Timh

Hi, My experience has been to pull the neck bone from the skin. Poach it and pull the meat to add to the stuffing. after stuffing and sewing the ends the neck was confit'd. I would just grab the neck bone and pull it, basically turning the skin inside out like a sock. We served it as an amuse bouche. Good Luck!

Where does money factor into drive, skill and eventual ability? i have known loads of rich kids , went to the right schools, and faded in the kitchens. I also know loads of low income kids(I'm one of them) who worked hard , learned and achieved. The silver spoon will buy the position, but its the skill that holds it. Some of the kitchens I worked in, Carlo's, Brasserie Jo, in Chicago, (look in any kitchen in chi-town for that matter) and you'll see mostly hispanics,and more than a few women, and even more than a few of the same in leading roles, because they strove for it, not because of some altruistic namby pamby idealism. They earned it. Did any of the listed chefs of color (or women for that matter) achieve their position because some owner felt the need to right a "social injustice' and do a political feel good? No, they got there because they worked hard, learned their craft, and put themselves in the positon of promotion.

Yeah, whatever, all the same right... So all Blacks, Hispanics, whatever just want to work and get more money, not fame, promotion, fortune, celebrity etc? What gives you this impression? Yeah, professional kitchens are the picture of fairness and equal oppertunity. No really, If in YOUR PERCEPTION Blacks and Hispanics, and whatever, just wanted to go in and get the job done for more money, why would hard work, skill and dilligence matter at all- if THEY didn't want to move foreward. Saying someone works hard, but seems more than happy to pass on a promotion (other than more money. say) seems a bit nearsighted, no? Uh, my experience in the industry. Where do you draw your conclusions from? Why are hardworking people being passed up for promotions? Rascism exists! Sometimes stepping up to the plate is just not enough- someones got to throw you a pitch. ← Uh, my experience in the industry. Where do you draw your conclusions from?Ok, so we should promote on quotas, to fill niches, how about you bank rolling this establishment? As a exec and head chef, I promote on the ability to perform and the willingness to accept the responsibilities. Again I say, not every cook wants this responsibility. Why is this so hard to believe? Its prevalent in every other industry. If I had a majority of blacks applying for positions in my kitchens, then I would have a majority of blacks working in them, or any other race. But in my house, the cooking is technical, so there must be a base level of technical proficiency to step in at a cooking level. I promote from within, my dishwasher will soon move up to a cook position, but will he be head chef soon , no. Its a craft and take years to learn, will he have the patience to learn, who knows? Maybe you can give him a pep talk. Brazilians make up most of the kitchen crews in my area, some are motivated to ascend the ladder, and they do, others just want reliabilty and consistency with out the weight of resposibilty of leadership. They come in do their job great, and leave. Whats wrong with that? A great idea; Go out and ask these folks their opinions, everyone seems to be speaking for them instead. ← yeah. I AM one of them. Me a Black cook, yup, me. Culinary school, line cooking, editorial food...me. I know how I feel and my experiances, and guess what? they are totally valid and 100% the subject at hand. I am what we are discussing, so pehaps I should go give myself a pep talk after I get ignored for a promotion, or totally underpaid. It SUCKS to watch people with the exact same credentials or less move foreward or right past you. After a little while you stop making excuses for your loving bosses and try to examine what's really going on. hmm...maybe it's because I'm a woman? ← So now thats two crutches to carry you around. How about ability being the primary factor in promotion? Culinary school holds no weight. It s easy to find convenient excuses like race and gender when the sole issue that everyone looks to as the determining factor often is in fact skill and ability. All of the restaurant owners I know could care less about the make up of their staff, as long as they are qualified and skilled to do their job.

I'm confused, you didn't like the food, or most of it, but its was "a home run" meal. I know the chef(Jason) and think highly of him, but critiques such as yours are confusing to those that may want to try his food.

Yeah, whatever, all the same right... So all Blacks, Hispanics, whatever just want to work and get more money, not fame, promotion, fortune, celebrity etc? What gives you this impression? Yeah, professional kitchens are the picture of fairness and equal oppertunity. No really, If in YOUR PERCEPTION Blacks and Hispanics, and whatever, just wanted to go in and get the job done for more money, why would hard work, skill and dilligence matter at all- if THEY didn't want to move foreward. Saying someone works hard, but seems more than happy to pass on a promotion (other than more money. say) seems a bit nearsighted, no? Uh, my experience in the industry. Where do you draw your conclusions from? Why are hardworking people being passed up for promotions? Rascism exists! Sometimes stepping up to the plate is just not enough- someones got to throw you a pitch. ← Uh, my experience in the industry. Where do you draw your conclusions from?Ok, so we should promote on quotas, to fill niches, how about you bank rolling this establishment? As a exec and head chef, I promote on the ability to perform and the willingness to accept the responsibilities. Again I say, not every cook wants this responsibility. Why is this so hard to believe? Its prevalent in every other industry. If I had a majority of blacks applying for positions in my kitchens, then I would have a majority of blacks working in them, or any other race. But in my house, the cooking is technical, so there must be a base level of technical proficiency to step in at a cooking level. I promote from within, my dishwasher will soon move up to a cook position, but will he be head chef soon , no. Its a craft and take years to learn, will he have the patience to learn, who knows? Maybe you can give him a pep talk. Brazilians make up most of the kitchen crews in my area, some are motivated to ascend the ladder, and they do, others just want reliabilty and consistency with out the weight of resposibilty of leadership. They come in do their job great, and leave. Whats wrong with that? A great idea; Go out and ask these folks their opinions, everyone seems to be speaking for them instead.

My gals and guys are required to wear the little "bakers" caps. I also wear one, but will wear a bo'sox or patriots hat, or even my fave cowboy hat - cause I can. But I still wear a hat the same. Any one refuse and they are out the door immediately(actually, refusing anything will get one there)

In my experience in a slew of professional kitchens from the midwest, to the northeast, to mid atlantic, and then the deep south, the call of racism I find ridiculous. While yes, the kitchens are full of Hispanics, Blacks, whatever, if anyone strives to ascend the ladder they most assuredly would have the opportunity I felt. But most just wanted to come in and do their job and hope for a raise each year. The professional kitchen is one place in my experience that one can acheive by virtue of hard work, skill, and dilligence. That there arent alot of faces of color on TV isnt the industry's fault, its because there are so few of color stepping up to the plate. I'd be interested to know the stats of how many people of color, hispanics, etc., even women , apply to positions in the upper tier of the restaurants in places like NY, SF, etc., for line positions, sous, etc.

The BBQ Shop on madison in Midtown is the BEST BBQ in town, without all of the hype. The other places are tourists traps. If Aubergine is still operating, its one of the best modern French restaurants in the country no one has heard of.(I was the Sous there many years ago, the chef is a tragic genius). There is a great Viet place in the med. area between midtown and Downtown(next to a artificial limb factory, for atmosphere).

Toro, Butchershop, B&G Oyster, Neptune Oyster, Avoid the northend, poser Italian food, go straight to Tomasso on Rt.9(west) in Southborough.

You should have quit yesterday. Life is too short to cook crappy food, or work in undesireable positions. There are better positions out there and if one is industrious, creative, and flexible, there are better opportunities to be had.

As a separated father of two little girls, (joint custody) I'm rather lucky in that I 'm a chef of a little Italian enoteca and so my girls come in when I have them(actually the nanny). On my off days we eat out. When out they will try almost anything, salad, most veggies, etc., but at home they retreat to a very limited range of what I might guess are sort of comfort, requiring no thought or energy, types of food(chiken veg soup, pasta, fruit/cheese/triscuits, hot dogs, etc.) Their mother mentions the same habits.

I reccommend stainless steel(Allclad, et al) over copper if for nothing else than the up keep. Keeping those bad boys copper shiny is a weekly labor, if not daily. If its not important, than I don't understand the arguement. Stainless does everything copper does, at less cost, and labor. You can find those cheap tin lined copper pans for decoration at flea markets.

Greetings all, I had requested a recipe for Baba and was givin a recipe from the "Italianmade.com" site. Well, sorry to say its incomplete at best. Its missing sugar in the dough recipe as called for, and the flour amount is incorrect. I apologise for being such a drag. I'm a chef of a new enoteca here in Ma and we're trying our hardest to do honest regional foods nad finding a baba recipe has been trying. I have brioche from my estagier days in Paris, but really want a local recipe. Tim

Thank you everyone for the great suggestions! I'll report back on their findings when they return. Tim

My parents will be in Sauternes for a week and I want to give them wine and dine suggestions. They will also be staying in St. Emillion, before fininshing in Paris. Merci! Tim

I would also recommend Tommasso in Southboro(Rt. 9). The chef is one of yhe more technically profficient Italian chefs in Boston, go eat there and see for yourself.

I second the liquid bandaid(as long as it contains the gallons of blood you are probably letting. Add to that painkillers and take out . Don't forget, if you use a turnequet, loosen it every 15 seconds.

Learning the basics before moving on to the more advanced. But everyone today seems to want instant gratification, resulting in misinterpreted and misunderstood cooking method and even more so a mile wide of "creativity" thats a 1/2 inch of " skill" deep.

Hate to rain on your sun tea, (I grew up on it in Tn.) but from what i have been told by those in authority at Upton Tea Importers, the main reason sun tea turns is the median temp of the tea is conducive to bacterial growth(it sits there for a while at a warm temp). Cold brewing is less likely to turn as quick. (I drink 1.5 gal. of tea a week in the summer).

I'm really excited by this review, I'll be there this weekend. Thanks

I apprenticed 2 years in Japan(and after, 2 yrs in Paris). The Japan experience I consider complementary to the experience in France. For me it happened backwards, as what I absorbed in Japan was a more stylistic of what I learned in France.

Interesting thread. brings nack memories of my culinary school days. Alot can happen between your externship and graduation, but what i would recommend is upon graduation, going to France and spending a year apprenticing in one of the recognized patisserie houses(Lenotre comes to mind). Do it before you start your carreer, you may never have another chance. I think its important on so many levels: 1) to live and work in a culture of patisserie(we are not here in the states) instills a deeper approach to the art. 2)France, Pastry= technical skill + innovation(a strong foundation with integrity).3) Just the experience of it. Good luck!

Funny you bring that up. I managed to develop a whole repetoir of grilled cheese sandwiches out of neccesity, but must confess that I rather like them myself. As I mentioned earlier I'm fortunate enough to have Pain D'auvignon in my backyard so i have a tremendous base from which to start. The two they most want are a cheddar and bacon and a cheddar w/ thin sliced caramelized onions. Welsh rarebit is popular too. I've got a panini press also. But its hard to beat butter or olive oil griddled sandwiches imo.

Hi Miriam, the way I see it, I can always come back to this little niche if my restaurant endeavors go south. But I trained my whole life to be a chef and to lead a kitchen team and,well, thats what I'm going to do. Regret is my biggest fear and driving motivation. Your story is very interesting, I can so relate and who knows, maybe one of my next patrons will be my next employer(though at this point I can definitely say they won't be my next wife )

The scenario today- This week has been a soft one as the Mr. and his son(18yr old) flew to their estate in Boca for the week. Just the mrs. and 2 girls(13, 16). Yes they have their own private jet, so they are able to change their travel plans on a moments notice. They've turned around mid flight to Europe before because one of the kids really didn't want to miss a skating PRACTICE. I've been called home from my vacation early because they have decided to cut short their hiatus due to rain, boredom or whatever. So during my lame duck(chef) period i'm being a little more adventurous with the food to keep myself interested. But also expecting to walk in and see the whole family there, just never know. Tonight: The girls will get - panko breaded fried shrimp, pilaf w/ fresh peas, corn, and basmati. The Mrs.- I poached a lobster and will cut the tail into medallions and along with the knuckle and claws will also bread in panko and fry. Will make a tartar sauce for her too. grilled asparagus to garnish. A small greek salad with just tomatoes, red onion, seeded cuccumber, peppadews, arugula and feta to start. Any left over poached lobster I'll make a lobster salad for sandwiches for the weekend. Extra grilled asparagus I'll toss in vinaigrette and toss on the antipasti platter, and the peas and corn I'll mix with leftover tartar sauce for a sort of wacky version od salad macedoine(look it up in Larrousse).