TheUnknownCook

Many years ago, I had met Germany's youngest master chef, and he had suggested École Supérieure de Cuisine Française (ESCF), because Alain Ducasse was associated with that school. I could not afford living in France for a year, so I researched schools in the U.S., and decided to attend GRCC. It is the only community college listed by Pastry's Best Magazine. The Pastry Instructor is Gilles Renusson, CMPC.

[cont.]: Hershey's "Kissables" No Longer Legally Considered "Milk Chocolate" [Kissables (Reformulated)] Chocoholics sour on new Hershey’s formula Chocolate's bittersweet economy Chocolate: A Bittersweet Saga of Dark and Light [BookFinder] Eric Schlosser - Fast Food Nation[book online] [BookFinder] Food Inc. [movie online] Super Size Me http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1432315846377280008&ei=uo8mS9-mL6bUrQLw_LWWCA&q=super+size+me&hl=en#

I recently watched: Food, Inc., Super Size Me; and read, Fast Food Nation. Fat Guy briefly mentioned the Save Jacques' Kiss campaign in his L'Ecole thread. Jacques Torres' interview on Food Talk [Archive: December 6, 2009, Hour 2]. Articles: 'STOLEN' KISS RILES HERSHEY: CHOCOLATIER IN TRADEMARK FLAP What's in a kiss? Hershey sues small chocolatier over name Defiant Jacques Torres Fights Hershey Lawyers Over Kiss Hershey’s Tells Jacques Torres to ‘Kiss’ His Champagne Bonbons Good-bye Hershey’s v. Jacques Torres: The Lawyer-to-Lawyer Slapdown! Jacques Torres, Boatman and Bon Vivant, Gives Away Free Kisses Boycott Hershey Co. Boycott of Hershey Foods to continue, ministers say U.S. Ministers call for Hershey boycott over alleged child slavery Hershey's Layoffs College boycotts Hershey's chocolates for closing plant Hershey to Cut 1,500 Jobs, Open Mexico Facility Is There Slavery In Your Chocolate? Bittersweet chocolate [Divine Chocolate is owned by farmers.] As for me, I will refuse to buy any Hershey products, including Scharffen Berger! [Milton S. Hershey was allegedly, a Freemason.]

I had worked at a Publix supermarket several years ago. Publix' generic brand of foods, were comparable, if not, actually better than the national brands! I miss Publix and Meijer.

Correction: The Chef's Choice Master Series 2000, are made in Germany, and slightly resemble F. Dick cutlery. Edgecraft did not divulge the manufacturer of their Master Series 2000 cutlery line. I was told that it was as German cutler, which had many years experience making butchering knives for butchers. Is it F. Dick? They will not say. F. Dick: Asiacut, Eurasia, Damascus, Jubilee, Sharpening steels. [Honing rods are mistakenly called 'sharpening steels.'] F. Dick's honing rods are regarded as the best in the industry. I was told by LamsonSharp, that their honing rods were made in USA by Nicholson. I recently bought their honing rod, and it was made in Germany. I hope that it was made by F. Dick. Japanese cutlery require ceramic honing rods. Japanese cutlery also require sharpening on waterstones. My Japanese cutlery is double-beveled. Therefore, I simply use conventional whetstones, such as, Norton Pike and Smith's.

JohnSmith: I'm sure that you probably have bought your knives by now. I concur with HKDave. There are other lesser-known brands worth considering for reasonably inexpensive kitchen cutlery. Made in USA: LamsonSharp PRO[Cookware] Dexter-Russell[Traditional, carbon steel] Ontario Old Hickory Chef's Choice Master Series 2000 [Cookware, Asian knife sharpener] [Cutco is owned by Alcas Corp., which also owns Ka-Bar. Forget Cutco, and buy Ka-Bar instead! See below.] Made in Japan: Ka-Bar[resemble MAC Professional Series] Union Cutlery Company Dog's Head Dexter-Russell Japanese Chef's Made in Japan by Kyocera, Assembled in Argentina: Böker Arbolito[SMKW] Made in Brazil: Mundial Sushimen's Tramontina: Carbon, Professional Master Made in Sweden: Mora Frost's[Erik Frost, aka Frost's, merged with K.J. Eriksson, aka KJ, to form: Mora of Sweden.] Made in Portugal: ICEL: Magoruku, Wasabi, Made in Switzerland: Swibo Japanese Tradition Forschner[Their Chinese cleavers are made by LamsonSharp or ICEL]

FYI: The only finishing apprenticeship in the country is at the Greenbrier Resort. They require that all prospective apprentices must have a 2-year A.O.S., A.S., A.A., degree in Culinary Arts, or 3-years of experience. [it would behoove any young person considering the apprenticeship to have done the A.C.F. apprenticeship.]

gingerbeer: Canadian Culinary Federation: Culinary Educational Institutions Perhaps you could contact the C.C.F. about any culinary apprenticeships. Shaw Guides Canada I hope that that helps. Good luck.

ZenTaurus: No, culinary schools are not worth the exhorbitant tuitions that they charge. There are better alternatives to culinary or cookery school. If you still young, you should consider finding an apprenticeship. Advantages: wages, experience, certification, A.S. degree. Disadvantages: 3-year commitment, possible relocation. If you are older, or disinclined, then, search: Shaw Guides for a community college near you. If you can move to Michigan, the two best community colleges in the country are: Schoolcraft College: Culinary Arts, and Grand Rapids Community College: Culinary Arts. I have visited Northwestern Michigan College Culinary Arts program. Macomb Community College Culinary Arts Program, ACF Apprenticeship Program. If you are curious about the textbooks that the cookery or culinary programs use, see the following list. You can use Book Finder, to search for the following titles[the older versions are less expensive than the current editions]: On Cooking, by Sara Labensky The New Professional Chef, by The Culinary Institute of America Professional Cooking, by Wayne Gisslen Culinary Fundamentals, by The American Culinary Federation The Art and Science of Culinary Preparation, by Gerald Chesser On Baking, by Sara Labensky Baking and Pastry: Mastering the Art and Craft, by The Culinary Institute of America Professional Baking, by Wayne Gisslen Baking Fundamentals, by The American Culinary Federation The Professional Pastry Chef, by Bo Friberg I have spent several hours compiling this reply. I hope that it helps someone reading this. Good Luck.

Excuse the typographical error in the title. Yes, it happens in the trade continually, regardless of being on, or off the books.

I would like to hear of other vocational cooks, who have been cheated by fraudulent restaurateurs or chefs, whom you have worked for, but cheated you of your back wages. I have worked for several fraudulent restaurateurs or chefs, who refused to pay me my back wages. I have met or heard of other cooks or chefs who have also been cheated out of their wages. I would like to hear of your incidents. I cannot help you recover your lost back wages, but I hope that this thread will shed some light on this vocation. Some people have said that, the cooking trade is legalized slavery. The reason I am starting this thread, is to provoke those thinking of wasting a fortune attending an expensive culinary school, to consider all aspects of this trade, the glamorous, and the seamy, seedy side. [Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential was an entertaining read.] It is not all "peaches and cream." Many of us vocational cooks live in poverty. Not all of us cooks, have lucrative contracts to make toothpaste commercials, yelling, "Bam!," nor have cookware, cutlery, product lines, with our first names on them. Tell of your story...

suzilightning: Grand Marais, Minnesota: I've eaten at the Angry Trout Cafe, but they are closed for the season. I've also eaten at the Blue Water Cafe, Sven & Ole's Pizza. Lutsen: I knew the chef at Lutsen Resort. Tofte: I had worked at Bluefin Bay Resort many years ago. I don't know about the dining. If you stay at the "Mom & Pop" motels, instead of the resorts, you might save some money. Silver Bay: I don't know of any restaurants to recommend. Two Harbors: I had worked at Kamloops Restaurant many years ago. North Shore: I have met the chef at Nokomis. I worked briefly at the Scenic Cafe. Duluth: Takk for Maten review. Bridgeman's Restaurant is said to be good, and their ice cream is good too. So is Cold Stone Creamery. Five Guys is said to be good for burgers. I would suggest exchanging your money at a bank, instead of a business, because they will give you a poor exchange rate. Many Canadians shop at the Miller Hill Mall. There are some restaurants there too. I don't know of anyone who serves Poutine though. There is a Dollar Tree(type: 'duluth mn') in the Burning Tree Plaza near Best Buy. Thrift stores: Goodwill, Salvation Army. Some of the independent motels in Superior, Wisconsin, might be less expensive to stay at. There are two restaurant supply stores, Minnesota Food Service in Duluth, and Dunbar's in Superior. Have a good time in Duluth!

snowangel: I'm not much of a carnivore anymore, but I have heard of Wrazidlo's Old World Meats, 226 S Basswood Ave, Duluth, MN 55811 (218) 722-2333 Da' Range['I'm from Da' Range, I'm Da' Ranged!'--NOT!]: You already know about Koshar's in Gilbert, and F&D Meats in Virginia. I heard that the Zupancich brothers won some sausage competition, and they also work at the meat department at Eveleth Country Foods. The Zupancich family have stores in: Aurora, Babbitt, Cook, Ely, Silver Bay. If I hear of any good butcher shops, I'll let you know.

john-k: I found these Union Cut.Co., and Dog's Head knives, made in Japan, of AUS 8A stainless steel, which identically resemble MAC Professional knives, at a fraction of the cost.

clumsycook: I opine that a Mezzaluna is a waste of money. Instead, I simply bought a 12-inch Chef's knife, which can be used for cutting many more things than simply herbs. A Mezzaluna has two handles, usually two curved blades, sometimes only one, in order to increase the surface area, to chop the herbs. I prefer, instead, the Chinese method of chopping herbs, with two Chinese Cleavers simultaneously.

I head directly to the "Clearance" bin! I also buy food at the "Dollar" stores! Many generic brands are made by the national brands. [A restaurant supply store owner told me that LamsonSharp label-engineered, made the Chinese Cleaver for Forschner/Victorinox. The other cleavers are identical in resemblance to LamsonSharp as well. LamsonSharp is also less expensive than Forschner/Victorinox at Cookware. Apparently, the other Chinese Cleaver might be made by ICEL.]

zeph74: I do not have any of the aforementioned brands of knives. I recently bought: LamsonSharp Santoku, at Cookware. The reason I chose the LamsonSharp Santoku, was because its blade is wider, and allows more clearance for my knuckles, than other Santokus, which blades are narrower, and the handle is closer to the cutting board. It is double-beveled, not single-beveled, nor ground to 15-7 degrees, as the typical Japanese Santoku. Japanese knives tend to be narrow, and close to the cutting board. I also bought: Fällkniven K2 White Whale, which was made in Japan of VG10 laminated stainless steel, and appeared to be double-beveled, but very sharp. Chroma USA have some Santoku knives, available at: KnifeMerchant, and Cookware. Böker Arbolito Santoku's blade is said to be made by Kyocera, availabe at: IraWoods. Böker's Yamada IV Santoku has a Damascus blade made of 37 layers of laminated VG10 stainless steel, available at: Knife-Depot. Dexter-Russell Japanese Chef's Knives. Mundial Sushimen's Line. Knives are like that Lay's Potato Chip commercial, "You can't have just one." I hope that I have given you some viable alternatives to consider. Good luck.

John-K: My most recent purchases were: LamsonSharp Santoku, from Cookware; Fällkniven K1 Blue Whale, K2 White Whale, from Rigid Knives. The Fällkniven knives are made in Japan of laminated VG-10 stainless steel. If you cannot afford the aforementioned knives, you could consider the Böker Arbolito Santoku knife. Böker also has a Japanese Yamada line. The stainless-steel blades in the Böker Arbolito knives are said to be made by Kyocera. If you are seeking inexpensive Japanese knives, consider Dexter-Russell, or Mundial's Sushimen's Line.

Chris Hennes: My preference is a heavy-duty stainless steel tong, such as: Edlund or Vollrath, available at Wasserstrom.

Some recipes advise to cook (whatever you happen to be cooking) until it coats the back of the spoon[and forms a Nape], and some cooks believe that wooden spoons work best for the correct texture. I own primarily LamsonSharp cutlery, and their wooden spoons are the TreeSpirit line. Happy cooking.

ElsieD: I found a seldom-used, electric knife at a thrift store. Perhaps you might find a nice, seldom-used, electric knife at a thrift store in Ottawa? Perhaps you bought one by now.

I simply buy olive oil in the gallon tin cans at the supermarket, because they tend to be less expensive than the olive oil in the glass bottles. Speaking of California olive oils, I concur with Raoul Duke. Check out: California Olive Oil Council, All U.S. Olive Oil Companies

Salad Spinner Review I have only used commercial salad spinners, which are too large, and too expensive for avocational cooks.

Meredithla: I own Carlisle brushes. I have not tried the Silicone basting brushes. If I need to grease a pan, I might take a clean paper towel, a stick of butter, and rub it directly onto the pan. Carlisle claims that their bristles are molded into the handle, or epoxy-set in the ferrules. If your brushes are shedding, perhaps it is time to replace them.

Those are low-heat spatulas. For hot foods, you will need high-heat spatulas, e.g., Traex, Vollrath SoftSpoon Spatulas. I do not recommend Rubbermaid spatulas. Matfer Exoglass spoon