Chef's Diary

Just before I go to my practical class this afternoon, I noticed an article that appeared in the Seattle Post Intelligencer 2 days ago concerning Slow Food eating local and so on. The journo stated (among other things) that she was struck by the comment of a local farmer that “they will not sell any food they wouldn’t feed to their own daughter”. This struck a chord with me too, and so I simply wanted to share the article with you all.

LOCAL CHOICES ARE GOOD FOR EVERYONE – by REBEKAH DENN

Good reading and have a good w/end.

En lisant un article (International Herald Tribune, 7/11/07, “Chefs turn to chemistry, and food gets funky Flexible foie gras from xanthan gum”) ce matin j’ai découvert que l’une des bases de la cuisine moléculaire (pratiquée depuis plusieurs années par Adria, Blumenthal, Keller, Gagnaire…) est un produit que l’on utilise depuis des décennies dans les produits industriels pour les rendre plus stable (“industrial stabilisers” en anglais). Ceci dit, rien de grave dans tout cela puisque parmi les hydocolloids sont des produits très courants dans notre quotidien,

* farine
* agar-agar (fabriqué à partir des algues)
* maizina

Il y en a d’autres qui se trouvent depuis longtemps dans des produits qui sont dans toutes nos cuisines, comme de la vinaigrette pour s’assurer que l’eau et l’huile ne se séparent pas. On trouvera des hydrocolloids comme Xanthan Gum dans beaucoup de nos produits “industriels”.

Ces produits sont maintenant utilisés dans la cuisine moléculaire pour produire des résultats étonnants – fois gras que l’on peut tirer dans des noeux, par exemple.

Pourquoi pas ?

Ma seule intérrogation concerne le lien, s’il y en a, entre Slow Food et cette tendance à dé-nature les produits et les créations pour produire des résultats qui nous donnent des saveurs liées avec des formes dont on n’a pas l’habitude (glace de lardons et oeufs au plat, écume de fois gras….).

Vu que je suis tout au début de mon voyage de découvert culinaire, je me doute bien que ma réaction est le résultat de mon inexpérience – je m’accroche plus facilement aux principes de la tradition, culture, terroire, artisanat, respect des produits, etc. Peut-être je ne devrais pas chercher un lien entre ces 2 mouvements ? En tout cas, je continue à lire ce que je peux sur ce sujet – il m’intrigue, même si le sujet ne me parle pas pour l’instant.

Qu’est-ce que vous en pensez ?

Chefs turn to chemistry, and food gets funky Flexible foie gras from xanthan gum – by Kenneth Chang, New York Times

Stumbled across an article (in a German publication Deutsche Welle, 15/11/07) which stated that Germany has just had another 3 restaurants awarded 3 Michelin stars to take it up to 9 3-star restaurants in total. This made me wonder where the various countries are in this gastronomic league table. So, starting from the top,

1) France 26 3-Star restaurants
2) Germany 9
3) Spain & Portugal each have 6
4) Italy 5
5) UK 3
6) Switzerland & Belgium each have 2

Crikey….I thought that the Brits were a bit further up the table than that ! Looks like we’ve still got some work to do. Whereas German cuisine, that I know nothing about at all, is clearly the new leader amongst the “also-rans”….I clearly need to check out what’s going on over there.

…..not all at the same time, though, of course !

Slow Food as a concept is something that has interested me (from afar, I hasten to add, since I have never actively participated at any actual event and I am not, as of yet, a paying card member) for quite some time. Why ? Well, purely because their philosophy corresponds pretty well with what is at the core of what is important to me in cuisine. For those who don’t know the Slow Food movement, here’s a brief list of the key aspects of their philosophy – those that correspond with what’s important to me, anyway…..

informed about how our food is produced and actively supporting those who produce it – this is something which will be at the heart of my restaurant, when my time comes, be it produce from France or the UK

responsibility to protect the heritage of food, tradition and culture – another key point for me since la cuisine is a means of sharing and understanding culture and tradition. Again, my current vision of my future restaurant has at the heart of it an exchange (between me, my customers and my suppliers / producers) of cultures, notably the English and French cultures.

good, clean and fair food – that is, food produced in a way which respects the environment and the produce, and the producer is fairly compensated for their work

Bacteria, detergents and disinfectants were the subject of today’s class on Science Applied to Cuisine. I have no intention of sharing the detail of this class with you, but simply, each of these classes on Hygiene in the kitchen reminds me of the big difference between what is stated in the regulations, and what is actually applied in a real traditional restaurant. The kitchens where I work have very good standards of cleanliness – to the point where I arrived at work to find the chef cleaning the kitchen with a high pressure water spray to get the grease and grime out from under the work surfaces and behind the ovens. But it is clear that all of the measures mentioned in the guidelines (1995 restauration traditionnelle and 1997 restauration in the community, and soon to be replaced by 852/2004) are difficult to put in place when the kitchen is not designed and built from scratch – which of course is usually the case. I have at least promised myself (and my tutor) that I will studiously respect the 7 point plan for washing my hands (including nail brush) for when I arrive, leave and come back from the toilet or having eaten.

Otherwise, the cleaning of the kitchen is something that will be treated in detail when my restaurant starts to become a reality…but I know that a real headache awaits !

Blogs are pretty much always in my mind at the moment – primarily, at the moment, the content of my own, but also more and more the content and structure of others. One first observation that I have – an obvious one, I suppose – is the personal nature of blogs. Usually 1 person writing about their thoughts on a certain topic (usually food, for those which interest me at the moment). Given the personal nature of the blog, I am beginning to realise that one has to be very careful with the comments that one leaves….or maybe, like in life, it depends upon the nature of the individual ? Anyway, as far as my thoughts in my blog, I intend to remain as open and honest as possible….but I am starting to realise that I cannot apply the same rule to what I write in other people’s blogs….pretty obvious, I guess, but it didn’t occur to me at first.

Anyway, Id better go since I have my cuisine practical class today – potage julienne darblay, carré de porc poêlé avec pommes gaufrettes…..

Maybe it’s no longer particularly cutting edge, this “molecular gastronomy” lark, with the likes of Ferran Adria, Heston Blumenthal, Pierre Gagnaire and Hervé This (amongst probably many, many others) letting their creative juices flow in this area for a number of years now. But for me it remains pretty much a mystery.

So, I decided to read up on the topic – and why not start with one of the “references” from the champion of la cuisine moléculaire here in France….Hervé This ? I popped down to the Fnac (huge outlet for all media and technology in France, Spain and maybe elsewhere, but not the UK yet, I don’t think), asked the advice of the guy who looked after the cookery section, and ended up with “Casseroles et éprouvettes“.

I’ve only read 2 or 3 articles so far, but thought that I’d share my summaries with you as I get through the book…..so let’s start with

Le Bouillon / Stock

The discussion here concerns whether or not, inorder to create a good stock, meat should be put into cold or boiling water. Does the temperature affect the ability to extract the juice of the meat into the water ?

start in Cold Water : Antonin Carême (1847) and Brillat-Savarin (1825) said that if meat is placed in hot or boiling water then the outside of the meat will be sealed (by the heat) meaning that the water cannot enter into the heart of the meat and thus its flavour / juices cannot be extracted into the stock. Seemingly, meat placed initially in cold water results in a stock which is clearer as well (less particles floating in the stock, no need to clarify and thus no dillution of the flavour). Even Mr. Liebig (German chemist who created the famous stock cube brand) said that one had to put meat in cold water. Seems to make sense.

start in Hot Water : no one supported placing meat in hot or boiling water. Everyone said that this meant that the juices were “locked” inside the meat and that the stock would be alot cloudier.

Hervé This : tests show that, be it cold or boiling water, the final stock is no different.

Les Gnocchis

Is it true that gnocchis float to the surface only when they are cooked ?

First of all, what is there to cook in a gnocchi ? Egg, flour and potato (asuming a potato based gnocchi). Egg is cooked at +68°C. Potato is already cooked before preparing the gnocchi. In the flour is gluten and starch (amidon) – starch when mixed with warm water “lightens”, gluten (being protein) is cooked in the boiling water.

Secondly, why do gnocchis float ? Well, seemingly because, when the water heats up, small bubbles of vapour are created which attach themselves to the outside of the gnocchi (in the crevaces of the irregular surface).

So, does floating indicate that a gnocchi is cooked ? Seemingly not. Gnocchi of different sizes, once floating, had their internal temperature tested and it was shown that not all had the same reading. Basically, different sized gnocchi have different cooking times – floating or not !

L’Oeuf Dur Maîtrisé / the Perfect Hard Boiled Egg

How to make sure that the yolk is perfectly centred ? Place the egg in cold or boiling water ?

Seemingly the answer lies not in the initial temperature of the water, but in moving and turning the egg intermittently (if the egg is left static the yolk – being less dense than the white of the egg – will rise), which means that it remains centred.

One final point – if an egg is boiled for too long, not only will it be hard, it will also be “dry” or powdery. In Jewish cuisine the “hamine” eggs are cooked slowly at temperatures of between 50 and 90 °C, which means that the proteins are cooked but the water in the white of the egg does not evapourate…..which ensures a hard egg which is still tender.

Never thought that cooking an hard boiled egg would be so complicated !

WOW !!

La, je voulais terminer sur un point positif, et cela a fini par être le cas. J’ai compris qu’il me faut un rôle là où je travaille – ça ne suffit pas de donner un coup de main à chacun dans la cuisine sans prendre certaines tâches à ma charge. Donc, aujourd’hui au Zephyr j’ai dit que je voulais être la seule personne à préparer les desserts….”just desserts”, ce qui veut dire en anglais “je reçois ce que je mérite”. Donc parfait….je me suis donné une base solide et un objectif raisonable qui était à ma portée. Je n’ai pas tout réussi – ce n’est pas cela le point important….j’avais un objectif et je savais ce que j’avais à faire dans la journée et ce soir.

Il est tard et donc je ne vais pas écrire pendant longtemps…suffit de dire que je suis ravi de ce que j’ai réussi à faire ces 2 semaines en stage. Je n’ai toujours pas encore assez de confiance en moi et mes compétences en cuisine pour être ouvert et partager (je veux dire vraiment - écouter leur conseil et ne pas le vivre comme une critique qui est censée mettre en évidence mes faiblesses) avec mes collègues (soit les autres personnes qui suivent le CAP Cuisine, soit les cuisiniers avec qui je travaille en stage). Mais, je sais que cela va venir….

Nous avons fait 75 couverts ce soir, et 45 ce midi. On était 4 en cuisine ce midi et 3 ce soir…donc nous avons bien fait ce soir. J’ai cassé 1 assiette et une autre petite chose, mais j’ai réalisé tous les desserts qu’il fallait, et j’ai bien travaillé sur les entrées avec Jean-Jean. On n’était pas terrible parfois, mais personnellement, je vois que d’ici peu de temps je vais pouvoir vraiment “bosser”. A partir de ce moment, je vais commencer à sentir la cuisine (vouloir préparer une salade qui est jolie, un fois gras mi-cuit dont je suis fier au lieu de simplement être content de mettre les ingrédients dans l’assiette et la sortir à l’heure….peu importe la présentation).

Enfin bon…..je m’arrête là puisque je suis fatigué et ma femme m’attend dans notre lit.

Demain ma journée de repos – pour l’instant j’ai bcp de respect pour ce rythme de travail où on travaille dur avec des journées assez complètes, et donc où j’apprécie bcp plus mes journées de repos. Il y a une authenticité qui me passionne…..heureusement je vois suffisamment de signes positifs qui me montrent que ma décision de changer de métier n’est pas si farfelou que tout cela !! Ceci dit, demain je vais essayer de préparer une réunion (qui aura lieu mardi prochain) avec un client du secteur pharmaceutique dans mon rôle de consultant sénior BI pour Capgemini….ça va être intéressant de voir comment je vis cette réunion et la préparation.

Bonne nuit et à demain…..au minimum pour la version anglaise !

So, I’m at the end of my 2 week period at La Fontaine Gaillon and wow, what a rollercoaster of emotion !

I’ve been buzzing with excitement, exhausted, aching hands (my right hand is still tingling, quite literally), slightly demoralised, and now quitely confident and content.

In my last post I talked about the need to find my place in the team. Well, this coincided with the departure on 1 weeks’ sick leave of one of the young lads with whom I work. The next day (Wednesday) when we were 1 person less in our little team of 4 who work on all starters / entrées. So, all of a sudden, I had a role in the team – not much of a role, but my own things to do during the service….génial ! So what exactly did I have to do….?

* put on the toast for the warm artichoke and fois gras salad (4 slices), or for the salmon carpaccio (2 slices)
* cook and dress the plate for the langoustine spring rolls / nems aux langoutines
* put the langoustine raviolli in the boiling water (and sometimes take it out and put it in a bowl)
* prepare, cook (plunge them in the deep fat fryer) and dress the plate for the calamaris / petites fritures
* pipe the mayonnaise, sometimes tartare sauce or another sauce into small serving dishes for either soup, merlan / whiting
* constantly clean-up after ourselves (like everyone else)

So, as you can see, it ain’t really Escoffier or Gordon Ramsay….but it’s MY job for the 2 hour rush, and believe me, if the toast isn’t ready when there are over 100 people to serve during the midday service….well, you’re dead !!! I wasn’t great yesterday, but today I felt “on the ball” from the word “go” at 08hrs this morning.

So all in all, what is the usual day for me ?

1) my working day (10 hours, 8-18hrs, en continue rather than en coupure which means 7h30-14h30 and then 17h30-midnight-ish) goes very, very quickly and is split into 5 phases
Part 1 : 08hrs – 11hrs we are all preparing the fish which arrives between 7-9am (merlan, rouget, langoustine, moules, couquilles st. jacques, cabillaud, merlu, thon, bar – bearing in mind that only the experienced chefs can prepare the st jacques, cabillaud, thon and particularly the bar which is expensive and thus inexperienced hands which tend to leave too much flesh on bones and don’t cut the flesh cleanly are only allowed merlan and rouget), the side dishes (veg peeled, sliced, cut into disks and cooked in steam oven) are prepared, mayo and guacamole is made, bread cut, langoustines shelled, raviolli and spring rolls put together, cooked new potatoes peeled, onions chopped finely, estragon and parsley chopped into ribbons, deliveries stored in the cold storage, baguettes rubbed with garlic and cut into small slices and grilled (for the soup), artichokes are peeled and reduced to the heart of the artichoke, and so on and so on……
Part 2 : 11hrs – 11h30 time for all the team – from dishwasher to chef to waiter staff – to sit down and eat “lunch”, prepared by Guillaume. This is the only pause during the day, and even though it officially lasts 30 minutes, for almost everyone it lasts around 20 minutes.
Part 3 : 11h30 – 12h30 is the time where the energy picks up, the team starts to move quicker, final preparations are completed, the waiter staff meet with the senior chefs to discuss the menu for the day…..we’re ready
Part 4 : 12h30 – 14h30 is what it’s all for…..or atleast, all of the prep in the morning. Usually during this time 100+ people will be served starter / main course, the 2 different teams (cold and hot – or those preparing the starters and those preparing the main meals) run whilst at the same time controling the culinary production. Frankly, it’s exhilirating….as long as you know what you’re doing !! The Chef calls out the orders which arrive, the different members of each team click into action. We are lucky to have a lovely kitchen in which to work, stainless steel / inox everywhere and thus easy to clean, lots of small fridges for storage (in draws or cupboards), everyone knows what they are there to do and which dishes concern them…..we run quite literally sometimes, but when it comes to the plate, it’s calm personnified. The last few days I’ve had a role to play in this controlled mayhem, and it’s been great – I’ve not been perfect, far from it…but I know that I can do this job. I need to do it for a prolonged period of time and it will come. I look at the chefs working the gas rings and hot plates and I want to be there……the creation….., well, between 12H30 and 14h30 it’s not the time for creation, it’s time to act with efficiency (ideally, though of course, occasionnally, toast gets tipped into pans accidently, starters get dropped on the floor – and not put back in the plate, I hasten to add !)
Part 5 : 14h30 – 18h is time for those who are not working during the evening (ie. me and someone else, usually Cédric and Tran, though sometimes Akio or Manu) to do the prep for the evening session. During this period there is a 3 minute pause (really, not as long as 5 minutes) for a coffee, the rhythm is “cooler” (though not today since we had loads to do) and thus it’s the time to get to know the people who are left in the kitchen during the afternoon.

I leave whilst the rest of the team are sitting down to eat their dinner (18h – 18h30).

It’s a good kitchen where good habits are learnt…I’ve got, however, a lot to learn on the morphology / phyisionnomy of the different fish that we buy in.

I’ve got to have a good day tomorrow at Le Zephyr to cap what’s been a good, though testing, week.

This blog has been up and running and accessible for 13 days, and in that time I have had 60 different visitors from 9 different countries (France, Switzerland, Sweden being the top sources, with sporadic interest coming from the USA, Canada, NZ, Portugal, UK, Belgium). I think that a number of you have not spent much time reading my diary entries (fair enough – I was quite frankly gobsmacked / surprised when my mate Rob suggested that my journal might be worth putting on the web as a blog), but there seems to be about 30% of you who follow my entries quite regularly.

So, I’m pretty curious to know who you are…..not necessarily your whole intimate history, but simply why you are interested in this blog. I’d be very interested to have your thoughts on what I’m doing – 38 yr old English computer consultant changes direction to get trained up as a chef and then set up his own restaurant.

Anyway, truth be known, I’m feeling a bit low on morale today…..a few doubts have been allowed to creep into my head. So, I would be very keen to have some words of encouragement…..:-)

Briefly, today I had a short chat with the chef – he appreciates my energy, he says that I should be careful to not try to move forward too quickly (thus annoying people if I try to do stuff that I can’t and this then making them less willing to help when I am more able to do what I would like to do), that they don’t really need me and thus the main difficulty that I’ll have is trying to find my place, he is perfectly willing to let me work at different roles during my time in his kitchen (for example, each Wednesday I could do patissery, each morning I could help the poissonnier prepare the Whiting / Merlan, and so on). The fact that they don’t need me depressd me a wee bit, even though I know that this is a reality and despite that I will still be able to get a lot of good experience. I just want some responibility (for even the smallest task) – I guess because I’m totally used to being autonomous in my consultant role. At the same time I know that this is unreasonable to expect. I think that by the end of my second period of training in the restaurant (end of Dec 2007 – til the end of Jan 2008) I will have a better idea of where I am.

I need to find my place in the team.

I think that I am at a moment where I should start to master the basics and have some real cuisine knowledge – Saturday’s session at Le Zephyr was somewhat difficult for me….not too much work – quite the opposite and for me it was an opportunity missed to get a bit of experience at working the hot plates. The problem was that quite simply I don’t remember what goes in the plate for different dishes…..I am still asking regularly what plate to use, etc. Not good enough and I really must get this sorted out. For me to be able to develop my culinary craft (i.e. able to be creative in the professional kitchen) I must first of all master the basics of how to organise myself in the kitchen and to organise / order / plan my production (i.e. know how to “construct” the various dishes that are on the menu and to make sure that ).

Some things that I aim to achieve in the next few weeks….

* learn thoroughly the basic sauces (for example, I was sure that I knew how to prepare the sauce béarnaise : well, yes I knew the different ingredients and approx. the different stages….but I didn’t understand or “feel” the sauce….I don’t know if you know what I mean, but I do and that’s what counts – it’s an emulsion which is a sauce created, essentially, out of the fusion of a water-based product and a fat-based productI need to prepare these sauces regularly so that it becomes part of me. Then I can start to imagine new sauces….;-)

* cuts of meat : I am starting with beef (33 cuts), moving on to lamb (12 cuts) and then veal (16 cuts).

* fish : learn the basics on the fish which are on the menu at La Fontaine – Bar / Sea Bass, Merlan / Whiting, Merlu-Colin / Hake (which becomes Morue in France when it is salted), Rouget / Snapper, Sole.

* learn “by heart” how the starters and puddings (Le Zephyr only, since I don’t have to be able to do sweets at La Fontaine) are presented at Le Zephyr and La Fontaine.

All of that said, a quick rundown of what I have done during the last 2 sessions at work (at Le Zephyr Saturday and La Fontaine today)….

* filleted a whole salmon (3,5KG), took off the skin, preparation of a tartare
* deboned chicken leg
* finished the béarnaise sauce (starting from the reduction which was done earlier in the day) – liaison avec l’émulsion d’oeuf, ajout de l’eau, monter jusqu’à une sauce firme, ajout du beurre clarifié d’un seul coup et bien intégré
* prepared from start to finish my own recipie for Rice Pudding (see recipie 2), even though we didn’t sell a single one all night !!
* prepared (clean out and fillet whilst keeping the 2 fillets joined together by the skin) 30 or so Red Mullets / Rougets
* listened to the orders coming in even though we were busier today than at any point last week – 80 covers.

Anyway, better leave it at that since I’ve got a brief meeting with the chef tomorrow morning at 7h40.

Cheers, Dom

Alors, on est tous à la fin de la première semaine de nos stages respectifs – en ce qui me concerne, tout va bien pour l’instant…..et j’ai même pu profiter d’un jour férié (jeudi) qui était glorieux…je n’ai jamais profité autant d’un jour férié quand j’étais chez Capgemini….là, jeudi, mes mains étaient fatiguées et j’avais besoin d’une pause….oouff !!!!

La Fontaine Gaillon : bonne équipe (10 – chef, 2 seconds, 2 poissonniers, 3 garde mangers, 2 patissiers) et moi avec un autre apprenti patisserie), que des mecs, bcp d’années d’expérience, bcp de bon poisson dans l’assiette. Je rencontrerai le chef pour la première fois (en cuisine, en tout cas) et donc l’occasion de faire un point et de parler de ce que je veux faire….travailler le poisson, passer un peu de temps avec les crustacés dans l’autre resto (L’écaille), et passer qqs semaines avec les patissiers. Je dirai qu’il faut aussi (évidemment) travailler les légumes (tourner les navets, etc) et autres choses de base.

Le Zephyr : très bonne équipe, style plus décontracté mais plein d’idées sur le côté créatif, très ouvert (le chef m’a demandé de proposer un dessert pour ce w/end et il est intéressé par mon idée d’entrée aussi…..mais peu importe, lui, sa femme et son second m’ont écouté et ne m’ont pas traité pour un petit stagière qui n’en sait rien…et donc, ça donne envie de s’exprimer, et donc d’apprendre). Un semedi très chargé mais très intéressant.

Pourquoi “cereal blogger” ? Ce soir nous sommes sortis (ma femme et moi) avec une amie (une ancienne de ma formation) et son homme, Peter – nous sommes allés à un restaurant “Chez Léon” (métro Villiers) dont le co-propriétaire (Vincent) est un ancien de ma formation (d’il y a 2 ans). C’était une très bonne soirée – malheureusement nos pastillas n’étaient pas terrible, mais le poisson (bar ?) était bon et je sais que Vincent va réussir – il a tout ce qu’il faut pour le faire.

Nous avons parlé de plusieurs choses – surtout MOI au début…je n’arrive pas à m’arrêter de parler de moi, mon projet, mes idées…l’enthousiasme est parfois un peu trop pour les autres, peut-être…..enfin bon. Il y avait aussi le projet culinaire / restaurant de mon amie, et les projets de Peter, …….et le fait que je mange toujours des céréales avant d’aller au lit le soir (je viens de finir mes “Cornflakes” avec du lait pasteurisé !!!). Ouais, bizarre…il me faudrait une séance psy pour comprendre pourquoi. En tout cas, j’apprécis énormément les échanges avec mon amie qui est un peu plus avancée que moi sur son chemin d’apprentissage de cuisine. Les échanges avec Peter m’ont fait revenir sur le monde de l’informatique que je cherche à quitter…..c’était un peu curieux parce que je me sentais intéressé par les points qu’il évoquait (sur ses projets informatiques), mais en même temps, je me disais “mais Dom, pourquoi poses-tu toutes ces questions parce que tu ne veux plus faire partie de ce monde-là !?”….une très bonne soirée, et ça va être intéressant pour eux de voir comment nous sommes (ma femme et moi) à la fin de janvier 2008 – moins d’argent, plus de véçu du métier et des horaires longues !!

…et j’ai acheté un livre de Hervé This – une introduction à la Gastronomoie Moléculaire “Casseroles et Eprouvettes”. On verra bien – déjà si j’arrive à comprendre et retenir ce qu’il a à raconter.

Bon voila mes réflections pour aujourd’hui – une très, très bonne semaine avec une belle soirée avec 2 bonnes âmes. J’espère que la semaine prochaine sera aussi porteuse de bonheur !