[Butcher Block]

Hey Guys and Gals,

I guess I don't get it. If you went to school and did well and learned what you were suposed to, why go some place just to learn things a different way. Make a name for yourself at the place your at. Arn't your schools teaching you the right ways to do things? Don't you practice at home?Why would you work for nothing, or what you call a good resume? These so called pro's learned from school and practice. You are makeing it hard for the up and commers to make a decent wage. If you give your labor away for free why should the owners pay you? You have the skills and the schooling, don't kill the future for others. The owners want you to feel that you are worth less don't give them that. That is why the unions were formed in the 30's. You are worth your hard work and skills, don't do this for the next generations. If some of us have to make a sacrifice of not working for a while to get our point across lets' pay it foreward. I have worked for nothing all I got was an owner that laughed all the way to the bank, and was me a sucker. Please, Please don't do this. If nobody applies for the job then the wages either goes up or the place shuts down. I have had to do with less because we lived on one income, it sucks but it won't change if you don't let it.

[kuan]

Blah that's what he's supposed to do and that's what he wants to do.

You can also prepare your gastrique for the bearnaise in advance, and the hollandaise, for goodness sake do it over an open flame. Ditch the double boiler.

And whisk in a figure 8 or Z pattern.

Saved you 10 minutes there.

[9ballprodigy]

i have people in the kitchen who can do it over an open, flame but to tell you the truth, i end up over cooking the eggs. it probably takes getting used to, and i'll have to find the time to master the technique one day.

as for the tarragon gastrique, i do prepare a large batch once every 2 weeks or so, so that is no prob.

i can't do the potatoes in advance because i have to store them in water to keep it from oxidizing and when potatoes get wet and are then exposed to air, it gets super hard to work with. like pringles. the potatoes warp into a curly shape.

[kuan]

Originally Posted by 9ballprodigy

i have people in the kitchen who can do it over an open, flame but to tell you the truth, i end up over cooking the eggs. it probably takes getting used to, and i'll have to find the time to master the technique one day.

as for the tarragon gastrique, i do prepare a large batch once every 2 weeks or so, so that is no prob.

i can't do the potatoes in advance because i have to store them in water to keep it from oxidizing and when potatoes get wet and are then exposed to air, it gets super hard to work with. like pringles. the potatoes warp into a curly shape.

How are you doing the gratin? You put them in a hotel pan and cover with cream and cook, then put cheese on top and brown? So like a 1.5-2" thick layer of potatoes?

[9ballprodigy]

Originally Posted by Butcher Block

Hey Guys and Gals,

I guess I don't get it. If you went to school and did well and learned what you were suposed to, why go some place just to learn things a different way. Make a name for yourself at the place your at. Arn't your schools teaching you the right ways to do things? Don't you practice at home?Why would you work for nothing, or what you call a good resume? These so called pro's learned from school and practice. You are makeing it hard for the up and commers to make a decent wage. If you give your labor away for free why should the owners pay you? You have the skills and the schooling, don't kill the future for others. The owners want you to feel that you are worth less don't give them that. That is why the unions were formed in the 30's. You are worth your hard work and skills, don't do this for the next generations. If some of us have to make a sacrifice of not working for a while to get our point across lets' pay it foreward. I have worked for nothing all I got was an owner that laughed all the way to the bank, and was me a sucker. Please, Please don't do this. If nobody applies for the job then the wages either goes up or the place shuts down. I have had to do with less because we lived on one income, it sucks but it won't change if you don't let it.

you know, i kinda thought about it. but the fact of the matter is that many people come into the kitchen with the prospect of learning. and we do learn. a lot. i guess for a lot of cooks, this is part of the payment. which is why so many don't want to leave.

we don't have a union of course.

[9ballprodigy]

Originally Posted by kuan

How are you doing the gratin? You put them in a hotel pan and cover with cream and cook, then put cheese on top and brown? So like a 1.5-2" thick layer of potatoes?

i do a layers of potatoes and layers of taro separated by layers of a bacon onion mixture with layers of parmesan and a thickened parmesan/cream as my adhesive. the thing fills a half sheet pan and comes up 1/2 inch over the top.

baked in an oven.

[kuan]

And how are you doing your julienne? With a mandoline? Are you doing a classic square julienne or oblique julienne?

If you are doing large amounts of celery leave the root section uncut. This will hold the celery together. Same with onions. If you are doing onions don't do the horizontal cut, and sometimes it may be easier to have the root side closer to you.

Sometimes you have to see other people do things the easy way and pick up on it.

[kuan]

Originally Posted by 9ballprodigy

i do a layers of potatoes and layers of taro separated by layers of a bacon onion mixture with layers of parmesan and a thickened parmesan/cream as my adhesive. the thing fills a half sheet pan and comes up 1/2 inch over the top.

baked in an oven.

So if it's all layered up who cares? It'll all cook flat anyway.

[foodpump]

Somne good questions Butcherblock.

I guess it all depends on your way of thinking. If you think you're going to learn everything at school, and upon graduation there is nothing more to learn--in other words that all there is to learn about cooking, eating, and the whole dining experience is a finite subject-- well then the world will be a fairly difficult place for you.

On the other hand if you comprehend that here are many styles and ways of treating the same ingredients, equipment, and techniques--just like there are countless ways and styles of say, playing a guitar, then the world is a pretty exicting place, and you have countless influences to model YOUR style after.

Face it, the world is more and more crowded every day, people gotta eat, and they like to do it as cheaply as possible. Never before has the world been taken over by chain restauarants, processed foods, convienience foods and plain old cra* then today. As a gut-reaction to this fact, many people want to eat out--just once a year-- at a really fancy place that offers fresh new concepts, excellent food, and a memorable dining experience. There always will be a demand for fine dining, and a demand for cooks and Chefs who can provide this.
So why do cooks get paid cra* and the waiter walks away with a $100.00 tip? I dunno, riddle me that. The owner's fault? Not neccesarily. Owner never makes big bucks untill he sells the business--or usually the property... The waiter's fault? Not neccesarily, although there are Gov't enforced rules about splitting/sharing tips. Could it be, possibly, (gasp?) the customer's fault? Just maybe?.... We all know the story of Mr. Jones who wants to buy a Caddilac. It's a gut-reaction for Mr. Jones to source out the cheapest dealer with the best price to provide him with a $70,000 car. The customer is the driving force behind the whole business, the walking wallet, so to speak. Change the customer's way of thinking and you might get higher paid kitchen staff.....

[9ballprodigy]

Originally Posted by kuan

So if it's all layered up who cares? It'll all cook flat anyway.

it's not so much the layering that is what takes so long. i mean, the cream, and ingredients Do have to go in a certain order so that the layers do not come apart, but it's also the rendering of the bacon, the slicing of onions, cooking the mixture. yada yada.

i've seen seasoned pros do this gratin, and the fastest i've seen it done is in 45 min. and into the oven. it takes me about an hour, so i'm not looking to shave time off over here.

[kuan]

Originally Posted by 9ballprodigy

it's not so much the layering that is what takes so long. i mean, the cream, and ingredients Do have to go in a certain order so that the layers do not come apart, but it's also the rendering of the bacon, the slicing of onions, cooking the mixture. yada yada.

i've seen seasoned pros do this gratin, and the fastest i've seen it done is in 45 min. and into the oven. it takes me about an hour, so i'm not looking to shave time off over here.

Hah! Yeah, OK. Just hang in there bro, and look at the way other people do things. I'm sure you'll pick up stuff sooner or later.

[stellasmomma]

consider it training for being on salary.

[adamm]

what about doing more than 1 box of rissotto a day, if your using that much then why not do more. Also if your sitting there stiring it the last place i worked at they just turned it on real low and only stirred it ever few minutes and added liquid when needed, it wasnt the correct way of doing things but it worked.

[ChefPOW]

I have to agree with foodpump, and disagree with Butcher Block. We've all had to pay our "dues", whatever that means. The fact of the business is based on this: IT IS A BUSINESS. No matter how you want to try to categorize it, the bottom line will always take centre stage. I had my own place, and lost a lot of money in the process. My lesson, I'd rather play with other people's money than my own. However, there is a balance in this situation. As an Exec. Chef, I always try to remember the thousands of hours I personally put in for free. Hours away from my family & friends. My team has what I would like to call a realistic schedule. If they feel they can not complete their Mise on schedule, and have to come in early, all they have to do is ask, and trust me they do (& most times I will step in to be the prep cook myself). Let's face it, there are many times in a kitchen, when the Chef may not realize that one station is overworked, or understaffed. I'd rather someone ask me for help, and me be able to re distribute labor, so that everyone is happy. My advice for you 9Ball is, do you feel that what you are learing is worth the extra effort? What you learn in school pales in comparison to what you will learn in the field. I don't agree with working for free, but ask yourself, am I in the right environment? Trust me, there are a lot of good Chefs out there to learn from, who value the future of our business.....which of course is cooks like you..

[justjoe]

What is amazing to me is that the food service industry in general seems to be the only place where employees and employers expect work to be done off the clock.