Memorial day is upon us, which means a two-day weekend for me (yeah!) and extrememly slow weekends for the restaurant. All of the rich people in NYC go to the Hamptons on the weekends in the summer, so we are slow. Weekdays should pick up, they tell me, but weekends will be basically non-existent, and parties scarce. sounds good to me, but it does take a bit away from the experience a little. I'll just have to suplement my daily work with more special projects and recipes then. and today I even got to sleep in.
I don't know what my plans are for the weekend yet. Steve and I were invited to the Jersey Shore to a friend of his' parents house, but I don't think we're going. I'd rather rest up. but no big plans. Just relaxing and enjoying.
Friday, May 27, 2005
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
Michelin is coming to NYC!
We had quite a couple of exciting days already this week. We've had inspectors from the Michelin Guide NYC come both days, the first unannounced (supposedly annonnymous) and then again today to speak with Chef and tour the kitchen. Last night we got hit really badly (were super busy), so the added stress of having to put out a table of perfect plates was not completely welcome for the hot line people. And then today, they came towards the end of lunch service, so we all had to stop whatever it was that we were doing to clean everything. The kitchen was spotless when they went through. If you are wondering what all this is about, and I assure you it is a huge deal, check out the press release at http://www.michelinman.com/difference/releases/pressrelease02232005a.html. This is a vert important development, bigger than the New York Times food critic, maybe even. This is historic, revolutionary. This is a step towards acceptance of American cuisine and culinary tradition and abilities. Because, feel what you'd like about the French, in the culinary world, they are the best. It's like a non-Italian pope. They exist, and more commonly now, but they're still very rare.
Saturday, May 21, 2005
Is nothing happening?
Well, it appears that I will be posting about once a week, as I really don't have enough to say to write more than that. Unless you would like to see a daily prep list, which really doesn't change ever. And that is really all that I do. This week, I have worked, again had to abandon a project which was pretty much completed because I had done something wrong, and sat for hours in the 14th street subway station waiting for the L to take me to Brooklyn.
The work I did, I'm not going to lie, was actually quite tedious. I had to take artichokes, fennel, carrots, hericot verts (French green beans), wax beans, celery and hen of the woods mushrooms, cut them into nice, perfect little shapes (which I did wonderfully, even the chef's noted this), blanch them, and then Chef Scott was going to further cook them in an aromatic broth. However, I failed to blanch them to the extent that was necessary. I was blanching for color only, since I assumed (wrongly) that they would be fully cooked later. I was supposed to fully cook them in the blanching process. But since I haven't been in the kitchen long, I had never made it before, and it really was only a optional extra thing that I was doing pretty much for my own benefit, the chefs were not mad at me, they just wanted to make sure that I knew how vegetables were expected to be cooked (fully) and that I would not be able to run the special tonight, but would have to wait for next week to try it again. I'll let you know how it turns out as well as some more special dishes I try.
also, everyone should comment more. Or email me. Let me know what's going on. And get everyone who is not reading/commenting on here to do so, post haste.
The work I did, I'm not going to lie, was actually quite tedious. I had to take artichokes, fennel, carrots, hericot verts (French green beans), wax beans, celery and hen of the woods mushrooms, cut them into nice, perfect little shapes (which I did wonderfully, even the chef's noted this), blanch them, and then Chef Scott was going to further cook them in an aromatic broth. However, I failed to blanch them to the extent that was necessary. I was blanching for color only, since I assumed (wrongly) that they would be fully cooked later. I was supposed to fully cook them in the blanching process. But since I haven't been in the kitchen long, I had never made it before, and it really was only a optional extra thing that I was doing pretty much for my own benefit, the chefs were not mad at me, they just wanted to make sure that I knew how vegetables were expected to be cooked (fully) and that I would not be able to run the special tonight, but would have to wait for next week to try it again. I'll let you know how it turns out as well as some more special dishes I try.
also, everyone should comment more. Or email me. Let me know what's going on. And get everyone who is not reading/commenting on here to do so, post haste.
Sunday, May 15, 2005
Must see tv
Ahh. It's Sunday again, the day of rest. I'm off very soon to meet Emily and Nan at Cafeteria, a little restaurant that was pretty trendy a couple of years ago (you can see it on an old episode of Sex and the City) for brunch. And then I'll probably come back home and take a nap until Steve gets out of work.
Friday night was rather interesting. Shania Twain had dinner in our wine cellar, and I spoke (extremely briefly) with Donald Trump on the phone. I believe they were filming an episode of the Apprentice, as there were cameras all over the wine cellar and I had to be extremely quiet when I walked to the locker room.
The highlight of my Friday night, however, was not Shania or Donald, but getting to actually walk into Daniel (pronounced with a strong french accent). All three of our chefs (Chef Neil, the executive chef, our chef de cuisine, Scott, and sous chef Levi) came from Daniel and I had to go return a rather large silver platter that we had borrowed. I only walked through the lounge/bar to the front desk, but the atmosphere was amazing. The predominately warm red palette, the warm slightly floral scent that greets you at the front door, it was all very gentle, amazingly sophisticated, elegent, but not ostentatious or oppressive. My new life goal is to someday eat there. At a small not terrible table in the back. I was giddy.
Friday night was rather interesting. Shania Twain had dinner in our wine cellar, and I spoke (extremely briefly) with Donald Trump on the phone. I believe they were filming an episode of the Apprentice, as there were cameras all over the wine cellar and I had to be extremely quiet when I walked to the locker room.
The highlight of my Friday night, however, was not Shania or Donald, but getting to actually walk into Daniel (pronounced with a strong french accent). All three of our chefs (Chef Neil, the executive chef, our chef de cuisine, Scott, and sous chef Levi) came from Daniel and I had to go return a rather large silver platter that we had borrowed. I only walked through the lounge/bar to the front desk, but the atmosphere was amazing. The predominately warm red palette, the warm slightly floral scent that greets you at the front door, it was all very gentle, amazingly sophisticated, elegent, but not ostentatious or oppressive. My new life goal is to someday eat there. At a small not terrible table in the back. I was giddy.
Friday, May 13, 2005
Worn out shoes
I just got home about 15 minutes ago, promptly took a very speedy shower, and am now getting ready for bed. I can't really just keep talking about how many hours I'm working throughout this entire blog, so I will try not to. But since all I do is work, it's kinda hard. Tomorrow shouldn't really be that bad however, even though it is a Friday. I don't have any parties to do at all, and the prep that I do have isn't really all that bad. I'm rather annoyed with myself as I totally wasted about an hour and a half's work today. I prepped a double batch of celery soup, thinking to cook it tomorrow. Then I was a bit ahead of schedule, so I cooked it tonight. I didn't have that much time. So, I only finished a bit more than half of it, and when I went to quart it up tonight after service, it tasted like nothing. I have no idea what happened, but it was way too thin and tasted like water. So I just threw it out completely and now have to redo it tomorrow morning. Atleast I don't need it until dinner service, so I don't have to go in at like 8am or anything.
Sunday, May 08, 2005
there's a boxcar waiting...
One week in and I'm doing well. Granted, I pretty much slept all day today, and took a nap. So, I guess that's not saying much. The night crew went out last night to a little unmarked bar downtown. It was pretty cool, but I didn't get home until about 4am. Hence all of the sleeping. But it was definitely fun. And very educational. I've never hung-out with cooks like this before. Or ever really, unless Kevin, who's really a literary type guy, and Maria count. But this was totally on another level. They were discussing the politics of the James Beard Awards (the cooking industry's Oscars) and the dynamics of restaurants like Daniel and Le Bernardin.
This weekend at work was really interesting because Chef Neil (the executive chef) gave Rachel the weekend off, so I was totally on my own. But I did it, with no real mishaps even. And now the station is all mine. No help, no real guidance. It's all up to me. I decide when I come in, what I do and how much of it I make. I just have to have everything ready for service and can't run out of anything. It's better to err on the side of caution here, as money is like water. It's almost a bit surreal.
Hopefully I'll get more done on my day off from now on so I'll have more to write. Today all I did was sleep, go to lunch with Emily and her roommate Emily, nap, and see Kingdom of Heaven with Steve and Richie. And in case anyone is wondering, Kingdom of heaven is fine. Go see it if you'd like, but it's not a must see by any means. But Orlando Bloom is pretty good looking. And see if you can figure out who plays the King of Jerusalem (the guy in the mask). It's pretty cool.
I'll try to keep up with this a bit better, but I did warn you it would be a fairly sporatic blog.
This weekend at work was really interesting because Chef Neil (the executive chef) gave Rachel the weekend off, so I was totally on my own. But I did it, with no real mishaps even. And now the station is all mine. No help, no real guidance. It's all up to me. I decide when I come in, what I do and how much of it I make. I just have to have everything ready for service and can't run out of anything. It's better to err on the side of caution here, as money is like water. It's almost a bit surreal.
Hopefully I'll get more done on my day off from now on so I'll have more to write. Today all I did was sleep, go to lunch with Emily and her roommate Emily, nap, and see Kingdom of Heaven with Steve and Richie. And in case anyone is wondering, Kingdom of heaven is fine. Go see it if you'd like, but it's not a must see by any means. But Orlando Bloom is pretty good looking. And see if you can figure out who plays the King of Jerusalem (the guy in the mask). It's pretty cool.
I'll try to keep up with this a bit better, but I did warn you it would be a fairly sporatic blog.
Monday, May 02, 2005
Strawberries and Balsamic
I think I may have came close to having a panic attack today. I got off the subway at Lexington and 53rd, and for a split second wondered what it would be like to just walk away from everything. anything just to not have to begin something new and in all probability hopelessly challenging. But I continued on, one block north, and 2 long avenue blocks west. And when I got to Oceana, I didn't hesitate. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the other extern, who had just started when I went at the end of January to trail, remembered me. Her name is Rachel. Yes, yet another Rachel in my life. Not that I'm complaining. Rachel was very nice, giving me pointers on how to get along well and not get yelled at while she trained me on the station that I will soon be taking over.
I will be in charge of the Amuse Buche station. That's pronounced: aah-mooos boo-sh. Basically, in pretty much all very fine restaurants, there is an option called a tasting menu. There may even be more than one, say an all pasta or all vegetarian. These consist of several courses, with smaller portions to make up for the greater number of dishes. The menu is pre-set, meaning that you don't choose an appetizer and then an entree and then dessert, you just choose the whole menu. At many of these restaurants, the chef sends out a little something before you even order, something to awaken and tease your tastebuds. Everyone gets the exact same thing, it costs nothing and is not found on any menu. This is the amuse buche. This is what I do.
Oh, and my previous estimate of my hours is fairly off. Today I got to work at 11:30 and we were fairly slow, so we left at about 11pm. Tomorrow, I'm getting to work at 11 and will probably not get out until midnight. Rachel said that she would often get in at 10:30 or earlier in the beginning to make sure she got all of her prep done before service. That's pretty much our only factor to consider when deciding when to come in. As long as we are completely ready for service on time, we can come in whenever.
The food I'm making is pretty cool. They just changed the amuse buche station last week, I guess, so it's still in the early stages. I'm pretty pumped about that though because while that means that no one has done this before and therefore can't help me by telling me the best way to do things, it will give me the opportunity to imput some of my own ideas and thoughts into how the whole process works. Basically, I'm making a chilled cucumber and celery soup. It may sound weird, but we really only serve a shot-glass full of it, and it's actually quite cool and refreshing. I think it'll really be great on those oppressively hot summer days. I'm also making a tomato raite (don't ask me how to pronounce it, I'm still not sure). This is basically a sort of chutney, made with yogurt, tomato, daikon (a sweet chinese radish, all white), jalapenos (although it's really not hot), cilantro, mint (maybe Grandma Woods can make this with Grandpa's bumper mint crops) and cumin. It's really quite tasty. Also very refreshing.
In addition to those everyday dishes, I also have to do any hor'd oeurves for any parties that we may have. And we seem to have a lot of them. So, I'm responsible for about 4-5 different dishes or components a day. Which is why I have to work so much.
Well, I'm sure I won't be writing quite this much everyday. But hopefully now everyone has an idea of what it is that I'm doing out here. Oh, and check out the website if you'd like to learn more about Oceana at http://www.oceanarestaurant.com.
My love to everybody! Thanks so much for the comments, I love reading them, and if someone could get a copy of these to Grandma Woods, that would really rock, as I don't know if she is able to check her email.
Sara
I will be in charge of the Amuse Buche station. That's pronounced: aah-mooos boo-sh. Basically, in pretty much all very fine restaurants, there is an option called a tasting menu. There may even be more than one, say an all pasta or all vegetarian. These consist of several courses, with smaller portions to make up for the greater number of dishes. The menu is pre-set, meaning that you don't choose an appetizer and then an entree and then dessert, you just choose the whole menu. At many of these restaurants, the chef sends out a little something before you even order, something to awaken and tease your tastebuds. Everyone gets the exact same thing, it costs nothing and is not found on any menu. This is the amuse buche. This is what I do.
Oh, and my previous estimate of my hours is fairly off. Today I got to work at 11:30 and we were fairly slow, so we left at about 11pm. Tomorrow, I'm getting to work at 11 and will probably not get out until midnight. Rachel said that she would often get in at 10:30 or earlier in the beginning to make sure she got all of her prep done before service. That's pretty much our only factor to consider when deciding when to come in. As long as we are completely ready for service on time, we can come in whenever.
The food I'm making is pretty cool. They just changed the amuse buche station last week, I guess, so it's still in the early stages. I'm pretty pumped about that though because while that means that no one has done this before and therefore can't help me by telling me the best way to do things, it will give me the opportunity to imput some of my own ideas and thoughts into how the whole process works. Basically, I'm making a chilled cucumber and celery soup. It may sound weird, but we really only serve a shot-glass full of it, and it's actually quite cool and refreshing. I think it'll really be great on those oppressively hot summer days. I'm also making a tomato raite (don't ask me how to pronounce it, I'm still not sure). This is basically a sort of chutney, made with yogurt, tomato, daikon (a sweet chinese radish, all white), jalapenos (although it's really not hot), cilantro, mint (maybe Grandma Woods can make this with Grandpa's bumper mint crops) and cumin. It's really quite tasty. Also very refreshing.
In addition to those everyday dishes, I also have to do any hor'd oeurves for any parties that we may have. And we seem to have a lot of them. So, I'm responsible for about 4-5 different dishes or components a day. Which is why I have to work so much.
Well, I'm sure I won't be writing quite this much everyday. But hopefully now everyone has an idea of what it is that I'm doing out here. Oh, and check out the website if you'd like to learn more about Oceana at http://www.oceanarestaurant.com.
My love to everybody! Thanks so much for the comments, I love reading them, and if someone could get a copy of these to Grandma Woods, that would really rock, as I don't know if she is able to check her email.
Sara
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