Mikeb19

Let's see... The most demeaning job I ever had to do was when I was still an apprentice, the chef asked me to scrub the stairs going to the basement (prep areas). Another good time at that restaurant - we were doing a private function at a client's house, and we set up a makeshift kitchen in his backyard. It was about -15 to -20 degrees celcius (yes, that's BELOW freezing), but we had a nice heated tent, and we had power for the induction burners and lights. Then the power went out. No more heat, no more light, no more induction burners. We busted out the flashlights and bunsen burners, but still no heat. Thinking we were going to be in a nice, warm tent, neither me or the sous-chef brought a jacket, so the Chef, Sous-chef and I would alternate who wore the jacket every 10 minutes or so. This went on for a few hours, we were all freezing by the end of it, but despite everything that went wrong the function was a success.

Add some glucose or inverted sugar... Just curious, what is your recipe? Are you cooking the custard?

It's not my decision to decide how much someone should be making. If they feel they're being underpaid, all they need to do is leave and work somewhere else... As a cook I certainly would like to see higher wages, but no one should be forced into paying higher wages. Owners set the wage, workers either accept it or they can leave...

I recently left a restaurant because as a first cook I still couldn't afford, well, anything... I wasn't working as an apprentice, I trained our cooks, I supervised shifts after the chef left, I cooked for all the critics, and plated dishes for newspaper and magazine photo shoots. Waiters would make in 2 or 3 five hour shifts what I made in 2 weeks... (although I really can't blame them, not their fault I was underpaid - besides, they'd buy us drinks often) And I was one of the highest paid kitchen guys... How do you ask for a raise when your paycheck is bigger than the sous-chef's? (I was working more hours) And yes, it already has hurt the industry, for sure here. Restaurants are closing, fewer people are cooking, the few hardcore cooks that are left are leaving town...(including myself) Why cook when you can get an apprenticeship in any trade for 15-20 dollars an hour to start, with full benefits and school often paid for? In 5 years of cooking you'll be making 10-15 dollars an hour, 5 years in another trade you're making 25-30+ dollars an hour. Or you can just head north, work on the oil rigs for much, much more.... Honestly, with the way house prices and rents have gone in the last year, it's only going to get worse for cooks. All I have to say is I feel very bad for those people who are paying huge bucks for culinary school, to learn out-dated cooking techniques (I don't think I've ever made a mother sauce in a high-end restaurant...). At least I learned in a traditional style apprenticeship - ie. working for hardcore French chefs, and learned many modern cooking techniques (sous-vide, foams, etc...), I'm one of the lucky ones...

I would never serve a customer something that has touched the floor (I would never drop something on the floor to begin with...). Dropping something shows that a cook is careless, and unprofessional, and to serve that food shows that a cook just doesn't give a fuck. But there is no reason a floor shouldn't be that clean. I enjoy a counter that shines when I look at it. I certainly don't cook because of the money, I do it because I enjoy preparing food for others, and I like to take pride in my job and profession. BTW, how can you say I'm guilty of laziness without working with me? You don't know me. And yes, I don't like working with lazy cooks. I've left more kitchens than most cooks will work at in a career, and restaurants most cooks would love to have on their resume, because of that reason. If a chef and his brigade are lazy, it affects everyone, it drains the energy out of you, and you will become lazy. I refuse to work anywhere that doesn't have a professional staff.

Just curious, but which kosher butchering practices would you consider inhumane? Kosher (and Halal) slaughter involves a quick, deep slash across the throat of the animal to sever the arteries, thus killing the animal (and draining out blood). The knife used must be razor sharp to minimize pain. Typically the animal is unconscious within 2 seconds using this method apparently... On the other hand, the most widely used method of slaughter is to stun the animal first with an electric shock, and then kill it. Seems like adding the extra step would actually cause more pain to the animal, prolonging its demise, as opposed to a quick slash to the neck without any prior trauma... I'm not Jewish (or Muslim), and not defending the method based on religion, it just seems to be a better way for the animal to go...

It just keeps getting worse... About the only shows I could ever watch were ICJ, A Cook's Tour, Thirsty Traveller, Opening Soon... Now it seems there are less of those shows and more of the ones I dislike. I'm honestly quite sick of the nerdy-foodie type shows (Alton Brown, Surreal Gourmet, Food Jammers - smoked enough pot?) - but then again those shows aren't really aimed at people like me (ie. food professionals). Oh well, lately I've been watching less and less TV anyway, in favour of reading books...

Dirtiness comes from laziness.... I always see dirty kitchens where I see lazy cooks. How do we fix it? We can't - unfortunately cooking is a terrible profession to be in for a long time, and most cooks are just doing it until they find something better, have no passion, and get lazy... I've also worked in places that were so clean I'd eat off the floor. Every stainless counter shined, the cooler was in perfect order, all the product was stored properly... These were also the places with the best food, as the cooks who worked there actually cared about their trade.

Lamb saddle.

I just arrange them by size and usage. On one shelf goes Ducasse, Keller, Hermé, Larousse, etc...(the less-used books) On another shelf goes Veyrat, Girardet, Bras, Gagnaire, Hervé This.... (most used) Often these books end up on the ground next to the bed as well, as I like to read late at night.

This is very true. Even up here in gastronomic no-where land we're using sous-vide cooking, pacojets, making foams, all sorts of starches and chemicals as thickeners, etc...

The second phrase I quoted is the last phrase of the paragraph. It is very true. Even the most reserved chef will open up and talk for hours if you engage them in a conversation about food (I know I will). Cooks don't make much money (and by not much I mean most live in poverty), so all we really get from the job is the good feeling when customers appreciate what we have done for them. Most people also don't know anything about food, so when we can ramble about our food (and be understood) it's very comforting. And often we'll send out an extra thick slab of foie gras, or a great big heap of caviar to the people we know will appreciate it most.

I can definitely see what you're saying. I'd much rather visit the places where I know the chef/have worked with him, then somewhere that I don't know. However I also have inside info on where the best kitchens are, and there are a couple new restaurants I want to eat at (and one I might work at). Of course theres also many new restaurants I'm going to avoid like the plague, based on insider information... There are a couple restaurants where I do have a very good relationship, of course they're all places at which I once worked (and the best one is a place where I was part of the opening crew). Theres a saying I heard a long time ago that I think applies in this case: "A stranger is just a friend you haven't met yet...". And often, if you do want a good relationship with a restaurant, being one of those guys who supported them in the early days can be very rewarding - being able to see the progress, likely building a relationship with the chef, etc... I know there were always a couple long-time loyal customers who we'd just strait up cook for - no menus, we'd just cook for them, and they were very appreciative (which is what us cooks live for). If you only go at the height of a restaurant's popularity/success, then often the chef will be too busy/big to have the same relationship with every customer.

Add the honey directly into the bowl/pot/whatever, and measure by weight. Volume measurements are inaccurate, and take too much time to measure. Get a good digital scale and you're set.

Sorry, should have made it more clear, was talking about Calgary (since the topic is about labour shortage in the cooking biz, our two cities have this in common), I'm sure theres at least 5 half-decent ones in VC (although from the stories I've heard about a certain TV chef I'm not so sure anymore...). Unfortunately Canada ranks nowhere when it comes to the international dining scene, theres nothing new or interesting coming out of here, the places to watch are without a doubt France, USA, and Spain...

Agreed. Too many chefs think that because they were treated like shit when they were apprentices, that they can do that to the next batch. Theres a huge difference between being an @#$hole and tough love... Don't get me wrong, during my apprenticeship I had it tough, I was pulling 70+ hour weeks (making a low salary as opposed to a wage), and I learned more in that time than I ever dreamed possible. And while I certainly got yelled quite a bit, the chef also showed his appreciation when I did a good job. I can honestly say that every single time I got shouted at that it was my own fault, the chef was brutally fair, which I can definitely respect. I don't know about VC, but in Calgary theres alot of chefs and owners who don't know what the @#$% they're doing... After working in arguably 2 of the toughest and best gigs here, I worked for a whole bunch of chumps who thought they were hot @#$% but didn't know a thing. Right now I'm working with a chef (young) who can't even properly sauté a piece of meat in a pan... I can count on a single hand the amount of restaurants I'd be willing to spend money on in this city... Oh well, soon enough I'm ditching this place, heading to Quebec or even Europe (or both in due time).

I might not have the numbers some people have, but I've spent WAAAY too much on cookbooks in the last year. I've got 25 with another on the way. Some of my favourites: - Grand Livre de Cuisine by Ducasse - ph10 by Pierre Hermé - Emotions gourmandes by Girardet - La Cuisine by Pierre Gagnaire and Hervé This On the way is "L'encyclopédie culinaire du XXIème siècle" by Marc Veyrat, which cost 295 euros....

Sounds more like dishes that people just hoped would die forever....

Attitude? What attitude? I guess the cooks I know from Vancouver don't have this attitude, they're too mellow because they're always high.... Yes, you can learn from everybody, some more than others. Most of the culinary school grads I've worked with haven't shown me a single thing, other than that they don't deserve to be on the line... On the other hand, I've learned a ton from chefs that were born in France, or worked in 2 and 3 star restaurants (and not as a stagiaire....). Also learned a ton from one cook who recently won a national competition and got 2nd in another... Every co-worker I had at a certain restaurant taught me a ton as well...(one of whom became the saucier at a VC restaurant known internationally) Those are the days I miss, being able to learn from everyone on the line. Nowadays it feels as though I'm relegated to teaching people... Textbooks? Yeah I got them. Dozens of them (and many thousands of dollars). And I've read them all, front to back... Knowledge is definitely required to be a good cook, you can't rely only on what you've learned on the job. This is what school SHOULD be for, unfortunately I haven't seen it in any of their grads. The CIA is the only school where the grads I've worked with were half-decent, but the price is unreasonable... The labour crisis here hasn't helped the situation, at every restaurant there are 1 or 2 skilled cooks, the rest are new or there simply aren't any more.... Restaurants are closing down because they can't find cooks, or at the very least closing down a couple more days per week... Affordable housing is non-existant in Calgary so theres no new cooks coming to town either (rent prices are through the roof as are house prices). All we got is what the culinary school pumps out, which isn't very helpful...

Schools are a scam. I remember applying to culinary school and getting rejected... During the orientation I was watching students at work, and I turned to the Chef giving us a tour and asked "Is this a #$%@ing joke?". Oh well, not going to culinary school was the best thing that ever happened in my career... (although now I'm not in very good standing with the local school or the apprenticeship board...) I'm still very young as far as cooks go (21), yet these days I'm considered a veteran. I can work any 'station', make any dish, do savoury and pastry, and do both better than most. I learned from several very talented French chefs, as well as much on my own. Making a mistake wasn't an option in the calibre of restaurants I was at - I had to make sure that the first time I did something it would be perfect, so I'd learn the techniques at home on my own time... I'd also come in early to work (without getting paid) to help the Chef do something (and he'd personally teach me techniques), or hang out in the pastry shop on my days off... It was a very tough time in my life, but I wouldn't trade it for anything... It's sad when I train a kid who spent $20K+ on school and they can't even make a mayonnaise - theres simply no hope when I try to get them to make a Macaron or even properly cook a piece of meat. Schools are nothing more than self-serving businesses, selling a false promise... I personally hate what our industry has become... Food that is all flash and no substance, chefs have become 'celebrities', yet it's impossible to get a decent wage if you're a cook, and I'm finding it very hard to get a decent meal these days as well (unless I go to one of the restaurants I used to work at...).

Lol. Sounds like we are pretty similar... I used to drive my chef crazy when I'd slide a pan full of sauce across the pass just to the edge of the counter.... Another thing we'd do is have competitions to see who can throw an empty garbage can the furthest... Or one guy would take a 14" pizza knife, hold it like a sword, and another guy would throw lemons or tomatoes at him - and he'd slice 'em up in mid-air. We'd also play baseball with a pizza paddle and pieces of dough. Disclaimer - all that stuff occurred a while back, before I became a real professional... It didn't help that our supervisor was the kind of guy that would encourage fist-fights on shift because he thought it was funny (he later blew up his hand on shift with a home-made bomb, firebombed the dish pit causing the fire alarm to go off, and tried to fight a FOH manager...).

Electric gets very hot. You really don't ever need to set it higher than halfway... You've just gotta learn to cook with gradual heat... It's a good habit to get into anyway.

We used to have 'duels' with towels.... We'd go into the walk-in cooler to duel. The rules were that you had to have your sleeves rolled up past your elbow, and you must start with your towel at your side. You'd then draw your towel and snap the other guy. First person to draw blood wins... We had one cook who needed to go to the clinic and get 15 stitches after he got hit pretty hard with a towel. My buddy also broke a soft-drink hose with a towel and sent syrup flying all over the storage room...

The #1 thing I've seen in restaurants that fail or are on their way down, is owners who don't know anything about the business. People who think because they have money suddenly they know how to run a business... I have yet to see a Chef-owned restaurant fail, although I know sometimes they do. Another thing I see is that people don't take the time to do things right. They rush the opening of their restaurant, do things half-assed, and cut corners. They accept a mediocre product and make excuses for themselves... Cooks will say they "don't have enough time" to cook something properly, servers will say they're "too busy" to provide quality service... If you can't handle your load of customers, then you hire more staff or limit the amount of customers you're taking in at once... Customers will forgive you if you can't accomodate them a certain night and they need to reserve for another, they won't forgive you for a bad experience. Bad menu planning... I've seen this time and time again. Certain menu items sell, others don't, creating a ton of waste when the product goes bad... Throwing luxury ingredients at a dish thinking that will make it taste better, there goes your food cost. Or even worse, half your menu you go way over on cost, so you go cheap on the other half... Hiring staff... Again, look for quality, and treat them right. Happy, skilled employees = success. Don't work your skilled employees so hard that they're burnt out, and don't accept lazy employees. If you're loyal to them, they'll be loyal to you. Too many managers... Managers don't do much actual work, and they cost the most money. You need them in a large corporation, but in a small restaurant you want people who can manage themselves. The best kitchen I worked in had no titles, there was the chef and everyone else. We all took care of our own shit, we were responsible for taking care of the product on our own station, we were responsible for ordering our own product, if the chef wasn't there we could run things without him with no worries whatsoever... It basically boils down to this - incompetence.... Restaurants fail because the people running them are incompetent. You don't need any sort of education to run a successful restaurant, just some common-f@#$ing-sense and intimate knowledge of food, service and wine....

I dunno, I make beef stroganoff all the time. Just about every Russian restaurant prepares it...