On The Line: The Two Halves Of The Day & All The Stuff Between

Supply and Demand

Sixth in a series documenting A. Chef’s first year as an executive chef.

It’s no secret that we as Chefs and kitchen managers spend a good portion of our days acting as purchasers. The human side of the job – scheduling, hiring, firing, training and of course being a leader is only half of it. Cooking and cleaning are usually the other half, but every day before and after everything else there’s money to be spent.

Sometimes it’s new equipment, often it’s repairs and always it’s food. A really big part of the gig is to make sure the materials are there to get the job done and the tools are there to make it happen. It’s not as easy as it might seem. Order too much and you are generating waste. Order too little and you are making last minute substitutions or heading out to the grocery store, which is taking you away from what you really should be doing.

With many suppliers, you need to order the day before. With specialty meat or veg producers, you might have to order three or four days in advance. For many months of the year, business volume is tricky to predict. Coordinating trades to come and service equipment or the building itself can be even trickier, especially since the ice machine and dishwasher and air conditioning almost never break down during regular business hours, and almost always do on a Saturday evening. You get good at fixing things, and thank Christ the linen company still has the good sense to use wire coat hangers, which will fix just about any mechanical malfunction and snake just about any clogged drain.

Of course, a good deal of this is about building relationships. Need a credit on an item because you messed up? Don’t want a big hassle? Make friends with the sales rep. Run out of butter on Friday afternoon and can’t make it to the store? If you’re friendly with the sales rep, they might go and pick some up from the grocery store for you, or pilfer it from another restaurant where they are friendly with the kitchen. The other side of this is that you’d better make time when they have a product to show you, or have a distributor who wants to show you the Next Big Thing in window-cut, easy-peel widgets that you’re gonna just love, at a price (per portion) that’s less than you are paying for your widgets right now. None of this applies to wine and beer reps, because you always have time to sit down with them for product sampling, and chances are you’re gonna buy. Read more

On The Line: On Learning How To Say “No” As Much As “Yes”

Balancing Act

Fifth in a series documenting A. Chef’s first year as an executive chef.

As is the case with many businesses (certainly not just restaurants), part of our company philosophy is to say “yes” whenever possible. You probably have something similar where you work. I think it’s a decent personal philosophy too. But that’s where things can get tricky, that definition between personal and professional.

How do you say “yes” to everyone when the demands of work and life can pull you in different directions? Recently, as I cross the halfway mark in my first year as Chef, I’ve learned how to say “no” to certain things. My old boss used to tell me he’d wake up every day thinking about all the things he was not going to get done. This always struck me as pessimistic, but now I see he was just being a realist. In fact, it was a sign of his ambition and drive to always do more, and do it better. It mirrors the belief that though you can never be one hundred percent, you should always try to do better. Something people can lose sight of is that we – from servers to dishwashers to managers – are all here to serve the business. If we do that part right, the rest will follow. If we mess that up, we’ll be looking for work pretty soon.

As cooks, we live and die by making lists. I have found that these last months have seen me continue to make lists. They’ve just become much longer and instead of reflecting the immediate needs of my station (stock on, soak casings, etc) they’ve become over-arching and less specific (plan Fall dining room buy out, Christmas menus, update two more pages of inventory sheets, talk to farm manager about winter crops) with specificity added as needed on a daily basis (butcher halibut, attend host meeting, follow up on credit request, complain about delivery during lunch service). This broad stroke planning has become critical to finding balance in my week, and it’s something I didn’t really appreciate until very recently. I must have missed that day at Chef school. Read more

On The Line: Each Chef’s Brand Is Their Professional Philosophy…

Building Blocks

Fourth in a series documenting A. Chef’s first year as an executive chef.

There have been lots of experiences over the years that make us, as cooks, what we are. The school we went to, the people we work with, the places we work at, and the tools we work with. We all have our mentors, we all have our defining, eye opening restaurant gig, and we all have our favourite, must have, go-to ingredients and supplies. Butter? Cream? Cheap Swissmar peeler? C’mon, I know I have mine.

One thing that’s never really been part of my experience has been the building of a brand, something I was (and still am) so wholly unfamiliar with as to not really know which way to turn next. Thankfully, I have some connections in the marketing world who have been able to set up a couple of interviews, some limited media events, and find a decent food photographer to take the pictures of what it is we do that will make their way into magazine advertisements, websites and other promotional material as we see fit.

One thing that should happen is that you should come up with a game plan, and make a list of questions that, when answered, will take you to where you want to go. What’s my target market? Who do we already have and need to maintain? What delivery methods will this take? Read more

On The Line: Further Dispatches From A. Chef’s Learning Curve…

“Lateral Moves Are For Suckers”

Third in a series documenting A. Chef’s first year as an executive chef.

“Lateral moves are for suckers”. I said that once to a cook, only to move him laterally a number of months later. It’s funny how things can come back around to bite you in the ass. I don’t mind really, and it’s not even entirely true – while it’s not a good idea to make too many lateral moves, sometimes they are unavoidable and even necessary.  They’re even advisable if you – as a cook – are still trying to hone your skills and master a station or menu. The problem really comes when you find yourself (or someone you love) making lateral moves across different restaurants over the course of decades. We all know that in this industry time can go by very quickly, but if you find yourself in the same position that you were in ten years ago, it’s time to make some decisions. Either get real or get out. It’s okay to pull the chute before you hit the ground. That’s why it’s there.

I have found myself making lateral moves on the menu front for a while this first year, and I think it’s beneficial to my business and me. The menu I inherited was pretty tight; costs were under control but it certainly wasn’t mine until the second full revision, which happened in October. The previous change, in May, was made under duress and it was thrown together in the middle of 75-hour work weeks. The latest revision that rolled out this week was another incremental change in what’s been a yearlong process of paring, tweaking and standardizing. I managed to get the ‘early bird’ menu out of the place, as it wasn’t serving the business like it used to, in exchange for keeping a popular prix fixe option. There was some initial grumbling, as many people don’t like change, but after a week or so it died down. Six months later, people still wander in sometimes wondering what happened to the ‘early bird’ menu that they had last time. Last time? You haven’t been here in six months. I managed to make some ingredient changes, for the better, that people were convinced were going to cause the sky to fall. Have you looked outside lately? Look up – it’s still there. Read more

On The Line: Notes On Staffing After A Changing Of The Guard…

“You Can’t Fire Me, I Quit”

The second in a series by A. Chef

My predecessor had left, somewhat abruptly, throwing me full on into the new position that I had just assumed.  Sure, it’s going to be busy, but just think of all the new things I’ll get to do!  So much responsibility, such excitement!  Such a total fucking gong show for months to come!

But how was I to know.  I should have seen the future, as I had lived through something like it in the past at least a few times.  Things tend to happen when there’s change at the top – it can rattle the middle a little bit, causing them to take stock of what they are doing, where they are going and how they want to get there.  I run a kitchen of about 25 people, and at this current point of relative stability, more than half of them were hired by me less than one year ago, so that’s some pretty serious team building as far as I am concerned.

I had bitten off more than I could chew, and had to just keep pushing through to the end.  Almost immediately after I had taken over, some good people left and I was forced to take on some very long days and weeks, and after some false starts managed to hire some good people and start the building process again. Read more

On The Line: Notes On The Jump From Sous To Executive Chef

Assuming The Position

The first in a series by A. Chef

By that point, I had seen and done a lot despite my somewhat limited career path. Many of the people I was about to take leadership of had seen and done a lot more than I.

It’s an uncomfortable position to be in, needing to hire people with strength, yet not so strong that I couldn’t control them. You don’t always want to hire someone better than you, and you certainly don’t want to hire someone who wants your job. I had interviewed people much more mature than I, people who, once they realized the position I was in, decided they wanted to have no part of it. I also interviewed people much my senior that had, in the past, turned me down for jobs where they had the power. They probably didn’t remember me, but I remembered them and enjoyed a quiet little chuckle to myself at how small the city is, and how things tend to come full circle.

It was a strange email to get from my boss, who basically told me that “tomorrow’s the day”. I think more than a few of us had seen this coming for a couple of months, and certainly a ‘plan B’ had been formulated, the details of which were none of my business.

We had that awkward exchange that probably takes place whenever the baton is passed – “what should I ask for? How much do you make? What’s going to be expected of me? Should I say yes?”. Most of the answers were pretty murky, or downright evasive as much of it was really none of my damned business. At the end of it all, sitting with the GM while she smoked nervously, we hammered out a deal and the ball kept rolling. Turns out I was plan B.

Bumping into the big boss later that day, who had probably just learned my last name, asked if I was nervous. I figured he was being polite, as he must have known the answer, for I had not been in this position before and we both knew there was a certain element of sink or swim happening.

I sunk. Read more

Sean Heather: An Eyeful Of Slaughter In Iberico

Sean Heather, owner of Salt Tasting Room, The Irish Heather, The Shebeen, and The Salty Tongue, is taking the reins tonight. He will be guest-blogging his way through London, Ireland, and Spain, searching for ideas and inspiration for his new restaurant in Gastown’s Blood Alley. This is his third entry, detailing his experience at the Fermin slaughterhouse in Iberico. The final post in this series is still to come…

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Iberico Country

The drive from San Sebastian was long and a little boring. We set out at 9am and 6 hours later, thanks to a cheap portable satellite navigational system, that on more then one occasion was almost fucked out the window.

The last part of the journey saw us climb out of a never-ending low flat terrain and into a cooler mountainous region. We were excited for the change in scenery and the cooler temperatures but really, my excitement stemmed from the fact that we had reached Iberico country…you cannot cure hams in a warm climate. Read more

The Sean Heather Chronicles: San Sebastián

Sean Heather, owner of Salt Tasting Room, The Irish Heather, The Shebeen, and The Salty Tongue, is taking the reins tonight. He will be guest-blogging his way through London, Ireland, and Spain, searching for ideas and inspiration for his new restaurant in Gastown’s Blood Alley. This is his second entry, detailing his travels from Madrid to San Sebastian. Further Spanish adventures (including a day at the slaughterhouse) are still to come…

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Spain

Arrived in Madrid airport at 9am and was met by Scott Hawthorn (co-owner of Salt) who had arrived from New York earlier. Rented a car from Avis and set off on our 4+ hour drive to San Sebastian. Read more

On The European Road With Sean Heather

Sean Heather, owner of Salt Tasting Room, The Irish Heather, The Shebeen, and The Salty Tongue, is taking the reins tonight. He will be guest-blogging his way through London, Ireland, and Spain, searching for ideas and inspiration for his new restaurant in Gastown’s Blood Alley. This is his first entry, detailing his days in London, Limerick, and Dublin. His adventures in San Sebastián are still to come…

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London

Arrived in London at lunchtime and got to the hotel just in time to freshen up and then head out for a late lunch.

Canteen “is committed to providing honest food, nationally sourced, skillfully prepared and reasonably priced.” That’s what their website says. I can’t disagree with their claim.

As I was tired and hungry, I chose the safe option of Bangers & Mash. It tasted great save for the char on one side of each of the bangers. Thankfully, the very sweet onion gravy balanced the char. So, after comfort food and a cup of tea I felt restored and ready to head out to Borough Market, one of London’s better food markets.

Bacon, anybody?

I think they're all dead...

Mmm, goose fat...

After ambling round the market for a while I headed over to Neal’s Yard cheese store for a meeting with their sales rep, Jane.

Normally when a Canadian restaurant/store purchases imported cheese they must go through a broker. There is a quota on how much Imported cheese is allowed into Canada each year and only brokers who have inherited or purchased quota can bring cheese in. Since the quota system was implemented in the 70’s, the quotas have not been increased.

Most of the time, the selection of imported cheeses is based on what a broker believes will absolutely sell, i.e. they are not inclined to use up their quota on unusual, risky cheeses that may not sell. So if you have ever wondered why the selection of foreign cheese is so limited in Vancouver, it’s because brokers are unwilling to take a risk. And really, who can blame them?

Vancouver company Dovre Imports has some of this quota and a refreshingly different attitude to ordering. When it comes to unusual cheese they allow sellers like me to place our order directly with the European cheese sellers. Neal’s Yard is one such cheese seller and Jane calls me once a month to talk about her favorites, what’s good and what’s not. I then place my order. The first time Dovre knows about this is when they receive confirmation from Neal’s Yard that an order has been sent.

Today I am going to place my order in person.

Store manager Toby and sales rep Jane help me taste my way through 20+ cheeses. When it is over I have ordered Lincolnshire Poacher, Isle of Mull, Cashel Blue, Gubbeen and Dawes Weslydale.

Jane

Wall of cheese...

Tired and feeling a “cheese coma” coming on, I head for my hotel.

Next day I had breakfast in an English Café called The Regency Café.

Film buffs might recognize the Regency as the scene of a brutal assault in the movie “Layer Cake”.

The café is busy and runs like a well-oiled machine. Everybody lines up to place their order, and you must not take your seat until your order has been placed. The lady, who takes your money, also makes your tea, puts your toast down and calls out your order when it is ready for you to collect. Between “to go” and “to stay” business, she processes over 90 people in the 30 minutes that I am there. I get my tea when I place my order, and as I settle in my seat the lady bellows “White Toast”. I collect my toast and settle back in my seat only to hear “bacon, egg, sausage and tomato” roared again.

The big booming voice does not match the small lady, so much so that I at first thought that there was a burly cook shouting from the kitchen. But no, she is a small lady with a big booming voice. Nonetheless, each time she bellowed it was like something out of Poltergeist. The truth is that if she didn’t shout, a customer might not hear her and the food would start to pile up in front of her, etc. The breakfast was great, with the tomatoes being a welcome change from the usual baked beans.

Content, I head to Covent Garden to visit the store of Irish designer Orla Kiely. My wife was gracious enough to hold the fort (business/home) so that I could go on this trip, this despite the fact that all 3 children and my wife had been sick the day before I left. I would be killed if I went to London and didn’t buy an Orla Kiely item. Just like Isaac Mizrahi, Orla Kiely has been commissioned by Target to design a line of goods.

Purchase made, I made my way to “The Cow” gastropub in Notting Hill for lunch. It is arguably London’s first gastropub and as such is considered to have led the gasatropub revolution. It has been a major influence on the Irish Heather and I always try to visit whenever I am in London.

The Cow is owned by Ton Conran, whose dad is Sir Terrance Conran, the founder of Habitat (Britain’s version of IKEA) and owner of 30+ restaurants. Tom appears to have passed on the family business in favour of building his own empire. Tom also has a deli, “Toms Deli”, a diner, “Lucky 7”, and a Mexican cantina, “Crazy Homies”.

I ordered the chicken liver paté, fruit chutney and toast with a beautiful pint of Guinness. The guy beside me had a whole Dorset crab that was as big as his head.

There were two reasons for this trip. First, to check out the tapas culture of Spain. Second, to attend the Ireland versus England game in the Six Nations international rugby tournament in Dublin. I next headed out to Stansted airport to catch a flight to Ireland.

Ireland

After an overnight in my hometown of Limerick, myself and Brian (pals since we were 12 years old) drove to Dublin on Saturday morning. The scene of the rugby game was Croke Park. This stadium is located in the city and with a sold out capacity of 82,000 people, all roads leading to it are clogged beyond belief.

We parked our car at my uncles house in the ‘burbs and he gave us a lift into the city center in his vintage Rolls Royce. Riding in this old boy was like floating on a cloud…

Once downtown we headed to Bentleys Oyster Bar & Grill for a pre-game late luncheon. Bentleys is the first Irish-based restaurant from Irish-born, UK-based celebrity chef Richard Corrigan. Chef Richard has a Michelin star restaurant in London’s Soho (Lindsay House), and Bentleys is a casual seafood restaurant in the center of Dublin.

With Corrigan’s following in Britain and his Irish roots, Bentleys was an obvious choice for Brits and Irish folk in Dublin for the game, and it was packed. The mirror above the fireplace was draped in the British Union Jack and the Irish Tricolor.

I had an in-house smoked haddock with soft poached egg and Brian had the fish and chips. Both were superb, and so with two hours to go we walked to the stadium.

Ireland carried the day and there was much celebrating that night, though ours was muted slightly as we had to fly out to Spain at 6am the next morning.

Next installment – Eating Pintxos in San Sebastian

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