “slim” side.  We worked fast, clean and diligent.  We communicated effectively and the direction of the event became very clear.  The greatest part of it is that we are all chefs, running pretty big properties, and we all have our opinions, but we all moved in one direction, we all spoke the same language from beginning to end.  One said jump, the other said “how high?”  Seamless!

At the beginning of the event, we were all in the back putting the finishing touches on the food and setting the food stations, training the Embassy Staff on what the food is and the expectation of the serving of the food items. It was impressive and I am proud to know all of the Regional Chefs and the others that pitched in to help without hesitation.

So, now the reception is over, but our work is not over for the Summit.  We were committed the next day for a “for the fun of it” competition.  All of us took it in stride to simply do the best we know how.  It was a blast to take off running with the grocery baskets.  The greatest thing was we all headed to the produce booth first.  With a 45-minute shop time and an hour to cook, it is not as much time as you would think.

Here is an attempt at the thought process that swims through your head in these circumstances:  I saw Fritos, thought it would make a good crust for the fish.  The flavor started to get into the Southwest, then a salsa, then a citrus pomegranate salsa…needed a starch…any potatoes, fingerlings…perfect, butter poached with some of the Chardonnay from one of the booths.  The steak…I saw pesto…what kind???…sundried tomato…good, a marinade…beer, yes…apples…beer braised apples with thyme and butter, needs a salad…arugula good…with some long beans and some of this baby bok choy…what about dressing, there has to be some dressing booth around here…yes, apple cider vinaigrette.  Flat bread, yes, and they have a Panini grill….a little grilled toast point…

The hour went by very quickly but all went well except for the steak marinade burning a little and imparting a bitter scalded flavor.   The main point to this exercise, to me anyway, was for all of us to get together and have a blast cooking.  Hopefully all who saw us found it entertaining!!!

We worked so hard and so long the day before and we got up the next morning and performed at the competition, now it was time to get a little bit of relaxation in.  The next few days were spent bonding with these guys, what a team.

 

 

 

Chefs Compete at Summit – Take 2

I recently attended Delaware North Companies Food and Beverage Summit in Buffalo. It was a nice event that brought our company’s culinary minds together. During the event, our six regional chefs took part in a cooking challenge. They had to run through a mock grocery store and purchase items that would help them prepare delicious food in just an hour.  I’ve asked them to share their thoughts on the challenge and the conference. Chef Chris Matta’s thoughts are below.

It was great and truly an honor to compete in the cooking competition. It’s not often  you get to show off a little in front of all your peers and food and beverage managers. It was a fun event and I think all the chefs involved had a great time. I guess the only stressful part would be the anxiety of completely screwing up in front of everyone. It was very challenging to come up with the menu, shop and cook in front of everyone. I know for me it was an experience that I won’t soon forget.

Going around the show and thinking of what we could do as well as interacting with the vendors was a blast. Once the cooking started the nerves were in high gear but they were quickly extinguished when the working really started. My partner and I were waiting for the crowd to moan once we started to see if we had made a mistake. I was lucky to have picked a great partner in Chef Christopher “Scott” Tunnell. I think we made a good team. We were able to prepare a combination plate of Barramundi En Papiote and Flank Steak Chimichurri with Black Bean Puree. Once the cooking was done and the constant questions from the interviewer and Chef Paul was not watching the presentation and judging began. We did not win (Congrats to Chef James Major) but we didn’t feel like we lost either.

The Summit to me was a real eye opener in terms of it being the first time I had the opportunity to work with all of the Regional Chefs at once.  It was one of the most fun times I have had in a kitchen in a long time.  There were so many talented and truly skilled people there.  We hung out together in small areas for many, many hours and it seemed like just minutes.  The stories, lessons learned and the overall camaraderie is very rare.  I am lucky to be able to work with such amazing and talented people that I can also call friends.  I think the point was to tear down the boundaries or walls between the divisions and I think we accomplished that as well as cooked some awesome food. I just hope the attendees enjoyed the summit as much as we did.

A Turkey Tale: Thanksgiving at Yosemite.

One of my favorite stories to tell this time of year deals with how when I was the Corporate Chef at Yosemite in the late 90s we truly transformed the way resorts prepare Thanksgiving Dinner for their guests.

In the 90s and before that, the traditional thinking and process was that you had to cook and prepare turkeys three or four days in advance. Resorts did this because they didn’t have enough time, space and staff to prepare the turkeys on Thanksgiving Day. You have to remember these places are preparing the meal for hundreds or thousands of people. It was practical and effective to use this process.

So for the first year I worked at Yosemite, this is how we prepared turkey for Thanksgiving. We would cook it a few days in advance, store it, bone it, then reheat it the day it was to be served. There is really nothing wrong with this, but we lost quality. It didn’t taste as good as fresh roasted turkey.

The second year I was at Yosemite we received some free range, fresh turkeys from a local farm 40 miles away. These were a higher quality turkey than what we had served in the past. Therefore, I decided we had to find a way to prepare the turkeys on the day of Thanksgiving in order to maximize their value or we’d be paying for a better product and losing its quality. It made no sense.

I told my boss and the leaders at Yosemite that I wanted to cook the turkey on the day of Thanksgiving. Not surprisingly, there was resistance. I don’t blame them either. The concerns of staff and kitchen space were very real. But, I eventually convinced them to let me test it out at the staff dinner for about 700 to 800 people on Thanksgiving. The staff dinner is a nice event where the executives take turn serving the staff, carving the meat, and rotating through the different stations. If my new process worked, they would let me do it for the guests the next year.

What people don’t realize is that when you cook a turkey whole, you’re going to lose some of the taste. This is because the legs and breasts need to be cooked to different lengths and doneness. It takes longer to cook the legs, so by the time they’ve become appropriately done; you’ve overcooked the breasts slightly.

My idea was to cook the turkey legs and breasts separately. I had our chefs and cooks separate them and stuff them appropriately. We braised the legs in advance with the legs and trimmings and made the sauce at the same time. We saved the breasts to cook on Thanksgiving Day. Instead of just putting two turkeys in a roasting pan, we could fit four breasts in one pan. The breasts took much less time to cook than the whole bird. Then, we roasted them on Thanksgiving Day. We only had to reheat the legs. By separating the breasts and legs we had enough space and time. All of this resulted in jucier, tastier and fresh turkey.

Even I wasn’t sure exactly how it would be received, but the staff went nuts. They couldn’t stop talking about how much better and moister the turkey tasted. They came back for seconds and thirds… and that always makes a chef happy.

This creative approach proved we could do everything on Thanksgiving Day and create a higher quality product…which is the whole point. We decided to do the same thing for our guests on Thanksgiving at The Ahwahnee and the Lodge at Yosemite. I was very happy to see everyone who came really enjoyed the new turkey as well.

Our team really steps it up on big events like Thanksgiving, etc. For large groups I would send a chef out to carve the freshly roasted breasts and the braised legs at the table for everyone. While I am now the Corporate Chef for all Delaware North, I know that our people at Yosemite still prepare Thanksgiving in the same fashion. They still use the free-range turkeys too. The only challenge there is you have to place your order at least six months in advance. It can be tough to know how many you’ll need, but it always works out.

Most if not all of our properties around the country also have started preparing Thanksgiving the same way. It makes me happy to know that we’re delivering such a moist, freshly roasted turkey to all our guests each year.

I am very happy and proud to tell this story because I think it was an important and valuable change. I also hope many of you can use the ideas or tips to make your own Thanksgiving Dinner a bit more moist and delicious this year. Following are some pictures that demonstrate the process

Thank you for the time. I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving.

In Good Cooking Always,

Chef Roland Henin, CMC

Secure a high quality turkey that is preferably fresh, free-range and not frozen. Organic is also a good consideration.

Wash the turkey and separate the legs from the breast.

Braise 18-24 hours in a mixture of salt, sugar, spices and herbs. Make this brine with 1 cup Kosher Salt and ½ cup brown sugar per gallon of cold water with herbs and season, including pickling spices. Then rinse the turkey.

Bone out the legs.

Stuff the legs.

Bone out the legs and remove the tight bones, to allow room for stuffing the legs.

Tie the legs and gently braise them with a mirepiox plus all of the bones and trimmings from the boned turkey.

Add some turkey, chicken stock and simmer gently -- this will make a great sauce and gravy. This can all be done two or three days ahead of time and will only get better. Save the braised legs in the finished sauce until the big day.

Stuff a little regular stuffing into the chest cavity of the turkey breast (near the neck area).

Tie the turkey so it cooks rounded and plump.

Rub the breast with a mixture of butter, olive oil and small amounts of seasoning.

And lightly sears.

Sears gently and lightly in a combination of olive oil and butter. When lightly seared, remove breast and caramelize the mirepoi in the roasting pan. When browned , add turkey breast along with a cup of turkey/chicken or vegetable stock which you will use to baste from time to time.

Remove and let it rest. Deglaze the pan and finish your sauce. Remove strings from the breast and legs and carve both at the table and present on a platter with both legs around the breast. Serve stuffing on the side.

Staring Thanksgiving In The Face.

So, here we are staring Thanksgiving in the face.  We have almost 2 feet of snow on the ground, Yosemite is blanketed in an unseasonably heavy winter storm.  We have one ton of turkey broken down into parts for various cooking methods (brining, roasting, braising, simmering), 400 pounds of beef ribeye, 200 pounds of smoked Kurobuta hams, 900 reservations on the books and a stand still on pace increases.  We are 120 or so under the actual for last year, the target number is 1200.  This is a perfect example of an operational challenge of living and working in the rural areas, the special places that we run our big shows in.  The smaller, sustainability driven, vendors that depend so much on our orders this time of year.

We order our turkey from a small turkey ranch that does both free range and free range/organic.  The Ahwahnee has used exclusively Diestel Ranch Turkey products on its menus since my first day in this kitchen in 1994, it could have been on the menu for a while prior to my arrival, I could not tell you with any accuracy.  At that time, “sustainable” was not the buzz word, it was “organic”, and things organic meant produce back then.  Expensive and honestly, pretty poor quality.  Now we have used the word “organic” into the netherworld.  Calling farmed salmon “organic”???  Luckily the USDA got a hold of that one and snuffed it out.

The word we always want to use is sustainable.  This word can stretch as far as our minds can fathom.  It encompasses the philosophy of a low-impact livelihood, a low-impact business model, a well thought out plan of action from ground to table, from ocean to oven, from air to mouth.  This is the water you drink, the food you eat, the air you breathe, the very existence of “us” depends on it.

As we all try to make it home and find something to be thankful for, I, for one, am very thankful for the support DNC has shown over the years to expand our sustainable offerings on our menus at The Ahwahnee.  Thanks also to Chef Henin for sparking the fire that burns in us to continue to strive to find the products locally, to keep with the season’s bounty and to use the smaller vendors that depend on us so that they may be thankful for this holiday.  Thank you to all that I have crossed paths with and have inspired me to continue this quest, I just hope that I can spread the word effectively and inspire others.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Percy

 

More Thoughts From the F&B Summit.

As you may recall from early last week, I asked our regional chefs to share their thoughts on the 2010 Delaware North Food & Beverage Summit. Each of the regional chefs took part in a cooking competition and attended the summit. Below are thoughts from Chef James Major and Chef Kevin Doherty.

Chef James Major

I thought the cooking competition was a great event. I had a wonderful time and it really made me dig deep. I think everyone who took part and/or watched enjoyed the event. My assistant Jessica and I cooked four dishes to cover what we do at Delaware North Companies.

1) A Grab and Go Item: Roasted Mixed Nuts with Fruit.

2) A Concession Item: Grilled Marinated Skirt Steak on Ciabatta Roll with Shaved Red Onions, Grape Tomatoes, Hard-Cooked Egg, spring mix and topped with Roasted Garlic and Horseradish Mayo.

3) Fine Dining Item – Kiwi and Citrus Barramundi Ceveche and Crisp Fingerling Potatoes.

4) Beverage – Pomegranate and Blueberry Fizz with Orange and Lime Garnish in a Souvenir Cup.

For me, the biggest takeaway from the summit was that from when the chefs arrived on Sunday to start the Opening Reception to the end – I thought it was the best summit Delaware North has had by far. The topics were appropriate and offered something for everyone.

Keep Smiling. Keep Eating. And, by all means, Keep Cooking.

Chef Kevin Doherty

The cooking competition is a perfect example of how we grow as chefs. When we struggle against one another to be the best, it strengthens all of us. We all become better than those who choose not to compete and challenge themselves. I take great pride in competitions like the one we held at the F&B Summit.

 

Steamship of Beef.

Frank Coughlan, the executive chef at Wembley Stadium in the UK, recently shared with me the below step-by-step guide to preparing a steamship of beef. I thought I would share with you via pictures. Enjoy. I will blog again soon.

The Steamship Joint must be purchased raw from the butcher and the bone needs to be French trimmed. It must only be done on the whole muscle meat; not boned and rolled products.

Marinate the Steamship 48 hours before cooking. Use the recipe listed for the marinade. DO NOT deep skewer meat to the bone.

Place Steamship in the oven on overnight cook on high seal of meat, then on cooking mode. Set the core meat temperature at 60 degrees. This will take up to 14 hours.

• When meat has reached a core temperature of 60oc, the oven will go onto ‘Hold Mode’ until the joint is ready to be moved to the buffet. Make sure the steamship is transferred to the hot box with at least two chefs lifting the joint.

To present the Steamship, place on a Hot Plate with a Carving Light and serve with Yorkshire Pudding & fresh bread rolls, mustard and horseradish.

Required Ingredients
1 Beef Steamship Joint
12 Fresh Garlic Cloves
3 tbs Dried Thyme
3 tbs Salt & Pepper Mix
2 tbs Paprika
2 tbs Granulated Garlic

Straight Talk: Pro Chef Level II Certification

I have asked the chefs who recently completed their Pro Chef Level II Certification exams to share their thoughts and memories on the long process. Below is Chef Steven Sterritt’s “straight talk” following his experience.

Two Words – Incredible Experience. Everything I hoped for and then some.

Here are my key notes of success:

1)      Have a well-developed plan of attack
2)      STICKING TO IT in the heat of battle

The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) is amazing. It truly fosters a climate for success and dedication to all chefs that enter those big wooden doors in the front entrance. Our group was fortunate enough to test our skills in the new Viking Kitchen, which was a real treat. Every piece of equipment you could imagine was readily available and in abundance.

I can’t say enough about how accommodating our CIA instructors were Chef Toni Sakaguchi administered the majority of our written exams and luckily for us she had a good amount of patience and gave us some really helpful tips along the way. Chef Thomas B. Wong and Chef Scott critiqued our cooking practicals and were very fair on how they judged our plates and platters.

Believe me – points were not just handed out. You really had to focus and earn them. I am very happy with how my dishes turned out and after practicing for the last three months or so, I wasn’t going to allow it to happen any other way.

I’m so proud to be part of a company that really invests into their chef’s through certification. The company does this because they are smart, very smart, and they know their investment will come back to them in a variety of ways. I know for myself, this process has elevated me to a whole new way of cooking inside the kitchen and out.

 Sincere thanks to ALL who made these special types of opportunities available for the next generation of DNC chefs and other chefs to come. I feel confident in saying that we represented the company in a very professional manner at the CIA, but all of the real praise belongs to Chef Roland for tolerating us along the way. Thank you Chef. None of us could have done it without you.

Thank you for the opportunity.

3 a.m. Rise and Shine

I have asked the chefs who recently completed their Pro Chef Level II Certification exams to share their thoughts and memories on the long process. Below are Chef Will Cunneen’s thoughts.

3:00 a.m. – Now, I am not a morning person, and being a chef, 3:00 a.m. is more often than not when you go to sleep as opposed to wake up. But, nevertheless, there is was on my alarm clock staring at me – 3:00 AM. Again.

That was the start of each day in the beautiful little town of St. Helena where the CIA has its Greystone Campus. It’s not that we needed to be up at 3:00 a.m., but it seemed to be the consensus as to when everyone was waking up.  The excitement and anxiety for what each day could mean as  we drove to the school were too much to let anyone rest for too long. His was yet another 13-hour day of cooking, exams and judgment.

One of the best things about our experiences taking the Pro Chef II Certification, I think, was that it was OUR experience.  Seven very different chefs from all across the country, all coming to this one place to prove to themselves, as well as their colleagues, that they deserved to be there, and deserved to be called “Chef”.

I’ve received so many strange looks from people when I tell them I am the chef at a sports arena; So often people ask me, “What do you make…hotdogs?” I felt I had something to prove. There are a lot of “chefs” in the world, but I would venture a guess that many of these “chefs” could not do what is requested of the PCII examination.

Seven written and four practical exams spanning four days and covering different facets of our industry: baking, nutrition, Mediterranean cuisine, and Garde Manger.  Though I had been practicing, as I’m sure the other candidates had, for months leading up to that first week in December, there were still a few times I really thought I would fail.  One of the great things about it was that it was not a competition.  We pushed each other to be sure, but everyone there wanted everyone else to do well.  Though scored individually, it felt like a team effort.  The whole experience was truly rewarding and one I won’t soon forget.  I’m sure there’s more to be said, but until you’ve done it, you just don’t know.

Thank you for the opportunity.

 

A Week I Will Never Forget

I have asked the chefs who recently completed their Pro Chef Level II Certification exams to share their thoughts and memories on the long process. Below are Chef Simon Lewis’ thoughts.

A week I will never forget – stressful, tiring and fun at the same time.

The CIA in Napa is truly an amazing training ground, I learned more than imagined in four days. I was very impressed by the set-up and flow of the school day. The equipment and fundamental training and depth in a variety of topics that the school has to offer is amazing, whoever is attending should take full advantage.

We really owe Chef Roland for making this happen within the company and Delaware North Companies for investing the time and money. It makes a huge impact on making us think. It makes us better chefs. Thank you.

After taking the pro chef 2 test, I came away feeling a little sad. I was happy it was over but I could not stop thinking about what I could have done better, what I should have revised and this is key – make time to study and practice, don’t take anything for granted.

Really, organization is key. I made too many footsteps on thing I could have had prepared before the clock starts. When planning your menus (this is tough because you need to go above and beyond but keep to what you know) time is short and the instructors are tough. They want to see a variety of techniques and they ask you why – so know what you’re doing.

I learned a lot about myself and the company in four days and I met some really great people along the way from the instructors to fellow coworkers from all types of cooking venues and we all had a good time. Again, I would like to say thanks to all the chefs who participated.

Focus, Focus, Focus.

I have asked the chefs who recently completed their Pro Chef Level II Certification exams to share their thoughts and memories on the long process. Below are Chef Jessica Barnes’ thoughts.

I would have to say the hardest part of the Pro-Chef II Certification would be is trying to maintain focus. Organization and planning are obviously important, and they can be done ahead of time. I felt prepared walking into Greystone Monday morning. All of my prep sheets were done, Mise En Place lists organized, and my platter presentations done. Cooking food is the easy part. I thought – go in there and perform. I thought don’t get distracted. I thought. And there is the issue – distracted. My advice? Turn off your phone, don’t read your emails and don’t talk to anyone about anything but the test. The time for conversations and returning to the real world is Friday. Between Monday and Thursday, you don’t exist outside of those walls.

The rest of it was an educational, albeit stressful situation. The instructors were extremely knowledgeable and patient. The reviews at the end of each test were thought out, thorough and fair. The facility was incredible and easy to negotiate. I feel like a better cook, and a better person for doing it. The challenge was intense, but worth it.

Having worked for Delaware North Companies for the past three years, I find myself constantly impressed with the dedication to its culinary staff. I know a lot of this has to do with the persistence of Chef Roland and the generosity of Mr. Jerry Jacobs Jr., and to both of them I extend my thanks. To the gentlemen that I took the test with, thank you for your advice and council and I look forward to working with you all in the future.

Congrats Chefs.

This is an excerpt from an internal newsletter. I loved the photo of the chefs who recently took the Pro Chef II examination.

Congratulations to John Adams and Simon Lewis from The Ahwahnee, Jessica Barnes from Great American Ballpark, Chris Tunnell from Choctaw Casino Resort, Richard Mathis from St. Pete Times Forum, Steven Sterritt from Geneva State Park and Will Cunneen from Red Bull Arena.

Each worked with great intensity at The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone to earn their Pro Chef 2 Certification. During four incredible days, our chefs took practical tests in baking, healthy cooking, Mediterranean cuisine and Garde Manger. They took written tests in the same disciplines as well as in finance and supervisory development. They learned the importance of having a well-developed plan and sticking to it.

This is the first Delaware North group who used the new Viking kitchen that was recently inaugurated at Greystone. What a treat to have all the equipment you can imagine readily available. The group was under the supervision of Chef Toni Sakaguchi, who has worked with Delaware North chefs for the past three years, Chef Thomas Wong and Chef Scott Conant, who all provided many practical tips.

Once again our chefs were well prepared. Thanks to Chef Roland who spent time with each participant for a week offering training and going through trial runs.

In the past, chefs taking the PC2 were automatically granted the Certified Chef de Cuisine certification from the American Culinary Federation. However, the accreditation agreement between the ACF and the CIA was recently changed and our chefs will need to take one additional test and present their employment history to the ACF before earning their CCC.

 

 

The Challenge: A Day At High School

Right before the Christmas holiday, I encountered the most challenging situation I’ve experienced as a chef….a day at the local high school. It was a very interesting day to say the least. In short time, I was able to pick out the students who were leaders and those who were followers. Unfortunately, it was the students who fell in “the middle” who were tougher to establish.

I had to find a way to relate with each of them in a different way in order to get them all to try Black Beans. It’s such a simple item (to me at least) but it was quite a sell to a 16-year-old that is all too comfortable with a fast food burger. I was able to take five students from 9^th to 12^th grade (that are part of the schools Nutrition Advisory Counsel) and grow their membership by double. We are going to take this group on the road with me in January and have them begin introducing healthy eating practices in the Middle School, as well.

In not so many words, I want them to help with an internal mentoring program. Teenagers have a unique ability to influence one another far more than I or any other adult really can. I am hoping for a trickle effect and will use the Middle School to assist with the intermediate level. And, the intermediate students can then work with the elementary school.

I spent a good amount of time with the district superintendent. She is a major supporter of this movement and has given full commitment to the idea of my presence throughout the district. She had mentioned that my getting involved has peaked so many and is beginning to spread like wild fire (I think the local press plays a larger role than I). I just need to keep today’s news from being yesterdays…

I hope you all enjoyed your holiday. Have a Happy New Year.

Chef Brian P Sterner, CEC

What A Week

I have asked the chefs who recently completed their Pro Chef Level II Certification exams to share their thoughts and memories on the long process. Below are Chef Richard Mathis’ thoughts.

What a week.

From the moment I walked up the driveway of the beautiful CIA Greystone campus, I knew that I was in for quite a week…too late to be nervous at this point. The time is now to make things happen.

Everything that had been drilled into our heads by Chef Roland Henin had started to click. This challenge is not something you can study or practice for at the last minute… it takes years and years of hard work and dedication to the culinary craft. The last few months have been focused into a few specific areas of study which, on top of running our daily operations, proved to be quite a challenge to give proper attention toward.

I think the biggest challenges overall would have to be the timing of everything. There were four cooking practicals and seven written exams in a four-day period that saw us hop back and forth from Garde Manger preparation to Mediterranean written tests to a nutritional cooking practical, etc… At this point, if you’re not ready —- YOU’RE NOT READY.

Without the persistence and dedication of Delaware North’s corporate and regional chefs, the outcome could have been very different. Chef Henin and Chef Kevin Doherty have provided countless hours of support throughout the training process and to that I owe my gratitude. I have never worked for a company so dedicated to the professional development of its culinary staff.

As the other chefs have said, the instructors were fair, but they’re not handing out the points. They were fair and consistent in their judging and tireless in their evaluations…tasting seven chefs’ Garde Manger apps, salad hors d’oeuvres and platter pieces.

I certainly look at things differently now having been through this process. I am now much more excited about my career and look forward to many years to come with Delaware North.

Thank you for the opportunity.

 

DNC Family Christmas Dinner 2010.

This is a fun poem that describes our team’s efforts at Yosemite. Emily Brosk deserves the credit for writing it. Thank you Emily.

T’was 2 days before Christmas and the Curry kitchen was a glow!!

Chefs in white coats working hard, inside and away from the snow.

Preparing a feast to remember for the biggest family ever

Which just happened to be no small endeavor.

Without a head chef, the crew needed direction

And thanks to Dan Cornforth they achieved perfection!

Over 500 people sat down as a whole

Attempting to try everything, especially a roll

Enjoying the company of family and friends

This was the perfect time to hug and make amends!

We feasted on turkey and gravy, prime rib with au jus.

There were even vegan stuffed bell peppers, which was enough for two!

Mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and veggies galore

We had so many desserts we had to store them next door!

A big special thanks to the folks who put it together

Braving winter conditions and icy cold weather

Cheers to the team from Curry Village and Employee Recreation

I think we all deserve a paid vacation!!

Everyone was touched and everyone agrees

Our  DNC Family is the bee’s knees!!

 

Is The Mangalista The Next It Pig?

This article from the New York Times was forwarded to me by Chef Percy Whatley and I wanted to share it with all the chefs who read this blog. It talks about a type of pig, mangalitsa, that is being celebrated for its flavor and usefulness. I encourage all chefs to read this and also to share any thoughts they have on it below.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/29/dining/29pigs.html?hpw

Sustainable Seafood — An Important Discussion.

I wanted to share a brief exchange myself and other chefs from Delaware North had recently regarding what types of foods our bodies need on a regular basis. I’ve clearly marked where each chef begins their opinion.

The discussion began when Chef Percy Whatley sent around a link to a very thought-provoking story from Time that talks about sustainable. I encourage you to read it here.

I then responded:

Thank you Chef Percy for sharing this very valuable philosophy article on sustainable seafood. There is NO QUESTION in my mind that this is the best if not the ONLY way to go. It is all in the education…and I will certainly do my best to address the underutilized species in the upcoming seafood class/workshop in Boston in early June for all the regional chefs.

Best wishes to everyone for a great new year – filled with non-endangered delicious fish species.

Chef Peter Bailey then responded:

Fellow Chefs – I have to say that Conger Eel is probably one of the sweetest and juiciest fish available…it has lots of bones though. Growing up in England, we had it every Friday at home as it was much nicer tasting than Cod or Haddock. Chefs on the East coast probably are familiar with this fish as it is common in the Atlantic (I am not sure if it is found in the Pacific). When I crewed on a lobster boat in the English Channel we would get them in the lobster pots and they usually ended up as bait as they would just devour all the crabs and lobsters and pretty much destroy the pots getting out and going from pot to pot down the string. So, needless to say, the captain was pretty annoyed when he finally found the pot with one in it. They are big fish (I have seen them up to seven-feet-long and I know they get much bigger) so the yield from one fish is great. It must be a real pain to filet one though as the bone structure is star-shaped and I have always cut them into steaks.

Another great-tasting fish from the Atlantic is Gurnet. I think they also go under the name of Sea Robin. One sub-species grows to about five pounds and yields good-sized filets so there are lots of fish out there, but they’re not as easy to catch as the more common fish.

On a slightly different note, I think that if countries outlawed the ocean-going factory ships then fish stocks may have a better chance of replenishing themselves. I also think the practice of turning fish into fertilizer would help, as well.

Meats and Veggies.

Similar to my last post, I wanted to share a brief discussion that myself and Chef Peter Bailey had after Chef Percy Whatley sent us a link.

This link is to an article/video that addresses the value of eating as a vegetarian or also meat. It is well worth reading if you are interested in cooking and/or eating. Myself and Chef Bailey launched into debate.

I started by saying:

Well…the debate has been going on for quite a while and I suspect will be going on quite a bit longer. My reasoning goes as follows:

Mother Nature has not designed us to be strictly vegetarian…we have teeth that are designed to cut and chew on meats. We have a stomach that has been designed to digest meats. We have a full body that has been designed to grow and develop  with the help of meat protein…and I am confident there is probably a few m ore reasons that were designed right from the get go from Mother Nature; Such as…Eskimos and Alaskans could not really survive very long on a vegetarian diet.

My point is as follows…you can try to mess with Mother Nature for a while, but you know what, she will eventually and always come back on top. She’s been there way before us and will certainly be there after us. Whether we follow a vegetarian diet or not. So, might as well go along with her instead of trying to reinvent the wheel. Have some meats and fishes in moderation. It’s good for you as well as the planet.

 

Chef Peter then responded:

I totally agree with you to some degree but being omnivores, our bodies can digest any kind of food stuffs and I think that we should strive for a diet of 80 percent vegetable and only 20 percent animal product. They did a study on the Black Bears here in Yosemite and they are also omnivores. They found out that 80 percent of their diet was indeed vegetable in nature (nuts, berries and grasses) which surprised the researchers (as they assumed bears were mostly meat eaters).

As I get older I am finding that this ratio is what makes me feel better and my whole body seems to function much better to boot. When I go to a restaurant I am always disappointed with the paltry amount of vegetables I received compared to the slab of animal protein on the plate. Living in France, when you ate out, an 8 oz. steak was considered a large piece of meat and always seems to be accompanied by a well-balanced array of either salad or vegetables and a starch (though not always presented at the same time as the vegetables were often served as a course by themselves). I never seemed to feel bloated when I left the restaurant but always satisfied at the same time.

With that said, the whole world would all be much better off if the factory farms and all the bad practices that go along with them were done away with and the farmers got back to multi-culture instead of the monoculture they practice now.

Then I responded:

Absolutely Chef Peter…I totally agree with you. Thank you.

This is a really good discussion and my hope would be that in the coming year, that is shared and contributed by many and I do mean many DNC chefs. We have so many areas we can talk about…it is terrific and mind-boggling.

Finally, Chef Percy shared this:

I love this stuff. If this is sparking interest at all to anyone and you want to pick up some books to read by some very interesting authors, please see the following:

“Omnivore’s Dilemma” and “In Defense of Food”, Michael Pollan

“Real Food – What to eat and why”, Nina Planck

“Animal, Vegetable, Miracle”, Barbara Kingsolver

“Closing the Food Gap”, Mark Winne

2010 Accomplishments

 

I recently asked chefs across Delaware North Companies to e-mail me their favorite accomplishment from 2010. Here is what I received from Chef Ed Kowalski. I will continue to post these as I receive them from our chefs.

At first thought, selecting a “Best Accomplishment” for the past year would seem relatively simple, right?

To quote ESPN’s Lee Corso: “Not So fast, my friend.

The year 2010 saw numerous accomplishments in both my personal and professional lives, each one of which I am equally proud. To select ONE as my “Best” is akin to answering the question, “Which one of your children is your favorite?”

I have discovered many of my personal achievements this year have been directly influenced by my professional life as a chef. For example, planning and organizing a family reunion in June 2010 (including family members who have not seen each other in decades or, in some cases, NEVER), and managing to incorporate some of my late grandmother’s dishes into the menu is one of the most treasured times of my LIFE (not just 2010). My grandmother was the inspiration for my career choice and, although she was not with us in person, she was no doubt looking over my shoulder as I cooked.

Another proud moment of 2010 occurred while sitting at a baseball game with my 13-year-old son. During the course of our conversation, which had turned toward the upcoming school year, Noah announced that when he went to college he wanted to go to culinary school and become a chef like me (what father doesn’t tear up when his child says he/she wants to follow in his footsteps?) either that, or a crypto-zoologist, so that he could study Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster.

It is much easier to narrow down my professional choices. Although it is always a great accomplishment to serve our guests and client at the standards they have come to expect from us, my favorite accomplishments took place outside of Nationwide Arena. I had the opportunity to travel and assist with the openings of two new venues in 2010: Metro Bank Park in Harrisburg, PA, and the New Meadowlands Stadium. I have enjoyed working alongside my fellow chefs and culinary minds at each of the venues I have been fortunate enough to visit during my career with Delaware North. Still, there is something special to me about a new stadium opening. The hard work that goes into preparing for Opening Day and the anticipation, both of the staff and the fans, makes it an electric event.

It is a great thrill to watch as our guests enter a venue for the first time. I love the look of wonder in their eyes as they take in the gleaming facility and the excitement in their voices when they see a favorite item in the concessions. Assisting at any venue, new or old, is also an opportunity for me to take notes and incorporate new ideas once I get back home

So, what lies ahead in 2011? What am I most looking forward to? Aside from (hopefully) a deep playoff run by our Columbus Blue Jackets, I think I am most excited about working with a local school as part of the Chefs Move to Schools program instituted by First Lady Michelle Obama.

As a parent, I realize the importance of a good education for our children, and it is just as important for them to learn healthy eating habits as it is to learn algebra. As a chef, I believe it is one of our duties to teach….whether it is teaching one of my cooks to brunoise a bell pepper or teaching a middle-schooler (and their parents and school kitchen staff) the importance of making good choices when eating. Education is important for the welfare of our youth.  Who knows, maybe some of those same students will be inspired to become chefs themselves?

 

2010 Accomplishments — Keep Them Coming.

I recently asked chefs across Delaware North Companies to e-mail me their favorite accomplishment from 2010. Here is what I received from Chef John DiGiovanni CCC, PC II. I will continue to post these as I receive them from our chefs.

Every day in the kitchen, regardless of whether a chef is executing another successful event, reading up on a new product or technique or teaching one of his/her younger cooks some of the basics…we are all striving to learn something new. We take inspiration from, but do not dwell on the past. The party’s over, it’s time to get ready for the next one. What did we learn today? What can we improve upon? I am proud to work for a company that encourage us to develop ourselves and to be surrounded by great people who want to see us succeed and push us to get there

Chef John at work.

There were two major accomplishments for Columbus Sportservice that I had the opportunity of overseeing this year. They were obtaining our ISO 14001:2004 certification for our GreenPath program and our part in the NHL’s Rock and Wrap it Up program.

As a chef, I rely on Mother Nature, as well as my purveyors, to deliver the best product to me for our guests. Is it important in return to do what I can to return the favor, not only to Mother Nature but to my community.  Buying local and sustainable products is a start, but through the GreenPath environmental management system, we have brought in environmentally friendly materials, started a recycling program, reused office paper and when you look at the big picture…it all really starts to add up. There was a great deal of preparation for the ISO audit in addition to the day-to-day operations of the kitchen. It was a great feeling to excel in the audit and receive the ISO certification, but it would not have been possible without the hard work and support of the management team!

I was also involved in heading up the NHL’s Rock and Wrap it Up program for Nationwide Arena. Just as the other 29 NHL teams do in their community, our culinary team takes leftover food (that which meets our high-quality standards) and donate it to the Mid-Ohio Food Bank as part of its Second Servings Program. There has been a great deal of positive feedback, not only from the media, but from our guests as well for this program.

Here is an article from the Columbus Dispatch and here is a video seen on Blue Jackets TV and the NHL Green Website.

But, enough about 2010, that’s so last year. It’s time to focus on the next event which will see Detroit come to town. It’s time to focus on 2011. On a personal note, January 2011 will be the month during which I welcome my fourth son, Vincenzo, into the world. In the kitchen, the daily questions will be asked and answered.

What are we going to learn today?

What are we going to do to achieve our personal and team goals?

Stay tuned or attend a Blue Jackets game to find out.

 

Are Those Really Jersey Plates on My Truck?

A very nice post from Chef Jeff Wheaton.

I left one of the most beautiful places on Earth for this? Are those really New Jersey plates on my truck? Am I really cooking for the arch-nemesis of “my team?” Silently repeat for six months.

In March 2010, I left Yosemite National Park in search of a challenge, a new adventure, a sure-fire rocket to propel me out of my comfort zone. I found just that and more in my new position as Sous Chef at the New Meadowlands Stadium.

Before my arrival, I knew very little about the state of New Jersey, aside from “The Jersey Shore,” and I knew even less about Sportservice. Fortunately, I was now working for a man who knows a whole lot about both: Chef Eric Borgia. While we didn’t know what to make of each other for quite some time (he actually asked my fellow chef and wife, Beth, if I was always so quiet. If he only knew then the silence would soon end and never return), I trusted his judgment and character from day one and have never wavered in this conviction.

He assembled a team of chefs whose diversity, talents, experiences and personal quirks could not be found outside of Hell’s Kitchen. While it took months of occasional squabbling, miles of late-night equipment relocation missions and countless humbling moments for all, I feel we emerged the strongest team to call the New Meadowlands home.

The amount of work, dedication, trial and error, and pure hustle it takes to open and successfully operate a stadium of this magnitude is something very few outside this corner of the industry can truly fathom. On numerous occasions guests have asked me what my “other job” is, having no idea I was working for the 14th day in a row with no rest on the horizon. However, as the season progressed, time off became a reality, aside for a blur of time and turkey that encompassed three games in one week in late November.

Another aspect of interest and the source of much speculation, confusion and humor has been my actual job description. With the help and understanding of my fellow sous chefs, and vast amounts of overtime for my staff of two cooks (the fastest, smartest, sneakiest and most loyal cooks in the building), I was able to oversee a diverse portfolio of the culinary operation. Throughout the season, I’ve been responsible for the food for the owners of both teams, oversaw all of the Food Network operations and ran the Great West Hall Club. Game days would involve endless calls and texts and over 14 miles of walking. I am proud of what my team (aka Team 1-2-3) has accomplished during this season and I feel all three of us learned countless culinary and life lessons.

Lastly, I would like to recognize all of the Delaware North chefs across the country who came to support us during the opening. They set aside their titles and did what ever task needed to be done, no matter how menial or tedious, to help us achieve success. While a massive company, Delaware North has a tightly knit group of some of the smartest (and funniest) chefs in the business, and I couldn’t imagine the opening without their help and insight.

So we made it

The below post comes from Chef Beth Brown, who helped with all the culinary efforts at New Meadowlands Stadium over the past year. I enjoyed reading it.

So we made it. We did it. We survived the opening of the New Meadowlands Stadium. We began the journey as a group of chefs, strangers to one another with one mission, a single goal, let’s get this stadium up and running successfully.  We were like an army led by Chef Eric Borgia, only we had never assembled before and we were going into battle for the first time.

There were many times it felt like just that – battle.  Countless days (and I will speak for the group here) we came out of the stadium feeling beat up, wounded and defeated.  We did what we knew how to do and that is put our heads down and keep pushing forward.  In the process we lost some chefs…maybe they wanted the glory without all the guts?  I don’t know, but what I do know is we gained better chefs and with that, a team really started to emerge.

It sounds gruesome and for the first few months and events it truly was.  As we began to find systems, teams began to form and everything started to fall into place…we all got into a groove.  The army of chefs, no longer strangers began to take on their own projects, a single entity inside this huge building.  The success of the building as a whole truly counted on the success of these individuals.

Rick Melfi headed up the Coaches Club, a premier venue feeding up to 2,000 people. Carlos Rimolo took on the Catering Department, an operation that runs seven days a week year round.  Camilo Baquero, Chris Pfeifer and Jason DeSiervo were in charge of 200 suites, a huge operation in itself.  Kevin Leibfred along with Marc Eyman and Jason Schofield fed the majority of the 85,000 people managing Concessions, the Grid Iron and Touchdown Clubs.  Jeff Wheaton was in charge of feeding four owner suites, overseeing all operations of the Food Network Project, and The Great West Hall which feeds up to 700 people.  I was responsible for The Commissioners Club (which I talked about in my previous blog) and with the help of Effie Spiegler ran the Legacy and Green Rooms.  Chef Eric oversaw it all!

In the beginning it was an upward battle and many times we weren’t positive we could win.  Throughout the season we all had our low and high points, but in the end, with the guidance of Chef Eric, we proved to be successful.  Things of course are still changing…evolving and I suspect they will continue to do so for the next several seasons.  As a whole, the hungry guests were fed and satisfied and when there are 85,000 of them…that’s quite a feat.

Now is no time to rest on our laurels. As we wind down here at the New Meadowlands Stadium we begin the opening of Camden Yards.  Jeff and I have traveled to Baltimore once with plans to continue until they are up and running.  While baseball is a whole different ball game, I can’t help but feel a slight bit of déjà vu…

Genetically Modified Foods – A Must Read For Chefs.

I wanted to share the below article that I read in the Environmental Nutrition Newsletter. Genetically modified foods are a very relevant topic and issue that chefs will need to address.

Genetically Modified Foods: The Uninvited Guests At Your Dinner Table

A recent documentary entitled The Future of Food was shown in theaters around the country. It detailed how genetically modified (GM) foods are creeping into the food supply with the help of giant corporations like Monsanto and DuPont. Should you be alarmed? Is it true that the growing presence of GM foods affects your health and ultimately the environment, as the movie suggests? Here’s what you need to know.

Tampering With Mother Nature
Whether called genetically modified, genetically engineered, bioengineered or biotech, the process involves taking a gen from one plant, animal or microorganism and inserting it into the DNA of another. The goal is to improve a certain characteristic of a food, for instance, to make it grow faster, resist disease, be more nutritious, repel insects or be more able to withstand harsh growing conditions.

The debate over whether any of this is necessary, helpful or even safe was raged for over a decade now. In Europe, it’s a volatile issue; labeling is mandatory in the European Union, while several countries have banned GM crops.

In The Mainstream
Americans have not been as outspoken. Is it because GM foods are less prevalent here? Think again. Experts estimate that 70 percent of food products in the supermarket contain at least one GM ingredient, most commonly from corn, soy, cottonseed, or canola. No one knows for sure, because foods sold in the U.S. don’t have to reveal whether ingredients are GM. Does it matter? It does if you believe in knowing what you put in your mouth.

One of the health concerns surrounding GM foods are worries about allergic reactions to new proteins created as part of the GM process. Most experts say there’s no evidence that eating GM foods poses a health risk. But many experts are concerned about the long-term effects of altering the genetic make-up of plants and animals – both on us and on the environment.

The chief concern is that genes from bioengineered plants or animals might inadvertently mix with natural genes, forever altering the planet’s ecosystem in ways that are impossible to predict.

What To Do
First and foremost, don’t panic. Genetically modified ingredients have been our foods for almost a decade with no obvious untoward effects. Still, if you want to opt out of GM foods – whether out of personal health concerns or concern for the environment – here is EN’s advice:

Go Organic – As part of USDA organic regulations, certified organic foods may contain GM ingredients.

Scan labels for common GM ingredients like corn oil, corn syrup, cornstarch, soy protein, soy, oil, soy sauce, lecithin, cottonseed oil and canola oil.

Shop at supermarkets with a storewide policy against GM ingredients, such as Whole Foods, Wild Oats and Trader Joe’s.

Check Out “The True Food Shopping List” from Greenpeace, a non-profit environmental advocacy group at www.greenpeace.org. It’s an extensive list of foods with and without GM ingredients. Among those with a green light: Health Valley Granola Bars, Nature’s Path Honey’d Raisin Bran, Hain Wheatettes crackers and Garden Vegan Gardenburger.

Back To Basics.

This is a post that Chef Kevin Doherty put together for the blog.

It’s always good to come face to face with reality.

Regardless of your craft or pursuit in life, it’s easy to become overconfident and think you know it all (or at least most of what there is to know). I’ve always fought this and I think I’ve done well. But, as we move on to knew areas in our career and achieve different goals…it’s hard to not fall victim to it a bit.

That’s why it was wonderful to have Chef Roland Henin visit me in Boston for three days last week. He brought with him one simple message – let’s get back to the basics.

In the past few years I’ve helped out at incredible high-profile events like the NBA Finals, the Democratic National Convention and the opening of New Meadowlands Stadium. I also competed in the Culinary Olympics and several other competitions. These are events that test you. And, if you’re not good enough, they will reveal it.

Those events were challenges for me, but maybe they also left me feeling I was at the top of the food chain (no pun intended). I had a taste of success and excellence…but Chef Henin quickly reminded me how much I have to learn.

In the pursuit of excellence, you’re never as close as you think. I realize I am far from perfection and need to work triple time to get back on course.

Please don’t think I’m complaining…I’m grateful for such a realization. It’s eye-opening and will allow me to grow and achieve even more. All of our success is based on our ability to never forget the basics and build upon them.

Chef Henin is an incredible teacher and leader of our culinary team. He’s also a motivator. His visit lit a fire under my butt. It’s time to learn more. It’s time to take on my shortcomings.

It’s time to get back to basics.

My Time In France.

This is a fascinating post from Chef Percy Whatley regarding his recent trip to France. It is long, but worth the read. I would also think people would want to comment below.

To all who have not had the pleasure of visiting this little country (France), it is now HIGHLY recommended by me.

I had this little romantic notion of seeing elderly couples strolling down the road with an unwrapped baguette in the husband’s hand and the other arm was hooked around his wife’s arm in a loving gesture of togetherness.

I envisioned a higher level of quality in their food ingredients, even at the basic level.  I foresaw the perception of service in restaurants to be an overall better experience as well.  I thought of very small cars and narrow streets and fast trains.  France delivered to me all of this and much, much more.  And, yes, the husband and wife and the baguette were there too!

I was invited to France by Christian De Vos, vice president of food and beverage for Parks and Resorts.  The main purpose was to visit the Sirha…a European Food, Beverage, and Hotel Expo that happens every year, and switches cities between Paris and Lyon.  In the years in Lyon, the coveted competitions happen, including the Coupe de Monde Patisserie (World Pastry Cup) and the Bocuse d’Or.  There is an obvious reason for my going as well, to see the international level of the Bocuse d’Or and to share this experience with others, as I have participated in the Bocuse d’Or USA twice.

To begin the journey, I landed in Paris and stayed for two nights.  I should have brushed up on some of the basic principles of the language because I was really lost!  Overall, however, getting into the city of Paris from the Charles de Gaulle airport is not too difficult by train.  I got off of the train at Gare de Lyon in the southern part of the city and checked into a little hotel.  Overcome with excitement and knowing I had a very short time to experience this city, I walked directly to the Cathedrale de Notre Dame to do some sightseeing.  On the way back, a lunch of Planche des Charcuteries and the crustiest baguette.  The cutting board that was served had rillettes, saucissons, patés, cheeses, butter and an amazing sprinkle of yummy aspic all over the board.  This cost about 18 euro with a beer to wash it down.  It was pretty big, but I was hungry.  In the states, at a place such as Bar Boulud in Manhattan, this would be $35, at least. But this was in this little bistro, in a little alleyway, and the best part…it was everyday food for the French!  I was floored.  So, I started to really pay attention to the menus posted outside of all of the food establishments that I passed in Paris (they are everywhere by the way) and all of them had very similar menu items, if not the same all together.  Cote de Boeuf aux Frites, Andouillette Grillé, Ouefs au Mayonnaise, Salade Maison, Confít de Canard, Fromage, Pate de Campagne, Rillettes, Tartare de Boeuf etc.  They also had a menu style called a Formule (formula) where you can have 2 or 3 courses and there are a couple of choices for each course available.  If you did not want dessert, then you ordered 2 of the savory courses, or one savory and cheese, or one savory and dessert, it was flexible, but limited (a good thing).

Another thing I noticed throughout France was that people STOPPED to take in their refreshment.  There was no walking around with 32 ounce tumblers of some funky coffee drink and people running around from place to place.  The French stop and smell the roses, to use a cliché.  Something us Americans have not slowed down to do, but we are learning.  All of the restaurants, bistros, and brasseries have a bar and there are no stools.  People walk in, order an espresso or a small 10 dl (3.5 oz) glass of wine.  Take 10 minutes or so to enjoy, talk to the bar keeper or owner, and then say their goodbyes and walk out.  It was very enlightening to me.

The second day jet-lag kicked in pretty good for me.  I walked to the Louvre about 5 km away and took in the most incredible art collections in the world.  On the way I observed the storefronts…boulangeries, fromageries, boucheries, marchés, charcuteries and patisseries.  All had a specialty, none were a conglomeration of a typical supermarket that we see here in the US.  There is also a store called a Tabac (tobacco) where you buy your cigarettes, cigars, and spirits.  On the way back from the Louvre, I walked past an outdoor market that had a booth for street food, a charcuterie booth, a cheese booth, a fish booth, a raw meat booth and a produce booth.  It was 25 degrees outside and very cold, but this is an everyday shopping experience for Parisiennes.  The quality of everything there was extraordinary.  On the way back I had lunch at a little bistro that was not the best experience (yes, you can have bad food in France too).  I ate steak frites but you could tell there was no love put into the food like the place the day before.  I was exhausted though, and it filled the belly…I went to the hotel to crash…

Fish Terrines at an outdoor market in France.

Sausages at an outdoor market in France.

Day three was a train ride to Lyon on the TGV.  The best way to get from one place in the country to the next is the train.  The TGV is a high speed rail and it was my first time using such transportation. It was spectacular.  In the train station in Gare de Lyon in Paris is food that is undeniably good.  A fine dining restaurant is upstairs called Le Train Bleu http://www.le-train-bleu.com/uk/index.php.  We did not eat there, but seeing a restaurant that has a 100 year history, and is kept up to the immaculate standards, is a lesson to us in this industry.  Check out the website and you will see.

We arrived in Lyon around lunch time and rented a car to get to our hotel 75 km south of Lyon.  It is in a little village called Épinouze near Chanas.  This area is known for its fruit tree orchards as the other side of the Rhone is full of the world class vineyards.  The hotel owner is a friend of Christian’s and we had a wonderful time there for 2 nights as we traveled back and forth to Lyon to the food show.  By the way, a French breakfast shout-out…baguette, croissants, cheese, butter, confiture (jams), juice and coffee…no eggs, no bacon or sausage, no hash browns, it is just not what they eat for breakfast, which I liked the change of pace.

So, the food show is at the EuroExpo in Lyon.  A huge facility making the McCormick Center in Chicago seem small.  Each hall had a theme, one for coffee, one for breads, one for equipment, one for food, one for hotel, one for china, etc.  The Espace des Chefs was where the competitions were happening in the Hall de Bocuse named in honor of Msr. Bocuse himself.  We walked most of the show on the first two days allowing me the third to enjoy the competition where Team USA was on stage.  The show, however, was interesting as Europe is years ahead in technology in foodservice.  Sous Vide was prominent throughout, Combi Therm oven technology is standard as well.  The overall quality of the basic, standard ingredients was much higher than most of the products that we call “upscale”.  There was a lot of regional and AOC use, similar to our own regional products, but an overall better marketing campaign.  Bordeaux, Burgundy, Dijon, Provence, Rhone, Basque, Alsace…they all had their own section of the food hall, all marketing why their stuff is better than their counterparts.

The competitions were exciting and of a completely different mindset for the visitors of the show.  They took a different level of interest in the competition where in the US, most people just stroll on by what is taking place.  In the Coupe de Monde, there were queues of picture takers taking photos of all of the showpieces, of the chocolate sculptures, of the bread showpieces, of the sugar sculptures.  There were literally hundreds of people doing this, and taking interest.  Spain won the Coupe du Monde. I was not able to get a photo of their pieces. I wish I could have.

The Bocuse d’Or was absolutely crazy and intense.  The crowd was all in their appropriate section with color coordinated shirts or vests with funny hats and painted faces.  They all had noisemakers and each section would make their signature noise.  Norway had a drum line with 8 drummers from a marching band making a lot of noise.  The platters began coming out of kitchens at 1:30 pm, some were not so good at first glance, while some were absolutely spectacular.  When Denmark’s came out, I really thought that they were going to be the ones to beat…I was right!  They were 3^rd of 12 for the day, their platter was a mixture of hand blown crystal vessels and sterling silver.  Their layout was balanced and sensible and it is obvious that their flavors were top-notch.  40 of the possible 60 points is flavor, the rest is made up of presentation and technique.  Visit http://www.bocusedor.com/2011/index.php/en/Concours/Accueil.html as the picture gallery will post in a few days.  The US team was coached by Chefs Mark Erickson CMC, from the CIA and Gavin Kaysen from Café Boulud.  During the competition they seemed comfortable and pretty confident.  The chefs in the kitchen, James Kent and Tom Allan, looked good and were a good 20 minutes ahead of their timeline.  When they started to put their platter together, it looked sharp with good flowing lines and enough height to give it some structure.  Their fish platter was a frosted glass platter with a silver mantle for their main piece.  It was the most simplistic presentation of the day, no fuss, very clean.  Their meat platter was a little more showy with a Manhattan-like theme with wheat grass in the middle similar to central park…you will have to see the pictures to get the vision I am talking about.  You could tell that they felt good while plating the portions of the meat, that they finally made it to the end of this journey. After all of the training, it was finally over and in the judge’s hands.  I had my fingers crossed for them, and our entire country, to be able to put the US on the culinary map, something that we have only come in 6^th twice in 12 tries.

The Audience At The Bocuse D'Or

Team USA Working - from overhead

During the awards ceremony, I was nervous and hoping that we would hear “Etats Unis” and it would be our time to get on the podium.  It had the typical pause for dramatic effect when the envelopes were opened one by one…Best Fish…Switzerland, Best Meat…France (oh man did they look disappointed!), Bocuse de Bronze…Norway (they looked disappointed too), I am getting nervous now…Bocuse d’Argent…Sweden…Oh Crap!!!???…Bocuse d’Or…………..Denmark!!!!  I hung my head a little low in disappointment, as the French say… “c’est la vie”…and we can only hope that it goes better in 2013.  I also was thinking to myself, what is it going to take?

I took the train back into Lyon to meet Christian for dinner.  We had an amazing experience at a little Brasserie with some table-side carved cote du beouf and some amazing Rhone wine.  I was overwhelmed from the day, drained from anticipation and anxiety and needed some rest.  We had a 5:00 am wake-up to catch a 6:00 am train to Nice.

Coming into the Cote d’Azur woke me up from a hazy mental morning.  It was sunny (we had not seen sunshine for 6 days now) and the temperatures were much warmer.  Nice is right on the Mediterranean, with lush grass, flowing palm trees and a much quieter ambiance.  We visited the Lycée de Paul Augier, a hotelier school that Christian has worked with in the past to attract interns into the US.  The Ahwahnee has had the pleasure of having four interns over the years, all very promising hospitalitarians.  We toured the school and had lunch of sweetbread and mushroom tart, female venison steak with red currants, brie, and savarin with fruits éxotique…and of course…wine… A 2001 Chateau Neuf du Pape that was out of this world!  Buzzed on a heavy lunch and a couple of glasses of wine, we checked into the hotel and went for a walk.  Nice is a tourist destination and the area we stayed is called the Golden Triangle by the locals as the stores were Gucci, Hermes, Prada, Tissot, Mont Blanc, Coach, etc.  There was a little promenade of restaurants nearby and we strolled around checking out the menus.  It is very different down here as we see pizza, pasta, gnocchi, cous cous, salade nicoise, pissaladiere, loupe de mer, fruits de mer, etc.  It goes without saying that the food here is “Mediterranean”.  Monaco and Italy are a few kilometers away.  But, the same style and culture…people stopped for their refreshment, they stopped to enjoy the moment and THEN moved on, NEVER before they had finished the task at hand.  For dinner, we dined on Salade Nicoise, Pissaladiere and Beignets des Legumes.

I departed France a very enlightened chef.  I was given the ability to experience all of the things that I had envisioned about a visit there’ all of the things that I was told was going to happen all came to being during my time.  The unconditional love that the French (and all of Europe for that matter) have for the sustenance they depend on, and they do not take any morsel for granted.  It means everything to them, and I realized, and it was incredibly obvious, and such a stark contrast to the American viewpoint.  We eat in our cars. We run around with gigantic cups of coffee and soda in our hands. We hustle to and fro like it is our last day alive.  We MUST slow down a little and take in this great country of ours. Stop for a moment and look at what is in front of you and think to yourself, is this good enough, am I enjoying this moment?  I had been making some changes in my own lifestyle over the last few years, to try to avoid any drive thrus, to sit down and eat, to make sure that I am pausing to enjoy, if just for a moment.  After my time in France, it is going to be a higher priority to make it a habit and a ritual to do this.  I highly recommend anyone to do the same…it is better for us.

Enjoy some of the photos and thank you for your time to read this lengthy recap.  Thank you Delaware North, Christian and Chef Roland for all of the support.

Msr. Bocuse

Chocolate Train

Quick Update From Tenaya.

Just wanted to share a bit of insider information from the Tenaya Lodge cutting board. Over the past year I personally have put together the credits required to become recertified as CCC and am looking forward in the next couple of years to stepping up to CEC certification.

Our other chefs have also been hard at work. Chef Dwayne McFann has been promoted to Executive Sous Chef – a very well deserved honor. I am also happy to share the news that Alex Corres has been our other sous chef since Novemeber and he has been a great asset to the team.

We’re excited for more great work in 2011.

Frederick Clabaugh, CCC

Share Your Best Achievements

I recently sent this out to chefs across our company. I wanted to post it here as well.

In the first couple issues of our internal newsletter in 2011, I posted a story asking all Delaware North chefs to think about and put together a piece that focuses on what each chef considers his or her best accomplishment from 2010. I would like to feature these accomplishments on this blog. If you are not reading the blog regularly, you should be. I and other chefs post regularly about the culinary happenings in our company. You are all welcome to post anytime as long as you have a relevant topic. Simply contact us.

I would like you to take time to think about your best accomplishment from 2010 and begin by sending that in for the blog. Our chefs do many great things from certification to major events – and we need to tell that story. We have special stories from times when we have to do extra work due to short staffs, or how we respond to things that go wrong or not quite as planned and end up saving the day. We’ve also undertaken great initiatives like the “Move To School” program sponsored by Michelle Obama. Maybe you just want to share your updates on how you’re handling composting at your facility, even though others said it wasn’t worthwhile and too expensive. Please help us tell the story by contributing to the blog.

As chefs, we are nurturers and we accomplish so much an a daily basis that we think that it’s “all part of the day’s work.” We always make things happen and always deliver… no matter the circumstances. I’m not asking you to brag about it and get too proud. Just tell it like it is, in a nice way. State the facts and let people know about the great, hard work we’re doing.

That’s all I’m asking for – an honest view and reflection on what you might think is normal, but in truth is really exceptional. Just think, that as a company we are around 80 percent professionally certified and moving toward 100 percent with all our salaried and sous chefs. That is incredible and mind-boggling and I’m pretty confident that no other company in the world has its chefs certified to that level.

You are also welcome to comment on what you are looking forward to accomplishing in 2011 in your blog post. This is focused on salaried chefs and sous chefs, but any chef in the company can qualify if they submit interesting stories.

Thank you for all your hard work.

In Good Cooking Always,

Chef Roland Henin, CMC

 

Accomplishments from 2010 – Will Cunneen

I recently asked our company chefs to send in notes about their favorite or best accomplishment from 2010. Here is a note from Executive Chef Will Cunneen, PCII of  Red Bull Arena.

There were several achievements in 2010 that give me pride. I started out the year in January by accepting my first Executive Chef position and opening Red Bull Arena, a beautiful 25,000-seat soccer specific stadium and home to the New York Red Bulls in Harrison, NJ. The year ended with me receiving my ProChef II certification in December on my 29^th birthday. Now, I am very proud of those accomplishments, which were probably two of the hardest things I’ve ever done. However, it’s what happened here at the stadium during the season that I can say gave me the most satisfaction.

We started our season as most stadiums do – hectic, going 100 mph and hiring most anyone that walked in the door. As the season progressed, associates started understanding their roles and developed their skills. I always believed the role of a manager is also that of a teacher and if your associates aren’t learning then they will get bored. If one of my crew members isn’t engage in what they’re doing, if they don’t know why they’re doing it or don’t care…then why stick around? Money? In a seasonal arena environment most of my kitchen staff works 15-20 hours every other week. Sure I can get a bunch of bodies to fill slots, but if you want quality personnel that you can count on month after month – you have to offer more than just a paycheck.

I believe I did that. I had several externs pass through my doors, several more that decided to attend culinary school this year after some encouragement and the experiences they had at Red Bull. There were even others who are industry veterans who have managed to shake off some of their old habits and embrace Delaware North’s commitment to quality. I believe the best way to judge a manager is by his or her staff – just as we are a reflection of our regional chefs and Chef Roland Henin. If one looks bad, we all look bad. If one looks good, we all look good. If through my actions, I have made Chef Kevin Doherty and Chef Henin see that I am “getting it” that’s my greatest accomplishment.

Good Enough To Steal

Here’s how you really know you’ve done a decent job with your staff. As the soccer season continued through August and into September, football season started for another new stadium up the street from Red Bull called New Meadowlands Stadium (Maybe you’ve heard of it?).

Anyway, when NMS opened, naturally we at Red Bull went up to assist. Now, I’m not saying we were small fish in a big pond, but you can fit three Red Bull Arenas in one New Meadowlands. Nevertheless, me and my small band of 20 or so cooks, preps and utility workers made our way over to NMS to lend assistance to various clubs, suite kitchens and concession areas. Our help was well received and we made ourselves useful. Little did I know how useful…

 

In the following weeks many of my employees (including myself) went back and forth between both stadiums and some started to be requested by name. By football’s midseason, several of my employees were working at NMS more than Red Bull. Don’t get me wrong, I encouraged any chance for my employees to work more and learn and grow within the company and was very proud that any associate I sent to assist represented my kitchen well.

Just like some secret recipe or a new trend, if other people want it —  you must be doing something right.

Australian Open 2011 – A Taste Of The Culinary Experience.

Chef Mark Szubeczak took his culinary talents to the Australian Open, (Delaware North Companies handles all food and beverage operations for the event) and made a major impact. Every report I’ve heard from the event is complimentary and suggests Chef Mark and his team did a commendable job. He was kind enough to send in the below photos and text for the blog. Thanks to all chefs who made the 2011 Australian Open a success.

Working together as a team we served 3000 meals in Sponsor Suites alone. 

The River Villa Sponsor Suites’ Happy Delaware North Companies Aussie Culinary Staff

We worked in portable, fully-equipped kitchens that were built just for the event with Rational Combi ovens, fryers and dish machines.

We served fresh canapes, salads, plated and buffet style meals. All desserts were house made supplied from Pastry Chefs from Etihad Stadium

We served  over 2,900 Fresh Meals in Sponsor Suites Area

In the end we had many satisfied guests and very exhausted Delaware North Staff.

Bumps On the Culinary Road.

This Wall Street Journal article by Bruce Palling deals with the challenges chefs face when they travel and have to operate in different kitchens with different ingredients. It is very relevant to the challenges our chefs face when they travel to help at new stadiums, parks or they compete in culinary competitions. I wanted to to add it to the blog. I encourage you to read it and share your thoughts below.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703956604576110131389862112.html

CIA Career Fair

I recently attended a career fair at the Culinary Institute of America on behalf of Delaware North Companies. Camille Jackson of our Human Resources Department attended, as well. She shares her thoughts on the event below.

I had a very pleasant experience visiting the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in Hyde Park, N.Y. Unfortunately, there are no direct flights from Buffalo to Albany, so it made my travel much longer. My colleagues Chef Roland Henin and Chef Percy Whatley joined me at the Courtyard Marriott near the CIA.

When we arrived at the CIA, we were greeted by the friendly faces of the CIA staff which included Mary Lou DeSantis and her team. They were gracious and helpful. The facility was neat, clean and well-organized. The career fair items I shipped were waiting for us at our table, along with the television and DVR I requested. The space was a little crowded as the company tables were getting very close together which left little room to move around. It was great to see a large number of companies participating in the career fair.

Throughout the fair, the CIA provided endless beverages and flavorful food that was prepared by the students. It was a beautiful spread. The career fair had a continuous flow of students who were well-prepared and focused on their mission to secure an internship/externship. Throughout my years of participating in career fairs, students/participants typically are interested in company giveaways as opposed to talking to recruiters. With the CIA students, they were not interested in giveaways. They were much more interested in company information, internship/employment opportunities and Chef Roland. Many of the students were seeking externships, rather than internships and about 85 percent of the students that stopped at our table were baking/pastry students. Unfortunately, Delaware North does not have many baking/pastry internships or externships. We also met with quite a few alumni and soon-to-graduate candidates who were seeking regular employment. In speaking with students, I assessed that their salary expectations were not aligned with entry-level opportunities for which they qualify.  One recently graduated alumnus is seeking a salary of $60,000 minimum. Another student who is graduating in March 2011 is seeking $35,000, minimum – with no work experience and no management/supervisory experience. I’m not sure the CIA is setting their salary expectation or if they feel overwhelmed with their up-and-coming student loan bills.

The CIA is a beautiful campus. I toured the campus twice and had two totally different experiences. My second tour was hosted by a student named Jose. Jose was very professional, elaborated extensively on the history of the campus, curriculum, instructors, restaurants and everything about the CIA. I was very impressed. My colleagues and I had dinner at the Italian restaurant on campus. The food was magnificent, the service was stellar and the atmosphere was bravura.

I was inspired by the students’ tenacity in their education, as well as the facility in which they learn. Environment is key, and I think that adds value to a student’s learning experience. I’ve attended many college career fairs throughout my 17-year career in human resources. The CIA career fair is by far one of the best I’ve attended in terms of organization, professionalism, preparedness of students and a state-of-the-art learning facility.

Notes from the Delaware North Companies Parks and Resorts GM Conference.

Matthew Barton is a Sous Chef at the Gideon Putnam Resort in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. He and Chef Brian Sterner recently hosted the Delaware North Companies Parks & Resorts General Managers Conference. He told me that the event required him to work more hours and culinary events than ever before at the resort. I am grateful for his dedication and share with you his immediate thoughts after the conference below.

After great debate, it is confirmed that there are enough hours in the day for a chef. What is done with this time is clearly what separates the greatly trained from the greatly aspiring.

Plate concepts, flavors, aromas, shapes, colors and contrasts are all useful identifications in the kitchen. Still, true performance can be measured before one comes in contact with any food at all.

Planning thoughts, drawing maps, sketching ideas, brainstorming daily operations, assigning projects and collecting data are the practices that seem to be the difference, in my opinion, between absolute success and utter disappointment.

This is not to say however that the success will please you. And, while I received several “pats on the back” for a job well done during the Parks & Resorts GM conference, I often questioned the moves I made what I could have done better. A feeling of disappointment tens to arise when you sit back and watch yourself work twice as hard as you need to – to complete something that in hindsight appeared so simple.

After little argument, it turns out after all that that there are enough hours in the days. I am okay with knowing that I am one of those greatly aspiring individuals. And I am grateful to work with Chef Henin and others who are so greatly trained.

Frank Coughlan – 2010 Accomplishments and Look Ahead.

I am very proud of how many chefs now contribute to this blog. Here is a post from Frank Coughlan – an executive chef at Wembley Stadium in London – on his favorite accomplishments from 2010.

The 2010 Wembley Stadium calendar was eventful and I can reflect proudly on what was undoubtedly another busy and successful year which saw us deliver 27 major bowl events of which twelve were Grade-A categorised.  This categorisation is determined by both the prestigious nature of the event and the volume of guests attending. To achieve this status, an event must sell-out all 90,000 available tickets. Impressively, these 12 events took only 1,560 chef shifts, an overall total of 12,480 hours! This efficiency was achieved through careful event analysis and meticulous planning, and we were also able to deliver more dining styles, variety and innovation to our clients adding real value to our overall operation at Wembley Stadium.

So, the question now is, how do we ensure we continue to deliver excellent food and implement innovation into the culinary experience at Wembley Stadium for every event in 2011? Research, analysis and planning are the key element to our success.

At the beginning of this new and exciting year, we analyse every aspect of our past events from sales-mix analysis to cost of goods. We also draw on the central points which are raised through our debriefing sessions, and we look to identify best practices, trends and demographics. This helps to reduce wastage but also ensures we are able to provide the most appropriate offering and service style to our guests – improving their overall experience.  Using this information, I am able to tailor our menus to the specific wants and needs of both our clients and our guests. For example, “Take That” requires sushi and salad style offers to suit the demographics and a concert such as “Oasis” will require a more substantial offering of gourmet burgers.  I work closely with both our purchasing team and our suppliers, motivated at all times to keep our food offer fresh, innovative and ahead of industry trends, meaning we are able to uphold our reputation as a market leader. This year I aim to maximise the use of seasonal ingredients, focusing more on sustainability and locally produced products so that we can proudly promote our British heritage.

In 2010, corporate clients needed to be more prudent with their spending and our task was to develop offers and create new options that added value and fun rather than just a cut-price solution.  In 2010, we successfully introduced themed menus to our box clients. Examples of these were ‘The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party’ specially created in theme with our Summertime Ball concert and ‘The All American Halloween Experience’ perfectly suited for our guests dining at the world-renowned NFL event. The take up of these menus was fantastic and we now have a platform to build up the level of anticipation and excitement for the customer who was created last year. We will enhance the theming and marketing to ensure maximum exposure and increased sales for all 2011 events.

My personal highlight of 2010 was the launch of the Steamship joint into our Club Wembley buffet restaurant. Taking the lead from our American colleagues, we worked with our nominated butcher and arranged to purchase raw, French trimmed joints, weighing in excess of 30kg. They took nearly 72 hours to prepare through the art of slow cooking but looked and tasted incredible! This added an element of theatre to our buffets as guests queued in anticipation of having their meat carved for them personally by a skilled chef who could talk through the history and cooking method of this spectacular piece of beef.

Looking forward to 2011

2011 looks set to be another exciting year with Wembley Stadium proudly hosting the Champions League Final in May, four England International Football Games and the “Take That” concerts which are due to make history over the summer when they play eight concerts here as part of their sold-out UK tour.

My main focus for 2011is to exceed the expectation of our guests and the key to this will be to continue the analysis, research and meticulous planning.  I will look to leverage best practice examples across all of our operations and provide options that are relevant to each event and audience.  We expect a high volume of repeat clientele at Wembley Stadium this year and I will work in conjunction with our clients and senior team to ensure we provide new flavours, styles, innovation and a fresh approach to the culinary experience.

An Externship Tale

I love hearing about students and their experiences. This is a very enjoyable post from Blythe Robinson, a student who had an externship with our Yosemite Park team.

Yosemite National Park is my Notre Dame – it is Mother Nature’s greatest gift to this world. As I drove in to Yosemite Valley on Monday, Nov. 23, 2009, I had no idea what I was getting myself in to. Every turn on Highway 140 revealed a view more impressive than the last. This was not my first trip into the valley, for some reason though this was the most vivid and impressive of my experiences. I couldn’t believe I was going to get to work in such a special place.

My nerves were causing my stomach to churn as I pulled in to the parking lot in front of the Human Resources office for Delaware North Companies. It was my first day of my externship for the Culinary Institute of America (CIA).

I quickly filled out all my paperwork with HR, was fitted for my uniforms and then was told to call the Chef. This was it. I was finally going to meet the Chef and see where I’d be working for the next two months. I don’t know why, but I walked in the kitchen shaking with nerves. I asked to see the Chef and somebody introduced me to Sous Chef Paul Janeway. He shook my hand and that’s about all I remember. My nerves had gotten the better of me and I was doing everything in my power to remain composed. I remember thinking to myself the kitchen was huge, but I wouldn’t know until my first day of work that I’d only seen half. Chef Paul took me upstairs to meet Chef Percy who greeted me with a firm handshake and a smile. We went over the details of when I would start work. My first day was to be Thanksgiving. We finished our conversation and both Chef Percy and Chef Paul looked at me and told me to stop being so nervous, and that they didn’t bite. We laughed, I was still nervous. Then we said goodbye until Thursday.

When I walked in the kitchen Thursday, it was a mad house. I had no idea where I was supposed to be or what I was supposed to do. There were so many cooks working like a well-oiled machine, pumping out Thanksgiving dinner for 1,000 guests. Being the new extern that day made me more of an inconvenience than a helping hand, but I sure did learn a lot. Everyone worked hard and fast that day and we all went home tired.  I came in the next afternoon ready to do it all over again, only to be told that I was supposed to have been there at 6am to work the buffet omelet station. I was embarrassed that I’d screwed my schedule up on my second day, but it wasn’t a big deal. Since they weren’t expecting me to be working in the afternoon, there wasn’t much for me to do. I helped Sous Chef Reggie Powell sheet-out and hand cut pounds and pounds of black truffle tagliatelli pasta. It was my first time working with a sheeter, and I had a hard time keeping up with Chef Reggie as he sheeted out the pasta and I cut it into the correct shape. I knew my experience at The Ahwahnee would force me to work faster, and here was my first proof. Turns out the pasta we were working on would be for one of the Vintners dinners – a special event with which I was very excited to assist.

I was lucky my two short months of externship fell during the holiday season. I was able to take part in Vintners Dinners, Bracebridge, and Chef’s Holidays. I learned so much from each of the different events, but I think I took the most out of Bracebridge. Not only did we have to work fast when we were plating, we had to work fast to get through all the prep required to feed 2,400 people. I mainly worked on scaling out and forming oxtail pastries. It was tedious and never-ending work, but it taught me patience and speed. The faster and more precisely I worked, the faster the monotonous task would be finished. During Chef’s Holidays I worked with many different visiting chefs and their menus. I learned many new and interesting techniques and methods, and I made sure to ask many questions. I learned so much from each chef who came and worked with us, simply because of his or her unique, personal styles.

I can’t imagine having the same kind of experience anywhere else. The Ahwahnee is unique in that it has so many different events that no other restaurant, or even hotel, would have. I am honored to have worked with Chef Percy and his staff, even though it was for such a short amount of time. I am looking forward to returning to Yosemite as soon as I graduate from the Bachelors program at the CIA.

Leon Smith – 2010 Best Accomplishments

Here is another “Best Accomplishments of 2010″ post from Chef Leon Smith of Emirates Stadium.

I started my role as executive chef at Emirates Stadium, home of Arsenal Football Club, in Sept. 2010, just a few weeks after the dramatic enhancement and redevelopment of one of our main club level dining facilities, Woolwich Suite.  This impressive stadium is only four years old and this major investment proves both the client and Delaware North are proactive in their approach to providing excellence at every opportunity by creating facilities and dining experiences that reflect Arsenal’s contemporary and world-renowned style

The Woolwich Suite was redesigned to create different experiences within the same club facility and includes theater/buffet-style dining, a stylish bar area, exclusive a-la-carte restaurants and a lounge area.  The a-la-carte restaurants offer a new experience in stadia catering and have been aptly named the W and M Clubs after Chapman’s revolutionary 3-2-2-3 WM formation.  We regularly have tasting sessions in these restaurants as part of the guest experience, adding value and theatre to their day and providing me with the opportunity to introduce new concepts, produce & flavours in a controlled way.  These have taken the form of wine tastings, ports & brandies, farmhouse & artisan cheese and more recently smoked salmon, smoked eel & Gravadlax, produced by an independent smokehouse based on the river Severn in Gloucestershire, a supplier who is as passionate as I am about the quality of his produce and the sustainability of the fish they catch & smoke

The buffet style restaurant named “The Foundry” continues the theme of combining the best of the past with the present. The Legends bar was also redeveloped and now includes a new grill offering a wider range of food options.  The style of service & delivery has been influenced by visits to the US, enabling the Emirates team to use the great ideas and share best practice within the company. The emphasis is on creating freshly prepared dishes, using only the best ingredients, simply put together, with great flavours that speak for themselves.

Opening and delivering multiple new dining experiences in one facility is a challenge in itself and this was further heightened with the eyes of both the media and the fans on us. Throughout the planning stages I considered the complexity of the menus and matched them to the skill level of our team and then provided them with excellent equipment and training to be able to deliver our exacting standards.  We involved our client in the development of our innovative menus, showing our passion for food and service and ultimately allowing us to deliver, on the day, that special experience one guest at a time. Having the opportunity to introduce bespoke food offers in to brand new state-of-the-art facilities was an experience rare to our sector and ensured we are able to uphold our reputation as a market leader

Looking forward to 2011

My food vision for Emirates in 2011 is to source and use the best quality, seasonal products that are farmed and caught in a sustainable & ethical way.  By using the best approved suppliers that are passionate about their products and the way they’re produced we will be able to offer the highest standard possible, and be confidant in the provenance and quality we serve to our guests.

I will be focused on strengthening and training my team so they have the ability to play a fundamental part in the delivery of this new club experience.  We will use our restaurant training cards, linked with GuestPath® that contain detail of suggested wines to compliment the menu, specific detail of the provenance of the food and tasting notes identifying specific flavors and textures.  This ensures our front line staff also have the knowledge and confidence to serve and recommend dishes from the ‘chef’s selection’ and to advise if our guests require assistance.

Another key element aspect of development for my team will be participation in competitions & Salon Culinaire entries.  Over the course of my career I have entered many competitions, with Gold, Silver & Bronze medals awarded as well as achieving four “Chef of the Year” titles.  For me the competition kitchen is a fantastic learning experience and its good fun too! This will give my team a great platform to showcase the skills we use every day, learn new skills & techniques, develop as a team and learn to work under intense pressure and hopefully achieve a few medals along the way.  The success of our chefs would also mean further accolades to Delaware North and more importantly to our client whose ethos is to strive for excellence both on and off the field.

Small Plates, Big Flavors

Chef Chris Harkness of Great Performances and The Plaza has written a strong post about how small plate stations are becoming more popular. I’ve included the link and encourage you to read it. Post your opinions below.

http://www.greatperformances.com/blog/20/small-plates-big-flavors

 

Fish Rift

I believe this article from Louisa Kasdon who dined at the “blacklisted fish” event in Boston, where Northeast fishermen challenged the accuary of seafood watch lists is important to read. I’ve included the link below. I think it’s important to read all the different views on certain subjects.

http://www.zesterdaily.com/politics/816-sustainable-fish-controversy-in-new-england

A Trip To The CIA

I am always grateful for Chef Percy Whatley’s contributions to the blog. Here is a post regarding his recent visit to the CIA career fair.

I have been working with The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) for the last seven years, placing culinary students into the brigade of The Ahwahnee in either a graduate capacity or an extern capacity.  I wanted to share with you my recent trip to Hyde Park with Chef Roland and Camille Jackson from HR Corporate.

The two-day career fair at the CIA campus is located in the student center, a large multi-purpose hall that acts as a fitness center for the students.  There were approximately 50 companies there trying to attract the attention of the students and alumni of this prestigious culinary program.  On day one, the booths were set up with whatever props you want to bring to attract attention.  We, of course, had our ultimate prop…Chef Roland Henin, CMC!!!  He is still a legend on the campus, even though it has been 25 years or more since he was an instructor there.  Day two is set for interviews with interested candidates that you meet on Day One.

Although Delaware North is a very large and diverse company, our brand is not very recognizable to the young leaders of industry at the fair.  We spent a lot of time explaining who we were, what we do, and where we do it.  Once this information became known, however, an interest was piqued and we were able to continue the conversation or even set a time-slot for an interview the next day.

As we went through this process, it was very clear to me that we do not have a strong enough presence at this school.  Many students know of The Ahwahnee, TD Garden, etc, but really, no one knows who the heck Delaware North is…this needs to change.  I foresee us taking a bigger part in recruiting at future CIA career fairs, if for nothing else than to increase exposure for Delaware North as a top culinary brand to the young professionals of tomorrow.  There are tentative plans to do this in the fall to recruit help during the busy times for Hockey and Football. I am sure there are chefs out there that would appreciate it.

 

The Six-Legged Meat of The Future

This is not the most traditional topic I’ve posted on the blog. But I think it’s important to feature all ideas, thoughts and trends. This Wall Street Journal story talks about eating insects — which is more popular in some parts of the world than others. I imagine it is a topic chefs, especially the younger ones, will deal with during their careers. I encourage you to share your thoughts on the topic below.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703293204576106072340020728.html

Farmed Salmon Update

Here is another excerpt worth reading regarding the current state of salmon from an e-mail I received last week. It’s not always a pretty picture.

Good Afternoon,

We are seeing the biggest jump in farmed salmon we have ever endured. Here is an explanation from our salmon buyer of what are the driving factors. Please adjust menus if possible……..

Here is what is going on in the Salmon World; Bottom Line is that the World supply is short and anything that is available is being bid up by the customers so that they can secure fish. A lot of areas (Ireland, Scotland, Norway, etc) are switching year classes (which happens every year at this time), and they are short of fish. This will stay in effect for at least the next month to month and a half. Loch Duart will be OUT of fish after next week for about 3 weeks because the fish are too small to market. Chile is producing a little bit of fish, but it is very expensive and is going to Japan or Europe.

Canada is having its own issues as well. They have had some bad weather over the last two weeks, which has caused harvesting problems. Also, one of the big producers was running out of fish, so they cut their harvest schedule from 6 harvests a week to 2. That caused a big shortage out of Canada. Everything combined has driven up the prices and they will go up again next week as well.

I don’t see any relief in sight until the end of April. Certain sizes of Salmon will be tight, certain nationalities of Salmon will be tight, and prices will continue to stay high, or possibly go a little bit higher. With Lent coming up next month, the Salmon Suppliers will have to keep the prices high due to increased demand so price relief will not be coming anytime soon.

To Kennedy For the Launch.

I recently traveled to Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex to assist with food preparations for the shuttle launch of Discovery. Thousands of people come to Kennedy Space Center for these events and it translates to a lot of work. Over the next few days, I will post my thoughts on the event as well as those of other chefs involved. I would like to start by posting a link to this news story from John Galer. I think it does a great job of setting the stage for how special these launches are to witness.

http://www.thejournal-news.net/articles/2011/02/28/news/news01.txt

Sous-Vide Cooking

Below is a very good article on “Sous-Vide” cooking which is very appropriate a from a very good chef in England. After reading it I felt strongly I should include it in the blog. It is a very timely topic that is going to become even more popular as Chef in the U.S. learn of it. It truly is a terrific culinary process…and I’m not just saying that because it was developed by the French.

The article is posted via Slideshare. Click each link below and it will open the pages in full-screen for you to read.

Page 1

Page 2

Page 3

Helping Out With The Kennedy Launch.

Two weeks ago I headed down to Kennedy Space Center to help our culinary team prepare for the thousands of people who would be in attendance to see the launch of Discovery. The shuttle launches are truly wonderful events and its something that’s beautiful to see. Since there are only a few left, even more people than usual are attending. Here is an overview of what the chefs did over those few days.

This shuttle launch was honestly one of the busiest I’ve ever seen. We had a quick meeting in the late morning hours the day of the launch and there were already 12,000 people in the park. They just kept coming and coming…we were jammed. I tried to move from one location to another a little before noon and it was crazy. I needed to get to another kitchen to help with preparations and I couldn’t get in the building because there were so many people waiting to get food. It’s hard to imagine if you’ve ever been to Kennedy as the park is very large, but there were people everywhere. Eventually, as it became closer to time for the launch…the spaced cleared a bit.

I’ve done 18 to 20 launches in my career and this is probably the busiest one. It is understandable as there aren’t many launches left. People who haven’t seen it want to see it. People who have want to see it again. Plus, it was absolutely perfect weather (not that I had much time to enjoy the weather). Seventy five degrees, sunny and clear skies.

The chefs worked so hard to prepare that I was glad we were all able to step out about five minutes before the launch and watch it occur from the Rocket Garden area. It was still crazy to see how many people were there…the launch was beautiful.

But the time leading up to the launch was all work. We didn’t have much time to talk of relax, it was just crank, crank, crank. Wherever you could help – you did. Our people did a great job to serve that many people and produce that kind of food.

Our preparation started about two days before the actual launch. Along with preparing the different food items we would cook Thursday, we had to help with such events as our Lunch With An Astronaut opportunity and some other parties. When we weren’t handling those immediate events, we were washing lettuce, slicing tomatoes for hamburgers – we sold thousands and thousands of hamburgers. You prep for two days really and it does come together, but they are long days – 10, 12, or 14 hours.

It was a tiring experience. Everyone runs themselves ragged. As soon as you get done you get going on something new. But, through all of that, you become a team and can take so much pride from your work.

I later heard that there were 1 million people watching the shuttle launch in the area. Clearly, they weren’t all at Kennedy Space Center, but I’d believe it as our 30-minute ride home on launch day took us more than three hours. Just cars and people everywhere. People have great appreciation for the shuttle launches.

And, when you see that many people enjoying the launch and enjoying your food, it really makes it worth it. We’ve been doing this for a few years now and we really have a system that has become more efficient over time.

The one thing that didn’t happen this time and I’m so grateful for is that the launch wasn’t cancelled. In the past, we’ve had our team do all the prep work and all the food ready to go…and then weather or mechanical difficulties with the shuttle cancel the launch. It’s really awful. We give the food away to the local food banks, which is nice. That’s just a chance you take with the shuttle launches as the weather needs to be perfect.

In all, it was a great trip. Even after almost 20 of these, I still love seeing the launches. They are special, special events. I’m hopeful we will have a few other chefs chime in on their time at Kennedy as well.

In Good Cooking Always,

Chef Roland Henin, CMC

It’s Not Easy Picking Fish

I’ve posted articles on the topic of fish and sustainability in the past and this does a great job of tying them together. You need to be very educated about the food choices you make and I think this article is evidence of that. It is becoming more and more complicated to determine what sustainable truly means. I would appreciate any comments people have below.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704615504576172292781589156.html

Food Prices Continue To Rise, Crisis Looms

This is a topic every chef needs to follow. The rising cost of food is altering how we purchase food, plan menus and prepare. I have seen many stories on the topic and this is one of the better ones. I encourage all the Delaware North chefs to read it and any other chefs or culinary folks following the blog.

 

Rising Food Prices Story

 

Boston Culinary Competition.

Thank you to Chef Kevin Doherty who works for our Sportservice division for his time with this post regarding a recent culinary competition in Boston. This truly is how you sharpen your skills. Congratulations to all who took part.

I think it’s important to highlight the many culinary competitions and events our different teams take place in outside of their regular work days.  Two Sundays ago, I teamed with Chef Paul Hartz, Chef Ashley Haldane and Chef Patrick Kilduff from our various Boston-area properties to take part in an American Culinary Federation Epicurean Club of Boston competition. It was hosted at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Boston.

Chef Hartz received a silver medal for his platter, Chef Kilduff took home a sliver medal in the mystery basket competition and Chef Ashley earned a bronze medal. I received a gold medal in my first competition and high silver in my second. I earned a check for $250 for the highest score of the day.

I appreciate all those who took part in the event and credit the other chefs for their hard work. Competitions like this are how Chef Roland encourages us to sharpen our craft. You watch others and you see how neat and organized they are and you try to learn from them. Competitions also help define how bad you want something as a chef. Even in the middle of our crazy years in Boston we practice late nights, sometimes after Bruins game or on our only day off. We are not different than any other venue in this respect. We are just a bit crazy.

 

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

This is one of the more interesting stories I’ve read regarding chicken as of late. The chef looks at why people and chefs like chicken so much and then sets out to help with the issues that still exist with preparing the bird. I encourage all chefs to read this and share their thoughts below. The article is written by Mark Bittman and published at NYTimes.com.

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

Chicken Tangine, Eggplant and Olives

Since I posted about chicken yesterday, I thought I’d do it again and include a very nice recipe that Florence Fabricant has put together in the New York Times called Chicken Tagine. She talks about the origin of the seasoning for this dish and also the importance of having a tagine. I’ve pasted the recipe below. I hope our chefs enjoy reading about this recipe and someone enjoys it soon.

Chicken Tagine With Eggplant and Olives

Time: 11/2 hours

2 tablespoons ground cumin

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

1 chicken, cut in 10 pieces

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 medium red onion, quartered lengthwise

2 small eggplants, about 1 pound total, quartered lengthwise

3 garlic cloves, slivered

1/3 cup pitted black niçoise olives

1/2 cup chicken stock

2 tablespoons sherry vinegar

Salt and black pepper

1 tablespoon chopped tarragon, plus a few sprigs for garnish

Rice or couscous for serving.

1. On a plate, blend the cumin and paprika together. Dip the chicken pieces in spices to coat both sides. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat and brown chicken on both sides. Remove.

2. Add the onions to the skillet and sear on cut sides until browned. Remove. Lower heat to medium and add remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Lightly brown eggplant on cut sides. Remove. Add garlic and olives, cook until the garlic has softened, then add the stock and vinegar. Bring to a simmer, deglazing the pan, then turn off the heat.

3. Coarsely chop the browned onions. Scatter them in a terra-cotta tagine or in a sauté pan with a cover, then lay the chicken pieces on top. Chop the eggplant in 1-inch chunks and distribute them over the chicken. Pour stock mixture, with olives and garlic, on top. Season with salt and pepper and scatter chopped tarragon on top. Cover the tagine or pan and cook on medium-low heat for 40 minutes. Remove from heat and let rest 10 minutes. Garnish with tarragon sprigs and serve with rice or couscous.

Yield: 4 servings.

Culinary School Graduates.

I’ve included a link to a story that is a very good piece on the challenge that recent graduates from culinary programs face when trying to enter the hospitality workforce. This challenge is in large part due to several things that occur before the student even enrolls all the way through graduation. I could write an entire book on this topic but for the most part it deals with the fact that culinary schools are costly and quite honestly don’t always prepare students adequately. There are only a few schools that are really preparing students for the reality of the industry. I encourage all chefs and/or possible future chefs to read this piece.

http://www.slashfood.com/2011/03/17/do-culinary-schools-get-chefs-jobs/

Chefs Gather For Nutrition Exercise.

Below is an excerpt from a story that appeared in the Delaware North Companies internal newsletter about a recent nutrition event some of our chefs took part in. I am hopeful some of them will share their views on the event with a blog post.

Ten chefs from Delaware North Companies Parks & Resorts met recently on The Queen Mary for the first-ever Nutrition Summit. Christian De Vos, vice president of food and beverage, and Oehme Soule, a registered dietician, led the four-day session that was intended to increase the chefs’ knowledge of nutrition, develop healthy menu items and discuss how best to present the information to guests. The best day, according to De Vos was Wednesday. The group took a field trip to the Santa Monica Market to purchase ingredients for vegetarian dishes and returned to the ship to cook. “The food was absolutely splendid,” De Vos said.

Notes From The Nutrition Summit

Chef Steven Sterritt was kind enough to send the below notes and thoughts following the Parks & Resorts nutrition summit at the Queen Mary. Other chefs have also sent their thoughts and I will post them all as time allows. Please read below and share your thoughts/ideas on nutrition.

Nutrition – For most chefs this is a topic that all too often gets overlooked. I was really pleased that I was asked to attend the meeting on the Queen Mary for a couple of reasons:

1)  I had never been on the ship before and couldn’t wait to get on board and explore.

2)  I am always striving to learn more about how to cook “healthier” and bring that knowledge to our guests.

Our goal was to take simple, fresh ingredients and extract maximum flavor (similar to what we do daily) but minimizing and/or eliminating the use of salt and measuring everything we produced so that we could calculate with our culinary software precisely each individual recipe’s nutritional analysis to ensure the recipe is well-balanced. Then we would meet to discuss as a group and critique our results.

Here are some of the things we agreed would help us accomplish our goal of providing even healthier meals in Parks & Resorts:

~ We will have full nutritional value available for each items we sell and each time we do a recipe card we will attach a picture, cost and nutritional value

~ We will have a binder or an actual menu available upon request with calorie count, sodium, fiber and fat content

~ We will have one or several items to substitute for French fries

~ We will not use the headline “healthy offerings” but might have a section on our menus where a few select dishes with nutritional content is listed (i.e. Under 500 Calories)

~ We will have at least two vegetarian offerings available on all of our menus

~ The time was well spent and the opportunity to spend some time with other chefs always proves itself invaluable. In my opinion this needs to happen more frequently.   The camaraderie between chefs, especially in the same company/division should not be separated by artificial barriers & we can all learn from these types of settings.

 

Chef Sterner Talks Nutrition Summit.

Not A Bad Looking Team

Here are some more thoughts and notes regarding the recent nutrition summit Delaware North Companies Parks & Resorts hosted. Feel free to share comments below and a big thank you to Chef Sterner for his time, insight and photos.

It’s always great to get together as a group of chefs. To leave the comfort of our own kitchens is not always an easy task. But, once we are all together, you come to realize there have been some changes. There are new chefs, some that have been around for a while and others who have changed locations. In the big picture, we are all still chefs that come together to continue our education. We will never know everything but we will continue to gather as much knowledge as we possibly can.

Strawberries

Travel for the week was a bit hectic in the beginning. I faced delays in Albany and more hold ups in Philadelphia before arriving at Los Angeles International Airport just in time to miss dinner…never fear, there was plenty of chowder to go around. Chef Larry’s team was eager to bring out a bit to eat for me even after everyone else was finished.

During day one we put together recipes that we had developed individually in advance. Unfortunately for me, my grocery list was not available (my fault). That said, I adjusted and adapted. So, I went mystery basket style and developed new healthy recipes on the fly. I saw a lot of great dishes that day. Dinner that evening was at Seasons 52, a concept where all plates are under 500 calories. It is a great concept, unless you eat more plates than you should.

On day two, we broke into teams of two to prepare a few things Chef Percy came up with. Once again, you could feel the camaraderie building amongst us. We may have been in teams of two but all the teams were working with one another. Dinner that evening was at Steffans at LA Farm. We sampled a wide array of fare.

During the third day we took a trip to the Farmers Market or as I like to call it “a chef’s playground.” We each had a $20 budget (many, including myself, broke that number) to shop around, gather whatever we wanted then headed back to the ship to prepare a feast. Each of us were able to showcase our own individual style. It was a picture perfect day to shop the amazing agriculture. Our four day required us to take a quick trip to Santa Monica Seafood Market where there was a great informative tour of the facility…then we all parted ways.

All in all, it was a great week. I think we will all be paying more attention to calories, total fat, sodium and fiber. We understand the importance of educating our teams and guests.

A Day At The Market

Building A Team

This may be the last follow-up post from the Nutrition Summit and it’s very brief – but I found it important. It is so highly important for us to bring our chefs together from time to time so they can learn from each other and also so they can recognize that they are part of a larger team. Their efforts and work extend beyon just their property, it’s about what we’re doing as a company across the world. Chef Charles Trester sent me this brief one-sentence follow up after the nutrition summit.

Good afternoon,

As a relative newcomer to the Delaware North family, the highlight of the event was getting know the other chefs from Parks and Resorts.  The camaraderie built working together and enjoying our free time together made for lasting professional relationships.

Kitchen Remodel at The Ahwahnee.

The Ahwahnee kitchen was closed earlier this year for some serious upgrades that have now come to fruition. Chef Percy Whatley was kind enough to send along before and after shots that are worth looking at. I’ve added them all below.

The Ahwahnee Kitchen – Before

Dishwasher Demo

Hot Line

Hot Line Before The Demo

Pantry

Pantry Line Demo

Pastry Oven and Sink

Steam Cleaning The Place

Where The Walk In Is Going

The Ahwahnee Kitchen Remodeled

Remodeled Kitchen

Remodeled Kitchen 2

Rotisserie

Kettle Line

Healthy Notes From Nutrition Summit.

Thank you to Chef Frederick Clabaugh for sending his thoughts on the nutrition summit. As you can see he’s been a busy traveler and eater since the summit. I am grateful for his willingness to share his thoughts.

First off, let me apologize for the delay in getting these thoughts on paper and to you. Soon after the summit I was on a flight to London to dine and be entertained English style. I’d also like to mention I had the joy of dining at The Fat Duck, Saint John, Harrods and many other top-of-the-mark venues.

Challenging the new way of thinking about the way we eat in the United States and being able to pass that knowledge on to our guests will be invaluable to the successes of American health. Utilizing the program and being more aware of what we serve our guests is also critical to the health and way of living to our patrons. Organic foods and sustainable products will certainly play a large role in the healthy eating practices of the world. It’s important for chefs to have strong knowledge of caloric intake and to offer a choice of those items that will benefit the public. Given the tools and mission to involve both the guests and chefs – I think it is a great challenge and one that I see benefitting us all.

Master Cook Version 11 will list calories, sodium, fat and fiber, giving the chef a starting point to work from and enabling them to adjust as needed to provide a healthier-option menu. Listing in a booklet and online the calories, sodium, fat and fiber will state to the customer we are committed to quality food and healthy eats as a leader in the food service world. Healthy offerings (fewer than 500-calories items) will be denoted on the menu, giving the client some direction as to those items.

All of these thoughts stem from what truly was a great experience with all the chefs at the Nutrition Summit.

From The Cutting Board of Chef Clabaugh

 

More Photos From Nutrition Summit.

Last week I had several chefs post notes about their experiences at a recent Delaware North Companies Parks & Resorts Nutrition Summit. Chef Brian Sterner made a very thoughtful post and also sent some additional photos along. I wanted to include more of the photos and they are inserted below. I appreciate his willingness and time to send them to me.

Artichokes

Beets

Blossoms

Citrus

Garden Chimichurri

More Blossoms

More artichokes

Honoring Other Chefs.

Last Tuesday I attended a special event in New York City during which the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) honored several chefs including Paul Bocuse. The CIA named Bocuse the Chef of the Century and there were numerous other notable chefs there including Thomas Keller, Todd English, David Burke and Charlie Trotter, just to name a few.

I was only able to stay for a short bit as I had to get back to Kendall College to help a group of Delaware North chefs who are training for CSC certification. Still, it was a nice event and it was wonderful to see everyone. Chef Bocuse is truly a great chef who did a lot for all of us chefs and cooks around the world.

This article will give you a bit clearer picture of last week’s events.

Baseball Season Is Here.

As many of you know, baseball season is back. Chef James Major captures the essence of the sport’s return and really offers some insight into the hard work our chefs are putting in around the country.

People can feel it. The snow is melting. The leaves are beginning to bloom on the trees. There is a certain, welcome feeling in the air. Spring time has arrived.

Spring time means a rebirth of sorts for the Earth and that baseball season is upon us. I’m currently in Baltimore after leaving Cincinnati and Cleveland to partake in each city’s rich traditions as they welcome baseball season back. Each home opener I’ve assisted with has been a lot of work, but in the end the fans were happy, the food was good and the home teams have won. Plain and simple, I love this time of year.

As many of you may know, I served in the Navy and I am a proud American. Nothing says America like baseball. The smell of the freshly popped popcorn, the roar of the crowds and all the culinary marvels the fans can get in their ballparks from chicken and waffle sandwiches, braised chicken and beef tacos, hand rolled pretzels, steak and egg sandwiches and here in Baltimore…the best crab cake in the city. Sometime I can’t believe how lucky I am to be part of it all.

The creativity we put into our food at these ballparks and sporting units is amazing. All our chefs buckle down and work as one to make it an incredible culinary experience for the fans. I tip my hat to my fellow chefs out there who make what we do in Delaware North Companies Sportservice look easy. All I can really say is…PLAY BALL.

May The Force Be With You,

James Major

More Thoughts On Sustainable Seafood

Since the topic of sustainable seafood is a hot item in the news these days I like to share as many good stories and updates on it as I can. I like for people to read opinions on both sides and make their own decisions. This article talks about how we may be fishing our oceans to low levels for certain species and regardless of whether you believe that or not, it’s something us chefs need to think about. Please take time to read this article.

The World’s Oceans and Sustainable Seafood.

Strong Review At PETCO Park.

As many of you know, baseball season began about 10 days ago and fans have been pouring in to their favorite ballparks around the country. Delaware North Companies Sportservice operates at several MLB stadiums around the country, so this is a very busy time of year. I have been on the road constantly for the past few weeks. PETCO Park Chef Ambarish Lulay sent me this article last week that offers a strong review of the food at PETCO Park. The article talks about several dishes fans can enjoy and the new Food Network cart. I’m very proud of Chef Ambarish and his team’s efforts at PETCO Park. Please read the article to learn more about their great (and delicious) work.

What’s New To Eat At PETCO Park.

Chef Kilduff Earns PCIII

This is a great piece from Chef Kilduff who just earned his Pro Chef III certification. It is a phenomenal achievement. He was kind enough to share his thoughts on the experience and I’ve pasted them below.

Training for the PCIII was probably the hardest experience I’ve endured. It started with just a simple thought; I think I’m going to take the PCIII. Chef Doherty kept saying, “let’s book it.” So, we booked it. Through the hard season we had, there was not much time for preparation. The games kept coming and coming, the concerts still went on and boom…I got my assignments, Japan and South America. I started really reading and practicing in just one week. I crammed and crammed until I left Monday night for the Tuesday start. I had packed everything I could think I’d need. In competing I learned to rely on nobody but myself as I choose my own destiny.  I think Day 1 was the toughest as it was the first time I cooked in front of the school judges. I had some really high scores that day. I had a 91 on my test and a 96 on my practical. I was on top of the world. I thought this would be a piece of cake.

Then Day 2 happened. My requisition was not in the kitchen, the requisition that I had built last week and emailed was not there. I thought, is this a test to see how I react? I politely asked, “Chef did you get my requisition?

“I did not see it in the kitchen,” he said. It’s not here! I wondered to myself, why is this happening to me,  but in the tough time I pulled out my bag of tricks for Japan as it was the stuff I practiced with and I was comfortable. The chef said, “Wow you’re really prepared,” and then he apologized and got the rest of the stuff I needed. After the practical it was time for the test which was extremely difficult. I had a nice score and thought, wow, another strong day.

Day 3 was on us. At this point I was exhausted. I was reading all the study guide books at once and it was giving me a headache. Try reading four days straight. The whole exam is a one and done deal so you could be sent home for failing an exam. That kind of stress and the stress that comes from knowing you could at any point waste all your time and effort and the company’s time and money…it really hit me hard that I needed to succeed.

I lost about seven pounds during the process as I couldn’t eat lunch or snacks due to my stress and the nerves that ran through my body. On Day 3 I was given a market basket (it’s a little different from a competition market basket as you get it the night before and not 20 minutes ahead of time) and asked to write and execute a four-course menu. Oh, can’t forget the wine pairing either. This experience coupled with the written test was one of the worst sections of the process and it sent me into a tailspin. Nothing I studied for was comparable to this test. I crammed and the only time I had to study was late at night…so I did not get much sleep.

Day Four (the final day) I had a Human Resources Quick pro quo case to present and a Powerpoint with the financial info for the accountants to grade. Oh yes, I said accountants, not chefs. These guys were number people. This is just another time when you need to be on point. They put you in the situation where you are the chef of a failing restaurants with numbers that are out of place, inventories that are wrong and questions that need to be answered along with cooking and testing. You really need to start this financial project on day one or you won’t be able to prepare and pass it. If you’re unprepared, it’s likely you’ll be sent home.

It was the moment of truth when the results were delivered. I went in the room with a feeling like someone kicked me in the gut. Then I learned I had received a four-day score of 86.6. It wasn’t great but it let me know that I can hold my own.

The challenges I face were many. For starters, attempting this in the middle of the season as things were gearing up for the playoffs and parties were occurring had me feeling unready. I had thought of canceling because I had such little time to study. The main thing is you need to be an active participant in cooking daily. I felt a little cheated when I learned that many others had been spoon fed the test for the last three weeks in what’s called a submersion class for the PCIII. But, I believed in my ability to cooking and felt that I could cook circles around these guys. The biggest lesson I took from this experience is that I will never be perfect and that motivates me.  I do believe when you think you’ve achieved perfection, then you no longer have a drive to learn because you are content with the status quo.

I say if you’re ready for an incredible challenge, then go for your PCIII. You are the only one who truly knows if you are ready.

More Sustainable Seafood Talk (Our 100th Post)

This is exciting – this will be our 100th blog post about chefs, food and culinary news. Again, I’m posting something regarding sustainable seafood as I believe it’s a very important topic. This is an article from National Geographic and it documents a night of dining on sustainable seafood. The writer is passionate about how delicious and filling the meals are. Barton Seaver is the chef preparing the dishes and he has recently written a book about the sustainable seafood issue. Toward the end of the article there are some valuable links, videos and ideas that I think might interest people even more. Take time to review the article.

Conservation Never Tasted So Good.

Savoring Taste And Not Trends

The below link will take you to an article about Chef Gary Danko who works in San Francisco. I don’t usually post chef profile pieces but I think the question and answer section is relevant. Danko talks about some very important topics that matter to chefs – sustainability, organic foods, molecular cooking and maintaining high standards.

I think it’s important for our Delaware North chefs to think about some of these same questions and how they feel about each topic. Your beliefs and opinions shape how you work in the kitchen. I would encourage you to post any thoughts you have on these topics in the comments section below.

Chef Savors Taste and Not Trends.

Five More Fish.

It seems like every time I open my e-mail or read the news I see more information about sustainable seafood and how chefs will need to make different choices in the future. I found an e-mail from Chefs  Collaborative that talks about the different breeds of salmon chefs can use on their menus. The list includes King Salmon, Coho, Chum, Pink and Sockeye. The article talks about the different attributes of each of these breeds and references how they should be cooked. I think this is an incredibly valuable resource and article for our chefs to read.

Five More Fish.

Think Local Food — Never Forget The Basics.

Someone recently forwarded me an article about how culinary schools have adapted their courses due to the sustainable food movement that has happened in the culinary world. I told them, well that’s not anything really new, it’s been going on for a few years. But, I guess it’s good to remind people about the basics from time to time.

Sustainable and local food is especially important at this time of year when lots of new and fresh stuff is coming up. I have been eating fresh California asparagus any which way now for the past week to 10 days. The asparagus is gorgeous and very healthy.

Don’t forget to think local. Don’t ever forget the basics.

Meet Our Chefs — Hope Hartley

I am excited to announce this new series on our blog. We will be interviewing chefs around the company (in random order) and allowing them to talk about their operations, their personal goals and their thoughts on trends in the culinary world. The first interview is below with Sous Chef Hope Hartley from Wheeling Island.

1) What motivated you to become a chef?

Definitely it was watching my grandmother cook. She cooked for many kids and cooked everything from scratch. I can still remember vividly when I was five years old in the kitchen with her and she was teaching me how to make a chicken from the chickens my grandfather had just butchered. I learned a lot from her including a love for cooking.

2) What achievement are you most proud of from your time as a chef?

Passing my CSC tests.

3) How is the role of the chef changing?

We are not just cooks and managers anymore. We have adapted to watching the stock pricing to see what is up before creating menus and with today’s pricing we’re trying to streamline things more to be more efficient. Chefs now have to keep up with the computer age. We are held at a higher accountability for what happens in the restaurant, not just in the kitchens.

4) What do you think will be the major issues chefs face over the next 20 years?

I think we have a few issues that will impact us. I have noticed that some of the younger generation are taking more short cuts to cooking and the end results are not good. Then there is the price of products that are going up along with fuel prices. Hopefully one good change will be that we all become more eco-friendly.

5) What are you looking forward to this year as a Delaware North chef?

I’m looking forward to working with the marketing team and doing more to promote the restaurants. There are going to be a lot of changes this year at this property and I am looking forward to helping make them better.

6) Were there any personal or professional obstacles that almost prevented you from becoming a chef?

One of the biggest personal obstacles for me starting out was not being able to get any grants for schooling and having to take out five loans.

7) What is the most important piece of advice you could offer someone just setting out to culinary school?

Study hard and take some kind of computer class, because you will need it.

Time For More Conversation.

If you’re a regular follower of this blog you know that we recently posted our 100th blog post. The blog has come a long way since we sat down to brainstorm what it’s exact purpose would be a couple years ago. I am pleased with the posts we’ve received from our chefs and the thoughts they’ve shared.

But as all great chefs should do — sometimes I need to think to myself, what would make this better?

The real goal of this blog is to capture the voice and thoughts of all our culinarians. It is easy to comment on posts. It’s easy to submit content to post. So let’s start doing more of it. You can post about your experiences with culinary training and competition. You can share thoughts on new trends in the kitchen. You can read something interesting and share it with the group.

In the kitchen, things work best when all the chefs work as a team. That’s the same with the blog. Our group thoughts and ideas will make us all stronger, smarter and better prepared in the kitchen. Let’s help each other. Now that you’ve read this, I encourage you to comment on a post below or submit something of your own.

Thank you for you interest and support over the first 100. Now let’s talk it up a bit more for the next 100.

In Good Cooking Always,

Chef Roland Henin

Smoked Seafood Display

This is a post from Chef Richard Mathis that deals with the smoked fish display he implemented at the St. Pete Times Forum this year. It is worth reading. Thank you.

This season at the St. Pete Times Forum, we incorporated a smoked fish display which received rave reviews. I wanted to share the procedure with anyone who may be interested.

THE FISH

Some of the local and sustainable fish that we used throughout the season are:

• Mahi Mahi
• Mutton Snapper
• Yellowtail Snapper
• Rock Shrimp
• Florida Wild Shrimp
• Mote Siberian Sturgeon
• Yellowfin Tuna
• Icelandic Arctic Char

THE CURE

The Cure consists of:

16# Sugar

8# Kosher Salt

1 Container (24oz.) Granulated Garlic

1 Container (18oz.) Paprika

You can add your custom spice blend here to your taste as the most important part of this mix is the 2 to 1 ratio of sugar to salt… the rest is just added flavor and color.

THE PROCEDURE

Layer the bottom of pan with Cure mixture.
Cover liberally with more Cure mixture and continue layering.

As a general rule… at least what worked best for me throughout the years is… 24 hours of cure per 1 inch of thickness of product.

Rinse cure from fish under running water and place fish on a rack.
Allow fish to air dry in cooler, UNCOVERED, for 24 hours or until a nice pellicle has formed on fish surface.  This will allow a “sticky” surface for the smoke to adhere to… notice the nice glaze on the fish in image below.

Smokers are all different and the following method is certainly not the only way to approach this…

Make a pyramid of charcoal on an oven rack and place over direct flame until the charcoal is glowing.

Transfer glowing charcoal to bottom of smoker and add presoaked wood chips… I found mesquite chips to work the best for me here.

Layer the seafood in the smoker with thicker items toward the bottom of the box as they will need more heat to cook through.

This process takes anywhere from 3-5 hours.  This time will be more consistent if you have a constant heat source in your smoker.  I was using charcoal as my heat source so the time varied greatly.

Rotate the fish if necessary throughout the cooking process.

Cool thoroughly, slice and display.

THE DISPLAY

Garnish platter with capers, boiled eggs and diced red onion.  A sauce can also be utilized… i.e.  remoulade, sweet chili cocktail sauce, dill crème fraiche,  wasabi aioli, etc…

Please take a moment and post any comments that you may have…

CSC Testing Experience Notes.

Here are some thoughts from one of the chefs that recently went through CSC testing. I think that sharing these notes and thoughts helps future chefs learn and prepare.

Day 1 – Orientation / Garden-Manger / Starch Cookery / Vegetable Cookery

On our first day, we all arrived at Kendall College around 7:15 a.m., following a continental breakfast with Chef Roland Henin and Christian DeVos. We were all very eager to see what the day held for us. We were greeted by other chefs who were on property. After a quick orientation, we went to the kitchen where we would be cooking for the next few days. After choosing our stations, we met with Chef Bosco who handed us our practice menus. Chef Bosco was very informative and open in helping with any questions we had. He gave us a quick demo on salads, emulsified dressings and hors d’oeuvres. We all practiced and then broke for lunch. After lunch that Kendall College provided for us, we went back down to the kitchen and met with Chef Bosco. We had a quick lecture/demo on Starch Cookery and then we all practiced on starch, specifically in cooking pilaf, risotto, potatoes and grains. After starch we quickly moved on to Vegetable cookery. After a long day of excitement and cooking, we all left the college around 7:30.

Day 2 – Fish Cookery/Lecture on Supervision and Cost Control

This day began the same as day one. We had a light breakfast and then went straight to the college. We had a short meeting with Philip Mott and then were on our way to the kitchen. We met with Chef Magiera and he gave us a demo on how to clean a flat fish and a round fish. We then went to our stations and practiced away. After cleaning our fish we made Fumet blance and stripped bass almondine. Chef Magiera was very nice and gave us lots of information about the cleaning of fish. We had a short break and ate the fish we all practiced on and went to meet with Philip. Philip gave us our lecture on supervision and cost control, which was great. I was having issues with my math on calculating cost and my P&L Sheet, but he made it all very clear and was nice and informative. After that great class we had a free night off to go out. A couple of guys did go out but not me. I was hitting the books to prepare for my written test because I was very nervous.

Day 3 – Meat Cookery/ Written Test

We all arrived bright and early at the college and had our short meeting before heading to our stations in the kitchen. We met with Chef Magiera and he gave us a meat demo. We then practiced cooking our 8 oz. strip steaks, something that is on our practical tests. After that we had our lunch break and then the written test. I haven’t been that nervous in a very long time. The test went well though and it really wasn’t that hard. I think it’s because I took the online practice tests multiple times prior to that day. That really helped, so I strongly suggest it. After the written test, finding out that I passed was a great relief. We then all went to our stations in the kitchen and took our Practice Exam Practical.

Day 4 – Practical Exam Day.

There were two different groups that took the test. I was in the second group, which gave me the opportunity to go over my timeline and get my menu done right.  If you’re in that first group I suggest getting all this done the night before. I was very calm but eager to get started. Everybody started 15 minutes apart. They gave us 15 minutes to gather our equipment before they started the clock to start cooking. I had everything measured out and all my portion cups labeled so I knew exactly what I needed and how much of it, so I wouldn’t have much waste. They grade you on that as well. The two hours fly by so fast so follow your action plan.

Final Thoughts

Overall I have to say this was one of the best experiences of my life. I’m very grateful that Delaware North does all this for us because it’s not cheap to do it on your own.  If you have the chance, make sure you practice many times before you go, because if you don’t and you think this is going be so simple then you’re going to fail. It sounds really easy but it’s not when you have two Certified Master Chefs and three judges walking around looking over your back and asking you questions while you’re trying to perfect your work. I want to thank Chefs Chris Tunnell, Chris Matta, Kevin Doherty,KendallCollegeand Delaware North for giving me the opportunity to further my culinary education. Good luck to all!

Thomas Keller and Foodies at 41.

I was so pleased to read this recent article about the Foodies at 41 program and how Chef Thomas Keller helped out. The program is set up to introduce young children to different kinds of food and how they are prepared. As Keller says in the article, “I have always said that respect for food means respect for life. I believe it’s critical that we teach this principle to kids as early on as possible [and in] the importance of knowing where food comes from.”

Myself and many other chefs at Delaware North share a similar philosophy and passion and that’s why we’ve been working so hard with the Chefs Move To Schools Program, a call to action to chefs to partner with schools to provide nutritional information and cooking advice to schools, educators, parents and children. I’ve been leading this effort at Delaware North and we’ve had our chefs in schools working with students over the past year.

I believe that introducing children to the health and wellness side of eating at a young age is very important so they can build strong diets for their life. I am a big fan of both of these programs.

Simple Can Be Beautiful and Delicious.

This is a very strong blog post from Chef Kevin Doherty. There truly is nothing wrong with simple, delicious food.

I have blogged about the importance of sticking to the basics and keeping things simple before but I believe it’s vitally important for chefs to hear that advice and I wanted to talk about it again.

There is one dish I have been doing lately for our VIPs that is simply a whole roasted chicken. It is not a complicated dish. It’s a simple chicken, boned out, well seasoned, roasted and sliced. Simple…but wow the beauty.

There’s no reason to feel like you have to do confusion dishes and food. Maybe I sound like a broken record, but it’s true. Tonight we served Arctic Char an al a greque stewing of vegetables in oil, lemon juice, water and arromatics (fennel, carrots and morels). My chicken was stuffed with artichokes and some dried fruits soaked in brandy, very simple, but again, delicious.

I guess the message I really want to convey to all the chefs at Delaware North is that it’s important to cook, and cook well each day. You don’t need to be overcomplicated and confusing…do what works and do it well.

When you prepare a dish, take a minute to taste your food, look at your food. Does it make sense? Do the colors contrast? Could a first-year culinary student make the dish?

Stick to the basics and deliver high-quality food. There’s never anything wrong with that.

Good Culinary Books.

I recently came across this article about how culinary book clubs are becoming more popular across the United States. I recognize that most of these clubs are people who are not certified or trained chefs, but people who simply love good food. Still, I think it is important for chefs and culinarians to read the perspectives and ideas of others. We grow up thinking one way about food and how it should be prepared and then we read about how other people think it should be done and it can change our entire approach. I am very busy but am always traveling with a new book or magazine that has ideas and stories in it. I encourage all chefs to seek out new ideas and challenge their thoughts with new ones as they work in the kitchen.

Here is another website I found online that talks about the top 10 books for chefs. Check it out.

Pretty sweet! Paul Padua wins pastry competition.

This is a news piece that ran in Delaware North’s internal newsletter, 360. I wanted to posted to help further congratulate Chef Padua for his efforts. I’m hopeful Chef Padua will do a Q and A interview for the blog that we can post later this week.

Paul Padua, executive pastry chef at The Ahwahnee hotel in Yosemite National Park, was honored as Western Regional Pastry Chef of the Year by The American Culinary Federation (ACF) after winning a competition at the regional conference May 3 in Scottsdale, Ariz.

With the win, Padua moves on to represent Delaware North and compete for the national title against other regional winners at the ACF National Convention in Dallas July 22-26.

“I’m fortunate to work for a company that supports its chefs,” Padua said.

Padua also was honored as a pastry chef who displays a passion for the craft, has an accomplished reputation in the pastry field and has helped educate others by sharing skills and knowledge. He had been anonymously nominated to participate in the ACF Western Region competition.

Padua Talks About His Practice.

Our last post focused on Chef Paul Padua and his winning of the Western Regional Pastry Chef of the Year Award. Chef Padua was kind enough to talk about his practice efforts and I’ve included them below.

To prepare for the competition, I practiced about 6-8 times with different desserts within a month’s time until I found the right one that I could work with and achieve my goals in an hour. There were times that I needed to practice twice in a day just to take advantage of the slower days. The hardest part in all my training was creating the dessert recipes and then changing them over again after each test and tasting and the long work weeks.

You’re only able to start practicing when business slows down each day and of course business always comes first. This if the first time I competed in live cooking and I needed to practice more and create great dessert recipes regardless of the criteria for the National Championship, as it will be much harder and competitive.

This award was wonderful and rewarding for me and all of Delaware North Companies. The judges at the competition tear your heart apart during the critique but that will just make you stronger and better to attain the next level. As I always tell my staff and former students, “always be patient, be creative and always keep the fundamentals, as they are the true foundation. Never forget to pass on to others what you have learned.”

I am proud to be working with a great staff and great executives with great management and leadership. Working under Chef Percy Whatley and Chef Roland Henin, who are both very supportive and great company is a great thing.

Chef Feature: Chef Ed Kowalski

One of the new things I’ve been trying to start with the In Good Cooking Always blog is a series of chef features. Chef Ed Kowalski was kind enough to respond with the below question and answer post.

What Motivated You To Become A Chef?

My grandmother, Eileen. As a child, my parents and grandparents were all very active in the local American legion and any time there was a big Legion function, Grandma and the ladies of the Auxiliary did all the cooking. I had the honor of being Grandma’s taste-tester, and it was from here that I learned not only my passion for food and cooking, but also my demeanor in the kitchen: firm, but respectful. There was no question who was running that kitchen. Sadly, I never got the opportunity to cook for her…

What achievement are you most proud of from your time as a chef?

Taking care of our guests during each event is a proud achievement in and of itself, but if I have to pick another I would have to say that to date, my proudest (and most terrifying) moment came in August 2008 when I passed my CSC. To be able to do so alongside some of the chefs I have been privileged to work with in the past was an added bonus. If I have to pick another it would be having Chef Hartmut Handke, CMC, compliment me on a dish I served him.

How if the role of the chef changing?

It’s not just about the food anymore. Chef have to be smart financial managers, human resource experts and, at times, psychologists. With the popularity and easy access to food programming (Food Network, Top Chef, et al.) chefs are looked upon almost as celebrities now.

What do you think will be the major issues chefs face over the next 20 years?

A big issue is education and teaching the younger generations and their parents about healthy eating habits and nutrition. Teaching them the importance of  eating vegetables, fruits, etc., in stead of just stuffing a Twinkie in their face while playing video games. The childhood obesity problem is epidemic, and we have to play a major role in reversing it.

What are you looking forward to this year as a Delaware North chef?

Hopefully, some NHL playoff games in Columbus. Our culinary team at Nationwide Arena has also set a goal to be more active in both the local ACF chapter and our community.

What do you believe is the most controversial topic in the culinary world?

I think it is two-fold: genetically-modified foods and the continued survival of threatened species of seafood. I encourage people to buy local whenever possible and to get to know their vendors and where the food they eat comes from. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. To think that on a planet that is 70 percent water, a species of fish faces extinction because McDonalds sells millions of Filet-o-Fish sandwich each year is mind-boggling. Likewise, the threatened existence of the small family farmer in the face of corporate “farming” practices is heart-breaking. There was a time when the American farmer was the backbone of our nation.

Were there any personal or professional obstacles that almost prevented you from becoming a chef?

Despite my early influences, when I graduated from high school, culinary school was not an option due to financial realities. So, I did it the old-fashioned way, graduating with a B.S (Bachelors of Sweat) from the School of Hard Knocks. I encountered some resistance from friends and family (“Oh, you’re too smart to waste your life cooking.”), but, ironically, those are some of the same individuals who now clamor for recipes or beg me to cook for them.

What is the most important piece of advice you could offer someone just setting out to culinary school?

Two things: read everything you can get your hands on (I especially recommend Michael Ruhlman’s “The Soul of a Chef” and Domenbug/Page’s “Becoming a Chef”) and second, before you spend a dime on tuition, actually get into a kitchen and work. You may discover that it’s not a life for you, but, on the other hand, it may confirm your desire to be a chef. Also, pay attention in math class.

Spring Has Sprung at Saratoga Springs.

Thank you to Chef Brian Sterner of Gideon Putnam Resort for putting this post together. I support so many of the ideas and thoughts he talks about in it.

Spring has sprung in Saratoga Springs and Putnam’s at the Gideon Putnam is ready to showcase it!

One of my favorite times of year is spring.  The capital district in New York comes alive this time of year at all of our local farms.  The Saratoga Farmers Market becomes a Chef’s haven and is open year round (in the winter it moves into a local school) but in May it moves back outdoors.  Each year this markets grows tremendously; not only attendance but in vendors as well.  I look forward to seeing new farmers each week with their own unique fare.  We have the luxury of attending this market twice a week (Wednesdays & Saturdays).  For more information you can visit http://www.saratogafarmersmarket.org/

This season I have decided that I wanted to showcase a daily dish from the market called the Farm to Fork plate.  I want to use this dish as an educational tool for my Sous Chefs and Line Cooks (myself as well!), and our clientele.  I feel it’s very important to cultivate relationships with our local farmers and what better way than to see them weekly and discuss what’s on their table.  Now, I can bring these items to our guests’ palates and teach them what we have to offer in our region.  Many are surprised with the amount of goods we have available to us from within a 30 mile radius.

Yesterday I stopped by the market to pick up a few things so that I could head back the kitchen to get crafty.  Here’s what I came up with:

The Saratoga Relish

Pickled Sheldon Farm Ramps, Kilpatrick Family Farm Fiddleheads & Sunchokes,  Dancing Ewe Farm Caciotta, Ginger Rhubarb Jam, Grenadine Gelee

Along with this great plate we also feature a New York Artisan Cheese Board.  We will be playing with Purslane soon … I will put together a story on these in the future!

My team and I look forward to all the new and exciting farm goodness that is sure to follow……….

Women Making Their Mark.

I loved reading this article earlier this week about how several women were recognized at the 2011 James Beard Foundation Awards. I think it’s vital that we promote the great work that women are doing across our profession and I work to do so at Delaware North Companies. There is no denying that being a chef takes great dedication, skill and hard work. And anyone who can deliver that and succeed deserves to be recognized and appreciated for their efforts.

If you read the article you’ll learn that women won five categories at the highly-respected James Beard event, including best New York City Chef.

Women made their mark on the male dominated restaurant industry at the glitzy 2011 James Beard Foundation Awards, winning at least five categories, including best New York City chef which went to Gabrielle Hamilton who is the chef and owner of Prune. Congratulations to all the winners.

Here are a few previous blog posts that focus on the efforts of women at Delaware North.

Delaware North Chefs at James Beard Event

From Yosemite to New Meadowlands

So We Made It

Focus, Focus, Focus

Chef Thomas Keller On Seasonings.

The Los Angeles Times is running a series of articles about well-known chefs and their thoughts on certain techniques, culinary ideas, etc. The most recent features Chef Thomas Keller and his thoughts on how to improve dishes with proper seasoning. I found it interesting and informative to read and would encourage other chefs to do the same. There is even a video in which Chef Keller talks about how to prepare Meyer lemon-cured fillet of salmon.

I found one of the more interesting sections of the article to read:

“Season with salt and pepper” is a common way to end a recipe (it’s even something that I’ve written in my books), but as culinary advice it’s a bit misleading. In the kitchen it’s helpful to separate the concept of “seasoning” from that of “enhancing flavor.” One is a way to add flavor to a dish, and the other is a way to intensify flavors without changing them, though we typically use the verb “season” to describe both processes. A true seasoning ingredient can be anything that brings a new flavor to what you’re preparing; pepper, piment d’espelette and mustard are just a few seasonings that I like to use.”

Give the entire article a read and post your thoughts below.

Sustainable Seafood – Another Perspective

If you read this blog frequently you know that I encourage discussion on the topic of sustainable seafood and eating locally. I try to offer as many different views as possible on the subject so that the readers (you guys) can make your own opinions and thoughts on the topic.

Someone forwarded me this NPR article about Chef Barton Seaver and how he has released a new cookbook that highlights the importance of sustainable seafood for both our environment and our diet. In the article, Seaver offers tips for picking out seafood, his own personal thoughts on the subject and recipe.

One of the more interesting comments comes when Seaver talks about how he picks out his seafood.

“I always look at the eyes,” he says. Look for fish with clear eyes that are sunken in – that “still look like they’re looking at you, inviting you to dinner.”

Read the full article and share any thoughts/comments you have below.

Another Look At Sustainable Seafood.

I found this article from Holland Brown about choosing to eat local and sustainable food very interesting and worthwhile for chefs and everyone else to read. Brown is based out of California and talks about purchasing grass-fed beef from a Santa Barbara-area ranch and fruits and vegetables through Tanaka Farm’s CSA program and farmers markets. Brown uses the majority of the article to dive into the topic of sustainable seafood. Brown admits to being skeptical about how clean local fish would be but then talks of feeling confident in the local offerings.

Brown also talks about Seafood Watch, part of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, which maintains a sustainable seafood guide by region of the country. Delaware North has worked with the Monterey Bay Aquarium and I can tell you that Brown has found a great resource for her sustainable seafood decisions.

There are definitely different schools of thought on sustainable seafood but I think Brown’s article is good because it’s from the perspective of someone who is skeptical but later learns more and more about the important topic.

Please share your thoughts on this topic.

A Social Network For Chefs and Restaurants.

I am not on many social networks – just the blog and LinkedIn, but I may need to check out this new site called Restaurant Reason which has just been launched. The site is profiled in the Wall Street Journal article that talks about how the site enables restaurants to train staff, do online scheduling and provide an internal discussion forum.

I’m not sure how useful chefs/restaurant owners will find the site but I do think there are some important issues talked about in the article. There is a section that says, “gone are the days when a waiter could simply say he recommends the catch of the day with the chef’s special sauce. An interesting level of sophistication among chefs is matched, if not surpassed by demands from diners.”

I think this is true and its vital for chefs to know their menus and know their foods. Diners are so much more educated and interested in where there food is coming from, how its prepared, etc. Some people want to eat local, some just want to eat healthy. And, a chef needs to be able to answer all the questions.

Read this article to learn about the social network – but more importantly, take time to learn about all the food you prepare.

Chef Profile – John DiGiovanni CCC, PC II

I want to thank Chef John DiGiovanni for taking time to answer the below questions as part of our ongoing Chef Profile series. I found Chef DiGiovanni’s answers to be interesting and educational for other chefs. Please take time to read this post and forward it to others who would be interested.

What Motivated You To Become A Chef?

Becoming a Chef gave me an opportunity to obtain a set of skills I could use for the rest of my life. To be able to go anywhere in the world and be able to find a job; To learn something new everyday, even if I thought I knew a lot about something; To realize I actually knew very little about it.

What achievement are you most proud of from your time as a chef?

The achievement I am most proud of is not my own. Wade Smith, one of my culinary supervisors, accepted a Sous Chef position at Sequoia National Park. I am proud to have been part of his career advancement.

How is the role of the chef changing?

A chef is more than just a leader in the kitchen. A chef is involved more in the community , donating their time and talents to others as well as reaping the benefits of exposure.

What do you think will be the major issues chefs face over the next 20 years?

Rising food prices. Chefs will be challenged to spin the straw into gold.

What are you looking forward to this year as a Delaware North chef?

Continuing to produce better food than we did last year and to further my personal and my teammates’ goals in the kitchen.

What do you believe is the most controversial topic in the culinary world?

I think the Modernist Cuisine/Molecular Gastronomy movement would be considered the most controversial as it is often misunderstood and only a very small portion of chefs are knowledgeable in it. Sous Vide cooking created the most interest at the ACF Regional Conference I attended. Both Chefs and Cooks want to drive the Modernist cuisine Ferrari yet ignore the basic fundamental all cuisines are built upon. Some chefs feel that it is only a fad and will die out in time.

History always seems to repeat itself. I imagine how those who first began using tomatoes in cooking felt when they heard others talk about them as poisonous. I believe these products and techniques will be woven into our culinary fabric.

Were there any personal or professional obstacles that almost prevented you from becoming a chef?

I was unsure what I wanted to do out of high school and enlisted to become a mechanic in the Marine Corps. Right before I was to leave for bootcamp, I found my love of cooking and went through many obstacles to nullify my enlistment and continue my education at Walt Disney World, where I was working at the time.

What is the most important piece of advice you could offer someone just setting out to culinary school?

What you learn in the beginning of culinary school are the habits, discipline and techniques that will become the foundation of your career. Pay particular attention to your knife skills. In addition to schooling, working alongside the best Chefs in your community will give you an advantage over those you are graduating with. You get out of  this industry what you put in it. Never stop learning.

Hang The Flag and Hug A Vet.

As Memorial Day approaches, it is important we remember those American Soldiers who have paid the ultimate sacrifice to defend others and this wonderful country. As I visit ballparks and watch the celebrations on the field and what we do to honor our Soldiers, Sailors and Marines who serve now and served in the past, it gives me great pride to be one who has served.

This weekend we will be offering backyard BBQ food in some of our locations and in our homes. I always like a good picnic menu, and when I do them I’m brought back to my Navy days, grilling and BBQs were a staple in the Service as we have a lot of open air at sea and in the field.

When I write my menus, it always brings me back to those times of a “Steel Beach Picnic,” — that’s what we called it in the Navy. Some of the food I did back then I still do today, but with some modern twists. You know, beans and franks, BBQ chicken, ribs, coleslaw, potato salad, melon salad, corn on the cob…the list goes on.  But, no matter what you do, enjoy it and enjoy your friends, family and weekend.

Hang the flag and hug a vet,

Chef James Major

New Internal Temperature For Cooking Pork.

I hope everyone is feeling okay and enjoyed their Memorial Day Weekend. This is just a quick post that includes an article forwarded to me from Chef John DiGiovanni. It talks about how the USDA is now allowing pork to be cooked to 145F and we all thought it would be worthwhile to post this to the blog.

The article reads that the previously required internal temperature of 160 degrees F is no longer necessary. The agency now says 145 degrees will suffice followed by a three-minute rest before carving.

For the full report and further thoughts about how this impacts chefs and the taste of pork, read the full article.

Know Your Food. Always Know Your Food.

I’ve talked many times on this blog about how important it is for chefs to truly know the food they are working with each day. One of our chefs forwarded me an article that ran on Fast Company today that talks about a new report from Oceana, an international fish protection organization, that claims seafood may be mislabeled as often as 25 to 70 percent of the time. The report also mentions that vendors often replace species like red snapper, wild salmon and Atlantic cod with cheaper and more easily accessible varieties.

This is troubling on many levels but it has dietary and sustainable impacts for sure. It undoubtedly impacts every day consumers more than chefs who buy in bulk and may work with local fish farms. But, it’s vitally important to be aware of.

I can’t say it enough. Know your food. Know where it comes from. Take pride in what you are eating. And, read the full article so you understand more.

 

Retro Cuisine On The Rise

Chef John DiGiovanni sent me this article which I found very interesting about how retro cuisine is returning and becoming more and more popular. What that means is that many chefs and/or food lovers have begun testing recipes from 18th and 19th-century American cookbooks.

The article talks about the efforts of Shannon Musipher who began researching the foods of early Americans and she then set out to prepare food with out the help of a commercial grocer for several months.

The article is brief but interesting so I do encourage you to read it. If you’re wondering if you’ve ever had any of the old-time favorite recipes — think pot pies, meatloaf, fondue.

A Graphic That Shows You Where Your Food Comes From…

If found this graphic very fascinating as a chef and I imagine other people would think it was interested as well. It’s a series of words that illustrate the United States and they show which foods come from what areas of the country. Or, at least, where they originated from.

This has very necessary information for chefs but also for people who are concerned with where there food comes from — which is more and more people and that’s great news.

I have been busy the past few weeks traveling to such places as Kennedy and Yosemite. I am headed to Buffalo next week after a few days of resting. I’m hoping to have a great week of blogs.

A Terrible Number To Hear.

This is terrible information I’m about to share but it’s important for people to hear it. One-third of the world’s food produced for human consumption is wasted each year. That is a ton of food and this article from The Guardian suggests that it equates to 1.3 tons of food.

I could go on and on about this. It is sad news. We as chefs and a society need to work harder to maximize the value we get from each piece of food. We need to plan and prepare appropriately so we don’t produce too much food. We also need to connect with local places and charities that can benefit from leftover food.

The article talks about many problems that help make this a problem — rich countries wasting food and also developing countries that lose food due to weak infrastructure. I think those of us that read this though should be motivated to do our parts to help make this less and less of a problem.

How we prepare and plan for our customers is important but we also must think creatively so we can get the most out of the food we have. I would love to see chefs share ideas about how we can do better and help ease this global problem in the comments below.

Fruit, Fruit, Fruit.

You know what one of my favorite signs of summer is? The return of great, fresh fruit to the markets.

I saw this Los Angeles Times article that picked up on the fact that fruit is returning in full force and I felt a need to share it. I love fruit. I imagine many of you do as well.

If you read the article you’ll read about Bing Cherries, boysenberries, apricots and other lesser used fruits. Maybe it will inspire you to create or find a recipe that enables you to use them.

If you do, make sure to pay attention to where the fruit is grown and if it’s local. You can’t beat local, fresh fruit. It tastes good and it means summer is finally here.

 

 

Strong Summer For Salmon

According to the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, this season’s salmon harvest is the fifth largest catch in the state’s history. The Institute estimates 203 million salmon have been caught. The first salmon usually caught on their migration come fromCopper Riverand thus many salmon are referred to as Copper River Salmon.

That translates to a strong season for salmon on the menus of your local restaurants. This Nation’s Restaurant News article features comments from chefs on how they plan to prepare the salmon this summer. Chef Jeremy McLachlan believes says he’ll serve the salmon with avocado crème and strive to keep things simple.

This is simply the best time of year to enjoy salmon and you’ll see it pushed hard on menus around the country. I encourage you to read the full article but here’s a sampling of other salmon dishes from restaurants:

Other Alaska salmon dishes:
• Poste, Washington, D.C.: Salmon belly tartare cones

• Tulio Ristorante, Seattle: King salmon poached in olive oil with saffron cauliflower and basil yogurt

• American Seasons, Nantucket, Mass: King salmon with fried green tomatoes and smoky crayfish green onion butter

• Slow Club, San Francisco: Pan-roasted wild Tofino Inlet king salmon with ginger-avocado purée, Chioggia beets, snow peas and upland cress

• Salty’s on the Columbia, Portland, Ore.: grilled salmon with roasted local organic fingerling potatoes, local asparagus, morels and charred ramps with garlic compound butter

• Restaurant Michael, Winnetka, Ill.: pan-roasted salmon fillet over a ragout of fava beans, asparagus and morels with roasted beat ravioli

• The Grille at Morrison House, Alexandria, Va.: Coho salmon with tempura broccoli, red onion gelée, mustard foam, mustard crème fraîche, potato latke, fried quail egg and salmon roe

• TAG, Denver: salmon with spring pea purée, cured wild boar, charred bok choy and tomato confit

• The Mermaid Inn, New York City: grilled king salmon with green lentils, red peppers and chile flakes

• Prairie Grass Café, Northbrook, Ill: King salmon with grain salad and asparagus, garnished with micro greens, pea shoots and lilacs

• BLT Fish, New York City: lightly seared king salmon with apricots, almonds and pickled ramps

• Recess, Indianapolis: King salmon with red wine shiitake mushrooms, carrots, fennel and Bordeaux spinach

 

Chef Whatley Interview.

This is a great interview and article about Chef Percy Whatley at The Ahwahnee. I’ve pasted it below for you to read. It’s perfect for our Chef’s Blog.

CHEFOLOGY: EXECUTIVE CHEF PERCY WHATLEY: FROM BURGER STAND TO THE BOCUSE D’OR

How did you start cooking?

When I first got here [California] in 1989 as a 20-year-old with no direction, I was just here to enjoy the mountains and be a young adult on my own. The seasonal work atYosemiteenabled me to make pretty good money and get through school.

When did you get serious?

After school, I landed in The Ahwahnee kitchen, and I instantly realized I didn’t know as much about this industry as I should. The chef at that time mentored me to get into a culinary program and get educated – to get all those “book studies” done. He was a CIA alum, and I’m really happy that I chose the Culinary Institute.

Why’s that?

It is the best program in the country, if not the world. It’s the best way to get a very well-rounded curriculum of the fundamentals of culinary and baking. Just look at the talent base and the faculty there; the continuing education programs. I loved the program and loved the passion that all the faculty members have for food. Extraordinary!

You decided early on that you wanted to be in the corporate hotel scene. Why that path?

Mainly for stability and the benefits. There’s nothing worse than a broken leg and suddenly you’re $15,000 in debt! But I like the larger staff environment as well. The dynamics and the diversity of creating a team in that environment poses its challenges – but when you do meet and overcome those challenges, it feels really extraordinary when everybody’s running on all eight cylinders and moving in the same direction. There’s 60 people in my brigade – it’s not small!

That’s huge! Do you do room service too?

Yes. The hotel is only 123 rooms, but the food and beverage operation will feed 2,000 people a day because it’s a destination dining hotel.

Do you need to cook differently for customers at Yosemite?

Yes, we have a very broad spectrum of people and a really broad spectrum of expectations, so we have to find a middle ground. On one hand, a guest who’s been returning for 40 years will just go ballistic if prime rib’s not on the menu – and there are lots of those guests – so we have prime rib. Then we have international guests who really don’t understand American food, so we have to have some simple preparations on the menu that can be easily explained. And then we have people who want a super-fine dining, mind-blowing experience.

You have to have three different mental dining rooms!

Right! On top of that, in the summer, it’s “turn and burn.” People want to get in and out and go for a nice, long walk because it’s light until nine o’clock. In the fall and winter we do a more leisurely service.

You do a lot of special events in the off-season, too, don’t you – like the seven-course Bracebridge Pageant dinners?

Yes, the logistics involved for the Bracebridge are extraordinary – not just feeding the people attending, but 100 cast and crew as well. All the moving parts, all of the focus on making it special is one gigantic feat!

What are some of the other events?

We start off in November with our wine dinners, our Vintners’ Holidays, over five weeks, with eight wine-makers every week – big hitters too: Silver Oak, Ravenswood, Rombauer. There are 1 ½ -hour wine-tasting sessions, then we wrap it all up with a gala dinner. I write the menu according to the wines the vintners are choosing to pour, rather than the other way around. It’s a wonderful experience for us in the back of the house, because we can really put the subtleties in the food to pair with those wines.

I have to say, the quality of food inYosemitehas radically improved since I first started going there.

An enormous amount of effort and love has gone into shaping the culinary operations here. We really do owe it to our corporate chef, Roland Henin. He’s been my mentor over the last 12 or 13 years and has really made a huge impact. We, as chefs, are not ourselves without a mentor – we don’t become who we are.

What was his biggest impact on you?

Sustainability. We were buying asparagus year-round because it was available. It’s an easy vegetable to deal with in large, high-volume situations. But Roland came and looked in our walk-in in the wintertime and said, “What the hell is this?” Being an older gentleman fromFrance, he grew up in a culture where you did not have certain things year-round.

Busted!

He said, “Get back to basics. Get away from forcing things onto people that really shouldn’t be there.” It made sense to us here inYosemitequite quickly. Asparagus tastes terrible in the winter!

Have you faced any challenges due to the park’s isolation or weather conditions?

Oh, yeah, It’s tough! We had to get really, really creative for our pork. We do buyMidwestpork, but I think it’s the best on the market, from Becker Lane Farm. Everything is full-circle organic. He ships whole carcasses toOakland, but there’s no way to get them out of the Bay Area. Our fish people go to the Bay Area every few days, so the processor inOaklandtakes it to a drop-off point inSan Franciscoand my fish guy goes out of his way to pick it up for us.

What’s one pantry item you can’t do without?

Butter! It’s a much more diverse ingredient than non-cooks would think. It’s a main ingredient in pastry. It’s great on toast [LAUGHS]! The mounting of butters into sauces and soups gives them that kind of intense, rich, mouth-feel that is always missing in puree soups. Without butter, it’s not the same.

Do you have a favorite butter?

I love Plugra. And the Vermont Butter and Cheese Company – their butter is over the top.

Favorite tools?

Definitely a thermal circulator. Having the ability to vacuum-pack something and cook it has changed our world.

How does it impact a big kitchen like yours, versus a smaller kitchen?

We have four line cooks on a really busy night. Each station could be responsible for over 100 plates. So preparing something to be cooked sous vide – when all the work goes into it prior – means it’s not a distraction, so the cook doesn’t lose focus. All they have to do is open a bag and give it a sear. You don’t have to babysit it in the oven; you don’t have to baste it. It softens the load and makes things much, much easier to execute at the level of cooking that we want it to be. With sous vide, chicken is always moist, it’s always cooked at the proper temperature.

Most chefs seem to see sous vide in a very narrow, but extremely useful context.

You can take that technique too far, where people aren’t cooking any more. So if you do implement it into a kitchen brigade, my recommendation is to be careful what you’re using it for – because it’s important for young cooks to actually know how to cook for their next step.

Any advice for young cooks?

Push yourself to a point beyond where you think you can’t push yourself any more – and then push one step further. Never say “I can’t do it.” Always be looking over someone’s shoulder. Always ask, “Can I do this better? Can I work harder at this one particular thing?” Never lose that focus – and never stop learning.

I hear that from all the chefs I interview! What have you learned recently?

I learn a lot from our Chef’s Holidays, where chefs from across the country come and work in our kitchen – like Michael Cimarusti [ofProvidencein LA]. We definitely learned a few things from him! But the biggest learning experience was probably doing the Bocuse d’Or for the second time.

How did you get involved in the Bocuse d’Or?

It was Roland, my mentor, who was a mentor to Thomas Keller, as well. Roland reached out to me and said “You’re the best chef in our company – you should go for it.” I applied and had no idea what the hell I was doing, so Roland coached me.

Your second time, you won Best Meat in the Bocuse d’OrUSA. What did you do differently?

The first time I did it, in 2008, I went more for the shock and awe of the presentation, instead of cooking for the judges the best I know how to cook. In 2010, I focused on the depth of flavors, the balance and harmony in flavors versus some foo-foo, weird-looking presentation. The judges are just going to take one bite – and that bite had better be the best bite that they’ve ever eaten!

How much did you train?

While preparing for the competition, I was working at my job for 12 hours, ad then I was training on top of that – five, six, seven hours a day. It was a really freaked-out schedule!

Any advice for a chef considering competing in the Bocuse?

Get ready for the rollercoaster of your lifetime. The training process needs to be extraordinarily focused. You need to get used to being exhausted on a very consistent basis, and you work through that. It’s very emotionally and physically draining – but at the end, whether you’re on the podium or not, you feel really good about your accomplishment.

I understand the physical exhaustion. But why is it so emotionally exhausting?

After every training day, you’re evaluating your stuff and reflecting on what just happened: something went wrong or the flavor profile wasn’t quite there or you tried something completely different and it didn’t work out at all.

In the recent Bocuse d’Or finals, theUSplaced tenth out of 24 teams. What do you think we need to do to move up?

That’s my big question, too! Are we trying too hard? Are there too many decision-makers? Too many opinions? Personally, my approach would be, let the natural flow of the training allow the chef to cook his or her heart out. Maybe that would help because, you know, food is love, and if we don’t love our food, it really does show.

How do you show that love when you have 250-300 covers a night at The Ahwahnee?

The biggest thing for me is to try to promote that love through the cooks we hire, to nurture passion for the industry and the food and allow them to love the food that they’re cooking. Luckily I have a really passionate brigade, and the ones who are really, really passionate are working on the dinner line. That’s the trophy at The Ahwahnee. If you don’t have the passion, you’re flipping eggs at breakfast.

What are you proudest of, in your career so far?

Becoming Executive Chef at The Ahwahnee. When I started in the kitchen in 1994, I had this subconscious goal of achieving that.

What would your “last meal” be?

Definitely pork belly. Crispy pork belly, with scallops and truffle sauce. And oxtail stew, as well. I like the funky cuts that the chefs love so much. And nothing beats a great boudin noir.

Can I get any of these things on your menu?

Not right now. We have to hide the pork belly on our menu. It has to be one of the sub-garnitures, an accoutrement to a larger cut.

Pork belly needs a better name. It needs a PR agency, I think.

Ha! Pork belly PR! The funny thing is, over the course of a week, we’ll sell over 500 pounds of bacon at breakfast, but we can’t move ten pounds of pork belly at dinner!

 

Make Science of Cooking.

Much thanks to Chef Fred Clabaugh for sending along this article, “Nathan Myhrvold’s Method Makes Science Of Cooking” that takes a different look at how we prepare food. Myhrvold is the author of “Modernist Cuisine” – the new six-volume, 2,400-page, 46-pound, spectacularly photographed book that retails for $625 and covers the history, science and technology of modern savory cooking.

If you read the article you’ll see that Myhrvold doesn’t prepare food in what many chefs would consider a traditional way. It’s important to read about different methods and ideas as they challenge our beliefs and push us to be better.

As Chef Clabaugh said in his e-mail to me about the article – There’s lots of fun stuff in this article that takes a look at new styles of cooking, but it also helps us remember some of the basics too.

Help In Good Cooking Always.

Okay everybody, I need you help.

We’ve posted more than 120 blogs since we launched In Good Cooking Always  and I need you to let us know what is working and what is not. I traveled to Buffalo earlier this week for the Culinary Council meeting and I took time to talk to people who help me with the blog about new ideas. I even went to the Anchor Bar for the Buffalo Wings to have a longer conversation about the blog.

I think the posts we have had are great and I continue to hope more chefs will step up and engage. I think sharing articles is important but I love when chefs post about their personal experiences. That’s what we’re pushing for with the blog. We want personal accounts. We want conversation. We want debate.

I am heading to Kennedy Space Center next and will then fly home. Over the next few days and weeks we’ll launch some new blog ideas and try to do our best job. But, if you have opinions on what types of post you like or stand out — tell us. If you’re a chef with Delaware North, find a way to contribute. It’s important.

Alright, on to the next kitchen. Let’s keep making In Good Cooking Always great.

Chef Roland Henin

A New Sort of Food Pyramid.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has replaced its iconic food pyramid with a graphic of a plate to assist people in making better food choices and controlling portion sizes. The organization is hopeful this new graphical representation of a balanced meal will help stem the growing obesity and weight issues in the United States.

Understanding nutrition is vital for chefs and it’s important we offer menu items that are balanced, healthy and appealing to guests. Chefs can play a vital role in encouraging people to eat healthy and make better meal choices. The pyramid and/or the food plate are symbols for decision we as chefs and people should make every time we eat.

Just Another Average Day During The NHL Playoffs.

This post comes from Chef Kevin Doherty.

The NHL Playoffs and Stanley Cup Finals proved to be one of the most exciting and challenging times of my career as a chef. I’ve tried to capture how non-stop the action could be on game days at TD Garden in the post below.

8 a.m. Monday morning: Someone says, “Where is Chef?”

The answer: He’s in Banners preparing for the Chairman’s visit. He just learned the number has gone from 12 to 53 people. There are people coming on different planes at different times.

Not a problem. Where is Chef Patrick?

He’s knee deep in press feeding for the 650 members of the media and Chef Kevin Liebfred from New Meadowlands Stadium is running the press rooms too.

There are some more challenges….

“Who ordered Pepsi? We’re a Coke house.”

“There is turn in the middle of press feeding as the menu needs to change for local media…”

No problem. Ok.

“Where is Chef Liz?” She is with Chef Jamie Caudy from the Minnesota Twins operations.

“Also, the Vancouver ownership suites need to be gluten free. Not a problem, right?”

Right. Yes. Okay.

“Chef, we also need a birthday cake in 20 minutes for the Chairman’s event.”

“Tell Chef Liz we need 48 full sheet pizzas for ESPN event.”

“Who is firing up the Bruins’ post game meal?

“It’s almost game time, are we ready? Go up to Banners and tell Larry I have the salmon and the Bistro tenders coming in today so we can do the mis en place…”

Right. Yes. Ok. What else is on our To Do list.

“Tell Chef Josh and Jeff that I need to see the latest VIP suite list…oh, it’s three pages long. We’re going to need 15 minutes to review. There are so many VIP attending these games. We need to get everything right.”

“I will drop off the pastry for concessions in the commissary in the next 20 minutes.”

“Yes, I called Steve ‘sushi chef’ who rolls in Banners raw bar. He has 67 pre ordered slates.”

“There are also 53 people with allergen alerts…. No peanuts, legumes, beans, peas or shellfish….okay, we’re good with that.

“Chef Liz, do you have the cheddar popcorn?”

Ok. The planning is done. What else….

We receive an e-mail telling us the loading dock will be shrunk to one bay (we only have three) and delivery’s must be in before 8 a.m. — we’ll make this work.

I’ve posted the above stream of consciousness in hopes of describing how much work and pressure goes in to these large events. That said, there is nothing more gratifying than meeting the needs and demands of so many people and turning out world class food. So many chefs helped out, pitched in and were a part of the fun. I can’t thank them enough. I need to take special time to thank the visiting chefs: Chefs Jamie Caudy, Jeff Wheaton, Kevin Liebfred, Tait Guthrie, David Spinazzola and Justin Kane. I also must give a huge thank you to the TD Garden chefs: Chefs Patrick Kilduff, Liz Silva Hernandez, David Spinazolla and Josh Ingraham. All of you earned your stripes.

Now I can say I’ve handled two championship series from two different teams (Bruins and Celtics) in the same building in the same season. It was a wild, wonderful ride that culminated with the Bruins incredible Stanley Cup title. You can’t ask for a better ending to the season.

Also, did I mention that in the middle of all that we handled sold out concerts for New Kids on The Block and Glee… you know, average days.

Eat The Whole Fish.

I want to begin with a big thank you to Chef Kevin Doherty for posting about his team’s efforts during the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. I can tell you that nothing about the work they put in is average. I’m also excited to know that Chef Jeff Wheaton will be sending in a piece that offers his perspective on the events at TD Garden. Any other chefs involved in this event or others – please send your thoughts.

Someone forwarded me this article that Helene York wrote for The Atlantic about sustainable seafood. Her general premise is that for seafood to be truly sustainable – chefs and consumers need to learn how to use every part of the fish. It’s an excellent piece that captures what is going on in the industrialized seafood/fish harvest sector. It doesn’t have to always be this way, but it is the current state.

Read the article and then send along your thoughts on the topic.

From Buffalo to Buffalo….

This is a wonderful new post from Chef Brian Sterner.

A few months back I was asked to work on a project for West Yellowstone. Delaware North was in the midst of renovating one of the restaurants at the Holiday Inn there. I was asked by Christian DeVos to work on the menu concept by developing dishes and recipes and then following that up with a couple trips to work on training the crew. At first I thought, absolutely, what a great opportunity. This thought was quickly followed by…”Oh no, what do I know about the Midwest?” You see, I grew up in Buffalo, NY, the home of chicken wings and cold beer (Canadian) and of course snow.

I quickly hit the books and Internet to research what that area is known for, all to find out, SNOW; along with Big Skies and an abundance of Buffalo.  Oh, and let’s not forget Huckleberries…  The concept we were working on was to be our take on “Open Range” Cuisine.  A lot of time was spent focusing on good down-home cooking along the trail.  Meatloaf, Trout, Johnny Cakes, Pilot Bread, Bison Pot Roast and Big Cuts of Meat quickly made their way onto the menu.

It’s amazing how a culinary journey can start in Buffalo (New York) and continue with serving Buffalo from Montana….

A big thanks goes to Chef Henin and Delaware North for the continued opportunities…  I am looking forward to the next culinary adventure!

No More Watching TV.

I believe that many of the articles we post to the blog are incredibly informative but I still love the posts from the chefs that generate feedback, discussion and reaction from other chefs. Even if that feedback is negative, controversial or positive… it’s important to build upon the conversation.

Reading the articles, while informative, can sometimes be like watching TV as it doesn’t require participation. The blog is meant to inspire contributions, interaction and thinking. We still need to get input and participation from many of the chefs who’ve just been reading and watching thus far.

I highly doubt the chefs at Delaware North have no opinions, thoughts or happenings worth sharing on the blog. The more ideas we share the more we can learn from each other and move our culinary efforts forward.

The blog is not a one-way street. It’s a source for discussion and response and I’m hopeful some of the posts we have coming up will create that.

The goal isn’t to watch TV with the blog. It’s to communicate and participate.

Teaching The Prospects.

Chef John DiGiovanni sent me a note recently to let me know that beginning with this year’s Columbus Blue Jackets Rookie Prospect Camp, our Delaware North chefs at Nationwide Arena are giving cooking lessons to the young players. I think this is a great effort by our chefs as instructing these young players how to truly cook and eat healthy food will help them in their athletic careers.

According to Chef DiGiovanni, the chefs worked with Kevin Collins, the Blue Jackets strength and conditioning coach, to develop a menu and plan to teach the prospects the importance of nutrition. They also shared basic cooking skills with the prospects who took part in the hands-on training.

The class began with everyone assembled in the Time Warner HD Lounge. Chef Joseph Ditri welcomed everyone and introduced Chef John DiGiovanni and Chef Ed Kowalski. Afterwards, Chef DiGiovanni reviewed some basic food and knife safety. The players were provided a sheet that had basic recipes for the item they cooked and a temperature guide that was laminated for easy use in the kitchen. Afterwards, the prospects were given a brief tour of the kitchen.

Chef Ditri Discusses Teaching The Prospects

Our chefs at Nationwide Arena recently taught a cooking class to the team’s new prospects. I blogged about it recently. Below is a personal account from Chef Joseph Ditri.

I really enjoyed working with the young prospects during the camp we had at Nationwide Arena. They were all really into learning about food and how to prepare it. I worked the protein station where I showed them how to cut and prepare chicken breast and salmon. The first day we cut the proteins for them, but the coaches asked for them to do more hands-on cutting during the second class.

I also worked with the prospects to teach them how to pan sear the chicken breast and salmon as well as char grill the meat. We also made “salmon en papillote” (we showed them how to make it in foil so they could make it at home). I also instructed them on the proper times needed to properly marinate protein.

Teaching The Prospects – Another Perspective.

Chef Ed Kowalski has also weighed in with his thoughts on the experience of teaching the NHL prospects. I’ve posted it below. I will also post thoughts from Chef John DiGiovanni later today or early tomorrow. Thank you for the contributions.

From our initial meetings with Strength and Conditioning Coach Kevin Collins, our decision to offer cooking lessons to the Blue Jackets’ prospects was an exciting project. And, the response has been equally exciting and tremendous. From the immediate feedback of the prospects (average age of 19 – many of whom had never cooked a meal for themselves before) to the inquiries from arena staff about the possibility of having a class for them in the future, I think it really touched on both a need for education as well as a desire to pay attention to what is being put into our bodies. It is my belief that one of the most important roles chefs have is to be educators.

My part of the camp was limited to teaching and preparation of grains (brown rice, quinoa and couscous) due, in large part, to a fractured ankle that I recently suffered that hampered my mobility. I wanted to instruct these young athletes not only on how to cook the grains but also the nutritional properties of each (quinoa as a “complete protein” vs. brown rice as “incomplete,” etc.) and how to impart levels of flavor based on the addition of other ingredients, spices and herbs. They were also given instruction on how to dice onions and chop fresh herbs. The players were all very enthusiastic and attentive.

As I observed the players during class, it struck me that this was so much more than a cooking demo…it was, perhaps just as importantly, a team-building exercise. Players were showing the same teamwork in the kitchen that they are expected to exhibit on the ice, and some friendly competitions arose among them as well (who could dice onions the best, which group made a more flavorful quinoa dish, etc.). An added bonus was the presence of foreign (non-North American) players, because they could impart some insight into what flavors were popular in, say, Sweden or the CzechRepublic. So, I learned something as well.

Cooking For Prospects

Another perspective on teaching the hockey prospects to cook. Thanks to Chef John DiGiovanni.

The Planning

It’s one thing for chefs to train their cooks on a technique or a dish, but it is something else completely to do the same thing for a group of young hockey players. Their chosen profession is on the ice, making plays, scoring goals, getting into fights…not simmering, pan searing and making dressings. So much planning was required not only to teach them but to make it as interactive as possible and grab their attention.

It started with meeting with the strength and conditioning coach and asking, “what do you want them to learn to cook?”

We weren’t looking to turn them into chefs, just teach them a thing or two to cook for themselves. We discussed meat cookery first. The strength and conditioning coach wanted them to be able to cook a chicken breast and a piece of salmon. We discussed thermometers and proper cooking temps, and that I would create a simple recipe for them to make at home.

Next came grains. Pasta was out, brown rice and quinoa were in. We discussed going over the basic technique and how to add flavor. Then we moved onto salads. The coach wanted them to have a basic understanding of what went into a salad and what things to avoid (iceberg). He also wanted them to know how to make a simple vinaigrette so they could avoid the bottled dressings.

As it was impossible to cram 30 athletes plus coaches and the chefs into the kitchen, we thought it was wise to divide the team in half over two days. With each group split into groups of three rotating through all the stations.

After the first class, we reviewed what we did and made adjustments for the second class to make it more interactive. Let everyone make their own pappiote, making vinaigrettes with a bowl and whisk instead of a blender, starting a large batch of brown rice for them to work with.

It was rewarding to be able to teach what I could to these young hockey players and to give them a glimpse of what I do in the kitchen on a daily basis. I am looking forward and preparing to do the same thing for training camp and beyond.

Answer for Invasive Species: Put It on a Plate and Eat It

Chef Brian Sterner sent me this article from the New York Times about how chefs could potentially use seafood in a new responsible manner. It deals with the topic of eating invasive aquatic species. I encourage you to read it as it offers some new and interesting ideas.

New Buffet At Wheeling Island.

Chef Chris Matta oversees our efforts at Wheeling Island. He kindly shared the below blog post about some changes his staff has directed recently. I thank him and his staff for their hard work.

Earlier this year our team at Wheeling Island decided to renovate our buffet and completely rebuild our fast casual area. We knew the timelines would be tight and the planning had to be exact for us to be successful. We began in February with the idea of having the outlets open before the 4^th of July all the while keeping a temporary buffet open in our showroom. This was a golden opportunity to really bring our outlets into the 21^st century. We began by conducting focus groups to determine what our customers truly wanted and began working with architects on renderings. We decided on a New York Deli and Pizza shop and to add an Asian food station, improved Italian food station and a new cold bar to our “new buffet” as well.

To make the renovation we basically changed the entire look and setting of both venues. The designing, equipment specifications, menu planning, product specifications, recipes and procedures began to take shape from that. The whole process of closing and reopening two very busy outlets almost simultaneously was no doubt a challenge. But, we knew we had to take the bull by the horns and get this ready.

The hardest part was not necessarily opening and redesigning the restaurants from the ground up, it was getting all the other departments to agree on the overall direction. In a casino environment you have presidents, vice presidents, marketing, player development, Facilities, cleaning, food and beverage directors and the chefs who all have an opinion and idea on how things should work. Trying to get everyone on the same page with even something as simple as pizza, yet pizza, was a huge challenge. Thick. Thin.Chicago.New York. Stuffed. Hand tossed. White pizza. Calzones….just to name a few. Then, we had to start training and ordering and getting everyone in line, and that does not count the buffet closing as well. I can tell you it was a stressful and frustrating time but it proved to be well worth it.

We now have two beautiful and well-received outlets that the staff and customers can be proud of every day. We also can now offer the best food our chefs can prepare. I can honestly say without a doubt that if it was not for my Sous Chefs (Josh, Harry, Chuck, Nate and Hope) and Managers (Megan, Lee, Amy and Mike) we would not have pulled this off. I want to personally thank them and say job well done.

Goods and Bads of Food Trucks.

The emergence of food trucks has been a big trend in the United States over the past few years and I know some of the chefs have posted about their impact on the blog. I found this New York Times article which examines the goods and bads of food trucks to be quite thorough. As with most things in the food world, there are numerous different perspectives when it comes to how cities should handle the food trucks.

Have you ever eaten from a food truck? What are your thoughts on this trend? I’d love to hear people’s opinions. Even if you don’t comment, I urge our chefs and everyone to read the article.

A Trip To Kennedy Space Center (7/5-7/10)

Dan Thorington recently traveled to Kennedy Space Center to assist our culinary team with preparation and execution during the final shuttle launch. His thoughts, memories and experiences are recorded below.

Tuesday July 5, 2011

I arrived at Orlando International Airport this afternoon at 3:30 p.m. and proceeded to Chef Charles at baggage claim. From there, the two of us headed to pick up a rental car. Chef Charles had already taken care of the paperwork for the car as he had arrived in Orlando a few hours before I did. We drove to the hotel we were staying at for the week – the Best Western in Cocoa Beach. After settling in, we met up with Chef Roland Henin and went to Sushi Tai Tai for dinner. It was a very uneventful first day in Florida.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Today I met up with Chef Charles for breakfast at the Best Western before we were to head up to Kennedy Space Center to begin work for the day. We left at 7:30 a.m. and it only took a half hour to get there. We first had to get our ID badges before heading into work. It only took a couple minutes to get our badges since we had both been there before and they already had our information on file.

I met up with Chef Gidget and Chef Aina. We went over what was going to happen over the next couple days. Chef Henin met us there rather than riding with us. One of the first things I noticed while working was how much less workers there were than the last time I had been at Kennedy. This shocked me because everyone had already been there since at the earliest 7 a.m. and dishes piled up quickly because of all the guests that were coming to the park for the shuttle launch. They were able to overcome the difficulties of this by working just as hard to catch up and stay on top of everything.

Today was mainly a prep day although we did have to prepare a lunch buffet for about 150. The menu was a simple one: roasted chicken, steamed vegetables, mac and cheese, rice and mini corn dogs. Vicky, who is one of the cooks at Kennedy, was able to do this party by herself. Most of what I prepped today was sliced deli meats – enough for about 500 sandwiches – on a slice that was really old but we were able to overcome it. After slicing the meats I helped Chef Henin to prepare fruit for fruit platters. Watching him work is amazing because you don’t think he’s going to get done but he’s just so precise and clean that you realize everything is timed out. He taught me a few tricks when it came to cleaning fruit, such as using a whole lexhand tub with a perforated one on top and then shaking the fruit in the ice water so not only does it shock the fruit, it clean it and all the dirt settles to the bottom of the whole tub.

We broke for lunch about halfway through the day. It’s a good thing to stop every once in a while in the Florida heat to sit down because even though the kitchens are cooled and have fans, if you are not careful the heat can catch up with you. After lunch we finished off the day making 350 turkey wraps which were to be used for paninis at Orbit. We left a little after 5 p.m. for the day.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

I began this day the same way I began Wednesday by having breakfast with Chef Charles. We arrived at Kennedy Space Center at 8 p.m. We kicked off the day with a brief sit down with Chef Gidget and went over everything that was going to happen between that morning through Friday afternoon when the launch would take place. I started my day off traying up enough cookies for 400 box lunches and another party for Friday afternoon. This came out to be just over 950 cookies.

Once they were trayed up I started baking them off. Their ovens temperature gauges were a little off so they tended to cook a little hotter then they should have. As the cookies were baking I washed a couple cases of oranges and apples. While cleaning the fruit they had another buffet going on and one of the things that stood out to me was that there was a breakdown in communication between the buffet runners and the cooks. We were able to overcome this hurdles as a team and finish strong on the party. Chef Charles worked on cleaning vegetables for the next couple days and Chef Henin started making fruit trays with the fruit he cleaned the day before. After finishing the cookies and cleaning the apples and oranges, I made up a couple vegetable platters for a BBQ they were doing that night. The last thing we did for the day before leaving was take all the cookies I made and bag them up for the box lunches. We left for the day at 4 p.m. because we had to get back to the park at 1 a.m. since it opened at 1:30 a.m. for the launch.

Where Do My Fish Come From and Local Food.

Catching up on my reading after traveling toKennedySpaceCenterfor the final shuttle launch, I found two very interesting articles from Fast Company that should intrigue other chefs and those who care about their food.

The first discusses a new technology that allows you to see not just where your seafood comes from, but also to connect with the fisherman who caught it – all with the snap of your phone’s camera. This is another example of how people can be more informed on where their food is coming from and where it’s been. Chefs will need to work harder to understand this as well to best serve customers.

The second article touches upon whether or not the local food movement can continue to grow into a truly profitable venture or if it will just become a fad. I’d encourage everyone to read this and share their thoughts. How do you feel about the local food movement?

Lessons In Cooking Economics.

This is a great column from Chef Ambarish Lulay — this is the kind of piece all our chefs should be sharing via the blog.

We may all remember the amicable bickering in our households around mealtimes. The lack of variety, the repetition, the inexpensive cuts of products, the ever escalating prices, etc. The “you need to finish what’s on your plate because it costs me x$ a pound” was a common piece of communication around dinner times. Despite the circumstances and the family income, the parents still managed to put food, good or not, on the tables and somewhere down the line inspired people like us to become cooks.

There was a whole piece of economics and pricing involved in this activity that I find is not much different than what we do today on a bigger scale. I remember shopping for vegetables as a kid for the household at crowded markets. The okra had to be the freshest, the green beans had to have a nice snap and not be limp, the stalks of the eggplant had to be the rich green and not brown, and the cucumbers had to have some weight to them.

I could go on and on about these household “specs” that I was required to follow. Then there was the price per pound and the math. You had a certain amount of money and had to fit a certain amount of food stuff at certain quantities within that money. This is not any different that what we do now.

The bigger challenge was what the mothers and the grandmothers did with these products to turn them into meals for their worst critics – the family. They always had an understanding of the “budget” and somehow knew the quantities to produce. To make something special for their family, they sacrificed somewhere else. After all the income wasn’t going up! How they juggled this is perhaps something the can share on this blog. In the end, they made it work.

As chefs in tough economic times, we are faced with these challenges daily. I have tried to look at all menus and evaluate if they can be executed with less people or running – bar style, tapas style, flex or tasting menus, etc. I have tried to evaluate all menus in the building to streamline cross utilization and included concession in the process. We make marinara, salsas, chili, nacho/taco meat and such products on cleanup days at the end of the home stand to utilize all possible waste.

The trim from the pristine pieces of short ribs used in suites becomes short rib pot pie in another restaurant. The chickens that would have normally been carved become chickenWellingtonsand take on a graceful form. They come together with leftover vegetables and miscellaneous cheeses and other friends to give us an old classic. Leftover seafood becomes an appariel for a seafood cake sold as a special or a seafood burger. The list can go on and on and perhaps we could write our next Delaware North cookbook – 101 Pathways of Transforming Leftovers.

The point that I am making is that we know this stuff. We are all doing it at our units. We have seen some form of it in our households growing up. It took me some time to see some of the same principles in action as we continue to run our kitchens efficiently in today’s climate. It is a full circle.

What Took This Lobster So Long To Get Here?

Chef Brian Sterner sent me this note and photo earlier today. I thought it worth sharing. I will post a response in a day or two with some additional thoughts.

Maybe I’m behind the times, so please let me know if I am, but this was a first for me.

I’ve embedded a picture of a tag that was on one of our 200+lobsters yesterday afternoon. Oddly enough, I actually entered the code this morning at www.thisfish.info. This ended up being an interesting eye-opening task.

The information it pulled up was: What is this fish? Who caught it? And, how was it caught? It was all quite interactive.

I learned this specific lobster landed at Meteghan, Nova Scotia Dec. 27, 2010. I am sure many believe their lobsters are caught within a few days of it reaching the docks. Clearly, this is not the case. It shows how an item that, in reality, is within a day or two trip actually can take 7+ months to reach our plates.

I am curious to learn more about this organization and will be on the hunt to find other items that include these tags. I hope you enjoy checking this out.

In Response To “What Took These Lobsters So Long To Get Here?”

I worked and lived inNova Scotia, mostly Cape Breton, for many years of my life and I can sort of explain the “lobster situation.”

When the lobster season opens up (and usually for the next few months after) there is a surplus of availability and a low demand and therefore the fisherman can’t get great prices for their lobsters.

So, what they do is they sell a few to pay for the gas, the baits and some labor but, they hold most of their lobsters in nets, pens or tanks and they keep them in there until the season is over at which time the availability is much reduced and therefore the prices can be much higher. Lobster the fisherman would have charged 60 cents per lb. for during the high season…now they are getting $3 or more per lb. You can understand the rational behind this process. These guys didn’t fall of the last turnip trucks as my good friend Nick, used to say…

Sure they have to also feed the lobsters somewhat, but this is no problem since they catch other fish and use the trimmings as food.

The problem that arises is this.

Just like every shellfish such as crabs, lobsters do molt and during that time, they are in a commercial sense…totally worthless. So, the fisherman who are holding a bunch of them try very hard to sell them all off before that process occurs. At which time, you or the lobster meat cannery, can get a very good deal.

So, now I hope you have a better understanding of what is happening with the lobsters.

In Good Cooking Always.

Nationwide Arena Chef To Cook For First Lady of Ohio.

It’s not much of a secret that Ed Kowalski, suites chef for Delaware North Companies Sportservice at Nationwide Arena, knows his way around the kitchen. But who knew he was such a savvy networker?

Thanks in part to his use of social media, a personal blogroll and of course, his cooking skills, Kowalski landed a one-hour spot during the First Lady of Ohio Karen Waldbilling Kasich’s cooking demo at the state fair. The event, First Lady’s Day: Nutritious and Delicious Cooking, gets under way Aug. 4 at 1 p.m.

“The first lady (of Ohio) is a follower of mine on Twitter,” Kowalski said. According to Kowalski, the invite came out of the blue. He received a phone call from one of the Kasich’s, who advised she read the recent Columbus Dispatch article about working with Blue Jackets prospects and not only does she follow him on Twitter (@polskakielbasa) she reads his personal blog – http://chefedkowalski.myblogsite.com

The first lady and her husband, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, will assist Kowalski in preparing a fresh, nutritious dish with an emphasis of local products.

More Info On Where Our Foods Travel.

Susan Ettesvold, CEPC, a baking instructor at the College of Southern Idaho sent me a link to a story about a clever project from a British designer to label produce according to their mileage. I found it interesting and thought it was a great follow up to the “lobster” travels stories Chef Sterner posted late last week. This is more evidence that sometimes (possibly too often) our food is taking too long to get where it needs to be.

More Sustainable Seafood Information.

I wanted to continue the strong discussion on sustainable seafood today with this article about sustainable seafood myths and the many different ways our environmental decisions impact the food we eat. It’s a different look at the situation and reminds us our decisions need to go beyond simply selecting food with stickers that tells us sustainable.  The article makes this statement, “most imminent threat to our oceans: greenhouse-gas emissions. Even if every human planet miraculously decided to buy only seafood stamped with the Whole Foods seal of “sustainability,” marine species will still be doomed.”

The article moves on to offer ideas on how we can improve the situation including incorporating seafood’s carbon footprint into sustainability rating standards –  and I encourage you to read it.

 

Chef Paul Competes for the National Pastry Chef of the Year title.

Thank you to Chef Percy Whatley for sharing his thoughts on Chef Paul Padua’s recent competition and the ACF convention. We will post photos of Chef Paul and his own thoughts over the next few days.

I had a great excuse to go to the ACF National Convention inDallas,TXthis year.  The Ahwahnee Pastry Chef Paul John Padua was competing for the National Pastry Chef of the Year title and I wanted to show the support he needed to stay focused and comfortable throughout the days of the convention.

First off, a few words about the Pastry Chef of the Year competition:

Chef Paul has been training for this for three months, along with training for the Amoretti National Pastry Team Championships.  Talk about an extremely heavy workload!  The Pastry Chef of the Year competition begins with the regionals, which took place in April.  Each regional winner, Northeast, Southeast,Midwestand West, goes to the nationals to compete against each other for the national title.  When Chef Paul won the Western Regional Chef of the Year title, it was on the toes of the Pastry Team Championships.  He had to train double, which, anyone who has competed knows is aLOTto take on along with your day to day job.

After the team championships, Paul worked on his presentation every day prior to traveling toDallasfor four weeks.  He would come in around 9 AM and not leave until 1 or 2 AM the next day.  The competition (and practice sessions) entailed a showpiece of 18” minimum height (chocolate, sugar, etc), an entremet (plated dessert) composed of Splenda no calorie sweetener and the mystery ingredients provided, and a glazed petite four.  The entremets and the petite fours need to be in five portions, one for show and four for the judges to taste. All of this needs to take place in 2.5 hours with the assistance of a commis.

Chef Paul and his assistant (Ian Cornelius) travel toDallas…

Thanks to Chef Christopher Tunnell at Choctaw Casino, Chef Paul was able to do a practice run of the competition two days before the event and do some of the necessary prep that he needed.  Chef Christopher was very accommodating and even lent Chef Paul a couple of pieces of equipment so that he would not have to travel all the way fromYosemitewith even more than he was already traveling with.  It is wonderful the subsidiaries don’t hesitate to cross those lines of internal hospitality.  Chef Christopher and his team also came down to root him on the day of the competition…Thanks again Chef Christopher and your team for all of the help and support shown to Chef Paul!!!

On the day of the competition, Chef Paul showed great focus on getting all of the items accomplished.  His time slot was last, so all of the other pastry chefs would show before he would in 15 minute increments.  He had his showpiece complete before any of the other chefs, and he had to repair it once as it was, when the main support piece came off of the mantle it was mounted on…many of the spectators cringed as he almost dropped it!!!  He was quick with his hands and saved the sugar sculpture from shattering though…Thank Goodness!!!  At this point it looked good with his time line.  He had his glazing of his petite fours complete in a timely fashion and everything was looking good at that point.  When it came to plating the entremets, he had some trouble with the ice cream and the caramel sauce and unfortunately set him back 8 minutes late.  Each minute is points shaved from your total.

After observing the other pastry chefs, my opinion may be a little biased, but Chef Paul performed well and without the unfortunate time lapse making him late in his service window, he would have been close, if not above, the front runner.  His showpiece was nice, the spectrum of textures was complete on the entremets, the glaze and garnish work on the petite fours was sharp and consistent between all of the pieces.  We have a very talented pastry chef indeed…

Now, part deux…the convention:

The convention happens every year, somewhere in theUSA.  Throughout the convention are opportunities to network with industry peers, to gather much needed CEH’s (continuing education hours) for recertification, general sessions, gala dinner gatherings, and to dabble in a trade show with various food products and kitchen equipment.  It is, hands down, the largest gathering of culinary professionals in the nation.

There are a number of competitions during the convention.  These include, student team championships, Pastry Chef of the Year, Chef of the Year, Chef Educator of the Year, along with a few others that are sponsor driven, but are in no way, any less intense.  All of these are open to the public for viewing at no additional charge to you, as long as you have a valid pass.

The cost of the convention, if you were to go for the 5 days, is around $800.  This includes various dinners, lunches and breakfasts.  If you do what I did and attended for two days, then it comes to $125 per day, one meal per day is provided.   I went on a budget, as we all should in this economy, and stayed at the Holiday Inn next to the airport for $120/night rather than at the much more posh Gaylord Texan (host hotel of the convention).  This Holiday Inn had a shuttle that took you to the convention center and back, so, a car was not needed, except that we had some affairs to attend to in downtown Dallas, about 20 miles away.  All in all, the cost of the event, including travel, rental car, hotel and meals, was under $2000 for me to go.  The benefits, for all industry professionals, are the networking, the CEH’s, observing the competitions, the trade show, and maybe to bump into old friends.  It has been five years since my last convention, and in my opinion, this is too long of a wait between them.

It is always productive to attend conventions, at the very least, every other year.  In other words, ask your General Manager for support now so that it can be budgeted for next year.

Photos of Chef Paul Padua.

Here are some photos of Chef Paul Padua from his National Pastry Chef of the Year competition. We will post Chef Paul’s own reflections on the experience soon.

Top Dining Trends.

A new article from Luxury Travel Magazine details the results of a study that highlight the top five dining trends for 2011. I believe it’s important for chefs and those working in the culinary/hospitality industry to be up-to-speed on what new ideas are impacting our profession. The five trends this article lists are the Rebirth of the Gentleman Farmer, Omakase with a Mixology Twist, Nose to Tail Dining, The Finish: Torn Between Two Lovers and The World of Wine is Flat.

Those are headlines that the article’s author gives to sum up the trends. You’ll have to read the full piece to learn how these ideas are impacting chefs, our profession and our work. What other trends have you noticed in the culinary world recently that you think we need to focus on?

The Salt and Pepper Rule.

Here is an interesting post I wanted to share from Chef John DiGiovanni who works at Nationwide Arena. All of us chefs do have our own unique methods.

As chefs we all have a method to our madness. It’s the little things that make us who we are. It may be something that was passed down from chefs we worked or mentored under. It may be something new we learn from another area or picked it up. I’m sure if you asked my cooks, I have many, but my main two are that my spices must be arranged in alphabetical order on their shelves and the salt and pepper rule.

The salt and pepper rule basically started one time when I was walking through my kitchen and finding little containers of salt and pepper mixes in random places made by different cooks and each blend was different. It would drive me crazy!   I don’t care for salt and pepper blends, mainly becasue I like to have more control when I season. Because of this, the salt and pepper rule was created:

“Kosher or sea salt. Keep the pepper in the mill. Keep them separated.”

I had to break it down even further:

“Kosher or sea salt“-I generally use kosher salt for curing and seasoning meats and sea salt for everything else. The kosher salt has large crystals and is more effective to pull out moisture in proteins. I like to use sea salt when I am cooking pasta or baking as it dissolves quicker than kosher.

“Keep the pepper in the mill”  How old is that pre-ground pepper in the pantry? Once ground, pepper loses its aromatics quickly.

“Keep them separated” Goes back to control. What if you have the right amount of salt, but need to add some pepper? Or vice versa? Also I usually like to add black pepper at the end of cooking.

I’m curious to see who out there agrees or disagrees with my salt and pepper rule and why. I love to learn new things. Do you have a particular “salt and pepper rule”?

From the Knife’s Edge

A blog post from Chef Frederick Clabaugh at Tenaya Lodge.

Fall tends to be many chefs favorite time of year with the fall harvest of rich squash, savory lamb and deep red wine to accompany all.

The method of preserving the berries for the year and making chutneys is also one that stands out. These methods have lasted centuries as they were and still are important to the stores of a good household or accomplished kitchen. With the clash of cultures the world of food is ever expanding and has change the art of cuisine, turning it on the chef to become evermore creative and more inventive.

I have chosen to share a few recipes that do exactly that, using classic items such as the tomatoes and the basils to add a twist. With the lamb dish using a BBQ sauce thats untraditional, Tamarind Barbecue Glaze with Star Anise Syrup are certainly a new world blend.  To finish the classic Chocolate dessert with the fall twist of pumpkin ice cream.

Bon appetite to all!

Thoughts On Tomatoes.

Thanks to Chef Percy Whatley for this post about summer produce in Yosemite. Enjoy.

Just a few thoughts as we begin to see some of the great summer produce that is hitting our shelves this time of year.

It has been a long wait since we had such a late beginning to the warm weather inCalifornia.  With ourYosemitewaterfalls starting to finally recede, it is a sign when the tomatoes begin to show up from our local grower, Brenda Ostrom.  She provides us with two things throughout the year….eggs and heirloom tomatoes.  When the heat is high, the chickens slow down their laying, but the tomatoes keep her busy through October.  When the heat starts to go away, the chickens begin to lay more and the tomatoes start to wind down.  Brenda also keeps herself busy by being the area CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) and going door-to-door to deliver baskets of vegetables and fruit that she gathers from other local area farmers.

These tomatoes are something out of the ordinary though.  The French use a word TERROIR, meaning soil (loosely translated to flavors imparted by the earth in which it is grown, generally referred to in viticulture with grapes and wine), there is something about her soil at her farm.  At 3,000 feet in elevation, it is one of the higher farms in the foothill Sierra Nevadas.  The granite sand and loam in these soils make it so magical.  These tomatoes are sweet and tomato”ey” like nobody’s business!  I have done side-by-side cuttings of the same tomato variety with a tomato from our other organic farming friends, T&D Willey Farms in the lower central valley, and there really is no comparison.  Terroir is everything with these fruits, very similarly to our grape growing wine industry.  I wish I could share the experience with the real thing, but to get your salivary glands “a-flowing”…here is a picture of these precious tomatoes!

Happy Eating (or pretending you’re eating).

Farmers Markets In Full Bloom.

Right now we have tons (and I do mean TONS) of gorgeous Farmers Markets taking place every single week all over the country. These farmers markets have beautiful fresh fruits and gorgeous veggies our chefs are able to use. I would like to think our chefs will have some thoughts they can share via the blog about these markets. They are relatively inexpensive, very seasonal and certainly worth talking about. The fruits and veggies offered at these markets are much more valuable in my opinion than pre-made, pre-packaged, pre-anything or commercial/industrial products. Let’s wake up and get to these farmers markets and share thoughts via the blog about how they impact us as chefs.

Competing and the Orlando Culinary Cup Experience.

This is a very informative and strong piece from Chef Patrick Kilduff who works for our Boston team at TD Garden. He recently competed down in Orlando and the lessons he learned are important to share. We will be posting a number of thoughts on this competition in the next few days.

It’s funny that Chef Kevin and I got started competing in hot and cold food. It’s a good thing I listen and listen well – because I’ve been able to learn from the mistakes that other chefs and Chef Kevin have made in their earlier competitions and transform that into medals for my 12 competitions (even a high silver in a cold food platter that I put together on a Friday and worked 30 straight hours to present on Sunday morning at the Boston competition). I truly believe Chef Kevin is a great teacher and leader. I like the friendly competition that we have to see who can get the most medals or even when six master chefs have tasted the dressing I made and said the salad was OK but when we got to the dressing it blew the salad out of the park… But, Chef Kevin still trumps me with the IKA medal. I think such friendly competition between the chefs makes for a growing team willing to learn. It’s when you don’t have this that you become stagnant.

I asked Chef Kevin three years ago if we could enter the super challenge. We got busy and had no time to do much of anything between working the Celtics and Bruins playoffs – TD Garden is nonstop. Chef being chef, he said, “what the heck” and sought permission from above and was given the green light for 2011. We started drafting menus and recipes. I look back at this experience and remember something that was said to me by the people at Ideas In Food. It was Alex Talbot who said, “we as the creators will need to place a scale and document there every move.”

We started measuring and scaling and finally had a rough draft of our recipes for the competition. The time was to put this together for pictures. As always, we are last minute for things – (not that we try to be) – it’s the nature of a championship building and pop up VIP parties every day.

To kick off practice, we set some tables outside the Legends kitchen and set five induction burners for the effect of cooking on electric. This was interesting as we needed to establish our timing for searing and boiling. It went well and we were able to get a timeline and plates out with food that tasted good. We sat back and revised some things for the next practice and updated some timelines. For our second practice, we set up again and created timelines, packed the refrigerator up and we were off. This practice was a bit different and we noticed a bit more flow as our timelines kept us on track and we were not guessing about what’s going on and who is doing what. We could look at the master sheet and see we were behind or we were ahead. It was time to pack it up and take the show on the road at the Le Cordon Bleu College in Cambridge.

This time, Chef Kevin reached out to Chef Roland Henin, CMC, to help get us to the next level along with Dan Duman, CMC, and Robert Mancuso, CMC. This was just like the real deal. We had adjusted even more, knowing that play time was over and we did not want to waste their time. So, Chef Roland had a small meeting with us and let us know his feelings and thoughts on this competition as it was bigger than the usual ones we had competed in. He informed us of how organized we needed to be. He drew diagrams of kitchens, set up spaces and created timelines for each of us. He even talked to us about getting to know the “lay of the land” once we got to Orlando. This proved to be a great idea. This planning and many hours of planning proved to be a great benefit as we watched the other teams set their kitchens and flip flop around as they weren’t prepared…

Cooking Day for us came on Sept. 9, 2011 at 6 a.m. We arrived at 4 a.m. with a U-Haul that had our equipment packed inside. We unloaded the truck. Chef Kevin had rented to Queen Mary’s that we had build and stocked the night before and shrink wrapped and placed on the truck. There was food in the cooler that was labeled in course order (1-4). Road boxes on the sidelines were set with electric burners, robo coup, a blender and an appropriate extension cord. The judges looked and knew we were ready. They knew if there kitchen did not work we had plan and could execute if we needed to. We had a full diagram of the kitchen and how we were going to utilize tables and ovens. We even had diagramed plates for all the courses. We left nothing to chance.

The time came for us to set the kitchen and with a simple pull of Chef Kevin’s duct tape, we had the diagram on the wall and we looked like a ballet act, smooth and precise – just the way we drew and set it up. We also duct taped a clock on the refer door set to the judges clock. Now, it was time to cook. We moved in unisons and never crossed each other. We only spoke when we needed to ask for something. We had no hidden agenda for the judges to rip us apart. They watched and left. Looking to see where they went – they went to the next team that was struggle to keep their kitchen clean and in order. We cooked for our five hours then took our heat lamp and hot plate out while we lined the table with table cloth. Chef Kevin and I started plating the first course and Chef Liz and the student helping us started on the second course which had several components. Chef Kevin and I started on the entrée. We made our window – hot food, hot food, cold food, cold – clean up and wait for restaurant service.

The floor judges came over (Chef James Hanyzeski, CMC, and Chef David Turcotte, CEC) and told us we did very well and that they liked how we worked as a team and that they could not find any problems with the kitchen and sanitation. They did however want to know if we had used an oven thermometer to make sure we had the correct temperature. This was one thing we did not pack. Also the judges thought the electric range I had kept them on was a waste of energy. Next, the tasting judges wanted in.

An excellent group of three Master Chefs (Chef Klaus Friedenreich, CMC, Joeseph Deker, CMPC, and I can’t remember the last one). I said to myself, “this will be interesting” as they started in with a breath of fresh air. They tried to savor the flavors and textures. Their only real comment came on our duck empanada as they would have liked us to be have made a nice dough. They liked the salad but when they added the dressing – they said it was amazing. They also thought our dessert could have benefitted from a tart component to take away from all the sweet. All in all, they had few suggestions and we received rave reviews. It was a good day. Did I mention we only slept one hour the night before?

The next day, we watched other teams cook and we concentrated our attention on Chef Kevin Walker, CMC, and his team. This was the team to beat. We watched and watched and we learned amazing things just from watching.

With the cooking over, it was time for the awards ceremony. Nine teams in all as they called the teams from lowest score to highest, we knew we were in the top four just based on what we had seen. They called the fourth team – not us. They called the third team – not us. Then they called the 2^nd place team – Delaware North Companies with a Gold Medal and a score of 36.89. We were in shock. Some members of our team had never competed before – it was all a great experience.

 

 

 

Things I Learned…

Chef Jamie Caudy served as the Pastry Chef for the Delaware North team that recently competed at the Orlando Culinary Cup competition and earned 2^nd place. He has put together some interesting notes on what he learned about life in and out of the kitchen during the experience.

Things I Learned That Are Important

~ Desserts should always have a tart component
~ Never clean up until all the desserts have been plated and gone out to the dining room, you might short yourself on ice cream
~ Be as organized as humanly possible
~ Be prepared to work. Cleaning, washing dishes, ironing. It’s all a team effort.
~ Sleep every second possible, otherwise you might not get any sleep at all.
~ Practice is crucial – work out all the kinks so you’re not caught with your pants down.
~ Bring dry ice or liquid nitrogen because the freezer is almost never cold enough

Other Things I Learned

~ How to cheat at Scrabble
~ You can put a Toyota minivan into park without coming to a complete stop first…
~ Chef Kevin and Pat don’t listen to the British woman on the GPS. And you can only drive as fast as the car in front of you.
~ Chef Pat is also known as Captain Throw It Away
~ You really shouldn’t move a refrigerator from a convention center to a hotel room and then back to the convention center and expect it to work properly
~ Don’t expect your name to be spelled correctly on your chef jacket
~ Don’t expect your chef jacket to fit
~ Always pack bananas
~ Don’t forget potatoes
~ There is more than one Hampton Inn in Florida