Tonyy13

Hey Everyone! I am starting a new business in the Orlando area, and want to expand to start doing some things at Farmer's Markets. I would love to A)Make some preserves like pickles, chutneys, jams, and condiments for sale under my company name, B)Eventually maybe do pre-made sandwiches that are high quality and finally, C)Sell things like stocks, reductions like veal and chicken glace, duck fat, confit, my own smoked bacons, etc. The problem is, I can't find any resources for info on what permits I need or what agency to apply to for said permits. Any help out there for a lad who is trying to raise the bar in Orlando? i would really appreicate it! Thanks! Also, if you could help with any info on packaging guidelines, that would be great! Thanks! TA Edited to ask about packaging guidelines. I don't want to get sued. That would be rough on business.

That is, by far, the most specific reply I have ever seen on eG. Thanks wlg.

Do not venture to anything Emeril, please, for the love of God. It is touristy and not great. Better choices: Luma on Park in nearby Winter Park. Also there is a new place, called The Ravenous Pig, supposed to be rockin! Check out Doc's too, it is right downtown, and I have heard decent things. There is an outlet of Primo (full disclosure, I worked at the original in Maine), and I have never been dissapointed. Right next to Primo at the JW Marriot is the Ritz, which holds a Norman's (of Van Aken fame). Other than that, if you are into crazy Asian, check out our section of town called Little Saigon. It is the area downtown on Rt. 50 (Colonial Ave). It is my choice for eats more often than not. Have fun! Hope the mouse doesn't bite your wallet too hard! TA

Whenever I braise rabbit, I add cream to the braising liquid. The fat in the cream helps keep the meat more moist than it would be otherwise. Other things I have done are curing and then poaching in clarified butter or duck fat. Good luck! TA

Hey guys, I teach the process of consomme all the time to my students. Here is what I tell them.... Cold stock- you want as much gelatin in the stock as possible. you also want it cold, because if you put your raft ingredients into it while it is warm, you are going to end up with funky egg drop soup. Not nice. The Raft- consists of cold lean ground protein, egg whites, acid (usully tomato paste), chopped or food-processed raw vegetables, and sesoning/herbs Protein- You want this stuff LEAN! NO fat... not good for the clarity, and it will make a grease slick on the top. The protein does does contribute to the clarification process, but IS NOT NECESSARY, as it's primary function is FLAVOR RENEWAL. Egg White- Are the work horse of the clarification process. When added to the cold stock, they will form a coagulated net in which the stock will filter through, creating a Brita-like effect. I whip my egg whites just like Morimoto did, and was surprised that no one had ever seen this. The reason I do it is so that I don' t have to stand and stir the pot as it comes up to heat because the trapped air makes it float. The raft has a tendancey to sink and burn when you don't whip it, so it is important to sit and stir it making sure that you don't burn. Egg whites are VITAL to the consomme process. Acid- Usually in the form of tomato paste, they make the proteins more efficient at coagulation. Also adds color and some flavor. It is NOT NECESSARY to make consomme. Vegetables- cut very small, they are used to provide structure to the fragile egg whites once they have coagulated. If I had all day, I would prefer thin juliennes, but since I don't, I usually just throw it in the robot coupe and go till they are quite small. Most chefs consider this blasphame, but I don't care. They veg's main job is flavor renewal, and they ARE NOT NECESSARY to the consomme process. They can also add color if you are talkign about carrots. Herbs and Seasonings- Only there for flavor. We used to do a mussel dish with a "pho" consomme, and used to put fish sauce, kaffir lime, and thai basil in with the raft to flavor the broth. Most chefs will use cheesecloth, which turns it into like a floating diaper if you ask me, so I don't use any (not to mention cheesecloth is quite expensive). I mean, it is gonna get caught up in the raft anyway, who cares? Salt can be added after the straining process (always through a coffee filter lined chinoise), but I prefer to add pepper flavor in teh form of whole peppercorns in the raft. Otherwise, I have had some back luck with clouding when added post strain. Hope this helps! TA

Hey guys, I wsa reading in here a few months ago that someone was using a tabletop proofer meant for bread to age their stuff in. Now, after going through 70 plus pages in the forum, can't find where those posts were! So, please, does anyone have one of these tabletop proofers? I am goign to try to get my boss to get one so I can teach more about this in my Garde Manger class. Thanks! TA

I teach Garde Manger at a culinary school, and my vote is to cook it quickly. I see no advantage of not cooking it, and only downsides (such as a slight bloody taste, and health hazards if you don't heat the Nitrate if you have added any). And curing is a definite. For flavor and safety. My $.02!!

So, I was filleting fish yesterday in front of my class, and my boning knife snapped in the middle of the demo! I have it on video too, which is pretty freaking cool, but anyway..... I need to send it into Henkel or Wusthof, but am not sure which is is, as I have ground the etching off. So, can anyone help me? It is a "full tang" from front to back, but the tang does not extend all the way to the bottom of the handle. Also, around the rivets are raised up. Here is a picture. I know you guys will help me out with what brand and series this is! Thanks! TA

Hey guys, everythign looks wonderful! I have the wonderful privelige of working with Joe Utera every single day, and he is as nice a guy as one could ask for. The thing is, we work for the Orlando Culinary Academy Le Cordon Bleu (that's the official name anyway, I have no idea where the Ramirez reference came from other than the other competitor) You think they look good? I get to taste them from time to time! Haha!

Orlando is quite spread out. I can drive for 40 minutes on a set of interstates, and still be within Orlando mailing addresses. A bunch of it is urban though, however, our downtown is dispicable. It is all clubs and bars for the kiddies on Friday and Saturday nights. We have some plusses: one of the largest population of Vietnamese in America and local honey is widely available. Socio economic makeup of Orlando? You can't use big words like that with a slow chef like myself LOTS of disposable income. Lets just say that.

I was recently in Ottawa, and had a great meal at Beckta, but to be honest, it was the culinary highlight, other than Signatures, which is the restaurant at the Le Cordon Bleu school there, which is where I was getting some corporate training. Both meals were far superior and much more contemporary than just about anything you would find in Orlando. Much more exciting though, was the open market and shops near the open market selling produce and goods locally grown and produced. There were cheese and charcuterie shops, and high quality vendors everywhere. Here in Orlando, we have "farmer's" markets, but if you get there early enough, you will see the same produce trucks we have our Argentinian tomatoes delivered from at work dropping off their goods to several vendors. At the Winter Park Farmer's Market, there is one real farmer who sells his grown produce, which is usually only a few types of lettuces and some herbs, supplimented by some flowers. The only other thing that comes close is a couple that have a stand selling their hydroponic produce (which could be produced in Antarctica if you had enough space heaters). The appreciation of ingredients is not there, and I don't think that it will improve until the public demands new and better (read: not iceburg or mesclin mix and not from Chile) ingredients. Fact: Organic is not always better, but local almost always is. Fact: repackage anything into blueish strawberry quart boxes, and people will think that it is locally grown. Fact: That is a problem. I don't think that the public is even aware of this, and to some extent, I think that this falls on the shoulders of our local food writer, Scott Joseph. He and the one other lady who write in the weekly food column (Anything and everything to do with Food is handled by Mr. Joseph), recently had such a hard time coming up with stuff to fill both (yes, 2) pages of what we weakly call the food section, that there were articles lifted from the New York Times and the Chicago Tribune. The articles that they DID write, reviewed a 24 hour Mexican restaurant ("Great! Portions are big enough to eat for days!"), and I believe a review of how to reheat food effectively (these may not be the actual article subjects, it has been a while since I have picked up the Sentinel food section, but you get the point). So, to clarify, #1) what effect does the local food media have on the level of cuisine? When we had a local food magazine into the school to do an article on us, I almost refused to let them shoot my food because of how bad of a job they do on a regular basis. My boss forced me to make food for the shoot, and of course, they somehow made a homemade warm lemon tart with toasted homemade marshmallows look like it came from Little Debbie, even though it was plated beautifully. #2) What role does proximity to a prestigious culinary school play? Ottawa has LCB. LCB here in Orlando (where I work), churns out 200 grads every three months, but Disney, I am sure, trains so many more, and has a grip on the local food attitude in general I believe. But Providence, such great restaurants (Johnson and Wales), Charleston (now closed JWU), Chicago (too many to list), New York (FCI, CIA upstate), due to the high amount of cheap labor (a dime a dozen as they say), does that allow chefs to be creative, and maybe have their food cost a little higher due to a little lower labor cost? Does it inoculate the local food scene with educated and passionate foodies?

She's crazy. I would tell the lady to come to the store, and if she could produce a reciept, I would give her a refund for the sandwich only. If she has a problem with that, I would just tell her it might not be a great idea for her to continue to be a patron of my business. This business is tough enough, you should tell her about this annoying customer who keeps ruining your day!

Ok, so I have lived in Orlando for about three years now. Since moving down here, I have been appalled at the lack of a food scene in and around Orlando. Now, my poor reviews of places have been well documented, and had my hand slapped on more than one occasion by other EG'ers who seem to love the mediocrity of the food in our town, but I am not gonna stop singing my song. The lack of serious chefs who are determined to make a name for themselves, lack of artisinal ingredients, the lack of honest and educated food writing, and a myriad of people who don't know a great meal from a satisfactory meal are astounding. Even some of my colleagues, I fear, don't know a great restaurant that is going to provide a great meal instead of an ok restaurant that is going to suffice for just nutritional sustenance. I blame the Mouse for this, as Disney has taught every O-Towner that "Whatever you want, you can get, no matter what, at all cost", and let's face it, while Trotter and Boloud will try their very best to do what you want, they will not exit from their vision. Chef's and line cooks call out at an astounding rate down here, due to the fact that they have all worked for the Mouse, and that is accepted. Never have I worked anywhere where you can call out on the line for a lunch shift, let alone three or four a week, and I have my students tell me all the time that is what happens. Is it just that the Chefs themselves don't respect the business or the industry or the time or effort that goes into making each experience be incredible? I would rather travel to Athens, GA to get a great meal (Five and Ten) than try to slodge to another restaurant in Orlando. I just don't think it will ever get better here. You would think that Orlando could sustain a food industry, with all the celebrities that live here, with all the business that goes on in our city. But instead, when I did a quick stint at Season's 52 (a new Darden concept, healthy cooking, but still, turn and burn 500 covers a night of mindless food), Jordan, Tiger, celebrities galore were there. So, my question is, was your food city a culinary wasteland like Orlando? Full of chains and people who think that "all you can eat" is a great choice? What did you see? What age group was the increase of foodies concentrated in? What kind of stores did you noticed open, and were able to stay open through constant business?

Hey Guys, I need some help. I am almost embarassed to ask this question, but I have been doing research online, and just can't seem to find the names for the different sizes of tourne out there. I have waded through probably 100 web pages, the whole time knowing all my EG friends had the answer. So, anyone know?

I'm sorry, can you explain your issues with this a little more? Demi-glace is a mother sauce, and as you add ingredients to it, it becomes a chive demi-glace, or mushroom demi-glace, so forth and so on. Also, if you take the literal meaning in France (demi- meaning half, and glace- meaning reduction to a syrup or by 90%), demiglace could be any liquid reduced by 50%, no? If I see Demi, I assume it is the mother sauce base, and I HATE demi, but I don't have a problem with people telling me the predominant flavoring addition in it! My favorite at the Asian Market: Boneless Pork Loin Beef. WTF?