Niki Heber

I'm currently going through culinary school, and working full time between 2 restaurants. a little background: i went into culinary school (a 1 year AAS program) knowing EVERYTHING they taught for the first 4 months. I knew how to make stock, how to saute, knew my knife cuts and knew 2 ways to make a consomme, etc.etc. The most useful bits of information I got out of the school was from Cost Control, Nutrition, Human Resources and Management, and Garde Manger. if you know alot of the basics of cooking, you might as well skip culinary school if you are going just to learn to cook. Find a restaurant that'll hire you (even a horrible place is a good start, always just set your goals higher). Study cookbooks, read trade magazines and cookbooks, and watch quality cooking programs that explain alot of deeper cooking terminology (I learned alot by watching 'good eats' a few years ago). If you have a good work ethic and are willing to work for a good chef a few times for free, you can get in with some really good chefs.

the inventory portion will be probably tricky... cause it's really hard to quantify your inventory numbers. it all shows in your food cost percent. standard (ideal) for the industry is about 30% Food cost, 30% labor cost... but the lower, the better. if you can use statements like 'took weekly inventory of perishable and non-perishable assets' and BACK UP THAT STATEMENT before and after you get hired, you will definitely more than likely be hired (or at the least given a job interview). Of course in some cases, a weekly inventory is impossible, but if you can keep a steady, detailed inventory over a fiscal period (bi-weekly or at the very least once every 4 weeks), you will do wonders for your resume, skill set, and restaurant. even putting on your resume that you have done bi-weekly inventory or taken inventory regularly throughout the fiscal period shows that you understand the business aspect and that you take it seriously enough to put it in precious resume space.

another thing that works well is when you talk about previous positions and how business was during those times. did you keep food cost down? did you keep labor cost manageable? how about profits? did they go up or down? and can you get information to back up your claims? I think people are more likely to hire you for higher up positions if you can really show solid numbers.

i gotta say homemade curry is my fave. i like it cold with hot rice, or hot with cold rice. so delicious.

this was my FOH manager: after cleaning the employee bathroom spotless, the manager took some chocolate ganache and smeared it all over the toilet seat. when the next person to enter the bathroom saw that, they made a huge fuss ("who $#!+ all over the toilet?!?!?!) and everybody was crowding around to check it out. when the front of house manager came by to check, he was told the situation and went to look at the toilet. in front of everyone, without missing a beat, the manager bent down, took some 'poop' onto his finger, stuck his finger in his mouth and said "oh, that's kevin's"

dream job: saucier at le bernardin. that's it. i'd be happy and set.

this is truth. having managed and cooked at a few restaurants, this is exactly how we like it. i remember a dinner service once where we had 80+ (with more at the bar) seated in our dining room. people were ordering apps and entrees together and then we'd get the occasional table that orders the courses separately. average ticket time (the time from when the ticket comes into the kitchen to when all the food has left) for the two courses was about 40 - 45 minutes. not bad when it's 4 people cooking for 80+. for the tickets where people had apps and entrees separately, the average combined ticket time (from when the first order for apps came in, and then the time the entree went out the door) averaged out to be around an hour to an hour and a half. Also, there have been times when people had to wait extra long since after ordering their apps and eating it, decide that they want a big steak med well to well done. nothing gets a grill cook angrier than trying to rush a steak (especially if they take pride in their work). and for all the non-industry people out there; the 6 minute well done steak. Take one steak, toss in microwave for 2-3 minutes depending on size. throw directly into deep fryer to sear and crisp up the outside for 2 minutes. throw on grill for the marks. send it out. lesson: don't order well done. i've only seen this done once, but the customer was being irrational (i believe it was an 18 ounce t-bone. and he wanted it quick so he and his wife could catch the show at the theater... in 20 minutes). when asked later if the customer liked the steak, the server told me he chomped it down with a smile on his face. oh hi, by the way. first post.