BPBNY

a few things that i have found that are steps to making good foams that are not written in many manuals are always when doing a cold foam it is best to chill the canister first. When using gelatin it is usually best to chill for two hours before adding the mixture and then let sit overnight. You usually never need more than two sheets of gelatin for a quart of mixture. Rick Tramanto's Amuse Bouche book has a whole chapter on isi canister foams from potato to anchovy. My favorite was one i found here on egullet for watermelon. 500 ml Watermelon blended and strained 50ml lemon juice 50ml orange juice 2 gelatin sheets softened in water sit over night I use it to top my watermelon-strawberry soup with feta sorbet. It comes out best 2-3 days into resting. Not sure why. For hot foams use agar. Lecithin in an isi container has never crossed my mind. Lecithin produces a very differnet foam/bubbles/air You can freeze cold foams from an isi container in liquid nitrogen and get a really cool spongey texture.

The kitchen is not upfront, they have two chef tables in the kitchen though. I wrote a letter to the residing chef Stephen Lyons stating how uncouth it was to not warn someone of this and not only say you can't work here, but not even have the decency to go through with ones commitment of providing shelter for the night. I received no response. Like I said earlier, it is what it is, I got a far better job opportunity. Also, there are no two sides of the story. There was nothing said about appearance over the three telephone interviews. But we are losing focus of the topic!!! How horrible Alex is!

The "herpe girl" thing has grown beyond tired for those of us who are out of highschool. His place, his rules. At least you got a cookie. well then his rules are as ancient as himself and his cooking. Anyone who thinks that doing that to a professional deserves to not be in the industry.. This year there is no creativity. The chefs are just scraping by trying to survive. Maybe a few weeks from now we will see a dish with some thought behind it from someone other than Kenny and Ed.

I make an awesome turnip vichyssoise. It's vegan too! But you would never know it. Peel and cut tunips in eighths. Sautee in a rondeaux with two WHITE onion on very low heat until par-cooked Add three IDAHO potatoes. Finish cooking until almost knife tender. Add veg stock. Puree in blender and pass through a chinoise three times, washing inbetween uses. thin to desired thickness/thiness (vichyssoise should have a nice fluidity to it) and season. Garnish with Maldon salt, chive tips, and a very nice olive oil. It's smooth and creamy with no CREAM! It's only vegan by default im sure it would be great with chicken stock as long as it is a good crystal clear stock. this stuff is seriously delicious.

I cant believe how angry i got a person on tv about the whole pea puree thing. I wanted to just leap through the tv screen and give alex a good shake and smack. Whether he took it or not he is a hack. He works sloppy, he is all over the place, and he is so arrogant about his plates. Herpe girl (Amanda) seems like she just got out of school and is finding a hobby to kill some time. She also mentioned shes a recovering drug addict but im pretty sure i saw her downing a beer in the stew room. This upsets me in the same way that Bourdain basically acts like its totally cool to have a drug addiction and drink as long as you dont do drugs. Makes me mad. I've seen a lot of good cooks fall below their potential due to this. Patrick O'Connell looks like a character from family guy. He is also insanely close minded. I drove from NYC to the inn for a kitchen trail and they were suppose to put me up. Upon arriving i was given a uniform and then in the middle of my tour i was told by HR that they could not have me work there or put me up that night after a six hour drive because i had some visible tattoos. They sent me on my way and offered me what they called a "bag lunch" but then they were out so i received a cookie. Great 6 hour drive for a cookie. Screw them, I got a job at Alinea anyways. I do have some chefs that i like though. Kenny, Kelly, Angelo, and i even like Tamesha. But the talent this year is definately not on par with last.

east village super cheap great spot is 6th street kitchen on 6th street between a and b. Really inventive fun food. Out the door under 50 buck a person. No reservations. Pretty quiet, open kitchen, great food and service.

We will be staying at hotel blake in ???south loop??? Not sure whats around here that two mid-twenties with culinary careers would find interesting. We just got in an hour ago. We are dining at alinea tonight, tru tomorrow night for desserts only and schwa tuesday. Then i am doing a two day trail at Alinea wed. and thurs which will take up the entire day wed and thurs. We have our nights planned just not a cheap dinner tomorrow night before dessert at tru and all of our days today tomorrow and tuesday.

That all sounds AWESOME thanks so much!!!

hmmm... are there any awesome dessert bars in the area? Inventive pastry creations?

Where are the best dessert spots or place to get ice cream in chicago. We are visiting tomorrow through thursday and have all our dinners planned but we are looking for good sweet treat place as well. Any suggestions?

Not all of them are thrown away. Some get boxed up and taken home by the staff so significant others like me can eat them!!!

I guess thats true, but i feel like it almost a no brainer. Of course i should cut my hair to look presentable but the thing that I would hate if it's just plain unecessary. Also has anyone staged there for employment before? I know its a different process than an average week-3 month stage. I have two days to prove my worth. Any tips?

ITS COMING OFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Im doing a two day trail at Alinea very soon and i have gathered much information as to tools to bring and what happens at these trails that are different than other top restaurants around the world. I have found almost all the information i need except one big detail. Hair. I have a lot. After seeing pictures of no one wearing hats or anything im freaked out. I really would like to give a great impression and i will cut all of my hair off to do this stage but i do not want to if it is unecessary. Any tips? Any extra information to give so i can be extra prepared. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity and i do not want to muck it up. Thanks in advance!

I used to live and work in Savannah for quite some time. I think you hould avoid the major traps like lady and sons and river street and explore more through midtown and other parts of the downtown area. If these foloowing restaurants are still open i would definately check them out... Cha Bellas (i used to be the chef) they are great and really focued on local product and seasonality. The alligator lounge is awesome and so is elizabeths on 37th. This was all upwards to 4 years ago so things can change but if they are still around i would check them out.

i dont get it at all. I've done nothing but savory for 11 years. In the past 6 months i've taken an interest in recreating my dessert menu to something i think is fantastic using basic pastry techniques any chef should know and using the knowledge of flavor profiles. It shouldnt be that hard to do an amazing dessert for top chef. Memorize a basic sorbet recipe, ice cream recipe, cake recipe and use flavors that are intriguing.

That dude jon was the scariest man i have ever seen on top chef. The eyes...THE EYES!!!

Ok so at the restaurant we are transfering to a summer menu, and while i have most items in place there are a few items we are coming to halt in execution. These items are... Savory Cold fried chicken- we do small plates, sharing/appetizer portions, the idea is to do a buttermilk fried chicken thigh and serve it with a mini waffle, maple-tobasco, and pickled cauliflower. THE PROBLEM How do we execute this keep it cold and still be somewhat crispy? Im going to get some meat glue to keep the thigh uniform and cook evenly throughout. Im more just worried about the texture of the outside. Feta sorbet- Used for a cold watermelon soup that im going to season savory. THE PROBLEM I have looked everywhere for a recipe to build off of. Some kind of cheese sorbet and i can find nothing. One chef talks about a feta sorbet he used but there is no recipe. How would this differ than any other high fat sorbet? Or would it differ at all Sweet Pliable Chocolate- We started with an idea to do a tootsie roll dessert using chocolate plastic and rolling it in cocoa powder, pairing it with buttermilk sherbert, and poached cherries. THE PROBLEM The texture is not fufilling. Too chewy and not creamy. I wanted to maybe to a pliable chocolate like stupak or achatz but i dont want to use any chemicals. Any ideas? Thats about it. If i can figure these things out i can finish my menu and start it next week. Thanks in advance for the help.

At my restaurant for a first course I serve Carrot soup with crispy veal sweetbreads and pickled ramps. Its quite good. Ill shoot a picture later.

Yeah there is obviously no skin on that picture

One of the sous chefs of per se presented it

i love pork, i love pigskin. After my girlfriend attended a meat seminar encouraged by her workplace per se, she over heard me ordering pork belly and she immediately started saying "order it with no skin". So apparently pigs process all the bodies toxins in there skin, just like humans. They eat a lot of food devoid of nutrition "pig slop", feces, other pigs. Now this is only true of inferior conditions. Your kurubuta pork, berkshire pork, and your other natural raised product might differ in toxicity levels, but for the most part all the toxic bacteria in pigs is pushed out through their skin. Doesnt really stop me from eating it ON OCCASION though

So toxic.

i agree with blether, from what mattyc has said it seems like he has jumped around a lot of jobs in the few years he has been a cook in order to hold all the positions he has had. I am 25. I am the chef of a restaurant in manhattan, i have never had age discrimination in nyc, d.c., or savannah, ga. where i have held nothing but chef de cuisinejobs and chef jobs since the age of 20. You have to be humble and know your strengths and weakness's and be honest about them with your employers. At least that has worked in my case. And as for hiring people, i would take a mid twenties cook any day over an older cat.

HOT DOUGS!!!! Ive heard so much about that place, i also heard it randomly closes and there is always a line but i definately want to check it out. All we want to do is slum it for lunch so any underground spots with good food cheap are welcome....