Ariel Schor

Hey! I've watched all your episodes, and I really enjoy them. The facts are dead on, and your sense of humour is right up my alley. The Fife diet episode was by far the most interesting to me, so I would like to see more local food features, while still using modern techniques to prepare them. This could include lessons in cheese preparation, curing and preserving, meat butchery...essentially things that a home cook could do. The only episodes I grew a bit bored on were the Famous chef vs Regular Joe....I think one episode was enough to prove your point. Keep up the great work! Ariel

The following book has always been a standout for me. If you haven't already read it, do so! The Perfectionist: Life and Death in Haute Cuisine by Rudolph Chelminski ← I second this book. A heartbreaking must-read. Marco Pierre White's biography "Devil in the Kitchen" should help you as well. Another book I would recommend is "The Seasoning of a Chef - My Journey from Diner to Ducasse" by Doug Psaltis, where he gives us some insight into Alain Ducasse's world as well as other high end kitchens (March, Bouley, French Laundry)

I finally made a decision and purchased my second Hiromoto AS, a 5 inch petty knife. Can't wait for it to get here!

Thank you all very much for the clarifications and explanations. I will be more inclined to use the search button next time. I also spend a lot of time in the kitchen, so i don't really have the time to log on a few times a day to check on new posts. My applications for such knife would be for cleaning and slicing seafood (smaller items like panfish, lobster, terrines) as well as cutting brunoise of vegetables and vegetable garnishes. I desire something small (5 inch blade would be ideal), and more manageable in these situations than my vegetable knife, paring knife or one of my gyutos.

They look perfect, though a little out of my price range. However, this one interests me. Has anyone had any experience with such brand?

I've been looking for this particular style of knife for a while now, and they don't seem to exist. The shortest knife I can find with such features is about 8 inches long, and it is definitely too long for the type of work that I'm going to be doing. Does anyone know of any companies that make models with such features? I'd be willing to settle for a utility knife as well, as long as it has a the hollow ground edge. Ariel

Went to the newly opened "Pizzeria Gusto" on Academy Rd. tonight, and have mixed feelings about the place. Great Decor, warm and modern, plus the open "pizza kitchen" with a wood-fired oven looks impressive. Menu was interesting and the all-Italian wine list is great and well priced. The pizzas we tried were good. The dough was wonderful in texture though it was missing some salt, and I would have baked it in a hotter oven. Service was mediocre, and a little overbearing. Panna Cotta Duo for dessert was a refreshing end to the meal.

Quick dinner at home. Seared pork tenderloin, slow roasted at 150 degrees. Made a quick sauce with the roasting juices, some garlic and mushrooms. Served with some balsamic-pickled cipollini onions, camembert cheese, green oak lettuce dressed with cracked pepper and fleur de sel. Paired with an inexpensive Burgundy, 75% cocoa chocolate for dessert.

Sorry, did not explain it correctly. Banquet staff cooks them to 120, serves them at 130. Sadly, due to the lack of staff and the high volume output, the banquet kitchen has to utilize "Hot Boxes". We plate on a conveyor belt, lid the plates, stack them and place them in wheeled holding carts in which we carry them to the event floor in the hotel. The plates are then sauced and garnished a la minute. It makes me really sad to do this, and glad that I don't work banquets much at all. I am concerned with the liquid loss during resting time, not holding time, for I have noticed this difference as well in the restaurant kitchen.

The Banquet Chef at the hotel I work at and myself were discussing the effects of resting meat with an apprentice when we stumped ourselves with a question. We realized that Strip Loin Steaks retained more moisture both during resting and holding periods (160 Fahrenheit) than Tenderloin steaks. The steaks were cooked to the same temperature (130 Fahrenheit) were held for the same amount of time. Has anyone else noticed this effect? Is this due to the the firmer muscle tissue in the Striploin? Any other ideas?

Got my Hiromoto Gyuto AS (24cm) blade in the mail yesterday. Only had to wait a week from the moment I ordered it, which was amazing. I think all I need to say is that I never want to use another knife again. Razor sharp from the factory (though I'm told it gets even better after a few runs on the steel) and a blast to use. Cleaned 10 King Salmon at work today in record time, plus cut up some of the cleanest brunoise I have ever made. I can't wait to use it for carving and slicing terrines.

Easiest thing you could do would be infusing vinegar with it. You can than use it to flavour Bearnaise/Choron and other Hollandaise or Beurre Blanc derivatives, vinaigrettes, marinades, soups, fumet, broths, etc...

Wow! Thanks for all the prompt replies guys! I had already thought about going to Babbo (Just read Bill Buford's "Heat") an Lupa also sounds great. I have a couple other questions though...are there any quality hostels in the downtown area? And also, is Jean Georges "Jacket and Tie Required", since it is a 3 Michelin star?

My brother and I are hitting NYC for the first time as adults. Due to our inclinations in career (Culinary and Business Administration) and desire to eventually open a place of our own, this will be a mainly a gourmand sort of trip, planned around which restaurants we visit. We will be staying at a hostel near central park, and are willing to travel pretty much anywhere for a good meal. So far, we plan to hit up Les Halles and Casa Mono, for we are fans of casual dining establishments. However, we would really like to find a few other types of establishments that we have not had the chance to experience in our city of Winnipeg...which seems to lack much culinary brilliance (in my opinion). I've searched most of the posts on the site, even the ones titled "The Best" and have found that many of them haven't been updated in years. We're looking for: traditional pasta a great sweetbread dish traditional NYC Deli (Katz's has been suggested) wood-fire oven pizza a couple good markets where to buy produce and breads (we plan to make lunches) a good cheese shop (murray's, perhaps?) A great, high-end lunch which won't break the bank severely (max $60 before wine, but less would be great) I know this may be a lot to ask, but most of the people that I know that have spent time in the big apple have not gone for the food...I've already seen the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, Central Park...I just need to find some culinary equivalents to these spectacles in your grand city. thanks Ariel

These are my three favourites so far.... "Remember that a very good sardine is always preferable to a not that good lobster." - Ferran Adria "I'm tougher than you, faster than you, better than you. I'm a Chef. I work in inhuman temperatures, and I like it that way. I don't have to sleep every day if there's work to be done now; you get the work done. Only got a couple hours of sleep last night, and you've got eighteen more hours of work ahead of you. Good. You like that. You're a chef. You can sleep later." Michael Ruhlman - The Soul of a Chef "For Millenia, people have known how to make their food. They have understood animals and what to do with them, have cooked with the seasons and had a farmer's knowledge of the way the planet works. They have preserved traditions of preparing food, handed down through generations, and have come to know them as expressions of their families. People don't have this kind of knowledge today, even though it seems as fundamental as the earth, and, it's true, those who do have it tend to be professionals - like chefs. But I didn't want this knowledge in order to be a professional; just to be more human." - Bill Buford -"Heat"

Heh...often sent newbies out for a "tomato ripener", "grape peeler" or a few cans of steam. Instead of tabasco down the straw we used Sriracha, which is a little more incendiary. Salt in the coffee is always a good one, which I have fallen for many a time. We used to tease dishwashers a lot at an old job. This one guy, a total burnout, would always get the worst. Whenever it was dead and he was doing dishes, we cooks would take frilly tooth picks, coat the frills with mayo and throw them at him like darts. These "mayo darts" would stick for hours, and we managed to get almost 20 on him one night.

Gas grills tend to be hotter than charcoal, since usually one cooks with the ambers from the fire produced by the coal. This will provide faster caramelization, though If you're looking for a smoky flavour, you need the real deal.

And I agree that one does not get the pure flavor of a product once something else is added, but is that a bad thing. What if you want to know what that really expensive scotch tastes like with some honey made from flowers that bloomed on the hills of Scotland? There is something to be said for the out come of two great products combined in a thoughtful way. Toby ← Excellent point! I guess it's all in what you are looking for! Though some may consider my attitude snobbish, I am a purist, and I think that it is important to take the most straight-forward approach when tasting high quality liqueurs and spirits. Then again I do use some great tawny to make my eggnog! Oh, and also, someone mentioned Liquid Smoke a few posts above...that stuff should be made illegal.

Favourite spice has to be Nutmeg. It evokes memories of my mom's kitchen, from her perfect Bechamel, her delicious ricotta blintzes and fantastic apple crumble. Whole nutmeg is indispensable in my kitchen...I can even smell it now in the loaf of Banana bread in my oven. Favourite Herb is by far the Chive. The most delicate variety of that onion flavour, It goes in practically everything I cook. I keep a couple plants in my windowsill all year long, and they brighten up my day every time I use them. They make me think of fresh, local tomato salads in the summer, and potato gnocchi in herb butter during winter.

Grilled limes are much easier to squeeze than regular limes since they're warmer. In my opinion, mixing up a drink with $400/bottle tequila is much like making Sangria with a bottle of 1982 Petrus.

I don't find any reviewers in our city truly reliable, and your observations above are quite true. Ciao and Where are paid advertising space, nothing more, nothing less. And don't get me started on our "Newspaper" Critics...objective my ass. I never, EVER listen to restaurant critics. Who is to say that their tastes will ever resemble yours? And furthermore, if critics get 2 or 3 visits to one space, how is that a way to rate a restaurant? In my opinion, the best way to go about it is to try out places by yourself. If you like the place, go back...most great restaurants not only pride themselves on quality but also on consistency. Furthermore, associate yourself with people that have similar tastes, likes and dislikes to you. These people could prove themselves really valuable, and if they are true friends, they will give you their honest, (hopefully) unbiased opinion about a place. The rest will be up to you, because you're the only person who truly knows what you like.

I used to be the Sous Chef at a local Australian-inspired restaurant, and we managed to get some Kangaroo Loin and Rump. Since the city I live in is located in the middle of the Canadian Prairie, it all came in frozen, cryovacked and with a lot of blood. The meat is rather gamey tasting, really lean yet has a decent flavour. We made a rump stew that was quite delicious, and the loin we ended up larding with bacon. Not my favourite, but like I said, you'd have to be in Australia to get the real experience. I'm a huge fan of wild game, and sadly, as someone stated above, there are laws against serving it in restaurants in the country. We do get some great (organically) farmed elk in Manitoba, as well as Boar and tons of Bison. At the restaurant I work at, we currently serve Wapiti Elk wrapped in caul fat, and served with a blackberry gastrique, sauteed swiss chard, roasted parsnips and red wine cheddar potato croquettes.

I for one find that smoking dulls the senses, and lets not forget that nicotine is a drug, as legal as it may be, it's highly addictive and it hurts the user. In my opinion, it is disrespectful to your own body to smoke. I have tried smoking, never liked it and never will. I do agree on the fact that It's everyone's right to smoke, and I believe that most of my disgust towards the habit has come to me through it imposing itself into various public environments. Nothing worse for me than opening a door to the outside to face a group of smokers. Even worse, sit down to a nice dinner outdoors while a neighboring table puffs away, sucking all the beauty out of a crisp bottle of Sancerre or an aromatic menu item. I have also found it to be imposing in a negative way in a kitchen. Not only do the senses of smell and taste become dull, but if the person CANNOT control his/her dependency on the drug they tend to become short tempered, irritable and unfocused on their task. One may be able to argue that there are great chefs that have smoked all their lives, and I feel like these people have had a huge influence in changing the palate of consumers by heightening the intensity of flavours and seasonings. I have noticed time and time again when training new cooks who smoke, while it's been generally easier to train non-smokers. Whenever I become owner of an establishment, I will purposely not hire smokers, no matter how great they can cook. It's a simple matter of maintaining consistency on the seasoning and flavouring within all the cooks in the establishment.

I've never seen it happen up here in Canada. However, you wouldn't believe how many older women come into restaurants and order a cup of hot water, a side of lemon and a side of honey. My establishment has started to charge for such orders, and really, what is the point of going out if you don't want to pay for what you want?

Possibilities are endless, really... You could make a compound butter with it and place a tablespoon on a steak while it's resting after the cooking process. You could bake it in puff pastry, then let it cool and enjoy at room temperature. You could throw chunks of it into a caramelized onion or leek tart. You could incorporate it into your favourite creamy dip (artichoke and spinach being a good place to start). It all depends on your imagination! I really like the stuffed, deep fried mushroom idea though!