Finals Fever

It is a mad scramble for those who have not done the work all along. This is finals week for this phase. You would think after four other phases that most people would have figured out this happens every tenth week. There are those who miss days, for whatever reason, and do not even attempt to do make up work. Then there are others who turn in no homework throughout the phase and suddenly cobble together something just in time and receive some credit. My personal favorites are those who do absolutely nothing but show up, and are outraged to find out they are failing. I am still amazed that this happens. These people inherently have a sense of entitlement, not only from the school but also from life in general. I know that these individuals have no plans to pay back their student loans. Well, they sure have a rude awakening coming in the future should they ever succeed in finding employment. I have finished all my projects weeks in advance. This was not an easy task when you take into account that I have a home to take care of and a restaurant to run. I spent sleepless hours working on school projects after working in the restaurant each day. I have not turned on my television in six weeks. I have put my goal of maintaining a 4.0 at the top of my list. This is what is important now! Parties can wait, television can wait and all other frivolous activities can wait! I take care of my academics so that I do not have to worry about a fever.

All About The Blogs

These blogs started out as an English Comp assignment. They have developed along the way into something I did not expect. When in their infant stage I used them to vent frustrations, they then matured into introspective views. My writing skills have progressed with the help of technology and study. I have heard from friends and family that the blogs give them an insight to who I am today versus who they thought they knew. My only hope in the beginning was to write well enough to achieve a passing score. This has been accomplished with flying colors, but it’s not important anymore. What is important is that I have shown those who matter, my passion for what I do, that this is not a phase for me.  These have become my personal journals, on my growth as a culinary student, a map of who I am as well as who I am becoming.  I have been asked a few times whether or not I will keep writing after the requirements for the class are met. The truth is, I do not know. I would love to say yes without a doubt, but the workload from phase to phase changes, and with the Grill, my time is at a premium. This has been very cathartic for me, so my final answer would really have to be, wait and see.

Measuring Up

I have made some of my best dishes by accident, or necessity maybe. I love to be turned loose in a kitchen that is well supplied and let my creativity loose. I have always been chastised for my lack of measuring ingredients and writing down what I do. We as students have been taught about standardized recipes. I understand the need for this, I really do, but this is not cooking! This is more along the lines of assembly work. I know exactly what I have put in my dishes, I just do not always remember how much. I taste as I go along and adjust according to what I am looking for. I lose that creativity when I have to stop and write things down. This bothered me a bit until a Chef at school showed me his personal journals. These journals were dog-eared and well used. Not a single entry had measurements! Only ingredients were listed. Why you may ask? In the words of this Chef, “cooking comes from the soul”. I love that statement; it embodies everything that I do. Any fool can follow a recipe, only a Chef can create. So please forgive me if I forgo the measuring cups and spoons, but your taste buds will thank me.

Family

Sunday was a very busy day for Milo’s Grill. The VFW were having their annual district meeting and had hired the Grill to cater this event. I planned the menu, did the shopping and spent all of Saturday peeling potatoes and prepping most of the items. At $8.00 per person, the profit margin was going to be slim at best. With buying wholesale, I was able to keep the costs down and still have that impressive wow factor I was looking for. We had a ham carving station and a rolling tableside pasta station, something the VFW had never seen in their history before. Along with over one hundred pounds of freshly fried chicken, there was country style green beans, orange honey glazed carrots, coleslaw and real ‘mashed tators’ with heavy cream, butter and sour cream added. I managed to pull together the flavor profiles that would make my Chef Instructor’s proud to claim me as their student. I could have set this up as a serve yourself buffet style, but that was not the look nor the service I wanted to give. The food cost was met with a little left over, but labor would eat that up with no profit realized. My family came to the rescue. My parents, wife and little sister with her husband and kids in tow jumped right in and helped pull this off. They helped with the preparation and serving of everything. We as a family met and exceeded all expectations and had fun doing it. These family members drove 80 miles roundtrip to work all day free (ok, for chicken too) and I for one am extremely grateful.

Dressing For Success

I am near completion of my Associates Degree in the culinary field. Most of my fellow classmates and I have always followed the schools dress code. I do not attempt to alter the uniform in such a way to make me stand out; my dedication and skills do that for me. I have seen students who wear their pants backwards, bagged half way down their buttocks and just plain filthy. Some claim an aversion to fluorescent lighting in order to wear gaudy looking sunglasses. I have seen bright neon socks, colored tennis shoes and facial piercings that would make a tribal man scream. I would like to take you back to week one day one in my academic journey. The very first book we received on that day was Culinary Fundamentals. The first chapter in this book has nothing to do with recipes ingredients or knife skills. The title is simple ‘Professionalism’. A simple title for a chapter that should have made a huge impact. I would like to think that for most of us it did, for the rest, well, who knows if anything would make an impact? This chapter covered the dress code of being a Chef, the attitude of service that needs to be developed, the work ethics and moral code that should be in place and the respect that must be given and earned. As you should all know by now, I own a small diner, grill what have you. Yes, I wear a chef’s coat! Why? Because I wish to portray to the customers ‘Professionalism’. I could cook the same food in a t-shirt and shorts, but that is not what I want my customers to see. Something happens when I put on my uniform, much like Clark Kent taking off his glasses I become another person. A soldier, police officer, firefighter etc. has safety reasons among others for their uniforms, and yet it is a mentality issue. They belong to something bigger than just the individual does. It is no different for us as Chefs.

Chicken Taco Chili Take 2

On Monday, Milo’s Grill supplied lunch for the class at school along with some faculty and staff. Keeping in mind that this is a culinary college my nervousness on serving such a distinguished collection of Chefs is understandable. The last thing any cook, chef or student wants to see is a look of disgust on anyone’s face. I had brought a two-gallon slow cooker full of chicken taco chili (see previous blogs for recipe) along with extras such as cheese, sour cream and tortilla chips for toppings. Laid out on the table were bowls, spoons and napkins for their use. The first recipients were my fellow classmates; I watched and waited anxiously for their reactions. The feedback was unanimous the chili was a hit. I then went to invite the Chefs to partake feeling much more secure in my offerings. The look of approval on their face with the first bite was akin to euphoria for me. Having spent forty-nine weeks in the kitchen and classrooms with these Chefs making their recipes and being judged on them, presenting my own and earning their approval meant so much more. Who I am what I do and what I have learned was in that dish. The confirmation received on something as simple as that chili means much more to me then they will ever know. By the way, not a drop of chili was left to take home.

The Finish Line

Week 49 has been reached at culinary college, sounds so simple in terms of weeks. This has been 11 months of solid learning, new concepts and a re-triggering of dormant knowledge. With only 21 weeks to go until the Associates Degree is in my hands, I can finally glimpse the finish line. I have been fortunate enough in life to have my career raise my children and still have the time to pursue a dream. Cooking has always been a passion of mine as well as eating good food. The willingness to try the unexpected has opened my eyes to some of the most complex dishes ever to pass my lips. I was the “black sheep” of the family most of my life. Academics always took a backseat to having fun. I always felt that life was too short to waste a moment on study; it needed to be lived, fast and hard. As we get older our views on life change, priorities are shuffled and the important things rise to the top. I came to realize that preaching to my children about what it takes to get ahead in life would be better served with me following my own sermon. I have managed through hard work to stay at the top-end of my class, to maintain a 4.0 and near perfect attendance. I have done this mostly for myself, partly to show others I could, and a small percentage of “open mouth insert foot”.  What I find humorous is when I first started school at this later stage in life, there was disbelief and doubt of my following through. I am not saying anyone was against me per say, only that the support structure was not there. As I achieved hard-earned success in my classes, the foundation of support kept getting stronger. By never wavering in my passion, I showed family and friends that this was truly my nirvana. The finish line may be close for some, but for me it is viewed as another starting line.

Drink or Inoculation?

I remember as a kid growing up in the 70’s when the older people would get tired or rundown they would go to the local doctor. It was very popular during this era for a doctor to give you a shot of B-6 or B-12. This would boost your energy level for a week or so. During this period in time, most people also consumed a lot of coffee or Coca-Cola that was still made with a derivative of the coca leaf aka cocaine. What has become very popular in the last ten years or so is energy drinks or shots, meaning smaller drinks that are more concentrated. I myself have become very dependent on these and use them on a daily basis. I am constantly receiving opposition from friends and family for doing so. What I do not understand is what the difference in opinion now versus then is? Why is an inoculation acceptable every week and nothing but condemnation for the drink?

Being the Boss

We as culinary students dream of the day that we can own our own restaurant. The ideas that we have developed through learning and specific assignments geared towards just that purpose, have the majority of us thinking we will be ready for this. What no amount of training can prepare a person for is simple; an individual must have a take-charge personality. This does not mean you stand around and give orders, push people around or bully anyone with your rank. What it means is, you lead by example, you are the first one in and the last one out, you do not leave the hard or dirty jobs for someone else. You do them. You make sure your employees know that you do them. Only then can you expect them to do them and to do it without complaint. I have seen plenty of want to-be leaders in my lifetime that are not leaders, they are bosses because their bossy. I do not want to be the boss. I want to be the leader. The definition for a leader is a person who rules, guides, or inspires others. That is who I want to be, a person who inspires others.