Chef Fowke

The nicety about European cutlery etiquette is the placement of the cutlery between bites. The knife and fork placed to the left means you are finished with the plate/course. A fork and knife on either side of the plate mean you are going to continue eating after a short interlude into conversation, etc. These visual signs make etiquette much easier for the server and other guest to recognize where the individual is at in the dining experience.

Thank you for all the help! I cannot believe all the information I have gained this week. I will not be online this weekend, I have to get ready for the function. I will save every bottle of wine and the tasting information on the food and will post it on Tuesday. Again, thank you for the help! I am really excited (and a lot poorer) about the wines I will be drinking on Monday.

I am not really concerned about the price. Everyone is bringing a couple of bottles to taste so I am only on the hook for a few bottles. I would like to keep it under $100 a bottle (CAN), I am paying for all the food and the fresh goose liver is going for $94 a pound. More importantly, I am a Chef who loves wine but does not know as much as I would like. At the party there will be a lot of 'wine geeks', beverage managers and restaurant people. I would like to produce something that is unique and interesting. So far I have picked up a 1990 Chateau Saint-Pierre (Saint Julienne, Domaines Henri Martin) and a 1998 Chateau Neuf du Pape, Beaucastel. BC Wine link: http://www.bcliquorstores.com/en/products?...mber=1&search=1

Not to get to scientific; 1} There is two types of fat in venison that melt at different temperatures. You want to chill the stock to set the fat, slowly heat it up and skim the fat and purities away to create a clear stock that is not bitter. 2} The cheesecloth filters out and suspended particles that when cooked for a long period of time will become bitter. As well you want the stock to be thickened with the natural thickening agents of the marrow, not with suspended particles.

Pheasants are farmed in British Columbia. In the spring you get very young, sweet birds. Come on by and I will cook one for you, it will be the best pheasant you every had and you will not have ot spit out buckshot.

It is so easy to cook for people who love food! I understand that a lot of the details are lost on the average diner. It was great to have 'Malawry' in because she TASTED the food and enjoyed it for what it was. No sauce, no chutney and no ketchup. I have the best purchaser in the country buying fish for me. Not to mention one of the best brigades cooking it. Malawry, we did 400 covers the night you were in. How did the room feel?

AAAAHHH, for once it is good to be Canadian! Glace de Gibier. I use it in everything. It is so rich and when done properly does not have a gamey taste. It is important not to add any alcohol when making the stock. You need to treat it like a lamb stock. When reducing it down to a glace you need to pace it through cheesecloth and chill it every 1/6 in reduction to eliminate bitterness. I used it this fall for a monkfish osso bucco...it was absolutely amazing!

I believe we should all appoint Steven (Fat Guy) as our new modern Escoffier and have him define the new Nomenclature for food! If not him, who else? Long live Fat Guy!

I host an annual dinner for local members of the food industry, food suppliers, wine makers and wine suppliers. I have chosen to serve Cote de Rhone wines. I have always served big Californian Cabs, etc at these functions. I love Oregon Pinot Noir. But the reality in Canada is that you can get great French wines, cheap. Forgetting about politics I think the value is in the south of France. My education is limited in this region. I know it is easy to go out and buy a $80 bottle (retail) of French wines. I would like to find obscure, different wines from this region. Can anyone direct me towards 'the next great thing' or great, unappreciated classics coming out of the Cote de Rhone? Amuse-gueules A l'envers Tarte de Tomate Terrine de pomme de Foie Gras Nicoise rôti de Morue de Ling Cromesquis (Foie gras et truffle perdent) Tarte aux asperges Le thym A Battu les Jambes de Grenouille avec Aioli d'Ail Les Escargots d'ail ‘Petite Gris’ Provencal Entrees Le Faisan de Ferme de Aldergrove avec les olives de Nicoiseet les Prunes de Okanagan Confit de lapin avec Provencal d'Herbe et l'Huile d'olives extra-Vierge Le Chargement français de Saucisson avec Moutarde de Meaux La cocotte A Rôti ‘Libre A Couru’ le Poulet avec Lardon et Germaine de St de Sauce Cassoulet de Saucisson de Merguez Desserts oeur un la Crème Tarte au Citron

What we need is a modern champion of food terms and definitions. Escoffier defined continuity in recipes. Larousse Gastronomique gave us a dictionary of classic recipes. We need to tighten the nomenclature of culinary. I am growing tired of ordering a Caesar salad and getting a romaine salad with a garlic dressing. I hate when I order a bouillabaisse and I do not get rouille! It is a sad state of culinary when we cannot even have a standardized name for a mushroom! Oops….sorry, I vent a life long struggle. I love the modern cuisine, but I believe in the classics being cooked in the manner they were originally meant to be.

I will try to explain: BECAUSE IT DOES. Steven, let me have this one! Let’s see, I trained for five years in four countries at a large personal cost after I left University. Let me see, does it matter...throwing ingredients in a bowl. Yes, it is all about the ingredients in the bowl. It really does come down to the mixing of specific products in very specific amount that makes the whole! That’s what makes the food that chefs do better then what you do at home. We know how to 'throw' togeather a bunch of different products and it comes out a great creation!!! As Escoffier spent his life developing, the recipe is the key to all food. And to be more specific, you want to eat a great Cobb Salad, 'a bunch of food thrown togeather in a bowl', go to the Palm restaurant and pay the $25us at lunch and you will eat something that is truly great!

I am amazed that a single person in North America has lived past thirty with this recipe floating around! It should be called the American Heart Attack Salad. This recipe has no right calling itself a salad. Most people think of salads as being healthy not something that can instantly kill you. American Streaky & Hot Pork Salad 1 packet Verkerks American Streaky Bacon 1 packet Verkerks Hot Pork 3 hard-boiled eggs 150g button mushrooms 2 tomatoes croutons Finish with a blue cheese dressing & serve on mixed leaves Join the Shoppers Club called "Verkerks Gourmet Review"

Are you referring to the Kentucky Cornbread Salad or the Mexican Cornbread Salad? Yummy, I cannot get enough of the bacon and pickle juice combination!

From The Flat Possum Gazette (If you cannot believe the Flat Possum who can you beleive?) Julia and her folks ate at a restaurant in Tijuana named Caesar's, owned by Caesar Cardini, and Julia remembers Caesar himself rolling the cart up to the table, tossing the romaine in a great wooden bowl and breaking two eggs over the lettuce, and add garlic flavored croutons, oil and Parmesan cheese. Man! What a memory this old girl had. Julia says that Caesar Cardini invented the Caesar salad in 1924 in Tijuana, Mexico. She also says that the romaine leaves were not cut or broken up, but were left whole and you were supposed to pick up the leaf by the stem end and eat it with your fingers. And I suppose you let the dressing and raw egg run down the inside of your wrist into your shirt sleeve.

I would like to personally thank all Americans for the Cobb Salad! My all time favorite salad. I love the fact that the owner of the Brown Derby was drunk when he was stumbling through his kitchen at 2:00am and threw together this classic!! Isn't this just every chef's nightmare? Can you imagine the mess in the morning.... empty wine bottles, egg on the ceiling, chunks of turkey stuck to the cutting boards, etc. Question: should there be black olives in a Cobb Salad?

Cannon beach would be my choice of spots to visit on the coast, especially if you are doing the drive up from California! You go through a lot of small fishing villages that offer great fish right off the boats. Shacks along the way cook the regional seafood. It is truly spectacular. And for an odd suggestion from me...There is a pizza shop down a small alley across from the general store in downtown Cannon Beach! It is the best pizza I have ever had. And as a bonus there is a wine shop that is stocked with great, old Bordeaux and big Californian Cabs. My vacation each year is a three-week trip down from Vancouver to Ensanada, Mexico. We boot it down the inner valley in three days and take the rest of the time to drive back along the coast. The Oregon coast is by far my favorite part of the trip (with the exception of Carmel and the Carmel Valley Resort). Enjoy your trip!

The simple things are always the best in French cuisine! Aile de Raie aux Câpres

Not to simplify this topic.... 'If you’re going to take the time to do something well you might as well do it for money as well'.

Stun the fish and bleed it for atleast 15 minutes to improve the quality of the meat and to lower the temperature then chill it in a slush bath (two parts ice to one part seawater). This will give you a 'sashimi like' quality. Email me and I will forward a full manual on bleeding, killing and storing Sashimi grade tuna.

So I graduated from University with a degree in Literature. I am not a writer. I did not go to cooking school; rather I kicked around North America and Europe working for Relais aux Chateau. I guess my answer goes back to the basics. There are Chefs and there are kitchen managers and all types of combinations of the two. One entertains and the other feeds. A tangent to this topic would be why did we choose to be Chefs and what drives us to work the hours and put so much passion into what we do. Is a copy-write lawyer as passionate about his job?

What ever happened to a Chef being a professional who lives his life to cook and manages a business that happens to be a kitchen! I have paid my dues, worked the long hours and am now working the long hours and making some money! The long hours are what makes you a Chef! You start working the long hours because you want to. I get up in the morning and go to the docks because I want to talk to the fisherman and see whats new, not because I am paying my dues to my restaurant managers/partners. I drive 45 miles in the morning to talk to the farmer who is growing mixed fields of lettuce that he harvests for me daily for my mesclum mix because it is my passion. I work 12 -14 hours a day, but the reality is 6 - 8 I do because I love it, I want to be in the kitchen and I want to be socializing with my customers. I am a Chef. My responsibility as a chef makes me work the other 4 hours and do the accounting and other financial tasks. Now, the dialogue we are having seems to be deviating because of nomenclature. Are we trying to define Chefs, or are we trying to group Chefs, kitchen managers and food scientists all in the same category? Are you still a Chef if you develop a line of frozen food? You might be; is it a product that entertains the palette or is it a product that just meets your nutritional needs?

Sorry, you are right... We estimate $3.15 a table of four for linen, plate/small ware cost (annualizes cost over the year), washing of cutlery, polishing of cutlery and servers/bussers time setting the table.

Interesting... Yes, a Chef needs to pay his dues and learn all aspects of the kitchen. Yes, he needs to be a great (or at least a good) cook. The Chef is the leader of the cuisine in his restaurant. His soul needs to be the embodiment of the product he is presenting to his guests. But most importantly a great Chef needs to be a cultural icon. If respect is not present in the position the Chef will not attract the talent he needs to accomplish his culinary goals. A kitchen is a brigade working through teamwork to a common goal of culinary mastery. The Chef needs to be a mentor and lead the team through recruiting and training the talent necessary to accomplish the task at hand. The true sign of a successful Chef is the abilities of his Sous Chefs and brigade and the jobs they land when they move on to new employment!

Interesting note: I just finished service tonight and I am still laughing! We had a customer, very polite and genuine, who just arrived in Vancouver after a long flight and was being entertained by friends. All he wanted was to have a 'burger' and retire to his hotel room. How much did the special order cost (we have a burger at lunch, not at dinner)? · Cost of lunch steak we ground (we had no lunch burgers available) $3.45 · Labour of finding garnish and preparing (10 minutes @ $12.50 and hour) $2.08 · Cost of garnish $0.48 · Hand cut fries $0.25 · Condiments $0.45 Total Cost $6.71 Selling price: $11.25 Cost: 60% How many special requests can a restaurant afford to do? The cost does not include utilities, bread/butter ($0.62/per customer), linen ($3.15 per table of four), entertainment (piano player), washing the dishes, rent, utilities, guest supplies and labour. I believe I just lost money having this guest in for dinner. I really enjoyed the guest; he was friendly, polite and tipped the server 18%. Just some food for thought…

"T" that brings us to a good point. It is people like Jason, my purchaser/AM Sous Chef that really makes a big restaurant run smoothly. Jason takes all the 'abuse' due to any sub-standard products that might have snuck into the building, spends countless hours procuring exciting, new products, maintains a huge perishable inventory, deals with all contractors and repairman, inventories and purchases all small wares and equipment, runs a lunch program that averages 200 covers a day and is in charge of training new cooks. Us Chefs look good because of our key employees (Sous Chefs) and the hard work they do for very little positive feedback and less pay then they deserve in a very hot and stress filled environment. Jason has been working with me going on three years and he is the one of the icons in the kitchen. The culture started with the two of us. His passion, working directly in the trenches, with the brigade day in and day out is where the new momentum started. I could not have accomplished half of what I have achieved without his support and loyalty. With that said, come to the restaurant at lunch but make sure to give Jason a call first! He is a brilliant Sous Chef who will do amazing food for you and he will guarantee you culinary satisfaction. I guess he deserves a raise (next year)…