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Timh

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Everything posted by Timh

  1. As the Lagniappe is a part of the TP i just considered it as one. Still no reviews(I understand he halted during the BP catastrophy) but the restaurants didn't stop. As you know, the restaurant scene is as good as its ever been, and personally feel the bar has risen since Katrina. And there are enough interesting people doing intersting things to write about as well. Seems they(dining editors) either just gave up or lost interest.
  2. What has happened to the dining section? No restaurant reviews, mostly just announcements of events and occasional frilly pieces. The dining scene is as vibrant as ever, and the TP seems to be sitting on its pen. Are they becoming just another irrelevant food section of anytown, usa newspapers?
  3. I'd say this is just shrewed marketing, nothing more. Now he is in more demand and when he opens his sycophants will fall all over each other to get into his restaurant. While still popular, he had become a adjective for the gastro thing, his name and flame not so shocking anymore. I'm sure he'll come up with something interesting, at this point if he were to open a sub shop everyone would still flip out because of his brand. He's working is adoring public.
  4. As a former New Orleans chef who returns often (to help a friend with his restaurnat issues), Generally speaking you will make a modest hourly wage as a line cook, and you'll not work over 40, so you can pick up another line job . Its alot of work, but then thats where the action is. You can break in to the "Name " houses as a line cook, and advance. Besh is great about promoting from with in, Emeril too. There's a lot of movement in the industry, so once you get settled, other interesting opportunities seem to pop up.
  5. Gonna be in the city for Xmas. Whos open? Bars? Lunch, Dinner?
  6. Timh

    Chef abuse

    Refering to Robuchon, I remember an interview Ripert gave where the issue of Robuchon's temper(at Jamin) was brought up, and Ripert described the chef's temperment as "...dark.... and that he walked down a very dark street....." As a cook in Paris at the time, I occasionally ran into other cooks, some who either worked there or had worked there and they all shared the same sentiment.
  7. Timh

    Thermomix

    I used Thermomix while cooking in Paris. It was the most amazing tool in my station. In patisserie, we made (pecan) creme brulee as well as anglaise and custard bases. In garde manger we made hot soups to order, warm emulsions, etc. A great tool.
  8. IMHO ideas I would feel safe attempting: Taco/burrito BBQ burger/hot dog(creative) Fried chicken(variations) Cajun Soul food focusing on one theme. keep it simple ,high quality, and cheap.
  9. As born and bred Tn'er, be prepared to be underwhelmed with the culinary offerings, and overwhelmed w/ the number of fast food places.
  10. yes, you do have to pass health dept before local towns will liscence. Most trucks, if maintained(cleaned) are built to spec for health dept regs anyway. Just make sure sold storage is cold(thermometers) and hot storage(steam tables, soup bains, etc) are hot(thermometers). 3 bay sink set up(wash rinse, sanitize) Hand sink, soap, and papertowels, gloves.......same as a brick and mortar. Also think about where you will store your inventory. A truck probably wont have enough refer to hold prep and raw product. There are creative answers to this issue.
  11. First you have to get a state liscense, then one for the town you will operate in(health dept, zoning) consider rent of whoever's property you park on, even if its for half a day. Maintenance and up keep on the equiptment, as well as the truck itself, if its broken down you dont work. Setting up accounts with vendors or just shopping at Sams Club? Set up accounts. Consider costs of your opening inventory, Where will deliveries by purveyors be made? Where will the truck be parked in off hours? Consider 3 months operating capital to open. Find a reliable mechanic. Have Multiple spots lined up in the event one doesn't work. These are the issues I'm dealing with as I prepare to do the same. Look online for used trucks, go to see it in person, try to have a mechanic check it out, inspect the equiptment, the propane tanks and guages, the plumbing lines..........good luck.
  12. Rabbit is regular in new Orleans but unusual elswhere, also squirrel(I grew up on squirrel dumplings and gumbo), Catfish should be more mainstream too.
  13. Timh

    Ethereal Sauces

    I learned(in Japan and France) to keep the stocks just under a boil for a clearer, cleaner product. And doing a "reboil" on the bones, straining and adding back to the origional stock.
  14. Mimi's in the marigny is cool and funky local that serves tapas upstairs late. Coops for inner quarter scene and good gumbo, Herbsaint to see both sides of Donald Link (Cochon). And definitely the vietnamese recs are solid.
  15. Stella just got 75 beans. Go there.
  16. Well then, you're a Pablo. I spent 2 yrs in apprenticeship cooking in Japan. Did I prepare sushi? No. I worked in the prep area learning the basics that helped the chefs do their job. Back here I could be a pablo, anywhere.
  17. If you want to be one of the many, common mediocre sushi cooks, then your in the right frame of mind. If you want to truly learn the craft and develop your skills and become a respectable sushi cook, then stop asking "how long?" and time frames and just put in the time and discipline to perfect the techiques, not just perform them adequately. Anybody can learn to make mediocre sushi quickly.
  18. Timh

    Burger helper

    I would first figure the cost and the mark up on the final product. After all, its just a burger, and i doubt people will continue to pay more in this climate for something like a burger, even a really good one. I think duck fat would be overkill and not really add any more to the burger than just nailing your beef fat to meat ratio(30/70 imo). High quality toppings like bacon, cheese, sauces, etc. are where you cantake it to another level. And. the. Bun.
  19. I sream at my kids when they don't eat all of their food and then throw stuff if they don't bring their plate back to the sink, I fire my roomate consantly for leaving stuff out, or not labeling things in the fridge, if my date is late comming over for dinner, I cancel her reservation. I walk around in my chef clothes on my day off.... Seriously, no one cares outside of the restaurant.
  20. I think the same vehicle that helped create the celebrity chef is also slowly eroding the sheen on the stars, or at least the wanna-be's. Shows like Hells Kitchen, Next FN star show that one needs little cooking skill, just good timing, and some sort of angle to be promoted and then cast off. Anyone can do it, and who needs a stinkin' restaurant to be a famous chef?!?
  21. Taking over a schools districts cafeterias, hiring my own staff, picking my purveyors, and feeding the kids healthy good food, teaching them how to eat again. And then opening a cafeteria in the projects, hiring and training the local residents, and doing the same.
  22. Thats the difference between an experienced new employee and an inexperienced new employee. I expected precise and quick out of the experienced ones(gauged thru the interview process)and a starting from scratch approach with those that I felt had little realtime experience. So I expected little from the latter.
  23. Go in early and do a walk thru of the kitchen and coolers, to familiarize yourself where everything is. The #1 time waster of a new job is trying to figure out where things are. Try to acomplish 2 tasks at one time. Work clean. Step in to help, but don't get in over your head. Don't ever stop moving. After shift, while cleaning include any detail cleaning. Good luck!
  24. Donald Link is the who you would speak to first. He's the main chef/owner.
  25. Thats it, the WMD of kitchen chemicals.
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