gfron1

Those squares are really beautiful

His story is that everything comes from that land. That article seemed to crack that story a bit. My guess is that he does some shopping.

Your link to me didn't catch so it was a good thing that I thought I should come chime in here. I've been really thinking, not so much about him, but the reaction to him. I've read people say he can't feed a crowd on that little amount of land. He can't make that many cheeses. He can't make that many syrups. OR if he does they can't be very good. Well, I think he can. I know that my mis en place each night is jokingly small, yet somehow I feed 7 courses to 20-30 people five nights a week. My staff joked that it was a loaves and fishes miracle every single night. Because, not exaggerating, I often had less than ten prep tubs in front of me, a couple of proteins hanging out on the side, and whatever fresh greens were around. A truly foraged meal can not be compared to a traditional meal - it's not about protein, carb, veg, garnish. Foraged chefs think differently out of necessity or maybe we forage because our minds are different to begin with. So here's my take. First, it is rare that I find a commercial kitchen that I don't think is overstaffed. I'm in one right now. We have 7 at night and I would lop off at least 3 of them. My chef last night even commented how I was rocking through prep. Well...yeah. It's called hard work and demand of value - I want 8 hours of work out of an 8 hour employee. I put in 14-16 hour days for 8 years. I loved what i did and thrived. I also found a sweet spot of efficiency. When I gather stinging nettle, for example, I come back to the kitchen and make 3 or 4 different things with it - maybe a panna cotta for this week, an oil for the next month, wrap a goat cheese for 3 months from now and so on. Long-term planning and creativity made my scarce resources last a long time. So, as far as workload goes - yes, he can do what he's saying he does. Second, like most chefs, we are story tellers. There's a line of bullshit that runs through every ego-driven chef. Look at menu language - so much BS. The Farm to Fable article captured this to an extent...and when a good story becomes an outright lie. His "booked until 2025" just reeks of BS to me. He's creating an air of exclusivity, and my guess is that he opens nights to "last minute cancellations" whenever he has the supplies and energy to knock out a dinner. If his booked til claims were true, then when this article came out, hundreds, nay, thousands of people would have been posting on their facebook pages that they had reservations for 2019. That hasn't happened as far as I can tell. So again, I call BS. I did order his cookbook, and it's odd because if you go to his publisher's page you'll see they do a sort of dummies investment books, not cookbooks. Maybe a friend. Maybe a fan. I just hope I get my book for the money.

When I visited Oaxaca I never saw stone soup in regular restaurants. There was a place about 20 minutes east of the city (Northern end) that everyone told us was more geared towards locals - where yes, they had big caldrons that they would drop rocks into to cook the soup. Fun idea, but when we went they were closed and our driver tried to really screw us over. That said, they look like gourds to me too, but if they are stone I'd love to find a set for myself. For evidence that they are gourds, look at the rim of the forefront bowl and look at about 2 o'clock. You'll see an irregularity that would make sense for gourd instead of rock - on a rock that would probably have shattered.

Be kind to me my friends ... this is my first video. I will be releasing a series of videos in support of Acorns & Cattails being published on September 20th. These videos allowed me to get into what's important and exciting about foraging. Enjoy! HERE

I tell the story all the time of when the eG crew gathered in Vegas a few years ago for a chocolate workshop and we all went to Lotus of Siam for dinner. The 20 or so of us all sat together at one long table. The New Mexico contingency (and a bit of Arizona) was at one end, while the rest of the table was filled with folks from Toronto to California. When it came time to order the shared dishes the Eastern end of the table opted for heat level 1 and 2 (out of 10), while the New Mexico contingency picked 4-6. The other side of the table drank a lot of water, and the New Mexicans felt that it was barely hot. We definitely have skewed heat tolerances. I sure miss my chiles in Missouri.

Interesting. My publisher never showed me that. I applaud all of you who enjoy kindle editions...I need paper in my fingers for a cookbook!

@Shelby They've been roasting for weeks. I may be gone but I keep my eyes and ears open!

Like I said, neither article is complete so we don't actually know if there was a written ticket, if the ticket said the correct thing, if there was cross-contamination, if the expeditor called up for the wrong dish. There are plenty of scenarios where the kitchen could be on the hook, but none of those details are presented for or against in the article.

Food to me, I'm now reading Oak: The Frame of Civilization

I've re-read and the article says that the diner didn't see the server write the order down - very common. It doesn't say that the order wasn't in writing at some point. The server mostly likely remembered the order (very common) and entered it into their POS at the server station which the customer would not have seen. A piece of paper hit the kitchen, and nowhere was it mentioned if the paper said salmon (tuna or salmon would be irrelevant in a dark restaurant) or beef. So the article isn't complete enough to say if the kitchen is off the hook. Regardless, if the drinking is true, then the restaurant is culpable because they allowed an employee to drink on the job, and that may have impaired their judgment.

This stuff pisses me off (probably for the wrong reasons). As I read the story it is the kitchen's fault - did I miss that the order was written incorrectly? I saw that the server neglected to warn the kitchen or note it on the order, but If I read closely enough then the kitchen made the mistake, and quite frankly in a darkly lit restaurant tuna and beef tartar would look similar enough that no one would question it until the food hit their mouth, and even then most would miss the difference in taste and texture. Second, why is it in these allergy-near-death cases the story starts with "the customer left his epi-pen in the car." If you are that damn allergic to anything, why is the pen leaving your body?! Yes, the waiter is an idiot. Yes, the kitchen screwed up. But friggin' personal responsibility for doing your own due diligence when living in a world of idiots.

Nathaniel Reid is well known in pastry circles, being a brand ambassador and instructor along with plenty of resume highlights. He's yes another notable chef who's returned home to St Louis to open shop (STL is going to have a huge year with new notable openings). His bakery is just around the corner from my mom's house so I paid it a visit this morning. Traditional pastry with sandwiches and espressos, some bean to bar, dragees and spreads.

That's super fun! I'll tell my friends in GR that they can thank you

Today I want to focus on cookbook blogs and websites. I started with The Cookbook Junkies. I'm adding this here for future use by other authors. Please feel free to share sites that you know of.

Spent the morning promoting the book to anyone in New Mexico or Missouri that does holiday gift guides. Now's the time since most of them are monthly magazines. I'm also deciding which IACF category to submit the book for consideration. I'm leaning the First Timers category, but I may do Chef/Restaurant. I think I have a better chance in the First Timer category. All books are automatically entered in the design category which I think we have a strong chance at.

Krokstrom - holy crap! Get there now! I have zero doubt that she'll have a JBF nomination under her belt with the 2017 nominations. Simply perfectly executed, exciting Scandanavian food. And she's only 29. Affare - another great meal. Not to the level of fresh and innovative as Krokstrom, but well worth the visit.

Today I started a Facebook page specifically for the book. I mentioned earlier in this thread that I thought it made more sense to keep likes/friends/follows focused on my existing social media, but when I tried to Promote a page from my personal page I wasn't able - you can't promote on personal pages. So I moved the post over to my old restaurant page, but that's confusing since I'm promoting with city-specific audiences and they won't know what a Curious Kumquat is. Today I went ahead and started the new page. While I may not get many Likes on it at this late date, I will be able to promote through it.

Do it and let us know My first thought was the differing times it takes to make them melt.

At long last - an update! I received a review on Publisher's Weekly. Quite frankly, I wasn't happy with it even though it was a favorable review. My problem was that they ignored the 80+ easy recipes and focused on the 2 hard ones. So I ignored the review because why would I want to promote that. Both my agent and editor were happy about the review. When I shared my concern the editor sent me this: So, now I like this review even though I still won't promote it. This publishing world continues to fascinate me.

Oh it was so hot, and it made me feel like such a wimp. Coming from the mountains I'm just not used to that terrible heat, and on my own I forage at 6 am. We started at 10 and ended around 1. Pascal tried to keep us in the shade but it didn't matter. So glad I had my sunscreen on. I spent most of the week thinking about where to get my next air conditioning.

Just back from the oppressive heat that rolled into LA this past week. Great week of dining and I learned the ease and magic of Uber! Lazy lunch at El Rio Bravo around the corner from my Culver City airbnb The first night my AirBnb hosts took me to their favorite neighborhood place - La Dijoinaise Coffee down the street at Cognoscenti Dinner at Orsa & Winston: Standard tasting menu stuff. A bit loud and dark for my taste, but the food was solid and well priced for the experience. It was very quiet so go earlier in the week for a calmer experience. Donuts at Primo's Donuts: I was told to get the buttermilk donuts and was not let down - so good! Dinner at n/naka: I have had so many tasting menus in my life that at this point most bore me. I can almost always find something inspirational at any of them but quite frankly they often feel overly formulaic. But as I chart the meals that impact my life and my cooking this meal will be as lasting as Alinea (when placed in the context of time and life experience). You won't be able to get a seat, but if you do Chef Nikki will not let you down. Absolutely spectacular, and when I say the homeade tofu was the highlight of the meal, that should give you some idea of what it was like - all of the fancy ingredients were amazing, but the humble tofu stole the show for me. Santa Monica Farmers Market Wednesday I cooked a private dinner up near Tujunga canyon after foraging the Hanson Dam area Snack at La Moreliana in Grand Central Market: Plata de carnitas - good and they tricked me into eating tripe, which is not my favorite thing. Coffee at Alfred in Silverlake Dinner at Night & Marketsong: I wasn't expecting to get one last meal in, nor did I think I could just walk in to this place at 6 pm on a Friday night, but I did and they were empty. The crowd started rolling in closer to 7:30 so an easier seat to grab earlier or at the bar. I had the crispy rice salad so I could compare it to the same at Lotus of Siam and they certainly held their own. along with some fun cocktails.

But now I"m in the neighborhood so it won't be so rare for future events. And when I do open my new restaurant we'll keep a Euro schedule and be closed the entire month of Aug.

I am out. I started a new job to kill time before I open my new place.

I just picked up Jarry which is an LGBT themed cheffy food magazine. Looks good so far.