Tri2Cook

I'm ok with psychotically priced very good chocolate for eating as is, I'm not so inspired to spend that kind of money for chocolate to go in things. I kinda hate admitting that, I'd like to say I'm fully committed to the idea of buying super expensive stuff to make a cake or mousse, but the fact is I just can't justify it. Maybe I'm not giving deserved credit to my customers but I really can't picture any of them tasting a mousse made with Callebaut and saying "That was good but if you'd used the Cluizel it would have been great". But just to sit around and munch on, I'm with you on that.

HERE ya go. It's HERE too. A little more expensive here but their printed prices include everything except the shipping, no taxes, duties or brokerages due, so it may work out cheaper in the long run. They have pretty good prices on other things as well (agar and egg white powder for example). The first time I ordered from them I was a bit worried about quality (after experiencing some of the crap in the bins in a bulk store not too far from where I live) but everything's been fine so far.

Is this your first time tasting red pepper soup? I'm not trying to be funny, it just seems like a lot of people when tasting something new will (probably without even trying) associate it with something familiar. I made some passionfruit cheesecakes once and the people that tried them that had never had passionfruit before were sure that it was grapefruit.

Rob, The Smoking Gun is $49.99 and makes it very easy but it probably wouldn't take you much thought to come up with something yourself to do the same job. Without meaning to reveal too much about my youth, stick a chunk of dry lemon peel on a pin and light it. Have your plates with inverted glasses (containing whatever chunk of food you're serving if that's what you have in mind) ready, tilt the glass up, stick the smoking end of the pin in there, when it's full of smoke pull the pin back and drop the edge of the glass down quickly. It'll stay in there for a bit. Just requires a bit of care to not knock the lemon peel off the pin.

Yep. I don't use the Bird's custard on it's own but I do use the powder as a thickener/stabilizer. I picked that one up from the Duby's in Wild Sweets. With their dedication to flavor, I figure if they use it for that purpose it must not be too bad.

For Canada turkey day I made pumpkin cake with chestnut buttercream and little cubes of pumpkin flan and chestnut flan. It was tasty but looked pretty boring on the plate so I may have to use US turkey day as an excuse to do something more interesting.

Do you have somebody with/at a restaurant that would let you order supplies on their invoice? The owner of the restaurant where I work and I are partners in a catering business we're trying to get going and we just order things we need through the restaurant and then pay that portion of the invoice from the catering account. I know it's easy for me because the restaurant owner is part of the catering business as well but if you have a friend (or can make one) in that area it might save you some money. Especially if you get them to email or fax you a copy of the hotsheets they get from their vendors so you can see what's really cheap. Of course I don't know what your storage situation is either. I have the same problem as you with Ontario prices plus the additional expense of being in the north and in a fairly remote town which jacks the prices even more.

I'm looking forward to trying it. I was really busy at work this week, then he was gone for the show at the end of the week. I tried calling yesterday but he wasn't available (I didn't expect him to be on a saturday but thought since I had some time it was worth a try). I'm going to call again on monday. Kerry's seal of approval makes me even more sure of the decision I'd already made to order 20 bars (I can already picture the faces of anybody overhearing the call "Yeah, send me a kilo of the good stuff") and feature it as part of a chocolate party I have to put together.

Mine didn't. The catering sideline to my regular job that I've been trying to get going was slowly plodding along and then suddenly caught on in the past few weeks and I haven't had much time for playing. The only non-work-related baking I've managed to sneak in recently was Kerry's apple cake recipe she was nice enough to share. I was hoping to see some cool stuff show up here though.

Depending on the type and volume of spraying you want to do, I think the Wagner sprayers are great. Inexpensive, easy to use and, as Rob's pictures show, very nice results. If you want something for fine airbrush-style work of course it's not the right tool but for putting a coat of chocolate on things they're fine. I've never been tempted to trade mine in for a $200 - $300 (or more) upgrade but I don't use it for spraying chocolate molds or detail work.

It looks like you're doing a great job in a challenging situation to me. It is hard not to take negative comments about your food personally but I think personally is exactly how they should be taken. I think it would be more concerning if you didn't. When I see cooks that hear something negative about their food and give it the ol' "whatever, they don't know what they're talking about" attitude I know it's one place I won't be eating. Basking in the compliments is great but pondering the negatives is learning. No matter the culinary skill or ingredients involved, a meal is only as great as the people eating it think it is. Of course that's easier said than done... I've had to send my ego to sit in the corner plenty o' times.

Gather some other greens to go with them and make Gumbo Z'Herbs... the tastiest bowl of algae you'll ever eat!

Yep, and yet I'm positive I remember an episode of Iron Chef (the original, not ICA) in which one of the chefs served beefsteak tomato leaves as part of a dish. So maybe you don't trust something just because it's available in a market or maybe you just thumb your nose at the experts and eat what you want... feeling lucky?

It was probably asked just fine, it was probably the reception that was poor. I'll blame it on tired, we've been extremely busy at work this past couple weeks. I just melt it and pour it through a fine strainer. I don't try to work any solid bits through, I just pour it and use what runs through on it's own. If it's a really thick jam I sometimes add a spoon or two of water when melting it just to get it moving.

I wish I could help but I've only used melted jelly (usually apricot or red currant) to give a shiny finish to some things, I've never used it to make the "smooth, sexy" surfaces on things you're talking about.

Should have known that would exist. Thanks! Edit: Ok, looks like the answer is to start experimenting. Lots of ideas in that thread but not much "I tried this, it worked/didn't work/required this" so I guess I get to play.

Will any tart fruit and a little lemon juice (or citric acid?) work for a curd? I'm thinking of trying it with some of the morello cherry puree I have in the freezer. I've done the citrus curds, passionfruit curd and raspberry curd but there's a whole world of tart fruits out there to play with. Experimenting is not a problem but I might as well start by learning from what others have already tried and how well it worked (or didn't).

I'll second that answer. Due to some mishaps, I personally wouldn't use pastillage without a backing board or plate unless: it was thick and very thoroughly dried and... it was sitting directly on the table or on lots of not-tall supports and... the cake didn't have to be moved once it was on the pastillage. I'm sure someone will say they do it all the time without problems and that's awesome but I've already had to clean up a couple messes that I didn't have time to properly repair in the attempt to use pastillage plates for fairly heavy items so I don't do it for anything except small pieces now.

I did a savory version of something traditionally sweet for a catering job last week. Smoked salmon chiboust. I didn't try to make it look like a pastry item but it wouldn't have been difficult to do. Smoked salmon and mascarpone in the processor 'til smooth. Dissolve some soaked gelatin sheets in a "pastry cream" of cream, egg yolk, cornstarch and a little lemon juice, cool a little and mix into the salmon. Fold in Italian meringue made with boiled maple syrup and adjust with lemon juice, salt and pepper. It went over very well but I'm going to play around with it a bit in the future.

Kudzu Blossom... it smells and tastes like a grape lollipop flower. I didn't pay much attention to them during my time in the southeast U.S. Now I wish I could get them to play with. I can picture some interesting mousses, sorbets and sauces. Maybe even a pate de fruit (pate de flower?).

Well, a little soul-searching, a lot of research and a bit of luck help but what I was not-so-elequently getting at is that it doesn't have to be "now that I'm doing this as a job I don't like it so much anymore". It may take time and money (or the lack thereof) to get where you want to go but you can get there. Best case, your research into yourself and the industry will lead you to the right door and all is warm and fuzzy. Worst case, it leads you to a wrong door and you have to move on a time or three (all the while gaining valuable experience and new perspectives on how to do things). Eventually you will find what you're looking for without the job dread that makes you start to hate the thing you loved.

Had an all-apps catering job last night so a few extras were munchies/dinner: Mini Pizzas - thin and crispy crusts, medium-rare duck breast slices, goat cheese, wild blueberry/port reduction, finished with a pinch of vanilla salt. Smoked Salmon Chiboust - maybe a savory chiboust is getting too far off track but I do it anyway, it's lighter than the traditional salmon mousse. Mini Cheeseburgers - bite-sized buns, seasoned beef & pork burgers, stilton, coarse mustard and onion confit. Crab Cheesecake Bites with Wild Mushroom and Creme Fraiche - the name sums it up. Sweet and Spicy Chicken Lollipops - never wanted to put chicken pops on the menu before but the customer requested them so... Apologies for the lack of pictures.

greenbean raises some valid points but I think most of that is more related to individuals and their specific situation than the industry in general. Cooking for work and cooking for pleasure are not the same but it's not that big a gap between the two if you position yourself carefully. That requires being honest with yourself and seeking out the situation you want to be in even if it slows down the process of moving up in the ranks to where you see yourself eventually. Even then, it can become tedious at times but that's true whether you're doing something you enjoy or something you hate. Kinda like if you love chocolate and hate liver, if you had to spend all day every day tasting one it would become tiresome at times either way but at least with the chocolate it's something you actually like.

I don't think you can become a French pastry chef unless you're French but there's no reason you can't be a pastry chef in France. Just kidding. Go for it! I'm 40 years old and I'm cooking in a restaurant plus we somewhat recently added a catering division (not catering the restaurant menu, it's "we do what you want even if it's not something we usually do") which has become busy enough that we're going to have to hire somebody to take over my post at the restaurant if it keeps going (no more pesky customers interrupting my cooking ). I've never been to culinary school and never cooked in a professional setting until about 5 years ago (unless you count a couple years in the prep kitchen at a hospital about 20 or so years ago). It's more work and less money than my former "career" but I'm happy and have no plans to return to the "easy life".

I've been using the above mentioned Chocolate Source and have been very happy with them but the quantities I'm going through now have me looking at Qzina as an option (the main savings is on the shipping but everything helps). I ordered a few things from Qzina recently and was happy with the service but I've never had any complaints about the service at Chocolate Source either.