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.

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

Does anybody still come here?

Well pleased to know you if you do.

I must say that I did have a few comments to approve. No surprise that they were very old & probably forgot that they even visited my blog, so did i for that matter. Well hi again, lots has happened since my last post. Just want to let you know that all is well and fingers crossed I will be getting a bit of time to update my site.

So without further ado I will set out a few titles that will keep me interested and hopefully get some of you also interested. Please stay tuned for my updates.

Bon Voyage to Philip Austin & Patrick Windten

Philip from Germany has completed a second stint within my kitchen. The first time he arrived with Patrick Windten also from Germany. They joined myself when times were tough and the search for chefs was going nowhere. Nothing much has changed since, but I have managed to steady the ship.

I had no hesitation in employing the two European chefs with there visa’s organized from an agency.

After my own experience in Germany and working with many European chefs, I had hopes that there ability would be high. I was not disappointed.

The worse thing was that they only were to stay for a short stint. I suppose better than nothing.

Funny that at a time again late last year, they both independently from each other offered there services to me, at such an opportune time.

Whilst away, a few disasters came and went, but my German chefs dug deep and battled through. Both these chef’s I would employ again without hesitation, which I find very hard to say these days.

Great individual styles of cooking with humour to make any long day fun. Also with there great get up and go attitude to life, we enjoyed some time together at golf and staff bbq. I would not be lying if I said that I and my fellow chefs do miss these guys.

A big blow to lose Maurizio and Philip on this night…………..

Spring Menu

Yet another menu for Beaches to be proud of.

This is always a very testing time for the restaurant, nobody knows exactly what is going on except the top chef (me). The hardest thing is for myself to get across to the staff exactly what I want, how & why, without causing to many dramas!

The weeks before the menu start I am doing lots of searching for my menu, what’s in season now, how much, can we actually get it up here on the Capricorn coast, and so on. Then I write it and study it for repetition, balance and practicality.  It’s easy to write a few dishes down, and say thats it, but how much of the same commodities do you use, and can we actually make a souffle with just the one oven?

A lot of thought must go into the menu.

Then of course the big day comes with an extra early start that allows us to prepare everything ready for the evening service, even though we have been haed at it for a couple of days already, we need to balance the old menu with the new. As we still have excess prep from the finishing menu to sell, so it becomes a smorgasbord of dishes for the customer to choose from, sometimes too much.

I think also that maybe I need to add a glossary to the menu so that everybody can understand what its all about. Just imagine if I wrote it in French…..

Plates, wide rim, oval, show & glass

Today the 31st January 2008…… (this post was in my draft unpublished for some reason)I received some new plates. From bottom left clockwise.

A Show Plate which has a round center raised with arched edges, looks impressive but has a feel that it will not last our tuff surrounds.

The next is an oval deep bowl with a very delicate center indent, ideal for pasta or salads.

Now the really deep wide rim huge bowl, this is special in that it has a deep center which actually holds the same amount of liquid as our standard soup bowl and is very deceiving. With the wide rim it gives a greater feeling of massive.

Now to my favorite, the Glass plate with bubbles in, if that’s a good way to explain it. The only negative thing I find about the glass plate is that it has little or no raise on the edge which makes it difficult to place on the table and pick up.

It is always exciting to receive new and modern equipment an plates are a very important part of the restaurant equipment. With great plates you have a place to present your food to showcase it to the maximum. You have then 50% of the meal in the bag The Presentation. The rest is down to you to ensure it is cooked to perfection and tastes great.

Happy cooking.

Chef to Barista

My trip to Brisbane this week was a great success.I am now a qualified Barista. After a 3 and 2 hour course and lots of coffee making I finally received my certificate.

A small room with 5 coffee machines greeted us with the smell of coffee everywhere. Ten coffee addicts took part in the Barista Basics course.

The first hour was spent learning about coffee, the characteristics, roast, colour size and type, origin etc. We perfected the setting of the grinder, highly important as this sets the flow of water through the coffee, it should be between 25 & 30 seconds. The pour of the espresso is the first thing to master. The rich thick creme is a must for all coffee.

We then learnt how to prepare the milk. At what temperature to stop the stretching and texturing, to achieve thick glossy milk at the right temperature every time. Not all types of coffee begin the same with different temperature points for the milk.

Then came the making of coffee.(the fun began) we each had our own side of a machine, where we made a selection of all the coffees. At first it was a little strange trying to make my milk properly(different from how I had been) but I soon mastered the process.

The pouring into the cup or glass was my biggest challenge. You can easily spoil a good creme by pouring to fast or too slow and off centre etc.

The afternoon course was spent preparing many types of coffee with decoration, some with the use of chocolate fudge. This is where the Barista can really let the imagination flow. The majority are done with the aid of the thermometer end but the peace de resistance is the free pour.

The Barista shows true skill in pouring patterns directly onto the coffee. I can not take credit for the last photo, the other’s yes.

Kitchen closed, rain stop play

Well it’s almost the end of the month and I haven’t added to my blog. What can I say! You know the scenario by now, work in the kitchen just takes over, and it does take it out of you. But hey that’s life.

I thought that I would just recap on what’s happening in Yeppoon. Things had been a little slow due to all the rain that we had last month causing roads to be closed and flooding some unlucky premises. This was the bottom of my road. I managed a couple of unprepared weeks off, with the help of two new chefs joining my team, but it was time out all the same.

Now that I am back I have put another new menu out. Once again great choice with a few special dishes for the culinary customers to sample. Rabbit, Oxtail, Wagyu, Zucchini flowers are just a few to mention.

So with a busy Easter behind us and a week away from school holidays Moni & I will be heading to Brisbane for a few days. I will be attending my Barista course so that I can perfect the art of fine coffee making as well as sampling some fine foods. Might grab a show if time allows.

They Call Themselves Chefs

What is with you young boys out there, I say young only because I class myself in the old school regime. Today I herd that yet another chef did the ‘walk out’ in service. Now that’s just great. It seams to be a common thing these days.

Firstly, I do know that some employers have absolutely no idea, that most don’t pay well and that they want you do be at there beck and call. Now that I have agreed with you so called chef’s out there, let’s get this straight. How ever much you are in a mess, for what ever the reason, what justifies the right to drop tools and just go…..

I myself have worked in some very tough conditions, but have never lowered myself to just giving up and walking out. Staying power is what is needed in this industry boys.

When you open a new restaurant and after it’s hay day things slow down and it’s tougher than expected, you just can’t run and hide or walk away, there is lots of money at stake. You knuckle down and push on, get yourself established, change a few things here and there, but you just don’t give up.

I suppose one day you chefs might want to have your own place, well I just hope that you are one of the few employers that pays over and above what the chefs want, that you treat them with great respect, that you supposedly have gained enough knowledge and experience to command such respect…….

What gives me the right to say this, well I have done the hard yards, for many years. I have worked in some of the best well known hotels and restaurants. I have held positions of recognition for some time.

How do you expect to receive great money and positions in the work place without much experience. Just working here and there is not enough. Go out and work in some of the best places anywhere in the world if you want to, but only then can and should you start to demand the recognition. If you find yourself in such a place with an abundance of fine places that’s great, if not, well make the move….you have to go and get it, it won’t come to you.

Remember, people like to discuss people and this industry is one of the best for that, we look at others and judge them for what they do, where they have worked, what experience they have. Now this is a small town and no exception to the rule. I have been here for some time, with a very good reputation, do you think that somebody might just call that chef John to enquire about so in so, just remember it’s a small world boys.

Oh and one more thing, you won’t get picked for the national team unless you play for a big name club eh, wake up and swallow your ego and start to earn some respect. My team is far from full but believe me I only want the best.  

Underwater Restaurant

The first underwater Restaurant or not. Last year I came across an article about an underwater restaurant. Read more

« Previous Page — Next Page »