Mikeb19

Stocks and broths are an infusion of flavours in water.... When you pan-roast a piece of meat in butter, put some herbs (bay leaf, thyme) on top of the meat as you baste it, the butter will transfer the flavour to the meat. When I use water in any of my cooking I look to use a stock or a bouillon. As for infusing flavours into fats, compound butters are a good example. The key though is not to cook at too high a heat with fats (infused or not), the heat will destroy your flavours/smoke and burn...

I've seen the CRA audit restaurants as well as individual servers....

Fourme d'ambert and Roquefort. I've also had a few very good soft cheeses w/ blue veins, but forget the names...

My grandmother. She got me interested in cuisine to begin with, and I'd never cooked anything for her (she died before I started cooking professionally). Other than that though, I'm content to cook for regular people who just enjoy good food. What do I enjoy cooking most? Ukrainian food - most people look at me kind of wierd when I say that, I mean they think that this French kid who works in French restaurants (haute cuisine) would be cooking French food, but my culinary heritage is entirely Ukrainian (my mother came from a line of amazing Ukrainian cooks). Anyhow, I'd probably serve borshch, holubsti (stuffed with buckwheat, w/ mushroom sauce), vareniky (potato/farmers cheese), home-made sausage, a lamb or maybe poultry roast, trout, raspberry soup (or warm compote in the winter), and of course, several breads and either fresh or pickled vegetables. (not in that order) *Properly* made Ukrainian food IMO can compete with ANY other cuisine.

I really don't know about this one... My grandfather is 84 years old, and still works every single day. He's about 5'9", 200 lbs, and strong as an ox (and in better medical shape than most middle aged folks). Eats a ton too (eats a typical Ukrainian diet). I've had many ancestors live past 90, and they were all decent sized people, I really don't buy into this calorie restriction stuff... When I was younger, I used to be really skinny (6'1, 145 lbs or so). In the last couple years, I've bulked up a ton (190 lbs now @ 9 percent body fat), and I must say, I feel alot better. More energy, stronger, better posture, etc... And honestly, even if this did cost me 10 years of life (although I don't think it will), I'd rather live well but shorter, than live a long life of starvation.

I do know that in Ukrainian meals theres always some pickles on the table... I think it has mostly to do with food storage. I remember eating 5 year old pickles that were still incredibly tasty...

In a restaurant dessert I like to see, first of all, taste. All the flavours on the plate need to go together. I hate it when chefs think with their head instead of their palate (ie. overthink a dessert, get too creative and forget about what really matters - taste). Second, texture (often the toughest thing to get right). It affects how we percieve those flavours, and mouthfeel is a very important part of enjoying food. Style? If you prepare something properly, it WILL look good. Alot of people misuse chocolate - they think if they throw chocolate at something it will taste good, instead of coming up with great pairings. Cooks for the most part need to learn how to do pastries. I was lucky during my apprenticeship - I did pastries every single day, in addition to working on the line (both hot and cold). I've been a restaurant pastry cook as well as a Chef de Partie on the line. Sooo many kitchens I've walked into had competent appetizers and main courses, but terrible desserts. For the most part it's due to a lack of a competent pastry cook, and a chef who has not had enough training in pastries.

You have no idea how hard it is to find good fruits (especially berries). Year round - it's impossible - imported fruits, well, suck. That's why we'll stock up on fruits, purée them and freeze them to make sorbets, glaces and other stuff during the winter.

Good cheeses are very expensive in North America. That's why you don't see them in moderately priced restaurants. Not to mention most people around here don't appreciate good cheese. But yes, I love cheese plates. I love making them too. I would always add several accompaniments to my cheese courses, usually one thing to pair with each type of cheese.

Technique is key. No-fail technique right here. I've used it many times in pro kitchens. Put the cream on the stove to scald it. Mix the egg yolks with the sugar. Once the cream comes up to a boil, temper it slowly into the egg yolk mixture, mixing the whole time, until all the cream is in the mix. At this point, a 'foam' forms on top. Skim it off (the brulées will look nicer). Put the mixture in a pot, and cook on the stove (while stirring, low heat also) until it reaches a temperature of 82 degrees celcius (crème anglaise stage). Put into ramekins, then into a water bath (water bath must be hot, about the same temperature as the custard), and cover the whole tray with aluminum foil, leaving a few small holes. Cook in a 300 degree oven until set (should look kind of like jello, once they cool down they'll be solid but still give way in your mouth). Result - smooth, creamy custard, nice shiny tops.

The restaurant business is difficult. It's unlike any other business. I can't imagine possibly opening a restaurant without intimate knowledge of the business. What alot of people forget, is that a good chef is your most important asset. I've recently seen several restaurants do very poorly because of a lack of a stable, skilled chef (the owner thought it would be a good idea to hire 2 co-chefs at the last minute - well the idea bombed, and hard). As nice as the decor, drinks, service is, people come for the food. Bad food and you won't get any return business. The best restaurants I've seen always have been ones in which the chef had a financial stake in the restaurant (owner/part owner). I've seen it happen - the owner and chef have a disagreement, the chef leaves and takes the whole staff, and the restaurant is forced to close. In any business, you need a product. Then you build your business around that product. You can't build a business, and then at the last minute come up with your product and hope to be successful.

First off, thanks M. Liebrandt for answering questions. As an up and coming cook it's always nice to be able to converse with others who have come up before me. Now, as cooks get more and more creative with flavour profiles, and dishes get more complex with multiple elements on each plate, how do you handle wine pairings? Do you create each dish with a wine (or other bevereage) in mind, or do you create a dish and then pair a wine to it? And also, I'm very curious. What were the logistics involved in a restaurant such as yours at Gilt or at Pierre Gagnaire's restaurant?

Chain restaurant: Large restaurant, everyone from the 'hood worked there, and everyone was friends. Work itself sucked, but we partied very, very hard - I mean, even looking back at those days I still cannot believe some of the stuff that happened. Golf course: Lots of banquets, long hours, but the work itself was easy. Food was a step up from the chain restaurant. Partied hard, drank way too much. Fine dining Italian restaurant: Amazing food. Worked way too much, 70 hour weeks, was on salary so the money was terrible for the workload. Partied pretty hard. Fine dining French restaurant (favourite place): Best food of all the restaurants I've worked at. Long hours, but made an hourly wage. Very small staff, everyone was tight. Not your standard brigade - there was the Chef, and everyone else. Pretty chillin place - not too much in the way of partying, but we had fun. We won alot of awards. Still friends with the chef and many others long after leaving. Least favourite places? I never stayed longer than a month - I absolutely refuse to work somewhere I don't enjoy. About a dozen of these types of jobs... Currently looking around for a restaurant to work at. Looking at France, England, and elsewhere.

Just curious, why would people want to replace fats in recipes? Not all fats are bad for you, some are very good actually. They have a place in a balanced diet.

Cook the custard to crème anglaise stage (82 degrees celcius) before pouring it into ramekins, and make sure your water bath is the same temp as the custard mix initially.

Give the skin a quick sear AFTER resting it (in a pan or under a broiler). High heat so the skin crisps up, very briefly - you don't want the breast cooking any more... And yes, don't cover the breast either (it will steam).

So, when a server clumsily bumps into another and breaks some glassware, they can pay it out of their pocket... When a customer walks out of the restaurant without paying, the server pays out of their pocket. When a server sends the wrong food to a table, or the wrong drink, they can pay it out of their pocket. When a server drops a bottle of wine, they can pay for it out of their pocket... Those are the kinds of costs that were getting covered by the "house" tip, rather than making servers pay for their own mistakes. Let's just say no one complained... And the less mistakes that were made, the better a staff party we got. (let's just say the staff parties at that restaurant were some of the best parties I've EVER been at - one we booked out another restaurant, hired a DJ to spin tracks, all food and alcohol was paid for, as was cab fare home - another party we got the full VIP treatment for the entire staff at a popular club downtown, again with free drinks and cab fare home) And one last thing - tip money is NOT tax free. Our restaurant got audited on a regular basis, as did many of the servers and bartenders.

I use cracked buckwheat... (result is a little creamier than whole) Here it's available in small bags, much like granola comes in. At the supermarket you can get buckwheat, quinoa, and many mixed grain blends... Kasha literally means porridge, theres a ton of varieties out there. Anyhow, to cook, I bring some water seasoned with salt and sugar to a boil (2 part water for 1 part buckwheat), add the buckwheat, bring back to a simmer, then let it cook until it's done (I'm bad with recipes, takes about 10 minutes). Don't stir, it's quite starchy already, you don't want to break down the grains too much. Once it's done, add some fresh fruit, some nuts and honey (however your preferences are), and enjoy. It's not haute cuisine by any means, but it's very nutritious. Edit - forgot to add, buckwheat is apparently the best source of protein from plants there is, not to mention it's other good properties (vitamins, minerals, etc....).

Uses for buckwheat... Blini (crèpes), kashas (porridge), holubsti (cabbage rolls), breads, cakes, etc... I'll often have some buckwheat kasha in the morning with fresh fruit, nuts and honey - good and nutritious, great way to start the day.

I actually started shaving my head because I dislike the heat... In closed kitchens it's never an issue, no one makes me wear a hat. (not even French chefs) As for beard hairs falling out, I honestly can't recall ever seeing one. I'll only lose the occassional eyebrow hair... One rule I think should apply in all professional kitchens though, is that everyone should keep their hair well trimmed and groomed. Nothing worse than seeing a cook who looks like they haven't shaved or taken a shower in a week... I'm all about looking PROFESSIONAL - while I certainly am not the most traditional looking guy, no one has ever told me I looked unprofessional. In several kitchens where I was simply a cook, I'd been mistaken as the chef, because of the way I present and carry myself...

A FoH manager in a casual dining restaurant makes a pathetic salary, if they didn't recieve a cut of the tips there'd be absolutely no incentive to be a manager... I had friends in these kinds of restaurants who would refuse promotions every couple months, they just wanted to keep on serving/bartending because they make alot more money.... Just like in the kitchen, with the hours I was pulling I was making alot more on my pathetic wage than some of the managers were on salary (over half of my hours were overtime hours...). And no, managers don't get to decide what the tip pool is or where it goes in a corporate restaurant.... It's all strictly regulated by head office - they decide how much the tip pool is, and they decide who gets a portion of it... It stays the same for every restaurant in the chain. (ex. Server tips out 7% of their total sales, 3 percent to the kitchen, 1 percent to the bar, 1 percent to the managers, 1 percent to the hostesses, 1 percent to the house - covers breakage, spillage, staff parties, etc...)

My favourite cookbook, without a doubt, "Encyclopédie culinaire du XXIe siècle", by Marc Veyrat. In my opinion, it really does live up to its name, the techniques are all cutting edge, it contains every base recipe and technique you need, as well as many original recipes, both rustic and avant-garde.... It's a book I can read out of for hours just for enjoyment, as well as a book I can refer to when making just about any food.... Worth every penny, without a doubt (and it cost me ALOT of them...).

It's been my experience that all that matters these days is $$$. If you have money, no matter what ethnicity you are you'll have a much easier time getting ahead than someone without money. Money matters when you choose what culinary school to go to - the rich go to CIA, the poor either go to a community college or don't go at all. When you're an apprentice - if you have money, you can go to the best restaurants and work for free or minimum wage, if you don't have money, then you need to get paid for your work, and might not be able to get those top apprenticeships. If you have money - you can tour and do stages around Europe, eat at the best restaurants, learn using that approach. And finally, if you come from money, odds are good that you'll have someone to fund your future restaurant... If you're poor, you'll likely have to take a job at a chain restaurant to pay your bills, work the line for years before getting into middle-management, and by the time you're middle-aged you might get a chef job in a casual dining restaurant. You need to be incredibly lucky and talented to be the exception... Money > ethnicity....

That's interesting. Beard nets for ANY facial hair or just long beards? They going to make guys shave their arms as well? While we're at it, how about eyebrows? Most kitchens I've worked in I've avoided having to wear any hat at all since I shave my head, I do however have a bit of a beard, but I trim/shave everyday (to keep from looking dirty... plus it's the only way my chef would ever let me keep facial hair).

It happens. In the world in general, sometimes just working hard isn't enough. I had one job, where I was cooking where the sous-chef was supposed to, I was supervising the night shift, heck I was the guy cooking for all the cameras and food critics (the restaurant in question was highly rated, many awards). I was logging more hours than the sous, and I was the one going to the farmers' market with the executive chef to pick out produce. I was also doing the most technical pastries and specials every night (I also had to train our pastry 'chef', who couldn't even make decent ganache). But guess what? I was barely making more than the dishwasher, and was payed lower than all of the people I trained and supervised... Why? Because I was just a kid living in the housing projects, who couldn't afford to get my papers - and despite the chef's best attempts, the owner refused to pay me what I was worth. Now I'm confused. In one post you imply that you've been passed over for a promotion because you're black, and in another post you say you've never felt uncomfortable due to your privileged upbringing?