The Bristol

Last sunday I got a call from two friends from work Kyle and Ric the other intern, kyle had been talking about going to the bristol and I looked at the menu online and it sounded good.
We arrived around 815 and were seated promptly at the communal table. The restaurant was still really busy for a sunday night. Kyle had been there before he said atleast six times so he knew what to order, for the appetizers we got duck fat fries served with house made ketchup and garlic aioli; and roasted bone marrow with shallot jam and toast. The shallot jam was just amazing, we were told when people stage at the restaurant, that's the recipe they ask for, but the chef won't give out the recipe.
Moving on to pasta selections we chose the raviolo stuffed with ricotta, egg yolk and surrounded by brown butter and the other pasta dish we chose was the daily special for the night. Both were really good, for the next course we wanted scallops, but those were gone for the day so we decided on quail, the quail was over seasoned and also over cooked, the squash that accompanied the quail though was great.
For dessert we chose the apple basque cake, chocolate sabyigon, and panna cotta, the basque cake was so moist, it might have been the best cake I have had at a restaurant, the chocolate dish was served with house made nutter butters, the chocolate we guessed was 85% cocoa was seasoned with sea salt. The panna cotta was what rick really wanted to order it was OK, nothing special.
Overall I can see why the Bristol didn't get a Michelin star.

Thanksgiving and More

So this was my first ever thanksgiving not surrounded by family, instead I was surrounded by Trotter's family. I got invited to Thanksgiving dinner by Kayleigh and was told there was going to be around 8 of us there. When I arrived, the girls didn't want anything to do with the turkey so I dove in head first to tackle the turkey assignment. I got out the spices they had it was a very limited selection that included ground pepper, garlic salt, dried thyme, sage leaves and cloves. I just seasoned the turkey with the garlic salt and ground pepper and massaged the legs and thighs. I put the turkey in a 400 degree oven to get a nice crisp skin and then turned the oven down to let the turkey cook. While the turkey was in the oven everyone else showed up, we played apples to apples, and I won both times. The turkey and the sides were great, everyone remarked how it was the best turkey they have had, I was happy with those comments as I am my harshest critic.
The week prior to thanksgiving Chef Michael gave myself and ric the other intern the responsibility of prepping all the sides for Trotters to go, we were prepping the entire week and cut over 100 pounds of carrots, cleaned 3 cases of brussel sprouts, cut 16 cases of haricot verts, and also cut over 50 loaves of bread for stuffing. I also did a few other things for thanksgiving at Trotters to go.

Overall it was a good thanksgiving.

Michelin Guide Chicago

So Last week the Michelin Guide came to Chicago for the first time ever, there was talk amongst the kitchen how many stars the restaurant was going to get, the consensus was two stars, which is a high honor.

Here is what every star means :

Overall in the United States there are only nine 3 star restaurants, that is pretty great company. We recieved two michelin stars, Chef Trotter called a meeting to declare " WE WAS ROBBED" and " I HAVE HALF A MIND TO SEND THE STARS BACK"

I am thrilled about working at a two michelin star restaurant, sure it would be even better to get three, but I will take two and add that to my resume.

Menus from Last week

Vegetable Menu

Hawaiian Hearts of Palm with Compressed Pineapple & Grains of Paradise

Terrine of Heirloom Beets with Petite Parnsips& Tarragon

Delicata Squash Soup with Smoked Paprika, Maple & Sourdough Tuile

Spencer Farm Polenta with Radicchio di Treviso, Cipollini Onions & One year old Parmesan

Grilled Silken Tofu with Matzutake Mushrooms, Pine Nuts & Tsuba Mame Miso

Black Misson Fig Sorbet with Lemon& Smoked Eggplant

Thai Curry Ice Cream with Thumbelina Carrots & Ginger

Brandied Bartlett Pears with Claudia Corallo Gelato & Black Pepper

Grand Menu

Sashimi Japanese Hamachi with Watermelon Radish & Preserved Daikon

Steamed Columbia River Sturgeon with Cauliflower, Crispy Buckwheat & Ostera Caviar

Bobwhite Quail Breast with Toasted Farro & Red Russian Kale

Muscovy Duck Breast with Swiss Chard, Grilled Unagi & Kombu

South Dakota Bison Tenderloin with Candied Expresso & Salsify

Plum Sorbet with Sake Granite & Toasted Seasame

Sweet Potato Mousse with Toasted Marshmallow& Graham Cracker

Poached Quince with Coca Nibs & Ennis Hazelnut Praline Ice Cream

Giving a Tour of the Kitchen

When the diners are done eating in the restaurant they are asked if they would like a tour of the kitchen and studio kitchen and the wine cellar, most customers want to, so myself being the most outgoing person in the kitchen, I have been given the responsibility of giving kitchen tours and I love it.
The server introduces me to the customers and then I show them the kitchen table and explain how Charlie Trotters was the first restaurant in the US to have a kitchen table and I give them the whole tour and introduce them to everyone in the kitchen. I point out various stats about every cook and the equipment we use.

I have been told by Chef and even last night at the bar by everyone in the kitchen that I am the best at giving tours.

One day I will have to record the tour and put it on youtube and this blog.

Week Recap

This week we started a few new menu items at the restaurant, gone are the pig tail raviolis, rabbit, turbot, mussel, and trout dishes. We have replaced them and as soon as I get the menu I will post it.
Also this past week, I started to work the amuse station with Sean, I was plating everything up while Sean was slicing the fish. Chef Michael came up to me Saturday and told me I did a great job on Friday and to keep up the great job. Saturday I didn't disappoint either, Sean and I noticed that the second seating of the kitchen table two of the people couldn't eat fish, so we had to come up with another course. Bam it hit us Sunchoke Ravioli's with a sunchoke foam. I made the pasta dough since I am the pasta man and also made the filling with some sage. Before service we gave Chef Michael one and he just looked at us and smiled and said " wow". I was telling Sean that should be our new vegetable amuse dish. We got great reviews from everyone that had them.
Also I made the family meal on Friday, I made Bison Burgers with sunny side up egg and roasted garlic aioli while Eric made breakfast potatoes and Lindsey made caramelized onions and the dessert was fig pie. Everybody raved about the seasoning of the burgers and even a purveyor said it was the best burger he had in Chicago.
This week I realized that Eric and I have so much in common, this past weeks convo's have been about Pogs, Green Days first album, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Moby, Fat tire beer, Darrius Rucker, and so much more.
That is all!

Week Recap

This past week was a week of ups and downs. I had to go in this past Monday to prep for the Las Vegas event, while the prepping wasn't bad it was just brunoise a bunch of shallots and apples it was time consuming and since it was my usual day off I was kind of groggy. I only worked 3.5 hours and then got home and cooked a dinner party for my flatmate Paul and his friends. It seemed like everyone loved the Pork roast, roasted beets and butternut squash.
Tuesday,Wednesday, Thursday were all busy days at work prepping for the Vegas event and also then prepping for the Campbells soup dinner while working my station.
Friday morning Chef Trotter left with a few people to work the Vegas event with such chefs as Wolfgang Puck, Batali, Emeril, and Todd English. One of the cooks that went said it was painful to work that event because Chef Trotter doesn't allow squeeze bottles of any kind for saucing so they had to use spoons and the other cooks didn't know how to do that.
Saturday was a fun day, I got to come with a kids menu for a wedding that was happening on the patio of the restaurant. The menu for the kids was Angel Hair Pasta I had just made with fresh pasta and chives and butter. The next item for the kids was Poularde Chicken tenders with a honey mustard and ketchup I made. The final kids menu item was Wood grilled pizza topped with acorn squash puree, caramelized onions and fresh bail and goat cheese. The kids loved everything. Saturday I was also the sous chef for a 50th wedding anniversary party. The party was for a family of 7 and it was in there huge house. The kitchen had a viking range top and everything was state of the art. We did 8 courses and everybody was just so nice and gracious for having us in there house.
Sunday- Got to sleep in till around 11 and then head into work and get things packed for campbells dinner, we all took taxi's down to the Chicago Theatre and set up the event, the tables the theatre gave us were so low they were hitting my knees which to some people are fine, but to me I had to keep on bending down. Since it was a huge event we had to hire out servers and cooks to help with keeping things nice and tight. After the lobster course plate up we were cleaning up the table when a cook was sitting down on the chair and chef Trotter saw that and just flipped out on this guy and threw stuff at him and told him to f off. Chef Trotter was in rare form, while I was saucing a plate he came up to me and said " Bill why didn't you ask what I was going to be for Halloween?" He said it such a serious condescending voice, so then I asked him and he said " I am a chef" and just laughed and put his hand on my shoulder. The entire event went great and the menu was executed to perfection by us.
After working seven days last week I had over 100 hours and I am so exhausted and tired.

Raw Menu from 10/2/10

Amuse Gueule

Hawaiian Hearts of Palm with Grains of Paradise

Heirloom Beet Salad with Horseradish , Walnuts and Tarragon

Salsify Linguni, with Oregon Porcini Mushrooms & Dill

Roulade of Swiss Chard with Petite Carrot& Nori

Terrine of Butternut Squash with Hickory Nuts, Pickled Mustard Seeds& Black Garlic

Mignardises

Kitchen Table Menu from 10/16/2009

Alaskan King Salmon with Mustard Seeds
Kusshi Oyster with ogo seaweed and trout roe
Blue fin tuna with Battera Kombu
Cold Poached Alaskan Black Cod with Heriloom Tomato Relish
Lemon Verbena Spoon Bread with Honey& Chervil
Loup de Mer with Matzutake Mushrooms& Braised Fennel
Swan Creek Farm Ricotta, Vidalia Onion Marmalade& Argula
Tempura of Portuguese Sardine with baby gold peach& chorizo
Japanese Hamachi with Crispy Pig tail& gooseberries
Squab breast with Fairy Tail Eggplant, Green Curry & Chanterelle Mushrooms
Mizutako with Squid Ink, Rishiri Kombu& Sesame
Crawford lamb tongue with Black mission figs & Charred Cinnamon
32-day Dry Aged Rib Eye with Umeboshi& Bonito
Pecorino di Pienza Morchiato with Cocoa Seed & Pequin Peppers
~
Elderberries with Candied Grapefruit &Elder flower jelly
Raspberries with Honey&Sage
Rubinstar Apples with Caramelized White Chocolate& Yogurt
Arbequina Olive Oil- Chocolate Chip Parfait with Fraise des Bois
Chocolate Sorbet with Cacao Fruit& Smoked Vanilla

Hot Dougs

Today I went with my buddy Mike to Hot Dougs we had both heard how great hot dogs they serve. We were in the line for about 15 minutes and then when we ordered at the counter Doug himself was the guy we ordered from. We both love Foie Gras so of course we both had to have the foie gras dog, and then I ordered the Elvis with everything and Mike ordered the Dog and we split a large fry.
The foie gras dog was great the thing that brought it together was the truffle aoili, the elvis was ok nothing special, the fries were also ok.
I want to go on a Friday or Saturday to get duck fat fries.

Chef Matthias quits Charlie Trotters

http://chicago.eater.com/archives/2010/10/08/breaking-chef-de-cuisine-matthias-merges-leaving-trotters.php

Chef Matthias Merges had worked at Charlie Trotters for 14 years and was instrumental in helping young chefs develop, the ones I can think of off the top of my head are Grahm Elliot, Homaro Cantu from Moto, Grant Achatz and so many more.

Chef Matthias was the chef I was in contact with from the start, he always treated me with respect and was willing to teach me and answer questions I had for him.

Chef Matthias was doing all the cooking while Chef Trotter was meeting customers and such. He is the one that turned Trotters into the powerhouse.

The only way I had heard he quit was thru that article, no mention of him quitting at work or a staff meeting to tell everyone. All of us speculated that he had quit when he hadn't come back after going to the California event. Plus I answer the kitchen phone at work and the chef on the other line stated that "will you guys miss chef Matthias when he leaves" I was like WTF?

Well Chef Matthias told me Saturday at the Store that he is opening up a new restaurant in the spring that will serve contemporary American classics.

Best of Luck to him!

Cincy Chili

So this past thursday for Family meal I made Cincinnati style chili. Neil and a few other people were so exicited to have some. I made four ways for the family with my fresh pasta. I showed them how to plate it up and then how to eat the chili. I had two bowls of it myself, the food was gone in 10 minutes. Everybody commented on how good it was and how full it made them it also gave me a full day of energy.

It reminded me of home and it felt great.

Saying Goodbye to kitchen family

So last night our Trotter family lost two members Neil and Mike. Neil has worked at Charlie Trotters for a year and a half and was like a big brother/mentor to me. If I had any questions I would turn to him and he would give me a straight no bullshit answer, he was there for me when Chef Trotter scowled at me for making noise when putting some dishes away. We also shared the same love for Skyline Chili and everything Cincinnati.


Mike was a stage from San Diego; we hit it off as soon as we met. He drove me home every night and it was much appreciated. He worked Amuse station and helped out on sorbet and Garde manger when it was needed. He has worked at the famed Le Bern with Eric Rippert and with a few other awesome chefs.

Well as a going away gift the kitchen decided to say goodbye in kitchen fashion. Mike was in the back scrubbing coppers when James told me to get a large cambro of ice and I did, James filled it up with water and when mike was scrubbing coppers James and everybody went to the back and drenched him with the water, it was too funny, and mike took it great. For Neil what they did was he was scrubbing the copper pipes under the back sink and that’s when it happened, James got tahini paste and egg whites and radishes in duck fat and a few other things and poured it all over him along with a lot of butter. It was so funny and Neil took it in stride and got the hose and sprayed all of us down.

After work on Saturday night the entire kitchen crew and some servers go to the bar right around the block called the Store. We were all there to celebrate with the two leaving, while Neil was drinking his beer all of us went out and got paper plates and filled them with shaving cream and just doused him all over his face and body, he fell down and then people kept squirting shaving cream on him and sang he’s a jolly good fellow and then we all helped him up.

James and a few people said to me “this is nothing like what we will do to you”

In all the other kitchens I have worked in I have never seen anything like this, usually when a person leaves you go out for a beer afterward and say thanks and such. I wonder what they have planned for me.

New Dessert at Charlie Trotter's

This week we started a new dessert. It is Sweet Potato Mousse with Milk Chocolate and Graham cracker. It is a take on a smore, I really like the presentation and have not taken a picture yet, but as soon as I do, I will post it.

The Girl and the Goat

The girl and the goat is Chicago's new hot spot. The chef is Stephanie Izzard winner of Top Chef season 4. The menu is tapas style, there are three sections Vegetable, Fish, Meat plus a small menu with the bread and specials. To start off we ordered Shaved Squash and Kohlrabi with fennel, evalon, toasted almonds and ginger dressing. This was a great start, the squash was raw and provided that nice crisp crunch and the ginger dressing was also a great compliment to the salad.

Next was the Goat Belly Confit with Quince and fried lentils even though the food runner said capers. The Goat belly was devine, it was perfect matched with the quince.

The next dish was pan roasted Barramundi with black beans, butternut squash, chicken of the wood mushrooms.

Our next dish was Grilled beef short ribs with edamame and scallion vinaigrette. The beef broth was the standout of the dish, we even used the spoon to sip the rest of the sauce.

For dessert we ordered cocoa nib donuts-pomegranate ganache, brut sabayon, smoked pear, and pine nut brittle. Wow, the server when dropping off the dish commented that they are more like dumplings.

Our next dessert dish was bourbon apples-cranberry, miso marcona almond, and maple fat gelato. This was amazing, the maple fat gelato at the bottom was described by the server as the best thing he has ever eaten.

Had a great time with great company with my dad and my sister came up to visit.

This Week.

This week at work I got to do a few things that I haven't yet.
Tuesday- Prepped Garde Manger stations and helped out a few other stations. We had 40 covers and it went smooth.
Wednesday- The entire kitchen staff were summoned to the garden by Chef Trotter, he was wearing a baseball cap, and a track suit. He was letting us know a few things about the excellence program (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAK_j2PuKxU) He was telling us what to expect and how we should approach presenting to the group. Chef then picked out a few people to present a course and tell the group what excellence is to us and such. Chef Trotter said "Bill is going to present the Poularde Course" When service started the poularde course was number 3 for the group, I helped plate it up and got ready to present to the group of 20. A few of the questions from the group were " What is your favorite food?, How long have you know you wanted to be a chef, Why did you come to Charlie Trotters" and a few more questions like that. It went good.
We had a few guest chefs this week, Michael was our guest chef on Friday and he really helped me out. He also gave me a few good suggestions for eating out, if I ever have the time. As a guest chef you help the kitchen team with a little prep and also get to try a few courses with wine pairings.
Saturday- In addition to rolling out my pasta dough I made the night before and making ravioli's, Helped HeeJew with Garde Manger set up and helped pastry and amuse with prep. The kitchen table was booked both for the early seating and late seating. During service James told me there was a kid dining and I needed to make pasta on the fly. I had the dough made in about 4 minutes. I then cut it and put in boiling water and after about 2-3 minutes had the olive oil and freshly grated parm and chives and tossed it and plated it. The server said the kid loved it. We also left around 1:30, which is nice and early on a saturday night.

Pigtail Ravioli Course

So this is bascially my course. I make the pasta dough for it, I sear the pigtails and cyrovac them with pork stock, shred the meat and peel apples and use a melon baller to get perfect apple balls. It has really complex flavors and everything comes out perfect.

What is it?

We got these in the other day, reminds me of an airhead. Anybody know what these are?

The Corwin Peddler

I made the venture up to the town of Corwin, OH to try my friends restaurant, it is a family owned restaurant and it's located right off the loveland bike trail. It was about a half hour drive from the house.

I decided to order the burger, I placed my order at the counter and then sat down in the dining room, the dining room I sat down in was the cow room. The wallpaper had cows and on the mantle there was even a train.

The burger as described on www.thecorwinpeddler.com is Melted aged cheddar, caramelized onions, mayo, and black pepper. As you can see from the first and second picture it was huge. It was also delicious.

The corwin peddler also rents and sells bikes as seen in the third picture, they especially rent a lot of bikes on the weekends.

They were also voted as the best trail food in the Cincinnati Magazine. I can see why. Everybody should drive up to corwin and try this family owned restaurant or even ride the loveland bike trail to it, you won't be disappointed.

Amuse from a party last week

The first picture is of house smoked salmon with a grapefruit sauce, and segments.

In the second picture the cook who made it called it a goat cheese toast point with thin slices of pear on top.

The next picture is of hearts of palm with pineapple chip with grains of paradise.

The last picture is of a savory cracker with pork belly, fermented black garlic and brunoise apple with micro celery.

Kitchen Table Menu last week

Octopus with Ginger, Daikon,&Chocolate Mint

Kumamoto Oyster with Amazake&Borage

Zucchini with Ricotta & Fennel Pollen

Haricots Verts with Red Bell Peppers& Brioche

Terrine of Skate Wing with Heirloom Tomato & Cucumber Sorbet

Kamasu with Chantrelle Mushrooms& Preserved Fennel

Spot Prawns with Chrysanthemum& Cockscomb

Diver Sea Scallop with Fingerling Potatoes& Parsley

Arkansas Rabbin Loin with Morel Mushrooms&Red Wine Cabbage Kimchi

Honey Glazed Duck Breast with Black Sesame&Annatto

Suckling Pig with Oaxacan Mole & Roasted Cashews

Braised Lamb Shoulder with Crispy Buckwheat, Parsley root & Sprouts

Broken Arrow Ranch Venison Loin with Currants&Fermented Black Garlic

Epoisses de Bourgogne with Brioche& Cherries

Edonis Melon with Lemon Verbena& Chamomile Granite

Michigan Raspberries with Young Coconut& Green Peppercorn

Plantains with Milk Chocolate& Hemp Seed Ice Cream

Grand Menu Wine Accompaniment

Champagne Paul Goerg "Blanc de Blancs" Brut NV

Brander "au Naturel" Sauvignon, Santa Ynez Valley 2009

C. von Schubert "Maximin Grunhauser Herrenberg" Riesling Kabinett, Mosel-Saar-Ruwer 2007

Etna Rosso "Guardiola" Tenuta delle Terre Nere 2005

Priorat "Misere" Costers del Siurana, Priorat 2004

Mount Horrocks"Cordon Cut" Riesling, Clare Valley 2008

Bodegas Toro Albala "Gran Reserva" Pedro Ximenez, Montilla-Moriles 2007

Grains of Paradise

So since starting at Charlie Trotter's recently I have noticed that instead of using pepper in pepper mills we use grains of paradise. I was researching this and found out why in this Charlie Trotter interview.

"Grains of paradise is in the cardamom family and has a very pronounced floral quality. This is a wonderful spice to add at the last second to a preparation that has a warm or hot temperature. The aroma is stunning with nuances of orchid, green cardamom, grapefruit zest and a hint of white pepper.
"Many preparations lend themselves to the addition of Grains of Paradise. Especially steamed fish or light proteins such as poularde, suckling pig and other delicate items.
"Do add freshly crushed grains of paradise at the very last minute of the preparation before you serve.
"Never add grains of paradise at the beginning of the cooking process. Prolonged exposure to heat dissipates the subtle aromas and becomes very 'muddy' on the nose."



When I ate at Gordon Ramsay at the London NewYork I recall him using that on the scallop dish. Next time your down at Findlay Market stop by Herbs and Spice and get some Grains of Paradise.

Pig Tail Ravioli

We did a special event dinner at Charlie Trotters Friday night for about 70 people. One of the dishes was pig tail ravioli with a lamb jus. I was in charge of the pig tail. I seasoned it with salt and instead of pepper at Charlie Trotters we use Grains of paradise. Next step was to put in cyrovac bags and seal them, and then after sealed put in our c-vac oven. The c-vac oven is just like a steamer that we cook a lot of things in. The pigs tail came out later and then I cleaned it by taking the fat off and then saving the meat and shredding it. It was seasoned once again and then we made the raviolis, they turned out great.

How to Clean an Artichoke

The other day at work, one of the line cooks asked me to clean an entire case of Artichokes. I had cleaned artichokes once before, but it had been awhile. So here are some helpful tips on how to clean an artichoke.
1. Cut off the bottom of the stem, leaving about 1/2 inch.
2. Pull off any small fibrous dark leaves around the base.
3. Cut off the top 1/2 inch of the artichoke.
4. Using scissors, trim off the sharp, pointed tips of the remaining leaves.
Now it is time for the artichoke bottom to be cleaned. Have water with parsley stems and lemon juice as this provides acid and thus the artichokes do not brown.
1. Snap off the dark-green outer leaves of the artichoke until only the pale, tender inner leaves remain.
2. Cut the leaves off at the base.
3. Next cut off the bottom till it's round.
4. Scoop out the hairy choke with a small spoon.
5. Remember to put cleaned artichokes in the water with parsley stems and lemon juice.
Enjoy!

Charlie Trotter's Menu Week1

Vegetable Menu

Hawaiian Heart of Pam with Compressed Pineapple&Grains of Paradise

Red Bell Pepper Meringue with Marcona Almonds, Brioche & Marinated Haricot Verts

Globe Artichoke Gnocchi with Mead, Propolis& Mint Blossoms

Oaxacan Mole with New Zealand Spinach & Roasted Cashews

Grilled Silken Tofu with Matzutake Mushrooms, Pine Nuts& Tsuba Mame Miso

Black Mission Fig Sorbet with Lemon & Smoked Eggplant

Jack Fruit with Peanut Brittle& Thai Curry Ice Cream

Poaced Bartlett Pears Claudio Corallo Chocolate & Black Pepper

Grand Menu

Sockeye Salmon with Grapefruit& Chive Blossom

Terrine of Skate Wing with Roasted Heirloom Tomato, Cucumber Sorbet & Arbequina Olive Oil

Roulade of Four Story Hills Farm Poularde with Curred Prawns, Chrysanthemum & Cockscomb

Grilled kyushu Hamachi with Caramelized Cauliflower, Black Olive, & Grilled Kumamoto Oysters

Elysian Fields Lamb with Crispy Buckwheat, Parsley Root & Sprouts

Lychee Sorbet with Hibiscus& Candied Vanilla

Michigan Raspberries with Young Coconut& Green Peppercorn

Plantains with Milk Chocolate& Hemp Seed Ice Cream

First Week at Charlie Trotters

Wow what a first week! Tuesday was my first day, I arrived at 1230, 30 minutes prior to when I was supposed to start and talked to executive chef Matthias Merges, he pointed me in the direction of James and he set me up with a coat and a apron. I was assigned to garde manger to work with EJew, she is from South Korea and has worked before for a few top chefs in America and has only been at charlie trotters for 1 month. I helped with some prep and then we ate family meal. Service started at 6pm and it was a slow night.

Wednesday was busier. I got to work with Australian finger limes, we used them as a garnish for a fish amuse.

Thursday, Friday and Saturday were all long days. Friday and Saturday I worked from 10:30am till around 230-3 am. Friday and Saturday I worked Amuse Bouche station for the Grand tasting menu the amuse was grapefruit essence with Chinnok Salmon with Grapefruit & Chive Blossom, a reviewer wrote this about the dish "A very good light start to the meal. The grapefruit was a perfect way to refresh the palate for things to come." The vegetable tasting amuse was Hearts of Palm Puree with Pineapple, grains of paradise and pineapple chip. Next it was time for me to move to gard manger the grand had Terrine of Skate Wing with Roasted Heirloom Tomato, Cucumber Sorbet & Arbequina Olive Oil. A reviewer said this "I thought that the terrine was solid, but what really stood out was the Cucumber Sorbet which was combined with jalapenos. With just a little bit of the sorbet on the edge of your spoon, the soothing taste of the cucumber immediately succumbed to a jolt from the jalapeno like a punch in the face...a good punch in the face! That part of this dish was probably my single favorite taste from the evening."

While doing those two stations I also helped with the sorbet station which was Lychee Sorbet with Hibiscus & Candied Vanilla. A reviewer wrote this about the dish "Very nice and refreshing taste and an excellent presentation. The hibiscus came as a thin, round, gelatinous slice--almost like a piece of pepperoni."

The Vegetable tasting menu had a smoked eggplant puree with figs and eggplant chips and a fig puree.

Saturday night I also met Chef Trotter and his Wife Rochelle. Chef Trotter was very nice as was his wife, I talked to her for about 5 minutes about myself and school.

Great first week. Even though I am really tired, it is worth it.

Local 127

On Thursday 9/2 I dined at Local 127 in downtown for the first time. Local 127 is a New American Eatery.

The hostess at the stand was very nice, and was talking to me about my day or lack thereof.

We sat down towards the kitchen, and I noticed that there were only seven other tables in the restaurant taken. The server Jonathan came up and gave us the whole local spiel with the purveyors and everything.

On the left is the Chef's sampling from the cured and pickled.

I liked the Chicken Liver mousse&pears the most. On the right is from the daring, it is pickled hogs tongue with other garnishments.

What a great way to start off the night.

Next was House made Gnocchi with mushrooms, spinach and parmesan cream and a caesar salad.

For the Large I had the Scallops which were with Turnip foam, fried green tomato and brown butter. My dad got the Chicken and rice 3 ways with tomato and almonds.

Next was Dessert and I got the Cheesecake with Sweet Basil and in house preserves

I also got the local cheese plate and it was really good.

Overall this was a great meal and the service was also great. Two of the bussers noticed me from the Taco Truck so were talking almost the entire night.

Check this place out. You will not be disappointed.

http://www.mylocal127.com

My last night on Senor Roys Taco Truck

The line forming for Senor Roys Taco Truck

Peanut Butter Powder? What

The pictures are of what Andrew and I played around with. We have a olive oil powder, pineapple foam souffle, peanut butter powder and concord grape noodles. It was really neat doing all of these experiments and it let me see what goes well with each thing.

My next Internship

My next internship is at none other than Charlie Trotter's restaurant. www.charlietrotters.com
I can't wait to start, the day I begin is September 7th.
A few accolades Charlie Trotter's has:
Mobil Travel GuideFive Stars(Highest rating)
AAA Five Diamond(Highest rating)
Wine Spectator named it the World's best restaurant in 2000
Countless awards from James Beard
Plus many, many more.

I will try and take pictures while I am at work and post info on this blog.

Rum Spheres

The rum spheres were great to make, I had never seen them made so I asked Chef Lasorella to show the class how to make these. It's pretty simple the recipe follows:
10 G Dark rum
100 G Light brown sugar
355G water
8G Calcium Lactate
10 G Unsulfured dark Molasses
1400 G Water
65 G sugar
6 G Sodium Aliginate
1. Bring rum, brown sugar, water, calicum lactate, and molasses to a boil over medium heat.
2. Strain through coffee filter into container.
3. Refrigerate until well chilled.
4. Measure 500 G of liquid and set aside
5. Use remaining of the liquid to fill hemispheric molds 1" in diameter, then freeze.
6. Make Sodium alginate bath
mix water, sugar and sodium alginate in a medium saucepan
warm to dissolve sugar and sodium alginate
strain through chinois into deep container
7. Disperse frozen spheres evenly in warm sodium alginate bath, make sure they don't touch each other.
8. As spheres thaw, they will form a thin membrane that will encapsulate the liquid center.
9. Fill 2 large stainless steel bowls with warm water.
10. When spheres have fully encapsulated, remove with slotted spoon and drop into 1 bowl of hot water.
11. Stir Gently to rinse.
12. Enjoy

Culinology Program Cancelled

http://www.newsrecord.org/news/culinology-program-to-be-terminated-1.2183119?pagereq=1

The morale of those of us in the program is low. The adjuncts are trying there best, but the University is giving them no support.