Twyst

Im also in the duck fat or bacon fat clan. Never had a problem with sticking and adds great flavor. In a restaurant setting I stick to clarified butter (and the only nonstick pan in the kitchen!)

Bread Machine, shmed machine! No need to shell out money for another appliance if you are on a budget. Making basic bread can be extremely easy, especially if you go the no knead bread route

This is an excellent suggestion. On a side note, in the OP Fine Dining was mentioned as a target marketing demographic. I would not waste any time or money pursuing this for two reasons, most fine dining restaurants do not use prefab food and you stated your crew specializes in volume over precision. Your best targets are going to be non corporate fast/casual restaurants and catering, as HungryC suggested. .

I like these http://www.webstaurantstore.com/3-non-stick-round-egg-ring-2-pack/3278400.html

I end up bringing the stuff to work with me that Im not going to use and make something to put out with family meal. They offer a weekly half share, or you can get a share every 2 weeks if thats what you would prefer. I also get farm fresh eggs from them every week, but they get used up in like 3 days We have also started using the same company as one of our main produce suppliers at work as well, so they are getting really big. Honeslty the stuff they dont put in the farm shares is a lot nicer and has a lot more variety. the stuff they sell at farmers markets and the stuff they sell to restaurants is GORGEOUS, so Im thinking about stopping taking the share boxes.

I can't take credit for it, they send us a picture at the beginning of every week showing what they are going to be dropping off My box doesn't actually get delivered until friday' This is my CSA in case anyone is interested https://jbgorganic.com/

We get shares year round here in Austin, but my favorite time of the year is definitely the next month or so. TOMATO TIME!!!! Ive supplemented my normal box with 10 pounds of san marzanos, 10 pounds of yellow mix and 10 pounds of heirlooms next week. Going to be eating/cooking a lot of tomatoes in the coming 3 weeks >< here is this weeks box from my CSA

I'm definitely in the minority, but I find Gail hotter than Padma. She did a demo on the same stage we were on for the Food & Wine festival in Austin last year and it took all of my focus to get any work done

Starts on July 24 contestants http://eater.com/archives/2013/06/05/top-chef-masters-season-5-contestants-announced.php Also, it seems ths season has an "Adventure theme" It sounds TERRIBLE

If you are not going to present the whole rack at the table I would break it down before cooking if you are going to cook it SV. Roasting the whole rack in an oven vs roasting individual chops gives a dramatic difference, but if you are cooking SV Im not sure how much of a difference there would be.

So embarrassing, but every couple of months I break down and make Hamburger Helper Cheeseburger Macaroni. I'll get my coat.

For Asian meets French I really like "the asian flavors of jean-georges"

The number of people who are choosing to go dairy and gluten free is also getting really annoying, and more annoying than that are the steadily number of people who don't inform restaurants of dietary restrictions when they make their reservations (we even make it a point to ask when they make their reservation). I work in a restaurant that only offers a tasting menu, so if we don't know you are coming in with a GF, dairy free, allergic to onions and garlic dietary request you probably aren't going to get anywhere near the quality of food you would have had we had time to prepare for you.

Water lists (and even water sommeliers in a few places!). Ridiculous.

Franklin's BBQ has begun to market their sauce in grocery stores locally here, not sure if it's nationwide yet. This place has people lining up for at least 4 hours before it opens for BBQ and a lot of people say its the best brisket/bbq in the country. The sauces are really good and not overly sweet. Im not sure its worth the wait and the CRAZY nationwide public and media following it has, but it is very very good. http://franklinbarbecue.com/

Now available for $89 on preorder from amazon US

At my local butcher shop there is a big difference in price for prime vs choice on strips an ribeyes (over $16 per pound difference), yet for filet the difference is only in the $2-4 range as there really isnt that much more marbling in the prime filet than in the choice filet (because its a filet). I'm guessing that due to the nature of the roast cuts there isn't really a big enough difference to drive demand for a separate market for it so it al gets sold together.

I would as well. I think Id really like one on baking and pastry this time around as I really don't know much about that stuff. The photo album will definitely have a spot on my coffee table though.

Third book coming from NathanM in as many years, though this is the first one solely credited to him. This thing is going to be HUUUUUGE as its reported to be 60% larger than the original tomes. http://modernistcuisine.com/2013/05/announcing-our-new-book-the-photography-of-modernist-cuisine/ http://eater.com/archives/2013/05/22/nathan-myhrvold-releasing-art-book-the-photography-of-modernist-cuisine-this-fall.php

Paul left uchiko shortly after top chef, but it definitely helped its national visibility when he won. Tyson cole (exec. Chef) won the best chef sw. James beard award right before top chef aired, then Paul won it as chef de cuisine the following year, which is pretty crazy!Austin is really lucky to have these restaurants, they would hold their own in any city in the world and they are a great training ground for up and coming cooks. There is really a heavy emphasis on teaching in those kitchens once you prove yourself, and cooks who have gone through their kitchens are starting to do great things. Paul has his east side king trailers open right now, and qui should be opening soon.

Actually I live in Austin, but Im sure you probably hate it here too.

Yeah, before Katrina and the BP oil spill nobody had even heard of New Orleans or cajun/creole food. My money is on Portland! (although I wouldnt be shocked to see them go back to SF and do some Napa with it either since SF was season 1)

We also have Uchi/ko which is getting a ton of national attention now

I'm a giant hypocrite when it comes to this topic. I want to know about the food Im putting out. If something is not properly cooked/seasoned etc I definitely want it brought to my attention. However, when I go out to eat I NEVER complain, especially to the chef if he asks how everything was. Even in large cities, cooks are a fairly tight knit group, everyone kind of knows each other and I am just polite and sometimes force down some bad food.