Beating the Heat

Now that the summertime heat is in full swing, my kitchen is a blazing inferno. My question is , what is everyone else doing to survive the heat. Me, I drink about 2 to 3 gallons of ice water a day. How about everyone else?

[Chef Chris23]

Andrew i know what your talking about. It got to 100 here in Texas so my kitchen was like 250 LOL. But i do the same drink alot of water and having a gal of Ice Cream in the cooler helps out to , but if that dosent help put a wet cloth around the back of your neck, that seems to help me sometimes when i cant get to the Ice Cream

Lay off the ice...just cold water will replenish more quickly... and gatorade helps. This time of year, I buy gatorade by the gallons for my staff... I also put damp towels (yes, bar towels) in the freezer and then wrap them around my neck... works great. You can always turn off the grills and ovens and just serve COLD food... Steak salad, tuna tartare, gazpacho... thinking about it for my restaurant this week!

I have soaked my jacket in cold water when it gets really intense. I would like to get some Gatorade, but food costs are rather tight now.

Cold food only, I would love too. But I don't think corporate would go for that idea.

Water, Water, Water & Cornstach, Cornstarch, Cornstarch.

& a Beer at the end of the shift.

also try to do as much prep IN the cooler as possible. I have been known to set up a cutting board in there on occasion.

well I DID turn off my grill and steam table... and served cold food all weekend. Everyone loved it so much we changed the menu for Monday... permanently. I guess the lesson here is "give the customer some credit... they aren't as conservative as I thought."

Didnt I read somewhere here about the many uses of cornstarch? Someone mentioned keeping a box in the freezer.

Glad your cold food only idea worked Carol.
I wish I could do that for a change of pace.

Like your idea about turning off the steam tables Carol...touche' LOL.........guys my kitchen gets about 130 F at it's hottest time in the season. My reply to everyone that keeps on fussing about the heat (after the cold wraps around the necks) is to GET OUT if you can't stand the heat!!! Many people quit because of the heat, and then they fuss when it gets cold. Can't someone invent a strong enough heat pump for these babies to keep the temperature at 71 F all year 'round??? By the way, there is a neat little gizmo at Wal-Mart that you can buy for about 3 bux. Dampen it with cool water and place in freezer for a couple of hours...it will work for about 2 good hours.

Happy Cooking!!!
Chef Jerome

[This message has been edited by Chef Jerome (edited September 04, 1999).]

[This message has been edited by Chef Jerome (edited September 04, 1999).]

[CHEF-DG]

It really irks me in this day and age that there are still places that don't provide AC in the kitchen for its employees. We are not chefs living 100 years ago. We should not have to work in the walk-in, or soak our jackets in water. That's absurd. Have any of you thought about complaining to the local authorities? Thank god my hotel got smart years ago and put AC in all the kitchens. I guess they got tired of hearing us ***** everyday! Also, the best thing to use to keep from sweating is Shower to Shower. It has cornstarch and it smells good too. I have been using it for 20 years and never had a problems.

[This message has been edited by CHEF-DG (edited September 05, 1999).]

My kitchen is built in an old hotel. The ceilings are at ten feet, the overall space is about 700 square feet. In this space is a broiler, a salamander, two deep fryers, three ovens, two saute stoves, a flattop, three steamers, and a dish washing station. Thats the heat producing items. The rest of the space is taken up by walkin coolers and prep tables. There is no way to cool this area down. Unless they want to spend the entire heating and cooling budget for one year on just my kitchen. August usually weeds out alot of cooks who aren't serious. For myself, it just makes me look forward to fall and hunting season.

[Pete]

The heat is a great way to weed out the real cooks and those who have gotten into this business for the glamor of it. Im sorry but this world cant support 100s of Emerils and Pucks and there are too many people getting into this business because they see these guys on TV and say "Iwant to do that". They never see the years of hard, sweaty work these guys put in to get where they are at. I am a firm believer in "If you cant stand the heat...."If you cant stand numbers dont become an accountant, if you cant stand blood dont become a doctor, and if you cant stand heat and pressure dont become a chef.

Well spoken Pete.