Lounge Lizard

Having just completed a road trip last week I noticed a trend of "branding" the kids menus. Kraft Mac and Cheese, Kool Aid drinks, Jello Brand desserts etc. I wondered if the resteruants serving these items recieve discounts on the purchases in order to have the brands on all the tent cards? Even the coloring books provided to the kids featured brand name charcters.

I have emailed the proprieters and informed them of our upcoming dinner. I will follow up with them soon and report back. Can anyone post that Georgia Strait peice on Cru?

Hi - This is Lounge Lizard's wife! He and I met while he was living in Tofino, and I was living in Ucluelet. We both worked at the ORIGINAL Wickaninish Restaurant on Long Beach, right in the National Park (he was a chef, me a server) Years ago it was a fantastic place to eat, but I haven't been back in about 8 years. I wonder if it's still the same....... if anyone happens to go there I'd love to have a review!!

consider it done.

Are you thinking of David Forestell...he was going to do a new market whole foods thing in Penny Lane. Is that the one you are refering to?

I can make that

As a Chef I have to say that the FOH is not so bad...in fact I've married two waitresses over the last 20 years.

Thanks for the kind words Beans In talking about fair earnings I would focus on career professionals and not the transient types which our industry sees so much of. Its hard to isolate a few examples there are so many types of restaurants. It is important to have those server jobs that provide for students to be able to work a few hours and leave with 50 or 100 bucks and get back to class. This works well for the owner who needs all that staff for a short time. Harder to pay for school as a cook though. They are more likely to be in it for the career possibilities.

Sorry I cant seem to get the quote thing figured out...duh. Anyway, Beans you stated that a cook is there because they want to cook. I cant imagine saying that of any other trade. Does a carpenter build houses for the love of it only and not for compensation? I cook because it is what I do,it is my trade. Tony Bourdain described it well in Kitchen Confedential when writing about the different types of cooks. Many of us are the Mercenaries. We are not the architects but mearly the builders,we do it well and expect fair compensation. Without us there is no building. No cooks, no need for the server. Hope I could make the piont without sounding like Im on the attack. Im loving it here in the gullet and leaning how to post well takes time. Please bear with me.

Our weekend paper has Chef Rod Butters of Fresco in Kelowna recommending the Harvest Golf Club dining rooom

Sorry I forgot to add though that this can all be meaningless. A friend running a dining room in Vancouver ( top ten room maybe) recently figured that his 4 top servers make in exess or 80k a year in tips alone! Cooks are not making that! Chef is but not the cooks.

Dammit I wasnt going to stop by today, I have too much work on my desk and now I see this thread.... Comaparing say a cook and a waiter both with well experianced. Forget about trashing the bad server/actor or a hungover sloppy cook.Consider two professionals. The Cook.... is not a exec. or even a Sous chef but perhaps runs a station. Does it well in a busy stressfull place, a part of the team for sure. Knows his job, food goes out properly, chef can count on him/her. Maybe even a journeyman, a careeer cook. Good pay for this person would be 12-14per hour. A piece of the tip pool could be a few hundred more a month as well. Say 30+k a year. The Waiter.....career server, knowledgable with foods and wine, studies hard. Knows the restaurants goals and knows their clientel. Could make more than minimum wage. maybe 10 or 12 an hour. Works a full 40 hour week. Tips....say they sell an average of a grand a night 5 nights a week. Make an average of 15% and tip out 10% on sales. They would make 750 a week in tips and tip out 500, take home 250 a week. Thousand a month in tips and say a thousand in wages. Taxes on the wages and if they are smart they will declare a part of the tips to the Feds as well. I belive Quebec is now manditory to declare 100% of tips earned. So the Server makes out better on average. If you focus on career people both the server and the cook are doing vital jobs that require training and dedication. My first job in a large hotel many of the Service staff had been with the owner for many years. The kitchen saw far more turnover. Casual dining is different from this though, cooks make less hourly and servers tend to have small sections with lower cheque averages.

I see more on the web page now .....Cru.ca

Wish I could join you but it will be a few weeks before I am able to get to the coast. I was their Chef at the Cellar Door in Summerland. It was a great experiance. Let me know If you get something arranged and If you like Ill let Mark and Dana know your coming. Dont belive a word they say about me.

Thanks so much for posting that Scout.

You calling me a cheater!

I have had trouble getting a smooth blend when combining tomato and cream in soups or sauces...heat, acidity....im never sure. I found that if I add a cream sauce(bechamel), made with a roux, to the tomato product it never looks "broken" and combines nicely.

Pardon the cheap plug for my friends but my Cru Restaurant thread is dying. If you have a chance Rover check them out. My inside scoop is that they have taken Rob Feenies sous-chef and Pastry chef. Im dying to know how they are doing and will not be able to see it for myself for a few weeks.

I have not had a chance to visit Naramata inn yet and have not heard a great deal either way. I have eaten at Granny Bogners several times over the last year or so and have always found it to be good. The Chef was trying to do some Pacific Rim stuff to no avail and went back to doing old school German food which he does quite well. He makes a mean Schnitzel! Recently had a meal at Magnums and was please as well. Laurie Locke is the Host and a very good one. I belive he still runs a B&B as well. A couple of the service staff there used to work for me wayyyyy back. Skip Zias all together! You will find some decent meals here, just nothing original and if you paid the same $ in the city you would be able to find much better. I agree there are some nice wines and just about all the the operations are worth visiting. I used to work at Sumac Ridge and drank a hell of alot of Blush in the summer. Kool-Aid for grown ups. I currently work in a Seniors Residence here in Penticton. Very nice place, some of the most fun I've had cooking. More like a hotel than an institution. Please feel free to get in touch any time.

Yah I cant see golfing on the honeymoon as being a good idea unless your spouse happens to play as well. However if by chance you steal an hour and a half there is a nine hole course in town called Sage Mesa. Its big enough to play all your clubs and challenging. Good luck getting away. My anniversay is on the same weekend as the Champ car race in Vancouver. I am a motorsports fan, have I ever gone to see it.....nope!

Now if its golf recomendations you need I can help you there. That we do well here.

I have been a Chef in the South Okanagan for 7 years now and could not have said it better than you Fat guy. We are always being promoted as Napa Valley North but suffer from a lack of talent to pull it off. It is a shame because it really is one the most beautiful places I have ever seen and we have access to the finest locally grown foods. I thinks that there has been some improved in dining in the Kelowna area) Fescos,Mission Hill Winery) but south I am sorry to say is decent at best and unoriginal. So come for the beauty and the great weather..should top 30 deg. celsuis today. Visit the wineries and buy a few bottles. Go to some fruit stands on the highway and get some cherries, best season in decades. Go to the beach and enjoy.

Here in British Columbia I pay a health care premium of about 140.00/mnth for a family. It is lower I belive in some Provinces. Taxes,unemployement ,pension and workers compensation come to about 35% of my gross earnings. The real fun is paying 14.5% sales tax on just about all goods and services as well.

Cru.ca..not much on the web site yet,but location is there for you to find.

Some friends and former co-workers of mine are opening the doors of thier new Restaurant today. I wish them well and would love to read from anyone who may have a chance to visit there...tell 'em Barry sent ya.