ChefJohnny
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Posts posted by ChefJohnny
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Incidentally, I tend to name my cocktails after music/songs/lyrics/bands or whatever happens to be playing at the moment. Most of the time, this happens after midnight with a record on.
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We're doing a barrel aging program at TRG using used bourbon, rye, & wheat barrels from Reservoir Distillery here in Richmond. Our first ones are a negroni and Widows Kiss.
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Why is there no variation with Benedictine called a Benediction? I don't know what else you'd want to switch around to make this work. I just thought of the goofy pun...
The guys at 15 Romolo in SF have done this. They called it "Last Rights" with a garnish of a cherry cross. Not too bad. But my all time favorite Last Word variation has to be another 15 Romolo creation called the "Fernetaboutit," subbing Fernet Branca for gin. Its a crappy color, but the fernet adds an amazing herbal complexity that is simply amazing. But Im a huge fernet fan, so maybe Im biased.
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So I was approached by a local restaurant to fix their food program. They are very newly opened, 8 weeks-ish or so. Ive gotten to know the owners over the past few weeks, as I started to go there for the bar + music. I also DJ there once a week. Anyway, Ive never done any consultancy gig before and am trying to find out what to charge for my services. If my background would make some kind of difference, my bio is in my profile. After some googling, it seems that its either A) priced per hour depending on area or B) priced as a flat rate, either weekly or monthly. Just looking for some more numbers to compare.
This job would entail:
- rewriting the menu
- evaluating, fix, and maintain a more proper food and labor cost
- train staff on new menu and procedures
- fire/hire new staff if necessary
- institute proper inventory procedures
Thanks in advance for any info.
- Chef Johnny
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Technically, he said "those foodies who read the MC know more about food and cooking than 95% of Chefs out there." Thats where I take the offense.
That is not the same thing as being a better cook, which is what you actually seemed to take offense at. Food and cooking knowledge does not always translate into cooking skill, which is how you seemed to interpret the statement. Sculptor's statement is probably technically true, considering the depth of knowledge in MC. If you take offense at what he actually said, rather than how you interpreted what he said, then it seems to me that your ego is being bruised. Like you, I mean no offense, rather I'm just offering an opinion/observation.
Im not trying to continue this argument any more than need be, but I just want to make a couple things clear. My statements have nothing to do with "my ego." His comments weren't directed towards me, hence my broad statements about my industry. Im good at what I do. My skills/resume/knowledge isn't being debated. I don't think Im the one reading into what was originally said. Im taking the statement "foodies who read the MC know more about food and cooking than 95% of Chefs out there" quite literally. My profession is being thinned out with idiots that think they can learn to be a chef from reading books and searching online. (the "idiots" I speak of are these kids that are beginning to flood my inbox looking for jobs with zero qualifications, not necessarily members of this forum.) A few chefs, myself included, had this same discussion on twitter last week. Its complete nonsense and only hurts my industry.
Anyway, thats it for me on this subject.
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On a separate note Chris, thanks for being rational with your thoughts and replies. I was (clearly) ready to throw down.
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Technically, he said "those foodies who read the MC know more about food and cooking than 95% of Chefs out there." Thats where I take the offense. Its trivial, but Ive got to draw the line at someone saying that reading a book, that they know more than 95% of chefs, which includes myself Id assume. I know they don't have the skill, but I feel the need to make the point to say, well, that its complete bullshit. Again, call it trivial or semantics. But its the principle of the thing. Book smart vs. street smart.
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I suspect those foodies on eGullet who have read the MC probably know more about food and cooking than 95% of the Chefs out there....
Im sorry, but statements like this really piss me off. Im not trying to be an ass or anything, but just because you (or anyone) read a book doesn't make you a "chef."
I think that's the whole point. Of course I'm not a chef: I have a tremendous amount of culinary knowledge that I've gained because I am reading the internet while the real chefs are cooking. This means that it's basically impossible to come up with some kind of "knowledge test" that a "real chef" will pass and that us fake chefs would fail (which was the original poster's goal I think). In fact, the fake chef is probably going to do better at that sort of test than a real chef would! You want a test to separate a real chef from a fake one? Put them both in charge of a kitchen during a Friday night dinner rush. You'll find out pretty quick.
I wholeheartedly agree with that test. I think people are forgetting that being a chef is MUCH more than just food knowledge. Someone may be better at measuring hydrocolloids, but Im damn sure I can cook circles around almost anyone. But, this is what my industry has come to, thanks to lots of factors. I sure as hell didn't bust my ass in Michelin kitchens for barely any money for 12 years just to have a "foodie" say that they're a chef or are better cooks than "95% of the Chefs out there."
[edit]
On a separate note, holy aerospace engineer batman!!
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It's entirely possible for a dedicated foodie to know more about things food related than a random chef. While a foodie is traveling around visiting culinary destinations, reading books, researching online and browsing eGullet trying to keep on top of everything food, chef might go to his/her restaurant and do what he/she does for 15 hours a day the same way he/she has been doing it for 20 years with no concern at all for what anybody else is doing. Doesn't mean he/she is a "fake" chef. Doesn't mean that a foodie with more knowledge is more a chef than he/she is. There are no things "only chefs know". Well, there is the first rule of chef club... but that's secret so I can't post it.
But I will agree that "Don't you ever cook anything normal" is a pretty rude thing to say.I suspect those foodies on eGullet who have read the MC probably know more about food and cooking than 95% of the Chefs out there. Just today I tried to buy some self sealing tape to use on my Sous Vide bags and the two largest restaurant supply companies in San Jose California did not carry any Sous Vide equipment period. This means almost no restaurants in the area seem to be at all close to the state of the art.
Im sorry, but statements like this really piss me off. Im not trying to be an ass or anything, but just because you (or anyone) read a book doesn't make you a "chef." I agree that the term has lost damn near everything it used to mean in the past, we still bust our ass for years to earn that title and respect. You read MC, have a circulator and plate dinner with tweezers just means you have an expensive hobby.
And just for future reference, just because the local restaurant supply stores don't carry sous vide equipment, doesn't mean people aren't "that state of the art." Most of use use J.B. Prince or Le Sanctuaire or other specialty online retailers.
Again, no offense. But when someone makes ridiculous statements that undermine what I do, I feel the need to say something.
- (real) Chef Johnny
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Its pretty hard to pose questions online in an attempt to find truth. Sure, you could ask him how to fix the thermocouple on an oven (which most of us has done at least a hundred times), but all he would have to do is Google it. Which, by the way, is something I assume you have already done on him? Google him/his restaurant. Outside of physically investigating, Im not sure what can be done in an online forum.
- Chef Johnny
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what about the possibility of producing a probe thermometer attached to a 30-pin connector to plug into the iPhone/ipad? Pretty sure that, coupled with this app, would rule them all and be in every kitchen.
Stay tuned...
SWEEEEET!!!!
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what about the possibility of producing a probe thermometer attached to a 30-pin connector to plug into the iPhone/ipad? Pretty sure that, coupled with this app, would rule them all and be in every kitchen.
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I totally get it. And hopefully my comments aren't coming off as "elitist." I think, to clarify more, is that people should *want* to do things the right way, when they have the means and time, as opposed to cutting corners and/or being plain lazy. Now don't get me wrong, I definitely know what it feels like to come home after 16 hours in a kitchen and not want to cook the greatest made-from-scratch meal ever. Im pretty sure only Alice Waters does that. Id usually just make some pasta with chili and garlic (fresh cloves, though
So I guess the point Ive been trying to come to is: If you have the time and means, you should want to cook the right way.
- Chef Johnny
*note* I don't mean "you" as in you specifically, but "you" as a general term.
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I think were on different pages here. Im not equating making everything from scratch (re: the puff pastry example) as "right." As someone thats done it before, its a pain in the ass. And I totally agree that the pre made is much more consistent. Im speaking more in terms of "Why buy that pre chopped garlic in oil in a jar, when you can just buy a head of garlic and chop it yourself?" for example. Or, god forbid, use a garlic press. Is it really that painstaking? Maybe its just me, but I don't see how hard it is to shuck an ear of corn.
- Chef Johnny
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@chefjohnny
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This thread makes me sad. Why wouldn't you WANT to do things the right way?
I agree with this guy:
Life is too short to do it the WRONG way.... eat out instead.
- Chef Johnny
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I use whey for a sauce of whatever I'm using the cheese for. For example, when I make ricotta, I use the whey to make my buerre monte which is used to glaze the finished pasta.
- Chef Johnny
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If you've never worked in a kitchen before, Id suggest you don't go straight to "fine dining." They'll chew you up and spit you out in a heartbeat. Get your feet wet someone decent. Learn. Work hard. Gain some rep. Then try to move up to the finer restaurants in whatever town your in.
And just to throw my $.02 in the pot, your GPA, club affiliations, blah blah blah doesn't mean as much as you think it does. This industry is flooded with kids right out of culinary school. Ive been in the position to hire culinary school grads MANY times, and I'm look more for practical experience and work ethic than I do for GPA or ACF membership status. What's going to set you above everyone else is your talent, not what grade you got in Knife Skills class. Get into a restaurant and work your ass off, say Yes/No Chef, and PUSH. Trust me, it'll go a long way when you ask your Chef for a recommendation to get into a better/fine dining kitchen.
- Chef Johnny
P.S.- I graduated with a BA in Culinary Arts from J&W. So don't think I'm talking down, in any way, to a culinary school education.
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Heh. On the matter of Bras, I was poking around Amazon.uk the other day and saw, for 44 pounds, one new copy of the English edition. 44 pounds. That's, what, half--at least--what it goes for normally. There was just one copy. Sold.
And this was through Amazon itself. Not through the marketplace. Maybe they stumbled on it in a warehouse somewhere. It's in the mail as we speak. The page said it was the English edition but I'm terrified I'll rip open the packaging to find I was sent the French edition--which, I guess, I'd rather live with than return.
Wow! Nice find. Ive seen em on Amazon for upwards of $500. Im currently on the hunt for "Le Livre de Michel Bras."
- Chef Johnny
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Told ya.
- Chef Johnny
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I went the culinary school route. Graduated Johnson & Wales with a B.A. in Culinary Arts in '05. But I also followed the other route stated, getting into the absolute best restaurant you can. For me, that restaurant was The French Laundry. I worked for over a year (calling, writing letters, getting recommendations, etc.) to land the first externship there from my school. 3 months of unpaid, hard, stressful work paid off when they asked me stay on. I bounced around from some of the best restaurants in the States + Europe since I got out of school.
Long story short, work you ass off! Like Qwerty said, expect not to get paid much of anything for a long time. Ive been in the biz almost 12 years now, and Ive just now landed an Exec. Sous job that pays extremely well. Well enough that I can finally live "comfortably."
On another note, a lot of people may not speak well about going to culinary school. The way I see it, you get what you put in. School teaches you theory and the traditional way of doing things. It builds a very solid base for what you need to know to get started. The biggest asset, for me, from culinary school was the networking abilities.
- Chef Johnny
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Essential Cooking by Michel Bras is another one which is extremely tough to cook from.
I have tried 3 recipes and two of them were acceptable..one went into the garbage.
Damn. Thought I'd be the only one bringing up Michel Bras. I +1 the "extremely tough to cook from" sentiment. Im more afraid of bringing it anywhere near a kitchen for fear of damaging it than I am of the recipes. It took me (and Kitchen Arts & Letters in NYC) 2 years to find a mint condition copy. Its easily my most prized cookbook at the moment. Looking at the prices for it these days, I got a steal at $165.
- Chef Johnny
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Cut an X in the bottom and go in with needlenose pliars.
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Some recent ice cream flavors I've been doing:
Jalapeno
Cornbread
Horchata
Thyme
Avocado
Beet
Pickled Rhubarb
Olive Oil
Fromage Blanc
Creme Fraiche
- Chef Johnny
Naming Cocktails
in Spirits & Cocktails
Posted
My god. Pure genius.