Wesley1

Many people besides Neal make a claim to that sort of influence, and I'm not sure I'd pick him. Regardless, there should definitely be someone representative of the "(new) southern" movement on the list. ← Highlands Bar and Grill?

Maybe you should study the people you idolize and want to be like. That may give you a better idea of what you want to do next. Youll realize that even among the "top" chefs there is a great bit of difference in their work history an development.

Write to the chef. It worked for me. But im older and living in America, so im not sure how that will translate. If they dont reply, write again. Or knock on their door and be persistent, not annoying. Best of luck.

I worked for a hotel chain and rarely did more than forty hours per week. Where im working now, come busy season im looking at 75-80 hours. So it depends on where you work.

Im working for a month at Highlands Bar and Grill in Birmingham, Al. They are paying me a little bit each week. I do need to have my own living arrangements though. Im not sure about meals.

Has anyone been to Birmingham recently and eaten at Highlands? If so how was your experience?

Have you ever seen the " consuming raw or undercooked foods can be a serious risk to health, especially for women who may be pregnant or nursing" on a menu anywhere?

I ended up going to michy's. It was unbelievable. And i have to say there was little to no traffic anytime i was driving.

I was in the area for a night and had the chance to stop by for dinner. Lucky for me i was with three other people as eager to try as much as I was. So, in all, we had 16 different dishes between us. Our meal consisted of: first courses- *Watercress salad W/ tarragon, Grapes, Goats' cheese, shallots, and balsamic vinaigrette. This was delicious, perfectly dressed, bitter until you had a grape along bringing it all together. *Beef Carpaccio W/ Kimchee Vegetables, Galbi Mayo This dish was unbelievable. The perfect textural contrast with the vegetables and the richness of the mayo worked wonders with the spiciness of the vegetables as well. Goes well with a Kirin Ichiban *Peruvian Style Ceviche The best ceviche I've ever had. Everything was perfectly firm, but not chewy, and not too much acid, which I find in alot of ceviches. *Steak Frites (my friend ordered three main courses) Perfect med-rare, best bearnaise Ive ever had. Second courses- *Gnocchi " Lasagna" W/ Bolognese, creamy parmesan, melting buffalo mozzarella Again, the best gnocchi and bolognese ive had. Creamy delicious cheeses reminded me of freshly baked extra-cheese pizza. *White Gazpacho, Marcona Alomonds, Grapes, and Cucumbers one of my favorites all night. Great presentation, great flavor, great texture, great dish. *Veal Bone Marrow Pretty traditional presentation. Parsley, breadcrumbs, and two thick slices of toast. Not my favorite. There wasn't much marrow and it was salty, but the texture of the bit that i did have was delicious. *Shrimp Pasta, Sauteed head-on shrimp, Garlic, Lemon, Hand cut pasta, seafood nage. Great shrimp heads. I didnt have any of the meat, the pasta was a bit hard to eat, it had clumped together, the sauce was delicious. *Duck Confit, Frisee salad, Lardons, Roast Fingerlings, Mustard Nage, Quail egg. Rich, Flavorful, very good confit. *Fennel Dusted Sweetbreads, Bacon braised fennel, citrus brown butter I had never had sweetbreads until now, I imagine these were the best you can get. Rich, smooth, flavorful. The fennel really tied it all together though. Third Courses- * Softshell Crab Ive had this a number of different times and each was either fishy, slimy, poorly breaded, or lacking any kind of meat but this was not this case here. It was crunchy, fresh, firm, and very meaty. * Snapper Francaise, Boniato Mash, Mojo beurre Blanc Excellently cooked fish, delicious beurre blanc, tasty mash *Crispy pork belly, Sweet Chili Glaze, Kolhrabi Slaw Rich and delicious as pork belly almost always is. The slaw was less a slaw than a few slices of marinated kolhrabi. Good dish. Not my favorite. *Short Ribs I loved these, but I have had short ribs a number of times and this wasn't all that much better. It was good for sure, but it had no defining qualities from other preparations. Dessert- *Bread pudding very different from what I consider bread pudding, more custard than anything. I've never been a big fan of the flavor of egg yolk and this was no different. It was good but not my preference. * Chocolate cake w/ strawberry, sherry sauce, almond ice cream. Great dish, perfectly cooked, runny insides, nicely ripened strawberries. * 40 Year old Tawny Port If you even think you like port, buy this! It was phenomenal, so rich, so smooth. I believe that i could have had the aroma alone for dessert and been satisfied. Over all I loved this place, very cool atmosphere, great staff, excellent food. I think though that they over look alot of the small things that could make it above and beyond itself.for instance, the bread was boring and dry and the butter seemed like your regular butter tabs. If your in the area, hell if your even an hour away, make a trip. It will be well worth it. I wasnt sure before this meal but have decided now that I really want to work at this place, it is to me the perfect place, not stuffy, not too casual, and most importantly the food is unbelievable.

Im going to be in Boca Raton for a night and can drive to either of these restaurants, i was wondering which everyone prefers. Thanks, Wes

I dont know but i think i might try and eat there tomorrow. Ill let you know, if i do. ← And? Has anyone else have anything to say about Norman's? ← I haven't been, but i was talking to a guy who works banquets at the Ritz. He said that it's a bit of a palate killer "alot like roys" too much going on; sweet, sour, spicy all at the same time. Thats all ive heard.

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... ← I agree with you. And I thank you, and everyone else, for your input. I think,for me, its best just to rough it, why not? There will always be work somewhere. And honestly i feel better about it, my fear though is missing the fundamentals but there's a million books that I can read. So ill make do. Thanks

Are you serious? ← serious about what?

I have two good kitchen positions, one that i worked out of the dishroom for; so its never going to be a matter og being out of the game, i only need to decide whether school is a better option then good old-fashioned hard work. Thanks.

I went into class, for the "stocks and sauces" portion. We were told that "stock" in their kitchen meant, " 1 T. base to 1 Qt. water" and that we should know how to make stock because "it's important" but that we wouldnt be making any in class. We were told that we have to make the personal decision to make our own stock, it is apparently a moral issue. My biggest problem is that they dont show us the best way to do something, the right way, then tell us that if we wanted to use a base we could learn that on our own time. So... I dropped the degree.