halogenic

Before I tell you how we do the courses where I work, please take into account that the restaurant is located in an up-scale outdoor mall (mall is such an ugly word for this shopping area, it really is tasteful). Clock next to printer, sharpie in hand, here it is: Table orders no apps at all, just and entree = 10 minutes until fire Two courses = Order fire first, 7-10 minutes until 2nd course fire (depending on how busy it is, shorter times when it is busier) Three or more = Same as above, but most definitely 7 minutes in between Bar order = Longest cooktime sets the pace, usually the saute station yells to the mid or the expo to fire to everyone else (it is not unusual for the bar orders to have more than one course, people like the bar) And that's how it goes, it may seem like we push people, but we leave it up to servers to tell us about their tables and it isn't a problem to hold back fires for the table campers. Where is my plate wipe and who the hell cut this garnish?!

I hate smoke detectors, but my fiance and roomate won't let me take the Toast Alarm down. I just cover it with a towel, if I think it's going to be a high-heat stovetop affair, I dampen said towel slightly.

I'm in the market for a cutting board, and I'm sick of the cheap-o plastic ones I've been using. However, this is a subject I know nothing about. Any help would be appreciated, or if this is a repeat topic a link will help! Thanks!

I've noticed (when using melted butter), that the milk solids on the top seem to thin the sauce and the clarified thickens. Before you call me crazy, I'm saying that the difference isn't night and day, but when I'm ladling in from a warm 1/6 pan, I try to keep a balance of solids and fat depending on how the sauce is looking at the given time.

Wow! I wish my mandoline came with the carrying case! Paper-thin carrot slices on the go would make my day.

Gloves are obviously a good sanitary precaution in a kitchen, but some people are very negligent about changing their gloves. Case in point: I work in a kitchen, I am a line slave, I do not touch contaminants (i.e. raw meat, or products in which people sometimes have an alergy to). I also work expo (wiping plates, yelling at servers and runners, wearing the CLEAN jacket). Another expo wears gloves religiously. One night I saw him repositioning raw oysters on a plate, then immediately garnish a salad without changing the gloves. Seeing my opportunity to get payback for him calling me "filthy" for not wearing gloves, I asked him what he would say to the rest of the table after he found out if that person he sent the salad to was alergic to shellfish. He turned pale and asked me if that were really the case. "No, stupid. By the way, I wash my hands three times as much as you change your gloves, and I don't touch the god *%$@ shellfish."

There is more fine dining if you're willing to go farther south, down to Naples. Just walk down 5th ave in downtown and just pick one, odds are it will be great.

This may be a little late, but I spent a little over five years in O-Town. If you're looking for a little low-brow food, my absolute favorite was Hotdog Heaven on Colonial near Semoran (it's a shack, but you'll leave happy).

Good Christmas for me: -Calphalon Katana 8" Chef Knife (desperately needed) -Calphalon Katana 5 1/2" Honesuki (technically a boning knife, but cuts tomatoes like a champ) -Microplane fine grater (had my fingers crossed that I wouldn't have to buy for myself) -Butcher's twine, good luck finding that in my town (I had to beg the guy at the meat counter one time) -Marco Pierre White's biography, "A Devil In The Kitchen" -Small silicone prep bowls (Jell-O shot size if you catch my drift) -A modern Mexican cookbook, cool stuff I guess I did something right last year. Chris (Line Slave)

Wow, I never thought about the oil cost. Are you also factoring in disposal costs too? You could always go for some bio-diesel...

I rely on the restaurant where I work for my herb needs. The stuff at the grocery store is absurd (not to mention a little flat in my opinion), I need a few leaves or stems and they try to sell me the farm! That's why a quick talk to the chef at work usually sorts things out. "Hey chef, if I don't eat anything tonight would it be okay to take a few sprigs of thyme?" He's usually willing to go for it, provided we have enough in stock, and the quality is much better. Chris Line slave

I forgot about the box of Borax I have under my sink! It was a handy weapon in my war on fleas (which I won). I guess I'll give that one a go before I try the dishwasher detergent. Thanks for all the advice!

I would like some tips on keeping my jacket white enough to blind people in direct sunlight. I have been using Shout Gel and it works for most things, but it's not as effective as I would like. I would use a higher concentration of bleach, but I'm afraid of ruining the logo on the chest. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Chris Line Slave

In a recent trip to IKEA (one finally opened in Florida), I was surprised to find that they now charge five cents for a regular shopping bag. However, for the convenient price of $0.59, you could purchase a large tarp-material bag that could carry a medium sized dog. I bought two of them.

That's awesome! I have to sometimes peel AND dice a case or two of butternut at my job, maybe a jigsaw could be brought into play here as well (I can't feel my knife hand after finishing that case). Keep up the good work!

I always get the one pound tub of hummus (yes I know I'm lazy and should just make my own), massive quantities of gatorade and water (I swear I lose three pounds sweating it out on the line), and popcorn.

Doesn't anyone say "floor whore" or "door whore" anymore? ← Oh yeah, "door whore" is one of my favorites. A hostess overheard me use that term and got offended (until I asked her if she went home with two or more co-workers in her one month of working there...).

First of all, don't complain, don't show weakness (it's like sharks when blood hits the water). Second of all, stay out of the politics and/or brown-nosing, let your work do the talking. I have to put up with drama and backstabbing with some of the other cooks and I do my very best to stay out of it. Working hard says more than anything that can come out of your mouth.

I have worked with a few CIA graduates in recent history (four to be exact, all pretty fresh out of school; one being the chef who was 21), and it was with mixed results. The chef and sous-chef were awesome, very cool guys who cared about what they were doing. The other two didn't have much previous experience and used schooling as an ego boost and to make themselves look better than the rest of us line cooks. So I think that it puts the decision on the individual, and what their reason for putting on a jacket was in the first place, whether or not culinary school worked for them.

I have two personal favorites: Always tell the new guy that the extremely flamboyant bartender is actually the only straight guy in the entire restaurant and spend the entire week harassing him and hitting on him (this works best when you let the bartender know ahead of time so he can always get "caught" by the new guy while flirting with the hostesses). The new guy may not believe you, but it really does make him uncomfortable. The second is a little dangerous and could possibly make the new guy kind of mad. When his back is turned take a spiked ticket and put it in his apron ties, when you or another guy gets a chance, light it on fire. I've never seen anyone get burned by this, but I'm sure it could happen. So be prepared to put it out if he doesn't notice. The bucket of steam and bacon-stretcher pranks work just as well.