Edward J

I've borrowed Minifie's "Chocolate, Cocoa, etc" from the Vancouver public library (stacks) several occasions. It deals mostly with mega-large scale chocolate and confectionary (Cadbury's I think). Some very intersting information, and a few golden nuggets (panning with chocolate and gum arabic glazes), but nothing on candying. Grewling's "Chocolates and Confectionary" has several pages dedicated to this, and Tradeschool Richmonte has a few pages on this, but no "step by step" instructions per say. Don't know of any book that deals exclusively with this subject. OTOH I've got an early '70's edition of "Larousse Gastronomique" that gives some explicit instrution on the candying of angelica, which I dearly would love to try, but can't get my hands on the stuff, and don't have much of a green thumb, but will give it a shot. Among the things I've candied are: Oranges, use them alot in daily pastry and production, peels are a natural by-product of my marmalade making anyway. Good results Lemons, again used in daily confectionary production. Good results. Lemon syrup comes in handy too. Cherries. Unfortunately I used Bings, which are good for out-of-hand eating, but are waaaay to sweet and have no characater in baking or in candying. Good cosmetic results though, made for good bulk "filler" in my fruitcakes, and could honestly say that they were home candied cherries with no food colour. If I do cherries again, I won't use bings. Pears. Inspite of lemon juice washes and citric acid washes, the pears oxidized on me after about a week of candying. Tried 1/4's with stems on for garnishing, and kinda/sorta worked, but a wierd pink/panyhose beige colour to them. Good flavour though. Limes. Turned out snot green and hard, inspite of blanching 3 times, with the first blanch heavily salted. So-so flavour, but for me unusable.

Ahh... Interesting depiction of U.S. law, but of course, it's not applicable in Canada. The whole dogs issue has been on my mind and I only realized how much of an issue it will be when I checked out "urban fare", a high-end supermarket/deli with several branches in Vancouver and more in the lower mainland, this weekend. Upon entering the building, the doors had a several pictograms with red "X"'s through them: NO outside food allowed, no video cameras allowed, and no dogs other than seeing eye dogs allowed. The same "no dogs other than seeing eye dogs allowed" pictogram was on several other food service businesses as well. So I got to thinking...... Until that fateful day when I first became aware of "service animals", (1) I had no idea they existed. (2) Until I personally contacted VCH (Van. Coastal Health) they had no idea service animals existed. (3)My customers had no idea service animals existed, and clearly two people-elderly Asian women, were uncomforable with dogs in restaurants, as well. (4) Urban Fare and other businesses seem comfortable enough to boldy state that no dogs other than seeing eye dogs are allowed on their doors. So even though service dogs may be allowed, no one knows about it........ I can forsee a time when service dogs will become popular enough to be seen daily on public transport and taxis, and I forsee that the non-profits/organizations that use these dogs should make the public aware. A court case is a bit extreme, but attention grabbing. Frankly I think a better idea would be to use "ambassadors", dog trainers and owners, to make the public and businesses aware that these dogs do have the freedom that seeing eye dogs have as well. In other words, a carrot is better than a stick..... And now, I must apologize for hi-jacking this thread. Should anyone wish to continue, please feel free to P.M. me

I'm a small scale chocolate bon-bon maker, and I have very little "equipment" other than the usual. I do make Caramels, Italian nougat, etc. on a weekly, sometimes bi-weekly basis, albeit on a small volume basis. Caramels do require a lot of time and for the last twenty minutes or so, almost constant attention. So if you do want to make this on a larger basis, you will probably want to invest in some kind of a fire mixer.

Thank you for your investigation on this, daves, the Vancouver Health dept. could not offer me this much information at all. I think it should be make clear that if a merchant or restaurant owner does ask for identification, all they are looking for is that the dog is indeed permitted to be in such businesses. It is of no concern at all whythe customer has such a dog, only that the dog meet such criteria.

My experience is only with candied peel, not whole fruit--yet. I do know that large amounts of glucose can hinder the candying process, my books tell me only 10% glucose after the syrup goes over 30 Baume

Thank you for your reply. In my last post I asked you to acknowledge that in the event of a non-licensed dog being reported in my, or any other establishment, the restaurant owner gets the fine. I will now ask you again to please acknowledge this. Is it illegal for a waiter/ess or liquor store clerk to ask you for identification when purchasing alcohol? No, of course not. If it is determined that such an establishment was serving liquor to minors, hefty fines would ensue--to the owner of the establishment. Is it illegal for a store clerk or bank clerk to ask you for I.D. when paying with credit cards or depositing /cashing cheques? No, of course not. So when I am fully aware of the law, and know that if the Health Dept. determines that I allowed a non-licensed dog into my establishment, I will get a fine. Do I not have the right to protect my business? Why then, does this seem wrong? I am only asking for I.D. or documentation, same as a bar or liquor store.

Hefty licenes.... But why go for a single amputation when you can go for along, slow, bleed? Here in B.C. we do have private sellers as well as Gov't ones. Don't know what the licese fees are, but all booze--including beer and wine must be bought through the provincial Gov't, they set the prices. Booze is a very steady cash cow. Serious consideration should be given before giving it up.

I've been using this method for several years now, and I use a "special" brush... it's a silicone bbq brush, small, about 1 1/2" wide. Works O.K., but the "bonuses" are that I can never loose bristles, and to clean, I load it up with ohocolate, let it harden, and pull the whole thing off! I also have an even older and more simple "airbrush", a.k.a a "mouth atomizer". Bought it over 20 ears ago and it is nothing moe than a fat tube hinged to a thin tube at a 90 degree angle. Insert the thin tube into coloured cocoa butter, blow on the fat tube, and there's your airbrush.

Thank you. I took the precaution of e-mailing my health inspector about this issue. The inspector, with over 18 years on the job in the greater Vancouver area, had never heard of this, and using the information I provided her of the association in question, proceeded to call up and educate herself as well as the entire Health Dept. Why is it illegal to demand proof? Please answer, in your post you wrote, "If you see an animal with a service vest on, and the person says it's a service animal, it's a service animal until proven otherwise" And here I may remind you that I asked the owner to furnish such documents. Perhaps I should take it at face value when a customer hands me a phoney $20.00 bill and insists it's genuine because they say it is? You write, "It's illegal to demand proof unless the animal creates an actual problem". And if the animal does? Then what? I assume all damage costs, comping customers out of my own pocket? When the damage is done, it's done. Why is it legal to fine me, the restaurant owner $120.00 for allowing non-licensed dogs, and the dog owner walks away and laughs? Please answer, and please acknowledge the fine is charged to me, the restaurant owner, not the dog owner. Who said anything about throwing out the customer? The dog can be leashed outside like many of my other customer's dogs, as I suggested. I even provide water dishes and a supply of plastic bags for this purpose. Why is it fair to allow dogs in a fine chocolate shop on a rainy day full of people, when every customer does not expect dogs to be in restaurants? Don't figure me the wrong way, I own and bi-daily walk a lab-chow X. Is every doggie vest a grand proclamation that the said dog is free to enter foodservice establishments just because it's a doggie vest? Perhaps the doggie vests have a license # on them? Looking forward to your reply

Chocolate extract? Never heard of it. Granted, there might be soem cheap imitation form of it, but chocoalte, like wine, is very hard to imitate, and any extract form will taste one dimensional and "not right" You can boost chocolate flavour with cocoa mass, a.k.a cocoa liquor, which is the whole cooca bean roasted and ground up, un-cut/unadulterated with sugar.

I really like Le Manoir's logic, "Yes, these are the dishes we are able to "customize", and these are the dishes that aren't". This is, in my opinion, the best way of dealing with the situation. On a completely different level, but still on "the customer is always right", I have a situation that happened to me last month: On a busy Sat. afternoon a cutomer walks in with a dog (I'm a small artisan chocolate and pastry place with about 20 seats and non-alc. beverages. The customer was clearly NOT visually impaired, the dog was a very cute 8-10 mth lab very well behaved wearing a doggie-coat with some kind of a anacronym and website enblazened on it. When asked to leash her dog outside, great anger ensued. The dog was being trained as a companion for the chronically ill, part of a non-profit group, anmd specifically brought into small crowded places like mine to train the animal in thsese situtions, and how dare I question this. I patiently explained that, to the best of my knowledge only seeing-eye dogs are allowed, and that I was subject to a $120.00 fine from the Health Dept. if it was determined that a dog was present in my establishment. Customer then explains that she does have a license that puts her animal in the same class as seeing eye dogs. When I asked her to produce this, she didn't have it, but promised that she would bring it by. She did, later that afternoon, and you can guess how she described my actions. The fact that I am held responsible for her actions did not impress her one bit. The fact that I am responsible for the comfort and safety of my other customers and employees did not impress her one bit. I, am "rude"....

I'm assuming that's Liquor Control Bord, and not Le Cordon Bleu.... 1) Booze is probably one of the bigger cash cows for your State, give it up and what are "they" gonna do for cash? Friendly neighborhood casino on every street corner? Increased property taxes? 2) Who sets the prices? Currently you're probably paying, what, 50-70% mark-up per bottle? If booze were privatized, who would set the prices, who would control booze coming into and going out of the State?

This is fairly typical of the lack of respect customers have for many establishments. Playing the devil's advocate, I would have to say the Restaurant WAS guilty, as they "made no promises" and supplied food that they could not guarantee gluten free. The cutomer, on the other hand, could not extract a definite YES, nor could he extract a definite NO, so he just pushed and pushed. Is the cutomer right? Is he wrong? A jerk? Meh, On certain blogs and websites, my business is known as rude becasue I could not accommodate during my annual holidys which also coincides with some major renovations to the building. I'm a jerk and worse becasue I tell my customers that my milk chocolate products may contain traces of gluten (via barley malt extract) and therefore I can not sell it to them if they claim to have reactions to gluten. Look, people have little or no respect to things that are, 1)in abundance, 2) below market value or free, or 3)easily abused. Things like fresh water, air, public libraries, good manners, and cheap locks are all abused. And there is an over abundance of restaurants, each with narrow profit margins and a genuine eagerness to please, and very fragile. Customers... Can't live with 'em, and you can't live without 'em....

The butchers use s/s blades, and butcher's band saws are usually s/s and/or aluminum. They are a bear to clean and sanitize, and are used mostly now to cut frozen meat. I think a recip. saw would be very easy to clean, especially the blade, sounds like a better idea.

"Love oil" instead of "olive oil"........

Ahh, yes, I agree with you 100% that statement #2 is rude.

No worries, I wasn't quoting anyone word for word. I would however like to bring up what exactly goes into my, or a Chef's head when a request comes in for spinach on a pizza: 1) Do we have spinach? 2) Does the customer want it raw, or pre-cooked, on the pizza? If so, do I have enough time to cook off a portion for the pizza? 3)How much to charge? 4) How much to put on? If it is raw, it will shrink, and I will look stupid to charge $X for spinach when all you get is a few wilted leaves. 5)If it is raw, will it shed water as it cooks on the pizza? Now, I'm not a pizza maker, so I don't know the answer to this one. 6)If I do make the pizza with spinach, and the customer isn't happy with it because it isn't what they expected, do I have to comp? All this should take about 1/250 of a second. Now, for me, the word "rude" is very similiar to the word "Fruitcake". Let me 'splain... Anyone under the age of oh, say 30 years does not like fruitcake. I've met very few exceptions to this observation, and tasting many of the commercial fruitcakes, I can't say as I blame them. People over this age will either like it or not, but it is not a given. Anyone under the age of, oh, say 30 uses the word "rude" in a way that I am still getting used to. From the way I've heard, "rude" used in conversations, tweets, blogs, etc., means not getting what you want. It is always preceeded by explaining what you didn't get, but never followed by why you felt the other party was acting rude, i.e. a reason for this behavior, nor is the behavior that you found rude ever explained. People over the age of 40-ish use the word "rude" to describe someone who verbally insults or uses brash, sometimes harmful movements. I've had web savvy people describe me as "rude" because I can't accomodate their wishes for a booking in August. I can only explain patiently so many times that we are closed for the first week in August, and besides, the Strata has reserved that week to replace the awning on the enitre building. I am "rude" because I can't give them what they want, and this is communicated very clearly in blogs, etc., but the part about the place being closed for holidays or that the sidewalk and entrance of the building will be full of ladders and workers is never mentioned.

I have been reading each and every post on this thread with great interest. My views on this are a bit different, as I am a cook, have been one for almost 30 years now, and currently own my place. I deal with customers on a daily basis. I think it all boils down to respect. Can I respect the statement "I'm allergic to onions"? Or can I respect the statement, "I don't like onions, can you refer me to a dish that doesn't have onions, or is it possible that the kitchen can make it without onions"? One place I worked at we had this lunchtime regular, a mining engineer, I think. Some days he would insist on no garlic in any dish, and these were the days he would entertain Japanese businessmen, and other days garlic was fine but no alcohol, and these were the days he would entertain Muslim clients. But he always gave the owners a heads up. Now the arguement about paying alot for fine dining places and expecting every wish to be granted is worth considering. I used to have a bumper sticker on my car that read: "Give me enough time and money, and I will rule the world!...eventually...." See, If I'm going to blow a good $100 on wine for two and another $100 for food, I'm going to do a little investigating, check out the wine list and menu on line. I know what my wife likes, and if the menu doesn't have it, I can ask in advance. It might not be possible, but give the kitchen a few days heads up, and the odds increase dramatically. This I feel is a mutual respect, and it usually works for both parties.

The sawdust soaked up spills and trapped dirt, some butchers used this system up until the 90's. It also made the floor slippery.....

Just read through all the posts.......... This whole thing kind of reminds me of back in the 80's when the pop mnfctrs stopped putting on pull-off tabs on cans and went with those one-piece stay-on-the-can jobbies. A lot of people had trouble figuring out that one too. I don't frequent fast food places that much, maybe it's once every couple of weeks with the kids at Mc D's, but I like the arrangement that they have: One big dispensor that takes a 100 oz can and a stack of mini dixie cups. Customers can help themselves. I know this system has it's negatives, but let's look at the positives for a minute: -People take what they need, and not stuff ketchup packets in their purse or glove compartment where they eventually get thrown out anyway. -Ketchup isn't automatically put in every order wher it may or may not get used I don't know if packaging is a point or not. Certainly the dixie cups do cost something, but then again, they are not a laminated foil/plastic item either. Comments?

I have read everyone's posts...... I think that both good cooks and good bakers.....: 1) know their ingredients well, how they behave, and how the ratios interact with each other. 2) know that the key to consistancy and repeatability is to use scales to weigh out ingredients.

Very few owners will invest in quality cookware. Equipment yes, but cookware itself, no. For some reason the N.American hosptiality scene is fixated on aluminum. I've worked in places in Europe where the cookware was over 35 years old and still going strong, needless to say it wasn't aluminum. The Euros are used to putting up large up-front costs to avoid paying replacement/repair costs down the line. "Aus alte Pfanne lernt Man kochen...."

For me it's no laughing matter. I apprenticed under a very old school Chef, so old school that he insisted on "dusting" the floor with sawdust every shift (Old school double shifts) and at the end of the shift the sawdust swept up, thrown out, and new applied. Once had an employee who I couldn't get through to. Finally I frogged-marched him to the men's room, instructed him to step in the puddle under the urinal, marched him back into the kitchen, told him to step back one step, dropped an end slice of bread where his foot was, and dared him to eat it. Finally got through to him.

If I'm doing a "high wall" graham crumb cheesecake I need the eggwhite, or I can't get any decent slices out of it.

100% aluminumumum. This material has only two (2) virtues: 1) It's cheap 2) It conducts heat quite well. The list of negatives is long. 1) Plain aluminum warps--badly. Go into any restaurant and you will see a stack of semi-woks, there's no such thing as a flat old aluminum pan. 2)The pans have their handles riveted on--with soft aluminum rivets. These invariably fatigue, leaving you with loosey-goosey handles and any liquid (including hot oil) that makes it past the rivet line will dribble out. 3)Plain aluminum oxidises. Loverly black crud all over the counters, shelves, or any surface that the pans/pots touch. (alum. sheet pans give you black hands) No a'la minute cream sauces/reductions in those pans either, soon as you "abrade" the soft aluminum with a whisk, your sauce turns grey.