gfron1

I agree. I haven't come up with a universal item that could go with a sandwich as easily as a salad or soup. For example, you mention a bread - I don't think I would want a slice of bread served in addition to my sandwich. I was thinking fancy cracker, but maybe its more of a salad - potato, pasta, fruit...whatever, but seasoned to be my style.

This is all very helpful. I know that each add-on is cutting into the margin, but we're already seeing the impact of over-frugality - what will the market bare?! We have a large retiree community who is just fine with the portion sizes. But up in the mountains our metabolisms are a bit faster so we do tend to eat more. A 'for example' - her veggie sandwich is five 5" strips of roasted zucchini, 3-5 small pieces of roasted red bell, pesto spread, slice and a half of cheese, toasted on regular sized loaf bread. Its good, but small and almost no protein. I'd be hungry before I wiped my lips. Cost $5.25 I haven't costed her recipes yet, but my guess is it costs her less than 50 cents in materials. So even doubling the filling takes it to $1 in materials plus the overhead. So let's say this sandwich costs $2 to make, that's still a decent profit. Her only garnish right now is a quarter of an apple sliced into three pieces. Its all served on a slip of deli paper in a plastic tray. And there's the napkin, water cup (if they don't buy a soda), fork if the sandwich gets too messy... Next week I'm going to enter her materials into a spreadsheet and convert them into cost per gram, and then do some tests on the menu items. I really want to know what the margin is here. BTW, "The Rob" is double the meat with an extra layer of bread in the center of the sandwich. Its a big'un.

As for balling and spreading, by necessity I form all of my cookies into balls, press them slightly, then freeze them. I do this so I can make a big batch on Sunday and bake to sell throughout the week. By doing this, I have never had spreading issues. I bake straight from the freezer. So for this NYT recipe, my intention is to age in the cooler for 3 days, then freeze. I'll report back.

Nest...right, that's what it is. So on the cafe front, today as I've shared with friends that I'm taking over, I've heard three times that people are dissatisfied with the cafe because of small portions. I knew this might be a problem. They even named a sandwich after me because I always needed two sandwiches to fill myself. But now that its my cafe, this is a problem. I've been thinking of filler foods - homemade crackers or such. It'll have to be something fun and quality. Sorry to have so many issues going at once, but isn't that life in the biz?! And, I met with a Sysco rep. It was odd since I've spent years saying how terrible Sysco is. My first opinion is that their inventory is much more diverse than my naysaying gives them credit for. I've asked for prices and they will be in the running.

Ha! No, it is hair, but I won't word it that way on the final menu. I'll use my fine microplane grater and do a very fine parma hair topped with a toasted pinon. It won't be gross, I promise

Since my last week is going to fly by I also spent the day calling the food distributors in the area. We have Sysco (who I've lambasted for years, but they have Niman Ranch), Ben E. Keith, and Zanios (An Albuquerque company). Chef is currently using Zanios. One little side deal I'm trying to work is that UNFI (a major natural retail foods distributor) has a lot of things I want in my store. They don't deliver down to my town, but they do from Denver to Albuquerque. If I can get a company that will allow me to have UNFI ship to them in ABQ, then bring it to me on their truck - they will get huge bonus points. Its asking a lot though, so we'll see. There is no easy distribution for us since we're 3 hours to any major city. But its like a puzzle to me, which I enjoy a lot.

Some ideas I'm working on for the alternative/less standard menu: Appetizers -Spring/salad rolls - not too frilly for the cowboy -Serrano Asparagus spears -Bruschetta (Bride's request): pinon, tomato, parma hair -Cheese board: one cheese with fruit and crackers Meal Spring green salad - fruit and nuts Fall risotto? Can I make this ahead and not have it get gloppy? or pasta salad with roasted fall vegetables Brisket: Asian inspired rub And for the standard menu: Appetizers -bbq chicken on sweet potato biscuits -Bison teriyaki jerky twizzlers -Bruschetta: tomato, rosemary, balsamic -Cheese board: one cheese with fruit and crackers Meal Spring green salad: homemade croutons, parma, cherry tomatoes, etc. Potato Salad: Swedish style (dill & sour cream) Pinto Beans: vegetarian, need flavoring idea Brisket: standard rub

To be honest I had no idea why you were pursuing this so much until I saw those result pics! Wow! That looks very cool and I can already think of some great uses for it. Thanks for keeping on it.

Carrying forward the store's philanthropic efforts, I'll be contracting with our local high school culinary program to do the set-up, clean-up and passing. That way the customer gets a break, but the students get a great fundraiser. They need money every year for their competitions (Patrick A is in Orlando right now at the national competition). I'll just have to do a bit of uniform policing and basic training, but they should be good since they're trained through their program. And so far they haven't mentioned drinks. Its on my list for Sunday, but I'm picturing a pick-up filled with ice. The bride is a bartender after all

Don't re-gift it (unless its to me). Just start sprinkling it on whatever. I use is constantly on my eggs and mashers. If you make fries, that's perfect. Of course, now I want to try Kerry's idea.

Great suggestions and tips! For Sunday I think my primary goal is to figure out who is in charge of this wedding so I don't waste time going down the wrong path again. The wild card is the Wild Oats parents. I haven't heard what they want, but based on their starting Wild Oats, it would seem that they would want fresh and organic. No one has mentioned those words to me yet. I also know that they are both vegetarian (so that means no meat in the beans). I'm trying to upsell them on some Niman Ranch meats to appeal to their ethics. We'll see if it flies. I like this, especially merged with Sugarella's suggestion about cured meats. I have some nice pancetta, prosciutto & serrano in bulk from my store AND it doesn't sell real fast. I also have a half of a bison and was thinking about playing with that. I could borrow my friend's dehydrator and do bison jerky sticks (they would have to be easy to eat - so make them long and twiggy so they would look fun. I was thinking about sweet potato. Right now we're in Summer, but in Sept, we're leaning into Fall. So I was wondering if I shouldn't think corn, sweet potatoes, nuts...Fallish stuff. And I do think a bbq-esque meat, held in a warmer and put on miniature sweet potato biscuits would be great! I'll find out on Sunday. September will be perfect temperature - we're in the desert, but up in the mountains so its never too hot or cold. I would expect it to be around 70 F at 6 pm. My larger concern would be wind, and that could impact burners, warmers, etc.. I definitely want to do this because I can a create beautiful passive appetizer that has a dramatic impact. I would probably do a wood boat filled with a quarter of gorganzola dolce surrounded by fruit and crackers. They definitely want paper/plastic. We're talking about who will supply them - me or the family. I will also pitch my compostable corn plates to the parents. That would help me meet a minimum for free shipping to get more for my cafe. Oh yeah, I'm supposed to be thinking about taking over a cafe right now Best advice of the day! I had quoted them a price before that had a tremendous mark-up for food and labor. I have been working with Chef to cover all my bases. The call yesterday where the bride to be changed everything, I think they're in for a sticker shock. Based on her comments, we're looking at a 2.5 or tripling of the bill. They may change their minds, but again, this is not a family without money. My priority is to nail down two menus - one conservative, and one more playful and create those menus for Sunday. I want them to be parallel, so all I'm really doing is changing out the sauces/seasoning, but keeping the same base (meat, bean, etc).

Before my apron even gets warm I was called for a catering job. Actually the chef was but she'll be pushing out a baby just about the time that the happy couple says, "I do." This is a topic in and of itself as a friend has been telling me what the bride wants, but tonight (after two weeks of talking to the friend) I finally talked to the bride, and her ideas are vastly different. This is the daughter of the founders of Wild Oats. She's well traveled, but she's now a small town bar matron at our local biker bar. The husband is/was a regular at said bar. The event is up in ranching country, but lot's of guests from the East coast and the Boulder area. The friend said she wanted basic brisket, potato salad, salad and boiled pinto beans. Not quite what I, nor my store, is known for but I can certainly do it. Tonight the bride said, "Yeah we were thinking brisket, but can't we do something more fun and fancy?" She also added 90 minutes of appetizers tray passed, a bartender, party favors, etc.. My little job is now a not so little job for 150 people. My food has to transport 60 minutes and then sit until served. The appetizers are 90 minutes before dinner. No kitchen. Probably power, but its solar, so I can't guarantee that I'll have it. I'm doing a sampling on Sunday for the wedding couple and parents. Did I mention that I've never catered before? But, I've done many, many cheese parties for crowds about that size...not quite the same, but its why I'm not afraid to do it. I'd appreciate tips. Any questions that your experiences have taught you for me to ask on Sunday? Ideas for fancy cowboy fare for the appetizers? Remember that the key is I'm making food that has to be served at room temp to people standing up at a cocktail party environment, but its outside.

Signed, Sealed, Delivered...oh yeah! The deal is done. I have submitted my resignation, making it abundantly clear that my resignation is not associated with that disciplinary letter. I'm not ticked about the letter at all since, as I said, they were issues that I was already working on, but it sure makes turning in my resignation all the more easy. Now, my mind focuses on wrapping up my current work duties, enjoying time with my outstanding staff, and focusing on the cafe transition. It should be a fun couple of weeks. [This is the end of my prerecorded message This event actually happened on Tuesday of this week. Things are rolling ahead very quickly now so here come the questions....]

Just Looking For a Sign Today has been interesting to say the least. We both are fairly spiritual, and believe in signs - whether they come from a higher power or the universe or our subconscious. We've been asking for a sign to stop us because this feels right. Today, was the day I was supposed to give notice at my job, but we hadn't heard from Tyler's future employer yet. Tyler hunted one of the two owners down (the optimistic owner) and the owner said, "Can you start tomorrow?" We haven't been able to reach the realistic owner yet. But we went to lunch (our weekly date). Tyler said, "If the store can guarantee paying us $#### each month then we're okay." I said, "It can't right now." That deflated both of us immensely. We ate most of our lunch in silence. Right before lunch I had received a call from our local university asking if I wanted to teach a class. I told them no since the pay wasn't appropriate for my time efforts. She went on to say that they would have a position open in January that would be full-time, and that I would be a good candidate for it. Side note: My PhD is in Sport Psychology - jobs are rare. I thanked her and didn't think more of it. After lunch we went home to run the numbers and pray together and at the end of it I said that two things kept crossing my mind (While we aren't Quaker, Tyler's seminary degree is from Earlham, a Quaker school, so our prayer is Quaker silence where you still your mind and allow for God to speak through the silence). First, the teaching opportunity tells me that there are other opportunities out there if this doesn't work, so I don't need to feel so fearful of consequences. Second, the January opportunity would come right after I had gotten knee deep in the cafe, and I should have a very clear idea if we can make it fly. With both thoughts I now feel a sense of comfort and confidence, but not as confident as when we opened our store a few years ago. Tyler agreed. I said, "So do I give notice?" He said, "Do it." I headed back to work with the intention of offering my resignation and on my way I got a call saying that my supervisor and the HR Director were waiting for me. That's never good. Sure enough when I got back the supe had a letter in her hand. We went to my office and she covered a half dozen mistakes my staff had made lately and wanted me to explain how we were going to fix them. Culpable on all counts your honor...but we had already been working on the issues, and in fact, the issues lied primarily with two of my employees who I had started the process of transitioning them out of the agency. So is this my sign? Kick my ass out? Discretion being the better part of chocolate, I decided to wait to write my letter until tomorrow.

Last Chance to Run With training over now Tyler and I need to make the final commitment. The only thing stopping us is his part-time job. He's been offered a p-t job with a local IT support group. If they say they have renewed their contract for the local state agencies, then its a done deal. If not, then it might be too risky for me to give up my day job which currently pays for all of our living expenses. The store has never given us much income. We both feel like this is the next step for us in our dreams, and for the store. But its very scary. Tyler reminded me last night that our home mortgage is only $650 and the store covers its own mortgage, so the $650 is what we need to make. Obviously its not that easy but the mortgages are our two big bills. I'm also concerned about health insurance. I just turned 40, eat shitloads of sugar and butter, and am generally an overworked person. I had a faux-heart attack back in April which led to a battery of tests, all of which came back saying I was in outstanding shape (due to a lifetime of running and alpine climbing). So with just a few months of hindsight, again, maybe things happen for a reason. Maybe I needed to hear from a doctor that I am in good enough shape right now to take this plunge and not have insurance for a year or two as we continue to grow the business. Anyway, this is the point where we pray and meditate and get some clarity, then make a decision.

I made a Chihuahuan meal for my Up The Street Neighbor a while back and while she appreciated the effort, it obviously couldn't live up to her standards. So, I took another tact. I've been having her teach me her cuisine. Its been a blast on both ends - I love learning it, and she loves passing on that knowledge. She, in fact, is the one who will be teaching our tamale & tortilla workshop when eGulleters come to the Hatch Chile Fest.

Peter - I don't count hits - my mom reads my writing so its always skewed! [i'm gonna pick up the pace so I can get to real time, since living in the past is not nearly as interesting as what's going on today.] Last of the Play Days (aka last Friday) Yesterday was the last of my training days. Fridays are usually our busiest day, but you never know what weather, holidays, travel, etc will do. I woke up a bit late and headed in around 7. I made a quick ganache to go on some macarons that Patrick A had made the night before, and filled the lemon macs with 65% choc ganache and a few fresh blueberries that I had dying in the walk-in. I've really been missing my mixer in the mornings and have stopped doing my sourdough or croissants until it is fixed (any day now). I also did a quick check to see what I might need for weekend desserts. Martyn still wasn't around at 9:30 so I took control and acted like I knew what I was doing. I made the chowder, prepped the stations, and did clean-up. I'm really, really into a clean kitchen and station when I'm working. Every free moment I put into keeping the space clean, and Martyn is appreciating it because we get out no more than 15 minutes after close (a slight exaggeration). Martyn rolled in at 10 and since almost everything was done I asked him about end of week duties like deep cleaning, what do we trash in the prep stations, etc. Chef came in today to give more info. She also stayed out of our way, and kept quiet. I in not so nice words told her that she was adding to the stress instead of being helpful when she barked orders at us yesterday. So she was just watching and biting her tongue. Lunch turned out to be so slow. Between 10 and 1:50 we made maybe a half dozen orders. I went ahead and made all of them. At 1:50 as I was getting ready to pull the stations and finish cleaning, the rush hit. In the next 20 minutes we did 40 covers. Martyn and I have definitely hit our stride as a team and kept up with everything except when our grill was backed up. This was also the first day that I knew what went into the sandwiches or salads without reading the menu, and the first day that I was a smart-ass through most of service. I saw it as a sign of my comfort. After lunch I piled all the leftovers onto a tortilla and made a killer wrap for myself (bacon, BBQ chicken, blue cheese, cheddar, guacamole, and a bed of greens). Chef and I talked food safety, cater bidding, and about a possible high school intern for the fall to replace Patric A. We also had to discuss our sushi contract with the local hospital. Every Thursday we make 30 rolls, the hospital picks them up and sells them in their cafeteria. We only make californias, spicy tilapia (cooked), and veggy rolls, so they have a decent shelf life. The problem is that the hospital always picks them up late and so they're selling day old rolls. This week, they picked up on Friday which means they have two day old rolls if they even sell over the weekend. Our name isn't on the package, but its a small town and people know. I told Chef that I would rather find a way to deliver to them and guarantee freshness. If I can guarantee freshness then I want my name on the sushi to drive traffic to our store. We're talking with the hospital folks... A very good day!

I tinkered a few weeks ago by caramelizing white sugar (v. muscovado) and it was a huge flop. Some food science issue.

The continuing prequel I've been at it for three days now and I still love my time in the kitchen. I question if I can run the show by myself once I officially take over, but we'll see. I am getting faster and learning the menu little by little. A few thoughts at this stage. First, anyone reading this blabber, please, please, please promise me that you'll eat something that is a bit off the beaten path next time you dine out. When I throw a spinach quiche on the shelf, its bought immediately. But when I put in smoked paprika and Spanish chorizo...Cricket chirps and a future of mold and a date with a trash can (it actually comes home to my house for dinner.) My desserts are flying out. There is something to be said for critical mass. When I have one or two desserts, they sell very slowly. When I put out five desserts, they fly out the door. A second thought. Kitchen chaos or control is yours to choose. For the first two days, Martyn trained me and we did just fine. Orders went out fast, mostly correct, and we kept a clean kitchen. Chef came in today to spend some training time with me and everything was wrong, nothing fast enough and the tension in the kitchen was nearly unbearable. I realized what was going on, remembered that I can't get fired, and just focused on the task at hand. I choose a happy kitchen, not a stressful kitchen. And lastly for today...catering offers are rolling in without me even telling people I'm for hire. That's scary. I can serve 30 covers, maybe even 50 or more covers, but those are staggered over a few hours. A catering gig means 100-500 at one time. I'm not saying yes, but I'm not saying no either. I did say a flat out no to a wedding cake since I know my limits there.

(I can't believe I'm about to say this) I've been staying up late thinking about this compost idea. To me the problem has been that the chute or bucket or whatever will transport the materials is going to get nasty - hence no longer convenient. BUT, at my store we use only the biodegradable, compostable corn grocery bags. You could use those to line your transportation vessel.

I'll leave pricing for the cakers, but what stands out to me is that you're doing this in your home kitchen. This feels like you're ramping up from serious hobbyist to pro, and that carries with it a commercially coded kitchen, licensing, insurance, etc. Just some thoughts to consider (if you haven't already).

The twists and turns: Volume 4 (aka after Day 1) When we finished, we sat down for a bite of lunch ourselves. I was pooped. I know everyone else was tired from lunch, but I was up and at the store at 6 to make desserts. This is our planned schedule, so I need to know if early mornings are going to work. I decided that I need a hammock in the back room for a disco nap after service. Once I take over, I'll be sure to do that. I also had to head home to walk the dogs and make dinner for Tyler and I. I thought I would dread cooking dinner (and I may after I've done this a while), but its very different from the cafe soup and sandwich routine, so it did't seem to be drudgery. The dog walk was a great waker-upper since our monsoon season has started and we had a nice little rain. And to end the day, here I am writing this little summary. I'm looking forward to learning the menu better and starting my adaptations. I'm also looking forward to making this a done deal and quitting my other job. We're just waiting for word on Tyler's part-time job coming through. Once we have that work - we're taking the plunge. The twists and turns: Pre-Volume 1.2 Truth be told, I only want to do this so I have a venue for my desserts. I couldn't make enough desserts to sell at wholesale to make it worth my time, but by being in the kitchen 10-14 hours each day, I can have good retail volume. The irony is that my dessert style is so not aligned with the savory menu. I've dummied down my desserts to fit in plastic cups, be wrapped in saran on a plastic plate, and other scandalous techniques. My deep, dark, secret plan is to build a fan base that will allow me to do monthly or bi-weekly fancy dinners where I can pull out my sodium alginate and tapioca maltodextrin, and have some fun. But not yet. One step at a time.

I'm not sure if this is helpful, but I'll give it a go. I've dined at Alinea - genius, right? And recently I ate at St. Louis' closest equivalent - Niche. When I finished the tasting menu I knew I had eaten food from a very, very good chef. But it was not a meal from a genius. It took me a long time to figure out why I felt that way, but ultimately it was when I said to my spouse, "There was only one thing in that whole meal that was unique or that I cared enough to want to learn more about." He had an outstanding "reuben," but while playful, was easily constructed components that had been done before. Niche is a nice restaurant, but not genius. Every time I see a post in the Alinea topic, and see dishes they've created since what I had (one year ago), I see repeated moments of genius. (edited to add a very important 'not')

[Reminder that I'm actually posting my thoughts from last week. My goal is to be caught up by the end of this week to be in real time.] The twists and turns: Volume 3 (aka Staging Day 1) Today was my first training day. I took vacation from my job to learn from the chef how she does her menu, order, prep, etc. Last night she called to say that she sprained her ankle and won't be in, so I trained with her husband who is her #2 in the kitchen. Not classically trained, nor a clean worker, he is however very efficient and knows the menu. He was a bit intimidated to train me, but I reminded him that my realm is sweets and not savory, so he really was more knowledgeable in many areas. I came in at 6 to make my desserts. I made a lemon mousse (using Italian meringue) with amaretto soaked ladyfingers, tiramisu (for tomorrow), and an ultra chocolate brownie. I then cleaned, did a bit of eGullet hosting, and drank some tea (jasmine pearl). When Martyn came in around 9 we started our mis en place, I made a green chile corn chowder, and cooked our meats. Almost all of their cooking is done on small panini presses. I couldn't handle Martyn's 'wait til the end' cleaning style, so I was constantly cleaning something, especially the dishes. Martyn was very happy when after our last customer the kitchen was basically clean and ready for mopping. I got to pick the specials for the day, so I created a Thai Chicken wrap, and a Pepperoni/Pecorino, Balsamic glazed onion Pizza. I made the sauce for the chicken which was peanut butter, fish sauce, cilantro, sriracha and a hint of sesame oil (Kyoto brand, my favorite). Our first customers were my office mates, come in to harass me. Martyn showed me how to make some of our basics (bacon, green chile melt, greek salad), and let me make one of my special wraps. The pace was steady, but it felt slow. Martyn said it was a typical Tuesday (about 30 covers). I can easily handle that pace! We'll see how I feel on Friday when we double that number. A couple of blunders. First, we had a sushi order come in right as Martyn ran to our co-op for greens (he mis-ordered). They wanted a California roll - how hard could that be right?! Let's just say that I need to practice spreading my rice. The roll ended up being 1.5" across and 3/4 rice. I gave it to the customers gratis and said that the chef was on his way and would make the rest of their order. We have a contract with our hospital to make 30 rolls of sushi each Thursday so I'm sure I'll improve. The other mistake was Martyn's. He was making fish tacos (near the end of service), and had just used the last of the filling. As he turned to do the final drizzle, he knocked the plate off the counter sending the tacos flying and covering all of the service plates. Back to the cupboard to open some more ingredients, while I worked on cleaning the plates. Just a two-minute delay. No one noticed and the plates were probably cleaner than when we started that day.

I'm currently using the shareware OS Commerce and with that we have to do up/downloads for inventory reconciliation. We were doing it weekly when the site was up.