The Kitchen is Closed!

Well, that as they say, is that!  My kitchen at the Old Salzburg is now closed, and I am looking at 6 weeks of vacation time!  It was a great summer powered by some even greater people, and I would like to take the time to thank everyone that was involved, starting with my kitchen:
Thank you Joachim, Morgan, Jimmy, Dani, Linda, Ida and Thomas, I couldn't have done it without you.  You all are more than welcome to return in the summer of '11.
To the front staff, thanks for putting up with me this summer. I know I was difficult sometimes, and that I wasn't always in the greatest of spirits, but you all did a great job, so thank you Issabelle, Cheryl, Leah, Christa, Heinz, Magdalena,Shauna, Rachael and Margaret, and others I might of forgotten. 
Here's hoping the Christmas season is a profitable one and that everyone has a great winter! I wish everyone lots of great turns, and lots of fresh powder!

The Dishwasher

Something I never quite understood: Why is the lowliest position in North American kitchens the dishwasher? Why is it that we ask so much of them yet pay them the least?  Shouldn't these soldiers of flatware, these champions of cleanliness be given a wage that is appropriate to the amount of work we put on them? Wouldn't it help to attract some people to this position? Something that shows them the amount of appreciation and respect that the Chef, the owner and the rest of the restaurant team SHOULD have for the people who do the job that NO ONE wants to do?  What is wrong with this picture?

This is what I think: I live in British Columbia, Canada. We have a minimum wage problem. Meaning that our minimum wage isn't proportionate to the average cost of living.  I think that dishwashers in busy kitchens should start at a minimum $12.00/hour.  But not only will they be asked to do dishes and keep the kitchen clean, they will be asked to do rough prep i.e peel carrots, onions, potatoes and such.  As well, they will learn the basics of the job. In essence, a sort of apprenticeship.  After a certain time period, they will be assessed and it will be determined from there whether or not they will see an increase in wage.

Dishwashing is a tough job that requires organization, cleanliness and speed.  It is not a job for the elderly or unhealthy.  All in all, the job sucks but it needs to be done.  As a chef, I have come up from the pit after a few years of doing it, and to this day I always seem to find my self  back in the pit, slugging it out after a really busy 10 hour day on my feet trying to clean up because someone didn't show up.  The reason why they didn't show up?  The pay is grossly disproportionate to the amount of work.

I am hoping that one of these days, owners will stop scratching their heads over the issue, wise up and pay them a little more.  It will benefit the kitchen and the business immensely.

That is all I want to say on the subject.

Shun Knives

I really admire the look of these knives. They seem to have a sort of elegant simplicity about them. There cunning design and elegant lines give them a certain notion of speed and accuracy. I also like the color of the handle; a rich chocolatey brown, border on black. I can only imagine that there balance must be nothing short of perfect. I'm not too sure if I would want to take them into the kitchen with me, though. I think things like that have a habit of ending up damaged or worse when they are placed in an environment that seems to brees degenerates. Not that I am slagging my profession, but I have been in it long enough to know the dysfunctional attitude that it attracts. I love this business! Anyway, I would love to buy these knives, I think that they would be a worthwhile investment. And barring that, I would love to receive these as a gift. Professionally speaking, They're SEXY!

In case you haven't read it yet...

If you work in the kitchen, have ever been in a restaurant, or know someone who works in a restaurant, you NEED to read this book.  Tony Bourdain is the most indispensable chef/author in the business to date. He writes it like he knows it.  With a cool wit and a culinary knowledge that you can't find in your standard cook book.
The first chapter is like adding sugar to a tomato sauce.  It hooks you, and keeps you wanting more and more.

 Don't expect recipes and procedures, expect to be shocked and at times disgusted, but always entertained and informed about chefs and why they do what they do.  Tony Bourdain is an amazing writer, and I strongly encourage anyone to read this book. 

You can find Kitchen Confidential at my website Culinary iDeals
Check it out.  It is a great site for anything you could ever need to work in a kitchen.

They're Heeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrre!

Today is the official kick off for tourist season in the Columbia valley.

It is this weekend, the Victoria Day long weekend, that throngs and hoards and scads and, well, just a whole lot of people descend upon our quiet, peaceful valley. 

Enjoy it, everyone!  And to anyone who, like myself has to work this weekend and the many to follow, good luck, put your heads down, put your helmet on and it will all be over soon enough! :)  Have fun! Hope you make lots of money! 

The Busy Season

Well, no matter how much we try to hide from it or avoid it or just plain deny it, Tourist Season officially kicks off next weekend here in the valley.  The onslaught of rubber-necked drivers behind the wheels of there SUV's, or RV's is sure to be a record breaker this year.  Be on the look out for sudden stops, and slow downs to get the perfect picture of one of natures finest in that typically unnatural cutsey pose that is sure to go in the family album that will be passed all over the world thanks to social media.

Oh well.  It is going to happen, so complaining about it is of zero use.  Might just as well embrace it, hunker down and wait out the 4 month storm that brings us our paycheques and keeps our businesses afloat for the rest of the year.

This year promises to be a big one, and I for one hope it is. I really want to look at the calendar next weekend, go to work, and then look at the calendar again and realize that it is January, and myself and my lovely significant other are packed and on our way to Jamaica!  When the Restaurnt is busy, the girls make money.  When the girls make money, I make more money.  So I say "BRING IT, BEE-YOTCHES!!"

Well, that is about all I have to post at this point.  I am trying to be true to my word of keeping this blog updated, so, there! Until next time, I'll be in my backyard, tossing the ball for Mollie, and maybe having a few cold ones while grilling some chicken on my Weber 3751001 Genesis E-320 Propane Gas Grill. 

Mother's Day at the Old Salzburg

As with any special occasion, any decent restaurant will have a special menu.  Mother's day, the most special of them all, is certainly no exception.  I always like creating these special menus because it usually gives me a chance to break away from the regular menu and make something that is, in essence, different from the day to day.

This year, I chose to feature a feta-cheese and sundried tomato stuffed chicken breast supreme on a rosé sauce.

It is really quite simple once everything is together, and I am sure that any chef who is reading this is probably thinking how completely elementary this is, but when simplicity and speed is the key, then this is the item of choice.

I started with quality feta, sundried tomatoes, fresh garlic, and fresh chopped parsley.  I avoided using salt because feta is already a salty cheese.  Coupled with sundried tomatoes, it renders salt for the filling unnecessary.   I added all of my ingredients in to the trusty, and well worn Cuisinart Mini-Prep Processor, and gave it a spin.

I pureéd this until it formed a semi-smooth paste.

I put this aside and prepped my chicken breasts.  I started out with fresh chicken breast supremes.  The difference between a regular chicken breast, and a supreme, is the presence of the wing bone.  The wing bone gives it a certain amount of height.

Then, with my Victorinox 6-Inch Flex Boning Knife with Fibrox Handle I cut around the tip of the wing bone in a circular fashion, and push the meat down towards the breast.

After that, I cleaned the excess meat from the tip of the bone and discarded it, leaving a nice, clean wing bone.  It is important for the presentation. This technique is known as "frenching". It is common with meats such as duck, chicken and turkey breasts, as well as pork crown roasts and lamb racks.  When properly done, it gives these items a clean, professional presentation.

Afterwards, I turned over the breast to butterfly it.  This entails splitting the breast to make it wider. It aides in the filling of the breast, and also makes it thinner to allow a faster cooking time.  Of course, if you stuff a breast, it can increase the cooking time in some cases.

 Then I placed a small amount of stuffing in the middle,

and folded over the two sides, trying to overlap to keep the filling in.
When finished, it should resemble a nice, plump breast, with the wing bone sticking up.

For service, the chicken was placed in a 400 degree oven for 12-14 minutes, and then I sliced it 3 times, and served it with the aforementioned rosé sauce.  A rosé sauce is, quite simly, a light tomato cream sauce.

So there you have it.  My Mother`s day feature at the Old Salzburg restaurant in Radium BC.  Sorry about the picture quality, but you can't do too much with a camera phone.  Happy cooking!