Edward J

Absolutely essential for most fruit, coring tomatoes, digging eyes out of spuds. I tend to peel onions with a chef's knife, but need a paring knife for garlic. For bell peppers I use Marin Yan's (Wok with Yan) method: Stand the pepper on it's bottom, cut in half about 3/4 of the way down, then break the pepper in half. The stem will remain on one half, which can be removed with a paring knife, ribs are removed either with a paring knife or chef's.

It was explained to me the reason why no diners are shown or no food is shown is that so the customer can imagine thenmselves at the table instead of looking at a model. Does this make sense? Not to me, anyway My site features mostly food, some of my classes with kids, and information. Don't have my city/location in bold on the main page, but it is very clear in the "contact us" page.

Dead simple With a paring knife between thumb and forefinger, start under the cap and pull off a layer. It's almost like the 'shroom has an outside skin, like an orange, and this skin can be easily and quickly removed. iWhy it is removed is another story, and I don't have a clue. My theories, however, include: -Easier to "turn" or to flute a mushroom. -Skinned mushrooms keep whiter after cooking (never tried out this theory) -knife skills for apprentices and as an excuse for mushroom trimmings in stocks, etc.

No notebooks or journals............... what I do have is a series of small "recipie books" small enough to fit in a breast pocket, with alphabetized tabs. I've done this since my apprenticeship 25 years ago and still do it. The books change and evolve. Recipies change, techniques change, and all of this is noted down in point form. And that's about it...

Maybe........ If the place "does" breakfast, eggs will usually be a medium size and some a large size. Most Hotels and bakeries now insist on using pasteurized liquid whole egg, pasteurized salted or sweetened yolks, or pasteurized whites. The saucier and Garde-manger love the idea of getting yolks out of a carton without cracking and separating them, as does the pastry guy. I never have noticed much volume difference between fresh whites or frozen whites For the Chef, weighing out eggs is the intelligent thing to do, it certainly is a LOT more easier to cost out recipies by using weight, as it is doing bi-weekly or monthly inventories. In these two cases (costing and invetories, the Metric system rules supreme as it simple, logical and easy. Carton eggs also take up less space and are not as prone to damage as are shell eggs. Pasteruized products give small, albeit extra layer of protection as opposed to fresh shell eggs

Regarding sifting..... Maybe I've been "indoctrinated" about sifting, but working in large kitchens where flour is stored in large 50 gallon trolleys, and everyone can use flour,(hot kitchen for sauces, cold kitchen for other stuff) you learn to sift or suffer the consequences. Cake flour tends to form tiny clumps on it's own, irregardless of how impeccable it's stored, nothing worse than finding tiny clumps of flour in genoise or pastry dough. Sifting also tends to mix other ingredients like cocoa or bakig soda withn the flour much better, thereby avoiding cakes with uneven rising (pockets of leavening) or clumps of cocoa pwdr. But for me, sifting comes automatically. I always have a large bowl with a sieve under the counter, the bowl is used to scale out ingredients. When I scale out the flour, I tip the flour (which may or may not contain baking pwdr, baking soda, cocoa, etc) from the bowl to the sieve, which lies ontop of a sheet of silicone paper, this is sifted, the bowl and sieve put away, and the paper gathered up into a funnel shape, which I can rest on the lip of the mixer bowl and slowly tip in.

At home it's a bit different. It's a big kitchen with lots of counterspace. This means every available inch of surface is cluttered. Sometimes I do the cooking, sometimes my wife, sometimes the kids will fool around. As much as I instruct, whine and complain, NO ONE but me will: -Wash a pot or pan, they invariably get filled with water and left for me to deal with--even a teflon pan used for fried eggs. -Put dirty dishes in the d/washer, they just can't comprehend how dirty dishes get clean -Keep counters uncluttered, i.e empty cereal boxes, empty milk jugs, empty jam jars, etc. I hate the kitchen and if I could, I'd shrink it down and only have maybe 4 or 5 feet of counter space. Now, at work it's different... -Work surfaces are never cluttered, if someone leaves a purse or keys on my counter, they are removed within 3 seconds. Tempers are raised about this, but I remain firm. -Dishes never pile up for more than 2 or 3 rack's worth -Always clean as I go. There is only me, myself, and I to cook.

If the recipie is American, I always cut back on the sugar by 20-25%. I never use measuring cups, but directly "translate" the recipie into metric weight before even pulling out any ingredients. Any recipies other than for baking or confectionary are only "guidelines".

We currently have 12 x 12 ceramic tiles in our kitchen at home, and I hate it. Basically, you get what you pay for. Cheap laminates use "termite barf" (a.k.a particle board) as a substrate, and if this ever gets wet, it'll warp and shrink when it eventually dries. Enginereed wood is a bit better, BUT while the top veneer is real wood (take your pick of wood and finish)it's what's under the veneer that matters. If this substrate is softer than the top veneer, then the floor will dent (ie under fridges, heavy furniture, etc.) Solid wood is great, BUT, pay close attention the the tongue and grooves that join ech piece together. Doesn't matter if the solid wood is 1" thick, if the tongue and grooves are 5/16" below the surface, that's all the wood you can remove through succesive refinishes before you come to the actual tongue and groove. Right? Finishes.... There are a lot of new finishes out there, and many of them use aluminum oxide (an abrasive used in grinding wheels and sandpaper)in the finish We had our house done in solid oak with this kind of finish,(excluding kitch. & baths) and within three years of "normal use" (two adults, one 10 yr old boy, one teenage daughter, one dog) heavy traffic areas have worn through. My sister had 12 x 12 cork tile installed in her kitchen last year. I'm curious myself as to how she likes it.

Maybe..... Before and during thunderstorms there is a lot of ozone in the air, and this does wreak havoc with quite a few things.

It's pretty simple. You work in a restaurant and have loose, long hair. Odds are in favour of one of your hairs falling into the food. As a Chef and employer I have absolutely no qualms or cares about long hair AS LONG AS IT IS TREATED PROPERLY Sorry about the screaming it's just common sense, really. -Braid it and coil it, and stuff in a hairnet or a hat. I've had several women who've had waist length hair braided and running under their blouse along the back. (they'd always raid the broccoli or asperagus cases for rubber bands....) Of course, if it's hot in the kitchen, it might make sense to have it cut short. Whole lot more manable, comfortable, and less shampoo needed too.

The varieities of "light" butter I've seen usually have a higher water content, 30% or more as opposed to the regular 18%. Not ideal for baking, as far as I am concerned only good for spreading on bread

Wow...Thought this thread was dead, most of the posts were from April. In all due fairness MattyC, you never said what your hourly wages are, if it is a Union Shop or not, and for comparison, what a cook is earning. It is only the wait staff who take money at the end of a shift,--even if it is only $10.00, everyone else has to wait until payday. But the biggest question that remains is, IF the Hotel were to slap a 18% tip on the bill, do YOU feel you are entitled to the whole 18%? Do you feel you are responsible for the entire dining experience and therefore entitled to a percentage of the entire bill without sharing with anyone else? Tips are tips, and salary is salary. If you feel you are not being compensated enough for your work, why not go to your superiors? If the hotel you are in is a Union shop (as the majority are) why not go to them and ask what can be done? After all they garnishee paychecks irregardless of what happens.

How long to soak? About 10 mins--ice cold water, when you take it out it should be as flacid as wet cling film. Remember NEVER to heat the gelatine over the boiling point of water, or it'll draw threads (get stringy) and loose a lot of it's power. Yup, it's exctly what I mean, as long s the wieght neve goes over 200 gr total for 1 leaf, you're fine. It won't be as delicate as with all-whip cream, but good never-the-less. I usually use "gold" I believe all gold/gold, sheets are the same bloom strength but some mnfctrs cut smaller sheets. Silver is a bit weaker bloom strenght BTW the "diamond" pattern you see on the sheets comes from the fresh wet sheets being dried on a fine-line type of net/drying screen at the factory

"Alaska Express" is a stabilizer plus flavouring agents. Your call. I'm not one much for exprimenting with guar, caragen, agar-agar and locust beans gums, but they are commonly used in many food products. Natural, yes, Refined, definately. Many S.E asian desserts are based on agar-agar. With my 1 leaf gelatine-100 grams puree-100 grams whipped cream I've never had any problems with weeping. I've frozen cast mousses, and thawed them with no bad effects. However, not soaking gelatine long enough will result on the mousse going on a "diet"--that is, the mousse will start to shrink in the middle after a day or two, giving the item an "hourglass" type figure.... Adding cocoa butter or white chocolate to the mix will have a "strengthening effect", as does butter, and if you want to boost your flavour, take away some of the whipped cream and substitute with more puree. By playing with flavour combinations, you can also boost the flavour, ie. adding a bit of raspberry puree to strawbery will boost the strawberry flavour, fresh gragted citrus zest does wonders, a bit of espresso with chocolate flavours, and booze-eau de vies, and other spirits also do a lot to boost flavours. Certain fresh foods like kiwi, figs, and pineapple will kill the gelatin--it just won't set. If you wnat to use the fruits they must be cooked first.

Thanks. Mind's a bit numb this morning--bad combination of heartburn and cold-turkey coffee withdrawl....

I don't operate a restaurant per say, but a small cafe that specializes in pastries and artisanal chocolates, weekends I have a high tea. I do get upset when people start snapping photos of my display cases and my shop itself, as once they take the picture, the image becomes their property and they can do with it as they wish. For this reason I have stickers on my display cases asking not to take pictures. However, once the item is sold, it is sold, and they can take as many photos as they want, and this is usually in my cafe. This usally works very well in my favour, as the photos invariablly end up on facebook or some kind of blog. However the quality of the photo can leave much to be desired, the majority of them are done with a cellphone, and some of them are incorrectly identified/labeled. Oh well, take the good with bad I guess. I do feel for the fine dining establshments though. It is not uncommon for many fine dining places to ask their patrons to put their cellphones on "silent". Perhaps a policy of "admire your food in such a way as not to inconvienience your neighboring patrons and staff?

Yup, that's the consistency. Food processor doesn't get 'em that fine. I do have the meat grinder attachment for the K.A. so I'll give that a try.

Been thinking about how to get a finer almond meal for Jaconde and other items,and was wondering if anyone has ever used a K.A grain mill for this purpose. The mills aren't as popular as other attachments (meat grinder, shredder) but are obtainable. Anyone ever use one, and if so do they work well?

The above is not something I'd want to do in N.America. Have no problems with beer, and have no problems with cooks drinking beer--- as long as it isOFF DUTY, and somewhere away from their place of employment.......

The above mentioned is probably the best way to "clean" a wood countertop, which I do on a daily basis at work, but I don't use a bench scraper...... I use a scraper-scraper, a.k.a. cabinet scraper. This is nothing more than a piece of steel, maybe 3" x 5" with a burr rolled on the edges. Many fine furniture makers and especially musical instrument makers use this tool to smooth wood before applying a finish, and this tool was used looooong before sandpaper (only about 100 years old)was used. The tool itself is dirt-cheap, maybe $10, and many craftsmen make thier own from worn out saws. You can buy one at woodworking tool suppliers like Lee Valley, Rockler, etc. Thier is a learning curve to sharpening and raising a burr on one, but as the above poster mentioned, it is probably the best tool for cleaning wood countertops.

1) Your pizza maker has tasted of the forbidden fruit..... When any of my cooks start whinging to me about tips, I tell them either to take their apron off and go into the dining room, or to keep it on and work in the kitchen. Thier choice, but they have to make up their minds NOW!!!! Yes, minimum sucks, BUT...... If the waiters were hired without the express instructions that tips would be shared, and now they suddenly are, you will have trouble on your hands. Your pizza maker's loyalty lies with whomever can cover his rent. Either he works p/t as bartender, or f/t as pizzaollo, but not both. Or you will have trouble on your hands..........

A cow is a whole animal, there are no "cheap cuts"..... There are, however, cuts that are ideal for grilling or sauteing, cuts that are ideal for roasting, and cuts that are ideal for braising, or a combination of smoking and long moist heat methods, and the umm..."economical" cuts fall under this category.

Actually Ikea has some good countertops, NOT tables per say, but solid wood countertops. These come in widths of 24" and 30" and lengths of 4, 6, and 8'and are about 1 1/2" thick. They come in beech, birch, or red oak. Beech is your best option. Remember, s/s is only a thin piece of metal, it's what's under the s/s that counts. I have in the past glued marine grade plywood underneath s/s tables to provide support and weight, but the glue will weaken over time, flexing, and heat from pots/pans. Most s/s table tops will buckle and warp temporarily if you place hote pots/pans/aking trays on them. You can have your cake and eat it too.... Get your wood countertop of choice and go to any sheet metal mnfctr to make you a "cap" for the table. This is bascially a shallow open box that sits on your table providing you with a s/s skin. You can remove it or keep it on as many times as you wish Larger restaurant suppliers will have an in-house sheetmetal/s/s shop, and in any large city there are sheet metal guys that specialize in s/s.

Both materials have pros and cons. S/S will take alot of abuse, scratches, hot pots & pans, etc. with a smile. That being said, what's more important is what's under the s/s skin. Most commercial s/s tables are made with a thin guage s/s skin (18 guage) with two sheet metal channels underneath to support. The table won't tolerate a table top mixer, as it will shake and dance itself off the table, nor is it very fun to do any doughwork as the table will wiggle and bounce. Wood is wonderfull to do doughwork on, it is rock solid and you can thump and flop the dough around without worry. Wood scratches easy, it scorches when hot pots are put on it, it readily accepts food stains, metal stains (wet metal laying ontop of it) but more importantly many people find that a wood countertop is a cutting board and will cut/chop directly on top of it. These are the pros and cons of each material, now you have to make up your mind or choose another material....