Edward J

I see. How about this then. A cook with a minimum of one year culinary education and 4-5 years working experience will usually earn under $15/hr? Would you consider that a minimum wage type entry level job? You also have to take in to account that a dishwasher has the potential to poison every customer, and bring a working kitchen to screeching halt. Digging dog, yes you make a good point, but not only farm workers and hospitality, but retail sales are paid lousy.

No arguements about manual labour. What's different is the compensation and benefits--the hospitality biz is one of the poorest paid. I don't know about your area/State, but around here even the lowest guy on the totem pole in construction will NOT start at minimum wage, it will be at least 3-4 dollars higher. S/he will not work weekends or evenings as part of the job, those shifts are paid at a higher rated, and benefits are usually better, even paid lunch and coffee breaks. The lowest guy in the hospitality biz ges paid bare minimum, or even lower if they owners can get away with it. Benefits are nil, weekends and evenings are expected. Apples and oranges, construction and hospitality. The construction owner submits a bid or quote for the job--so much for materials, so much for rentals, so much for labour,etc. Profit is calculated and expected. A restaurant never knows if it will meet minimum sales required for that month, nothing is guaranteed.

Try working in a restaurant for a few months. Just try it, it's free!

Thickness has a lot to do with the fiber content on the fruit. Mangoes and raspberries, for instance have a lot of fiber. If you put in the tartaric acid/cream of tartar at the last possible moment, the mix is easier to pour as opposed to putting it in mid-boil. Yeah, yeah the sugar, I know, a lot of it. However pate de fruit is shelf stable and has a very long shelf life--think of of it as jam with extra pectin. A lot of the recipies have all that sugar to extend the shelf life. The corn syrup is used as a "doctoring agent"--to prevent crystalization of all that sugar, it' s usually around 10% of the sugar weight. Many of the fruit puree companies have extensive information about pate de fruit on their websites--Boiron comes to mind, and have recipies for all of their fruit purees, as well as "modified" recipies using apple juice as well as other fruit. It is interesting to look at.

So then is a tip commission or not?

Yeah-butt...... Say I went out shopping for a brand new luxury car. Honest Ed has it for 70 grand, and Honest Fred has it for 69 grand, same car, same option package, same colour. Obviously I'll go with Fred, or if I really like Ed, I could tell him that I can get it for a thousand cheaper and to match Fred's price. The thousand dollar difference is in the commission, and I'd be a fool not to take the cheaper price, right? But in a restaurant, if the server get's screwed over his/her tip, it's a bad thing, socially unacceptable.

Yeah-butt... You don't tip the guy who just sold you $300.00 worth of computer stuff, do you?

Sounds interesting. Problem is, after working 30 odd years in the biz, It never really works. Mind you, I only see things from the kitchen. See, bullies pick on little kids because they can. Scam artists pick on seniors because they can. Yes, it's both illegal and immoral, but it happens all the time. It happens because they can do it. Tell a server s/he has to take a table when they know it won't tip well and stuff happens. You can have all the meetings you want, and sign off on any document you want, but when a server realizes they won't make the perceived sum of tips, they leave. They leave because they can, and they know that they can make better tips at other places. You can't fight this, no signature on a document will change anything, they'll just quit. I've seen this happen so many times. It's a fact of life, young attractive servers will jump ship at a moment's notice when tips dry up, or when the grass is greener at a new place just opening up. Same for mature, well experienced servers. The hospitality industry has one of the shortest employment periods, typically under 6 mths. True, some places have a common tip pot, where it is "illegal" for any server to pocket tips, it all has to go into the pot and later be distributed. You can make this clear at interviewing time, and will find that the majority of applicants will fail to take interest in the interview afterwards. This is one of the main reasons that so few restaurants are doing tip sharing.

Thanks for the clarification. However, this practice is very, very common in restaurants, particularily in N. America. Any idea how to stop it?

I'm not talking about commissioned salespeople, I'm talking about servers who, as you state, are "cherry picking". I'm still unsure if you endorse this or not, you post doesn't tell me much. See, I've noticed a lot of "spats" between hostesses or even owners and servers regarding which guests go to whose stations. For some reason no wants the two-top of little old ladies, but everyone wants the 6-top of business men. There is a pretty big difference between a server and a commissioned sales person in a computer shop or car dealership. Once a guest is seated in a restaurant, the odds are pretty much in favour that that table will order something. Odds are 50/50 or even lower in a computer shop etc. that the customer will buy something.

Never understood the concept of hazelnut extract, for me it's kind of like butter flavour or tofu bacon. If you want it to taste like hazelnuts, get hazelnut paste in there.

So you So you endorse it, then?

Ummm, if any of you saw the video link that was posted on the first post of this thread, the speaker states that a lot of people tip out of guilt. He also states that tipping is discriminatory, in that servers will "Case out" the guest and automatically judge the tip by using the following criteria: -Sex, men tip better than women -Race -Age -Families, or couples, or tour groups Myself, I've noticed servers pre-judging guests on "accesories"-- purses, and shoes.

All kinds of recipies for meringue, Supposing..... Supposing I made a batch of meringue, divided it up into several pots and coloured each pot. Then pipe rows of the colured meringue onto a silpat about 3/8" high and bake. While still hot, cut into rectangles and roll around a piece of pvc pipe that has been covered in parchment paper. When cold, pipe in the ice cream.

Annabelle, no one is talking minimum wage. Heck even the cooks are making a bit more than that. A decent wage, yes, but not as low as minimum. This is why I'm talking about certification and/or qualifications, it's one of the factors that's based on how many of the other trades pay their people. Other factors include working experience, related skills (computer, book keeping, etc.) and "people skills". No one wants an employee who can't get along with the others. But qualifications is one of the big factors. What qualifications does a server need in a place that sells $10-$15 entrees with no alcohol? What qualifications does a server need for fine dining with an extensive wine list? What qualifications does a server need for a breakfast place?

O.K. this is getting a bit off topic here however I really want to respond. The big deal is that a Sous chef has to be in a supervisory position before applying for the test. That means s/he is training and/or supervising subordinates. Agree? Of course the Sous should know how to temp a steak!!!!!!!!! That much is assumed, just as basic knife skills and butchery are assumed. This (steak temping) should be tested when the applicant was tested as a cook, just like basic knife skills and butchery should be tested for a cook's designation. The Sous position is above a cook's position. Should an applicant be tested for steak temping and fail-- well then, the question is, what kind of damage did the Sous do to his subordinates before he got caught? Hey this is N. America here. Ask 10 cooks to make an ommelette, and you'll get 10 different results, from frittatas to doing it on the flat top to egg-cake rolled up like a carpet. In Europe, the procedure is standard anywhere you go: Scrambled eggs in a delicate shell folded over. See, the European apprenticeship system is based on the "4 t's" Trained Trainers training the Trainees. A Chef can't take on an apprentice unless s/he has completed their own apprenticeship. Don't pass the apprenticeship, you don't get the possibility to train subordinates and subsequently don't have the opportunity to instruct "short cuts", or not have the knowledge that the cook you are supervising is doing things the wrong way. (Deep frying raw meat, for example) . Now, one might argue that qualifications don't mean much, and this may be true. However, qualifications also mean that the qualified person has no excuse to plead ignorance, they know better, they demonstrated this in their testing. Take driver's licenses for example. Just because I passed my exam 30 years ago does not guarantee that I won't cruise through a stop sign, or run my high-beams at night in city streets. But I can't plead ignorance if I get caught (and fined). I know better. It also means that I drive with some level of comfort, knowing that almost every vehicle on the road has the same qualifications, or higher, as I do. Now compare that with taking your chances driving a car in, uhh.. well, let's just say "another country", the kind where drivers routinely substitute the use of their horn for a brake pedal or signal light, the kind where a driver's license means you just bribed someone and have no idea what a 4-way stop is all about. More than likely they don't know better.

Isn't that the point then? If you can't tell the difference, then you can't supervise a grill cook, and therefore you can't be sous-chef. Uh-huh......AFTER you've (falsely) instructed subordinates to cook "Rare" as medium and "medium" as well done.......... Thanks for the link Lisa From what I read, I understand that to apply for the testing, a "Culinarian" must have at least 2 years working experience, and in the last 10 years. Alternatively-but not required- a candidate with 1 year culinary arts education only needs 1 year working experience, and if an Associate's degree in culinary arts, no job experience is needed. This has really improved since I last looked at the site a few years ago, this is really good news.

Now what did I say about ears????? You HAVE to defrost in the fridge 24 hours, THEN at room temp for 24 hrs BEFORE opening up the vacuum pouch. Failure to do so will result in condensation forming on the shells. By all means, go ahead and experiment, you'll come to the same conclusion as Mr. Grewling.......

Ahhh, now we're getting to the heart of the matter! ACF focuses on Chefs not cooks. Cooks don't exist, they are called "culinarians" and the criteria for this is very, very, very basic. Many Culinary schools do not adopt ACF standards. The whole thing is this: -Cooks are judged by what they put on a plate. -Chefs are judged by how well you manage the resources given to you (Labour, inventory, equipment, time) To become a good chef you have to be a competent cook--not excellent, but competent. Look after the pennies and the dollars look after themselves. Focus the training on cooks, and the Chefs will emerge by themselves. Q: Where does this cooking background come from? Last time I looked at the ACF website , the criteria for "Culinarians" was a cooking test that featured making chicken stock and a few vegetable cuts. That would be first year stuff for most European apprenticeships. What concerned me more was the criteria for Sous-Chef status. One criteria was that the applicant must be in a supervisory position--fair enough, I get that, and I agree. Then, on the practical, one criteria is to temp steaks properly. Whoa buddy! You're supervising employees and you have to prove you know how to grill a steak med. rare?????? How can you effectively supervise a grill cook if you yourself can't tell the difference between med-rare and med. well?i That was a few years ago, and I hope (really hope) things have changed. Have they?

O.K., according to Grewling, (and I've done it myself often) freezing truffles is as follows: -Vacuum pack (best done with a stable cardboard or plastic base) -Refrigerate 24 hrs -Freeze To serve: -Place in fridge with unbroken packaging for 24 hrs -Place at room temp for 24 hrs before opening packaging All this is to prevent condensation on the product. Shelf life clock starts ticking once it's out of the freezer Bonuses of this system are obvious, as well as the fact that most retailers won't demand ISO 2000 standards for frozen product. Cons are as follows: -Expense of vacuum packaging (including labour) -John Q public most likely won't follow the specific thawing instructions, and will get condensation on product. Once the condensation dries off you get sugar bloom and John Q will scream "There's white mold growing on my chocolates!" If you go this route with consumer product you have to have the caveats printed very clearly on the packaging. But the system itself works very, very well.

Fair enough, that is a good reason for wanting long shelf life. Most "artisanal" chocolate makers avoid the above described nightmare by having some kind of a caveat on their packaging which includes a "best before" date as well as verbally informing the customer to enjoy within a week. The cost of adding all of the "wierd sugars" is as follows: -Recipie must be perfectly balanced -Humidity and temp must be still be controlled -Product may still "go fungal" if not perfectly sealed, or exposed to any contaminents. (including air borne yeasts) You will need a minimum of 3 hours for ganache to set before capping off. -Health dept may or may not require you to inform customers that your product contains sorbitol and/or glycerol. -"Wierd sugars" such as sorbitol, glycercol, etc are polyols. Consumption of 20-30 grs may result in a, uhh..(ahem) "laxative" effect. You may or may not be required to inform your customers of this side effect. -Bragging rights of "all natural" ingredients is off.

In one ear and out the other........... Not only will flavours change, but fillings will shrink, and shell walls will cave in slightly

Yeah, Wybauw's #2 and #3 talk a lot about it, good information. That being said, I thik you're looking for the holy grail Here's why: You can increase shelf life with the use of sorbitol, etc. However, as the product ages, the flavours will change--think wine, beer cheese, etc. However, the flavours in ganache won't change for the better. What I do is have about 25% of my product line made up of fresh cream ganaches. You can successfully vacuum pack and freeze finished bon-bons, and you can freeze hand rolled truffle centers--dipping and finishing as needed. There are a lot of other shelf stable products--nuts, giandujas, pate de fruits, nougats, etc.

Unions? Like I said before, ther are two ways to make an employer pay a higher salary: -Put agun to his head and say "Strike, or pay up" - Develop an ascending range of qualifications and a payscale to accompany it. Most trades adopt choice #2. It takes a lot more effort, but the benefits are greater. Ask the plumbers, electricians, HVAC guys, etc. But the US has no standard for cooks or servers, nothing to base salaries on, nothing to design a culinary school curriculum on. With choice #1 you always are at the mercy at the cost of living going up.

It's standard for a custom cake, but about double Whole Foods' price and quadruple the supermarket option. Set a diminishing return on investment curve proportional to that for food which allows me to buy a mcBurger for $2 and fillet for $25. If you're above the curve, great - but if you're not, you're in trouble. $40 is also, notably, very close to an entire day's pay after taxes at minimum wage. It's serious money. A lousy $10 cake is ignored. A $40 cake will receive greater scrutiny. Is it a harsh standard? Definitely. But surpassing it is why you can ask $40 for a cake, and I can't. Exactly my point! All the retailers you mentioned are producing on huge volume scales, with automated or semi-automated equipment and purchasing ingredients at much higher volumes--which means lower ingredient costs. Then again, beef tenderloin is about 1% of the carcass weight, and hamburger about 40% of the carcass weight.