The Need to Feed - My Sabbatical Journey

#67 - 03 April 2009 - The End

2009-04-03T06:36:00.000-07:00

This is the last post. I'm going to quickly finish the last five "Commandments for Kitchen Survival" (you can fill in the spaces with your own words...) and move on to new and exciting things. The last three months have been a professional revelation. It will take some time to process it all, maybe the rest of my life, yet - I found answers and substance to my initial question concerning "The Need to Feed." I found that I still have that need. I realized the importance of soul in good food. I re-learned the quest for perfection in the kitchen - in our scarred lives at least we have that space to attempt to be perfect and wonderful...

The space between real life and my stage at The French Laundry, also called "vacation", is nearly over. I will not be checking this web blog anymore so, should you wish to contact me, feel free to send me an e-mail at thefrenchmanner@comcast.net.

"Commandment #6 for Kitchen Survival": Have a Game Plan.

"Commandemnt #7 for Kitchen Survival": De Decisive.

"Commandemnt #8 for Kitchen Survival": Trust Your Intuition.

"Commandment #9 for Kitchen Survival": Get Experience.

"Commandment #10 for Kitchen Survival": Pay Attention.

That's it. The rest is up to you. Peace.

~R

#66 - 27 March 2009 - Lake Tahoe to Colorado...and home"

2009-03-29T11:09:00.000-07:00

The snow-capped mountains literally fall into the deep ice-blue waters of Lake Tahoe. The wind whips up white caps and we motor around and then away from that high sierra gem. Out of California and into Nevada we speed along in relative quiet along I-80. There isn't too much but natural beauty out there. The landscape is punctuated every one hundred miles or so with a dot of a town. We stop for lunch in Elko and then find our way into western Utah. Our dining needs are just that. We eat to sustain our need to drive, not to entertain our palates... Utah is unbelievably flat - the Bonneville Salt Flats and Speedway are just the prelude to the Great Salt Lake Valley... Around Salt lake City to Provo, we finish the day in Nephi, exausted from the monotony of driving.

I stretched in the morning after feeling the miles in my back forming knots and tightness. Something pops and moves across my lower lumbar and nestles it's pain in my lower left back. The next 12 hours are cycles of drug-covered muscle ache to surges of muscle spasms and intense red-hot jabs of pain... O.k., maybe I over did the work thing in California and now just too much driving is causing this pain. I could drive but I could barely walk! Finally we reach Colorful Colorado, the familiar mountain communities of Glenwood Springs, Vail and Frisco. One last stop for herbal medicine (which worked great!) and we were home by 7:00 p.m. 1,600 vacation & tourist miles from the Pacific.

I know that people will ask me... "So, how was it?" I need to wrap my brain around the last two months and will report my answers to you on a regular basis. This morning is, as I hobble around in my post-drive pain, a day to shower, shave, unpack and begin my life - all over again in beautiful Superior, Colorado with my wonderful family, great friends and a slew of business and professional goals... Peace.

~R

#65 - 25 March 2009 - "Napa to Lake Tahoe..."

2009-03-25T22:09:00.000-07:00

The past week has taken me from a final day as a stagier at The French Laundry to a California Wine Country tourist!

Just to catch you up - finished my "Laundry" at 2:00 a.m. on the 21st and drove to Napa, California to meet Colorado friends (Mike & Judy and I slept in the car overnight in the parking lot at their Inn!), took a shower and had breakfast with them and then it as off to San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to pick-up my wife and daughter... and then off to Ghiradelli Square, Fisherman's Wharf (had a great lunch at Capurro's with owner Paul C. - Cioppino, of course!), across the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito and a Fika (Swedish for Coffee break with Pastry in the afternoon - around 4:00 p.m.) at the Sausalito Bakery & Deli and then back to Napa Valley.

Sunday, the 22nd we toured Yountville and had coffee and breakfast at The Bouchon Bakery. Me - and Almond Croissant. So good...! Walked the grounds at The French Laundry for the last time, as well... Took pictures of the garden and the restaurant that proved I actually was there... I will write a blog in the future to put that experience in perspective and to give my thanks to a select group of people.

Left Yountville and tasted at Stag' Leap (loved the 2004 Chase Creek Cab), gnoshed at the Oakville Grocery and then on to Opus (2003 and 2005Cab/Merlot). We lunched at Taylor's Refresher (featured in an episode of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives...) in St. Helena. Next stop was Beringer (very good 2004 Nightingale - Semillion and Sauv Blanc) and then down the road to the CIA - to walk the grounds, visit the store and talk with the desk clerk ("Sam"). As a 1987 graduate of the CIA at Hyde Park he led us upstairs and we were allowed into the kitchen to talk and take pictures. I had spent some time at CIA at Greystone several years ago... I'll have to add all those good pics in a future blog as well.

Next on the tasting trip was Charles Krug and really loved the Zinfandel Port (tasted with a Scharffenberger 62% chocolate). Dinner that evening at Barndiva in Healdsburg, California - Modern Country Food. Pretty good...had Goat Cheese Croquettes, Quail Breast, and Beignets.

Monday the Corey's drove to the coast - Bodega Bay up to Jenner; lunch at River's End... Rte. 116 to Alexander Valley and found Jim's Town...10 years later. Tasted at Alexander Valley Winery. Loved their Bordeaux blends... Back to Santa Rosa and cooked seafood dinner. The last meal with P.S.(Cajun-style Catfish, Petrale Sole Meunier, Steamed Clams in Chardonnay, Shallots & Butter and Potato-wrapped Salmon - with Asparagus, Broccolini, Cucumbers, Butter Lettuce Salad, Roasted Tomatoes, Oven-Warmed Pears and Strawberries with Balsamico and Creme Chantilly).

Took the young Miss Corey to SFO on Tuesday and R & J travelled to Mendocino County and found a gem - Roederer Estates!!! The offspring of the house of Roederer Champagne in Reims, France. Wonderful. Loved the MV 2000, the Rose 2000, the 1999 Hermitage and bought several... Roederer was the first pour at my 24-course dinner at TFL on February 27th... I guess I could have bought a 1999 Cristal, but it was $595.00...

On to Mendocino, Ft. Bragg and then landed in Westport at Howard Ranch Inn at the headwaters of the Howard Creek and the Pacific Ocean and among the quail, sheep, llamas, horses and wild berries. A delightful Country Inn (which was once a 1960's hippie commune) with service provided by Sally and Sunny and a killer breakfast by CCA graduate Josh (good luck in Maui, my man!)...fun, fun, fun!

Across the Central Valley of California and up into the Sierra's... In Lake Tahoe tonight and off to Nevada and Utah tomorrow. Along the way I have been planning my April 20th Q & A event and I am re-visiting/re-reading Fernand Point's "Ma Gastronomie" with the forward by Thomas Keller. The one may be a re-incarnation of the other. My culinary hero and my culinary hero's hero....

There is much more to write, so stayed tuned. I also owe you several more commandments. I have them all planned out but I'm enjoying touring right now! I have much to say and do. To paraphrase F. Point - he said, "One must taste everything, cook everything and see everything in order to retain just a little bit." Peace.

~R

#64 - 22 March 2009 - "Just catching up..."

2009-03-22T22:17:00.000-07:00

Good evening, y'all...

Yes, I've finished my stage at The French Laundry. However, I've missed a couple of days of blogging whilst dealing with friends and family flying in to California; my mother having to fly back East and subsequently become admitted to a hospital because of a fall she took (hope you are feeling better, Mom!); and then, of course, my final days at TFL \; and - now, just being a tourist in Wine Country...! I'll be back...soon. Peace.

~R

#63 - 18 March 2009 - "Commandment #5 for Kitchen Survival"

2009-03-18T21:14:00.000-07:00

#5 "Get it Right." Know what you are doing at all times (at any time the Chef might just ask you what the heck you're doing). Seek out the top experts on any subject and learn everything they know. I spent an amazing afternoon with Thomas Keller today, so and I know that learning from the best is very important... Find a mentor for everything that you do. Also, remember to "Do it right - or do it twice." - Devin Knell, Executive Sous Chef at The French Laundry (and others). Peace.

~R

#62 - 17 March 2009 - "St. Patrick's Day"

2009-03-17T14:55:00.000-07:00

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again,
may God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Peace.

~R

#61 - 16 March 2009 - "In The Garden"

2009-03-17T13:36:00.000-07:00

Monday was my scheduled day in the garden...

Gardening requires lots of water - most of it in the form of perspiration. ~Lou Erickson

My Sunday evening ended on Monday morning at 1:30 a.m.. One hour drive to Santa Rosa in the rain, fog and dark. I realized then, at 2:30 a.m., that I wasn't going to make a scheduled 7:30 a.m. or even 8:00 a.m. shift in The French Laundry garden. I called and left messages to say that I would be late... In bed at 3:00, I "slept" until 7:45 a.m.. Refreshed (!) from my 4 1/2 hours of REM-deprived horizontal-ness, I showered, packed for my weekend (Angel's Camp, California - home to the "Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" by Samuel L. Clemens - with my mother, brother and sister-in-law) trip and hustled into Napa Valley, arriving at TFL at 9:00 a.m.. Yes, I was late. I knew I had to atone for my belated start. As much as the schedule said I was to be there earlier, I didn't think that a 6 1/2 hour turn-around was really appropriate...or, possible. My apologies were accepted and I went to work. My day consisted of: trimming and scissor-snipping the green onions, removing the brown withered tops and giving them a "spikey-funky" haircut...; weed all the newly-sprouted fennel seedlings; tend the beds of micro-greens and weed them accordingly; spread the thyme, cabbage and greens beds with new straw bale for the expected weekend crowds during the Taste of Yountville; rake and keep the grassy areas between the plots clean and orderly; tend, hoe and weed the Spring Onion bed...

What a man needs in gardening is a cast-iron back, with a hinge in it. ~Charles Dudley Warner, My Summer in a Garden, 1871

Ouch. I begrugingly tended gardens as a child in Sutton, Massachusetts and have home-gardened at various places that the Corey's have lived. The difference is - now I'm 50... however, I went at my tasks with new-found excitement. I really enjoyed the elements and the work. The stretching every 15 minutes or so was necessary, and saw others doing the same... "Tonight is going to be a four-Ibuprophen night", I remember thinking...and, it was. Especially after the five hours I spent night-driving south to Angels' camp. That's another story...

There can be no other occupation like gardening in which, if you were to creep up behind someone at their work, you would find them smiling. ~Mirabel Osler

I found myself outdoors for more than eight hours. Eight hours of driving rain, sunshine, wind, drizzle and a continous flow of passers-by who were eager to walk among the well-manicured plots and stop to, like Ferdinarnd The Bull, "smell the flowers (or herbs)", take pictures of their loved ones or aimlessly stroll from one end of the garden to the other - all with smiles on their faces. I smiled, too.

Gardening is a matter of your enthusiasm holding up until your back gets used to it. ~Author Unknown

I respect those that grow things. It fulfills their soul and takes all their time. Time to do it well. It takes passion. Think of the possibilities. Heirlooms. Flowers. Seeds. Earth and soil. Water. Sun and natural fertilizers. Earthworms, ladybugs and the micro-geography of the garden. The quiet solitude in the garden belies the physical effort it takes to till the earth with bare or gloved hands and toil under sun or clouds to grow the flowers, herbs and plants that we use as food. My day was just a small contribution to the efforts that are put forth by TFL Head Gardener and staff. Lovely to look at, the sundry plots of vegetables and herbs are a necessary part-of-the-whole-experience that is, The French Laundry.

It was, in spite of my back pain - a great day. Peace.

~R

#60 - 15 March 2009 - "Commandment #4 for Kitchen Survival"

2009-03-15T12:17:00.000-07:00

"Beware the Ides of March." -from Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

#4 Learn from your mistakes. And...every one makes them. Your smarts in the kitchen has much to do with experience and learning from your mistakes. Your intelligence is in recognizing them and doing something about it to correct them - now or in the future. Expertise often comes from having failed in small ways and using those experiences to get it right.... Peace.

~R

P.S.
It's Tax-Time! So, my available moments have been crunched; and I have family in Califiornia, my wife and daughter are coming in on saturday, other frinds (Mike & Judy) are coming in on Friday, and I'm working on plans to meet Chef Keller on Wednesday, and planning is under way for an event in April at The Art Institute for Q & A about my Stage and Sabbatical experience, and am planning events for 12 Seasons - and now I'm cooking for the Govenor and 30 of his closest friends... Oh, and I have to go to work, too... The blogs may be short in the next week, or so (is what I'm trying to say)... :)

#59 - 13 March 2009 - "Commandment #3 for Kitchen Survival"

2009-03-13T06:27:00.000-07:00

#3 "Know what you are getting into." Expect anything and everything to happen in a kitchen, or a restaurant - every day. Have a plan. Be excited. Get going right away. Stay focused. Pay attention. And, heed these immortal words; "Work fast, but go slow." - John Wooden, UCLA Basketball Coach. Peace.

~R

#58 - 12 March 2009 - "Commandment #2 for Kitchen Survival"

2009-03-12T18:12:00.000-07:00

#2 Get your ego out of the way. Athletes and high powered executives are often bred to believe that they can handle anything - no matter how difficult a situation may be. Many of us have little training to face such difficult situations. Some chefs and managers may possess the capabilities to be very good tactitions in their particular fields, but very poor in an understanding of processes and management styles. Intimidation is not a management style but more of an egotistical fault. I once worked with a wise and sage man who said to me, "Rob, you have to get out of your own way." Ouch. He was right. I learned that it wasn't always about me; issues are a larger consideration in the day to day of a business. Il Ling New, a self-defense guru, proclaimed that "You do not rise to the occasion - you default to your level of training." Remember that. You may be hard-wired to react at a perceived level, but until you are trained for that level of expertise and are indeed are met with those situations, you'll not be totally ready for success. Keep learning and hone your mind. Get trained to the highest skill levels in everything you do. Rehash events and get better at what you do... Peace.

~R

#57 - 11 March 2009 - "Commandment #1 for Kitchen Survival"

2009-03-11T23:59:00.000-07:00

This blog may sound somewhat like the Biblical Moses (with apologies to all believers...) descending from the mountaintop with tablets denoting moral and ideological codes for social behavior. However, the following Decalouge is inspired by an article that I read in The San Francisco Chronicle on Sunday, March 8th, written by Tom Stienstra. His musings contemplated the rules by which backwoodsmen and outdoor enthisiasts should follow when trekking into wilderness areas - survival training, if you will... He opened his article with a first paragraph recitation of an old Waylon Jennings song, "If you live on the edge, You can be subject to a fall." I have adopted his 10 Commandments and modified them for cooks and chefs. In other words "Kitchen Survial". I will be using these as a basis for the next ten blogs (one Commandment per day - it's heavy, man...), which will bring me to the end of my time in Napa Valley and at The French Laundry.

#1 Never hope. Crisis in the kitchen? Never try to hope your way through it. Take complete command of the outcome. You have to be in control of yourself, your emotions and others around you. Put out the fires and get back on track. Peace.

~R

#56 - 10 March 2009 - "Italian Inspiration" - Dinner for 9

2009-03-10T13:00:00.000-07:00

Buongiorno! Preparations have begun for the next dinner party in Santa Rosa, tomorrow evening at 6:30 p.m. It is Italian-inspired and is based on some of the favorite items from past events through 12 Seasons Personal Chef & Sommelier Services (www.12seasonswinebar.com). Here is the menu:

“Italian Inspiration”
11 March 2009

Fried Hen’s Egg and Prosciutto Sandwich on Focaccia Bread
with Gremolata, Marinara & Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Spinach Ravioli filled with Roasted Butternut Squash Puree
served with Browned Butter, Hazelnuts & Sage

Seared Tuna Steaks in Lemon & Mustard Caper Sauce

Veal, Pork and Beef Meatballs and Sauce Tomate with Pugliese Toast

Spring Greens, Heirloom Tomato & Basil Salad
with Roasted Garlic & Balsamic Vinaigrette

Macerated Strawberries, Raspberries, Blueberries & Blackberries
with Lemoncello Zabaglione & Polenta Crostata

Ciao.

~R

#55 - 09 March 2009 - "The Commis Kitchen" - Pictures

2009-03-09T12:10:00.000-07:00

These are pictures of the Commis Kitchen (just off the main kitchen at The French Laundry) and the interior garden that is visible through the windows from our workplace. Enjoy. I do, everyday...

This just in: Jacob Harkins has written a very nice piece on the stage experience. Check it out @ http://www.examiner.com/x-2954-Denver-Restaurant-Examiner. Look for the article and pictures featuring yours truly... Peace.

~R

#54 - 08 March 2009 - "Carpe Diem"

2009-03-08T12:23:00.000-07:00

Seize the day.

Very busy dinner service last evening. I even got going earlier than usual yesterday afternoon, however, I didn't get to start my own prep list (I was by myself in the prep room) until nearly 10:00 p.m. I loved the interplay between the Chef, Chefs des Parties and myself, for when someone needed something done at the last minute - ta da! That's my bag, man... Service finished, clean-up was complete and meeting ajourned around 2:00 a.m. The hour drive home became a leisurely 75 minute tour and by the time I hit the pillow, I think it was 4:00-ish. Then the time change... Slept until noon. So I'm a bit groggy, achy (remember the old bones!), and in need of coffee!!! Today will be short and sweet as I still need to wash my chef pants and get on the road by 2:00 p.m. So, to everyone out there... Carpe Diem. Sieze your day. Peace.

~R

#53 - 07 March 2009 - "The Task at Hand."

2009-03-07T10:26:00.001-08:00

So, your blogger experienced a magical evening at The French Laundry, last night.

It was the quintessential perfect dinner service. Very busy yet extremely quiet, focused, professional and on-task. This kitchen brigade is a team working seemlessly together, with no mental or physical mistakes, and the food looked gorgeous. It was halfway through the evening when, in the midst of working through my prep list (as the only stagier on duty) when I had a mini-epiphany, of sorts. I realized how close I was to leaving TFL and finishing my commitment on the stage. Yet, I also realized how close I was to leaving TFL - and leaving the experience behind. So, now I need to stay even more focused on the task at hand, continue asking the probing questions of chefs and cooks and stay determined in my goal of gathering as much knowledge and experience as possible. The thought echoed in my mind - "I'm close to leaving The French Laundry." How could this time have gone by so quickly...

At one point I worked with the Pastry Chef on some ideas and questions on specific methods and techniques pertaining to a new dessert idea that was being worked through. One thing I love about this experience is engaging true professionals on questions of the character of a dish, methods, textures, appearances, techniques, colors, flavors, experiences, and the proposed taste of a finished menu item... I also had the opportunity to work next to Chef Keller and he agreed to schedule our one-on-one meeting next week. I will have some time to sit and speak with him privately, as I have a decade of questions for him (if you also have something you'd like me to bring into my conversation, just reply here or e-mail me)!

Later, I in casual conversations with two Chefs des Parties (who I agreed to keep anonymous in this blog), some very clarifying comments came to light:

First, from "B" - this Chef stated in a conversation that "in order to find your greatest learning you need to get out of your element, get out of your comfort zone and test yourself." Brilliant. Push yourself and test your mettle. Get away from the ease of your normal work occurances (specifically in the kitchen but worthwhile in all phases of life) and find the depth of confidence in your ability. Get better at what you do by being pushed. Raise your own expectations and standards. The key is the "comfort zone". It's warm and cozy there, isn't it...? Get away from that place and the steely winds of change begin to blow hard in your face - so, it's a new challenge, a new horizon that needs to be conquered.

Secondly, from "J" - I asked this chef, as I do to everyone I meet at TFL, "Why are you here and what excites you about working here." The response in this case was short and sweet; "Sure, it's hard and the hours are long but it makes me happy." That was perfect. Peace.

~R

#52 - 06 March 2009 - "The Look"

2009-03-05T16:25:00.000-08:00

So, I'm watching the Food Network yesterday afternoon - taking a day of leisure, working on the computer, etc. - and "Semi-Home Cooking with Sandra Lee" was on. Now, it's not the show I usually watch and I'm not sure that is even the name of the show. The point of my story is that an amateur cook was making some sort of lemon curd cake topped with a baked meringue and Ms. Lee asked if she could taste the cake. And here is my point - the young lady with the recipe...her face lit up with expectation as she watched HER FOOD being tasted and eaten and loved and appreciated. The thing is - she knew her food was good, you could tell. She was expecting affirmnation of it's deliciousness and she got it. How cool was that! She was proud of her food and seemed to truly enjoy what she had made for someone. To be able to see the response that your guest has when you've made something incredible is vefry gratifying...hence, the proliferation of open kitchen restaurants. Of course, that architectural feature is more for the guest to see all the action, but chefs and cooks like to see people enjoying the fruits (and meats) of their labor. I especially enjoy the close interation in a private home when guests are feasting, gawking and extolling the virtues of a private chef...Cooking for a response makes you pay attention to details.

As we get one year deeper into the new millenium and the IBM population is "building a smarter planet" and CNN is alerting the American workforce that there are energy jobs available in Colorado and retirement companies hiring in Florida (can you tell I worked on the computer in front of the television...) I realized that I've never been out of a job... The food industry is 365/24/7 with a myriad of possibilities for the adventurous cook. So if you are a Culinary student heed this - as the band Green Day sings on the "Nimrod" CD and in the song "Good Riddance", "I hope you had the time of your life" - when looking at your life and your experiences, make today a learning day, enjoy it for you will be the product of your efforts and make the school experience a great time for you, "the" building block of your life.

Since I'm on the subject of Culinary School, I must give due recognition to the Apprenticeship System. Neither is better than the other - I am a product of both - yet, there are aspects of both that may be more applicable for an individual over another. What they both take is: Courage. Courage to make that first step, the result of an epiphany that led the cook to the gastronomic land of plenty. Then, with a diligent work ethic you can have the "time of your life" and then, maybe you'll have a the lifetime luxury of seeing your guests happily eating and enjoying your food... Peace.

~R

#51 - 05 March 2009 - "Moving Forward"

2009-03-05T09:37:00.000-08:00

“Now, this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning." -Sir Winston Churchill

I am starting to feel the itch of returning to Denver. In conversations and e-mail discussions with family, friends and business associates, I have begun to feel the transformation from eager culinary adventurer to the seasoned Chef and Educator that I have grown accustomed to being...

I have been asked innumerable times - "Do I miss my family and friends? Will I miss Napa Valley, Sonoma Valley and California? Will I miss The French Laundry? Am I excited to return to Denver and Assignments Restaurant?" Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes and yes.

I'll not be able to put any closure on this experience as it will never be "closed" to me. I assume that I'll be gathering and ruminating upon bits and pieces from this stage and sabbatical for some time...

I will continue the webblog long after I have departed from California for I find it cathartic to write and enjoy the responses from a variety of people from my past and present. It has been a useful tool to document my experience and coelece my thoughts. Yet, by no means am I completely finished here in California. I have a big week coming up at TFL, I will be hosting and catering another event in Santa Rosa next week and then a succession of family members and friends are streaming into California. So....I'll be tour guide in my adopted state for about ten days. JoAnne and I will be auto-touring Northern California and then heading east to Colorado at the end of the month.

There is still much to see and work with at TFL. I have finally compiled all my notes into folders and recipe files. There are over 100 new techniques and methods in my repetoire. The images of TFL are burned into my memory and the lessons learned here in California are completely applicable to me wherever I may land. I look forward to sharing the journey with everyone. That was the intention of this adventure... Peace.

~R

#50 - 04 March 2009 - Kitchen Pictures

2009-03-04T22:16:00.000-08:00

#49 - 03 March 2009 - "Inspiration"

2009-03-02T13:03:00.000-08:00

“At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us." - Albert Schweitzer.

I received that quote as a measure of thanks from a fellow instructor at The Art Institute and it was overwhelming to know that I made a difference in someone else's life. Isn't that what our talents are to be used for...? Whether student, client, guest or cohort - I strive to bring my best qualities to the classroom, home, restaurant and office. Hopefully - every day...

Who inspires you? Your Mother? Father? Spouse? Children? Your teachers, your boss or your neighbors...? Nature - the ocean, the mountains, the plains or the desert? Yes, to all? You never know where inspiration will come from. Just be open to the possibilities. I gather strength from family and friends, for they know me best. I have several chefs who "live on my shoulders", like angels who remind me to work clean and cook with my heart. There are memories of long ago instruction and lifetime of restaurant experiences that I relive and rely on EVERY DAY THAT I COOK. Certainly, for me, my professional inspiration comes from the place that I have toiled for the past two months - The French Laundry. - as it has for the past ten years.

I suppose that one is inspired when they choose to be inspired. I am always thinking about food, looking for new things and re-imagining the old. I try not to stagnate, love a new challenge and happily read about what is currently brewing and simmering in the kitchens of America and beyond. Ultimately, it comes down to method, technique, the quality of your ingredients and your desire. Inspiration, by itself, can't cook - it can't delegate, organize or clarify. The end result of our labor is a direct result of who we are. Get inspired. Peace.

~R

#48 - 02 March 2009 - "It's Simple..."

2009-03-02T08:35:00.000-08:00

It's simple for me to be motivated. I'm working at The French Laundry! That thought is, in itself, quite exhilarating and completely daunting at times. But as I think and write I look out into the population of cooks and chefs and wonder about everyone else... What about the student that is logging onto this blog working for eight dollars an hour and not sure about the rest of their life? Or, think about the graduate that is in the working world and has succumbed to the monotonous daily grind of an establishment that doesn't seem to care about cleanliness and inspiration? And lastly, consider the individuals reading these words that are not in the food industry and may not understand the passion and commitment that we possess and endure - how is all this relative to them??? It's simple...

We all need to harness our inner strength. It is there in all of us. It starts with pride. Pride in doing a job and doing it well. It helps when there is a receptive audience, I'll grant you that. So, foster that ambiance. We all have so much power and don't use it to our advantage. Walk with your held high, be confident and shake hands like you mean it. Little things. Go the extra mile. Do it for yourself and someone will notice. And in that one singular minute, you will have succeeded in being the best you can be. Don't do anything for the reward - do it because it is right. Pick up the trash in the driveway or the paper on the floor. Straighten the chairs, the pots, the rugs, etc., because it looks better. See things through the eyes of your customers, clients and guests. Serve. There is such joy in making people happy.

If you are a cook, cook for yourself but cook for your guests. Put yourself in their shoes. Cook with soul. Put something of you on every plate. You are a crafter of experiences and memories. Make the memory of your food a positive one. By all means work clean...! Be the cleanest one in the kitchen and you'll get noticed. Go the extra mile - not to get noticed, but because it is right, and you'll get noticed. Start creating an attitude within your kitchen. Start becoming positive even when others aren't. Stand up for what is right instead of following along with the crowd. That is a lesson in life, as well...

Step out of the crowd and be an individual. Then return to the crowd and fight the fight. The fight against all that is wrong with society, from biases and hatred to selfishness and greed. Be an individual but be a leader for the team. Stand out as a shining example of the power of the human mind and spirit. Lift yourself up out of the masses and be someone! Lead, follow or get out of the way. Do it all and do it all with a smile. Look people in the eyes and speak to them don’t just talk at them, Engage everyone, everyday and always with meaning in your words and in your actions.

The personal power that we all have can make us more successful than we ever thought. It just has to be harnessed. It's simple. Be what you want to be. Reinvent yourself right now. Start now. Start thinking and doing it right now. Why wait. Failure! Who cares! Again, "What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail..." Worried about what other people will think? How do you know what they are thinking? Don't worry about it - don't worry at all. There is already so much negative worrying in the world. Go back to the "Attitude" blog. Did you go back? Do it, I'll wait. O.k., now what does it say to you (did you really go back and read it...?). YOU ARE IN CHARGE. It's simple. You have to commit to a self-based mind thought that, when done correctly, can begin to change the environment around you. "Pay it forward" is more than Hollywood theatrics. It is a mindset of how to live your life. "What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail." Power words. Really powerful in action. It's simple.

Nike says, "Just do it." Man that is so simple. Think it. Do it. Do it again. And again. Repetition is the single most simple concept I can think about to improve one's station in life and become a more powerful person. "Just do it." Then do it again, and again, and again... I know it sounds trite. I know it sounds like a late night tele-evangelist or an info-mercial for self-help. It is what it is. Go forth and conquer, everyday. Conquer fear and fright. Conquer demons and dragons and dark days of failure. YOU ARE IN CHARGE. It's simple.

Millions of people can have millions of reasons to not do something. It takes ones person to stand up and say "I'll do it - because it's right". Start a revolution. Start small and get bigger. Start working clean. Start smiling and look people in the eyes. Start making it real. It's simple. Just do it. Peace.

~R

#47 - 01 March 2009 - "Random Thoughts on Food..."

2009-03-01T12:17:00.001-08:00

In the year 2009 you can turn on your television and change the channels to find Wine TV, The Food Network, PBS Broadcasting, HGTV, The Travel Channel, Bravo, the morning news stations and specialty Cable Access Stations - these are all places that you can find full-time or part-time cooking classes and lessons, food-science related shows, men-who-eat-everything shows, interesting restaurants and chefs from around the world, food competition shows and chef biographys... Geez, it wasn't like that in 1974...

In 1906, in the forward to his 2nd edition of Le Guide Culinaire, August Escoffier wrote about what he expected from the cooks and staff under his tutelege. He required them to wear ties and jackets in public and to cover their heads with a hat. In the early part of the last century, men dominated the kitchen brigade so he was only gender specific towards one sex. He demanded that his staff deporte themselves professionally in public, as well. That if they were to go out and enjoy themselves about town, they were to demonstrate a level of civility.

Lessons learned... All cooks make mistakes. All cooks have their "off" day. Not all cooks just try to rumble through their day "hoping" that they get it right... Good cooks recognize their mistakes and take the right course of action to rectify them. That may be to ask a question of the chef or sous chef to clarify a bit of expertise on a cooking or science matter. One must have the discipline to ask the question and have the humility to receive the answer. If something isn't right - after you have tested your dish or practiced a course - change it, fix it or modify
it. But, get it right. Your reputation is on the line. Peace.

~R

#46 - 28 February 2009 - "To Make People Happy..."

2009-02-28T11:32:00.000-08:00

The quote, to the left, is from Thomas keller and is posted at several positions within TFL kitchen.

"...To Make People Happy..." Well, it worked on me. The efforts of The French Laundry kitchen and the service staff totally exceeded my expectations of what a dinner there would be like. I am now totally humbled and in awe of what top-notch food is and what it could be. I have laid bare my soul in these blogs and now - now my understanding of why I am here is really clarified. I feel as though I've been stripped naked of all that I have accomplished to be wrapped within a new cloak of understanding about my industry and with a new standard and game plan. If "Good Cooking is the Accumulation of Small Details Done to Perfection" than my dinner last evening was perfect in all of the small details. Subtle and explosive, the clear flavors of food produced by people who love to make others happy. I drove home to Santa Rosa with a multitude of thoughts in my head and I cried from the experience. Best meal ever? It doesn't qualify so much as a best meal but a best food & wine experience - ever. Twenty-four times I was served food (small bites and small courses to follow along the doctrine of "The Law of Diminishing Returns"), often with an appropriate wine, and twenty-four times I was turned inside out in appreciation of what a cook can do with food for an appreciative audience. Six and one-half hours...

How does a stagier repay the chefs and cooks that he's worked side by side with for five and one-half weeks...? By giving all of what is left in this body and mind to show appreciation for a lifetime of lessons re-learned and re-emphasized in just two months time. Every bit of insight gleaned from my observation of TFL needs to be passed on. Passed on to the students and faculty at the culinary school and passed on to my clients who deserve to be made happy. There is not enough time or space to adequately display my thanks and appreciation to everyone that I have learned from or to acknowledge the lessons and direction that I have recieved. I am truly humbled at the torch which has been lit for me and feel honored to pass along that light to others.

I asked that the kitchen "give me their best shot" and thus, received no menu. I was like putty in their hands and course after course was delivered and announced on point. Wines were produced, poured and savored. Plate presentations and profiles of flavor at every turn were familiar, as I see this everyday in the kitchen, but the dining experience brought all of my other senses into play, of which taste and flavor reigned supreme. I may receive a printed menu in the future but I will try my best to remember the sequence of courses, here twelve hours since I last put my fork down, not in surrender but in sublime supplication. Each course was delivered with grace and exactitude by a well-trained staff, a staff that I encounter everyday in the kitchen and now have a greater appreciation for. I should have taken better notes, but in the moment of food ectasy and anticipation I forgot my pictures and my notes. I was carried away in the moment... Here is a quick synopsis of the meal. I will embellish the descriptions of the menu, as well as the wine, at a later time as I probe the staff for more imformation over the next few days.

A Tasting Menu - 27 February 2009

A flute of Roederer Champagne
Oven-Warm Gruyere Gougeres
"Oysters & Pearls"
Scottish Salmon Tuile "Cone" with Red Onion and Creme Fraiche
Egg Custard with Chive Potato Chips and Truffled Mushroom Ragout, served in its shell, with Madeira
A puree of Onion Soup Foam with Dates (poured tableside)
An Ocean Mackerel Sushi with Rice, Perilla and Uni Roe
Braised Green Cabbage & Smoked Trout Roe
Foie Gras Torchon with Brioche Toast
Maine Lobster Tail with Melba Toast & Shrimp Sauce
Baguette with Andante Butter & Diane St. Clair Butter
Braised Pork Belly
Sturgeon Confit "a la minute"
Black Trumpet Ravioli with Mushroom Truffle Broth
Deep-Fried Cod Reproductive Gland (it has a better name for it - can't recall)
Pan-Seared Calotte
Salad of Asparagus, Tomato, carrot, Cucumber, Orange, Grapefruit and Watercress
Green Hills Cheese Quenelle atop Bacon & Spinach Gratin
Strawberry Sorbet with Frangipane and Rhubarb Gelee
Chocolate-Coated Chocolate Mousse
Coffee & Doughnuts (Coffee Semifreddo topped with Milk-Foam and Fried Brioche)
Buddha Hand Parfait with Lemon Cream
Tower of Assorted Mignardise
Chocolate Truffles and TFL Shortbread-in-a-bag, tied with French Laundry Ribbon (for take-home)

I am exhausted just remembering the finest meal that I have ever dined upon. Indeed, I was made happy. Wish you were there... Peace.

~R

#45 - 27 February 2009 - "Meals Worth Flying For..."

2009-02-27T13:52:00.000-08:00

Daniel Boloud has published a list of 5 Meals worth flying for. They are; The Inn at Little Washington, Restaurant Arzak, Restaurant Bras, Inn at Blackberry Farm and The French Laundry. Hmmm. Maybe I'll have to dine at The French Laundry while I'm here in Napa... Oh, yea! That's tonight. So, don't miss tomortow's blog. This list got me thinking about my top restauarnts to visit. They are;

1. The French Laundry
2. The Fat Duck
3. elBulli
4. The Inn at Little Washingtom
5. La Pyramid (with Fernand Point at the stove) - M. Point died in 1955...
6. Lutece (with Andre Soltner) - closed...
7. Nobu
8. Arzak
9. Restaurant Daniel
10.Commander's Palace

Some of you may be wondering what all the fuss is over the Michelin Guide and the star-system. I'm attaching my notes from Classical French Cuisine, a class I started and taught at The Art Institute. The rating system may be french-biased and seclusionary but those chefs and mangers at fine food restaurants certainly know what rating system is the most important to them - and that would be THE GUIDE MICHELIN.

The first restaurant guides, such as de la Reynière’s Abnanach des Gourmands (1803) and Blanc’s Guide des Dîneurs (1814), were published in the early nineteenth century in response to the growing popularity of restaurants in Paris. But it was not until a tire company saw the value to its business of encouraging expeditions by car that France’s provincial restaurants began to receive the stimulus of an objective system of rating.

Each year in early March before the new Guide Michelin is published, the whole restaurant world of France is in a frazzle of apprehension. Rumours fly: someone’s sister-in-law is the printer’s cousin; he has hinted that a three-star restaurant in the South is to lose two stars. A girl, whose uncle has had an affair with an inspector’s wife, is sure that the Michelin will introduce a fourth star.

The rumours may not be true, but they are a measure of the importance that restaurateurs attach to their ratings, or possible ratings, in the Guide Michelin. As Alain Chapel says, ‘What other profession is there in which you can be impartially rated, in a manner which you know is just?’

The Michelin introduced a single-star rating in 1926; two- and three-star ratings were added in 1931. The first post-war edition to give three-star ratings came out in 1951, with three in Paris and four in the provinces. There is striking evidence of the way in which the Guide Michelin has inspired country restaurants, in France and around the world, to strive for standards which before were rarely found outside Paris. Another major change is the rise of three-star provincial chefs-patron restaurants, which are owned solely or jointly by chefs.

The Michelin’s main sources of information are letters from the public and reports from their full-time inspectors. The inspectors are usually recruited from the management level of the hotel and restaurant industry and must know how every classic dish should be prepared. Every eighteen months or more, they recheck every listed restaurant.

An inspector eats incognito. After the meal, which is always paid for, he explains who he is and asks to see the kitchen and cellar. He is looking for exactly what a discriminating customer would notice – quality, service and imagination. The wine list is almost as important as the menu. In the case of humbler establishments, inclusion rests solely with the inspector. Much consultation precedes any promotion or demotion at this level; nothing ever happens quickly. No restaurant can get two stars until it has had one, nor three until it has had two. The Michelin will never advise a restaurant how to improve its rating. The taking away of an award is very carefully deliberated, for Michelin realize that this can ruin a business. If a chef has had troubles, they stay their hand, hoping that any decline is temporary. It would certainly be two years from the first doubts to actual demotion.

The Guide Michelin has never taken payment or advertising. They prohibit any mention of Michelin in a hotel or restaurant’s advertising, on its notepaper or its signs. Michelin are aloof, cool – and supremely powerful.

Without the ingenious use of symbols, the information in one year’s Guide Michelin would fill six books of the same size. The most famous symbols are, of course, the good food stars: one for ‘good cooking in its class’; two for ‘excellent cooking, worthy of a detour’; and three—‘here one will find the best cooking in France, worthy of a special journey.’ Crossed fork and spoon symbols rate the amenities: one, plain but good; two, fairly comfortable; three, very comfortable; four top class; five, luxury.

Since 1955, the guide has also highlighted restaurants offering "good food at moderate prices", a feature now called "Bib Gourmand". They must have a menu priced at no more than £28 in the case of the UK, or €40 in Ireland. The name comes from Bib (Bibendum), the Michelin Man, Michelin's logo for over a century.

The guide also recognizes many restaurants without any stars or Bib Gourmands. These restaurants are usually rated solely on the scale of "forks and knives". The forks and knives rating is given to all restaurants recognized in the guide, and range from one to five. One fork and knife being "Quite comfortable restaurant" and five being "Luxurious restaurant". If the forks and knives are colored red they designate the restaurant to be "pleasant" as well. The forks and knives scale is designated to speak of the overall comfortability and quality of the restaurant, however any listing in the guide requires a relatively high standard of the kitchen as well.

Restaurants, independently of their other ratings in the guide, can also receive a number of other symbols next to their listing.

The coins are given to restaurants that serve a menu for a certain price or less. The price depends on the local price-standard.

Interesting view or Magnificent view, designated by a black or red symbol, are given to restaurants that offer dining with a view.

The grapes are given to restaurants that serve a somewhat interesting assortment of wine.

Anyone care to share your list...? 3 hours and 29 minutes until I dine... Peace.

~R

#44 - 26 February 2009 - "Gone Fishing"

2009-02-26T08:39:00.000-08:00

Taking a day off from the blog. I will add more pictures in addition to last night's entry, as well as some descriptive text. Tasting menu on Friday... Peace.

~R

#43 - 25 February 2009 - Kitchen Pictures

2009-02-25T21:53:00.001-08:00

#42 - 24 February 2009 - "The Business of Cooking"

2009-02-24T02:02:00.001-08:00

I cook and I teach.

Currently, I cook for clients and guests in private venues - homes with incredible kitchens and great wine cellars and large living spaces. I teach at The International Culinary School at The Art Institute of Colorado. Most recently, in the past year, I have taught introductory classes in Baking and Pastry, Skills, Cost Control, Cooking Concepts and Art Culinaire (weekly lectures, hands-on production and presentation of contemporary chefs in our society that have made a difference). In the past I have cooked for city and country restaurants, French-influenced bistros, large hotels, small inns, country clubs, culinary school restaurants, corporate cafeterias, private homes, in goat-dairy fields, in the mountains, at lakes and beaches, for catering companies and pizza houses and on, and on, and on. How many meals has it been since 1974...? I actually tried counting them years ago. However, it doesn't matter about the number. What matters is why do I cook? Once again, what is "The Need to Feed"...

Cooking is about emotions. It is the apotheosis of our basic need to eat and survive, of sharing our emotions and our passions. Cooking is a time-honored and timeless activity that we engage in for a variety of reasons. I've always wanted to get a response in everything I do. My time in the theatre was about the response from an audience; raucous laughter, thunderous applause, intimate exposure of our psyche, a cleansing cry, a tenuous gasp. These are all basic human emotions. Performing as an athlete was about the physical test of a game and its particular rules and the head-to-head combat against another person or team trained to compete at their own highest level. As a student it was much the same game - playing by a set of rules within a discipline to see how much I could understand and relate the teachings and studies of others who had come before me. When we cook we are connected to the past and exist in the moment. The interplay of other "teammates" within a theatre-like "stage" encompasses all that I find exciting and necessary for me to live my life to the fullest. Teaching all of this is a different battle...

I have cooked innumerable thousands of meals in dozens of venues with hundreds of other cooks and chefs. The days have rolled by and now I am one of the "old guard". My food is entrenched in the old vocabulary but exists in a contemporary venue and stretches into the cutting edge of our discipline. I cook to gain a response from the diner. Great food has a soul all its own. When it is right it empowers every response imaginable. Sometimes the innate simplicity is perfection. Often the intense preparation over days belies the result on a plate and the diner may not understand all that went into what has been placed before them. The tortured way that some food is shaped and reshaped into unknown forms is still craft - some appreciate that and others do not. That is one of the beautiful aspects of what we do. There are rules to be followed and rules to be broken.
There are venues of haute cuisine and joints for burgers and grinders. There are savory, sweet, umami, bitter and sour responses to what we do. Sometimes it is just a smile that we see in appreciation of our efforts. The exclamations of pure enjoyment can push us to new experimentations and brings us back to the kitchen in a forever of tomorrows.

The insanity of the kitchen can be an element of excitement or dismayal. I prefer the gracious attitudes of teamwork and discipline as opposed to the yells and screams of out-of-control restaurant demons. I've existed in both theatres and may even have displayed the actions of both...maybe. I get a wicked rush from cooking "La Grande Cuisine" to rock and roll music...Bruce Springsteen, Steve Winwood, The Doors, Led Zeppelin, Eagles, etc. That is a dichotomy that I find is at the nature of my being - I love contrasting elements in life as in food; tastes, textures, colors and styles. Too often we do not see the responses of our guests - save for the events that are cooked in private homes or when a restaurant guest hunts down the chef and staff either by visiting the kitchen or beckoning them to their dining table. It is then, when you can see the smiles, hear the chatter, feel the love, and receive the ovation that all seems right in my world. That is my "Need to Feed..." Peace.

~R

#41 - 23 February 2009 - "Attitude"

2009-02-23T10:45:00.001-08:00

When my Attitude is right, nothing can defeat me. I am confident, proud, emotionally strong and creative. That is when I know what is important in life - a great family, lots of friends, a unique work environment, life goals and incredible past experiences. When my Attitude isn't on - there exists another mind-set... I was exposed to Charles Swindoll, by JoAnne (my wife of 10,110 days) in 1991. I still have the need to come back to it - often. At some time or another, we all need to get our Attitude right...

ATTITUDE
by Charles Swindoll

The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.

Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home.

The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.

And so it is with you... we are in charge of our attitudes. Peace.

~R

#40 - 22 February 2009 - "The Second Half."

2009-02-22T10:00:00.000-08:00

Note to blog readers: If it sounded like I was melodramatic (or melancholy) about my first month as stagier at TFL, I must say that it's the second half that matters the most. The lessons learned from the first four weeks (again, like combatants on sporting fields) will determine the successes in "the second half" - the last four weeks.

This sabbatical and stage is about staying current. I remember reading a quote from TFL-alumnus and current chef/owner of Alinea (Chicago, Illinois) Grant Achatz, who roughly stated that "wouldn't it be great if all we had to do every day was to play and experiment with food?" Ferran Adria and company famously spend up to six-months every year travelling and experimenting in preparation to promote new technologies and advanced methods and techniques at the cutting-edge elBulli in Roses, Spain. Eventually, you have to get back into the kitchen and cook - you gotta pay the bills eventually. So, how do we, the non-super heroes and earth-dwellers, stay current?

When I started in this business in 1974 the American restaurant and culinary scene was dominated by European chefs that hopped across the pond and established French-influenced bastions of haute cuisine. The French ruled the American dining menu. In 1971 Alice Waters turned the toque-topped chefdom on its culinary ear when she and friends opened Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California. Her influence was in the small French inns and country-side bistros with attached gardens that foraged for local product. Chez Panisse became a restaurant that operated like a dinner party at your home. It was comfortable, they cooked good food and they required local, sustainable, organic, wholesome and fresh product. Simple recipe for success.

Fast-forward into the 21st century and modern technology has penetrated into the heart of kitchens from The Fat Duck to The French Laundry. The jars of salts and peppers above the Garde Manger at TFL sit akin to Simpless, Maltodextrin and Methyl-Glucose. Top Chefs today are well versed in international products, natural-occurring chemicals and cutting-edge technologies in order to craft menus and diners for the now-contemporary dining client. Our industry has become much more sophisticated as has our clientele. Moms, Dads, kids, couples, singles, etc., all have the ability to log onto the internet, find their niche recipes and methods and recreate some of the best food in the world. The onslaught of food network and food travel television programs can take that same population from across Europe to Down Under and the Pacific Rim all before dinner is prepared and set upon the dining room table... Yet, we still need to cook with our souls, not soullessly cook for notoriety or fame.

So, how do you (we) stay current? It really doesn't matter how - to borrow a phrase from Nike - just do it. Television, newspapers and trade publications, dining out, talking amongst yourselves, the internet - these are ways that do not require attaining a sabbatical of applying for a stage. Consider the money that is invested in a stage from some far-way Northern Scandinavian country like...Sweden. It is five figures, minimum. Travel, loss of income while away from the old country, expenditures in rent and food - they all add up. So, thank be for the efforts of the apprentices, stages, and externs at restaurants across the land. The symbiotic relationship is keen, indeed, between "free labor" that has a meaningful opportunity to learn and contribute and the upper-echelon Valhallas that require intense efforts from the future of the labor pool. Some of this kitchen work might not be getting done without those individuals...

Take notes. Take pictures. Ask questions. Discuss possibilities. Engage yourself with icons and fry cooks, alike. You might even get fed in the process. Peace.

~R

#39 - 21 February 2009 - "Halfway home..."

2009-02-21T11:30:00.000-08:00

In the seemingly infinite time that I have spent in California (in reality, it's only been 33 days...) I've been asked virtually the same two questions from everyone: First, "Is it what you thought it would be (the 'it' being The French Laundry and the stage) experience", and second, "What's the most important thing you've learned...?"

I thought on these questions all day yesterday as I prepared to go back to work - the same mental preperation that an athelete goes through in the hours preceeding a match or an athletic event - and it came back to me on the ride home early this morning (home @ 3:05 a.m., btw). In addition, an even more personal question. "What am I going to rememeber about this place."

I was standing in the kitchen last evening realizing that this is what I've thought about (besides my family and friends who are not with me) for these past days and weeks, 24/7, and in the months in anticipation of coming to California. I'm comfortable there, at TFL, now and that familiarity breeds a sense of home and when you leave "home" there is usually sadness and a sense of longing for what you do not possess any longer. Soon, (27 days) I will no longer possess a piece of the restaurant in a personal sense. In 27 days I will then be an outsider, once again (although I can claim some identity as long as anyone still remembers the "old man"...).

Thus, "Is it what I thought it would be" and "What is the most important thing..." - the answers are simple and complex at the same time. #1 - yes. #2 everything. There, that's done.

In a larger sense, the feelings that I have can never been adequately relayed to a reader without sounding too gushy and eventually inept. To simplify things, I have encountered a part of my being that seems to be very comfortable with all of my experiences and I've become the wizened veteran that may hold the answers to eternal kitchen questions for the next generation of cooks and chefs. I'm going to be a teacher for the rest of my life. I will still cook for small parties and friends and family, but everything I see I see as a learning experience. I have an affinity for seeing lessons in everything. Just knowing that "Failure is another way to learn how to do something right" is the ultimate lesson in our quest towards perfection - and that failure can be used as a learning tool - is important to me. So - I will remember to faithfully uphold the doctrine that: "Good Cooking is the Accumulation of Small Details Done to Perfection"; that small things do matter; that there is a "Sense of Urgency" involved in everything I do; that to work clean takes total commitment; that teamwork is more important than ego; that I can never stop learning, never become complacent and get involved in what is hip and current while maintaing my culinary "roots"; that plated food is the sum of many people's efforts and all those efforts need to be acknowledged; that a stage and an extern are valueable commodities and need to be trained and guided along in order to be useful to the team dynamics; that in order for you to know how to prepare and procuce something you need an understanding of what you are trying to accomplish with a particular dish or plating.

I have often quoted the great New York Chef, Yogi Berra (kidding), who said that "You've got to be very careful if you don't know where you're going, because you might not get there." I liken that to not having an understanding of methods and techniques and simply throwing random foods together with no inclination towards a concept for your guests. Or this culinary gem, "If you don't know where you are going, you will wind up somewhere else." Translation into plain English - have a "Game Plan."

I've been in the industry for three and one-half decades and I have learned all the important lessons. My training at TFL is certainly the culmination of a life's work. The everyday occurances in the kitchen and restaurant of TFL are similar otr the same in many other houses of food and service. But the expectations and efforts are indeed amplified, the imagery and results are truly dignified, the sense of culinary perfection is magnified, the guests are amazingly gratified and some people there have been deified. Rightly so? I can say that those who have had the privilage of entering into that inner sanctum really do know whether it is true, or not. The experience, while only halfway home, is still unfathomable and the learning is of titantic proportions. Peace.

~R

#38 - 20 February 2009 - "The Need to Feed"

2009-02-20T10:50:00.000-08:00

Great dining experience! Cool menu, wicked wines (California selections - I'll send those along in the future), a gracious and wonderful host, and fun dinner guests.

I started cooking yesterday at 10:00 a.m. (after shopping for 1 1/2 hours...) and finished serving the last course (#6) at 11:00 p.m. Cleaned and washed dishes until 12:30 and then stayed up (to get back on my work/sleep schedule) until 1:30-ish. Just finished the final clean-up (the stove, the oven, the kitchen island, etc...) and need to get ready for my stage.

Now, a lot of effort goes into a private home-dinner event for clients. I've successfully cooked hundreds of events over the course of my life and the most satisfying one's are the dinners where the food shines and my guests have the opportunity to sit and talk in a comfortable home with their chef about the food and wine. It gives the diners an opportunity to say thanks and have a discourse about the meal they are digesting. I love that interplay between chef and grateful guest.

My "Need to Feed" stems from showing off my abilities and love for the "soul" of a great cuisine. We, as chefs, affect people viscerally, soulfully and spiritually. A part of me is in everything. The theatre of the event is part of my personal joy. Yes, there is ego involved. I'm very confident in my abilities and I strive to make my clients and guests absolutely satisfied.

If you are a culinarian or an avid food lover - I pose the question, again. What is your "Need to Feed"...? You know where to find me. Peace.

~R

#37 - 19 February 2009 - "A Burgundian Winter Dinner"

2009-02-18T23:43:00.000-08:00

Here is the menu for my dinner party this evening for "P.S. and Friends", in Santa Rosa.

Braised Escargot in Garlic Parsley Butter "Burgundy-style" with Melted Green Chard and Toasted Baguette

Roasted Poularde Breasts with Natural Jus, Pommes Maxim & Slow-Cooked Leek & Thyme Quenelles

Pan-Roasted Beef Calotte with Cabernet Reduction, Fleurons, Turned Carrot, Pearl Onion & Brussels Sprouts Leaves

Poached Petrale Sole Baked in Puff Pastry with Duxelle, Cuisson Cream, Chives & Red Lumpfish Caviar

Chilled Asparagus Tips, Butter Lettuce, Poached Hen's Egg, Lardons, Tomato Compote & Champagne Vinaigrette

Griddled Pain Perdue with Crushed Pistachio Macaroon Crust, Caramelized Apples & Milk Caramel

Have a great day! Peace.

~R

#36 - 18 February 2009 - "A Day of Rest..."

2009-02-18T14:31:00.000-08:00

This recent six-day work week made my body a lump of pulsating, bloody flesh and my mind a mass of roasted Haggis-like grey matter... That said, I have no other excuse for the shortness of today's blog. Coffee, naps and a hot shower are the order of the day. I will, however, shop for my Burgundian Winter Dinner that I'll be cooking for "P.S." and friends. I'll shop this afternoon, prep and post the menu. Also looking ahead to posting my menu for Assignments Restaurant at The Art Institute of Colorado (675 South Broadway, Denver, Colorado - 303.778.6625) and extending an invitation to everyone in the Universe to come and dine with us... Peace.

~R

#35 - 17 February 2009 - "A Temple and Museum..."

2009-02-17T11:37:00.000-08:00

Nine o'clock and I was summoned to The Pass by a Chef de Partie and was asked to sign a copy of The French Laundry Cookbook for a guest. I was puzzled. Yes, I needed to add my signature to the collection of chefs and cooks for the guest who had purchased the book, dined on the Chef's Tasting Menu and wanted a permenant keepsake and memory of their experience. That was an interesting and profound moment. So, with a flourish I took John Hancock's historic premise and signed the whole page! Just kidding. A simple "R.N. Corey" (always signed that way because my father signed his name "N.H. Corey" and my grandfather was known as "C.P. Corey" - a way to pay homage to the two smartest men I've known).

Later in the evening several guests entered the kitchen and were given tours of the BOH. This happens all day long. Some guests are awestruck. Some are obviously restauranteurs and/or chefs so they look more deeply into the frenzied atmosphere of the kitchen. All are deferential. Pictures of the cooks and facility are taken by the guests. Their picture is taken by their host (usually the dining room managers and taken in front of The Pass). This all happens while service is ongoing! Traffic to and fro ceases as the guests are given line-of-sight priority. Their thanks are usually accompanied by some sort of grateful salutory exclamation, such as "This was incredible" or "This was the best meal I have ever dined upon"...

Many times during these "guest tours" I have over-heard great stories about the progenity of The French Laundry or about the refurnishing processes in 1995 and 2004. Last evening I learned that the Bonnet stove was imported from France and arrived in America in one piece. The stove is huge, about 15 feet by 6 feet. The roof of the kitchen was removed and a crane lowered the stove into the kitchen from 1 1/2 blocks away! Btw, the stove works at up to 800 degrees F. and warms the cook area through radiant heat. All the s/s surfaces are hot and it takes a little while to get used to the hot surfaces. As I was exiting the property (in the fifth day of constant rain as this IS the rainy season in Napa Valley) I came upon a group of three guests who had just had their tour. I was the last to leave the kitchen (just soaking up the ambiance and making sure my stocks were cooking properly) and they wanted to take my picture with them at The Pass. I declined, noting that I was not their chef... So, outside in the rain, I explained more about "the Stage". They were entranced and spell-bound after their experience. Gushing, they took more pictures out in the rain and wanted to know "all about my experience at TFL and what I really thought of the restaurant and what will I be doing after my stage... Pretty cool, actually.

I bid them "au revoir" and walked the block and one-half to my car. The rain beat down mercilessly upon me but I cared not in the least. I had a quick rememberence of Gene Kelly "Singing in the Rain", and I may have skipped and splashed and even hummed a little myself (remember to "Dance as though no one is looking"...) in a sort of giddy affirmation that what I am doing is not only good for me and my soul, but for you the reader of this journal and to the guests (remember that "Hardware stores have customers and restaurants have guests") who trek the many miles to eat at The French Laundry.

Like I stated in the title of this blog, The French Laundry is indeed, for some, a Temple and a Museum. Not for old dusty relics but for the status that it maintains in gastronomic lore. The cars whizzing by on Hwy 29 just 1/2 mile due west may not know what lies behind the trees off to their left (or right). There are passers-by who gape and gawk at the well-known brass nameplate on the restaurant. Some just stand and feel the energy flowing from the river rock and placid exterior gardens as if, by osmosis, their own culinary abilities will be improved. Earlier in the day, during the waning afternoon light, I was once again in the garden sniping blossoms and herbs for the dinner service and two seperate "tourist" groups asked to take my picture while I was attending to my task... Each wanted to know "my story" as well. Now, if you know me at all, I'll talk to anyone with half an ear so I graciously relented to their requests.

The guests at The French Laundry are definitely getting an experience they will not soon forget, as am I. I drove the near 75 minute drive in a torrential monsoon, in complete silence, thinking about food, menus, life and the previous twelve hours. I know that what I'm doing is right, as difficult as it is to be away from family and loved ones, existing in a sort of "Groundhog Day" repetition. I was reminded of a quote that my mother e-mailed to be just the other day. From her "life is Good" coffee mug there appears the following - "Do what you love, and love what you do" - a modern adaptation of some eighth century Confucious wisdom. Thanks, Mom! Peace.

~R

#34 - 16 February 2009 - "A Day at TFL"

2009-02-16T11:53:00.000-08:00

I've been asked to relate what a day in the kitchen at The French Laundry is like. That will be tough because I don't think I have all the time and space necessary to do so! Here's what I can do - O.k., well it's like no other day I've experienced in the restaurant business yet the ebb and flow is still quite familiar. So, here's a day in my life as a stage at TFL:

First, I've gotten home from the previous evening at 2:30 a.m., so I'm in bed by 3:00 a.m. Up the next morning by 9:00 or 9:30. Coffee - it's the great equalizer between sleep and blogging! Computer work (now, in addition to the blog, I've begun to work on my staffing, preparations and menus for Assignments Restaurant at The International Culinary School at The Art Institute of Colorado as well as client events for 12 Seasons) until 1:00 p.m. and then get ready to leave Santa Rosa by 2:00p.m. It is a 50-60 minute drive to Yountville.

I arrive on-site and head to the tiny locker room that services 24 cooks and chefs. Lockers, uniforms and aprons are available here.

After donning TFL-insignia I enter the kitchen via the copper-clad back door and from that point on - 10-12 hours later - there is no stopping. I store my knives in the stage/extern drawer and it's time to shake hands and greet everyone. Everyone. It is a daily ritual and you are met with smiles and warmth regardless of what tasks are being undertaken at that time. Sometimes it's a fist bump and sometimes just a pat on the back but there is always a greeting. Very cool.

Then I make myself available to the commis-in-charge that afternoon. We are assigned tasks as necessary because there is always something happening. This is a shift change time so the primary job for those arriving for the evening schedule is to help clean the prep rooms - my primary home until 1:30 a.m. Everyone cleans and this is done very precisely with a ritual of organization that is followed exactly; the rugs are shaken out, rolled up and stored. The floor is swept. The proper cleaning solutions are poured on the counters and the floor. All hands attack the cleaning with gusto! Green 3M scoure pads are used on the counter tops, a deck brush on the floor. Clean wash water is the poured over everything. The counters are then cleaned with a hand-squeegee and then dried with the "blue towels". "Sheila Shine" is applied (also with a blue towel) to the counters and all s/s surfaces (reach-ins, ice-bin, etc.). "Windex" is used to wash the ceramic tile walls. Floors are scrubbed, rinsed, squeegeed and then dried. Rugs go back down and then the process is repeated on the OTHER prep room (there are two). Once all areas are cleaned, only then can the food work begin or resume.

The evening prep crew has specific jobs to accomplish and then others as necessary for each of the stations in the service kitchen. Egg tops need to be removed for "Egg Custards with Chive Chips" - remove the top using the egg topper, seperate the eggs (vacuum pack the whites and yolks seperately), soak the empty egg shells in hot water and vinegar, then remove the egg lining and store for future use. Need 60-90 each day.

Andante Butter is portioned (36g), and stored. The portioned butter is then shaped in cheesecloth to resemble perfect circles of butter with a texture from the cheesecloth on top. They are formed by hand and hardened in ice water. Removed from the cheesecloth they are stored between parchment paper in 2" lexans.
EVERYTHING IS LABLED WITH PRECISE-CUT (90 degree) GREEN PAINTER'S TAPE WITH THE NAME OF THE PRODUCT, THE DATE AND INITIALED... Need 50-60 shaped butters each night.

Brunoise. Not necessarily the shape (it's really Brunoise Fine) but the composition. A Brunoise @ TFL is turnip, leek greens and carrot. Cut, blanched in salted water and dried over a linen cloth. Stored in deli containers (EVERYTHING IS IN A DELI CONTAINER) with c-fold paper towels to absorb excess moisture.

Often the prep list includes; production of lamb, veal, duck and chicken stocks, straining those stocks, vacuum sealing the stocks, storing the stocks, blanching sous vide vegetables and refreshing in ice baths, setting sous vide lexans with immersion circulators, maintaining ovens, maintaining the stock pots (in decreasing size with handles all the same direction - same with chinois), picking various vegetables and herbs and paring them to pre-determined sizes. Retreiving product, organizing and maintaining reach-ins for the chefs des parties. All stations have a mise en place to set as well; c-fold towels, canola oil, salts, pans, pepper mills, various food products as the stations require...

At any time we may be called upon to produce some sort of vegetable cut, tournee, fabricated meat, sauce-on-the-fly, plates (which are laid out on the counter tops to cool before they get to the station chefs), chocolates, or just about ANYTHING. The poularde, uni, lamb, veal, chicken, fish, lobsters, sea urchins, tapioca, oysters, chive potato chips, gnocchi, tagliatelle, vegetables and pastries, etc. are produced throughout the day. Support to the Chef, Chef de Cuisine, Chefs des Parties and Sous Chefs are immediate and need to be attended to in a timely manner (i.e., FAST and ACCURATE).

The service is divided into two seatings - 5:30 and 9:00. Service extends to 12:30 a.m. and cleaning, prep for the next day and the chef's snack continues until 1:00-1:30 a.m.

The return trip is, again 50-60 minutes (depending on the weather...) and then the process begins anew... Need more coffee.

Peace.

~R

#33 - 14 February 2009 - "Ruminations"

2009-02-14T13:10:00.001-08:00

Ruminations (the name I have unofficially issued to my life and thoughts imprisoned on paper since 1992) are by definition: "to ruminate, or a function verb which in the inflected form is ruminated or ruminating". Makes sense. Its etymology is from the Latin ruminatus, past participle of ruminari, or "to chew the cud and even to muse upon", which from rumin (or rumen - relating to animals with four-chambered stomach and digestive systems) is, perhaps, akin to Sanskrit romantha, or "act of chewing the cud". Got it?

So, I’ve chosen to refer to my life’s work as something that a cow spends it’s time doing hour after hour in order to break down the cellulose structure of humanly-inedible grasses... Hmmm.

My version of Ruminations dates from Europe of 1533 and is “to go over in the mind repeatedly and often casually or slowly (usually more slowly than is normal with me...) and to ponder and engage in contemplation and reflection”. That’s deep man. Wicked deep. Maybe I should call it “Wicked Deep Ruminations, Man”.

Moving on.

Working clean is a conscious thought. When we see an unclean area we notice it. Do you notice the very clean work areas...? Do you praise the very clean as much as you admonish the dirty and unkempt. I hope so. I’ve been in the habit of buffing the stainless steel prep areas every evening. I take pride in making that area shine and when any chef comes through, stops to ponder and then proclaims “nice Buff job”, I am pleased. They do look good under the dimmed kitchen lights, ready for the a.m. crew to get all messed up in just a few short hours...

Being at TFL is akin to being in culinary school all over again. The same disjointedness when entering the kitchen for the first time. “Where is this found” and “where does that go”, etc. You culinary students are all nodding your heads in agreement. It is also that same sense of wonderment and learning going on when new and intriguing methods and techniques pop up during prep or service. The learning is incredible. The culinary landscape is like the San Andreas Fault. Very familiar to the naked eye – things certainly seem the same or similar. Underneath the visible and presented food is a complex layered-phalanx of thought, method and techniques applied using modern contrivances and old-fashioned identities. Still learning...and finding applications across the spectrum to other disciplines in business, the arts and sciences. I think TFL is a training ground for life. More on the exact methods and techniques later, when time allows.

I am particularly impressed with one of the Chefs de Partie (“B”) who apprenticed at the east-coast variation of TFL, per se in NYC. His time there was spent during a six-month externship from my culinary alma mater, The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. “B” stated to me that “going back to culinary school after working at per se was so difficult”. He referenced the fact of how clean and professional per se was. I understand as I am in a perfect environment now. When I return to teaching I know that my instruction will improve, my expectations and standards will be increased and my passion is gauranteed to be infective. That is another blog and one certainly worth visiting; Culinary school versus Apprenticeship. I’ve done both. We’ll ruminate on that one together, eh?

So, my Spanish is only so-so. It gets better when I force myself to ask questions about “What do you call this” or “How do you say that”... Of course, I know how to say that in Spanish, but writing it is entirely different. The dishwashing crew at The French Laundry is all Hispanic speaking. There is no difference in work ethic between the Entremetier, Legumier (vegetable & starch cook) and the dishwashers. There is no difference between the passion to make a beautiful and incredible tasting plate from Canapé and the passion and methodology to provide beautiful and clean steel pans and clean white porcelain serving dishes... The pace at which they work in the back of the back of the house is tremendous. The standards which pervade the rest of The French Laundry also make their home in that steamy and wet environ that is in close proximity to the dumpster and side street. Just trying to make their life a little easier is a conscious thought of mine every time I enter that segment of the kitchen.

Get real, everybody. THAT is the heart of any restaurant environment. No pans to cook with? You’re out of luck, then! They aren’t clean and spotless which impinges their ability to conduct heat...? Won’t be very effective, eh? No plates to serve on? I guess the guests will just have to wait... Crappy, dirty, smudged plates? Well, that’s a great impression. I’m impressed with that part of TFL operation as well. Take heed, all ye current and future culinary and management students – treat your dishwashing staff with grace and courtesy and they will take care of your reputation...

Finally... a thought on sharing. This was precipitated by a narrative typed on piece of paper, very perfectly framed with green tape, laid out at The Pass, for someone in particular to take note of during dinner service, apparently. I don’t know where it came from, from whom or why it was there – but I appreciated the idea, the need and thought behind its use, because I do this as well. It was a part of a larger speech from Teddy Roosevelt (one that I’ve referenced many times, and some of my past and present students who are reading this web blog will remember it, or so I hope) called, popularly “The Critic” or “The Man in the Arena”. It is part of a much longer piece, “Citizenship in a Republic”, a speech by the 26th President of the United States at the Sorbonne in Paris, France on April 23, 1910. I will leave you now with its content for you to Ruminate. Mooo.

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

Peace.

~R

#32 - 13 February 2009 - "A Violinist in the Metro"

2009-02-13T13:30:00.000-08:00

I received this piece, this story (below), from a dear friend some months ago ("M.O'D") and filed it under "Aspirations and Expectations", a thoughtful folder on my brain-of-a-desktop PC. I had been struggling at the keyboard "waiting for inspiration" with dozens of thoughts running through my head about cooking, cooks, chefs, food & wine, the students and alumni that I am here to inspire and the faculty that I am here to represent.... It is a dreary, albeit thankfully, rainy day in Sonoma Valley. My drive to Napa Valley over the serpentine and narrow Calistoga Road begins in an hour - and I feel the obligitory tug of my blog promise, that; "to write every day of my experience at The French Laundry". So, here is my stream of conscious thought today, the day after the 200th Anniversary of the birth, in a log cabin in Kentucky, of A. Lincoln, a wise and thoughtful man who may or may-not have inspired me today... It is not directly related to any of the above mentioned thought, yet is deep in thought itself...

A Violinist in the Metro.

A man sat at a metro station in Washington D.C. and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousands of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule. A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk. A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly, he was late for work. The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother pulled him along, hurried, but the child stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on. In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32.

When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition. No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Joshua Bell, playing incognito in the metro station, was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception and priorities of people. The outlines were: In a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

I've found talent in places I had not thought to look, I've forced nyself to stop in the rush of necessity to appreciate the little things (like Micro-Hyacinths and sheer-sliced Toyko Turnips) and I've come to know that all there is so so much more than all I know. Thus, I have become a contributing member of the staff at The French Laundry; not because of who I am, what I have been, or what I know. I have finally given myself totally to the experience and have stopped to smell the roses, hear the music and give thanks for all that I have and all that may be.

One last parting thought for the day - "What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail". - Dr. Robert H. Shuller

Peace.

~R

#31 - 12 February 2009 - "Dinner Service"

2009-02-11T23:54:00.001-08:00

Sous Chef Anthony Secviar expediting at The Pass (above).

The kitchen (above) looking across The Pass into Pastry.

Assemblage (above and below) of Moulard Duck "Foie Gras en Terrine" (Marcona Almonds Glaze, Sunchokes, Arugula and Sour Michigan Cherries).

500g tin of Caviar (above) for Quenelles of Caviar on "Oysters and Pearls" (Sabayon of Pearl Tapioca with Island Creek Oysters and White Sturgeon Caviar).

Sour Michigan Cherry Puree (above) being spooned onto plates.

Mise en place at The Pass (above and below).

Sous Chef Anthony Secviar (above) expediting at The Pass.

Canapé and Fish stations (above) with Sous Vide mise en place for Lobster Tails.

"Oysters and Pearls" waiting (above)...

Chefs des Parties at Salad and Cheese stations (above) with Salmon Tartare Tuile Amuse.

There are many more images of the February 11, 2009 dinner service at The French Laundry that need to be added to this pictorial. It takes quite a long time to upload them, so I will continue to embellish this particular blog throughout the day.

As a chef I am obviously engaged in kitchen operations yet one cannot dismiss the efforts of the front of the house staff during the service hours in the kitchen. This is a titanic undertaking every single day. The duties of runners, servers, captains, etc. are a determining and defining element of what service is all about. There are particular jobs for everyone and all are expected to act and react with precision and determination. I quietly smiled in complete appreciation of the quick acknowledgement of individuals as they are called to The Pass (the call is "Hands, please") to receive their numbers (the table number and the place setting ) and thusly, hand-carry the finished plates to serve guests one of the thirteen courses during the Chef's Tasting...
The desire, the impeccable attire, the grace, the focus and teamwork of the FOH (front of the house) staff is more than just their training. It is who they are. Having spent many years in the theatre I can absolutely make the case that this is live theatre "par excellence". My observation point allowed me to feel the pulse of the kitchen, the efficient interplay of hands at The Pass and the constant pace of the action. Goosebumps - it is that special.

There are actually three Passes. The heart of the operation. Stainless steel counters with slip-proof mats lined with white porcelain plates, covers, and specialty service ware. Like surgeons in an operating room, the overhead lights illuminating the white linen-lined Passes where craft become art. Tweezers are produced to remove the slightest imperfections on the plates... One Pass for canapé, fish, meat, and vegetables - including an entire VIP menu last evening - another Pass dedicated to salads, cheese and amuse, and lastly, the Pastry Pass for desserts, Chocolate Confections and Mignardise. Each Pass is replete with wiping cloths for plates, napkins for hot plate usage, salts of various nomenclature, plastic deli containers with appropriately labeled sauces and condiments for that evenings menu, "magic spoons" (my name for the silver spoons in white crocks that every chef de partie provides themselves with), menus severely taped onto linen with the ubiquitous green painter's tape. The list of VIP guests dis-likes and allergies to re-route certain flavor profiles as to make the guests experience safe and personal. Ah, mise en place...it also makes me smile and all cozy and warm inside.

Two observations that have nothing to do with service but have everything to do with impeccable service - twice I noticed small spills of salt and food, once at the meat station and once at the pass. I was nervous that I noticed them and was waiting for CDC (Chef de Cuisine) Corey Lee to also notice them... I counted the time that each spill laid in wait...5 seconds...10 seconds...15 seconds. 15 seconds! Both were wiped away and their existence lost in my memory. CSI wouldn't have known they were ever there... That is, to me, just one singularly important event in a litany of important acts that happen all the time in the kitchen of TFL. Peace.

#30 - 11 February 2009 - "Sous Vide"

2009-02-11T07:46:00.001-08:00

Sous-Vide/Precision Cooking.

(The following is taken from my notes on Sous-vide as it is taught in a class called Art Culinaire at The International Culinary School at The Art Institute of Colorado in Denver, Colorado. The sources are; Harold McGee, Robert L. Wolke and Thomas Keller. (Note: This blog may be long and technical for some...).

The Freddie Mercury-led rock-band “Queen” and the eternally–interesting David Bowie (and/or “Ziggy Stardust” to the Baby-Boomers…) collaborated in 1981 on several songs for an album that the band was looking to produce and release. The song “Under Pressure” became a standard of the 1980’s and has nothing to do with The French Laundry, except that the title of the song is the English translation of a controversial cooking method known by its French name – Sous-vide. I attended the semi-annual meeting for the Thomas Keller Restaurant Group when I arrived in California and the video montage included a session on the Thomas Keller book, “Under Pressure” and the song played in the background – which was all quite amusing and entertaining.

Of all the ingredients in the kitchen, the most common is also the most mysterious. It’s hard to measure and hard to control. It’s not a material like water or flour, to be added by the cup. In fact, it’s invisible. It’s heat. Every cook relies every day on the power of heat to transform food, but heat doesn’t always work in the way we might guess. Cooks typically heat food to somewhere between 120 degrees (for fish and meats that we want to keep moist) and 400 degrees (for dry, crisp, flavorful brown crusts on breads, pastries, potatoes, or on fish and meats). At the bottom of that range, a difference of just 5 or 10 degrees can mean the difference between juicy meat and dry, between a well-balanced cup of coffee or tea and a bitter, over-extracted one. And as every cook learns early on, it’s all too easy to burn the outside of a hamburger or a potato before the center is warm.

The trickiest foods to heat just right are meats and fish. The problem is that we want to heat the center of the piece to 130 or 140 degrees, but we often want a browned, tasty crust on the surface, and that requires 400 degrees. It takes time for heat to move inward from the surface to the center, so the default method is to fry or grill or broil and hope that the browning time equals the heat-through time. Even if that math works out, the area between the center and surface will then range in temperature between 130 and 400 degrees. The meat will be overcooked everywhere but right at the center.The solution is to cook with more than one level of heat. Start with very cold meat and very high heat to get the surface browned as quickly as possible with minimal cooking inside; then switch to very low heat to cook the interior gently and evenly, leaving it moist and tender. Another solution is to cook the food perfectly with low heat, let it cool some, and then flavor its surface with a brief blast of intense heat from a hot pan or even a gas torch. More and more restaurants are adopting this method, especially those that practice sous-vide cooking, in which food is sealed in a plastic bag, placed in a precisely controlled water bath and heated through at exactly the temperature that gives the desired doneness.
Microwaving food was once unfamiliar territory. French for "under pressure", sous-vide is a method of cooking that is intended to maintain the integrity of ingredients by heating them for an extended period of time at relatively low temperatures. Sous-vide is the 21st C. version of the 19th C. bain marie. Food is cooked for a long time, sometimes, and often, well over 24 hours. Unlike cooking in a slow-cooker, sous-vide cooking uses airtight plastic bags placed in hot water well below boiling point (usually around 60°C or 140°F). The vacuum-packed bag is immersed into the water bath, heated exactly to the optimal cooking temperature.

In the USA and other English speaking countries, the technique of vacuum packaging may be known as cryo-vacking. Sous-vide is a professional cooking method which employs plastic oxygen barriers and precise temperature controls to reduce oxidization and extend the useable shelf life of inventory by diminishing contact with aerobic bacteria. The result is a final product with superior texture, amplified flavors and enhanced textural qualities. Professional cooks and chefs devote their time and energy in the pursuit of nutrition, food safety, and operational benefits of sous-vide in a restaurant environment. The vacuum-packed bag hugs the food, protecting it from contact with the water while transferring heat directly from the hot water. The bath is regulated by a device called an immersion circulator, a combination of thermometer, heater and pump that monitors the temperature, heats the water just enough to maintain the temperature you set it to, and moves the water around so the temperature is even throughout the bath.

“Sous-vide” isn’t really the best name for this method because the vacuum-packing - the term actually refers to - is less important than temperature control. “Precision Cooking” would be a better term. The heart of sous-vide cooking is the controlled application of low heat – just enough to cook the food properly, no more. A pot of boiling water or a hot oven cooks food at a higher temperature, so that by the time the center of the food reaches the proper temperature, the outside is at least partially overcooked. If you don’t get the timing just right, meats end up dry and vegetables mushy. But, if you heat food in water maintained at exactly the temperature you want the food itself to reach, it will end up cooked properly throughout. A greater appreciation of the term a point: The perfect doneness of any particular food from meats to vegetables.

Sous-vide Equipment & Foods.

Chamber Vacuum-Packing Machine
Thermal Immersion Circulator (heats the water, maintains precise temperatures, and circulates the water).
All-Purpose .003-inch-thick bags (regardless of the material, the bag should be rated for use with food products and for use at boiling temperatures).
Sous-vide may be applied to the majority of foods. However, the color of green vegetables (broccoli, asparagus, peas, etc.) is harmed by sous-vide.
Grains & Cereals (rice and pasta, for example) do not benefit in any appreciable way when cooked sous-vide.
Sous-vide allows the aware cook to achieve the exact internal temperature – medium in lamb loin, medium-rare in squab breast, every time.
With sous-vide you can achieve the same temperature throughout the entire cut, not just at the center, if that is the desired result.

Uses for Sous-vide.

a. Tough cuts of meat.
b. Fish.
c. Seafood.
d. Hard Root Vegetables.
e. All Non-Green Vegetables.
f. Marinating.
g. Compressed textures and coloring.
h. Shaping (i.e., gentle shaping for roulades).
i. Pre-cooking to allow efficient a la minute cooking during service.
j. Frees up oven and stove space.
k. Requires less “on-hands” time.
l. Consistency.
m. Immersion Circulators are portable, requiring only an electrical plug.
n. Storage space.
o. Increased shelf-life (cooked and raw), i.e. custard pasteurization.
p. Efficient service.
q. Nutritional benefits addressing food.

Food Safety Issues and Proper Handling Procedures.

By identifying critical control points and establishing hurdles to microbial growth, all of the safety concerns related to vacuum packaging and sous-vide cooking may be virtually eliminated:
· Only the freshest, highest-quality ingredients must be used when preparing sous-
vide packages. This can significantly lower initial microbial levels, extending shelf life and product freshness.
· It is also critical to calibrate equipment on a daily basis and quality-check all seals and packages for leaks.
• Raw packets must not be stored for more than two days before pasteurization above 60 C (140 F), and must be cooled below 3 C (37 F) within two hours.
• Pasteurized inventory should be stored below 3 C (37 F) and consumed or frozen within a specified time period.
• The date and time of packaging, pasteurization, and expiration must be documented and labeled on the package.
• The entire production process must be governed by a Hazards Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) system to ensure compliance and corrective actions.

The most critical factor in restaurant food handling is temperature control. No other restaurant handling procedure has a greater impact in suppressing bacterial reproduction than ensuring that perishable items, especially proteins, stay out of the ‘danger zone’ of 3 C (37 F) to 60 C (140 F). Under ideal conditions, bacterial counts can double every 20 minutes. In a mere 12 hours, a single bacterium may multiply exponentially into a colony of over 9 billion.

Chilled sous-vide items must be stored within walk-in coolers in covered pans with alternating layers of ice in order to maintain strict temperature control. Walk-ins are typically accessed several times per hour, which can bring the ambient temperature – and everything inside – as high as 14 C (57 F). Since the sous-vide bags are packaged and hermetically sealed, there is no certain way of knowing the core temperature of the packaged product unless it is buried in ice at all times.

Sous-vide is a cooking technique that exists at the cook’s disposal; the same as sauté, roast, grill, etc. Three basic principles that govern sous-vide cooking are;
- pressure
-temperature
-time
The fundamental advantage of sous-vide is precision. The degree of precision that sous-vide allows is extraordinary, but you still have to know how to cook. The craft of cooking is the striving precision of execution - daily, hourly, and minute-by-minute. Sous-vide has consistency at its heart. Sous-vide technology is a thoroughly modern application of an ancient, cross-cultural cooking practice- applying long, slow heat to enhance flavors while preserving texture. Industrial food producers have embraced sous-vide as a safe, effective method of packaging wholesome, minimally processed food with superior sensory characteristics. Restaurants have been slower to adopt the technology, due to the complexity of the technique, a lack of training, and the cost of the equipment.

Sous-vide cooking brings multiple benefits to restaurants in the form of increased service efficiency and lowered food costs. Preserving inventory in vacuum sealed bags is an excellent way of extending the shelf life of a product, provided proper handling procedures are followed. Precision heating and cooking offers unprecedented control over texture and flavor. Consequently, there are more textures and flavors to choose from. Cooks can now choose from an unprecedented range of ingredients from all over the world. Cooking is becoming less traditional – thus, cooking is becoming more personal and more and expressive of each cook’s individual imagination.

Sous-vide should not define a dish – the goals of the dish should be first defined and then techniques chosen that help to achieve those goals. Sous-vide is not the answer for all products and perceived uses. Eliminate the need to pay attention and you eliminate the craft. When you eliminate craft, you eliminate some of the spiritual rewards and soulfulness of cooking. Some dishes are still wrapped up in the emotions of cooking itself and help us to appreciate what it is we do. Sous-vide is thus, a part of professional cooking repertoire.

~R

#29 - 10 February 2009 - "Habits" - Aristotle

2009-02-10T15:15:00.000-08:00

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." – Aristotle

The Greeks have had a civilized culture far longer than most societies and the quote above was certainly not intended for use in my web blog – but here it is appropriately titling this stream of conscious thought. Btw, one blog reader noted that “I do tend to ramble on”... What! Me? I’ll try to stay on course.

I absolutely am having passionate nirvana in my position as a stage at The French Laundry. The food, the plates, the staff…all top-shelf embodiments of our business. Yet, the small details are constantly finding me dumbstruck in the complete acceptance and performance of tasks from Chef to dishwasher. Complete and unwavering adherence to the fact that the details matter. Did I say complete adherence...? Yes. The habitual refinement of not only the food but the careful proclivity to be organized and to maintain their mise en place is paramount. I have been practicing these “concepts” of mise en place, organization and cleanliness for what seems like a lifetime. In my culinary school days I was duely noted as being clean and organized. I have letters of recommendation stating and confirming my adeptness at maintaining those standards. In the culinary classroom and kitchens I am always preaching and guiding students through the concept and practice that “Good cooking is the accumulation of small details done to perfection” - which absolutely includes the concerted practice of “WORKING CLEAN”. I work in private homes with my business, 12 Seasons Personal Chef and Sommelier Services, and we are always effecting our abilities to do all of the above... Fast forward to now. Yountville, California. 2009. The French Laundry kitchen! I am an invited visitor into the gastronomic temple of food in America and some of my own “attention to detail" is just not enough! It’s their home and I need to remember that I am a temporary holder, and passer, of their torch. So, in my quest for perfection (and to quote Emeril), it is time to “kick it up a notch”! Thank you Chef Johnny for helping to unknowingly clarify the lesson. The issue is not important – although, it had to do with cleaning the rendered Wagyu fat container. My standard - my habit, as Aristotle admonishes - my par excellence was not good enough. Small beans? No! My own arrogance betrayed me and I realized that I’m not in charge here, but a temporay guest. It is a huge learning lesson. Being a stage has allowed me to look at the kitchen and the restaurant from a totally different perspective. A perspective that had I publicly acknowledged might happen, has happened. I learned patience as a Culinary Instructor and I am learning to be humble as a stagier… Yet the profundity of it all is cleansing. There is no greater personal lesson, for me, the seeker of perfection. As Chef Keller has stated “the closer one comes to perfecting something the farther away perfection becomes”.

Finally a quote from the 20th century Italian writer Cesare Pavese; "We do not remember days, we remember moments". Peace

~R

P.S.
Thank you, JoAnna, for the inspiration in all that I do.

P.P.S.
I will be documenting an entire service and Chef’s Tasting Menu on Wednesday, the 11th of February. I’m looking forward to sharing that experience with you… Stay tuned.

#28 - 09 February 2009 " Lombardi in the Kitchen"

2009-02-09T10:10:00.000-08:00

Vince Lombardi was a bespectacled and gap-toothed iconic coach of the most successful team in American football lore, the Green Bay Packers. If one wanted to "be-like-Vince" they'd need to study the emotions, passion and labor-of-love that is Vince Lombardi. Cooks are craftsman yet they are also athletes. One needs not to know a left tackle from a right guard in football terminology but you may see the parallels between athletics and the culinary arts. Within the fabric of a successful sports coach there can be a simile understanding of what it means to be a leader, a coach, a teacher, a confidant, a disciplinarian, a figure-head and a guide. These are the hats that chefs also wear, and the symbolism between coach and chef is highly evident in the kitchen of TFL. Here lies the essential parallels between a revered coach of a game requiring the cohesive tasks of many players to the Michelin-starred kitchens of the world's finest restaurants - and even to the boardrooms and management teams of successful businesses across the globe. In business as in life, they key is how you treat people. One must be motivated in order to motivate. Care and attention to detail are success's greatest allies and apathy and sloppiness are failures best friends...

Quotes from, and about, Vince Lombardi (when reading these words try to imagine the professional playing fields of any penultimate sport and its greatest combatants, feel the need for leadership in the corporate business environment, and for the culinary blog-readers seek to find your inner Lombardi in the kitchen that you toil. Ruminate on the words...):

"I firmly believe that in any man's finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is the moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle - victorious."

When Lombardi said 'sit down,' we didn't look for a chair." - Forrest Gregg

"He made us realize that if the mind was willing, the body can go." - Forrest Gregg

"He made us all better than we thought we could be." -Jerry Kramer

He pushed you to the end of your endurance and then beyond it. And if there was reserve there, well he found that too." -Henry Jordan

All he wanted from you was perfection." - Jim Taylor

"Coach Lombardi showed me that by working hard and using my mind, I could overcome my weakness to the point where I could be one of the best." - Bart Starr

He prepared us so well, and he motivated us so well, I felt he was a part of me on the field." - Fuzzy Thurston

The fear in my mind was not him but that for some reason I would not be a part of this team and be with this man." - Forrest Gregg

So, what do we take from this today...? "What would Vince do". Peace.

~R

#27 - 08 February 2009 "Tools of the Trade"

2009-02-09T10:07:00.000-08:00

“My day is really bad without a sharp knife. If, in the morning, I have to choose between eating breakfast and sharpening my knives - which takes about an hour for four knives – I sharpen my knives”. This from a conversation with a chef de partie (“B.R.”) at The French Laundry.

As with virtually everything that I see and hear at TFL, it was an elemental yet thunderous exclamation. The tools of the trade. If you take care of your knives, they will take care of you. This is often said, heard and practiced in kitchens across the miles. A cook’s tools begin with the very basic and essential chef’s and paring knives. To clarify about those knives; I write about, and work within, a European heritage of “la batterie de la cuisine”. I am not an Asian–influenced chef. Although I have the essential cleavers as used in Japanese and Chinese cuisine, they are not my chosen implements. However, the personality of a cook is often evident in their choice of steel, composites, handles and style of knives. Consider the traditional full-tang rosewood handled knife with carbon steel blades that are as sharp as any knife I have ever held, yet they require a constant cleaning; to composite steel blades that hold a great edge yet are more difficult to hone; and to the new-age of knives – ceramic and full-metal weapons that seem more suitable – to my eye, that is – in a Star Trek episode. Cooks may be partial to Swedish steel or German manufacturing or to a particular price structure. Whatever the make, model and esthetics one truth needs to hold court at all times; the knife must be sharp.

The stone that your knife is sharpened on must be smooth and nick-free. The stones at TFL are first preened over like a mother attending her newborn child and then smoothed on an abrasive stone pad as if readying the chalice of communion - before the knife itself gets any attention at all. It is ritual. It is personal. It is a craft. “A poor craftsman blames his tools”. Can’t cut the tomato? Don’t blame the gardener. Look in your hand and feel the edge of your knife. Can you make an incredibly sharp slice in a fingernail? Can you shave a bit of hair off you arm (sounds ugly, eh?). Can you slice a sheet of paper with one fell-swoop and see no rippling effects of dullness in the paper cut…? Steel to steel is one of the sounds that allows us to travel back in time...

Often, the last task in the evening before the lights are dimmed in the kitchen is the protracted swishing of knife to stone. The sound is eerily ominous. This is a time-honored expression of a personal relationship between a cook and cold forged steel. It conjures up medieval images of warring bands of marauders preparing to do battle, or of knights on battlements readying to defend the castle walls. Whatever the imagery, the knives are still sharpened by the one who is using them. An extension of the dance in a previous blog, the student of the culinary arts cannot go far awry if their blades and edges are “on point”.

Take care of your knives and they will take care of you. Peace.

~R

#26 - 07 February 2009 - "The Dance"

2009-02-07T11:12:00.000-08:00

They come from across the American landscape, from Korea and Ireland, far-away New Zealand, Germany, and Sweden and from our border friends of Canada and Mexico. These are the men and women who have come to The French Laundry to "dance". The dance is a symbiotic relationship between cooks and the front of the house staff. An intimate and personal Maginot Line between cooks and other kitchen personnel. A twisted battle between cooks and their own personal space of mise en place, organizational habits (or not...) and the always-moving and never-stopping tick-tock of the clock on the wall... The dance is mobile poetry. The dance is a "pas de deux" of all that exists in the kitchen that moves or is rooted in place. How well you maneuver through the timeless space of the kitchen and amidst the modern cacophony of orders, call backs and cries for needed product determines your level of expertise and success. Most hot food kitchen pros relish the dance. The bakery and patisserie is a different mind-set and the dance is more solo - a self-driven Zen of inert flour brought alive by yeast or a love for chocolate, almond paste and vanilla bean.

Part of what we do as chefs is please people, especially our clients and guests, in a visceral, spiritual and restorative manner. We cook to please ourselves, as well. We imitate the techniques of the thousands who have come before us - our way of "returning to the past" as Chef Keller has been quoted. We strive to impress the chef under whose guise the kitchen either flows seamlessly along the continuum of tasting menus and a la carte services, or perhaps flounders upon the rocky shores of unrest and disarray. Are there moments of stress and angst in all kitchens? Without a doubt. It’s never personal, nor should it be construed that way. Its business. It’s the guest who is our ultimate consideration. Check your ego at the door...

The quest is often towards "the perfect service". Those days can sometimes only be counted on the digits left on our scarred and wounded hands... The perfect service is sometimes like the "perfect storm" of silver-screen fame some years back. The kitchen could be considered the outer arms of a hurricane-like frenzy of action while the dining room exists within the "eye" where everything is always calm and quiet. What the guest experiences is the result of that syncopated effort. It requires dozens of people providing a live theatre and dancing in the maelstrom community of the kitchen. You gotta love it if you are a fan of "the dance".

The funny thing about the dance is that is it the same every day - yet, its completely different every day, as well...the players are the same and the time frame is the same but the events as they play out are those days moments that belong to no other. Like the "break a leg" platitude behind a rising theatre curtain, the kitchen lore requires a "have a good service" and handshake-greeting before the six or seven hours of service begin... Staying focused and having your mise en place in order allow a cook to stand and man the stoves for hours at a time. The dance is a multitude of efforts that allow our guests to feel that something special is happening around them, and most importantly - for them. Enjoy your dance. Peace.

~R

#25 - 06 February 2009 - Kitchen & other pictures...

2009-02-06T11:11:00.000-08:00

Wine casks, above, at CIA Greystone in St. Helena, California

More wine casks @ CIA...

Sauce organization in reach-in @ TFL... Note the labels.

Everything has a "kit"...

Organization. Mise en place. Neat.

And finally - chocolate confections, "Mignardise"....

~R

#24 - 05 February 2009 - Notes #2

2009-02-06T11:03:00.000-08:00

Un-edited notes (#2) from the kitchen @ The French Laundry…

1. Mirepoix usage: carrots, leeks and onions.
2. Mushroom stock infused with truffle peelings and steeped overnight.
3. For the Mushroom stock:
450 g coarsely chopped button mushrooms
135 g coarsely chopped carrots
90 g coarsely chopped leeks (white and light green only)
125 g coarsely chopped onions
6 g Flat-leaved parsley sprigs
60 g Canola oil
1.5 g Curry powder
1 ea. Bay leaf
1 lag. Thyme sprig
3.75 L Water

1. Finely grind separately, or pulse in a food processor (scraping down the sides of the bowl), the mushrooms, carrots, leeks, onions and parsley.
2. Heat the oil in a stockpot.
3. Add the vegetables, parsley and curry powder. Sweat for two minutes.
4. Add bay leaf, thyme and 2 L of the water. Bring to a simmer and cook for 45 minutes.
5. Strain through a chinois, pressing down the solids.
6. Return the vegetables to the stockpot. Set the stock aside.
7. Add the 1.75 L water to the pot. Return to a simmer. Simmer for 45 minutes. Strain.
8. Combine the two batches of stock in a pot and return to a boil. Reduce to 650 ml.
9. Strain and cool over an ice bath.
10. Refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze in small batches.

4. Stations in TFL kitchen:
Canape
Fish
Meat
Vegetable
Cheese
Pastry
Baking (product is produced at Bouchon Bakery and delivered fresh daily)
Prep
Dish
The Pass
5. Egg shells, tapped with topper. With a sharp paring knife remove the egg tops. Separate egg yolks and egg whites, cryovac @ 93%. Soak egg shells in hot water with vinegar for
10 minutes. Peel out the interior egg shell lining and store the egg shell upside down in their containers.
6. Gastrique – 1 L Red Wine Vinegar and 500 g Sugar
7. Vegetables medley – Mini individual florets of Romanesco, Cauliflower and broccoli.
8. Smoked cippolini onions - “under glass”
9. Nicoise sauce – Rinse nicoise olives of brine. Blanch. Oven-dry or dehydrate and puree until absolutely smooth, no texture.
10. Fruit & vegetable coins – “tournee”.
11. Corned Beef Tongue.
12. Confit of Beef Heart shaved thin.
13. Black trumpet mushrooms – Washed in successive batches of clean water 3X. Squeeze lightly and spread on linen towel on a rack suspended over sheet pan. Air dry. Store in perforated lexans.
14. Brioche toast – Toasted on line under radiate broiler for guests.
15. Whole baby octopus sous vide for 2 ½ hrs. @ 76.9 degree C. Olive oil & salt. Let sit for one hour. Cryovac in juices and set over ice. Store.
16. Petite Sale - Braised slab bacon @ 74 degrees C for 12 hours.
17. Hazelnut gelee – 700 g hazelnuts puree with 1 L water and tighten with gelatin.
18. Sturgeon - “Confit a la minute” with thermal circulator.
19. Lobster blanching: Uncooked shelled lobster. Sealed with beurre monte sauce. Butter poach @ 59.5 degrees C (139.1 degrees F). 15 minutes (could hold it for another 10 minutes).
20. Seasoned duck breast wrapped with blanched napa cabbage or chard. Wrap in plastic to make a roulade. Poach 6 minutes.
21. Sole Veronique – with brioche and sultana raisins.
22. Milk-soaked chicken breast – Bring milk to a boil, take it off the stove. Drop chicken breast into milk. Cover. Place pot in a food warmer.
23. Sous Vide applications – Pressure, temperature and time. Must have a solid understanding of cooking techniques and methodology. Sous vide is just another tool to be chosen and used wisely. Food storage is neat (no mess), efficient and compact, cooking, vegetable and fruit color retention, slowed oxidization and food texturing (compressing). Portion wrapped foie gras for longer shelf life.
24. Sous vide custards – control variables, ideal consistency and custard is pasteurized.
25. Barigoule – Artichoke hearts cooked in stock and olive oil (@ 85.0 degrees C.) with aromatics and herbs.
26. Consistency & precision: execution from the ritual of repetition.

27. Taken from press reports on the 2009 Bocuse d’Or - French Laundry Sous Chef Timothy Hollingsworth placed 6th place out of 25 international contestants @ 2009 Bocuse d’Or. USA was one of twenty-four teams from around the world; each presenting one fish and beef dish, in elaborate platters and individually plated portions.
Competition medals were awarded to Norway for first, Sweden for second, France for third. Denmark ranked fourth, followed by Switzerland ranking fifth.
"I am thrilled to have been able to represent the United States at the Bocuse d'Or," said Timothy Hollingsworth. "It has been a truly amazing experience on the ground in Lyon. All that I've learned working with Team USA has been invaluable, with so many people having contributed to the achievements our country has made here. Competing amongst these great chefs today has been truly an honor."
Bocuse d'Or USA was created as a non-profit organization, to recruit, train and support the American team. Chefs Daniel Boulud, Thomas Keller, Jerome Bocuse and several other leading chefs developed the organization.
"We are truly proud of our two talented chefs," said Daniel Boulud, Chairman, Bocuse d'Or USA. "The strides we have made are a significant accomplishment for the American culinary industry, as well as an amazing personal achievement for Timothy and Adina."
Hollingsworth's menu presented in Lyon included Olive Oil Poached Loin of Norwegian Cod and Roasted Aberdeen Angus Beef Rib-Eye.
Timothy Hollingsworth and Adina Guest won the honor to represent Team USA at the Bocuse d'Or USA in October 2008. Hollingsworth competed against seven chef teams from around the nation in the two-day competition, held before a panel of judges including Michel Bouit, Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Traci des Jardin.
Hollingsworth was awarded a three-month paid sabbatical to train at a specially constructed training center in Yountville, California, mentored by Team USA Coach and Master Chef Roland Henin.

28. Sous Vide Beef Tendons – for stocks
29. Risotto with sous vide oxtails.
30. Bananas are frozen, cut or balled and sous vide with sherbet ingredients, sealed and cooked.
31. Compressed food – ham and mackerel. Chicken thighs and chicken farce.
32. Musquee de provence melon (not muscat de provence as in an earlier note).
33. TFL 1999 - $95.00. TFM 2009 - $240.00.
34. Foie gras with brioche toast, poached pear, fig and truffle.
35. Marinate 500 g foie gras with 9 g of salt, 1 g sugar and 1g white pepper. 24 hours. Poach. Let sit for one day.
36. Foie terrine: marinate foie scraps. Roll in cheesecloth. Poach 90 sec. push through tamis. Pipe into terrine. Glacage.
37. The importance of staff meal…
38. Blanching – 1 C. kosher salt to 1 gallon water.
39. Fish – “Cradle it like a child…”
40. Rue – not often used in kitchen. Blueish-gray shrub. Floral with nutty undertones.
41. Wedge-cut Anjou or asian pears.
42. Degustation de pommes.
43. Jasmine rice sherbet.

Have agreat day!

~R

#23 - 04 February 2009 - "Ten Years later..."

2009-02-04T23:40:00.000-08:00

I've just spent my "weekend" at Bodega Bay - the fog-drenched sun over the Pacific, the hard-pan beach giving way to soft sand and wind-blown grasses, the clamoring of sea gulls taunting the land-dwellers as they skate along air currents high above the surf... Oh, and golf. You see, there has to be golf to make this experience truly real for me. I'm so weak....

Moving on.

The recipe for the success of The French Laundry was born from a life of dedication, foibles, gratitude, skyrocketing success and humility. Thomas Keller was born the year that the greatest of the French chefs, Fernand Point, died. 1955. From these lives has come the "Pursuit of Perfection". It is a process of "Inspiration - Consistency – Precision of Execution – Repetition - Ritual". Not a direct quote but a summation of what I have read, observed and felt while spending time in this incredible environment. The sense of dedication is overwhelming and, although I've thought this to be a little trite, life-altering.

Yes, indeed this is the experience of a lifetime (as Donna from Loveland stated). It won't be enough. There is so much more. I would still like to spend time with Heston Blumenthal at The Fat Duck in England (one of the other stages that I was accepted in to) - as well with Jacques Pepin and Andre Soltner and M. Point himself! Perhaps in another etheral kitchen where the gas will always be "on" and they'll be a never-ending supply of foie gras, Chateau Haut-Brion and spaghetti & meatballs...

In reality this is a lifetime of experiences in two months…everything is so familiar to what I've tried to accomplish in my kitchens - yet at TFL it is so detailed and just...perfect. In fact, just attempting to live up to the expectations is daunting, nervous, frustrating and in a daily quest of perfection - exhausting. What I spend my time thinking and pondering on, is how best to utilize this opportunity. What causes this place to be so good? I do have the answer to that. It is a declaration and a blueprint of success that I'll implement everywhere I land. In my plans for 12Seasons, at Assignments Restaurant, at Team Buildings, with the students and faculty at The Art Institute and with my clients at The French Manner… More on that in another blog.

In 1999 TFL Cookbook appeared on shelves and shook up my culinary world. I was introduced to it by Brad Watson, a chef associate. Now, ten years in the making I see great differences from TFL of '99 versus the observations I've made in '09. When I visited TFL on 29 September 1999 the same Chef’s Tasting menu (which I still have and revere its existance) was listed at $95.00 per person, with services included. It is, in 2009, two and one-half times more expensive (at $240.00 per person) with services included, of course. So, what is the difference? Appearances matter. The food is much more polished, refined and exacting. There has been a decade-long journey; "Inspiration - Consistency – Precision of Execution – Repetition - Ritual". The difference between pictures of particular items in the cookbook of 1999 to the real plated menu items in 2009 is astounding. It is as if the food has grown up and become more regal, having ascended to a throne of culinary magnificat! The eggshells are much more precise. The brunoise is more perfect than ever (an on-going effort for this apprentice). The pluches of herbs are perfect. The introduction of Sous Vide technology has changed the color landscape of dishes to impart a palette of uncanny brillance. You have to see it in person to appreciate the clarity of spectrums...

Finally, for this entry, I share with you the wisdom of "P.S." who has opened the doors to the home I am staying at and just this evening imparted a direct-hit on the magnitude of this "life-changing" experience. It was said, "It’s like a baseball wanna-be wishing they could be on the field at Yankee Stadium, or a violinist to be in the orchestra with Leonard Bernstein at the Lincoln Center or an actor living their dream on stage with the cast of The Phantom of the Opera….that’s what it is like to be at TFL. It’s about being there, the place of your dreams, its the top of the heap. You’ve aspired to be with one of your heroes – and you made it there". Thanks P.S. - I am indebted to you...

This experience has thusly reiterated and reinforced everything I have believed to be true about our business, myself - and certainly what I knew about TFL. Seeing the food production, the culinary concepts and strategic processes in action has created a different set of professional emotions that I was not expecting. One still has to move fast, yet work slowly. Having to produce at that level can be, and often is, daunting. I’ve seen the difference in the product of 2009 and the photographs of the food in 1999. TFL has grown up and become much more fine and sophisticated. Isn't that our goal, as cooks, in life as well...? Peace.

~R

#22 - 03 February 2009 - Kitchen Images

2009-02-03T02:12:00.001-08:00

Thomas Keller quote.

Veal stock & Remouillage.

Brass stars over the Bonnet stoves.

12-hours Sous Vide slab bacon @ 68.8 degrees C.

The Sense of Urgency sign...

Copper...

Copper...

The Pastry Station

Pastry Mise en Place

3 Michelin Stars

Jars of spices

Jars of Spices, Salt & Peppercorns

The large sign over the entranceway into the wine storage, silver storage and then into the lower level dining area. It reads, in full, as the definition of finesse; "Refinement and delicacy of performance, execution or artisanship".

More copper

Food photographs are in the plan...patience... Peace.

~R

#21 - 02 February 2009 - "The Blue Apron"

2009-02-02T11:33:00.000-08:00

“The Blue Apron”.

In America, like the Red Sox "B" on a ball cap or the Nike "Swoosh" or now the omnipotent “Terrible Towel” of Steeler-Nation, “The Blue Apron” of The French Laundry is a symbol. The symbol is a study in humility. An underlying river of opportunity for those who are good enough and humble enough to don it and to continually exercise the teachings and perfection of Thomas Keller. All cooks and chefs wear “The Blue Apron” during their work day while prepping and doing the detail work necessary for the tasting menu service. Chef and Sous Chef will, during service, wear traditional white chef bistro aprons – leaving behind their status as learners and becoming the teachers and driving forces of the cuisine.

Cooks at TFL are students first and students always. “Raimundo”, a contributing blogger to this cook’s diary wrote that, “in Zen, the secret of the arts is to always be a beginner”. This was fully evident over the course of the past few days in the kitchen of TFL. Executive Sous Chef Devin Knell made continual forays into what “the standards of TFL are and how important that is to the fabric of what TFL is and what TFL represents”. To me, it was literally spine-tingling narrative (of course I wrote it down, only after looking to the extern, “Neils”, standing next to me who immediately said – “blog it”).

“The Blue Apron” is about standards.

From a letter from Thomas A. Keller to the stagier program participants - "We are a group of individuals committed to the common goal of creating fond memories for our guests and ourselves, elevatings the standards and expectations of the restaurant industry and developing a secure and ideal work environment. To acheive those goals we must all work at them tirelessly, fearlessly and with TFL values deeply imbued in our core". Maintaining the parameters of the standards that have been set by those who have come before you and teaching those standards to those that come after you is what I see at every turn in this kitchen. One must be patient enough to teach and humble enough to learn. Work clean. Work efficiently. Work smart. Concentrate. Own the moment. Stay attentive. At TFL, the staff polices the staff in all elements of food storage, production, personal appearance and culinary theology. One must continually be a student of the culinary arts and at the same time produce incredibly good cuisine while passing those techniques and methods along to other cooks. Now, just saying that an establishment, or any business for that matter, has standards does not proclaim the depth of practicing it’s mantra as I see at 6640 Washington Street in Yountville. The kitchen, dining, wine and office staffs - from its inception by the Chef/Patron (as homage to time-honored practices in Europe) - have bought into the concept of what TFL standards are, and what they will eventually mean to the guest.

“The Blue Apron” is all about the guest.

This is all for the guests of TFL. The effort, the passion, the physical aches and pains (o.k., that one was about me…six Ibuprofen a day, still) and the quest towards “the pursuit of perfection” is all meant to give the guest an experience. Look beyond the silver service ware, the beautiful plates and the small food portions within an extended tasting menu and one could see the effort put forth by as many as 24 cooks and chefs in the kitchen during a work day. Details matter. The Blue Apron is indeed a symbol to be earned, appreciated and worn with pride – only if its wearer buys in to the standards.

For students and professionals alike, the mythical “Blue Apron” could be manifested in your own standards. The toque. The bistro apron. The necktie. The Red Sox “B”. Whatever it may be that is your identifying feature as a practitioner of your art – respect it, maintain HIGH standards and hire the best employees who will buy in to the expectations of your vision. May “The Blue Apron” be with you, always... Peace.

#20 - 01 February 2009 - My Notes

2009-02-01T21:46:00.000-08:00

So, I've finally compiled my notes of the last two weeks and they appear here in an unedited form. I'll be writing my future blogs from these tidbits and morsels. They make sense to me... Major work on pictures and content by Tuesday as I am off all day. So, I'll be sitting in the California sun composing my novel about "My Time in Napa". Peace

~R

P.S.
My heart goes out to all the friends, loved ones and people that John "Louisville Jesus" Breaux touched, and brought a sense of peace, to. May he be remembered and his life lived not in vain.

1. “The Need To Feed” topics:
· TFL is not just a fine restaurant – it is a business that stretches the realm of teamwork and standards. It is a model for business and a training ground for life. Write about The French Laundry as a model for business.
· Empowering people. Enabling people. The pursuit of excellence.
· The French Laundry standard from Chef Devon.. “What makes a good cook? Adapting to your food by noting touch & feel and the condition of the product. That is what helps to develop your skills.”
· Standards. It is Thomas Keller. But the torch is passed every day. The recipe for success: Standards, Teaching, Speed, “The Sense of Urgency”, Critique, Training, Praise, Pushing the Envelope, Well-oiled machine, the employee “buy-in”…
· It looks like small food and multiple courses in the tasting – but it is really the level of care directed towards everything that the guest sees, tastes, touches and smells…
· Professional appearance at all times.
· The Brigade. Chef Patron to Commis and then to stagier.
· Communication. Sharing knowledge. The staff keeping the staff on point.
· Hire intelligent people.
· Check the ego at the door…
· Recuperation
· The Blue Apron
· This One’s for John
· Clean with Enthusiasm
· Own the moment
· Sense of Urgency
2. Food ideas:
· VitPris – For marmalades (dextrose, gelifant, pectin, acidifant, acide citrique)
· Sous Vide Slab Bacon for 12 hours @ 74.0 degrees C.
· Pear or Asian Pear Supremes – Wedges cut into pears exactly the same.
· Kampachi Tuna – Trimmed and squared off in long bricks. Sliced to order at the pass.
· Spinach – Pick and clean (no stem) baby spinach. Add (by weight) 15% Canola Oil and 1% Kosher Salt. Mix well and then cryovac until firmly compressed and dark green. Reserve until needed.
· Calotte
· Confit Potato/Turnip/Carrot Coins – Coins cut from ¼” vegetable discs and pared. Cooked in duck fat (potatoes) or Clarified butter (other).
· Tomato Compote – Quenelles as component on plate.
· Tomato Marmalade – Hache and cook with with VitaPris, sugar and water. Cook to marmalade.
· Pain Perdue with Cheese Course
· Lobster Tails served whole, poached and finished in Sous Vide Beurre Monte @ 59.5 degrees C.
· Cippolini Onions – Peeled, first layer only, cryovac.
· Egg Shells – Cambro of ½ HOT water and 1” white vinegar for soaking shells (for 10 minutes) to remove egg lining.
· Pearl Onions – Soak in hot water, peeled, even sized, cryovac.
· Foie Gras – Deveined and pass through tamis, load in terrine and glacage with duck fat or sun choke puree with gelatin.
· Andante Dairy
· Diane St. Clair Butter
· Keith Martin lamb
· Black Trumpet Mushrooms, washed three times and squeezed dry, dry on towels over rack suspended by deli containers.
· Brunoise – Turnips and carrots poached to count of 5, add green leeks and shock. Dry on towels on rack. Deli container with c-fold towel.
· Pluches of: Mizuna, Wild Arugula, Watercress, Frisee
· Brunoise of: Tarragon, Cornichons
· Truffles: Brush/wash, pick for dirt, peel (retain trimmings) poach, and cryovac.
· Peeled Grapes and Apple Brunoise – 1 deli of ½ simple syrup and ½ water and 3g Ascorbic Acid.
· Red Pepper Juice
· Red Beet Juice
· Parisienne: Muscat de Provence melon, apples, carrots, etc.
· Crones
· Truffle Coins
· Garlic confit – blanch garlic 5 times. Then poach in clarified butter until really soft
· Potato Chips with Chives – Baked between sheet pan and silpats. Trimmed as necessary. Other option is to produce herbed disc chips.
· Pommes Maxim – Slice yellow potatoes and cut into rounds. 10 rounds per Pommes Maxim. Blanch rounds and shock. Drain and dry on towels. Add minimal cornstarch and clarified butter. Assemble maxims and rub with clarified butter. Sauté to order with kosher salt and white pepper.
· Butter Rounds – 36 g each, formed in cheesecloth as ovals and hardened in ice water. Served room temperature with bread.
· Poularde brine – 1500g kosher salt to 15 L water. 13 breasts for 2 hours.
· Foie Gras Terrine
· Salmon Tuile Paper Cornets – Triangle napkin folded in half around cornet mold. Retain the paper very taught. Roll left side tight on mold. Roll right side over left. Fold down wings and use tuile rack to hold.
· Parsnip Agnolotti – individual self-sealed pastas.
· Petite Rabbit Loin with frenched bones
· TFL Garden and Green House utilizing seeds and “farm to table” concept.
· Beurre Monte kept in immersion circulator @ 59.5 degrees C.
· Fried Corn Balls – Corn milk (or corn flour) with Asiago and gelatin, loaded into 1/3 pans and chilled. Scoop with parisienne, coat with nutted milk batter and ground panko. Fry to order.
· Ice Cream and Sorbet Quenelles – Temper frozen product, utilize hot water bath for magic spoon and warm quenelle by rubbing in palm of hand.
· Wagyu Fat – Place ground fat in rondeau and cover cold fat with water. Render until impurities coagulate and strain. Chill.
· Date Balls – Hot water on dates for one minute. Peel. Split and remove seeds. Remove white pith. Weigh out 0.6 g in strips. Roll into balls and store in light oil.
· Profiteroles – Filled with pastry Cream, topped with caramel and rolled in ground candy violets.
· Sun choke Tourne – Mini-pared sun chokes in almond milk, dredged in ground panko with herbs and pan-fried.
· Mignardise – Served on Silver trays @ TFL. Serve on white platter @ Ai along with pots de crème of Truffles - with the check…
3. Organizational ideas:
· Deli containers - Used for mise en place, washed and re-used.
· C-Fold paper towels – For passing food during service and for filling deli containers.
· Blue Painter’s Tape – For all labeling, in black marker.
· Scissors – Cutting tape.
· Tape – Taped to wall, written on and then cut (straight lines).
4. Kitchen:
· All work station spots utilize parchment paper down to control mess and stay organized.
· Shaved Iberico ham (cryovac) served over Agnolotti
· Lots of little timers used all around the kitchen – “precision cooking”.
· Rolls of wet cloth for wiping plates at the pass.
· Classic sauce pans with lids and handle..!
· The stoves and ovens are “Bonnet”.
· Well-designed kitchen spaces with self-contained work stations.
· The Pass – Use wooden butcher block.
· Service areas – Linen taped to benches by FOH.
· Mimi hand-held burr mixer @ The Pass.
· Trivets on linen @ The Pass to protect the linen.
· Call out “dish” or “dry store”…
· Air dry to cool plates.
· Food kits of cambros with tops and labeled – for all food products.
· Food is hand-carried to tables.
· Wicker baskets for citrus, garlic and onion to air…
· Detail all equipment on weekly schedule.
· Daily cleaning jobs A.M. and P.M.
· Prep lists from evening meeting with chef and staff – orders placed in P.M. for next day. Prep lists posted for chefs de partie and commis.
· Potatoes kept open to the air in baskets/bins with holes in them.
· Chef’s equipment stored in dry storage and/or locked in janitor’s room and/or locked in cages.
Equipment - Juicer
Molecular kit
White Service Ware
Pullman bread pans
Griddle
All equipment from storage
· Cleaning solutions – Windex for Stainless steel, yellow cleaning solution for walls, and hot soapy water with 3M pad for top of stainless benches (then BUFF).
· Soak Immersion Circulator in soap solution and clean with pads…
· Magic spoons at all stations with tasting spoons as well…
· ½ sheets with paper c-folds for passing food to The Pass.
· Finish foods at The Pass with nice pepper mill and Fleur de Sel.
· Last thing at night should be sharpening knives, icing fish and other product and cryovacing product.
· Chef’s meeting with snacks produced by chef de parties…
5. Recipes:
· Vegetable Stock
Mirepoix
Mushrooms
Tomato
Garlic
Turnips
Steep and strain.
· Pasta
2 whole Eggs
20 ea. Egg yolks
1 K Double O Flour
1/3 C. Milk
2 T. Olive Oil
· Gnocchi
Russet potatoes, pierced, cooked covered with salt. Split potatoes and scoop out pulp. Rice onto wooden board. Add egg and flour until just incorporated. Roll on rack and poached until just set.
· Tomato Compote
5500 g Canned San Marzano Tomatoes
250 g Red Onion
475 g Shallot
1 L Cabernet Sauvignon Wine Vinegar
500 g Sugar
1 deli Tomato Water (plus more as needed for cooking)
Pinch Kosher salt
Clean tomatoes under running water; no seeds, skin or stem. Drain and reserve tomato water. Hache red onion and shallot. Cook with tomato water until no bite. Add sugar until dissolved. Add RWV. Cook down until a sec. Add tomatoes and pinch of salt, cook a sec. Cool completely. Hache until absolutely smooth. Pack in deli containers.
6. Other food ideas/concepts:
· Casa Botin, Spain – Suckling Pig (7#, 1 month), Baby Eels in Hot Garlic Oil, Serrano ham “of the sierra” considered to be a lesser ham, Iberico (Patanagra – raised on Acorns and Hazelnuts) starts @ $80.00/#.
· Sausages – Braised in Red Wine and stock reduction

#19 - 31 January 2009 - "That'll do Pig."

2009-01-31T19:38:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is a picture taking day at The French Laundry, so I'll have some shots for y'all... In the meantime enjoy my friend!

#18 - 30 January 2009 - Earning What You Deserve

2009-01-30T19:21:00.001-08:00

What is "The Need to Feed"...? Is it cooking? Is it sharing your dreams and aspirations? Is it standing toe to toe with your brethren for hours at a time... Yes. Yes. Yes, and yes. Being a cook is that and much more. Having developed a penchant for the philosophical side of Ma Cuisine I submit the following for your perusal...

Carpe Diem.

An oft used and ignored phrase of symbolism. What we do today defines us tomorrow. So - what are you doing today that makes tomorrow a better experience than today...? My today is a succession of long days and nights at The French Laundry that will, in my tomorrow, define who I will be in the months and years to come. I know not what will actually happen tomorrow...that is up to God and fate, but my efforts today (and in the past) will shape and mold me as I morph into the future...

I've gotten much out my professional life. I was once just a skinny kid at Pleasant Valley Country Club in the mid-1970's. I lived ego-inducing and passion-building days in my apprenticeship with Chef Esteban Colon in the Grand Canyon and served as group leader and the "old man" (I was just 27...) at the Culinary Institute of America in the 1980's. I cooked, cheffed and built my business in the 90's. I learned about patience, mentoring and stretching my boundaries in this first decade of the 21st century. Where will I be in 2015? Or 2025? Or beyond that...? I know what I know, yet I know that I don't know enough nor will I ever know enough - and so on...

With that in mind I pay homage to Charles Kelly, who brought this to me several years ago:

DANCE as though no one is watching you...
LOVE as though you have never been hurt before...
SING as though no one can hear you...
LIVE as though heaven is on Earth.

Thank you, Chuck. An unknown quote of incomparable understanding. Much like Carpe Diem; reach for stars, brass rings and dreams. It isn't about actually grasping or attaining the goal. Life and the inalienable rights to the pursuit of happiness are relative to your effort and a sense of place. One must understand that we are defined by where we are at any and all times. We are affected by place. I am totally immersed in my learning and am in a "place" - figurative and real. I live on these pages (if the computer-generated script can be called a "page") as a way to open my spirit and allow the free reign of ideas to explode and cascade across the vastness of technology until you read this and get a sense of how important our lives are and how important it is to seek the unreachable stars, to quote Don Quixote. The journey to our end is that which defines us on a colossal scale. What does this have to do with the stage, the sabbatical and the mosh pits of kitchens across the culinary universe...? Nothing. It has nothing to do with that trinity. Yet - it has everything to do with the spirit, the persona and the self. Be true to what you do. What you attain is what you pursue and never will you truly earn what you don't deserve in our world. It takes a lifetime, sometimes, to live for a day. The earned may be deserved but the earned without deserving is false and under scrutiny by those around you. Be patient, work hard, work clean and help others along the way, for that is truly the way to gain the rewards that being a cook - a really good cook - and a chef are what our passion is all about. Get it?

Mentoring.

Find a mentor. Be a mentor. Pay it forward. Nourish your culinary family tree. Share your spirit and knowledge. Do, and teach. Not only is it rewarding but it is amazing how much learning there is in teaching... And finally, as my day at TFL now begins at 5:00 a.m., I leave you will a parting quote, taken in the above vein it may make sense to you budding and blossomed chefs and cooks;

Cooking is like love. Enter into it with reckless abandon, or not at all.

There is much to comprehend, ruminate and express. When I attack the keyboard I'm never quite sure what will jump onto the screen yet somehow I always find the blogging experience to be cathartic and cleansing. Time to dream of Foie Gras and Chateau d'Yquem. Peace.

~R

#17 - 29 January 2009 - La Truffe

2009-01-29T21:37:00.000-08:00

A great day at The Laundry...

The above pictures tell the whole story. 40# of fresh black truffles from Provence, France. I won't even disclose how much they cost, that would be unfair to the restaurant. However, this single experience of cleaning, shaving and working with these beauties is totally worth the effort to be in Napa...seriously. More on this tomorrow. Gotta sleep. 4:00 a.m. comes early. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

#16 - 28 January 2009 - Menus

2009-01-28T18:53:00.000-08:00

Chef's Tasting Menu
Prix Fixe $240.00 - Service Included

"Oysters and Pearls" *
"Sabayon" of Pearl Tapioca with Island Creek Oysters and White Sturgeon Caviar

Salad of Butternut Squash Confit
Swiss Chard, Black Truffles from Provence and K & J Orchard Chestnuts

Moulard Duck "Foie Gras en Terrine"
Sunchoke Glaze, Hazelnut "Crunch", Hosui Pears, Frisee and Madeira-Vanilla Reduction
($30.00 Supplement)

Sautéed Fillet of Japanese Suzuki
Broccolini Fleurettes, Green Grapes, Red Radish and Spanish Caper Vinaigrette

"Lamelles" of Pacific Kanpachi
"Jardiniere" of Winter Vegetables, Petite Lettuces, Hass Avocado and Yuzu Essence

Sweet Butter-Poached Maine Lobster Tail
Hon-Shimeji Mushrooms, Clemintine Segments, Watercress and "Sauce Japonaise"

Devil's Gulch Ranch Rabbit
Melted King Richard Leeks, French Prune and Hobb's Shores Bacon Emulsion

Corned Marcho Farms Veal Tongue
Caramelized Brussels Sprouts, Rye Bread Puree, Pearl Onions and Grain Mustard Sauce

Snake River Farms "Calotte de Beouf Grillee"
"Pommes Sarladaises", French Laundry Garden Spinach, Nantes Carrots and "Sauce Bordelaise"

"Idiazabal"
Pimenton Pepper, "Pain Perdu", Globe Artichokes and Arugula

Ruby Red Grapefruit Sorbet
Pistachio "Pain de Genes" and Mascarpone

"Mousse au Chocolat Amedei"
Gros Michel Banana Ice Cream, Candied Cashews and Curry "Arlette"

Braised Golden Pineapple
Spiced Sweet Rice Beignets, Dark Raisin Coulis and Long Pepper Sorbet

Mignardise

#15 - 28 January 2009 - Game Plan

2009-01-28T16:54:00.000-08:00

The following quote is from a culinary student doing their externship at The French Laundry; "I'm working on being organized and pushing myself as hard as I can, all the time. My goal is efficiency of movement. Right now it permeates my entire being."

It permeates my entire being... Huh. I love it when younger cooks proclaim to the world their passion and goals... We spoke about the necessity of having a game plan and then following through with it. Without a focus there is little chance for success. To be a complete chef and manage time, product and people there must be a plan. With that, here is the secret - in order:

Game Plan
Mise en Place
Cook
Serve

A cook cannot digress from that methodology. Good lessons to be learned by all cooks that were precipitated by a young cook, full of raw passion with a future in someone's kitchen (or perhaps, their own).

A side trip.
Working hard in any chosen field requires some down time, some recuperation. As a culinary instructor and business owner, the day-to-day operation of a restaurant kitchen is mostly behind me - my days are different, now. Now, when I produce an event for a client it is easily an 18-20 hour day (plus the shopping, pre-prep, packing and travel to and from the site - an average of 27 hours). I have the complete luxury of creating menus and curriculum, inspire passion, provide education, taste food and give the requisite critiquing of food. Now I am one of the minions, a stagier. I'll get used to the hours, the work and the travelling to and from the restaurant...back in the ballgame, so to speak. The end result is that I was pretty tired after the first week and took yesterday completely off...
However, today was different. I took a journey to Bodega Bay, just 35 minutes due west of Santa Rosa. The drive towards the coast was refreshing and rejuvenating. I could smell the salt air and it brought me back to the ocean of my youth, the Atlantic of Rhode Island, Maine and Massachusetts. The land gave way to the silent black sentinels of wave-beaten rocks. The descent down the bluff was on yellow flower-lined wooden steps, filled in with wind-blown sand was quite exciting. With Crocs in hand I walked along the chilled tarmac of sand and stepped into the crashing surf. O.K., that was cold...! Couldn't have been more than 35 degrees. The beaches were assaulted by white sea foam waves and the gulls amassed as if in an Alfred Hitchcock inspired movie, a la "The Birds" (which, btw, was filmed in this exact spot...). Kites, kids, clouds and fog were the action being framed by this panorama. The breeze washed away my pent-up anxiety of the previous week and my senses were awakened and I felt a joyful skip in my step as I smiled broadly on my way along the Miwok Beach. Time stopped and I was once again my old self, now ready to face the new challenges. My Game Plan has been reset...
The alarm is set for 4:00 a.m. tomorrow morning for the trip to Napa Valley and a 5:30 a.m. start at The French Laundry. With a week of acclimation behind me I am confident and rearing to go - to learn new things, to stay current and continue my work with empowered, passionate, intelligent cooks with the same beliefs and commitment as myself. Peace.
~R

#14 - 27 January 2009 - Menus

2009-01-27T20:26:00.000-08:00

Tasting of Vegetables

Prix Fixe $240.00 - Service Included

"Bloody Mary"

Tomato Pickle, Celery Branch, Horseradish, Brioche Croutons and Smoke

Salade of English Cucumbers

Compressed Asian Pear, Heirloom Beets and Red Ribbon Sorrel

"Topinambours en Persillade"

Eggplant Confit, Pine Nut Puree, Parsley Shoots and Nicoise Olive Oil

Butternut Squash Porridge

Black Truffles from Provence and Siscilian Pistachios

Gratin of Yukon Gold Potatoes

Meyer Lemon "Glacege" Garden Radish, Romaine Lettuce, Crispy Capers, Aged Balsamic Vinegar and Shaved Bottarga

Tamari-Glazed Abalone Mushroom

Tokyo Turnips, Carred Scallions and Mizuna

"Fricassee" of Globe Artichoke

"Jamon Iberico", Black Trumpet Mushrooms, Piquillo Peppers, Cilantro and "Sauce Pimenton"

Hand-Rolled Parsnip "Agnolotti"

Swiss Chard, Pearl Onions, Dijon Mustard Emulsion and Napa Valley Mustard Blossoms

"Vermont Shepherd"

Caraway Seed "Pain Perdu", Sweet Carrots and Brussel Sprout Leaves

"Blu del Monsenisio"

Medjool Dates, Fennel Bulb, Marcona Almonds and "Piment d'Espelette"

Cranberry Sorbet

Buttermilk "Granite", Toasted Oats and White Honey

Fuji Apple "En Feuille de Bric"

Brown Butter Gastrique, Chestnut Ice Cream, Streusel and Shaved Black Truffles

"Coupe de Chocolat Amer et Cafe"

Passion Fruit, Condensed Milk and Caramel

Mignardise

#13 - 27 January 2009 - The Food

2009-01-27T19:20:00.000-08:00

The food. I'm sure that you, the avid Chef Corey blogger, are waiting for something more tangible from me - away from the philisophical and managerial predilictions and into that which has made The French Laundry so attractive to cooks and diners... O.K., I agree - for now.

Note: Pictures of the kitchen (as I have been asked about) will have to wait until my schedule changes back to nights. This thursday is a 5:30 a.m. start. I will not be able to provide you photos of the plating, as a camera is not allowed until my last day in the kitchen. The kitchen pictures will be available in a week, or so.

Here goes. Items on the menu denoted with an * are featured menu items. They are Thomas Keller and TFL classics and are expected to be served...

Chef's Tasting Menu

Prix Fixe $240.00 - Service Included

"Salmon Cone" *

Salmon Tartare with Red Onion Creme Fraiche in Black Sesame Seed Tuile Cones

"Oysters and Pearls" *

"Sabayon" of Pearl Tapioca with Island Creek Oysters and White Sturgeon Caviar

"Salade de Chou-Fleur"

Green Grapes, Marcona Almonds, Red Chili, Cilantro and Verjus"

Moulard Duck "Foie Gras en Terrine" *

Pear Relish, Compressed EndiveWatercress and Hazelnuts

($30.00 supplement to the price of the tasting menu)

Satsuma Mandarin-Glazed Bluefin Tuna

Purple-Top Turnips, Brilled Scallions and Black Sesame

"Anguille de Mer Legerement Frite"

Hobbs' Bacon, Sweet Carrots, Pearl Onions and "Gastrique Bordelaise"

"Beets and Leeks"

Maine Lobster tail "Poche au Beurre Doux" with King Richard Leeks, "Pommes Maxim"

and Red Beet Essence

Four Story Hill Farm "Poularde"

Crispy salsify, San Marzano Tomato Compote, Swiss Chard and Dijon Mustard

"Chateaubriand" of Nature-Fed Veal

Bluefoot Mushrooms, Sunchokes, Piquillo Peppers, Arugula and "Sauce Pimenton"

Kuroge Beef "Saucisson en Croute"

French Laundry Garden Lettuce, Radish and Black Truffle "Ravigote"

"Fouchtra"

Celery Branch, Cherries and Black Pepper Sable

Ruby Red Grapefruit Sorbet

Pistachio "Pain de Genes" and Mascarpone

"Mousse au Chocolat Amedei"

Gros Michel Banana Ice Cream, Candied Cashews and Curry "Arlette"

Braised Golden Pineapple

Spiced Sweet Rice Beignets, Dark Raisin Coulis and Long Pepper Sherbert

Mignardises *

Jellies, Truffles, Mini-Eclairs, Nougats, Lemon Curd Meringues, Petite Fruit Breads, Hazelnut Petite Fours, White Chocolate Cremes, Creme Patissiere-filled Profiteroles

#12 - 26 January 2009 - Wisdom

2009-01-26T13:07:00.000-08:00

"Be aware of everything around you during the dance. Be aware of costs. Let's make sure we are ordering properly and utilizing our ingredients correctly. Everything has a value. Don't take it for granted that we have extraordinarily expensive ingredients and have the best of everything to work with. Be appreciative of this opportunity that we have". -Corey Lee, Chef de Cuisine, The French Laundry, to his staff during a planning session deep into the night, seated at the pass in the kitchen of TFL...

Words of wisdom, indeed. Even the greatest restaurants on earth have the same communications between chefs and staff, the same as we have had all our lives, in sundry other establishments and businesses. The common bond between us all is - that we are charged and ordained to create interesting, innovative, nutritional and wholesome food and dining options for guests to enjoy. We exist to provide "an experience".

"Have you noticed how nice and accomodating everyone is here? This would never, could never, work in my restaurant". -Fellow stagier at The French Laundry making an observation and commentary...

There is so much more. More to see. More to taste! More to smell and experience. More to practice. More to cook. More to enjoy... Too much to digest since I began tasting the plates just the other day... A couple of days worth to bring to you, but will have to wait until tomorrow. Peace.
~R

#11 - 25 January 2009 - Pictures

2009-01-25T12:18:00.001-08:00

The pictures are of The French Laundry back entrance, Bouchon and Bouchon Bakery, just south of TFL on Washington Street in Yountville...

#10 - 25 January 2009 - A Day In The Life...

2009-01-25T12:07:00.000-08:00

Note: The picture at left is the emblem on The French Laundry chef jacket...

Quick story... It was 9:00 in the evening and the second seating had just begun. I was in the kitchen supporting the chef de partie on cheese when I was asked to procure mustard blossoms. I inquired as to where I would find them and I was told, pretty matter-of-factly, that they are in the garden across the street. Remembering that the night was well into its third hour of blackness – I know that my eyebrows went up and I almost laughed out loud – I gladly rose to the challenge. As I rounded the back of the restaurant and headed towards the gardens (remember the 42, 30’ x 30’ plots of tillage…from a previous blog, that is) I wondered aloud how the heck I was going to FIND ANYTHING IN THE DARK. I was not provided with a light nor was one offered. As I rummaged I thought of bringing my car around to shine on the field but that would not have illuminated enough acreage. It was then I had an “Ah hah!” moment. My cell phone. Sure enough, when I opened it, it cast enough light so that I could cruise up and down the paths between the plots. Of course, I had to bend over and hold the phone about six inches away from the growth… It must have been a funny scene.
I found the necessary mustard blossoms and was ecstatic with myself for solving the problem. I wonder if it was just a test to see if the new guy could get it done…

Notes on the food from my pocket notebook:
· Virtually everything is vacuum-sealed in cry-o-vac. A beastly machine that sucks the air out of specially designed bags containing anything from foie gras, truffle coins or Wagyu beef to bean paste, peeled cucumbers and vanilla ice cream base. Gotta get one of those. Beats the hell out of my seal-a-meal from Costco.
· 90 egg shells cleaned every day. The whites and yolks vacuum packed. The eggs are cut with the egg topper; tops removed, and then soaked in hot water and vinegar bath to remove the lining. Used for egg custards. The attrition rate is about 20-25% but getting better.
· Butter rounds have been mastered. 36 g of specialty butter from Andante Dairy shaped into perfect discs inside cheesecloth, which is later removed, for bread presentations.
· Brunoise fine (1/16t” x 1/16t” x 1/16”) carrots, leeks and turnips. Blanched, shocked, and dried. Every day. 2 deli containers (each container is one pint).
· Garlic confit is blanched 5 times, in new water each time, and then cooked until very soft in clarified butter…
· Sous vide lobster tails, claws and knuckles in beurre monte at 59.6 degrees C until meltingly sensual. This was part of family-meal yesterday. It is as good as it sounds…
· Burn skins of red bell peppers with blowtorch in order to just remove the skin and apply no direct cooking to the pepper meat. Outside skin will peel off under cold running water. Brilliant.
· Muscat de provence. A dense, melon-sweet pumpkin from northwestern Italy. Use for hundreds of parisienne rounds. Vacuum pack the remainder for soup, tomorrow…
· Crones. A tiny (one-inch or less) tuber that resembles a grub-worm, in shape only…. The very thin skin must be wiped off with a green 3M pad and then brushed with a paring knife. 2 deli containers took two of us 2 hours to peel, pare and wash. Cooked last evening in clarified butter to caramelize and they are delicious. Just 5 on a plate, among other components.
· Black trumpet mushrooms – UMAMI – for garnish and vegetables. Trimmed, washed, squeezed and air-dried on a rack, draped with linen, and suspended over a sheet pan atop five over-turned deli containers. BTM are black chanterelle mushrooms (or Girolles).
· The various mignardise (chocolate candies, chocolate and nut truffles, tiny éclairs, jellies, mini-fruit breads, lemon cured-filled meringues, macaroons and other sundries – are breath taking. I am allowed to work in the patissiere and delight in handling these wondrous creations (more on this in another blog, I’m sure).
· Diane St. Clair butter as an accompaniment in the cheese tasting. Nutty, rich, smooth and totally lingers on the palate. INCREDIBLE.
· Rendered 35# of wagyu (domestic Kobe beef cattle) fat. Freeze the fat and grind (through a small die) and then cook clarify in a rondeau, topped off with water until the fat separates from the impurities. As I was grinding the fat a front-of-the-house employee inquired as to what I was working with. He said he wondered why I was grinding the fat - and then he remembered where he was working. Fat is good.
· Petite Rabbit Racks. Think rack of lamb only reeeeeaaallyy small – with the little ribs protruding just like the big boys do… Three bones per rack on a serving. Probably 25 g… Very cool.

Peace.

#9 - 23 January 2009 - Clean With Enthusiasm

2009-01-23T02:27:00.001-08:00

Clean with Enthusiasm.

These were the first words that I said to myself when our first tasks were assigned on Day 1. I rememebered Chef Michael D'Amore at The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park... It was a Buffet Catering & Garde Manger class. He was a wild-eyed enthusiastic instructor and instilled in me a concept: Own it, Enjoy it, Relish it. Be it cleaning, peeling turnips or roasting the whole Foie Gras beast - these are all aspects, among one hundred-thousand or more, that need to be completed in order for the restauarnt to be complete, as well. OWN IT. ENJOY IT. RELISH IT. Thank you, Chef.

Work Clean.

A mantra. A mindset. A necessity. The French Laundry kitchen is the most completely clean and precise environment I have ever entered into. Form follows function. The manicured grounds outside are a breath of fresh air. From the racked gravel paths and pebbled lots that are reminesent of a Japanese rock garden, to the trimmed and coiffed bushes and small shrubs at the interior patio and flower beds, this is an establishment that cares about the senses. The congenial atmosphere that greets guests and the stylistic display of a multitude of courses on fine porcelin and china plates makes a diner feel special and taken care of. The development of an experience is a complete understanding of all that is good in our industry. It is the level of care and attention to detail that is a mind-blowing observation to those that are keyed into that, despite what the price on this meal will become. $240.00 before wine and beverages must be understood in the vein of the expense in time, ability and care that this theatre of dining brings forth. Just to be cognizant that the smallest of details in food preparation will eventually become synthicized into a larger perspective is challenging and requires complete commital. It starts with working clean.

The kitchen at TFL is completely cleaned three times each day. The prep area, where I was enconsed for 10 hours on Day 1 is cleaned 5 times each day. Everything. All stainless, brass and glass surfaces are kept immaculate. Cooks are issued three towels - keep track of them! The moment I put on my size 42 jacket with the azul-blue lettering of The French Laundry I was charged with attaining the attitude that all tasks mattered. There is little difference in the party of the whole experience between my efforts and those of the Sous Chef and the Patissiere. Gratitude from these cooks and chefs was never lacking. Thank you's abound. I entertained that what I did mattered and I was not disappointed with the response from the staff. Lesson #1 reiterated itself to me all day and I knew that what I had embraced years ago in my training, my apprenticeships and in my teaching philosophy was right on point. Work clean - and so I shall.

Shaking in and shaking out.

In many large Euro-inspired establishments, as well as in Culinary schools across the spectrum, the students/cooks shake hands with the Chef(s) as a way to connect on a new day - a new beginning. The sins of yesterday are absolved. All staff memebers shake hands with fellow mates as a bonding of like-minded teammates. Athletes high-five, low-five and chest bump each other before gladitorial football, basketball and Rugby Union matches so why shouldn't the gifted craftsman of the culinary playing fields do the same...? The edge of uncomfortableness was relived quickly this way. We are a team. In the kitchen Brigade (the hierarchial components of staff) the Chef/Patron is lord; the Chef de Cuisine is number one in line behind the supreme one; the continuation of status runs through the Pastry Chef, the Sous Chef(s), the Chefs de Partie (station or line-cooks, if you will), and down through the incredibly important dishwashing crew (whom I did introduce myself to very early upon my entrance to the kitchen) until - finally - one reaches the externs and stages. That's me, way down on the bottom... Haven't been in that situation for a loooooonggggg time. And, I might add, I love the learning aspect of that situation. I am surrounded by the youthful and talented future of American cuisine and I find it rewarding, and motivational as well. My fellow stagiers (four of them) represent the United States, Sweden and Mexico. Fine cuisine is multi-national and multi-cultural. We all speak that same mental and physical languages as well as the formal and technical language of the kitchen - culinary French. A shared bond is strong when all elements of technique, method and mental clarity are established. In spite of the unfamiliar landscape when I stepped into TFL kitchen (everything is new and different on anyone's first day) I felt an upwelling of "belonging" by the end of Day 1.

Note to all: Read Michael Ruhlman's literary trinity "Making of a Chef", "Soul of a Chef" and the fantastic piece de resistance "Reach of a Chef" (which when read, provided me with an ephinal moment on South Beach in Miami in December of 2006...). All cooks, young, old, entrenched or otherwise should read these tomes. Chef Keller also provided me with a phalanx of books on his "Oprah" list - more on that in another blog...

Here is the mise en place for the day and list to be completed (for the culinary-minded this is tactically important - for the layman it is linguistically challenging...). Note: I was trained and indoctrinated by a CIA (Culinary Institute of America) extern ("Y.J.") in her first month of an 18-week externship at TFL. She was amazed that I was a CIA alumnus - of 22 years ago which is about the time she was born in South Korea. :)

Clean (see above diatribe...).
Molded and shaped 36 g squares of plugras butter rounds in cheesecloth (for bread service).
Prepped egg shells (with the tops removed using an egg topper), blanched in vinegar water and the interior skill peeled away from the shells.
Fine Brunoise (1/16" x 1/16' x 1/16") of carrot, leek, and turnip blanched, refreshed, dried and stored in deli containers with green tape alluding to the contents within (all lableing is done in green painter's tape with precise ends cut at 90 degree angles...).
Clean.
Stocks strained, cooled, strained again, and loaded into 12" x 20" cry-o-vac bags and then vacuum-packed for easier storage and long-term sustainability.
Clean.
Maintain the Sous Vide of various rabbit forcemeats, Jus de Veau and the cleaning of thermal immersion circulators.
Support the Chefs de Partie with product from the prep reach-ins, cooking oils, ice and sundry aformentioned white plates, platters and silver serving vessels.
The ware washing staff delivers the 180 degree cleaned white plates to the prep room where they are layed out to cool to room temperature before they are ultimately delivered to the appropriate stations. Yes, the plates matter; really cool futuristic and classy investments...
Clean.
Maintain the locker room, dry goods, baskets of shallots, garlic and onions (for good ventilation), the crates of newly dug farm-fresh potatoes, and the "Red Room" (with a newly black-painted but formerly red awning which spawned it's name, apparently). Keep every item on shelves in perfect order and neatness. Roll-up and clean under the black carpets and replace... Neatness abounds. If you take care of the place...the place will take care of you. One must take OWNERSHIP of duties, surroundings and philosophy. Without that, there is anarchy.
Oh yes, clean (again).
Watch the service. The menus are taped onto white linen station covers at each station with perfectly framed green painter's tape borders (trivets keep pans and other potential grease carrying implements from touching and ruining the aestitics of the pass). Admire, observe and understand the hand-delivered plates and the artistic plating and perfect placement of even the seemingly-innocuous micro-greens, oils, sauces or powders. The pass and all production stations work upon the coarse linen table coverings, taped down to the cold stainless steel benches ubiquitous green painter's tape. Perfect quenelles of sorbets and ice creams utilizing hot water-dipped spoons and hand warmed before a flash of grace places the glossy egg-shaped cream upon it's resting spot...beautiful (and it's wickedly good to eat, too!).
Cut, peel and remove the white pith from floral-aromatic oranges to be dehydrated overnight and used for orange powder and orange oil at next service.
Protective wrap everything, lable, date and initialize. Mise en place is arranged on shelves in plastic cambros, lexans and deli containers - lables out.
Ask who needs help. Avail yourself to any and all tasks. Listen. Absorb. Learn. Write notes to self (I wrote nearly 20 pages in a small pocket-sized notebook).
Wipe down all oil jars, condiments and sauces. Everything is labled.
Take out trash, wash and sanitize the trash container, wipe down and replace with new trash bags...
Buff the tops of the stainless steel benches and stations and wipe down with wet cloth and finish with a dry cloth. Clean with enthusiasm.
Sharpen knives and secure all perishable food.
Now wait (clean while we waiting, of course...) to be released.
But, first we wait for the Chef and staff to finish their meeting which focuses on the next days menu and service. Two bottles of champagne adorn the table at the Chef's pass where the inner circle theorizes and listens to Chef Lee guide them through specific aspects of his creations. Garlic confit. Hache the mirepoix. Farm-fresh mini-turnips. Caramelized baby cabbage. Sturgeon confit. I am mezmorized with the nature of what we do...
Clean.

So, ends this chapter. Chapter One (thanks Simon...).

#8 - 22 January 2009 - Pictures

2009-01-22T13:26:00.001-08:00

#7 - 21 January 2009 - Seasonal Cooking & Locovorism

2009-01-22T12:42:00.000-08:00

Note: I originally wrote this blog last evening but I encountered "technical difficulties" in posting it... Now I know to write it in a word file and cut and paste to the blog... So, here it is again - to the best of my ability in reproducing it!

The grassy areas between the garden plots was cold and wet with dew. In good spirits, in spite of the overcast skies above, I ventured to the gardens at The French Laundry and toured the grounds on my own. There are 42, 30' X 30' gardens of product in various states of fallow or fullness. Brussels Sprouts, hearty Winter Greens, flourishes of herb bushes, etc. January chill is kept at bay by their saving grace - a 75' X 40' canopied hot house. Hot house may be the wrong word but when I entered I noticed the difference - perhaps the vegetation knows as well... Tree fruits, flowers, herbs, etc. all neatly arranged in rows waiting for the Head Gardner to pick and choose those products that he deems ready for harvest. Ready for harvest and ready for the cooks in the kitchen across Washington Street. Chef de Cuisine Corey Lee works in harmony with the ebb and seasonal flow of product. The Jacobsen Farm in Yountville grows produce exclusively for the TKRG properties in the town, as well. They even harvest their own organic snails (my ExpatArchitect nephew in Brussels says that "Organic is the only way to go..." - thanks for that culinary tip)!

I sat and pondered my own experiences with food. Not just the cooking I have produced but the food that has arrived at the back door and docks of a myriad of operations that I have engaged. From the uber-fresh and totally-chic Boulder Farmer's Market to pricey Whole Foods and their knock-offs to the cold and sterile 40# boxes of far-away grown "stuff" that ranges from un-ripe and tastless to old and unusable... I prefer the first. We all prefer the best quality product because that makes the cooks job easier. Yet, what about those that live in the inhospitable food netherlands of the far north - say, Fargo, N.D...? What's a cook to do, then, eh? If one must ship food then at least be responsible in this day of the carbon-footprint awareness. Write a menu that makes sense to the time, the season, the region and the reason your kitchen exists. Yes, The French Laundry does ship food (ain't Federal Exprees and DHL great for us...! especially Keith who supplies the lamb) to Yountville. The lamb, however, is on the cutting edge of holistic production and fabrication. They do a good thing, there. You have to weigh your reponsibilties.

All this heavy thinking brought me to Ban Barber and Blue Hill at Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture. Blue Hill, as a culinary entity, is a farm in western Massachusetts, a farm and culinary center in upstate New York (30 miles north of the city) and a boutique restaurant in Washington Park on Manhattan Island. The opportunity for cooks to put vegetables in the ground (from seed to soil) and then slaughter the animals that they have husbanded (farm to table) and then, finally after seasons or years, have the opportunity to respectfully cook dinner for guests... Consider that aspect of "The Need to Feed". There are oases of culinary and farming efforts across America and around the globe, yet we tend to think of this as cutting-edge stuff. My great-grandparents (and those before them) did that as subsistance and necessity. We do that as "craft" (or is that still "magic"...). At least someone is doing it.

First service at The French Laundry for me this evening... A fellow stagier ("J.B.") e-mailed me with these haunting tidbits - "There are a lot of rules and systems in place that we all need to memorize- I can see how it makes the place run smoothly but, yikes, trying to remember all of them makes me so inefficient in comparison!! Make sure you work super clean, keep track of your three issued towels, and for goodness sake move as fast as you can."

Oh yeah...."put me in coach, I'm ready to play". See y'all tonight or tomorrow morning, about 2:00 a.m. Peace.
~R

#6 - 20 January 2009 - Getting Ready...

2009-01-20T21:02:00.000-08:00

My locker is #4. I share it with someone that I've not yet met.

I'd tell you the combination but if that leaked out I'd be in trouble... Someone else is in that locker now, the evening before The French Laundry opens up for it's first lunch and dinner services in 2009. I hope there is room for my "stuff" when I get there on Thursday.

As I stated yesterday, I'm not on the schedule until Thursday @ 3:30. So today and tomorrow are my "weekend" days. Had a coffee @ Peets Coffee & Tea on Chanate Street in Santa Rosa. Read the sports page and soaked up some California sun. The cleaning ladies were in the house that I'm staying at so I removed myself for an hour... Went to Oliver's Market on Montecito Boulevard and shopped for dinner. I've been cooking for P.S. while I wait to "go to work" at TFL. Last night was "Salmon Santa Rosa" and tonight was "P.S. Pork & Pasta" - Olive & Tomato Braised-Roasted ("Broasted" - new word...) 4-Bone Pork Loin with Spagettini alla Pesto (fresh from an incredible array of produce at the market!), Roasted Golden Beets and Butter Lettuces with Olive Oil-Toasted Batard Croutons & Parmigiano-Reggiano. Just a little somethin-somethin... Tomorrow - Bodega Bay.

Shined my clogs. Bought a new can of black shoe polish so they would be Chef-approved. Trimmed my fingernails so I would be happy with them. Sharpened my knives so the food will be be happier... I have my pocket notebook (bought an extra four notebooks in case the others stagiers may have forgotten theirs..), my black sharpie (made sure that it works), my felt tip pen because I write better with it, my white tee-shirts (which I abhor wearing, btw.), my NEW chefwear black classic chef pants, and my black shorty-socks. I'm allowed to bring the following tools into the kitchen (no tool kits, bags, boxes, etc. are allowed in the kitchen because the personal tools are already there - in personal drawers where the chefs de partie keep their mise en place): paring knife, chef's knife, boning knife (didn't specify meat or fish knife so I will have my knife box in the trunk of the Acura), sharpening steel and peeler. Aprons and TFL chef's jackets are in the locker room. Yes, I'll get a picture of myself in the jacket and apron... I'm much more at ease in that uniform than in anything else. I know I feel different and cook with a greater passion and urgency when I have on the apron and toque (however, no toques at TFL - that's o.k., I'm ready for the change). So, my personal mise en place is checked off on "the list". My mental mise en place is always "checked off"...

I had to touch the sign... It was right there on the wall. And then, there it was again on the other wall! You know, under the clock... SENSE OF URGENCY. A blue plastic sign in white letters. If you have been one of my students you've seen the sign on the wall in my lab... There is another sign on my wall. Not from TFL but from Chef Michael Bourdin, formerly of The Connaught Hotel @ Mayfair in London, England. Ready? Repeat after me if you know this; "Good cooking is..." If you don't know it, the full and simple truth is, "Good cooking is the accumulation of small details done to perfection". Brilliant. Wicked. The truth. A simple process to break down the incredible into the manageable. A reminder to cooks. Everything is doable. It is about the basics - skills, methods and techniques. That is, for me, the escence of "The Need to Feed". If it looks good, it will probably taste good. All those hundreds of thousands of cooks in history that have paved the way for me to be here, right now, we pay homage. I'm charged to help pave the way for those who will come after me. That is my/our culinary roots, our culinary family tree. I have something in common with the farmhouse in Arles, the Castille in Segovia...the kitchens of Escoffier..."Ma Gastronomie" of F. Point....of Lutece, The Inn at Little Washington, Chez Panisse, Blue Hill Farms, The Fat Duck & Grinda Wardshus...and all across the culinary map - meandering into a quaintly perfect, two-mile square hamlet called Yountville.

I'm glad I didn't start today because I saw an American dream realized today in Washington, D.C.... But, that is someone else's soapbox. It was, however, like my stagier, a new beginning. Peace.
~R

#5 - 19 January 2009 - The Need To Feed

2009-01-19T21:13:00.000-08:00

So, once again why do we feel "The Need to Feed..."? I know why I do. It became clear, as it did this evening (after cooking for P.S., whom I am staying with in Santa Rosa) whilst I sit and communicate my love, philosophy and desire about food with someone who understands; someone who has just received a meal (now known as "Salmon Santa Rosa" that has affected them intrinsically, viscerally, physiologically and spiritually. I know that I do the act of cooking for myself but I create the food for others. I want the food to taste a certain way - the methods and techniques that I follow are created by others, but the food on the plate in front of me is all mine, although I'm cooking for someone else. I won't go out of the way to cook for myself (bologna, pasta and rice works for me as subsistence food...not all together, though!) but add one more person to the mix and now I have "The Need to Feed..." Here's the rub. That's not art. That's not even craft. That's providing a basic human need (eating food) and applying magic to it (through method, technique, attitude...). Yes, I wrote magic. We are Magicians. We can take the basic foods and apply heat, cold, chemicals and such, and then manipulate people to have a reaction - a reaction that we are intending them to have. Manipulation (thank you Chef D. K.). Day 1 @ TFL. This is the reason that you are reading this, now, isn't it...? An incredibly warm and pleasant day in Napa Valley. Sun, people migrating around Washington Street in Yountville, the breeze wafting up the valley... I arrived at the Laundry at 9:15 a.m. Early, of course. Not too exact (meeting was pre-set at 9:30 a.m.). But early. NEVER LATE. Never, never, never, never, never, never. Did I state never? I thought so. It is amazing the lessons we learn in life. Met my fellow stagiers (representing California, Sweden and Mexico...). I am the eldest. I may be older than most of the cooks at TFL. Heck, I am older than all of the employees! I'm learning humility, here. O.K., this isn't about me. This is about the team. Working as one. Take care of the guest and the guest will take care of you (words of wisdom from Mr. Keller related later in the morning). But we know that...! It is sometimes really clarifying when someone you respect says something you already know. Remember, I'm the student, now. I'm on a quest to learn and relearn... The semi-annual meeting of the employees and staff for TFL, Bouchon, Bouchon Bakery and Ad Hoc - the four restaurants that TKRG (Thomas Keller Restaurant Group) own and operate in Yountville. A very young, hip crowd of courteous, caring and gracious people. Cool videos, movies and pictures of the people, food and experiences that are of those aforementioned businesses. The business aspect of our craft is presented by the CEO - the stress on the business - and the stress of doing business in the current economic climate. Then suddenly Chef Keller is in front of us on the stage - elucidating his vision and his philosophy. He answers questions from employees - What did you think was going to happen 17 years ago when you saw TFL property for the first time? What were you trying to create 17 years ago? Where has he come from and where are they (he and his employees, partners and staff...) going is a major theme. He's pretty simple to listen to. I've heard the stories and read the histories. Now he's speaking those words, working himself around the questions and talking with us, thanking many, many people in the audience - personal, heartfelt warmth... We go back to TFL. Take all the usual pictures out front, the facade, the garden across the street with the hothouse waiting to be descended upon by eager cooks ready to uproot the day’s vegetable offerings... Farm to table. Icicle radishes, various beets, turnips, greens and peas just 45 minutes from the ground, washed and presented on your plate at dinner or lunch... We've got the tour. Everything is immaculate. Everything is clean. I said everything is CLEAN. The stoves have been disassembled of various parts and are being cleaned, dried and spray painted silver. I talked to the Hobart repairman and he said they do this every two months. Why? Because they care. It's not just Thomas Keller. It is everyone there. You can feel it. They are charged with something special. I'm realizing the cost of the meal has more to do with the people, the ambiance and the effort before we even speak about the food and wine. The wine room(s) is really cool.... Not privy to them just yet, but from a sneak peak, some old favorites show their labels; Meursault, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Sancerre and others... Now, I'm in the kitchen. Suddenly a stealthy figure appears next to me...now, we are addressing each other as "chef"...now, I'm talking to him and shaking his hand and now, he is gone, off to receive an award in Spain with Adria, Blumenthal and Gagnaire. Then off to Lyons to judge the Bocuse d'Or (his Sous Chef Timothy Hollingsworth is representing the USA - no pressure there...). Cool. No problem. I belong here. I have learned the same values and have the same work ethic. A Good feeling. Below are the Core Values one must possess to work within the TKRG. Do you have them? I'm referring to you, the professionals that are reading this (not you Mom...): Modesty Integrity Respect Responsibility Awareness Initiative Collaboration Consistency Impact Success Legacy I've thought these things - I've taught these things - I've proclaimed these things - I've lived these aspects. Do you? Can you? Will you? I bought into this a long time ago. Now, here's a god of gastronomy talking to me about working within the group, as one, to achieve great things. YES! Of course! It takes the group of like-minded individuals to accomplish what one person has as a vision. Yeah, hard work, etc. is important too. The atmosphere must be fostered, however. The success of the whole depends upon the success of the individual. So be a leader, allow individuals to succeed, mentor them, push, pull and cajole them if necessary...! Learn to dance with each other. I love to dance.... Develop great work habits. Don't hire people without them!!!! I like confident, proud people who take initiative and responsibility. Those who go the extra mile are the ones I want on my side! Oh yeah....WORK CLEAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've not heard anything new today. Not surprisingly. I told you I was old... But I heard it from someone who matters. I do trust myself, but this is my hero. Funny, but I never thought I'd feel this much like a kid again... Rebirth. Relearning. Reinvigorating. "Hardware stores have customers. Restaurants, however, have guests". -Patrick O'Connell The mission statement of TFL is "to represent the most definitive dining experience by means of incomparable cuisine, service, wine, ambiance and memories". Attention to detail. Passionate pursuit. Sense of Urgency. Fresh. Creative. Innovative. Team players. Buy in to those goals and philosophies and the rest is easy... I'm on the bottom rung of the restaurant kitchen brigade here and I'm still a valuable asset to the organization. Humility, remember...? Excellent. I can't wait to introduce myself to the dishwashers. ~R P.S. Oh, by the way. I'm off for the next two days.... It's my weekend! Pretty funny. I've waited a lifetime to be here so I can wait a little longer. 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday. I wish you could grab an apron and ride with me... I've got more to see, say and write. Tomorrow. Peace.

#4 - 15 January 2009 - Good-Bye Colorado...

2009-01-15T09:49:00.000-08:00

Good-bye, Colorado....Hello, California!

The journey begins. 1275 miles to Napa Valley, two mountain ranges and several CD's of Eagles, Steve Winwood and ELO... Tune in on Monday evening, the 19th of January for a review of Day 1 @ The French Laundry...

As Sir Winston Churchill said (during the bombing of London in 1940), "Now, this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning"... I've adpoted that as my new mantra. Thanks Winston.

A bientot.

~R

#3 - 14 January 2009 - Work Hard

2009-01-14T06:21:00.000-08:00

Work hard.

These were the words I received after posting my first blog, from Chef Lachlan McKinnon-Patterson of the phenomenal Frasca Food and Wine in Boulder, Colorado. LMP is Chef/Partner of Frasca along with Master Sommelier Bobby Stuckey. These gentlemen are working alumni of The French Laundry in Yountville, California. Work hard. Chef McKinnon-Patterson should know.... Work hard. Those two words resounded in my mind. How many times have I stated those exact words to employees and students...1,000? 5,000? More? Working hard means (to me) staying busy, for the clock never stops. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. You'll fall behind if you don't stay on task. Get to work on time and start your day with purpose. Pick up the paper on the floor that everyone else has walked over. Work hard and work clean. Finish a job and then move on. There are no small jobs in the kitchen - only small cooks who think they are better than everyone else. Work hard. Now I have become the student... Must have a game plan.... Working hard means staying observant. We learn from what we see, hear, taste, try, fail at, return to and practice. The task in front of us is just one activity that we are engaged in as cooks. How many activities can we attempt at one time? Perhaps 6 or 7, maybe 9. Having to juggle all these techniques and methods takes concentration and stamina. So, working hard is a mind and body experience. One needs to be fully in the moment to cook great food. The incredible Fernand Point of La Pyramide fame in Vienne, France once stated that great cooking begins anew every day. That every day the stoves are started and the process begins as yesterday - fresh and perfect. If we didn't love what we do would we go to these great lengths every day...? Work hard. The sabbatical question I have (and the name of this blog) for all cooks is - why do we do what we do? Why do we cook? Why do we serve? What is it about our profession that makes us have "The Need to Feed"? Will I have a greater understanding after sabbatical? I think I have many of the answers and yet I am totally open to new aspects of our persona. I'm sure it is different for many cooks - men and women across the globe are engaged in this activity every day, all day. Food is what we all, as a human population, have in common - along with oxygen and love. So Batmen and Batgirls, riddle me this...why do we have the "need to feed"?

~R

#2 - 13 January 2009 - The Set-Up...

2009-01-13T07:33:00.000-08:00

It's amazing that this actually worked...

Moving on. I am on sabbatical from The International Culinary School at The Art Institute of Colorado (AiC from now on) and will be a stagier at The French Laundry starting next Monday, the 19th of January until the end of March...and I just turned 50 in November... In other words, you are never too old to learn more about your trade or field of endeavor. This experience is much more than just cooking, however. I began the process to attain a stage in November of 2007. I sent dozens of letters and then repeated the process because my sabbatical was delayed until now. I received some acceptances; most notably from The Fat Duck in Bray, England, Charlie Trotter's and Tru in Chicago, Illinois, Alain Ducasse in Paris, France and Frasca Food & Wine in Boulder, Colorado. Then on the 10th of October 2008 I received what I really wanted all the time. A stage at The French Laundry. How do I turn down the chef and food that I have tried to replicate, in my own way, since 1999 when I first became aware of "the cookbook" (show to me by a chef-friend, Brad Watson)? So, I'm off to California. Why? Why a stage, why a sabbatical, why now...? These are all the questions I receive from friends, family, students, etc. So, I'll tell you. It began with a question that came to me from Camilo Robledo (a former student and future-great-chef): "What do you love to cook and what do you love to eat?" It's the old chef's game - ask a chef what their last meal would be and then sit back and listen... (check out Melanie Dunea's book My Last Supper - 50 Great Chefs and Their Final Meals). Ask yourself: 1. Last Meal? 2. With whom? 3. Where? 4. Would you cook? 5. If you could duplicate a meal from the past, what would it be? 6. What do you love to cook? 7. What do you love to eat? 8. What's your favorite restaurant? I never thought that there would be so much learning involved with teaching…I ask students this question all the time. When I asked myself the answer became a search. A search for more in my world. A search for greater understanding. The more that I thought I knew, the more I knew that didn't know very much. I realized that cooks and chefs sometimes do not fulfill themselves away from the stove. Experiences are what enliven us and I needed to do that. Hence, I applied for the sabbatical and with a grateful heart I was granted this time to continue my search. It's not just about the food. The stage is all about observing the finest restaurant in the land. Understanding the philosophy. Seeing, firsthand, how the brigade functions. Witnessing the creative moments. Finding an understanding of why this place is so good and, ultimately, finding where I stand in all of that.... Of course, spending two and one-half months in Napa valley can't be all bad... I will be soaking up all that I can in food and wine and writing each evening (or morning, as the case may be). As I move closer to this time in my life I wish to thank the AiC (faculty, students & staff) for their belief in me and for the opportunity to explore my soul and this experience in California. I wish to thank, posthumously, Chef John Frye for befriending me and guiding my future during my apprenticeship in Arizona, and to Chef Esteban Colon (not-posthumously...!) for igniting the flames of passion in me. Thank yous go to the family as well; Mom, Dad, bro and sis', and to my wife, JoAnne (10,069 days today...) for putting up with all of this, and to Megan & Ryan for whom all of this is for... Love ya.

~R

#1 - 12 January 2009 - Hello Blog World!

2009-01-12T12:58:00.000-08:00

Hello Blog World!

I'm not sure what is harder - getting a stage at The French Laundry or setting up this blog... So, in the interest of curiosity I'm going to save htis short blurb and then see if this thing actually works. Blog #2 will contain my reasonings for this experience (in great length and detail) and my itinerary for the months ahead...

~Chef Robert N. Corey