Edward J

British Columbia, Canada There are two thoughts on staffing here. The first is that employees are an asset, and many fine dining places have sufficient staff. Minimum wage here is currently $8.25/hr with planned increments going up to $10/hr by next summer. The second thought is that employees are a liability. In B.C. the employer is always assumed guily of any claims brought before him in regards to the Labour Board and the Worker's comp. board. (Technical wording for this is "The onus is on the employer") The owner must defend himself at his cost, and if cleared of any wrong doing, has no right to compensation for time or money spent, nor does he have a right to acknowledgement from the employee or the Gov't body that the claim brought against him were false. In the hospitality industry many employees lay claims of around $500 knowing full well that the gov't agenies will rule in their favour without investigating, and the employer is better off just to pay rather than to fight the claims. And many do. This abuse (fraud,really) happens very frequently and is factored into the cost of labour. Because of this, many smaller places are staffed Mom & Pop or family style, or hiring employees as contract workers. The bigger plaes have H.R. dept's who have the time and patience to fight fraudulent claims and deal with the Gov't agencies. In Europe you hae several luxuries that we don't have here in N. America: You have qualifications. Is it a two year apprenticeship for waiters? A three year for cooks, bakers, confectioners and butchers? Special courses, tests and licenses for food seervice owners/operators?

I have a weakness for puff pastry items, and puff pastry items have a weakness of shedding crumbs like a room full of cats in the spring. Now, hands up for those of you in "4 seasons" weather: Who has trouble convincing spouses/children NOTto wipe the inside of the windshield with a hand or sleeve, but rather to run the fan to clear up the fog? I can handle food debris, but a filmy, streaky, windsheild drives me absolutley nuts..........

It's an unabashed recipe stright out of Grewling's confections. I cook it to around 112-114. Letting it rest overnight, it has the consistancy of a Kraft Caramel square.

After sheeting, I pop the whole thing in the fridge for a minute, peel off the top layer of paper and use my "Bicycle" or expanding roller-cutters. The caramel is still a bit gooey, but the lines are there. After freezing it becomes glass-brittle and you can snap off the pieces.

Awright you guys, I'm gonna let you in on a little secret, but if you use my "secret Process" you will give me your first-born, or failing that, when visiting Vancouver present me with a good bottle of single malt scotch..... It is said that when all you have is a hammer, everyting looks lie a nail... I have 50 gram bar molds (6-ers) that are about 1/4 to 3/8 " thick, yet I can sandwich a layer of caramel in my bars. All I have is Grewling's caramel recipie, a dough sheeter and a freezer. If I put a 'hunk" of caramel squarely on a sheet of silicone paper, and put another sheet on top, I can pop it into a warm oven for a bit to warm it up. At this stage I can "sheet" it on my sheeter to a 2mm thickness. At this stage it sticks like glue to the paper and is impossible to peel off. However at this stage I can score it so it fits within my couverture clad molds. IF, however, I slide the whole scored shebang onto a sheetpan or 18 26 cardbaord cake base and freeze it for few minutes, I can easily peel off the paper and snap off the scored pieces and pop them into the molds. Been doing this for a few months now. If you use my "Secret process" for production purposes, I will request a 4 cent royalty fee................

Ikea. The pots are really not that bad for the money. I've been using a few of them in my cafe on a daily basis for four years now, and like them.

My logic is that chicken schmalz tastes like chicken, and chicken pairs well with bayleaf, thyme, onion and garlic.......

Talk to any plumber or City water/sewer works people, and they'll tell you garbage disposals are BAAAAaaad, and many municipalities are banning them for household use. Commercial use has been banned in quite a few areas for some time now,(potato peelers are notoriously bad) with emphasis on a screen or baffle system to trap food particles before they hit the pipes so they can be disposed of in solid garbage. Rotting produce, protein, and f.o.g.(fat, oil, and grease) down a 2 " pipe can't be good, and when it hits the mains, it's very bad, sticking on to pipe walls and constricting the flow. It's just the wrong idea, and it gives many people a license to dump bacon or roast fat straight down the drain.

I just save up all the fat and skin in the freezer. When I have enough, I run it all through the meat grinder along with veg trimmings (celery, onions, leek) herbs, maybe a peppercorn and clove) into a pot, put some water in, and let 'er rip on low heat untill all the fat is rendered out. Favorite uses for chicken schmalz are to saute soup vegetables in, and to make roux for chicken based sauces.

Don't think any fish is sold with guts in, as it spoils very quickly. A lot of fish suppliers in Vancouver...

That's a lot of work! Usually I just unscrew what's left of the ahndle and use it as an underliner for potted plants...

Yup, that's the one. Tried to take it last year, but "stuff" got in the way. Right now I'm stocking up the freezer with pastry prep for my one week "holiday", bunny production is at full tilt, and by the end of the month will be making fresh batches of all 25 variaities of bon bons hold over until I get back. And when I get back, I run right smack dab into Mother's day, with full houses for Ma's day brunche and high tea.....

Thanks. Don't have a compressor yet, but will use a hairdryer on "cold". I'll be seeing Derrick in St. Hycinth in May, where I'll be taking a workshop there for a week.

Ummmmm Well, there's Anthony the guy, the author, etc. and I like the way he writes, content is another story. . But-tumm.... I've been cooking cooking professionaly for close to 30 years now. Not an addict, never was one, drink moderately, live clean. Hate working with addicts, I've never seen one develop to their full potential, and they usually screw up big-time on their way down. Just because I cook professionaly, I don't like to be assumed that I do or have consumed "substances".

Uh... I do't think toothpaste will work. As it is, I can't even get a q-tip into the crevices. As you can see in the pic, some of the cavities are clean, and some stick bad. I think.... I think it might be water spots. I don't usjualy wash the molds, but every couple of months, they get really grotty, so I toss them in the commercial d/washer. This has a cycle of about 2 mins, and uses liquid detergents and rinse aids. I've got about 25 or so molds and they do get washed every now and then, but only have had serious issues with sticking now--same dishwasher, same soaps, same everythibg else. After they come out of the d/w, I do "the chicken" with the molds. That is, I take one mold in each hand and flop my arms up and down, shaking as much water as possible out, then shake some more, then place upside down on a cooling grid or in a toothed d/washing rack overnight. If I have time, I buff out with those facial pads, or a q-tip. This particular mold was sprayed (mouth atomizer) with cocoa butter, dried overnight, then filled not once, but twice with tempered 70% couverture. Some slight sticking, but nothing major. When I molded for bon bons, I filled as usual, tipped out, scraped clean, allwed to harden, and then filled with a butter ganache. I'll fill the mold again with solid 70% over and ove gain untill I can get this problem figured out....

Thanks for the reply. No,the filled bonbons stick after unmolding them. I usually cst my thin layer, pop it into the fridge for a few minutes, fill it (in this case it was a butter ganache) cap it, and usually next morning turn them out. Before I did the above, I filled the mold full with 70% and when solid, turned them out. There was some slight sticking, but nothing as bad as this. I never had troubles using this mold or the above techniques for almost two years, using the same couverture. I'm "blaming" the trouble on popping the molds in a commerical d/washer. But you know, I've washed other molds (the geometric domes, merlions, hedgehogs, etc) with virtually no sticking.

Corporate catering is a solid gig, invest a lot of time into each customer, and you will have repeat business for years, just don't get "greedy"; only deliver to one place a max of 3 times a week. No matter how good your food and service are, the customer will tire of it if they have it every day. In this way, we were able to keep "good" customers for years. Social media is a very tricky battle ground, remember this fact: Both social media sites and "professional" bloggers are businesses--they need to earn an income. This is where you come in... A non-pro blogger will blog about your food/service and be happy, a pro will want some kind of compensation, and many pro bloggers also offer "other" services like business consulting, marketing expertise, etc. Many times these services are intertwined with a simple favorable blog. I hope I've put a fine enough point on this. In the past 3 months I've had several customers who were "over the moon" about our food/service, and promised to give us favourable reviews on sites listed by other posters in this thread. And they did too, gave us 5 stars, but the reviews only lasted a few minutes before they wre pulled down. I don't know why this is, but I have to say, I don't advertise with these sites or have listings with them. Again, I hope I've put a fine enough point on this. I hope this helps you...

This is really frustrating me, a while back I made the big mistake of washing several molds, including several 30 pc maple leaf polycarbonaate molds. I've tried everything, shaking the mold dry, wiping it out with soft towels, spraying in a layer of cocoa butter, filling up the cavities with 70% dark, but all to no avial. When I cast a thin layer I get sticking in the tight crevices. What am I doing wrong?

What you need to do is find a local refrigeration company that you're comfortable with, they will have brochures and spec sheets of euro cases that they can and will bring in. Unless you're familiar with and comfortable repairing refrigeration, and know the ins and outs of importing large peices of equipment, it's best to leave that with a refrigeration company. Here's one that is in N.America (Vancouver, actually) and ships all over the States and Caribbean. : www.vegacases.com

Meh.... Few months back my partner "did a deal" wth one of those coupon people who advertise via cellphones, giving a 50% discount and on top of this want thier piece of pie as well. At first I was furious with her, threatening pyschiatric observation, insitutional commitment, financial bankruptcy, and frontal lobotamy. But the deal was done. What was offered was a 50% discount on our "high tea" for two, regualarily selling at $26.00 per person, only valid on weekdays (weekends we do pretty good), and the customer must bring in the form which we have to submit to the coupon people. The customer pays in advance via Visa to the coupon co and mus make reservations with us. My partner was the lucky one to inform each guest verbally that tax (a whole $3.00) and gratutities were not included. So far we've done about 200 My observations? About 70% were "o.k.", no problems, but only there for the discount. Less than half tipped at all, and the same amount made no purchases. ( I have an artisanal chocoalte and pastry place, with a showcase of about 25 varities of bon bons and anothe cse of pastries). About 25% were infatuated with the food and service, and bought chocolates or pastries from the showcase after the meal. Of those, about half booked "regular" high teas (non discounted) and brought close friends on the weekends. About 5% were "problematic", kept re-booking their reservations, balked at paying the tax, complained about our location. My thoughts so far? If you offer a discount, that's what attracts the customer, not the food, not the service. If the coupon states a price, that's what is in the cutomer's mind. For many of them, it never occurs to them that the same food and service that is provided to them is sold for double the price to others who are happy to tip and make other purchases. My partner also learned that in many cases if a customer knows you are the owner, or a mom and pop, they will not tip, no matter how good the dining experience was. But I swear, if she signs up for another 50% discount coupon to promaote our business, I'll have her committed..............

Nope, no ipads in my kitchen. I honestly can't see why Other than for baking, I don't use recipies. When baking, I use one of my "litle black books", which are written in my "code" of listing ingredients by order, and the weights beside them--nothing else. Just don't "get it" with small devices like I-pads. All that informtion concentrated in such a small package--prone to dropping or worse, and destroying all that information.

"----" will provide 3 (price inclusive) wonderfull home cooked meals showcasing on-site grown produce, dairy and meats. Cooking facilities are available for those who wish to prepare their own meals.....

Been using Camino's, nice stuff, might make a big change in the nest year or so, but don't know just now if I'm ready for it. Green & Black is very popular in the supermarkets here,especially the 100 gr bars, tried some, and it's not bad, not bad at all. However.... I am highly suspicous of WHYthere is milk powder in their dark bars, this shouldn't be. EU laws are very specific on anything labeled as "chocolate" cannot contain any dairy products. Anything that does, must be labled as "milk chocolate". Let Hershey's dump all the milkpowder they want to in their "special dark" chocolate, there's no reason why G & B is should follow suit and cater to this monstrosity.

Y'kow, I lived there for almost 18 years, and since '84 have never been back. In "my time" there was only two choices: Greek or Chinese, and did my fair share of d/washing in the greek places on 8th st.

It was the first edition, no sections on candying. Grewling's "Chocolates and confections" has a few pages dedicated to the subject, but that's the only other bbok I know of.