Jump to content

gfron1

eGullet Society staff emeritus
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    6,145

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Posts posted by gfron1

    Foraging guides

    in Cookbooks & References

    Posted

    Thanks @donk79. My book is much more of a cookbook than a foraging guide, and I don't focus too much on plant identification - just as necessary for my recipes. I second Pascal's series of books. All are amazing. I also love my Moerman books on indigenous ethnobotany - he has one on medicinal uses and one for food, but both are a great source of ancient wisdom that you can use for your area through the lens of the tribes that used to live off of the land surrounding you.

    Starting a high profile new restaurant (after closing another)

    in Restaurant Life

    Posted

    I have some free time to post here again :) 🤣 🤒

     

    My goal here was always to share with people that I consider friends and mentors, and so while sharing details is fine, for me it's always been more about what I would have talked about with you if we were having a beer on Sunday night at our favorite bar. This post is some big stuff - none of it really good, and I've been chewing on what and how to articulate any of it because this is the internet and most of you don't even know me let alone like me or care about me since for most of you I'm just a screen name (that comes off much more melodramatic than I intended.)

     

    Things were rolling along very nicely through February. From the beginning we were hitting all of our sales figures and paying all of our bills, including our first large investor payback. I had done things the best I knew how, and I remind you dear friends, that this is my first "real" restaurant - meaning, big city, food critics, large body of yelpers, scale in which I rely on others beyond myself, and lots of people making money off of my and my team's efforts. And so I rolled into March with high hopes of award season and feeling pretty good about what we had accomplished. I can think of only a small few dishes (our of the nearly 100) that we created since opening that were dogs. A few nights with complaints of over-salting, and the like. And that's a great segue into my first comment.

     

    I had received a couple of pieces of feedback on social media from followers (not friends) that I lacked humility. I know that I post a lot about what we do...and I do it because 1) I want to market to people and develop a brand and awareness of what we're trying to do; and 2) I think what we do is really cool and it excites me. I've had a month plus to think about all this and I certainly can't argue the point. On one hand I know I always give credit to staff, to farmers, to media, but I'm sure that some people don't view my bragging that way. I've tried to think about how and what I post on social media, and I've tried to watch what others do. In New Mexico the market was so small that if I wasn't constantly self-promoting we would have never made it financially because the pool of potential customers was so small. I think in St. Louis, it comes off as cocky and lacking of humility. Is this part of "Midwest-Nice?" I don't know, but it's led me to step off all social media (one of two reasons...second one coming). I'm currently operating under the thought that I don't have the skills or maturity to understand the nuance of "informing" and "lacking humility," so I've ceased my personal pages and turned the business pages over to staff. Technically this isn't the worst thing in the world. We were using my personal pages because I had established friends and followers, but now the restaurant does as well. And, it will be nice to focus my time more on running the restaurant.

     

    The second big issue was awards. I know they should never be the goal, but they were/are very important to me because they allow me to see how I'm doing. Part of that goes back to New Mexico where I never had a food critic visit the restaurant for dinner. Never. Plenty of travel writers, but never food. And nestle into that mentality the idea that I've been a student of the JBF award winners for nearly 15 years. I look at what is important to the foundation, and hence to restaurants, and integrate that into what I do. I don't do forage, zero waste, local sourcing, ethical staffing, etc because of JBF awards, but I am aware of them and integrate them because of what I've learned through the JBF awards. Does that make sense? A couple of weeks before the semi-finalist announcements I was interviewing a new PR firm and was told directly that we wouldn't get consideration because the foundation has encouraged its committees to focus on diversity. And sure enough when the list came out that focus was loud and clear in our region, and quite frankly I support it as a way to make long-term change in restaurant leadership and how the media decides who deserves recognition. Knowing what i knew I was disappointed but not upset, and turned my attention to a local ranking that was to be released two weeks later. 

     

    To keep this brief because it is still extremely painful for me, the critic did not visit our restaurant despite having given us one of the highest reviews in recent years. I called my peers on the list and they all got visited for the rankings. It really took me to the lowest place I've been in my life (at least since I was an angsty closeted gay teen). I don't want to get into this much more than what I have except to say that I only know my perspective and what I learned by talking to my peers. There's always more sides to the story. And yes, at some point I need to have a conversation with the critic and find out if I did something wrong or if I just don't have all the facts on the process. Either way it's an icky conversation that reeks of nothing more than sour grapes on my part, and I am very well aware of that. The painful part of this is how I watch my peers (pre-COVID) bragging about their listing and congratulating their team knowing all along that we were treated differently. It's immature of me. It's petty. But it's also a real emotion that I've been struggling with, feeling black listed or grey listed, and yet knowing it's very possibly all just made up in my head. So thank god for COVID to distract me because at least now I can apply my knowledge, skills and effort to maintain my business, whereas with the other situation I feel completely out of control and defeated. Again, way more drama than I prefer to share this publicly. And it's with all this in mind, partnered with my previous issue, that led me to get off social media - a place that used to be my refuge from the long hours of social isolation in the kitchen, which has now become painful and disheartening. For now I've had to give up that social network as well.

     

    And finally we get to COVID. We're closed until further notice. I got my PPP funds on Tuesday night after the application went live. I've been focusing my staff on specific research areas since they're still on full payroll. My sous and I still go out and forage a few times a week because otherwise we'll lose a season of ingredients. And I'm strategizing about what we look like once we get on the other side of the pandemic. To that end I sent a short survey out to our mailing list and receive amazing feedback that we'll use to tighten the program up even more. I'll stop there.

     

    Take care everyone. I'm still very raw. And I hope this was (or will be) a bit useful to someone in the future.

    • Like 2
    • Thanks 6
    • Sad 4

    Opening A Diner Once Covid-19 is Over

    in Restaurant Life

    Posted

    My 2 cents 1 year into a new place - How loyal and established is your existing cliente, and will they still be there in 3 months, 6 months and a year - meaning, if you're in an established neighborhood then they should be there. If you're in a business district, maybe not. All restaurants have learned in a very short period of time how large and how loyal their customers are. We've closed temporarily but I just came back from doing some work in my kitchen and saw 38 missed calls from the weekend. Some are surely marketing but that's a good sign to me that people were trying to support us over the weekend even though we've been closed a few weeks.

     

    My second question, and the one that is the most important in the best of times is how much capital do you have banked? I had a year in the can before I ever opened and I'm damn glad I did. I just got my PPP loan earlier this week, and between that and my own funds, we're good for 4-6 months (hopefully). But as many can tell you, if you don't have the capital banked you increase your risk of failure and losing it all. I can say that 4 months of funds scares me, and my 6 months gives me no comfort. I sure wish I had much more especially when I'm trying to do right by my staff and keep them on payroll. (I have the "luxury" of having research work they can all be doing from home which has value to our model.)

     

    And this brings me to the last point - can you create an operation with minimal staff - one that can gear up to larger menus and larger staff when the time comes, or is it an all or none operation. I have no leeway in my model because we already operated on a minimal staff, but I'd sure prefer to be a 3 or 4 person staff instead of 7 when we re-open.

     

    I also wonder...not to kick a guy when he's down, but if you have a new bargaining power with the current owner. Might be worth considering.

    • Like 9

    Sourcing Unique Chocolate - Money no object

    in Pastry & Baking

    Posted

    52 minutes ago, Marmalade said:

    What’s the purpose of the chocolate? Is this for simple tastings, or for making ganache, or for making filled chocolates? I think you’ll find that with a lot of the small chocolate makers, they do not have enough science and quality control to get you good covertures with the right viscosity for production if that is the case. If you’re just looking for a chocolate for tasting, then you were on the right track with many of the recommendations I’ve already seen here.

    Ah. Good question. This is for the base of the ganache. I'll use something much less distinguishable for the shelling. And this will be very small batch. I likely won't even make 50 boxes (if I have my way). They want to charge very high end premium.

    Sourcing Unique Chocolate - Money no object

    in Pastry & Baking

    Posted · Edited by Smithy
    Adjusted title (log)

    I've got a client who has an open purse. We want to source 5 amazing, unique (single origin or micro-batched or ?) chocolates for me to ultimately work into bonbons. 

     

    I haven't kept up, so my list is Domori, Cluizel, Pralus, Patric and Askinosie, but those names led my list 5-8 years ago. With all the micro-batching going on I'm sure there a gazillion more higher on the list. Who are you favorites? And just to give you a sense of the possibilities, I suggested Valhrona, to which they responded Dandelion. So to me that means anything is fair game. This will small batch and all about the flavor pairings, so commercial blends is not what we're looking for.

    Molded and Filled Chocolates: Troubleshooting and Techniques

    in Pastry & Baking

    Posted

    6 hours ago, GRiker said:

    After that, you polish with a very clean, dry microfiber cloth - no alcohol?  Have you tried the Costco Microfiber cloths? https://www.costco.com/kirkland-signature-ultra-plush-microfiber-towel%2C-yellow%2C-16-in-x-16-in%2C-36-count.product.100356999.html

     

    How/Where do you store your molds until you use them?  You polish them well ahead of using them right?

     

    As for the alcohol vs. vodka.  Are you using 91% or 70% isopropyl, IPA?  I guess I wonder what that other % is and is it food safe...   I did think last week that maybe I'd give it a try, but alas no IPA to be found anywhere.  Sounds like you don't have any concerns about that...

    To answer your first question, and pull in Jim and Kerry's comment - it doesn't really matter how you do it - just as long as the mold is truly clean. I believe an impeccably clean micro fiber can do the same as cotton and alcohol. And Jen Caldwell is correct...if I could have perfect temper and scraping skills as her I would likely not need to ever clean my molds...but alas.

     

    I store my molds stacked vertically on a shelf. Not wrapped nor covered. Just vertical. I'm in a clean commercial kitchen though so our dust level is low since we're in constant clean mode. My heart molds that only get used once a year get wrapped in cling film between seasons.

     

    And I've used both alcohols. They dissipate regardless.

     

    This picture is a good example of what I"m talking about. This is from my work in the Andrey class. Look at the variation between the different colors (and hence the molds and their cleanliness). In my last Coppel class she had us all clean molds. When she got to the ones I cleaned she held them up and said, "Oh, we missed this one." I hadn't missed it. Now, it could just be how bad my eyes have gotten since I turned 50, or I often blame my big fingers for making it difficult to get into the mold to give it a really good shine, but it made it clear that what I thought was clean, wasn't. And that was with the molds in her shop, not my shop (worth considering when we think about Jen's technique.) So, I look at it this way - the alcohol and cotton is about doing the crude work of removing cocoa butter. The micro is about finishing the job. In this picture I only cleaned the red mold well...the rest would pass by my old standards, but not anymore.

    Flaws.thumb.jpg.0b189c6fbf93c73e71a780adaf2bef00.jpg

    Molded and Filled Chocolates: Troubleshooting and Techniques

    in Pastry & Baking

    Posted

    On 3/11/2020 at 10:30 PM, GRiker said:

    Thanks again for all the questions and answers posted here.  I was reminded today about the quote I saw here "if it were easy, anyone could do it." It's not easy but it sure it fun and satisfying when it works.  

    Great job and great summary of all the tips posted here for so many years!

     

    My two comments. First, I agree with Kerry that I never heat before backing off, and I keep my room colder than most in this forum so I don't feel it is a necessary step. Second, i'm not sure you were crystal clear on your polishing. I used to use cosmetic pads, and at Melissa Coppel's suggestion, went back to cotton balls. I use two balls at a time and do at most three cavities with them, flipping it over at some point. Melissa corrected me here too on my last workshop saying that if you keep using the same cotton then you're just moving the cocoa butter from one cavity to the next. She says one ball per cavity...I'm too cheap for that, and I'm not the top chocolatier in the world.  I'm not sure why you prefer vodka over alcohol, but I use alcohol only. I think with those two tips you'll see your shine become perfect on the next round. FWIW, after I do the alcohol thing I do one final rub down with THESE fluffy microfibers that I keep fastidiously clean (no fabric softener).

    Starting a high profile new restaurant (after closing another)

    in Restaurant Life

    Posted

    Well...that slow restaurant month of January wasn't slow and it's gone and February is looking packed. This morning I have a rare quiet morning to think and evolve some dishes (much needed). Tapped my maple trees on Friday and will gather my buckets on Monday to start the boil down. HERE'S a local NPR interview I did where I chatted about the indigenous peoples and the enslaved of the Ozarks. And HERE'S a fun podcast I did talking about zero waste in our kitchen. 

     

    On my recent trip to Portland to see my spouse on the other side of the country - I drove seven days - and had time for the first time in my life for focused podcast time (let's here it for the amazing Dolly Parton's America podcast...amazing!), came back planning to do my own with a couple of friends who will be perfect muses to banter about socio cultural issues of the Ozarks, framed within Ozark history, and capped with a bit of cooking and recipes. Stay tuned...why can't I just let myself rest?!

     

    Spoon Licker #1: Rutabaga milk jam with acorn juniper crumble.

    SpoonLicker.thumb.jpg.4a49f36652f559f28a67a8255393becf.jpg

    • Like 10
    • Thanks 1
    • Delicious 3

    Resources at Harvard for history & food

    in Food Media & Arts

    Posted

    4 hours ago, heidih said:

    So Hazel's  reply:   I'm a bit nonplussed.  What does he mean by a food archive?  If it were some special collection of documents in their library system, I would suggest he search https://library.harvard.edu.  Otherwise, I would see where the leads he already has take him.

    This response doesn't surprise me. We hear something similar all the time, and in part, its because no one has done quite what we're doing. I think for my intern, I'm hoping to help him craft a more powerful week than just some time in a library. I really want to make some connections with faculty and staff that might have a more lasting impact.

    • Like 1

    Resources at Harvard for history & food

    in Food Media & Arts

    Posted

    One of my restaurant's history interns was awarded a grant to study at Harvard during his spring break in February. He has a few leads for their food archive, but I'm wondering with the expertise and breadth of knowledge here if anyone knows of any professors or other resources that he could reach out/plan for on his visit. 

     

    So much to share with my friends here...so little time...but I will as I'm able in the Bulrush thread

    • Like 2

    Old Timey Recipe - What is "yeast flour"?

    in Pastry & Baking

    Posted

    On 1/5/2020 at 9:42 PM, Chris Hennes said:

    If the recipe was really from the 1830s it can't have been baking powder: the first baking-powder-like product didn't come around until 1843, and it wasn't really widely available until the mid-1850s. See this interesting Smithsonian Magazine article for details. @gfron1, how confident are you in the date on that recipe?

    Very confident - it was in one of the dated family journals that we regularly reference.

    Bulrush (STL)

    in The Heartland: Dining

    Posted

    Right now we're in the midst of all of the end of year lists. It's so clear to me now how much folly it is to make these lists. When we're on top, of course, I think the writer is spot on. And when we're second, (or worse, grouped with all of the other non-firsts) naturally I cant believe the writer is so off the mark. How do you compare an intellectually compelling fine dining tasting menu to an upscale neighborhood joint or an Asian fusion fast casual? You can't, but they do. Anyway, it's the business.

     

    So that was all going down while you visited and posted your comments above. And I can't tell you how much I appreciated the return visit - like seriously, anyone with any amount of time on eG knows that this restaurant and my last are intricately tied to the eG community.

     

    So, to a few of your comments:

    •From day 1 I've argued that food should drive the experience and not the description of the food. Increasingly I'm feeling like that was a poor decision. I may even try doing expanded menus for the rest of the year. There's not a dish on this list that doesn't involve koji or various forms of fermentation, alongside the vast local sourcing that we're doing. Not that it's about getting credit, but reading all of the end of year lists, and seeing your descriptions, I think I need to offer more details.

     

    •That Turd course continued to evolve. I'm looking forward to tomorrow night's version. I finally removed the autumn olive which had been the driver, because it's just too challenging to work with. I'll find a new home for it where it's not the lead, but the follow. 

     

    •The bok choy was a pickled julienne atop the oxtail. I'm hesitant to add anymore or it'll take the richness:acid ratio off, but it was there.

     

    •And thanks for your comment on the dessert. I think you forgot the essence of wet earth :) It's ridiculous but it smells so good!

    • Like 7

    Andrey Dubovic online classes

    in Pastry & Baking

    Posted

    On 12/3/2019 at 3:55 PM, Jim D. said:

     

    I am not sure, but I think @gfron1 posted on the subject of matcha (perhaps in this thread) saying that he had found the amount that would be palatable (maybe "tolerable" is a better word).

    I don't remember what I said anymore other than that you need to be sure to get the right one. There's drinking match and cooking matcha.

    Starting a high profile new restaurant (after closing another)

    in Restaurant Life

    Posted

    3 hours ago, teonzo said:

    You should see this person as a potential powerful ally, not as an enemy, even if you are right and he/she is wrong. His/her comment should be read like "I'm following every single detail of what you are doing because I REALLY CARE, you made this minor slip and I wanted to take the time to make you notice it". If this is his/her only complaint then it means that everything else is perfect even after being scrutinized with a magnifying glass, so you should be proud of it. And you should try to become friend with him/her: if he/she took the time to write you for such a minor detail, then if you befriend him/her he/she is going to be a living advertiser of your restaurant (for free), which is always the best form of advertising for every business.

    I got there this morning already. If they're willing to engage I can participate with them like I do my other contacts. 

    • Like 3
×
×
  • Create New...