They Call Themselves Chefs
February 27, 2008
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.
Kids in Restaurants
February 11, 2008
The topic about kids in restaurants is fiercely contested and I just want to add my view on the whole kids in restaurant scenario. So before I start rambling, I wish not to offend any body personally with this. Read more
One bill per table - What!
February 4, 2008
One bill per table please, what a stir this creates. For many years now it has been industry policy to make one bill per table, regardless of how many people are dinning. Read more
Last Man Standing
January 2, 2008
It was another busy week and the loss of Jason Burrows aka “Tiger” “Woodzie” my friend and chef that has been at beaches with me for some time now. Read more
Singing In The Rain
November 7, 2007
Great news, we have just had three solid days of rain and no let up yet. Yippee Absolutely fantastic, great for the dry gardens, farms, rivers, dams, etc but not so good for business. Don’t get me wrong I am all for the rain and every drop we can get. But with the coming of the rain away go the customers. Yes unfortunately it puts a dampener on things as it discourages people from heading out, it’s only normal I guess.
I remember working in London years ago and seeing all the umbrellas in the entrance to the restaurant, those from the customers and of course those huge umbrellas of the restaurant with the bold emblem on used by the doorman to usher the guests to the entrance without getting a single water drop on, naturally he would work on tips and good they were.
The doorman back then would have such great contacts that almost anything was possible, theatre tickets, soccer tickets to sold out games, reservations for the best restaurants and the list goes on. How strange it is that I haven’t seen many, if any umbrellas. Not that it rains here often so probably a waist of money, but maybe if we had a doorman or lady that could usher people to and from there vehicles that would be something of a talking point.
Pineapple festival Awards in Yeppoon
October 22, 2007
The festival of the pineapple has recently passed and as usual it was bigger and better than the previous year. Not that I get too involved with the whole festival thing. I am generally too busy to even contemplate a visit to the event. But once again Beaches Restaurant picked up an award. Brian Dorey gave me the call to inform us of the presentation.
This award even though it goes to the establishment was one by young apprentice Matthew Gavel, now at Megalomania. It was his creation and cooking that achieved the award. So well done to him. Maybe the award should go to the chef and not the establishment. So that now makes it five years running that one of my chefs, myself included have picked up an award. Congratulations to Megalomania & Zilzie Bay on taking out the main prize, shame they just can’t help but share it. The Judges said that the entries were up 50%, maybe due to the new restaurants opening!
On the theme of the Pineapple check this one out. Monica is holding a 5.2KG pineapple a few months back, I saved the photo especially for this post. Surprisingly it tasted great, and it made plenty of fruit salad for the wedding buffet.
Technorati Tags: pineapple , Yeppoon , festival , awards , blog , chefs , megalomania
Technorati Tags: fruit, vegetable, Yeppoon
Easy Come Easy Go
October 21, 2007
Well what a week!! Just the one wedding and only a la carte to deal with, things were not too bad. Time to attend to those 2008 function and conference menus. Also time to do those extra little cleaning jobs that often get missed.
With our search for staff at a premium and little response to most advertising, it was a great bonus to have walk through the door an Aussie born chef with plenty of experience in many good places, like Berardo’s and Bistro C in Noosa and with a recent 10 month stint with Gordon Ramsay in London, it was a serious shock to the system. Without hesitation he was given a start, just our luck that we were quick off the mark as we are not the only restaurant in the area looking for Chefs and he having handed out his CV to many. Friday came and my new chef started. He settled quickly and found no problem in orienteering himself in the kitchen. Not all what you read on a resume is always clear and you need to read between the lines. I hadn’t expected anything else to tell the truth. The evening went well and after a cold beer at the end of service we parted. On a high I went home to enjoy a good nights sleep with the great plans to up the anti in the Beaches Kitchen.
Only to be brought back to ground with a hammer. A call from the Boss to inform me that the new chef is currently on his way to Sydney to work at Aria for Matt Moran. Great, excellent, well done, fantastic, were not my selection of words, but we will not repeat that. So after just one night work he’s gone, easy come easy go.
I guess you can’t pass up a chance to work at Aria with Matt Moran, I wouldn’t, well maybe at Beaches with John Mundell……………….Anyway the week ended on a good note with possibly a new chef to start next week. Also my review from Michael’s Dinner coming soon.
Technorati Tags: chefs , Blog , Beaches , Aria , Gordon Ramsay , Berardo’s , Bistro C , Noosa , kitchen , Matt Moran
How Hard is it to get Fresh Fish?
October 16, 2007
Fresh fish these days just seems harder and harder to get. I think that maybe I have been a little spoilt in my career to have had the opportunity to work with some great produce which believe me I am truly grateful. Strange that now I am working so close to the sea I seem to be experiencing the other end ‘the lack of’.
Maybe due to the mass production of imported frozen fish we suffer in the search for fresh produce. Could it be that the demand by us chefs is too high or are we just happy to get frozen processed? However, the big gourmet restaurants in the cities don’t seem to have such a problem. I guess that is because the fish markets there source the produce from all over which then gives them greater availability of fish to the chefs.
I also understand that closures need to be inplace to allow the growth of the species and not to be fished out. It also varies from state to state with closures. Maybe also the weather has an effect on supply. Maybe it is the cost involved. I would gladly pay the asking price for fresh produce and receive it on a daily basis in the perfect world. I just find it hard to get my head around the fact that I can see the sea from the kitchen at Beaches (how lucky I am) and yet with such perfect weather some days there is little fresh fish.
Are the fisherman lazy? Imagine if we could have our own fisherman that would go out once a week and catch some fish, bring it back direct to the restaurant e voila. We need fishermen to go out and catch fish. The fisherman need to earn a living, we need to pay the asking price, and we need the fish to be graded and processed to comply with health and safety. Then we need regular delivery. So where lies the problem?
Technorati Tags: Fresh, horseradish.
Young Chefs Blog, Aidan Brooks on his way to the top
October 8, 2007
I have just come across this young chefs blog. He is 19 years old and has just graduated from Westminster Kingsway College in London. Armed with his Professional Chef Diploma he has just started a 3-month training stage at one of the most creative restaurants in Barcelona. Read more
Summer is Nearly Here
October 7, 2007
Summer is nearly here, and this is bringing the public out more. It is a very busy time for most restaurants as the majority of people tend to warm up to dining out in summer, especially the locals, and with the influx of tourists, this summer will be no different from the past, only bigger and better. With that in mind what a busy Saturday, sometimes I don’t know where the people are hiding, the phone ringing for bookings all afternoon and early evening, but when full thats it. So please get in early so as not to be disappointed, or try another night. Now with the evenings just right for outside dining we will be setting tables ‘poolside‘. So whenever we see you next, enjoy your summer at Beaches.
Reservations; 07 49 336333
Technorati Tags: restaurants, dining out, summer, bookings, outside dining, poolside, Beaches, Culinary terms, Bordelaise
