brandonscott

I agree... I have found almost all of my previous positions by networking through my Chef, owners, etc. The issue I am having now is that I am employed as a sous under an amazing guy who is well known within the industry- but I have climbed as high as possible under him. He said that there were many places he could send me to cook- all of which I have been doing for the past 10 years. I feel like I shot myself in the foot... years ago I had many friends who were taking Chef positions, and Im sure i could have found one too, but I didnt want just any crap restaurant/catering career- nor did I want to limit my craft to what I knew skillwise at the time. I look at where they are now, and Im glad I stuck it out and really learned to cook and run a kitchen. At the same time though, my wife is pregnant with twins and I need to make more than line wages. Not that its about money...if it was I probably would have jumped ship long ago.

I have been cooking for a long time. Since I was 16, and I am 31 now. I have done stages at awesome European restaurants and worked for James Beard nominated chefs. I have performed all the tasks of an Exec. chef- like running a succesful restaurant, food costing, blah blah blah... just w/o the exec. chef title. My resume reflects all this and I feel that I am ready to take on the position. The problem is where do I look? I know there is craigslist, monster, etc... but those are mainly fast food, chain restaurant FOH management and the like. More specialized sites like starchefs.com are very limited. Does anybody know of other ways to find good head chef positions? Thanks

I have done a prosciutto with duck breast, and thought about adapting the recipe... but my next question, like Mjx mentioned was the safety issue... Is the danger of pathogens when working with chicken inherent? Or is it from the conditions of intensive farming? A little off subject, but a valid detour. Not really wanting a confit. More like a bacon cure or a ham cure... I want a way to make turkey more enjoyable- to really transform it.

We all know you can brine a bird, smoke a turkey, etc... I am looking for info on preserving turkey & chicken through a curing process. The googlenet has suprisingly little info on the subject. Any knowledge would be appreciated.

One of my favorites... I was the garde manger chef at a french place a few years back. We would get a lot of very green culinary school grads and stages who would start off under my supervision. Among other things, we were responsible for putting out family meal everyday (BOH & FOH sat around a table, together, to eat). I would always give the newbs a "take initiative" or "set yourself apart" speech... so just before eating, I would find one particularly green stage and tell them to 'take initiative' by leading the family meal with a prayer. This was always met with a confused look from the stage- but with just a little more convincing and a straight face it would occasionally work. The will to impress is a powerul one. And because there is usually no room for religion in a restaurant, especially this one, the looks on the staffs face was priceless. Laughter followed.

There is a big difference between rapidly cooling something, and rapidly freezing the surface of something...convection/conduction....What exactly are you trying to accomplish?

I was recently reading on cookingissues.com about a method of butchering fish called "ike jime". It is a japanese method where the fish is slaughtered and bled in such a way that the muscles "don't know they are dead" and makes for a much better product. This all has to with the various stages of rigor mortis and energy stored within the fish. (search the website for ike jime to read more, its very interesting) The most basic explanation is that the less a fish struggles, the better the fish in taste and texture. Which brings me to my question....Wanting to be as eco-conscious as possible, yet still get the best product, when faced with purchasing line caught vs mass farmed tuna. Now, I know the line caught tuna is the sustainable choice...but would it not have put up quit a fight, making the pin farmed tuna a superior product? In other tests I have read there is a huge differene in quality when comparing stressed and non-stressed fish (google it). Just curious, what do you think?

I have read many articles and stories that have all said the whole romantic notion of the cattle being combed and fed sake and grains is a load of bulls!@t...(get it). They are treated like any other free range cattle. With that said, and to answer your question...I doubt it. They are a nicely fat marbled breed, so perhaps the liver has more fat naturally. And depending on the diet, that fat can have a lot of flavor...and of course you can always add sake when cooking it.

-razor clams -fresh water prawns -catfish....if you can make catfish taste really good, you are talented in my opinion!..and its always in season. -iguana...from S. America, its cheap and has a unique texture

I think it comes down to a pride issue. A restaurant where people work "just to get by", ie fast food and other major chains...these people often don't care. They have no investment in the place. What do they care if there are rats everywhere???? But a place that is owned by somebody who is passionate, or worked a long time to get the place...or a place that is staffed by people that love food, are working through the industry for experience and hope to one day lead a kitchen themselves probably take a lot more pride in what they do.

If there is a food that a chef doesnt like or is even disgusted by, I dont think that food would even be considered when creating a dish. Great chefs are great because of what they love...from food and ingredients to the creative process- and even the type of dining they choose behind their craft. You can't be 100% behind a dish and disgusted by it at the same time. Especially in this all-or-go-home profession.

...but you have to serve them in giant jugs

I'm in Texas..Austin to be specific. We havn't felt the recession like the rest of the country. We are, however, feeling the season...and this summer is slower than most. Where is everybody located that you are experiencing this downward economy?

you could have a "walk the plank" roll. Where you make a roll with the fillings of choice, but just enough that every person gets one piece. You stuff one piece full of wasabi, and place it wasabi side down. Everybody closes eyes, grabs a piece, chews and swallows...the unlucky person who grabbed the wasabi filled piece (and is now steaming from the ears) "just walked the plank '. It's a pirates take on the russian roulette roll.

pack in salt and let sit for a few hours in fridge, clean them off and toss with vinegar and let sit for a few mins...after that as long as they are submerged in fat you are good to go. I like olive oil, not extra virgin, and you can add anything you want for flavor...citrus, mustard,garlic & herbs etc. That is pretty basic, and I am not sure how long they keep- we make the three times a week or so. It's really just a confit, so I imagin it keeps for a while....oh, and make sure you clean and scale the fish before hand