Matt R.

I don't know if you can find this where you live, but it's the best store bought product around, full of fat and flavour, not salt and sugar. Better Than Bouillon It comes in a jar as a paste, so you can stir it directly into the pot to add as much flavour as you want. The chicken and mushroom stock are especially nice. -- Matt.

Obviously, Mikeb19 is most likely under 30 and it shows. You will learn that an even bigger part of being a chef is 'using what you have'. Rofl. -- Matt.

I swear by Blundstones. Medium high top, pull on (no laces) and sturdy, comfy and safe. Durable as hell, too. These take well to hosing off after shift, as they have no seams to leak or rot. -- Matt.

Ditto. If 50+ hours a week seems like exploitation, get out now before it's too late!! I have been cooking professionally for well over a decade, and have worked my way up to sous at a great restaurant under an even better chef. My salary is good, but the workload has only gotten bigger, and will only get bigger as I move forward, as I don't want to end up at a hotel or a hospital. Keep in mind what professional cooks consider a 'lot of money' is really not very much. Far less than an accountant would make in their first full year after school. If you are making enough to pay all of your bills on time, be happy! This, and a job you love are more than most people have. -- Matt.

In the US is cooking considered a trade like it is here in Canada? School, apprenticeship, work, whatever route you decide to take it all leads, ultimately, to a Red Seal in Cooking. We have Red Seals in all other trades (plumbing, carpentry, etc etc) and I am wondering if you have the same. The Red Seal is inter-provincial. It will travel with you across the country, and in theory is just as valuable in Vancouver as it is in St. Johns. The difference here is the 'compulsory' aspect. Most trades *require* an apprenticeship for journeyman status, cooking does not, so anyone with enough applicable hours can apply to write the exam and get their papers. -- Matt.

Extremely well said, Kenseth. Everybody should go read that again. -- Matt.

We are planning a family vacation to Japan in November for about three weeks, staying mostly in the south on Shikoku, with trips planned to Osaka, Kyoto and Hiroshima. While we are obviously looking forward to going, none of us have any idea of what to expect. My daughter has a severe allergy to peanuts. To my (limited) knowledge, peanuts are not a huge part of Japanese cuisine, but could someone shed some light on this for me? Are food allergies taken as seriously over there as they are where I live? We will (mostly) be in the company of a local, so I do not anticipate language being a barrier very often. Thanks, -- Matt.

I also can't accept that. Just make your own creme fraiche. Three parts heavy cream, one part fresh buttermilk (dig to the back for this one) and mix. Let stand, covered, 24 hours. Stir again and refrigerate. This will allow the product to thicken. Use in place of sour cream, or whipped cream (sweet)! A little vanilla and sugar, whip it up and put onto your baked apple, or rhubarb pie. Just stay away from the coconut cream pie. Keeps about two weeks in the fridge. Oh, and the answer to your other thing? Local is the new organic. Fuck McDonalds. Just don't go. When you need a new laundry hamper, maybe you have to buy from China or Thailand, but food?? You are kidding yourself if you think you really need those snow peas in December. Sub sable for your sea bass. Sub albacore for your ahi. Sub farmed trout or char for your salmon. Just do it, it's really that easy. -- Matt. ETA: Yes, I know where my computer was built, and it wasn't Canada.

Salt cod is easy to make. Cover your cod of choice with coarse pickling salt, let stand in the fridge for one week minimum, then rinse and soak over night. You are good to go. Cod is cheap, salt is cheap. The longer it sits in salt, the better. And when I say covered, I mean covered. Lots and lots of salt. Possibly more than you have used in your entire life. -- Matt.

Fact! Or so says the sales rep. We have been buying these oysters from Albion for a few weeks now, and I see little difference, if any at all. I think the only difference I have noticed is that the sizing is not as consistent, but this is likely a quality control issue with a new product, and nothing else. Had one opened up last week that was huge ... like, beach oyster huge. Gross. Even at a higher price point, the kusshi still gets my vote FTW. -- Matt.

Three dollars an oyster is what restaurants call a 'star'. This means it makes money! This allows the chef to put something more expensive on the menu for a lower price (called a 'dog', the local market will only bear so much ...) and maybe, just maybe, pay the guy shucking the oyster a living wage (probably not). What does a Kir sell for at your favourite place? I bet the liquor and food cost are comparable. Figure out the cost of sales on these items. -- Matt.

Stage is ridiculously good, and open Monday. -- Matt.

I think it's sad for all cooks and chefs when someone of Rob Feenie's reputation and calibre needs to worry about money. This should be a lesson to all the apprentices out there. Get out, while you are still young. I hear accounting pays very well! -- Matt.

Certainly! I can confirm this. There were some decent forest fires this summer, that means more morels next spring! Burn baby, burn. -- Matt.

Regular poaching temperature, so below a simmer. What is that, 150-ish? If the liquid is too hot, I bet the meat tastes just boiled, instead of delicate. 6oz filet takes about 10 minutes to MR, plus resting. It should come to room temperature before cooking, too. Now that I think about it, resting is probably not required, given the low cooking temperature. Poaching liquid is roughly two parts dark chicken stock, one part each veal stock and drinkable red wine. Whatever aromatics you would like. We tend to just use the Simon and Garfunkel blend for just about everything Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme .... for real! Touch method simply does not work for this technique, but a thermometer works great. 110 for rare, 115-118 for MR, 118-122 for medium. I don't know how to cook tenderloin beyond this (have the sirloin instead). The first time I tried it, it tasted so familar! Then someone nailed it - like mom's roast beef, if only Mom served CAB tenderloin more often. The poaching liquor lends that familiar 'gravy' taste we all know and love. -- Matt.

We have recently started preparing poached beef tenderloin (CAB) at work, and not being familiar with this method of cooking beef, I did not know what to expect. The steak is poached to temperature in a rich chicken and veal stock, with lots of good red wine and fresh herbs. The low temperature cooking yields a texture very much like carpaccio (so buttery) and the poaching liquor lends a rich flavour to otherwise relatively flavourless beef. I am sold on this method! Anyone come across this method since 1970? -- Matt.

Just get your oysters from Neptune. They're like 40 cents each if you buy five dozen at a time. That's pretty close to being free! A little lemon, some crushed ice and you, too, can sell them for three bucks a piece. -- Matt.

Thanks to EAT, now when I Google myself I no longer only get some obscure post I made on some geneology forum three years ago. Woot! -- Matt.

Awww, c'mon. Quit the crying. One quarter of a *billion* dollars for the family business? I say sell. Cash in! Enjoy it while you can. That buys your great-great-grandkids a lot of stuff. Besides, at least his employees have a pension plan now, and I bet he throws one hell of a going away party. -- Matt.

You don't want to think about what crabs and shrimp eat. They are bottom feeders, after all. We get our crabs delivered to us by a local fisherman. They come in feisty, and pretty pissed off it would seem. Since we are located at a marina, we keep these crabs in traps in the ocean until a guest orders one - then someone runs down to the dock, pulls up the crab trap and brings what we need back up. Killed, cleaned then steamed. Pretty fresh, I'd say! It should be noted that the entire crab is edible, except the gills, also known as 'dead mans fingers' .... sounds scary, eh? -- Matt.+

I do think that Dock 503 needs to revamp their website, as they should be open again by now. Josh Hall, former sous chef where I work now, is the Chef recently brought on board to re-open. Unless they have run into some issues with the details, I expect they are back in business. I will see if I can get more information for you! Be sure to check it out - Chef Hall is a fantastic cook. Okay, I just phoned the number associated with Dock 503, and the message states they 'will be open by he 18th' ... but it's the 21st today so who knows. Billing themselves as the Dockside Grill. Maybe try phoning during the day time if you are still interested? 250.656.0828 -- Matt.

Ahhh, Dino Nuggets. They were 'spec' when I worked at the Marriott. Also a favourite meal for the cooks! -- Matt.

Sarensho, in my experience all will do very well in our climate, except the brussels. It can be too warm for too long in the fall, when it should be cool and they will bolt and go to seed just as you think you are getting somewhere. Also, they taste better after a good, hard frost, which we barely get before January. When all else fails, just eat the green leaves like any other cabbage. A great trap for slugs is a small yogourt container buried in the soil to the rim, then 1/2 full of beer. Just watch - the next morning you will come out and see it full of dead slugs, and your brassicas will love you for it. Happy gardening! I, too, am done my spring planting and have saved extra room this year for tomatoes. -- Matt.

LB: Perhaps you should have tried ordering your veal cheeks medium rare, they would have been much tastier. And I think you posted this on the wrong board. What you meant to say was "yummy!" -- Matt.

Lovely plating, indeed. I especially like the (over)use of chervil. I wish this was more readily available, as it is one of my favourite herbs to use as a garnish. -- Matt.