Monday, September 19, 2011

ALL ABOUT FOOD, CHEFS, COOKING, RESTAURANTS

" I produce a simply meal, it's taken a lot of thought, a lot of hard work. all I want to do now is have a glass of wine and go asleep.".........quote from famed celebrity chef.













LEAN, MEAN,MACHINE..............A sign of a good restaurant used to depend on the size of the chef, or whether most of the clientele were priests....does this still stand ?.








TOUGH STEAK..............Chefs hate complaints, stick to your guns, the food is either the way it should be , was ordered, or it's not. Your complaint should be accepted either way....even if you are wrong.....don't pay for it!!.










WORKING LATE..........With mobile phones there is now no excuse for not phoning the person at home, to say you are delayed, or worse,you are going to be early.




SOMETHING FISHY.................... don't buy food you don't need. particularly fresh food. You should get into the habit of rotating what you have in your fridge, and using what you have first.







A WOMENS PLAICE..............In 'catering' kitchens the dominant sex is male. The kitchen is often rough, heavy, ugly work. It does not mean that men are better cooks, it's just they are rough, heavy, ugly.







VOCAL LOCAL.................The best place to ask for advice is your local traditional butcher. don't bother getting in your 4x4 and heading out to the distant shopping centre, to where supplies have been sent from a depot in the midlands.









A LA MODE....................Restaurants love using French terms on their menus, don't be afraid to ask what a particular term means, and if you are not in France ask nicely why the restaurant doesn't write the menu in English. I do admit the the word 'Pate' sounds nicer than Meat Loaf....but that's by the by.






BAKED BEANS................and a tin of mushy peas, besides these, is there any other reason why you shouldn't use fresh produce, often quicker to prepare...and better for you.











AN IMPORTANT DATE............. don't worry about sell by dates, if the food was unsafe the supermarket would not be allowed sell it. There are often terrifc bargains to be had.














POWER IN THE KITCHEN........is not always with the person with the tallest hat, more often with the person 'who pays the piper'.





CELEBRITY CHEF'S COOK BOOKS..........are wonderful, often best left on your coffee table for effect. What you need in your kitchen is a good cook book ,with the contents of the recipes you are more likely to have.






A SHARP KNIFE...........and a pressure cooker is all need to run a good kitchen, in fact maybe just the sharp knife, japanese is your only man.











NOT EVERY COUNTRY EATS BEEF............In Belgium they eat horses, the French eat snails, In scotland they eat Haggis.....and of course in China etc etc .




MACKREL, LOVELY MACKREL..........Cheap and still plentiful, so you don't like bones ? ask your supplier to fillet them for you, then cook in butter and lemon ,hmmmmm.



BUCKETS OF FOOD?......There is no such thing as a bucket of food. You can get water in buckets, manure in buckets, and so on ,and so forth. There is no such thing as food in buckets, so perhaps this cartoon shouldn't be here.




THE MODERN CHEF......Is young and smart,needs to be the best to survive. So, is the old 'catering' chef a thing of the past ?











LEARN FROM THE BEST.......If you get a chance, go and work for the best chef....if he has a couple of stars, work for nothing, even part time.












SERVING YOUR TIME......Things have changed a bit, but you still have to start from the bottom, and in the kitchen business there is not much lower than a first year commis chef







AS A CHEF,CAN YOU TAKE CRITICISM.?......Diners look for taste,value for money,good company,nice atmosphere.











SO YOU THINK YOU CAN COOK FOR THE GREAT UN-WASHED ?....... Yes, you can cook, but so can others, perhaps you have a fairy godmother to throw money at you.













OPEN A RESTAURANT............Are you mad,?...did somebody tell you that there was money to be made?. There is at the bottom end of the market, fast food, fish and chips...but not at the end you'd like.











FOOD AND WINE.................go together but it's no harm to avoid too much tasting until the goods are produced.

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