Great, now do you know how much you put in and of what? Can you duplicate it? How do you train a rookie line cook how to do it 40 times in a row on a Saturday night?

Don’t forget to write the method! I have a special shorthand I use to quickly write method as I write ingredients down.

And then there is no way to cost it out.

I had to discipline myself to write down “everything” when I step up to the stove, to make a soup, or a new pan sauce for a fish. I learned to always carry a notepad, mechanical pencil (never pen, I change things so often I can’t decipher it with pen marks everywhere) and a calculator. I got myself a metal clipboard with a compartment, like they use at auto shops, so I would always have it with me.

This “kit” was also the first thing I give to a sous chef the day he or she starts.

The pay off was consistent food, and I have full recipe books from every restaurant I have worked in.
Great thoughts on cross-utilization and utilizing as many products as you can that are already in-house. Very important considerations, especially for controlling cost, waste, and inventory.

I am curious though, why have you eliminated menu tasting? I have found that to be the most important part of follow up since recipes tend to “shift” as time goes by and line chefs either get creative or start to take shortcuts.

And most people don’t like cutting meat or fish for me because I require a calibrated scale and a yield test on at least one item whenever you set up a board.

Another “trick”, to check your scale, I do this with mechanical or digital, check it with a pound of butter. Butter in pound is the most consistent weight check in your kitchen.

 
I first came to an understanding of the subtle nuances of making good soup when I was a student in culinary school. As a class assignment we made a large pot of carrot soup with no seasoning whatsoever. We sweated the onions in butter until they were translucent, but not browned, added the carrots with a few sweet apples. We then added a rich chicken broth, simmered the broth for an hour, added some wildflower honey, pureed it finely and pushed it through a sieve twice or three times until it was silky and just clung to a kitchen spoon, a little cream gave it the final touch. My classmates and I stood around the heavy, steaming pot and each added crystalized kosher salt a few grains at a time, tasting the soup after each addition, until the flavor came into focus. It was brilliant, at first there was nothing there just a hot savory liquid, boring and monotonous to taste, then suddenly like a signal flare going off in the darkness of a moonless night the flavor was there, bright, sweet, vivid vegetal and earth.

 
I enjoy making soup and I’m damn good at it, it has taught me patience, the patience that comes from valuing the journey just as much or more than the destination. Like making love in a fairy tale is supposed to be. And that I believe is the secret.

 
The vegetable mirepoix is cut into exact and even shapes, the pot is heavy and tall, the heat is fiercly gentle so as not to scorch the butter. As the mirepoix softens the cooks watchful eye must be vigilent, like a mother gazelle watching over her fawn, she knows the jaws of a hungry cheetah can snatch from her all hope if she fails in her diligence for even a moment.

 
The spices are added when the mirepoix has given itself to the butter, teasing the essential oils fom hiding, into the open. Then a broth, prepared with care and full of life’s essence is simmered gently, the surface of the broth barely shimmering. As time goes by the evolution of separate ingredients becoming a whole is witnessed by the watchful cook a spoonful at a time. Finally the seasoning, the frame that defines and outlines the boundries of the flavors. A balance must be struck between the saltiness, sweetness, bitterness, sour, and umami whatever is lacking in the inherent nature of the soup must be supplemented by the cook.

If the divine creator has taken pains to give us delicious and exquisite things to eat, the least we can do is prepare them well and serve them with ceremony.” - Fernand Point

Good soup is one of the most primordial and satisfyingly civilized of foods, a balance of simplicity and luxury where there is an inherent respect for economy.

I have made the connection with the analogy of a restaurant operation with how a distributor operates.
As a customer you expect that your “order” will be taken as you specify, and then delivered in a timely manner without you having to bother with the details.

Your salesperson (server) takes your order, you “assume” that they understand the product (menu item) they are selling you, and that they can understand and communicate any special instructions (or specs) to the warehouse (kitchen), I mean the company (restaurant) has a good reputation, all of the employees must be properly trained and have good product knowledge, right?

Well now the order goes to the warehouse (kitchen), where hopefully they have purchased enough products to fulfill your order or you get shorted (86’d), and now your order is prepared according to the salespersons (servers) instructions that they punched into the computer, then your order is picked, palleted and loaded on a truck (cooked to order and plated).

Then the delivery person (food runner) brings your order to you when you are ready, not when it is convenient for them.
If your order is incorrect, and with a good company (restaurant) this is more of a rarity and if it happens you can be forgiving, so if there is a problem you ask your salesperson (server) to fix it.

Now they call the warehouse (kitchen) or get a district manager (floor manager) to help you if they cannot do it themselves. And, hopefully, they ask for help to remedy your problem, instead of just blaming the warehouse (kitchen).

Sound familiar to anybody? So my conclusion is somewhere in the middle, some of the fault lies with the customer for not having clear communication, and some of the fault lies with the supplier for not understanding or knowing how to clarify the information to be effective.

This comes from experience with the company (restaurant), too many bad experiences or mistakes and you will probably take your business to someone else.

-quoted from the mother of the author

Great, now do you know how much you put in and of what? Can you duplicate it? How do you train a rookie line cook how to do it 40 times in a row on a Saturday night?

Don’t forget to write the method! I have a special shorthand I use to quickly write method as I write ingredients down.

And then there is no way to cost it out.

I had to discipline myself to write down “everything” when I step up to the stove, to make a soup, or a new pan sauce for a fish. I learned to always carry a notepad, mechanical pencil (never pen, I change things so often I can’t decipher it with pen marks everywhere) and a calculator. I got myself a metal clipboard with a compartment, like they use at auto shops, so I would always have it with me.

This “kit” was also the first thing I give to a sous chef the day he or she starts.

The pay off was consistent food, and I have full recipe books from every restaurant I have worked in.

no, graduating cooking school does not make you a “chef”, just as graduating with an MBA does not make you a C.E.O.

When you think of a chef, do you think of someone in a white coat with a tall white hat(called a toque) yelling at cowering cooks? Or maybe someone demonstrating cooking on television or hosting a television series and yelling at cowering cooks? Or perhaps you know someone that has graduated from a culinary school or cooking program.

Well, I hate to break it to you, but none of these is an example of what a “chef” is. And no, graduating cooking school does not make you a “chef”, it makes you a determined “cook”. Just as graduating with an MBA does not make you a C.E.O. and graduating with a degree in philosophy does not make you Plato.

Random House dictionary defines a “chef” as n.”the chief cook, esp. in a restaurant or hotel, usually responsible for planning menus, ordering foodstuffs, overseeing food preparation, and supervising the kitchen staff”, and according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook, “To achieve the level of skill required of an executive chef  in a fine restaurant, many(read as, many, many) years of training and experience are necessary”.

I can’t begin to count the number of times people have started conversations with me with “I almost went to culinary school”, well I almost became a doctor, maybe that didn’t happen because I never bothered to go to medical school. I have spent half of my life (literally) becoming proficent at my profession, the first ten years learning about food and how to cook (although the learning never ends) and the past ten years learning how to manage people and a business (still learning this one too).

What nobody told me in culinary school, and someone forgot to tell me (because, I don’t think he knew), when I was promoted to my first “sous chef” job was that the  militaristic notion of giving orders to be blindly followed has less to do with managing cooks, than learning to respect individuals and learning to be a leader.

My definition of a chef would be a verb and go something like this:                                                                                                         

CHEF (shef)v. a frugal, conservationist businessman(or businesswoman), who role models visionary leadership with a strong desire to coach and mentor aspiring professionals. A person who possesses entrepreneurial spirit and has experience working in such environments, has unlimited creativity, resourcefulness, and good judgment with a demonstrated ability to take initiative with little direction and  the ability to learn quickly. A person that can naturally vacillate between being a strict disciplinarian, a loving big brother and a career counselor with outstanding conflict resolution skills and strong interpersonal skills. This person has a hands on management style, with the ability to effectively manage and motivate a diverse staff, is an outstanding written and oral communicator and is computer proficient. The chef will also demonstrate time management skills and have the proven ability to meet multiple deadlines with strong organizational skills and attention to detail, an emphasis on follow through  along with the ability to coach and act effectively as a member of a team. A chef will have strong analytical skills, and the ability to analyze profit & loss statements, write and manage budgets, along with sales forecasting experience, they are highly skilled in operational systems design, menu and concept development and sanitation. An experienced chef will be well versed in a variety of cuisines, maintains flexibility, a sense of humor, and a willingness to jump into any role at a moment’s notice. A true professional that can run a brigade of 20 cooks and run a business. Oh yeah, and they can really cook too!!  

 

 

  

 

I believe that most businesses want to be socially responsible, they want to capture part of the dollar the socially responsible consumer is willing to spend to help save the planet. There couldn’t be anything wrong with telling a little green lie, could there? I mean, business is booming, people feel good about themselves, but just because there is the name of a farm on the menu or a picture of some guy in overalls standing in a field over the produce case, how do you know it’s for real? Are you really helping a farming family 30 miles away just by buying a salad?

Any company that isn’t completely truthful (“we buy from sustainable sources, whenever possible”) isn’t just duping you and I they are undermining the hard won credibility and all of the work that small farmers and ranchers are doing, who by the way are sacrificing for their families too, to bring this food to market.

Socially responsible businesses should be rewarded with your purchasing power, don’t give it away to frauldulent operators, ask questions, get involved with community projects that support local agriculture, look them in the eye and ask where the food comes from, I guarantee if they are the real deal they won’t flinch, they will talk your ear off about the sources they use. Double talk and vaugeries mean that someone is telling you a little green lie.

Or for the cowardly that want to play this game, they go home and write a negative review of the restaurant on Yelp.com (and pretend that they are a real restaurant critic) and they will invariably, if the restaurant wants to stay competitive, be invited back “on the house” and get their butt kissed in the process. Either that or the restaurant can pay yelp to cover up negative reviews, which could be considered mildly unethical, at best. I have experienced, in my time in restaurant management, complaining patrons get their meals comped(paid for) and an invitation to return gratis, bring in six of their friends and drink top shelf drinks and eat lobster tails and steak on the restaurants dime.

Do they have any idea what ripples false or exaggerated complaints can cause within a restaurant operation? Managers jobs are on the line everyday if they do not curtail negative reviews and pacify disgruntled customers. It costs the restaurant thousands of dollars a month in expense, not to mention that restaurant managers spend more time ”managing” customers complaints than managing the operation. Employees literally lose their jobs based solely on a customers complaint.

Now, let’s assume that the restaurant and it’s employees desire to provide an exceptional guest experience. If something is unsatisfactory with the meal or service it is the right of the customer to point it out and expect the situation to be remedied, and some would say obligation of the establishment to correct it and deliver a great overall guest experience. But, all too often it becomes a game to see what can be had at a discount or for free.

According to Merriam-Webster a complaint in an expression of grief, pain, or dissatisfaction. Restaurant managers are trained, and most are very skilled, at providing a remedy for a complaint. But some complaints border on being a grudge, a feeling of  deep-seated resentment, that can only be remedied by some form of vindication that relies on the other parties submissiveness or a bribe.

If your soup is cold, it’s not personal, the restaurant wants to know about it and fix it. If your steak is not cooked to “medium-rare” the way mom made it, give someone a chance to fix it. If the restaurant just doesn’t care, stop patronizing that business and tell your friends, they will be out of business soon enough. If your goal in complaining is to flex your muscles, feel powerful, or get something for nothing, please consider that your decision is not as harmless as you might think.

How can a “sustainable” restaurant flourish if customers won’t give up the extra cash to keep it afloat?

Who is going to pay $25bucks for half a roasted chicken? That’s how much it should cost when you factor in the cost of raising this animal humanely for three months, killing it “nicely” so you don’t have to feel guilty, cleaning it, storing it safely and transporting it to a restaurant that has to store it, prepare it and serve it to you in comfortable surroundings (and don’t forget about the guy in the back doing the dirty dishes).

Why should you get a cheap chicken dinner? because you are special? because you know somebody important?because you are important? because it’s just a chicken? Tell it to the chicken!

I have been working in restaurants for half my life now, and knowing a bit about budgets and financial statements, I can say for certain that if a restaurant puts more than 10 cents of every dollar it takes in to the bottom line, that is a seriously successful place. So after all that work (let’s forget for a moment how much it sucks to be a chicken)out of the $25 bucks you paid, the restaurant owner is going to put a whole $2.50 in his pocket and maybe that will be enough to pay the bank.

I have worked in restaurants that deperately wanted to do the right thing i.e. buying sustainable products from local producers, buying and serving organic produce, and know the names of the farmers that they are buying from. Bottom line they still have to pay the light bill, exorbinant commercial rents, and oh, what the hey, let’s try to pay everyone that works there a living wage to boot. Believe me after being the highest paid guy in the building and being the first to go, things are pretty clear.

So do restaurants lie to you about what they are serving, so you can feel good about yourself? Is it all marketing?

Well, some restaurants do exactly that, I know, I did the buying. Not because I was trying to defraud the public, not (neccessarily) because I worked for bad people, but because I was trying to keep my job so I could support a family, and protect my employees from the unemployment line. Not a sustainable game.

Until diners wake up and take responsibility for demanding ever cheaper options on restaurant menus, the ruse will continue, and in the quest for cheaper alternatives to capture a larger percentage of the dining public and larger percentages of a dollar in profit, supply chains will continue to consolidate and smaller producers (even the guy with the vegetable stand at the farmer’s market, why is that such a novelty?) will not be able to compete.

So the next time you dig into your KFC value bucket, think about how many people and how many resources it took to stuff four chickens into that bucket (resist thinking about what it would be like if you were to stuff four live chickens into that bucket, just don’t open it for a piece in the car!)

• Please patronize restaurants that actually support local producers, quiz them, if they look uncomfortable they don’t know, if they look scared they are lying and who would not shout from the roof tops if they were buying wonderful ingredients?
• Please buy the free-range chicken at the market, the organic if you can find it. What? Too expensive? Maybe it should be a special occasion to put a roast chicken on the table, ask your grandma, she knows.

Update 4/1/2009: Last night I bought a chicken; I was faced with two choices: number 1, a scrawny 3 pound bird sitting alone at the bottom of the grocery store case with a “30% off” sticker on it and a sell by date of tomorrow (today) and a $15 price tag. Number 2, big plump 5 pound+ “all natural”bird  with a sell by date a week from now for $7. Now you have probably guessed that I brought home the $7 bird and that the $15 bird was organic, free range, vegetarian fed, etc., etc. Hey I don’t have a job, see below, and the damn bird was going to be rotten by the time I cooked it and I didn’t have a choice it was the only one. (I have a whole list of excuses) But, I swear, I will cook this chicken and enjoy it with the respect and reverence it never experienced in it’s terrestrial existence. And, of course I feel incredibly guilty, but even the Buddha had to start somewhere.