2012: July 15th - New Menu Roll out

The final approvals came through, the final grammatical check found the last error on the menu and the plate builds and recipes are complete.  The new menu rolls out today.  Well that was four days ago.  The kitchen stff came in and I cooked the entire breakfast lunch and dinner menu.  Took photos of each dish and had the staff and management taste the samples.  reviews were good, the food is quick and simple, straightforward, designed to have high quality and plating speed off the line by a small staff. Successful service is the key.  Guest compliments started rolling in.  A few of the hotels regulars commented on the change, Everything changes and they will get used to it over time. 

Now comes the fine tuning of the line and the polishing of the staff as they become proficient in each dish.
Each night we are focusing on one dish.  Preparing it, critiquing it and improving it.

The next big project that is happening at lightning speed is the revamping and major upgrade of the daily breakfast buffet.  More modern displays, improved food selections, WOW factor is key.  Today we heard customers comment on the first few changes and "wow" came out of their mouths.  A good feeling indeed.

Now to make sure that food cost stays in line with all the additional goodies. 

SERVICE, QUALITY, SPEED

2012: July : 4th

Independence Day is here.  Travelers are out and about.  But it is slow for the hotel.  I have adjusted the staff and new training begins next week.
New training for the new menu
New training for skill improvement
New training for stewardship of a kitchen
and the list goes on.
The floors have been scrubbed and years of food build up are now gone.  The grout is white, the walls are grease free and the equipment is slowly getting repaired, but repaired none the less.
The breakfast buffet has been improved by leaps and bounds and the next step is to tackle the banquet menus...and there are so many of them.

My first months numbers for Labor and food cost are in... The labor was just under 2 points over but my food cost was well below budgeted projections.  And almost half of what it used to be.  This is a good sign of things to come.

The new menu is ready.
Recipes - check
Build sheets - check
Plating and pictures - the 13th
New menu starts - 13th

Ruby wedding package of 125 guests - 14th
Casting call for Anthony Bourdain's new cooking show - 14th....oh well something else will come up that will work with my job's timeline.

Anyway, it is now refreshing to walk into the kitchen and see the progress that has been made over the last five weeks.  Major cleaning and organization.  Now it is time to focus on the smaller details....refining and improving.  Every day better than the last.

Happy 4th of July 2012

2012 June: Week 2..Dehydration=Kidney Stones

Well the second week of my new job has come to close, and a dramatic close at that.  It started off great.. The schedule was set so everyone could have two days off in a row.  The storeroom organization was on task as was the walk-in projects as well.  I can now tell you were everything should be... Blindfold me and I can find it.  Now to get everyone else on the same page.
The par list for the restaurant breakfast buffet has been set using last weeks prep/waste records.  And the pans are almost here to start the upgraded presentations. Next week we are even going to take in further.

The weekend banquets were well prepped and going well when all of a sudden on Friday night after the last dessert went out and I was wrapping up directions for the closing crew, PAIN...Pain like I have never felt before, dropped me to the ground right in the middle of the kitchen.  Everyone stopped and freaked out then they helped me to the office.  My side had exploded, my arms and hands were numb and I was pale white, cold and clammy.  I thought it was a burst appendix, my heart did not hurt but I was scared.  I could not dial the phone... So one person called 911 and another called my wife.  I had the car so she had to get a ride.
One hour later, melted ice, PAIN, and  an ambulance ride (my first and hopefully my last) I was rushed to the local Hospital.  They hooked me up to the EKG, took blood, gave me pain medication and sent me for a cat-scan.  Praise God not a burst appendix, but a Kidney Stone..3mm one little rock and hope it never happen again.  It was the most excruciating pain I have ever felt.  I've been bit, kicked, stabbed, cut, burned, beat-down and gouged in the eye.  But all that other pain did not even come close.

I ended up home early in the AM and passed the stone later on that day.  So drugged up I couldn't go back to work until the next morning.  (It is sad when that is the only way to get a day off).  This morning I prepped and put out a breakfast buffet and a brunch buffet and started prep for this evenings sports buffet.  I am lucky to have a competent lead who can handle it by himself with help from a cook and a dishwasher.  If everything goes well I get tomorrow off and Tuesday we present the new menu to the owners for approval, after that it is tasting, photos, build sheets and recipes....So excited to finally get things rolling along...

Oh, I forgot to mention, while I was in the hospital,  My breakfast cook walked off the line and quit,  My recently returned prep cook gave two weeks notice and my lead cook had a full on screaming match with the new F&B manager for the restaurant...Why do these thing happen when I'm down.... This place is going to be one long hard uphill battle.

See you next week.

2012 June: The first week

The first week of my new job as Executive Chef of the hotel has been something of a challenge with a multitude of opportunities.  I assessed the equipment on the line and we have about 40% functionality maybe 50% after some deep cleaning and fine tuning.  The staff overall has a super work ethic except for the usual 10% that will be dealt with very soon.  Scheduling issues out of my control this month will make for some unique training and shift ideas to make it successful.  The first few banquets that I had went off without a hitch and got nice reviews.

There is still a general lack of organization throughout the whole establishment not just the restaurant. so the challenges are many but so are the rewards.  This first week I worked around 90 hours and stayed two nights at the hotel due to closing the kitchen and opening the next day for AM banquets.  Not something I want to keep doing.. I am not 20 anymore and after about 60 hours I start to get pains, after about 70 hours I lose focus and it is harder to get the good desired results and efficiency that I need to get things accomplished.

Inventory was a major deal, and the form I had was from 2010 so I am going to have to update all the prices to current or boy-howdy will my numbers be off. It's funny but not really.  I decided to recreate a system all my own that makes sense and will allow me to get the job done in half the time.

Today is the one day I will get off for week #2 but I am making good use of it.  The first part of next week will be to finish the revamped menus...Simple, super easy and hopefully successful with the staff and equipment that I have... Once we get that mastered we can work on fancy and fresh.  Already made a lot of progress but so far to go..  It's like make the climb on Mt. Everest.  I have started, ou the door to the airport and flown to the Himalayas.  But I still have to get up guides, pack the llamas and make the actual hike....

See ya next week!

2012 May: A New Leaf. Life after THE CIA

Executive Chef 2005

After an extensive 8 week job search and numerous interviews and cooking practicals I have landed a job.  It met all of my criteria and even more.

Executive Chef 2006

I will be the Executive Chef of a prestigious hotel in Southbury, CT.

There is already a good base of banquet business and almost no main restaurant business. One of my first tasks is to repair, organize and bring up the general morale of the kitchen then on to bigger tasks. 

Executive Chef 2007

My job is to revamp the menus to create a destination local, build the restaurant business and increase the banquet business and corresponding revenues of both.  Train the current staff if possible and hire and train more staff.  Clean, organize and repair the kitchen and meet any and all other challenges that come my way.

Executive Chef 2008

It is just what I was looking for.  Creativity, Responsibility, challenges around every corner.  No where to go but up!!

Chef on Chopped 2011

It is almost 2 years to the day from when I started at the CIA to getting this job (June 1) would be exact, but I start on the 28th of May so that's really close.  With all my previous experience and the vast array of knowledge heaped upon my brain at the CIA,  I can not wait to get going.

Final kitchen class at the CIA.  Ready to take on the world!  February 2012

I have already approached a few local merchants about sourcing their products for the menu.  I will be sourcing many more in the weeks to come. New menu items to test, training manuals to create, recipes to index and more and more and more.

I should be blogging quite regularly again as I have something exciting to let loose upon the masses.

Final day of school at the CIA. March 2012

"A Bearnaise sauce is simply an egg yolk, a shallot, a little tarragon vinegar, and butter, but it takes years of practice for the result to be perfect." Fernand Point

Well the new year has come, and the old has gone.  School passed by in the blink of an eye, and I find myself in Connecticut deeply entrenched in the job search.  I graduated in late March and have been actively searching the region for an executive chef position.  I have been to many interviews, had many cooking practicals, even reviewed a few restaurants as a consultant.  Nothing seems to have panned out yet.  But even as I write this on the brink of early summer, I have two more interviews on Monday.

The economy seems to have rebounded a lot since 2010.  Everyday new jobs are posted in the search engines on the internet.  I am keeping my search to the local Hartford area due to the fact that my wife has a great teaching job and does not want to move.

What is in store for me? I only know that I have set some priorities for my life and I will get the job that meets all of them!

Tune in same chef time, same chef channel to find out what happens next.