alanamoana

i think in the new york forum, they're discussing how many "dessert only" restaurants manhattan can support. i believe it can support a few more...but it does depend on the quality and what they have to offer. from what i have heard, room 4 dessert seems to offer a great bar atmosphere as well as the desserts that he's serving being delicious. i only went to chikalicious once, but it has its place as well. i thought that they could do a better job with the menu with regard to changing it more frequently and such. so it depends on pichet and sam to put something out there that hasn't been done or to repackage it in a way that is appealing to a broad audience. i think it is great that pastry chefs are getting their due. it is about time

if you didn't sign any sort of contract ahead of time, you might be at a loss...then again, if you didn't sign any sort of contract ahead of time, you might have an advantage. i think it depends on how you approach the owners/managers. your post is very balanced and doesn't seem too emotional...i say you go to them with your concerns and see what their response is. have in mind what you would consider fair as compensation (like gift certificates for ten free pies or something that seems fair). forty dollars a head for pizza and salad and stuff is pretty high end, but then again, you monopolized most of the restaurant for the evening. if the guests were happy, i might not worry about it. did you tip on top of the bill?

i have to agree with both arguments here. it is necessary to have regulations for everyone, for the sake of fairness and safety...and, the regulations tend to favor industry over artisan... something that is difficult when it comes to the health department...nobody knows the conditions which the curing room went throug in the course of a regular business day. did the inspector take the temp of the room after ten people walked in and out? there's no way of knowing.

technically: honey, regular glucose and regular corn syrup are also invert sugars from what i understand. all of the other stuff listed just contains less water... but according to patrick's description (1:1 glucose:fructose) then i'm wrong...

i second kee-seal...they are great. they have a very small seam so that doesn't get in the way even when you're piping something with a very small hole. it isn't very eco-friendly, but i don't think i'll ever use anything else.

according to my swiss confiseur book, if you use purees, you should substitute the cream for yolks and change the process slightly to maintain the consistency of the ganache. the puree has added water so you omit the cream which has water and replace it with egg yolk which is mostly fat. but i'm not too sure on all that. it does produce a great ganache which i use to fill molded chocolates.

and nevuline (i think)... patrick! i thought you were the biology hobbyist! probably has something to do with name branding as well as the source of the sugar? this is just a guess.

one recipe i have is to heat puree then temper into whisked yolks with sugar and cook again until thick, pour this over chocolate to melt and create ganache, add liqueur to boost flavor if necessary (i.e. if you use raspberry puree, add framboise).

thanks russ. please see their website and check out the "about" section. they claim to have imported kobe beef. i wonder what that means.

speaking of import/export, can somebody chime in on what the current status is with regard to japan? are we importing kobe beef from them? do they have a ban on american beef being imported to japan? i'm curious because there's a steakhouse near me (norCal) that claims to serve "real" japanese kobe steaks..."we're one of the only restaurants around here that serves real kobe beef"... sorry to go off topic.

depending upon how much experience you already have, stageing can be a way to build connections in the industry, or just a way to learn new things. i've never done an extended stage, but i did travel to new york for two weeks one summer many years ago for a short vacation. i ended up working for one day at each of the following: eleven madison park, tabla, gramercy tavern, mercer kitchen and lespinasse. i'm a pastry person, so i got to work with some really great pastry chefs. everyone is happy for the free help, but you have to be able to work without getting in the way. they are also not looking to train someone, so your basics have to be pretty good already. one of my stages helped me to get a job four years later when i was living in new york! i'm sure the international stage is very different and more like an apprenticeship, although i don't have any experience with that. also, my first restaurant job (before attending culinary school) was earned by working for free. i explained that i had no experience, but wanted to learn and got a job working for free. then, when i had gotten enough experience, they hired me for pay. financially, you sort of have to be independently wealthy to do long-term stages. i don't know how people do it. at the time of my first job, i had just saved a bunch of money beforehand. when i ran out, i asked to be paid. my other stages were while i was on vacation, so no big deal.

after reading along with the great and glorious grillers for the week...i'm inspired to buy a grill! only, i live in an apartment with a really small balcony . i might have to go with gas as it will emit less smoke, right? a little baby weber? you are all doing a great job through the rain and wind, sleet and hail, nothing can keep you from smokin' butt (i too appreciate a good butt joke)!! thanks for the entertainment and inspiration this week! p.s. mike, great dogs! snowangel, great daughter! maggie, great kitties!

Carolyn, Your link was to the Hotel Monaco and Grand Cafe. As you call it "Cafe Monaco" is this a different restaurant? It just seems out of character that the food would be so bad.

well...tried again...dipped 100 pieces of caramel in tempered dark chocolate and left the tranfer on top of the chocolate for two days. when i tested the corners of some pieces, i was encouraged as it seemed the transfer stuck. when i removed the plastic, the transfer came right up with it! again with the funny design left on top. i think i'm going to just use texture sheets for this run as i need 300 pieces and i can't deal with the waste anymore. it took me three batches to get the caramel texture what i wanted it to be!!! ugh!

thanks for posting your results white truffle girl. i looked at their website and they have some great boxes. the box you're looking for is exactly what i'm doing right now for a wedding. i ordered clear ones from glerup.com and will replace the gold bottom with paper matching the theme of the wedding. the boxes were fairly cheap and i like that you can see what's inside. i'll post pictures when (and if) they get done!!! p.s. please post pics of yours as well! i'd love to see them.

you can expect to make anywhere from $9/hour up to $12/hour if you're lucky. if you're good and you can prove it to someone, then you might be able to make more. and you can cross your fingers and possibly make overtime if the restaurant is nice about their labor costs. hotels are a good bet because they are often union or pay union scale wages. a lot of places attempt to pay shift pay at about $110-$150 per day. this always sounds nice until you calculate how much overtime you're NOT going to get...and of course taxes. even if you earn a salary of $32,000 a year (which is bottom end sous chef or "junior" sous chef pay)...and calculate that out to 52 weeks at 40 hours per week, that's only $15.38/hour. and you know you'll be working more than 40 hours per week. it is an ugly picture to paint, but you can live reasonably if you're willing to commute from: the bronx, chinatown, queens, brooklyn. if you're male, this can possibly open up which neighborhoods you can live in due to safety issues. i'm not saying it can't be done...i'm just saying you've got to be very good with your budget!

tammylc, i haven't read this thread completely, but eGullet has much more to offer you! this is a demo on one method of tempering. also, please don't make yourself slave to a thermometer. even if you're using a thermometer, you should test your chocolate on a strip of paper or on the counter to make sure it is in temper. use your eyes to get used to seeing what in temper chocolate looks like. use your hands to get to know what it feels like. try different techniques to see which works best for you. although i mostly stick with seeding nowadays, i'll use the different techniques if i'm concerned my chocolate won't temper for any number of reasons. and...practice, practice, practice!

the pizza stone minimized temp fluctuations by holding the heat in itself...it's fine to have in the oven, but for baked goods in a pan (other than pizza and bread) all that heat on the bottom isn't usually good. i keep my stone in the oven and just put my cakes and things on the rack above the stone to allow for circulation.

when you say "doming" on the bottom, do you mean a large bubble sort of lifted up from the bottom of the pan? it is possible that baking directly on the pizza stone could be your problem. at that high of a temperature, the batter could have seized up on the bottom first and then sort of pushed itself up. i would bake on the rack to let the heat circulate more evenly around your pan. also, rotate halfway through baking.

you could always, very nicely, ask Klary to translate (her screen name is Chufi)! She's from the Netherlands and she posts frequently on the Cooking board. it helps that eGullet has so many international users.

rather than using ladyfingers, i'd make a sponge of some sort with freshly toasted and ground sesames. i guess the goal would be to layer the sesame flavor so that it comes to the forefront in the final dessert without being too aggressive.

when i called chef rubber, they explained that the "decor" version wasn't classified as edible. because it uses decor powders. i think this is a technicality. they can explain it a little better. the artisan line is pretty matte. i bought four colors and don't love them as they are a bit boring. i think i will try the pearl color next time. oh yes, someone upthread responded to my questions with an explanation that there is a difference in the size of the reflective material which makes the colors shiny...this is a difference with the jewel colors versus the pearl and decor. definitely call them to clarify! i think i just confused myself more!

hey everyone, please check out this thread to get basic information on glazes and pate a glacer...there is some confusion in terminology so it really depends on the brand of product you're buying. if you're making it yourself, then it is just a glaze.

adria also mentions using burr mixer...he says to let the solution sit for a while to let the air bubbles dissipate.

Kerry, do you need to test the pH of the Calcium Chloride solution? I thought you had to check the acidity of the mixture that you're going to "sferificate" to see whether you need to add Calcium Citrite (edited to correct to Calcium Citrate) to balance the solution? Something about the reaction between the algin and the Calcium Chloride not working very well with highly acidic liquids or with liquids that are too thick and need to be watered down. On the Texturas website, they use mango puree as an example of a liquid that needs to have Calcium Citrate added to it. Can anyone think of other liquids that might need that? edited to add: Bryan, just saw the dinner thread and the darjeeling orb. Very cool. When you heated the "alginated" orb, did it affect the texture at all? In the video of the pea puree linked at the beginning of this thread (the one with Bourdain in it) they say you have to eat it very quickly or the alginate will begin to solidify the whole thing. I know it also depends on how long it is in the calcium chloride solution, but how does heat affect it?