The Cook's Notebook

[chefmanny]

I used to keep a notebook with recipes and notes but, as i became more experienced I found it less useful and let my experimenting and creativity play with the recipes. Now I just look at the recipe and kind of flashes in my head and if I'm going to make it I can recall it, before Happy hour!

[Katie Etouffee]

I always have my tattered little notebook. In my restaurant we have master recipe books because the place has been open for over ten years and we have a lot of repeat business that expects a very consistent product. But my tattered little notebook contains notes for specials (and the specials definitely aren't in the recipe files), minutes of meetings with my executive chef, plate maps, little ideas that come over me suddenly, and unfortunately the occasional necessary documentation of conflict or inappropriate/illegal conduct that I encounter in the workplace. I write down as much as I can, though to some extent it's impossible to make notes of everything, and if you try to do so, you find yourself chained to a pen and paper, whereas the job requires you to be more chained to the pan and spoon. I love my tattered little notebook, and I'm currently on #5 in three years. One day I will take some time and transcribe all of it onto my computer ... maybe it'll turn into the book I've been meaning to write for so long!

My current tattered little notebook has a plastic cover which is warped from sitting in the hot window too long ... its pages are splattered, stained, torn, and sometimes illegible. Each of the pages which deal with daily briefings from the executive chef have a little cartoon in the corner ... either a fish or a pig, depending on whether I'm assigned to cook seafood or meat that day. The back cover has long since fallen off. It's dear to me. I'd still be able to function if I lost it, but I'd miss the cartoons and special recipes, for sure. It's nice to have detailed documentation of a special you ran six months ago.

[Nicko]

I have always kept a notebook as I simply cannot remember everything. I still have my notebook from my externship at the Four Seasons when I was in cunlinary school so many years ago. To this day I still use receipes from that notebook. My most treasured notebook is the one I kept while I was in Europe it is near and dear to my heart. In it I have drawings of the ravioli techinques the little old Italian ladies used to make the raviolis, and much much more. I find it is a great way to track your learning as well.

Great topic!

[Headless Chicken]

Keeping notes on everything you make is the best way to keep a record of everything you do or are suppose to remember because theres so much to know and remember, its overwhelming. I've kept all my collection of recipes and notes from school, thats 5 years of material on paper, now safe in a leather zippered binder/folder. I would also like to convert most, if not all, of my commonly used recipes in digital format.