2010: Thanks Chef John ~ Finally a job

The year without a interview

     After loosing my job at the Country Club I revamped my resume and started the less than popular pastime of the unemployed.  I applied at cjef jobs online.  I applied for Chef jobs in the area.  I applied to hundreds of jobs.  I revamped my resume several times focusing on various key skill sets.  I wrote hundreds of cover letters and mailed off even more to give them that old school appeal.  But in the end I only got regjection letters.  We hired someone who was a better fit, we hired someone closer.  The job market had changed.  The Executive Chef positions I was applying for all wanted chef's with Bachelors degrees and certification from the ACF.  The Certification was on my list of achievemnets and I was actively practicing for the final part of that process.  But the degree, that was a tough one.  I had never been to college and my Culinary school certificate from Western Culinary Institute in Portland was only a certificate.  It had been great for the past twenty years but the industry had changed.  It had grown up.  Now I needed to adapt my skill set to compete in the modern culinary market. 

I decided to go back to school.  I researched "Le Cordon Bleu", perhaps I could go back to Portland and get credit for the classes I had taken earlier and find a speedy route to a degree.  Then I researched "The Art Institute in Seattle", they have a culinary degree program as well.  Both of the options were a big NO.  So what about the "Culinary Institute of America", in Hyde Park New York.  Well it wasn't cheap and I almost had to say to that as well.  But I was able to get scholarships and grants to cover the first two semesters. 

    Karin wanted us to make the move with some planning.  Her vagabond spirit is less developed than mine and as a good husband I finally agreed that she had a good idea.  So I needed a job that would help us to get ready to make the move.

     A good friend of mine happened to be the Executive Chef of one of the two local hospitals and they had converted from tray service to an ala carte kitchen.  He needed a good line cook to meet the demands of the 900 meals a day line.  I was actually amazed at the food that was offered to the patients.  Fresh salmon, stir-fry, pastas, burgers and pork tenderloin.  Quite a selection of salads and sandwiches as well for those not on dietary restrictions.  The main cafeteria also was improving the quality of it's daily offerings as well.
     Sanford was a fin place to work with many great employees in the kitchen.  Since then the kitchen there has actually won several national awards for the quality and service given by those employees.

As a seasoned line cook  I was able to excel on the line and help some of the younger less experienced cooks understand the differance between trayline service and restaurant style ala carte service.  I ended up training some of the newer cooks before I left for the CIA.  I was tapped to cook sushi for a doctor's dinner event.  I wasa ble to work on a project for a massive gingerbread display as well as prep and practice for my ACF C.E.C. test. 

This was also my last year to enter the South Dakota Taste of Elegance. So I wnet big and decided to do a decontructed Reuban.  I would corn pork belly, make kraut and fresh pickles.  I also created a gallentine from shank meat.  The dish had some flaws but the experience creating it and the process of developing the plate was priceless.

2011 May: 19th - 29th ~ Seattle Beer Week

    Externship proved to have yet another benefit.  I showed up to work on Thursday and was informed that I was going to get to go to The SafeCo field and taste Sierra Nevada beers paired with foods and those of some local breweries as well.  We also got game tickets for the afternoon game.  So we worked through the early breakfast and lunch rush and then headed out.  Passing up lunch at the airport to save room for the repast that we envisioned in our hungry and thirsty minds.

    I went with Thor one of the assistant managers at my extern site and also a local brewer disciple of sorts.  He has a great knowledge of the local brewery scene and the various styles of craft beers.  Working part time at one of the up and coming breweries.  We arrived at the stadium and headed up to the suites with hussle and fervor.  It was free flyswatter day...One of the players had been presed out in plastic as a flyswatter.  What ever happened to hat day?

     We searched the suites, no Sierra Nevada, we went up to the nose bleed seats and no Sierra Nevada.  What is up?  Where is everybody?  So we asked one of the attendants and she asked a manager who informed us that the tasting had been on the field pregame around 10am.  Wow, that is a piece of information that we would have loved to have.  So here we were at the stadium starving and thirsty.  But as an extern I have limited funds and stadium food is not in my budget.  What made this even more dissappointing was the fact that the day before we had met the local sales rep and the Sierra Nevada head brewer.  They had described the wonderful beers that they were going to serve at the event.  I must admit I was dissappointed.

    So noone was in the seats to watch the game and the view from the top row of the stadium was so bad that we left.  I was determined that I would participate in a beer tasting.  Low and behold just a block away down the stadium row of vendors is the "Elysian Fields Brewery".  One of the multiple sites of Elysian Brewery.  They had a robust and multi faceted selection of their craft beers and a few from guest brewers that were from previous Mariner and UW opponents home towns.  I talked with the bbeertender about some of the selcections and built a custom tasting board.  Thor had a tasting boards as well and we traded tastes to expand the experience.  Sierra Nevada eat your heart out (not really I still wanna taste those beers).  Elysian makes great beer!

THE IMMORTAL ~ India Pale Ale 6.3%

DRAGONSTOOTH ~ Stout 7.45%

BIFROST ~ Winter Ale 7.5%

AMBROSIA ~ Maibock 6.5%

PROMETHEUS ~ India Pale Ale 6.1%

OATUS ~ Oatmeal Stout (Guest Brewer) 7.2%
Ninkasa Brewery 0 Eugene OR.

Thor tasted these for his selection:
AK-47 ~ Malt Liquor 6%

ROSEMARY'S BABY ~ India Pale Ale 6.6%

BETE BLANCHE ~ Belgian Triple 6.9%

GOLDEN BOOT ~ Golden Ale 5%

YUZU ~ Belgian Style Golden Ale 6.5%

MEN'S ROOM ~ Red Ale 5.6%

The beers were all of good character and full bodied.  I was suprised at the overall character of all the beers.  Not a bad one in the bunch.  The yuzu lemony flavor was a great change from the typically malty Belgian.  The IPA's were awesome even the rosemary scented one.  The rosemary was very subtle and not overpowering.  The Dragon stout was rich with chocolate and coffee and very smooth.  And my favoite was the winter ale.  It was a good thing I was just doing a tasting.

     We that took care of the thirst and boy howdy I even got a little buzz.  The sun is shining and Seattle is looking awesome.  Now to eat.  The tasting was a mere $8 and food needed to be in that range as well.  Thor suggested a local spot called Samari Noodle, hailed as Seattle best authentic ramen shop.  I had the tonkotsu which is "porkbone" a rich hearty pork broth like milk with braised pork and green onions.  Not to be confused with tonkatsu which is the pork cutlet.  I had extra pork and a hard boiled egg in mine.  I can see why it has become a local favorite.  It was so good and filling.  Very small and definately a remnant of the Seattle grunge era. 
     After the meal we walked off the full stomach by going down to a local importer called RFI,  they had shelves of Meditteranean goods and a whole case of imported cheese.  I could not help but get a little of the creamiest goat cheese they had.  A nice rind and perfectly aged.  It was eaten that night for dinner with crackers and crusty bread and a Redhook IPA.

What a great day for a Fieldtrip.  Thanks Sierra Nevada!

2011 May: Seattle Beer Week Bonus

Pike's Legacy

     Saturday the 21st Pike Brewery held it's innaugural event during the Seattle Beerweek Festivities.  Over the last decade or more various brewer's have worked and trained at Pike then moved on to create their own style of beer.  With the blessing Pike owner Charles Finkel and his wife, these brewer's continue to expand the regions dominance in craft beers.  It was a once of a kind event with ten brewers returning to share one of the craft beers with this great crowd.  Pike even made Brewer trading cards to go along with the event.  Below is a list of the Brewers and their beer.

ZZ Hop IPA has a nice crisp hop flavor with a mild sweet backbone finish.  I heard from several fans that Kevin brews a mean chocolate stout.

Colt 45 eat your heart out.  This craft Malt liquor is one of several produced here in Seattle.  While favoring a more malty sweetness than a the ZZ Hop, this malt Liquor went down smooth and was well balanced.  Im not a huge fan of malty beers so it was not my favorite.  But I can tell you that I was well appreciated by many fans of this style of beer.

This beer was finished with soaked golden raisins and rum.  The initial taste was pale ale while the finish was like a bread pudding sauce.  Quite interesting.

This IPA had a great hop flavor for the initial taste but finished a little malty for my palette.  Still an excellent beer.

A very traditional pale ale.  Crisp flavor with a clean finish.  The hops used added a nice citrus quality.

While pale ales are a good beer they are not my first choice.  But this pale had a great hop start a well balanced middle with a slight clementine finish.  It was fantastic. One of my favorites of the evening.

I was first introduced to the Weiss beers back in the early nineties in Portland.  I hwasn't a fan then and only recently have I tasted wheat beers made with depth and character.  This was one of them.  It had the best floral nose of any of the beers.  And had hints of heather on the finish.  It was hopped enough to balance the wheat and give a good texturural mouthfeel to the beer.

This bock was the first I tried and was a little cold at the time but when I tried it later the flavors really came through.  Balanced malt and hops with slight hints of chocolate and toast.  From the comments I heard it was on of the event overall favorites.

This esb was one of the more complex beers with layers of flavor and depth of character.  A little on the malty side for my tastes but still rather nice.



Dean is the current brewer at Pike and had a great showing with his firkle of cask conditioned XXIPA.  Being an IPA fan I couldn't wait to taste this beer.  It was worth the wait in line.  Excellent balance, rich color and a medium hop finish made this a very enjoyable beer.  (sorry for the dark photo, it was on the end farthest from the light)

that's a 13 beer smile (taster's that is)

Overall this experience was fantastic and added to the great experience that is Seattle.

"If you are going to drink, drink well and drink responsibly."

2005-2009: Souix Falls ~ Country Club Life

Executive Chef at Minnehaha Country Club

Valentine's Day 2008

 In September of 2005 I began my career as the executive chef at the Minnehaha Country Club.  I gained a renewed culinary vigor that would show up in all my food that I would prepare for the next four years. Christmas Buffets came around every year. Six during the month of December plus Thanksgiving and new years events as well.  While this meant 7 day weeks and long 12-14 hour days the rewards always were spectacular.  the highlight of all the buffets is the Charles Dickens dinner event.

There are many more buffets at the Club.  Easter and Mother's Day, are the two biggest. With one a month we came up with themes to keep the membership's interest peaked.  Always trying to do something new and improve on all aspects of the food and presentation.  Actions stations galore became standard and we eventually came up with over 15 different varieties to offer.

buche de noel

The Minnehaha Room is the formal dining room, although formality has not been as required as it once was in the past.  With younger members some of the pretentiousness of a country club was allowed to pass into the wind, but tradition of 105 years kept much of it in place.

Southern Catfish Platter

Cheese Display.  Mobay, Blue Shropshire, Maytag Bleu, and more...

I deleveoped and prepared a wine dinner every month for one of the premier wine clubs in the area.  Each one a fabulous success.  Members would through gala dinners and custom menus had to be created for each one.  This was an area where I was able to get really creative and go beyond the traditions of the club and the boundaries that are associated with them.

Invitational 2009

Invitational dessert 2009

We had guest chef dinners, where local chefs or traveling chefs would arrive and prepare a special dinner.  these were times of sharing and growth for all the kitchen staff, myself included.  We did that for around two years.

Banquet display  - garde manger platter

I became a member of the Black Hills ACF.  We held yearly dinner as fund raisers and worked with many local charities in other fundraising events that were food related.  Many of those chefs are still good friends.  It was during this phase of my career that I began preparing for my C.E.C. exam. 

Initial menu practice plates.  Practice 7 times!

The country Club was blessed to host the Bo Forum that is held at the University each year.  While I was there I cooked for Paul Bremer Jr, who led the army in Desert Storm and for Al Gore.  These were gala dinners of superb quality.

Al Gore

Al Gore shook my hand after dinner.  He had really enjoyed himself.

I was able to take the rfunds and rebates that I managed to arrange for with all my vendors and create an education fund for myself and the kitchen staff.  This was used to keep up on local trends and improve skills.  I was lucky enough to go to the Greenbrier in West Virginia for the Club Chef's Institute where Certified Master Chefs talked about the club industry and many ideas were shared on ways to improve food and profitability.  This was a great experience.

1st place -March of Dimes 2005

1st Place - March of Dimes 2005

Taste of Elegance Entry - 2005

The kitchen was originally built around 1950 and the membership had grown as had the volume of business.  We were doing over a million and a half in F&B revenue.  So I designed a new kitchen went through the long process of committee's and meeting to get it approved as well as the politicking that is involved.  the final result was a fantastic improvement for both the main restaurants and the banquet department. With this came a kitchen roll-out party as well as a totally new menu.  Here are a few plates from the new menu of 2009.

Foie Gras

Ahi - Prawn Salad

Prosciutto Scallops

Legionnaires Disease ~ again?
In the summer of 2007 I was hospitalized for 10 days with Legionnaires Disease, this was the second tie I have had this.  God blessed my recovery and Karin spent all ten days by my side.

The Room with a view: Our loft apartment
We finally found a great place to live.  The fifth floor loft apartment right downtown.  Eighteen foot ceilings, huge panel windows, with stone and brick floors.It was a fabulous place in all aspects except for one.  The roof leaked.  Not just in one or two spots but in multiple spots all the time.  No matter how the landlord "fixed" the problem, leaks were soon to follow.

Our Loft - Karin's son Will.

Recession hits my bank account
     2009 came as a huge cost to Karin and myself.  I arrived for work on Sept first and was greeted at the door by the club manager,  She escorted me to one of the dining rooms where the GM and the controller were sitting.  Hmm I wonder what was up.  As I sat down the smile of the shiny morning started to fade.  My final check and severance were sitting on the table.  My office had been cleaned out and I was let go.  Differing visions and management styles along with the downturn of the economy had left me jobless.  Four awesome years as Executive chef had come to an end. 

RICHARD E. DICKENSHEETS Born June 8, 1940

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Cassville Democrat

Richard E. Dickensheets passed away Aug. 27, 2009. He had requested that he be cremated--no funeral services. His family and friends who loved and respected him are holding a CELEBRATION OF LIFE potluck at the Eagle Rock Community Center on Hwy. 86 in Eagle Rock, Mo., on Saturday Sept. 12, at 11 a.m. All friends and acquaintances are invited to attend. Please bring any stories or tales about Richard.

     Weeks later I was informed that my dad had passed away, my wife was diagnosed with Thyroid problems, we had thought it might be cancer, but thank God it was not.  A month later, Karin's dad passed away.  We had been hit hard but we were determined to make it through this toughest of times in our marriage and life.  I had my 401k but what was I going to do with it.  Because of the major roof leaks in our loft we had a reduced rent which helped a little. 
     It was time to dust off the resume and go job hunting again.

The vagabondchef was on the trail once again.  But this would be a dusty trail with no end in sight.

2011: "Chopped" Up close and personal

Ah, shucks! Oysters in the first basket cause some problems, leading up to an emotional ending to the round. Then the competitors gain momentum in the entrée round when they're challenged to work with two Japanese ingredients. And the judges have to say sayonara to one last chef, after tasting the finalists' passionately prepared passion fruit desserts.

  

 Early June 2010 I had started school at the CIA and As I was accessing the student website I noticed that they had an advertisement for "Chopped".  The T.V. show was looking for contestants from the School to participate on the show.  So I applied.  It turns ouot that I was the only student who applied!? Can you believe that?  After applying I forgot about it for a while.  In September I received an emial from the Notional studios.  They had scheduled a time for me to go into the city and take a promotional photo and do a taping.  I had never been into New York City before so I was excited.

     I took the train into Grand Central station and caught the 6 line subway down to Canal Street.  I got off near China town.  It turns out I needed to be on the other side of the Island by Avenue of the Americas.  So I walked across New York.  Through parts of Tribeca and the Soho district.  PAst shops people and all manner of sights.  Every New York sterotype passed by and then some.  IT was around 98F the car fumes mixed with the smell of urine and sweat.  Ah New York.  I made it to the appointment with minutes to spare.  Dripping with sweat they had me stand against the wall for my photo.  Oh joy.  They sent me downstairs to the taping area.  That went really well.  It must have because when I left they told me "No news is no news"  Will contact you when we do.  So I left not knowing if anything would come of this.   In late September they contacted me and wanted to set a Bio shoot at the school and I had to get releases signed and jump threw a few hoops, but it was well worth it.  They showed up I spent the morning being interviewed and taking footage in various situations around the campus.  I asked when I would find out if I was going to be on the show.  The reply...We are here doing this.. You WILL be on the show.  That was a spectacular moment.  Fireworks were going off above my head.
     I had to wait another month before I got my show taping date.  I had to be in Long Island city at 5:30am for the casting call.  So I came up with a plan.  A friend from school (Mike) let me crash at his place.  So after school I drove to Mameranack and crashed on his hide-a-bed.  I arrived around 10 at night and got up at 4am to drive into the city.  It was a good thing I left early.  As I was heading into Long Island I was on 31st and should have gone straight.. A erong roght turn and I'm crossing the Queensboro bridge and rush hour had swung into full bloom.  So i mad a left
U-turn over the mediun to get back to Long Island.  I called and got the location of the Diner where we were meeting.  Imade it with about 6 minutes to spare.. To close for comfort.
     Walking through the streets we passed through several other stage companies setting p to shoot a film of TV shoot.  The excitement was rising.  Then through the doors of a townhome and there were the orange and dark brown walls that started my heart pounding.  I had arrived!

     So we entered a secure room.  You see the group there on TV.  And the producers gave us the run down.  All four of us were so excited.  The other contestants seemed really nice.  But after all we all wanted the money, who wouldn't.  Everybody had a good use for it.  They gave us a tour of the facilities, the set and the pantry.  They explained the general procedures we would be going through during the day and then sent us back into the secure room with a small breakfast buffet.  I ate others didn't.  I personnaly can't cook on an empty stomach.
     The door opened and we headed for the stairs to get set for our entry.  And we could hear Ted Allen's voice.  Our first chef, our second chef, our third chef and our fourth chef Shawn Dickensheets... Zingo Zam I was standing behind the basket.  We had to turn around right before we opened them.  I was not sure why.  But after we opened the basket and I saw the oysters I realized they had placed oyster knives on our stations while we wee turned so that we would not have any idea what the ingredient was.  The oyster knives were placed in a not so noticable spot.  At least on my station.  The other chefs seemed to have seen theirs.  BUt I didnt at first.  So I thought to myself. "No way I'm using a regular knife to open them".  So I have to bake them.  That gave me plenty of time to make my mignonette sauce and get the salad ready.  I could hear the judges talking and got my plates early.  20 minutes goes by in the blink of an eye when you are under pressure like that.  For wayne to have friend them really was an achievement.  When I felt the surface of the "Luffa"  I knew immediately that it needed to be peeled.  The rest as they say is first round history. 
     The time was up and after seeing the plates I knew I would make it to the next round.  Poor Ros, she was crushed.  They separated us and asked us questions about the other contestants.  I tried to keep my answers truthful yet professional and respectful. About an hour later, after they had cleaned and reset the kitchen they called us out and Faster than we could think we were starting the second round.  The extra ten minutes would be needed by all of us. 
     When I opened the basket I saw the duck.  I LOVE duck so I was super excited.  The brussel sprouts and tea were ingredientes I thought I would have no problem with and I pulled out the beans and set them aside.  I have eaten a lot of Japanese sweeets and I know know that they are usually filled with sweetened adzuki beans.  I ran back to the pantry and picked up some purple potatoes, and the caraway.  Then I returned quickly to my station to get the duck rendering.  These were not the small Maple brand breasts these were magrete breasts with a thick layer of fat and it would take some time to render right.
     I Peeled some of the brussel sprouts and blanched them.  I had seen this done in several magazines and I figured that the leaves would be the sweetest and most succulent.  The center reminding me of dirt I just couldn't serve it.  The potatoes were cooking well, but oh my goodness I need to use the beans not potatoes!  So I open the beans, drain them and eat one.  Almost rock hard.  So I think I need to puree them.  Darn Wayne has the blender, so I get the food processor. and start to chop them.  They are still too hard.  So I think macaire potato (potato cake) and get some flour and eggs to make them.  I season with caraway trying to go for a German flavor in the cake to go with the baby cabbage leaves.  I pull the breast off the pan and cook the cakes.  While they sear I rush over and get ingredients for the persillade crust.  The stovetop just didn't want to get hot enough with all the burners going and the pans were not getting hot enough.  Into the oven to finish.  Wow just a few minutes left... I grabbed plates and strated to plate.
Sauce....Damn.. gotta run back and grab some liquor... I deglazed the duck pan and spooned the fond onto the duck. I wish I had grabbed butter bo thicken the jus, but no time left.  PLating done.  Wow My plate looks great the duck is crisp and I am sure I have a winner.  Then I raise my head look down ant Adam and Wayne's plates and I think oh no.  I saw creativity and color.  But what about flavor, what about the burnt skin, what about the blood. 
     We had a two hour lunch break before we went before the judges.  So tension was high when we reviewed our dishes.  After the judges critique I really thought I was back in the ruinning.  Darn my instincts.
After I was chopped I went to the secure room for my exit interview while the last two had the dessert round.  When I left they were standing in the hallway waiting to find out who won.  So I did not know until the show aired who took the win. 
     It was a great experience that taught me my efforts at school were worth it.  My basic techniques had been honed. The judges appreciated those aspects of my dishes.  My creativity was a little stifled due to the classes at school and my lack of working in a restaurant for the last year.  But I know that That will return and the juices will flow and I will be an even better chef than before.  They way I see it I was a winner the moment I stepped in the door early that morning.
     I got home that night around 10 pm.  What a day.

Thanks to Mike E for the couch to crash on.
Thanks to the CIA for the rights to film the bio there and for the upgraded skill set.
Thanks to my wife and mom for the mental support.
Thanks to all my friends for the positive comments.
and special thanks to God for all the opportunities in life that have made me who I am.
   
The Vagabondchef!

2005: Late Spring in Omaha

After packing up in Sandpoint I left for Toronto.  My quasi girlfirend of sorts had gone off with another guy and I needed to clear my head and get out of the house.  He life in boxes was stacked to the ceiling and It was choking the life out of my spirit.  At my mom's we went on a few boat rides, visited the club but mostly we hung out and visited.  It was very relaxing and I was able to focus on my goals and make plans for the future.  It was time to leave the partying of the past ten years behind and move on too a "grown up: life.. Not in a sense of stoggyness but in being responsible for my career and final realizing the goasl I had set so long ago.  Mom always has a way of helping me to do that.

I returned to Sandpoint to pack up my car and head out to Omaha where my sister siad there is over 5,000 restaurants.  I should have no trouble getting ajob there.  The house was supposed to be empty.  I had been gone over  amonth and  R.A.E. should have emptied her stuff.  But there is sat.  What a fool I had been.  I took my stuff left hers and headed out.

The drive across country in my $500 Subaru went smoothly. I just added oil at every stop even if I did not need gas.  I slept in the car to save money and after 3 days I reached my sisters house.  It took longer than I had expected due to major summer road work.  I was fortunate enought to pass through sturgis in early September.  Talk about motorcycle madness.  I have never seen so many Harley's.  They owned the roads that week. 
I arrived in Omaha and landed at my sister's house.  My neice and nephew were super excited to see me. I was glad to see them.  My sister and her husband Tim were very hospitable.  They set me up in a room and helped me practice interviews.  She helped me figure out which restaurants were better than others.  I applied for jobs all day. Walking blocks and blocks of the downtown area, the new western strip malls and anywhere in between.  IT turns out that just during the time I was there that over 500 new restaurants had opened up in the new developments out past 156th street.  They were not hiring becasue they already had their chefs.  The restaurants downtown that had been hiring were not becasue there sales dropped to all the new sales out west.  Ouch what bad timing.  I finally had an Interview with Biaggi's, an upscale Italian Chain specializing in Fresh authentic Italian with a great plan for management.  I worked a night on the line and as the expiditer.  The Chef and the manager watched as I took control of the line with only a few hours under my belt here.  It felt good that the years of experience were coming through.  They offered me the chance to go train at their main store for 3 weeks I believe it was.  But that would take about a month to get the paperwork done.  Who has that kind of time to wait.  It had already been a month since I arrived in Omaha and I had run out of money.  The next day I received a call from the Minnehaha Country CLub in Sioux Falls.  I had applied for the Executive Chef job there and They wanted to interview me.  With no money I was really worried that I would miss this chance.  I called my friend Karin and told her. She was a blessing from above.  "I'll Send you some money Western Union" she said so you can get to the interview.  WOW!! So she sent me money I was expecting 20 or 30 bucks. She sent $200. The interview in Sioux Falls went fantastic, the interview practice had paid off.  I had gotten the job.
    
So the Vagabondchef was on the move again.  This time to Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  never in my entire life did I thinnk I would end up there.  It turns out that my Grandma had grown up in North Dakota and had visited Okaboji growing up on family vacations.  It turns out I did have roots in the Dakota's.  Life is a lesson.  Enjoy the journey.

1999-2000: Garfield Bay and the Captn's Table

I had called about a Chef position in Garfield bay at one of the restaurants.  Having never been there I looked up the bay on a map and headed out.  I descended into the bay around the steep set of switchbacks over Gold Hill and into he bay.  Past the gas station and the 9 hole pitch and putt, down the bay road along the shore and pulled into the first restaurant.  I approached a man and asked if he knew Mary.  His name was Jerry and he Mary was down the way.  So I drove down the road somemore to another reataurant.  Inside was a gentleman in a wheelchair.  He introduced himself as Larry. Mary was in the back.  I this point I was a little wary of the strange coincidence of rhyming names.  Mary came out and introduced herself. She a nice lady from California.  A real spitfire.  Her and Larry had used their retirement the acquire the Captn's Table.  A Hard Liquor Saloon.  They had big plans for this little bay.  I was hired and began to work right away.   The pay was good and the view was awesome, right on the shore with dock access. 
    The Table had a history in the bay of shootings, fishing and just good fun and revelry.  It was the closest thing to a pirate's bar as there was in North Idaho. 

     Mary and Larry added on a fine dining room so that we could serve both bar food and higher end food depending on who showed up.  They sponsored several of the various fishing derby's.  These were 4 day nonstop events that ran 24/7 until you either caught fish or passed out drunk.  They were fun at first but after a few they began to wear down on your perseverance.  The fisherman never seemed to give up, they just wanted "The Big One"  It had grown every year.  For about a year I lived upstairs at the Table and was the "night watchman" as it were, although that was not the official title.
     We had pig roasts, car rallies, sushi nights, golf cart races, fireworks displays, ice carving contests, live bands and lots of boating and drinking.  Oh did I say lots of drinking... YAaarrrrgggg yep...
    I made lots of good friends in the bay. Many I still keep in contact with.
The smoking, drinking and late hours began to wear me down and I became bitter and irritated with my friends, so one night Mary came to me and said that the next day we were closed I should move out and end my employment.  I was mad at first but she did not like seeing me so sad.  She only wanted what was best for me.  She still does!  To my dismay the next day we were closed.  It was Thanksgiving.  The irony of life strikes again.
So once again I was the vagabondchef moving to the next destination in the journey.  Luckily I had my boat and I lived on it on the lake.  not a bad way to go if you ask me.  Although it was a bit cold in November.  I pulled the boat soon after that and became a couch surfing guru among my friends.  "Will cook for couch"  seemed to work among my friends. I will forever be thankful.

2004-2005: Joe Bill and the Swan

Joe Bill had approached me to be the Executive Chef at "Swan's Landing" and I was excited about this opportunity.  He had experience in the business, and it was in Tahoe.  This restaurnat was on the Lake had over 200 seats and was considered by many to be the best in the area.  I thad never made a profit and had always been subsidized by the owner.  Joe had acquired it from when the owner sold out to a developer.  The developer would continue to a thorn in Joe's side the whole time he was running Swan's.  I went to Bottle Bay and met the developer and Joe and some of their relative's and friends.  This was a small lakeside par ty with an Island theme.  We arricved on my boat so the evening was sure to be good.  After introdcudtions and a drink or two we left and let them continue their event.  The vibe was good and energy was right.  So I was even more enthused at this point.  I spent the next three weeks working on the menu and dealing with hiring issues.  It was mid summer so many of the best employees had work.  The remainder of the local employees that wanted to work had been hired at the festival so the remainder, the ones we ended up hiring were not the cream of the crop.  Some where down right scary or mental.  As a steak house we wanted the best steaks we could get. All would be hand cut and we also made our own hamburger.  WE tasted steaks from several vendors and ended up with One of FSA's private high end labels that the owner had just developed and released for public sale.  It was fantastic.  As one of the manager's I had to deal with many of the staff issues when Joe was out working on growing the business.  The staff would show up drunk or high and wonder why I would send them home or even a few I had to fire for their obvious lack of caring and rebellion.  We tried Sunday brunch, dance parties, live bands, just about everything that would drive business. But the landlord did not want this.  He wanted simple and posh even if it meant an empty place. 

    One of the major success's that Joe developed was a copperative venture with Goodwill Industries to start a cooking school as part of the job retraining effort in the state.  We used an 18 week curriculum from Johnson and Wales and well as the Serve-safe program.  I was the initial instructor who taught both the serve-safe class and the culinary arts portion of the program.  We had 14 initial students from around the region. We had class in the morning and practical application labs in the afternoon.  Some were hired on at the restaurant and worked extra hours as well.   This was a fantastic venture and many of the students still work in the area.
     We planned our grand opening Aug 11 and had trained the stafff on the menu.  At the last moment we changed the menu and opened with out a trained crew. (Red Flag).  This type of radical behavior became more evident over the next several months.  In conjunction with the 7 day weeks and 16 hour days we were working Joe and Iwent into stress overload.  This was such a huge venture.
     Making the best of a bad situation. We did our best to deal with the daily issues.  The outdated POS system still running on DOS from company that did not exist anymore.  Dealing with a landlord who on a daily basis was sticking his nose into the restaurants operations duties and driving a wedge between the staff.  Working against the old owner who was sueing over name rights.  The list just went on and on. Joe tried his best to stay positive, but some days it was just overwhelming for both of us.

The ever popular 6am to 1 am shift 7 days a week takes its toll.
    Almost a year had passed and the stress was mounting on a daily basis with no end in sight. 
I finally decided to give notice and move on.  The red flags were just to much for me to stay on board.  Joe hired another cook to train and he had a huge ego.  He intervened in the classes and undermined my lessons.  I called him out several times to no avail.  So I cancelled class and left him to his inflated ego.  Joe and I ended up in a big yelling match with threats and cops when I finally returned for my belongings.  I was an ending that I was ashamed of.  Later on I passed on this info through a mutual friend to Joe that I was sorry, but I have talked to him since that experience.  Today the restaurant has gone through managers leasing from the developer.  It has changed it's name and menu and all have failed.  Currently it has gotten good reviews and seems to be holding it's own.  I wish them well in that seemingly cursed location.
    SO I had worked my way through the restaurant's of Sandpoint and the lake.  I had burned out on my boat and the woman in my life had run me ragged and used up all my charity and finances.  So I went on a roadtrip to visit my mom in Canada and clear my head.  When I returned to Idaho I packed up my belongings into storage units and left in my subaru, heading for Omaha to see my sister and look for work in a city with over 5,000 restaurants.

Photo courtesy of Goodwill Industries) Swan’s Inn Restaurant Executive Chef Shawn Dickensheets teaches the Inland Northwest Culinary Arts course provided by the cooperative efforts of the Goodwill Industries and seven area restaurants.

The Journey continues...