Work/Workout & Prepaid Gym Membership

I’ve had a membership to a gym for ever now, but i can’t seem to get there.  I want to, or at least i think i want to, not sure which.  It seems that work keeps getting in the way.  Well, that’s my excuse anyway.  I’d cancel my membership, but i always pay like 3 years at a time, and i guess i think i’m gonna start going every time i renew.  What a racket!  One who owns and runs a restaurant does not necessarily keep bankers hours.  With two offices plus the restaurant (moving between general office, restaurant & catering kitchens, front of the house, and cleaning restrooms), add that with responsibilities in the community etc, i’m at an 80+ hour week average (that’s nothin to what i used to do though!).  My gym is open 24/7, but i still can’t seem to muster the strength to go even once a week.

My wife and 13 year old son are my priorities.  I decided when he was born, not to miss a game.  He plays or has played just about every sport, so that has been quite the challenge to live up to.  I think i have had to miss one or two, which i still regret, though he does not.   I am not sedentary though.  I play basketball with my son (he now kicks my nimble ass), and i run.  I have always run, but in nice weather.  What do i do in the winter?  Snowboard with my boy.  Love that!

As I read this, I realize maybe I’m not doing that bad.  I think the gym membership thing gets stuck in my mind, and i start thinking i’m lazy.  Well…i just hope next time renewal comes around, i remember this blog.

“Like to Like” Change

People talk about change, and how much its needed.  Whether in the field of politics, religion, sports or business, it seems changes made are never enough.  I find it interesting that many of those calling for change, end up resisting it once it comes into affect.  Maybe it wasn’t enough change.  Maybe it wasn’t the right change.  In the restaurant industry, we must be careful what we change, how we change, and when we change.  I believe people “like to like” change, but they really don’t want it.

Several years ago, a diner told me I should change my menu more often.  He said without change, one becomes stagnant.  Since I did not want to be labeled a stagnant restaurant, I started changing my menu more.  A month or so later, the same diner mentioned how upset they were that I took off their favorite items.  What do ya do?  The whole stagnant thing sounded good, it seemed to make sense, but it was not right.  That diner did not really want change.  They said they did, but really they didn’t.

No matter what people say, they want to be comfortable.  They want to be secure.  They want to be knowledgeable, and they want to be noticed.  These do not come from more change.  These are results of diligence, effort and passion.  As a chef/restaurateur who runs a busy daily operation, change comes a lot easier than the constant attention to consistency, and making sure what is loved by my customers is available when they want it.

I guess McDonald’s already knew this.  Has their fry ever changed?

My Tomato Basil Soup

I’ve been serving this every day for years at my restaurant.

I think you’ll like it!

2 oz. butter / ¼ cup finely diced yellow onion / ¼ cup finely diced leek / ¼ cup finely diced carrot / ¼ cup finely diced celery / 2 cloves minced garlic / 2 oz. flour / 1 pint vegetable broth / 1 pint cream / ¾ tsp. worcestershire / 1-15 oz. can italian style crushed tomatoes / 1 tbs. honey / Salt and pepper / ½ oz. coarsely chopped fresh basil/¾ tsp. rice wine vinegar

In a medium sauce pot melt butter over moderate heat. Add onion, leek, carrot and celery then cook until tender. Stir in garlic. Add flour to make roux, remove from heat and whisk in broth, cream and worcestershire.  Return to heat, add tomatoes and honey then let simmer for approximately 20 minutes. Mix in salt and pepper to taste then basil and rice wine vinegar.

Simmer for another 20 minutes then serve 8-10 guests)…CHEERS!

Holiday Recipe

Enjoy this holiday dish throughout the holidays.  It’s easy to make, and good to eat!

Irish Spiced Beef

2 tsp ground cloves/1 tsp mace/2 tsp cinnamon/2 tsp nutmeg

6 chopped shallots/2 tbs brown sugar/1 lb sea salt/2 tsp pepper

Approx 8 lbs beef roast/2 bay leaves/2 bottles dark stout beer

Mix together spices with shallots, brown sugar, sea salt and black pepper in a bowl.  Rub spice mixture on the beef roast then place in a covered container and refrigerate for one week.  Turn and rub the meat with existing spice mixture once a day.  After one week wrap the beef and spices in cheesecloth then simmer in hot water with bay leaves for approximately 5 hours.  Add the beer and simmer for another 30 minutes.  Remove cooked beef from the liquid; remove cheesecloth and cool pressed between two weighted plates for several hours.  Refrigerate until needed then serve chilled and thinly sliced with hot mustard and breads.

Happy Cooking & happy Holidays!

Texting While Driving – TWD

I don’t know how many times I’ve caught myself in the past texting while driving, and then realized I had little memory of the past several blocks. I realize this is a complete dangerous and “likely to kill” craziness way to operate a vehicle,  so I support severe penalties to those who do it.   Like a DUI, but call it a TWD.  Texting while driving kills…simple.  I am now trying to not pay attention to my phone at all while driving; however I have not yet gone as far as turning it off or putting it in the trunk.  Soon though I’m sure.

In light of not being aware of what you’re doing, I noticed a “mom” the other day speeding through an elementary school zone while lights were flashing.  She was texting.  My experience in this field told me she had no idea what she was doing.  Because of the school zone, and I’m sure the fact that my son just spent seven years there, I was immediately ticked off.  My protective armour kicked in.  This area, I might add, just experienced the deaths of two crosswalk pedestrians a couple months before.  They were run over by an inattentive driver.  I also just got through, a few days ago, jumping on a friend who got a speeding ticket there.  Hellooo people, wake up.  Children are watching and playing!

Instead of honking, rolling my window down and yelling or even reporting the plates to the police, I decided to tweet.  By the way, I was not driving.  I was a passenger in a vehicle doing the allowed 20 miles per hour.  Well, anyway, I thought I’d ask my network of friends what they thought the penalty for TWD behavior should be.  I have to say, I was shocked at the response.  People were pissed, to say the least.  My only regret was that I listed the license plate.  I didn’t even really mean to, but I guess the 2 letter vanity listing just made it easy.  If one doesn’t want to be noticed, why have vanity plates?

The texting mom just happened to be in my network of friends…oops!  She took it as a personal attack on herself.  Well I can’t take it back.  What’s done is done.  She’s really a very nice woman, really.  She just made a mistake.  I didn’t mean it as a personal attack, but…..  Wait a minute.  What the hell did I do wrong?  TWD – Watchout!

Chef’s Affaire 2009

I am excited to be involved in the 2009 Chef’s Affaire, an event benefitting the Idaho Foodbank.  A great event for a great cause.  It’s amazing to see all the chef’s involved, coming together with their competitive spirit to work for one common goal.  The event is put on and coordinated by Sysco Foods of Idaho.

I am the captain of team 4, which just means I signed up for a little more time commitment.  Our team consists of myself and the awesome Chef Dean Fuller (executive chef at Doubletree Riverside).  We had a ‘walkout’ the day previous to the event from another chef.  I don’t really know what happened, but he sure thought he did.  Oh well, apparently a little too much of the ‘me’ complex.  Sysco Chef Randy King  and my Sysco Representative Clayton Prouty jumped right in to help.  We all got together at my place a couple of days ago, to trim out 180# of SRF’s (gold) Flat Iron, along with SRF Executive Chef Alan Turner.  An evening of sharp knives and wine…can’t get any better than that!  By the way, SRF donated all the meat and Sysco took care of the rest…amazing how Idaho comes together for a cause!

Our dish is the 2nd entree course: KOBE SAN (or Kobe 3 ways)…Snake River Farms Kobe (gold) Flat Iron, grilled then drizzled with rosemary Kobe jus, served with toasted Ballard Farms Halloumi caramelized under rendered Kobe marbeling, finished with chipotle fried onions. 

The evening will be full of fun and flavor, certainly for the 400 attending guests, but also for the many chef’s giving of their time.  We’ll probably end up at some bar (maybe Berryhill’s or Chandler’s), to close out the evening’s excitement of working together on 2000 dishes then pawning ourselves off to the highest bidder in the live auction for our donated culinary packages.  I’m sure these live auction donations will prove worthy of their ‘take’, as they are known to do.  My package is a multi-coursed dinner for 8 that I will cook in my restaurant.  It also includes wine from my personal cellar, and a tour of our kitchens at Berryhill, where one of the guests will be ‘voted’ to spend an evening cooking on the Berryhill night line with me and my talented team of hard knock chefs…oh that’ll be fun!

To all the chef’s (but especially my fave team 4), to Snake River Farms, to Sysco Foods of Idaho….CHEERs!

Who Knows What To Believe?

It’s interesting when people read or hear something, and think they know the truth.  They judge and condemn you, and feel it is their duty to spread the word, so to speak.  I’m pretty darn sure every side of any story can be substantiated with facts.  Consider the beginning of life.  Experts on all sides supply factual yet opposing proof.  So who’s right?  What’s true?  What’s not? 

I’ve been recently condemned for speaking out against buying local products.  People believe I said something that I did not say, because of what they read in a newspaper.  How do they know what I said?  They were not present when I said it (or didn’t say it).  What did I say, and in what context did I say it?  That could be huge in determining what’s true and what’s not, but no-one really knows that except me and the person who wrote it.  What if the writer heard me wrong, or got their facts wrong?  What if I said it wrong or got my facts wrong?  What if it was written right, but read wrong?  Apparently some people just don’t care.  They will believe whatever they want to believe, and I believe that is their right. 

I do think it interesting though, that the very thing I am believed to oppose, I actually am a proponent of.  At my restaurant, I purchase many local products from wine and liquors to seafood, meats and produce. 

By the way, we also have been recycling everything  from oil to glass for over a decade, and we compost.  I am pretty convinced that I and my staff of 30+ local managers, chefs, bartenders, servers, caterers & dishwashers are trying our best to support our local economy and beautiful planet….yet still everyday, we have the opportunity to be better.

Spam: To Grill or Saute?

I am a chef-owner of a successful restaurant.  You’d think I’d know what to do with spam, or at least that I could improvise and figure it out.  Do I add a touch of salt and pepper then throw it on the grill?  Or do I saute it in herb butter with black garlic finished with a squeeze of lemon?  The fact is, I haven’t a clue.  By the way, I’m not talking about that tight fitting cat crap in a can (didn’t mean to offend).  This stuff tastes much worse and costs a whole lot more.  Not even sure there’s enough aromas in the world to cover the stinch.  The spam I am referring to causes death…the death of email marketing.  That’s right. 

Pretty much anymore, one must contract through a separate internet service to market via email.  In fact your own mailers can be deemed spam, even though they are intended for recipients who have previously requested them.  All those bounced back-system administrator-failed to send-blacklisted-junk mail messages you’ve received following your work of art e-mass mailer, are caused by spam and those who protect you against it.  What a pain in the ass this whole mess is.  And that’s pretty much all I have to say about email marketing.  I did mention earlier that I was a chef and had no clue of how to deal with spam.  It’s really just a segway…

Enter FACEBOOK & TWITTER: Simple/to the point/don’t mess around, just say it!  I’ve been on both of these for a while now, though I had never considered them as an alternative to email marketing.  Today I learned otherwise.  Thank you John Pascoe of Stability Networks for introducing me to Craig Burden of Endless Nights & Boise POS.  Craig believes that social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace are replacing the common communication of email.  People are saying more, more quickly, and in 140 characters or less (depending on the site).  People are listening.  People are following.  The more you do, the more do you.  It’s all about people.  These sites are changing the way we communicate, right before our eyes.  A person communicates to another person.  It is personal.  You can’t anymore just put your product out there.  You have to put yourself out there.  People want to interact with people.  In Funny Girl, Barbra Streisand sang that people who need people are the luckiest people in the world.  More and more with these sites, it seems that song is still playing, and that we are all singing along.  Together.  Individually together. 

So when it comes to spam, does it really matter whether you grill it, saute it, or fry it?  I say screw it…in 140 characters or less!

Restaurant Critic…”what’s important?”

A restaurant critic can with a few words, multiply a restaurant’s customer base.  They can also divide and destroy what a restaurant has tried so hard to build.  I believe the best critics are those who have either owned a restaurant or have an understanding and empathy of what it takes  to be a successful restaurauteur.  A knowledge and passion for food is not enough, and can result in a strongly opinionated writer who critiques their foe based upon their own personal likes and dislikes.

When a critic reviews a restaurant, they base that review predominately upon their own dining experiences there.  I have read some reviews in the past that seem more like an advertisement than a critique.  I’ve also read many of late that tend to be more about the reviewer than the reviewee.  I don’t think a writer’s personal preference is pertinent to a review.  A reviewer should not mince words, they should critique; however the words they choose to use in their critique should benefit their readership, and not their own ego.  

I believe that a review should reflect the “level” of expectancy in a restaurant’s performance, based upon 2 things; one being the type of restaurant and its intention, and the other being the demographic area of its location.  The “level” of expectancy in performance of one restaurant should not determine the “level” of expectancy in another.  Likewise one city’s “level” of expectancy does not determine that of another city’s.  Basically, what works in New York,  Chicago and San Francisco, may not work in Boise.  A good critic should review their own experiences with this in mind. 

As a chef and restaurateur, I could design a menu that would rival the best of the best in San Francisco; however since my restaurant is in Boise Idaho, that would not be a wise business decision.  My food might be phenomenal, but if no-one buys it, what’s the point?  A restaurant is a business, make no mistake about it.  It is a tough business.  Only 10% of restaurants survive beyond 2 years, and trust me when I say it takes a whole lot longer than that to get a return on your investment!

When it comes to restaurant reviews, people are less concerned about what someone else thinks, than what they will think themselves.  Will “they” like it?  Should “they” go?  Is it worth ”their” time?  These factors are what I think people want to read about.  These factors are what I think are important.

Just Take it with a Grain of Salt

Everyone wants to be a critic, and everyone wants to be heard.  In America our speech is protected by the First Ammendment.  We can essentially say what we want to say.  There should be some clarity to this right though, when it comes to Restaurant Review and Comment sites on the internet.

Don’t like your steak?  Love your pasta?  Tastes like chicken?  Service too slow?  Music too loud?  Love it?  Hate it?  Whatever you do or don’t like about a restaurant, you can write about.  There is always someone ready and willing to read it.  Restaurant Review and Comment sites on the internet have given the “common man” a voice.  I am not saying these sites are bad.  They serve a purpose.  But one should be clear that those writing are not qualified industry critics, but just ordinary people making comments on their own personal dining experiences.  Those who frequent these sites should take the good and the bad with a grain of salt.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with making comments.  But when those comments can be posted to the internet annoynomously, regardless of fact or proof, and can be made without consideration of professional courtesy or accountability, and certainly with little or no recourse, it can become intensely damaging to a restaurant.  Comments can be made out of spite and completely unrelated to dining.  Someone can post a negative comment just because.  I’ve even seen comments referencing other customers.  Now these negative and damaging comments are not in the majority on these sites, but they do exist.  And once they’re out there, they’re out there.

As a restauratuer and frequent diner, I do not access these sites.  I don’t write on them, and I don’t read them.  Whether comments made are good or bad, they are still authored by those without industry credibility.  I’m not saying they are wrong, and I’m not saying they are right.  These comments just don’t help me personally as a diner, and they most certainly do not help in the successful running of my restaurant.  So what purpose do these sites serve?

Everyone wants to be a critic, and everyone wants to be heard.  Obviously I too am guilty, evident in the writing of this blog.  I say again, just take it with a grain of salt!