Jakea222

boy - I wish I could tell you that we could use help like last year - but things are bad from a banquet part here at the club....I even have discusses with a few other chefs and they are losing holiday gigs right and left - with Coke here in Atlanta cancelling a big one downtown for employees so -good luck -- I know that Proof in the Pudding was a while back looking for help - but that was a while back - good luck I will keep my ear down for you - g

I don't know anymore with the stock market guys making money and now getting no slap for being andmaking stupid deals and we have to come running - I guess if I saw a chance to make some money and comprimise my pricipals IN FOOD ONLY - I guess I could do it too.

The new food labeling laws hit very soon - so he better watch out - delis and places that self pack stuff are in the danger zone

I found out and I did not know this when I was at CIA that if you certify ProChef it also certifies you with ACF at certain levels.

Not a ton of pro chefs on here - the ones that do - get frustrated l;ike I do - but it is all in good fun and sometimes some good stuff comes out of it - I have bouced some ideas off the group and so on - I also think people have a false sense of the COMMERCIAL FOOD BUSINESS - and especially on this site. It is funny - my father is retired after being a blue colar guy for 45 years. I talk to him about every day or on the drive home from shift unless it is past the late news...anyways, he starts telling me about the Foodnetwork show that had what really happens to the tv shows and the REAL CHEFS that make the tv chefs look good - he was so upset he said he was going to delete it off his remote - I almost died laughing. I had a guy that rounded with us and I think he had a sense of reality. Cooking fancy stuff at home or following a recipe is you being a Foodie - Two kinds of chefs the young ones that work a hard shift and go out and party until dawn sleep a couple hours and hit the line - the second is the older folks who work smart, hard and make it happen to go home to the wife who saw you last week or your cats who come in watch you brush your tired teeth because they miss you too - doing the cat rub on your legs you can't feel along with the lots of things from hair to toe nails are tired, cut bruised or burned - cats don't care - the real chefs they are drinking a glass of wine and unwinding on the internet on sites like this OR reading or emailing fellow chefs about the day or watching thir spouse sleep beide them = so foodies - and chefs are 2 seperate things - you know, I would not change my chef life for the world

Sometimes this forum pi--es me off so bad and then a thread like this comes along and makes me laugh - OR allowed me to list my good ones.

Not the aged beef - just the 12 oz - I amy have nuked it and then thrown it in the fryer - all of my WELL done burgers if I am in a rush gets fried - well done hot dogs too - but this we standard in Boca FL - the people liked them that way

nope I wanna get them out so I can focus on the next - When I am busy I am thinking of 15 things and once the food hit the plate and hits the pass I am done and rarely remember it - Always looking to the last thing that came in. When something comes back it throws your mind off into anger and then you lose momentum

I am a customer oriented kind of chef - but I work in a country club - a golf club which is around 98% men. So you think it would be pretty cut and dry right - give me the elite country clubs of south florida any freakin day. We have a guy that comes in 5-7 days a week for 2 meals - he still wonders why he is divorced 3 times. We have a guy that can't have any of his food touch How about the guy that can't be around any of the other guys at the table if they have a PICKLE on the plate. One insists on his bananas being cut up for him We have one that comes in to the bar every day - eats at least 1 if not 2 at least 5 days a week. Asks the bartender the specials everyday - but has the same sandwich and side everyday FOR BOTH MEALS! I have been at this club for 2 years and only a hand full of times does it come in different. WE had a guy that prided himself on ordering in at 2-5 minutes before close. He does not do it too much since the chef went out and told him that we start scrubbing down about 30 min before close after sitting there all afternoon would appreciate a little courteousy - have not seen him late for a while now OR how about the people that walk in at close - order drinks and have to go to the bathroom - OR better MAKE A CELL CALL! I think our server turned the lights out on him while he was outside while his kid drank 3 cokes before he giggled and came in to order So the service industry is a tough one - I know why we drink or get temperamentl when we take time to carefully construct menus of fry aged steaks at 80$ a # and only to have ketchup poured on it or the sunday brunch that you shake the menu up for variety only having people complaining about the fact that we didn't have chicken fingers! It is tough and sometimes it is hard - but I try to get it to the pass and forget it I will leave you with this one 2 - 14 oz Filet Mignon - PITTSBURGH (for anyone that doesn't know - it is a very hot pan, cast iron is the best, sear it brown on both sides, still very rare - the original black on the outside and blue in the middle) I did it by the book only to have it come back if I could cook it a little more - my answer is usually no problem becasue I knew when they oredered they had no idea...BUT it came back again - it went in the frier to a nice med well and they were happy - so the moral of the story - people that order to show off terms they have no idea - On my list of the worst!

Guy Fieri - did he have a lot to sell out? I like his show just don't like him. But if I saw Keller do that it would kind of drop his image - Guys had no where to go - as far as me - I had an exec job before becoming a chef so I went down in pay but the passion is where it is all at for me - if McDonalds approached me about a project and I saw a "passionate" angle - I would jump - But I am not Keller either.

Are you serious? ← serious about what? ← Not sure what the question was either - Wes - you know what you want - you just have to figure out HOW to get to where you want to be - and do it --- it is passion that drives chefs not money (even though it is very nice) I love what I do not becasue of the Exec being jealous of my work, or the yelling at why I orederd what I did or the notes I leave for the staff to remind them - I do it becasue I want to look good and I want my crew to feel good about what they do...

glad I asked - this has been a good thread so far

You sound like you are getting closer to figuring it out - take time to figure out a plan and then follow it -

Thanks I am going to try this for the next chefs table dinner

and as I have said before - I have a degree and FOUNDATION from the CIA - the rest is SELF TAUGHT - I know the basics and the rest is up to me! So yep I have a degree from CIA and I am self taught! You are what you put into your life.