Matt R.

We have duck on our New Year's table d'hote, and I think Chef will be buying those right now, thank you very much. Someone like Lyle, with a good sized operation (for Island standards) could be cashing in big time in a few months if things get worse. He doesn't seem like the gougeing type, but I will pick his brain on this topic next time I see him. Last time this all went down, the real crunch seemed to be chicken breasts, both restaurant and retail supply. Just like with BSE, it was the rib portion (most popular) of the cow that was expensive and hard to get. Hey, did that 'crisis' lead to the rise in popularity of cuts like flank and onglet? Naturally, killing a couple of hundred thousand meat birds has a direct and immediate impact on price, through supply and demand. Demand may go down a little, for a short time, but supply takes a nosedive and a while to recover. If people who purchase these birds think like I do, they are going to drive the price up artificially by buying more than they normally would right now, in order to avoid paying more later. Greedy bastards. -- Matt.

Having recently enjoyed some Cowichan Valley chicken and duck, I wonder what will happen here on the Island with all this nuttiness? Maybe having Lilydale move out of Sooke will indeed turn out to be a blessing in disguise. I do not understand how or why the USA would ban imports of poultry from Canada, when this avian flu is supposedly coming from wild stocks, which recently migrated right over top of their precious country, with many pit stops along the way. Can people accept this as part of nature, and get used to it? We don't seem to have too much of a problem with malaria. How many people a year does it kill? Or is this mother nature's way of telling us all to become vegetarian. When this happened a couple of years ago, chicken products became very hard to procure where I worked, and we ended up shipping it from Ontario. Hopefully this will not be the case again. Of course, that was at Milestone's. Where I work now, the grower delivers his product to our door personally. -- Matt.

Ack! Cripes, do you have a S.C. there now too? By the way did you see the query about the "Snug", is it or going to be gone? I adored that place. However, if I may be so humble to offer an opinion, choose an alternative, unless an American chain themed restaurant (why the heck did "they" choose that?) is your thang..... ack, ack........ ← We even have a Wal-Mart, and 7-11, too! Things sure are heating up around here ... I'm not really sure why two restaurants having the same ownership would make someone so mad, but there it is. Why the hate on for chain restaurants? They deliver exactly what people want, and please their shareholders, too. What could be wrong with that. Now that I'm officially off topic, which I actually tried to avoid Daddy-A (I swear) the Snug is still kicking. The owners (probably corporate too) wanted to close and demo/reno the whole property a year or so ago, but the municipality did not allow it, if I recall correctly. Whatever happens with the property, it is nearly 80 years old and has *huge* value so you can expect the hotel/restaurant/pub will remain part of the operation. -- Matt.

The Montana's here is great for ribs and fries, which sometimes is all a person wants with a cold beer, you know? Take your Dad, you won't be dissapointed, or surprised. If you like Swiss Chalet like I do, you'll like Montana's. Which makes sense, because they share the same corporate overlord. As a bonus, they tend to build these things around other entertainment, like strip malls and Silver City complexes, making parking a breeze for an all-evening affair. -- Matt.

The restuarant where I work sits on stilts over the ocean, and I think this may have something to do with spotty electrical coverage. I hear on average power goes out once or twice a year. Most of the Hydro lines in Oak Bay are underground, making this less of an issue than the rest of greater Victoria. Last time, about four months ago, power went down on a Saturday night. The crew got the expensive stuff down to the freezer, but most everything else was a write off. People pulled up their socks, came in early, real early, and served 250 for brunch the next day. Quite an achievement, given that prep for lunch would have been 90% completed by Saturday afternoon. Word is that Chef had to do two inventories that month. -- Matt.

After receiving a copy of the menu tonight, my first question (to paraphrase Sloan) was 'were you underwhelmed?' This style of food is right up my alley, and I certainly wish I had been there. The menu screams regional and seasonal simplicity. Not simplistic execution, but top quality ingredients presented with clean, logical accents. Judging by the menu and the acclaimed skill set of the chefs involved, the food must have spoken volumes. But did anyone go in expecting Vegas, only to be pleasanty surprised by Vancouver? I hear RF spent 30 grand on china recently. I am *so* jealous. -- Matt.

Yes, is there an official public list yet? Dinner is on Friday! I know of one person who was invited, but not from Terra Breads. I am reluctant to give out the name without a list being made public. Someone must have some beans to spill. -- Matt.

I believe these three were the winners, 1, 3 and 2 in that order. Having worked with the first and second place winners before, I can attest to their drive, skill, passion and genuine interest they show in their craft. I'm sure it was a memorable event for all competitors, and I hope someone can post pictures. Tomorrow is the Grand Marnier Dessert Challenge at the Delta, and best of luck to Brian Bradley, Chef Keenliside, Fernando and Sunny. With Sunday brunch just passed, it's proven to be a busy weekend! -- Matt.

I must say that I have really enjoyed reading this thread, and seeing the thrill in doing what you are doing. Welcome to my world! As I am fond of saying, keep doing what you're doing, only way faster. I wonder why Camosun doesn't offer a similar program. Maybe if they had a fun, interactive office program for people like me! Seriously though, the food looks amazing, and I think you should all feel proud. -- Matt.

Coming up is the Vancouver Island Chef of the Year competition, middle of November, I think. As far as I know, this event is organized by the CCFCC. I have been unable to locate any info on this event on the Web, so I was hoping some faithful eGulleteers might have the inside scoop. Mostly, I want to know who is competing, and what they are making. Are there tickets for this someplace? Sounds like a fun afternoon. By the way, is there a corresponding Vancouver event? -- Matt.

That would make sense.... ← When I read this thread this afternoon, I thought it had been nuked! Welcome back to Days of our eGullet .... Seriously though, people hiding behind some internet 'handle' just screams newbie. Egullet or FileList or otherwise. You are not fooling anyone. Especially a forum so regionalized as this one! This brings up a conversation I have been having in PM's with someone. Why don't more local people put their neck on the line and join in the conversation? That's what this is all about. Otherwise, you can save your $20+/month internet fee and just hand out anonymous comment cards at your restaurant and actually read them. All you people lurking: what you are thinking is valuable. Share it with us, make a contribution. All you shit disturbers, don't waste your time hiding behind some user ID. It's only the internet, people don't take it *that* seriously. Do they? -- Matt.

I remember Chef getting some at work last year. I don't think it's quite time for it yet. Like Island grown kiwi, doesn't salsify need a good frost first? I doubt it's much of a commercial crop, but your local farmers market should have some soon-ish. I will keep my eyes peeled around these parts. Saanich Organics (a co-op of organic producers) delivers some pretty unusual produce in the winter. I had my first Jerusalem artichokes last week, from a garden down the road from my house. They have a community market Wednesday from 3-6 (Rayn or Shine and I will inquire if they are producing any salsify. Not exactly Vancouver, but close! -- Matt. edited to add URL, way off topic but interesting for local folk Vic West Community Garden

Took my wife to Spinnakers on Monday night for a quick drink after work. I left early that night, so skipped supper at work and decided to order halibut and chips. Good chips, fish was stone cold in the middle, both times !!!!!!!!! Looks to me like they pre-batter huge pieces of fish, that take way too long to re-heat. However, they did comp me an *excellent* burger (a local rancher uses the spent grain from their brewery to feed his cattle, then sells them the beef) and a long island iced tea. It was the only bad food I've ever seen there, and the service was excellent. How do you react to "uh, it's cold. Again." -- Matt

Isn't this event geared towards those people with no other alternatives? Mostly low-income wage earners, people with no family in town, etc. As far as I know, tickets are usually gone within the first few hours. -- Matt.

My Dad worked for Sears Canada for a long time when I was little, and I must have attended about a dozen 'family' type Christmas parties in the cafeteria at the Hillside Mall location. I remember being pretty scared at first, mostly because of all the noise, large group, etc. but I have extremely fond memories of those times. I always wondered how Santa knew that I wanted Lego .... every year. Food was not memorable, and the typical hot dog and pop variety, for the kids. One place I worked booked out Bravo on Wharf Street for a party, with pretty good food, enough free drinks, and live DJ. Not too shabby! Last year I only got to attend the Marriott 'family' party (I was working the night of the staff party, and they gave the on-shift staff GC's to various local restaurants) which was really great. Food, albeit the chicken finger/hamburger/hot dog variety, was done really well, and everyone enjoyed. My daughter has a peanut allergy, so the chef churned some special ice cream, just for her. I wonder if my new employer does much of a Christmas party? We shall see. -- Matt.

My Krispy Kreme experience was this spring, in Calgary. My family of four, and my sister's family of 5. Two dozen. Easy enough!! They might as well have been selling crack. No one has mentioned Robin's Donuts. When I was in Jr. High, my oldest sister had a part-time job, graveyard at a Robin's. They had some kind of "arrangement" where staff could take home whatever 'day olds' they wanted. For a brief few months before she sobered up I would find donuts in my grade 8 lunch bag. I think my Mom did this just to keep me out of the local Safeway at lunchtime. They were great for the first few days, but I recall most of them were traded for Johnny Zee's tokens. -- Matt.

I am going to a concert on Oct 11 (Tuesday) at the Croatian Cultural Centre, on Commercial Drive (3200 block). Their website says their lounge is open late, but mentions very little about food. As I will be travelling via public transit, does anyone have any recommendations for someplace good to eat/drink within reasonable distance? Perhaps within walking distance? I am looking for someplace to go after the show, probably around 11pm. Thanks, y'all. -- Matt.

For the last few years, basically since we've had children, my mother-in-law drives here from Nelson and brings some interesting fowl for me to cook. We've had goose and duck and turkey, all of which come from a Doukhoubour farm near her place, or someone down the road from her house with a few birds for sale. Always excellent! Since she is a better cook than me it's always a good time for eating in my house, when she's here. Last year's pumpkin chiffon cheesecake was memorable. I wonder what she will bring this year? I will undoubtedly be posting photos. -- Matt.

True that! Unfortunately for most restaurants, after a while they cannot give you any more raises. You hit a ceiling of what they can afford, and unfortunately it's usually about $15/hr. I was in the hospital for a few days with my wife when our son was born. Bored Daddy, wandering around the hospital with my fresh, new ticket, and baby, in hand, filled out an application in HR one day for a cook position. Well, the phone would not stop ringing off the hook. The pay was astronomical! I took it as an easy cash job and kept my full time regular job (getting my ass kicked 300 days a year @ Milestone's for peanuts... what's wrong with this picture?), which was good. A few days after my hire, the liberals announced that everyone was getting fired, to be replaced by workers getting way less than half what I was. Right place, wrong time? As this was going down, a new hotel was being built downtown, and I wanted in. Having my papers really gave my the self-confidence to go for it, and I got it. Now one restaurant later, I am still with the same chef. In the two years since, I have learned more about cooking than the previous 10 combined. Doors were definitely opened for me. Now, to get back on topic, are there any schools in Vancouver that are helping cooks/chefs earn their C.C.C. deignation? -- Matt.

It's true that I would not have been able to get the higher paying jobs that I had if I did not have my ticket, but I could still be working for $10/hr even with my ticket today, if things hadn't gone the way they did. The two are not mutually inclusive. Red Seal (in cooking) does not automatically equal a pay raise at work, like it does in many *compulsory* trades, like welding or boilermaking. Of course, most of the compulsory trades involve pretty strong unions. I'm not sure what you mean by "the Apprenticeship program and the classic culinary school route". Had you decided to go to cooking school, you would still have to take an apprenticeship. Maybe you could have received credit for time spent at school, maybe not. Nobody just enrolls in a course and walks out in a year with their papers. That's just not the way it works. A recent culinary grad would not have as much education and skill as someone with their Red Seal (in theory). The Red Seal program in Canada has never shut down, and in fact has been going for 45 years. The administration in of this program (it is interprovincial) in BC has moved a little in last few years, and is now run by the ITA. There are 45 Red Seal trades in Canada, from Agricultural Equipment Technician to Welder. Cook is in there someplace, too. www.red-seal.ca www.itabc.ca -- Matt.

After applying to challenge the exam (with a 15 page application) and being accepted, I enrolled in a crash course at Camosun College, with the culinary instructors there. It was a couple of nights a week, for two months, I think? Pretty cheap, but no government subsidy, so we paid the whole thing. It was totally worth it! Gilbert Noussitou helped us with the 3rd year apprentice exam, and a practice Red Seal exam, and tonnes of theory help. This is basically the extent of my culinary schooling. Look Ma, no hands! These specialized, relatively uncommon skills are the biggest reason I wish I had actually gone to cooking school. The day they covered meat cooking you can figure out for yourself over a couple of shifts at a busy restaurant, because you will do it 1000 times in ten hours. But how often do you get to break down a goat carcass? Today I cleaned five lovely red rockfish, for the first time. The last two looked way better than the first two. Thankfully, my chef does give more than one chance. But in BC, does having a trade qualification tell your employer that you are serious about making this your career, showing commitment? My last job, a large, non-unionized hotel, required it for a 2nd cook position. My current employer does not. For me, it was largely personal, too. I wanted to show people that I was serious, and could prove my knowledge. I take pride in what I do. Of course, I was also hoping it would land me a better job, with better pay, which it did. -- Matt.

Okay, so I replied to Appreciator via PM, as not to be off topic, but maybe the topic could be expanded to include Malaspina and Camosun. Having completed very little formal culinary training, I would recommend it to people who are serious about getting deep into the industry. I have mostly taught myself through experience, practice and observation and have worked my way up to 1st cook at a couple of decent establishments which pay on the high side for non-union restaurants. I expect to go higher, but would probably be there already if I was smarter as a youth and gone straight to cooking school. Not necessarily my skill set, but my early experiences would have been at "better" places, with more of an emphasis on teaching, rather than churning out product. Having been a professional cook for a decade plus, I can say this to anyone wanting to go to culinary school: only go if you really love cooking, because the hours and pay pretty much suck, oh and the last 1/4 of your shift is janitorial work. Oh, and employers seem to want to take advantage of kitchen staff like no other industry would allow. So you gotta really love the cooking. It's a tonne of fun, you work with interesting characters, a hell of a way to make a living! Any of you professional cooks out there find that getting your Red Seal made much of a difference to your career? Was it worth the work? For a time, I thought that was the end goal, now I realize it's basically a starting point. -- Matt. edited to add: this is a great opportunity for some of you Van Isl. cook lurkers to de-lurk!

Still waiting for those extra pics, but the "exchange" is still in progress. Hey, I find it hard to swallow that I am the *only* cook on Vancouver Island reading this. Two responses? Hell, I've spoken to more people in my neighbourhood grocery store about Feast of Fields than around here. People need to represent. We need to grow more of our own food, and I think more local people need to speak up!

To my knowledge, this is actually called a Manhattan cut (get it?). Perhaps Earl's like to make up their own names, like asking if you want that "Keg Sized" ... The only way to eat a strip steak. Given adequate rest time, it produces a much better steak, with more even cooking. Off topic, but I could not resist. -- Matt.

Our contribution was a salad of side stripe hand peeled shrimp from Tofino, "Wildfresh" chanterelle mushrooms (sauteed with olive oil, shallots and fresh herbs), harvested from around the Duncan/Cowichan area, some from a monastery and some truly wild. This was mixed with a basic baby green mix from our friend Gavin, who supplies the better restaurants in Victoria with herbs, flowers, and greens and organic baby squash relish (mixed varieties) from Saanich Organics. We added a little borage and nasturtium (Gavin) for brightness, and tossed all with a very basic fresh herb vinaigrette. Seaweed tuille consisted of icing sugar, flour, canola, seaweed and a couple of other herbs ... the pastry chef did these, with a little help Big job, baking and rolling 900 + of these cones. The salad was stuffed into the cone, about 6 shrimp (10 grams) each and topped with thick creme fraiche made a couple of days before. I think that is about it. Very simple execution for this. Last year he did some honey drizzled, brioche french toast with melted brie (?) - all local and very good - creation, that was labour intensive, and did not really get to enjoy the day very much. This year he decided to take it easy. I spent Saturday night putting out covers on the line, while chef and his helpers did all the prep in the back. The most remarkable thing to me was that we did not run out of any ingredient first, but had exactly enough of everything to fill every last cone. Bizarre! -- Matt.