Fresh Fish

Holy cow, fresh fish!! Are you for real……..

Yes we have been getting fresh fish recently. This might sound strange but believe me it is not easy to get fresh fish from the local area as you may have read in my earlier post how hard is it to get fresh fish?

Just recently we have been getting a regular supply from the local fish market at Rosslyn Bay fishermans market in Yeppoon, delivered to my chef’s kitchen.

Chef Kenny has been busy with the scaling and filleting of the  fish.

We have had a supply of Red Jew, Red Emperor and Rossy Job. All of which have great eating qualities.

We spend considerable time preparing the fish and then freeze our product. The  required amount is then left out for our service in the evening which features on the menu.

Ever changing daily fish creations are  available for the customers to enjoy, don’t forget that the fish is fresh and local from our waters, not imported from wherever!!!!!!!!!!

Enjoy your catch of the day

\

Technorati Tags: Fresh, horseradish.

Grab a Bite Eat Anytime, Anywhere

Do you remember the old saying, “never trust a skinny chef”?

Well I think today the tale has turned.

Firstly you rarely find a fat chef in the industry with some age these days. Secondly, at least you know that the skinny ones can move at pace around a busy kitchen.

A busy chef has hardly time to eat! Due to pressure of work, lack of hunger after preparing so much food, (that sounds strange but sometimes you just don’t feel like eating)  lack of staff, no time to enjoy a sit down lunch or dinner break, are to mention a few.

I consider myself to be one of those chefs that finds it hard to sit down for a meal at work, because of the above reasons, and also I hate to cook for myself at work, and knowing that my other chefs are also very busy, how can you justify a break, we are a team after all.

Just the other day, a Saturday it was, we had a wedding that evening as well as lots of a la carte. The function room was set, the restaurant likewise. Kenny & I had the chance to down a salad which Cassi had made earlier.

With no place to sit, I turned up a plastic tub and we sat and ate our salads. It brought back memories of the time 19 years ago sitting on milk crates and boxes scoffing down a meal at any chance we had.

How times change for the better…………..NOT.

Technorati Tags: Wagyu

The last of summer New Menu

Having just started our second summer menu for 09, things have been hectic for Kenny and myself. Cassi our apprentice has been at tafe and with Philip and Maurizio departing us it’s been all go in the kitchen.

But as all good professionals do we knuckled down and got on with it. The new menu according to Kenny the Chefs Beeatch (Bitch) as he puts it, is very exciting with new flavours that will not disappoint.

We have 18 entree dishes and 16 main meals which is by far one of the most extensive menu’s on the coast. This alone is a challenge itself. Oh let’s not forget the pizza as well…..

Writing a menu is one thing, creating and cooking it is another, hey Kenny. (I chuckle to myself) a private joke. Many a so called chef can copy, read books, repeat recipes, and glorify dishes with flash descriptions, but what happens after that, well………………
any way check out some of the pictures below. More will be added as we get them taken. The pdf of the new menu will be here soon.

Beaches Restaurant say’s bye to Callum

Yet another departure from Beaches Reastaurant in Yeppoon.

A very good member of our team, this time from the floor.  A waiter is often referred to as part of the  floor staff because they patrol the restaurant floor.

Callum Heald came to us after experiencing a few other places in town, unhappily not satisfied he then found Beaches, where he has been supervising the restaurant for the past 6 months. A very good restaurant operator who has managed to motivate the team and get the most out of his fellow staff.

His experience has been much appreciated at Beaches and will be definitely missed. A smooth operator would be a description of Callum, one that does not crack under pressure but finds a solution to help the situation. That in itself is a great attribute to ones resume. I and the other staff wish Callum a continued great future where ever he ends up.

How do Chef’s Play Golf?

Poorly!!!

Although we have had the pleasure of Yeppoon’s own ‘tiger’ who regularly hits a round of under par!!!

Yes well we rarely get time for such luxuries. but when we do we certainly enjoy ourselves.

A day out on the greens is a welcome change from boxed up in a kitchen. Coming from overseas, being able to play golf on such courses that we have at our disposal in yeppoon is precious. Golf is a high profile game in many places and without knowing a member to get you your left standing and watching from the fence!!

A day out with the staff is not just fun it is usually a good team building time. We all tend to relax more with each other and work is forgotten.

As for our game, well with ample spare balls we attack the course, literally, Many would say the best bit is driving the buggy like schumacher, but the fresh outdoors feeling is the best for me. A few holes take about an hour for us as we make our way in zig zag pattern down the fairways!!

With a beer in one hand and the club in the other we laugh and joke the day long.

Of course we keep score or try to, the odd 10+ is noted with maybe one or two par’s, but with the average score of 105+ we are in dire need of more practice.

Cyclone Hamish

Well I guess that most of you have seen or heard about Cyclone Hamish that has been battering the east coast of Australia the past week.

It has been the hot topic on the news and weather channels of late.

Living on the Capricorn Coast I can confirm that Monica & I were concerned to say the least. We had prepared our cyclone emergency boxes and had our birds well locked up in case of a quick escape. With cyclone Hamish a category 5 cyclone, one of the strongest to ever visit our shores we were not going to sleep easy.

How fortunate we were, along with most of the east coast to escape lightly from the big bad wolf bearing down on us with all it’s might. Only to feel a slight wind gust in Cooee Bay, Yeppoon 4703. No more than a windy day.

The next morning though the tidal surge was well seen along with king tides at full moon the beaches took a battering. Many a local could be seen viewing the breakers on main beach as they bashed in against the rock facade at very high marks.

The bad news is that although Hamish has been downgraded and passed us by, it is now turning and heading back up!!! albeit only a category 1, still strong enough to cause damage to any area it chooses.

Thankfully it came over Sunday & Monday my two days off which allowed myself to be home and clean up the garden.

Hopefully it is the closest we come to experiencing such force of nature………….

The return of Kenny

No not Kenny the toilet cleaner.

Not from South Park either.

Kenny the Chef.

Kenneth Burton to be exact, never to be called Ken, He is the ‘bad ass’ that you don’t mess with o.k.

This is the second time that Kenny has had a spell at Beaches, you can see from my posts he was here last year for sometime. He left us back then to run a new restaurant in town, from there he went further afield.

After experiencing some high’s and low’s he has returned to greener pastures and thankfully landed back at Beaches.

Kenny is in charge of my kitchen when I am not present and even when I am at times.

I have always struggled to find a chef that I could give the title of Sous Chef to, apart from Monika, but since then we have had many a chef come and go, many with bigger than average ego’s or just lack of the important experience.

But Kenny will have no problem in filling that position. Even Head Chef would be a title for Kenny, if I am an “Executive Chef”. Question where does the title “Executive Chef” come from?

Kenny will bring great stability to the kitchen as well as a leadership of others. Our apprentice Cassi and others,  should take this opportunity and pick his brains and learn as much as she can from a true professional in this field.

Valentines Day

February the 14th can be a special day for some people. It all depends on your situation and beliefs.

For us in the restaurant industry it usually means a busy night with lots of tables of two.Not just two, we always end up with an odd 3 or 5 now keep your mind out of the gutter. Actually this valentines we had two couples actually join their tables, how romantic (not).

Our evening went very well considering the six course menu with 103 people to feed that’s over 600 plates that night.

Our Valentines Menu 2009 was

The love Menu

Ciabatta bread with olives, semidried tomato, fetta drizzled with basil and balsamic glaze

*****

The love of Duck, smoked duck breast, duck leg confit & Peking duck sausage    or

The love of Asparagus lightly seared spears with tomato, egg, bocconcini & lemon butter sauce   or

The love of Pumpkin roast pumpkin soup finished with rich velvet cream   or/

The love of Prawns crisp fried prawn tails dressed in prawn crackers on rocket & pepper caramel leaves

*****

Porcini risotto with love parsley & Parmesan shavings

*****

Three coloured sorbet

*****

The love of Fish Barramundi, salmon and Moreton bay bug scroll with lobster sauce & vanilla mash

The love of Steak grilled eye fillet steak with sweet potato thyme flavoured mushrooms, Bearnaise sauce & red wine glaze

The love of Chicken mild tikka masala marinated chicken with mango relish, fragrant rice & crisp poppadums

The love of Pasta tagliatelle ribbons of egg pasta with grilled Mediterranean vegetables, olives, baby spinach & fresh Parmesan

*****

For chocolate lovers, everything chocolate chefs selection of chocolate delicacies

The restaurant looked fantastic full of tables spilling out onto the poolside area, lucky it was not bad weather until late. We did have the rain covers in place as we had been expecting a pour at any time.

All the staff enjoyed the night aswell as the customers who were more than satisfied with the value for money they received. The above menu cost only $60 per head.

For us chefs it was a daunting task one of which we will certainly amend for next year, not that we didn’t manage but we can certainly make it easier which allows less room for mistakes.

Chef John ran the pass, Chef Kenny plated, Chef Philip cooked the main meals, Chef Paul controlled the entrees, Apprentice Cassi controlled the desserts and helped Paul. Callum ran the floor. A big congratulations to my team for a fantastic effort.

My Dad is a Champion

My dad is part of a three person team that compete in the four pair horse driving trials. My dad is bottom right of this picture.

He is the man at the back of the carriage that leans out side to side that balances and nudges the carriage around the course and hopefully not hitting any obstacle’s, and not falling off.

He has been competing at the world class level for many years now. Previously with the Irish team competing cross country courses as well. The past ……. years he has been part of the  Boyd Exell team.  Boyd Exell from Australia has been competing with his horses for……. years and finally all his effort has payed off.

This year the FEI World Cup™ Driving Final was held in Gothenburg Sweden. Starting second out of three finalists Boyds fast time with only one obstacle hit (which results in a ball dropping off a bollard and a 5 second penalty) put the pressure on the reigning champion, and clearly it was the pressure that Boyd Exell fast time set.

A fast round by Ysbrand Chardon but with two balls down was not good enough for the four time champion.

This was just the perfect end to the 2008-09 season to win the final and become World Champions was awesome and Boyd Exell was crowned FEI World Cup Champion for the first time in his career

Credit Images: hoefnet

Wine price hike in local restaurants

Some local restaurants in town have individual wine lists each with their own specialties. There is nothing unusual with that.

But what are you expected to pay for a bottle these days? I guess it depends on your situation. Some high rollers will pay lots for a bottle and drink it like water, were others will savour a $20 bottle throughout the meal.

Wine is a very personal choice and pleasure will come with different varieties for different palates and places.

Now the question I have is what should you pay for a bottle and what should determine the price?

The reason that I am throwing this out there is, recently I have experienced a wide range in price of one particular wine in multiple restaurants, ranging from $31 to $60 for the exact same wine. That is nearly a 50% difference!!

So back to the question of what should you pay for a bottle? It really depends on your pocket. Only if you know your wines well, would you know the value of a bottle. How would you know if  you are paying a price hike or not. Should we be able to trust an establishment to price the wine respectfully? I do think so and would hope not to be taken advantage of, after all we as restauranteurs would like our customers to leave with peace of mind and return with pleasure…..

Technorati Tags: fruit, vegetable, Yeppoon, chef

Next Page »