Matt R.

If so, why pay Bond/Noble etc. for menu input? Souds like an account/corporate training specialist could effect far more positive change than a "name" chef. ← They still need innovation and constant updating to stay less than five years behind the times. A fresh, experienced pair of hands and eyes goes a long way. Mango salsa anyone? Because of the time it takes to develop plates and the recipes that go with them on such a massive scale, it's not reasonable to expect bleeding edge cuisine out of these places. That market is getting beaten to death anyways. While every menu needs dogs and stars, high-end food often comes with high-end food cost. If you live or die by razor-thin margins and huge volume, a couple of percentage points makes a big difference. Putting a high cost item on a menu may be fun, but it's fruitless if your guests don't want it. The market, at least in the CRD in my experience, is saturated with upper-end food. If another place opens up selling great food, there may not be the bums to fill the seats. I believe that there is a reason these are 'name' chefs, and that reason may be that they have all the features corporate head office is looking for. Leadership, management, accountablity (and account ability) *and* a massive skillset behind the stove. It may only be that last point that was missing before. You could say they are a complete package. -- Matt.

Jamie; I have really enjoyed reading your observations on the CFD concept. As a three and a half year veteran (behind the line) of Milestone's Victoria, doing 800+ covers a night in 12 minutes or less I feel acutely aware of what Julian Bond, Michael Noble, Jim Romer et al. are trying to accomplish. The challenge they have in making this all work with $10/hr employees is monumental, and indeed is their greatest weakness. You get what you pay for. Training costs combined with staff turnover creates a sometimes unworkable atmosphere when servers can bring home $40,000 + /yr in grats, on top of their wage. It truly comes down to numbers, and unfortunately not much else. Turnover, training and re-training are built into the four decimal point food cost of that burger, for every slice of onion wasted can add up to another employee over the course of a year. It is shameful that a company like Cara Foods can sell 1.5 Billion dollars a year worth of food, yet not see fit to pay the person actually producing that food more than 25 grand. The upside is that I really, truly learned how to *kick ass* on the line, and can execute better than almost anyone I know. I believe that every young cook should spend a summer at a really, really busy place like Milestone's, just so they know how well they perform under real pressure. Call it a stage After earning my Red Seal, and landing a good job at the Victoria Marriott under Chef Jeff Keenliside, giving Charles Gelling (esteemed Milestone's chef) nine days notice was one of the happiest days of my adult life. Before him, Peter de Bruyn was the chef at Milestone's (now running Ric's Grill in Victoria, not only an excellent leader, but an excellent cook). Had he not left and been replaced by Charles, I feel confident in saying I would be a Sr Sous or better with Milestone's, not a bad career choice at all, and well above the $10-12/hr paid to senior line cooks. I traded that for a first cook position, working under a real chef, who is a great boss, and an excellent teacher. I think people may be missing the point of these places. They really try to be everything to everyone. Not finding a niche, but creating a market for themselves as they go. Holding on hard to the middle ground can be difficult, but is still worthwhile. After all most people are by definition "average". When I was there, Milestone's did treat their staff well in every regard, except pay, doing things like winery retreats, paying for advanced first aid training, management development and really focussing on team building. I'm sure every CFD resto has a similar program, but Milestone's Developer Program ('train the trainer') was highly effective, at least to me. Over an intense two days, you were taught their training system and how to use it effectively. In all my years working in a kitchen, I have seen no better training method than their 'tell, show, do, review'. I still use it today. Consistency is absolutely key to these places. The food doesn't need to be terribly innovative - that's not their market - but it does need to be the exact same in Victoria as it is in Toronto. Milestone's Victoria was also the cleanest restaurant I have worked in. Service was often a gong show, but after the last plate went out it was wall to wall to ceiling clean. At least 10 hours a day, every day, went into cleaning that line. And then the janitors would show up .... When I started, I was very surprised at the quality of food going out. Nearly everything was made from scratch, and all meats except bacon were smoked in-house With such a high product turnover, freshness was never, ever a concern. Many 'better' restaurants work on a three or four (or more) day rotation, they had one or two day turnover of pretty much everything. That means fresh salmon coming in the door Tuesday afternoon, would be gone by Wednesday night. That's pretty hard to beat. I should say that when I was an on-call cook at the Royal Jubilee Hospital, it was an even cleaner place, but that should be expected. It was an other-worldly experience that I will never repeat. In short, my tenure there taught me valuable skills in leadership, training, communication and team building. Unfortunately, I learned very little about food, but I'm making up for it. -- Matt.

* reading downthread and not taking bait * -- Matt.

^Fantastic presentation, Chef. I especially love the tea service for the consomme and the sparkling wine with the sorbet. These two things always leave an impression. From the pictures I have seen, the Feenie/Trotter dinner should have looked like this. Excellent menu, I hope the photos did it justice! -- Matt.

I would nominate the Marriott (corner of Humboldt/Fairfield, next to the Exectuve House Hotel/Barkley's Steakhouse) for a drink or two in the lounge. Jaymes Ewing and Hector Solares are very good at what they do, and it's a beautiful room. Don't know about dinner, but the "new" chef is very, very capable. I haven't heard too much since I left .... For lunch, try Sally Bun on Fort, near Cook. They run about $2.75 each, and one is enough for lunch. I gather they are similar to a kolachy, and they are delicious. Also on Fort near Douglas is the Dutch Bakery. I probably give it too much credit for nostalgia's sake, but it's also excellent for a light lunch, or afternoon sugar/coffee hit. Also, Spinnaker's is a very nice, short walk (or bus or taxi) trip from downtown. Excellent beer and food. I have yet to have a bad meal there. Except for the fish and chip incident, which I should have seen coming. Happy hunting! -- Matt.

For some reason I keep forgetting to tape this show. Probably because I don't use my VCR for anything but a clock anymore ... and tuning in Treehouse. BC chefs square off Feb 3, so there has been no winner, yet. www.thenextgreatchef.com is a great place to read Don Genova's commentary, as well as see the dishes made in 360 Quicktime movies. In reading the recaps, there seems to be an awful lot of amateur mistakes going on. I know these are young people starting out, but to get to the level of competition they are at they seem to be missing some of the basics, like not cutting yourself on national TV. Also, why does Knorr seem to sponsor so many of these youth-oriented competitions. Do any of these budding chefs even use their products? I kinda hope not. -- Matt.

OK, OK. I Googled it. Is that like horse pastrami, or closer to horse bacon? Can you buy it in a can? And what is ontbijtkoek? Neat! -- Matt.

Eight dollar pairing knives and forty dollar Victorinox french knives are the best! I have some high-quality knives that I love, and use a lot at home, but at work my 8" Victorinox french knife and boning knife get the most use. Why? They are easy to hone, and stay sharp for a while. That brand in particular has a great handle - comfortable, secure. Be careful of expensive knives with metal handles. They can get slippery when wet or oily or bloody. Bottom line is expensive knives are a want, not a need (with few exceptions) even in a professional kitchen. In my experience, they are mostly just for show. With proper use of a steel, you should not need to place your knives on a stone (at home) more than once or twice a year with regular use. Back on topic, I thoroughly enjoyed this thread last time around, and am looking forward to living vicariously through my computer, yet again. -- Matt

Are you giving tours to show off? Err, of the kitchen, not the shirts. -- Matt. Edited to add: Hey, wait a minute. I had a dog named Sparky. I thought *he* was the real one?

OMIGOD I think I have to buy that Hattori Santoku blade. -- Matt.

You can also watch the latest Canada Now broadcast over crappy streaming Real Audio at this site. I don't know if you can look at archives of this show, but on tonight's edition the Bishop piece ran from 46:35 to 51:27. I especially liked the diss Ian Hanomansing threw at West, or was it meant for the magazine that rated them so highly. Doesn't that show have writers? -- Matt.

I brought one old knife into HOK because it needed to be refinished. Not just a new edge, but totally ground down as it was in my parent's kitchen drawer for about a million years. And we all know that a drawer is not someplace to store loose knives. Not having the equipment at home to do this kind of thing, in it went. For about $10 (I think) they did a decent enough job of grinding it down. Unfortunately, I still had to put it through a stone and my steel to make it sharp. I personally recommend the Kinfex mobile service here in Victoria, and they have a Vancouver franchise too. Cheaper than HOK, a much, much better job, and they come literally right to your door at home or work. They even give a better industry discount on tools than House of Knives. My two cents. -- Matt.

Sorry, sorry. Perhaps it was a little late for me to be making a coherent, 100% on topic post. My point was that after sitting down to read EAT, I noticed a few typo's and factual errors on the first few pages. This is just sloppy in my opinion. Obviously (if only to me), the connection between EAT and the Times-Colonist was tongue in cheek. This does not always come across when sitting at a computer. EAT is full of interesting, intelligent and relevant original content. The TC gets most of it's press from the news wires, with many, many errors. Ever finish a column, turn to page B9 for the rest of it, only to find it's not there? Bush league. Blah, anyways. The original offending post has been edited, and I will try to start a new, relevant topic when the time comes. -- Matt.

Okay, okay. So this has nothing to do with Dine Out Vancouver, but anyways ... Hey, is EAT magazine looking for a proof reader, or at least someone with a working copy of MS Word? I am free next week ... this magazine, love it as I do, it starting to read like the Times-Colonist. Seriously. - edited to remove offensive and off topic link- -- Matt.

Zuke. It is possibly too late, but after consulting with a reputable source (the pastry chef where I work), you can substitute honey for sugar one to one by weight, for volume 7/8 C honey equals 1 C granulated sugar. You need to allow for moisture content in the honey, by reducing water 3 T per C of honey. Honey is also acidic, which will aid in the shelf stability of your processed jam. Depending on the pH of your recipe (does it include lemon juice?), processing and canning this jam with hot water method is not safe, as honey can contain botulism. You need a pressure canner for this, to destroy the spores. For baking, the extra acid may need to be tempered with the addition of baking soda. On a side note, sucrose (white and brown sugar, molasses) is absorbed into the blood at a rate 5 times faster than fructose (honey), causing a bigger hit of insulin and a spike in blood sugar. Both are carbohydrates, a macronutrient, but honey contains 15 other nutrients. White sugar has none. Boy, surprised what you can remember from a textbook studied years ago. Now, onto traditions. Growing up, traditions were strong. Our families would alternate years hosting, either at our house in Victoria, or my Aunt's in Port Coquitlam (always knew we were close when we passed the Hell's Angels compound). I always connect holidays with Vancouver, with family in PoCo, on False Creek and later in Shaughnessy. Christmas Eve on a hide-a-bed, in a spare bedroom, or in a sleeping bag on the floor was way too exciting for a little boy. It felt like camping, and I was always the first one up. Excellent home cooks were everywhere, and strong Scandinavian roots on my mother's side sometimes meant for unpalatable preparations of pickled fish, at least to a five year old. Suffering the loss of my mother 13 years ago at age 16 took a major toll on traditions in our household. My dad was very strong, and kept the family together, both sides. When my aunt retired to Parksville, our gathering place changed, too. This meant a quick drive up island instead of a three day trip to the mainland. I am forever thankful to be married to a strong, beautiful woman for 5 years now. We have two children (girl, 3 1/2, and a boy, almost 2) and are building our own traditions. Usually broke (my wife is a full time student and mother, I am a full time wage earner and father), we found making gifts for the people we love much more appreciated than another DVD or incense burner, and often less expensive out of pocket, and a much more enjoyable way to spend time together as a family. Who wouldn't rather drive out to Babe's Honey than drive to Mayfair mall to circle the parking lot for half an hour. In the last five years, we have made compound butters (5 varieties), infused honey (five varieties... this was my favorite) sorbets and ice creams, jams, jellies and salsas, all sorts of cakes, loaves, tarts and chocolates. All handcrafted, with tonnes of love, and nicely packaged for giving. Dollar stores have proved valuable for little boxes, jars and tins. We even make dog and cat treats for those with pets! This always goes over well ... This year, in keeping with this tradition, we are giving cookies in jars, including three varieties plus a gingerbread one, complete with stencils for next years gingerbread house. We figure people will be happy with a custom designed home. These recipies fit tightly packed in 1L Mason jars, nicely layered ingredients with simple, hand stamped instructions. Add 1 cup butter and two eggs, mix and bake. We need one more idea for this year, but we are stumped. It will come to us! It's too late for infused liquors, but maybe next year. So, after working through some tough times and personal losses, we are finding our way and building new traditions within our own family, still staying in close touch with extended family around us. It's true what they say, you can never go back. But you can go forward. If you have any ideas for this year or next, let me know ... my wife's last final exam is in 6 hours, and after that it's smooth sailing, until she starts her co-op term in January, that is. -- Matt.

Since I eat at a restaurant at least five nights a week, I don't get out as much as I'd like. My last three meals were grilled chicken salad with a great shallot/sundried tomato vinaigrette, hot black forest ham and provolone on grilled cheese bun with tomato, onion and lolla rosa lettuce (yum!) and tonight I actually ate something off the menu! We ran a feature starter tonight of marsala braised veal cheeks, with a frisee, apple and hazlenut salad dressed with apple cider vinaigrette. This was my second experience with these soft little nuggets of beefy gelatin, leaving my lips sticky like i'd just eaten oxtail. I enjoyed the dish quite a bit, and would order them off a menu someplace else. The local apples we have right now are simply outstanding, and a real treat on their own (with some orange caramel sauce from the station next to mine ....) I finished tonght by splitting a double chocolate/kahlua tart with the GM cook. They look pretty easy to make. Chocolate cookie crumb base, with egg/booze enriched chocolate ganache. All of the above was invariably paired with Coke, water, or whatever I can trade with the bartender. I should also note that this was consumed from the best staff table in Victoria. A bench on the deck outside, overlooking the Oak Bay Marina and Mt. Baker. Maybe next week I will bring my camera. -- Matt.

Hmm, I'd go for the smoked black cod veloute, then. -- Matt.

I know where I'm going for New Year's Eve. Here. It should be a pretty good time, being my first year at the Marina. Seems like restaurants take care of their staff when they have to work on a party night. Supposedly we're going to get our a$$es handed to us that night. I'm looking forward to it. The last New Year's Eve I had off was 2000, which I spent with my lovely wife near her hometown at the Crawford Bay Hall, in beautiful Crawford Bay, B.C. just across the lake from Nelson. After work, I will be joining my family and friends for some drunken card playing. Sounds like a full evening to me! -- Matt.

OK, so in lieu of going to the company Christmas party because I had to work, I got a bottle of wine as a name-in-hat type gift. I wish I got the ipod or the DVD player, but maybe this is good too. The only problem is that no one knows what it is, and google didn't turn up much 'en anglaise' for me to read. Maybe you can help? Here is the label. Bouchard Pere & Fils Domaine du Chateau de Beaune Savigny-Les-Beaune Les Lavieres Apellation Savigny-les-Beaune Premiere Cru Controlee Les Vins de Savigny sont Vins nourrissants theologiques et morbifuges 1990 Is this thing vinegar, or what? Fortunately, it was stored in a controlled environment cellar at work all this time. Looks like an old bottle to me. The only english on the back states that the winery was founded in 1731, and the quality is guaranteed by 'two and half centuries of tradition'. Thanks in advance for any insight! -- Matt.

Man, we have all these anchovies around, no one wants those. This stale bread isn't good for much, and these eggs are getting old. What are all these cheese scraps doing in my larder? Now it seems the farmer grew all these silly heads of romaine. Really, how useless of a lettuce is romaine? I know! We'll throw some capers and oil in and see what happens! Really, though, when I was in high school, kids in grade 11 were rebuilding cars, while the home ec class was making pizza dough with baking powder. Is this why mechanics charge so much? Truly, Stovetop, this is a lifeskill that kids must learn. Call in slow food, call it organic, call it 40 square feet in your backyard, whatever. The point is that people have to be able to cook for themselves if they are going to stop living on restaurant food, which in the worst case is loaded with fat, salt and sugar, and in the best case is loaded with fat and salt. You can skip the sugar at the better places. I saw a bit of CityFood last week where they showed a high school in Van with a big organic garden outside. I recall they said 3000 square feet, but I may be mistaken. Is this type of activity more productive in the long run than, say, another football/soccer field? For more info on this subject, read (or listen to) Morgan Spurlock's 'Dont Eat This Book'. I applaud high-profile chefs for giving a damn, and applaud low-profile parents even more. -- Matt.

Really, this is just a wage subsidy issue. Owners should simply raise their prices 15%-20%, and give all their staff a raise, especially the dirty cooks and dishwashers who do all the work. It would make the situation more fair. Reminds me an old Canadian cook's joke. What do you call a restaurant with no servers? Take out. What do you call a restaurant with no cooks? Closed. Hardy har har. And WTF is up with *managers* skimming off the tip pool? Why don't they just chill out and take their salary? This really gets me going. Geez. OK, was that inflammatory enough? I hope so. I will leave 15% as a standard for good service, 25%-30% for excellent service and some kind words to the manager (the one with the different coloured shirt and all those keys) about my server. When the food is outstanding, but the service does not do it justice, I will leave 10% and buy the kitchen crew a round of beers on my bill. As for bad service, I will leave something, but you only get one chance. If next time things aren't better, no tip, no note, no chat. I just don't care. Figure it out on training day. Also, I tip on the total amount, including alcohol, excluding things like promos, discounts or coupons. Most places I've worked, the server tips out (kitchen, bar, host and manager) on gross sales. -- Matt. edited to add: Can someone adjust this crazy eGullet clock?

Here's a hot tip, that is definitely regional. Interview with Daddy-A Go Arne, it's your birthday, get your interview on. -- Matt.

Here is the winning menu from the Chef of the Year Competition. Follow this link to see some pictures from this event, as well as the Grand Marnier Dessert Challenge at the Delta. Gotta love Flickr! dungeness crab and porcini mushroom cappuccino lemon cream and salmon roe mustard crusted albacore tuna beetroot sorbet, arugula salad balsamic gastrique Cowichan Bay Duck Breast Jerusalem artichoke trio (confit, chip, and truffled puree) braised Saanich organic greens fig jus hazelnut praline and goat cheese parfait port jelly I have the rest of the menus from the competition, but they are in PDF format, and very, very poorly done. If anyone is really keen on seeing what was offered, let me know and I will find some time to convert the document. -- Matt.

Okay, so after seeing the photos, I guess there was a little Vegas, too. Here is the link to my Flickr account, hosting the 27 photos that I decided to put up. I got permission from the owner of the photos, but not Mr. Feenie or Mr. Trotter. Credit for the photos goes to Brian Bradley (pastry chef where I work, winner of the Grand Marnier Dessert Challenge and a ticket to this event.. in one week) and credit for the food goes to everyone else involved, especially the cooks. There are very few descriptions, as the photos are high-quality and really speak for themselves. It looks amazing. -- Matt.

Here's another Feenie Sighting, with Charlie Trotter, no less. *click* ... more to come ... -- Matt.