stovetop

For me the main reason why the chef should stay in the kitchen is the front of house is way more suitable to handle this situation, it just makes good management sense, if they leave the kitchen then they are not doing the job they are suppose to do in the kitchen, and I am talking about a small restaurant not a place where a executive chef is present where they are not directly in the line of fire and might be able to handle a situation, when all avenues have been tried, especially if they are the owner, then maybe they could be best sutible, it is about saving face and playing politics, cause the buck stops there( the owner). steve

I use a parmesan wheel cutter, it works wonders, no injuries. steve

Paul I love Tonquin beach, it is a west coast gem, hidden away in Tofino, everyone goes to long beach, misses the opportunity to explore a very unique and beautiful part of the west coast. Ps; never miss the opportunity to try Oyster Jim oysters, the best in my opinion, when others are trying to keep red tide at bay, Jims oysters are clean and still available, he is one of the unique west coast characters, he can be found just outside of Ucluelet, his claim is in Claouquot sound. steve

Granville island capers steve

I thought that only a self repected worker would only do their drugs at work Especialy on TV I worked in edmonton in the eighties and everyone was on some kind of drug. steve

Nice speach! I agree with so much of what you say, happy staff, happy customer, Is my philosophy steve

First of all in this discussion, I am taking things only so serious, We are customers too, and we restaurant people eat out a lot compared to eating at home. I was just trying to express a point of view and never is anything I say directed at anyone in this posting, it is always about things in general and maybe about an experience we have about a particular scenario. This is relevant because it really dictates the flow of a restaurant with someone there all the time, second I am not winning about things it is just the life and I myself choose it and would not be in it for 25 years if I could not please a customer but we still choose who becomes a reg customer. They( reg customers) will always be gold to me and they are always right. The problem with spending so much time at work you can get a bit tired at times and This is never an excuse but reality and it is part of a good management system, and you never do your business any good. at some point in time, for me I will just hide in the kitchen if I am not in a good mood, it is better for business. steve

Exactly, but that business could be doing 5,000 bucks a day serving a different kind of customer, it is not always about you, I do do not me you specificaly, but some people you will never please and they never tip, no mater what you do, there comes a time as a owner that you just stop bending over backwards to please someone. what is the point??? That is what I am talking about. I used to have street people who were customers, they paid there bill, they ask me if it was ok to come in today, they say it was slow, and they respected me if, I got busy, they would leave. It is not how someone looks but how someone is. I do not need them in my life Street people are just people I am the last one to judge someone( customer) based on how they look. I have seen someone drop huge money and they looked like a bag lady. After talking to them you realize they are not stupid. they order their food or coffe and mind their own business. It is people who disrupt my clients that pisses me off. It is like my house. We restaurant people spend more time at work then at home, so you better belive it, we choose the market we are in, and if one out of 10 people do not like something that is their problem, that is my point. I am not talking about service or if something is not done right. I am talking about the things you are always doing and someone complains because it is not to their liking. You do the best to accomadate them but at some point and time they are not worth the time. You can not be everything for everybody. Go to Mackdonalds, they serve the same shit everyday, that is why NorthAmericans love them. The same Tasteless bland crap everywhere steve

One more thing; customers are judging business owners everyday, service is not the only thing people will judge upon, Music is the biggest complaint I hear. “lady if you do not like the music why are you here" Maybe it is the market they are serving, that is the basis of everything. A restaurant is not your home; you do not get into someone’s car and complain about their music do you??

That is a server calling someone a but head not a owner---big difference As a owner it is a business decision not an emotional outburst, after 25 years you see them coming, I do not judge people by apearance but by their knowledge and behavior, and yes you can dis someone very nicely and if your good you can do it and they do not notice until they are gone. It is like dealing with drunk people, you do not have to be heavy handed and later they come back and shoot you, ther is a way to deal with people you do not want in your establishment, I am not saying to make a fool out of them that is not good business, plus I would never call them butheads to their face. steve

It is there somewhere, it was slighly a back hand coment someone made, like I better not complain or they will spit in my food, please don't make me find it steve PS it was not from a quot but somewhere in the miles of posts, I just had to add it.

Congratulations Katie You will bring that ship right in line. steve

1/4 c molasses and butter milk both will suck up moisture oil was mentioned, good idea use a different sweetner one that has liquid like juice was mentioned a couple of times happy baking steve

The Oatmeal, egg and juice or fruit are all good sugestions, also I would like to add the addition of ripe bannanas. steve

Wow! That is a lot of reading; by the time I got to the end I had to go back to the beginning because I forgot what the hell we were talking about. First I must give some bases to my presentation and I want to address both sides of the coin; the position of the owner and partner the Executive chef and the position of you the customer but necessarily you specifically and lastly the server who to me is a bit of the basis of the problem or the bad way this situation was handled. I can only guess from what you wrote, I am guessing the "CHEF" you are taking about is not the Executive Chef /owner/partner but the cook/chef?? Where is the Owner/Chef?What the server does not know; " She mentioned that they were probably breaking in a new chef" This is when the problem starts, this person does not know the menu or what is going on?? She seems to be just making something up, then running to the kitchen with her tail between her legs. Why did not the manager/owner know right away know about this problem; I ask could there been something done better at this point?? First of all, problems should always be handled by front of house first. She should have kept the problem within the front of house, which is what management is for; a chef is the last person you want to tell about this kind of feedback. The only time the kitchen should hear about any complaints is when they are involved other wise it should be on a need to know basis. If a meal needs to be re-done then this is what a manager is for, the server brings the problem up with management then management brings it up with who ever is in charge of the kitchen, any other time we Chefs do not want to hear about all the bull shit out front (That is to all you servers), bring us solutions not problems. We are in no position to deal with all the customer problems until it involves us, how can I fix something, we do not want all the details, just what has to be done. " chef this steak needs to be cooked more" Why do we need more crap, we have enough problems to deal with. Things can be discused at a future date when it is more appproperte, like after service, if the solution does not envolve the kitchen leave the problem with front of house management. " I would probably just order something else. " This statement is what gets chefs all riled up, which is why it is better to disuse these issues after service with the chef then the chef talks to the cook. I can not believe the owner would let the chef/ cook, where is her husband, go to the front of house in the manner they did, or was the Chef/owner who came out?? This is crazy! Unless it is the Owner/chef but it still does not make it right. It is all about communication, to me a filler is bread crumbs, other seafood is not a filler but is other seafood, the server has to get the right communication from the customer, that is their job, these days servers are way to under trained and do not know any thing other then bringing the customer their food. You are right; but I am still the owner, when it is my business, I choose who I want to do business with, I have said this a million times, it is all about regular customers, I am not afraid to dis a customer if I feel that they are not good for my staff and other customers and lastly my business and I do not give a shit how many assholes like themselves do not come because they told about their bad experience at my place because I have many more customers not where but- head came from, he or she can go back to the rock they crawled from. Lastly; buddy if I ever caught you spitting in someone's food, I would kill you on the spot, that is down right contemptable. steve

I thought I would give a plug to Tofino The season is beginning The Whale Festival starts March 19 CBC did a feature on them today Sounds like some good events going on fun for the kids but those pesky ferries?? steve PACIFIC WHALE FESTIVAL

When I was at the Whales tale ten years ago, some of my staff where squatting (camping) on one of the most beautiful beaches on the coast, not long beach, a little like Tonquin park beach in Tofuno, it was just outside of Uke, the road going to Albion, used to be a trail head near there, it was like 20 min hard hike to the beach, days off we would gather around there and eat lots of stuff from the ocean, we ate mussels many times and I am still here. They were a lot stronger than and not as sweet as east coast mussels. Oysters can be both a tidal and sub tidal species it is highly possible that mussels can fall under that category. Mussels need water to live so if they are not in sub tidal areas they will die. You would want to pay attention to tide charts and pick when the tides are just changing and yes bi valves in the summer are not the best time to eat Now finally we have a commercial mussel producer here on the coast, but I do not think they are in the retail market as of yet, it is still very limited in the commercial market. Washington state and Oregon have been doing commercial mussel production for a while; it is good to see BC getting its shit together. Our GOV has too much red tape. I say free enterprise sell off the gov and let every man women and child defend for them selves. (Just kidding) Although; I think there must be middle ground we can meet. steve

Food is sexual; so to flirt with like disaster, when food can raise the senses, to flirt. steve

The Broadway corridor; Broadway produce, and the five others, they all feature different things, some have better fruit some are the cheapest on the basics, a nice walk down broaday and swing back, you can touch all the basis. Commercial street; Normands, same thing but even better, bakery, meats, deli and produce, the whole gamat is covered. Main and king edward small stretch everything you would want. South granville, bakery, butcher,produce, not that cheap though. India towns fraser or main street Any where in china town If van has it, china town will have it steve

Jericho cafe

One of the main problems for produce in Vancouver that is for local non organic but sustainable or not heavy industrial farming that there is not central wholesale market like there is in Ontario. The whole produce is so controlled and comes through American lines, farming for local consumption is rather small, any big farms are going to export, so we export our food and import food to sell in our local markets. Granville Island was never really a local farmers market, it has stores in it, and they were for lease, then people could rent booths, this is where local farmers and Artisans could sell their wares. Many businesses have come and gone in GI but a few old stalwarts still remain. These days there is a lot of competition for produce and food products, Broadway, Main Street, South Granville, Commercial Drive, Victoria Drive, and Fraser Street. All these areas are just as exciting and have many stores that sell bread, meat and produce. So where would you go?? steve

ah Mama Gold's; the time my brother lived on York and I lived in whistler, something like 92->; I was visiting Van, it like snowed for like three days, the whole city stoped for a week, after snowing for like three days, the sun came out and Kits looked like a winter wonderland, people where like bringing their cross country skis and parking them at mama golds and going for a beer. It was some serious resort action going on here. It was some serious beauty going on at that time. I have not seen anything like that before and I have not seen it since, it was certainaly pure beauty. steve

Bakery in Granville island. I like them yes hot cross buns are generaly a trad easter thing. steve L.

That would be funsteve

Thanks chef, to bad I missed the deadline. steve