This post is silly. Don't read it. you'll
regret it. These are fuzzy pictures of some of the many tasks i laboured at today, during my usual four hours of work. Though today was 5 hours, some stupid buy cards with hearts on them day required my EXTRA assistance.
Here above is fuzzy beef stock. Browned beef scraps, carrot, celery, onion, garlic, bayleaf, thyme, black peppercorn, parsely, and overnight cookin'.
Brandied peppercorn sauce. 15 litres. Easy to do, annoying in preparation
.The obligatory jug of habenero and jalopeno tabasco enhanced clamato i drink each day. even tapped the worchestershire today.
one hundred ninety five kilos of meat. all to be put away, by me.
Counted all the oysters, received several shipments of that and other product. These are the malpeques, said to be the best in Canada, from malpeque bay, PEI. The cold water there makes them grow very slow, 6 years to this size. So these oysters have been alive longer than some of your children. (If you have young children.)
The 'Line', as they call it, where the action happens while you wait WAAY too long for your night on the town meal. I set it up each day, heat and install all the various soups, sauces and vegetables in the 'steam table', in the stainless steel 'inserts' that lay atop the large box of steaming hot water. The french call it a, 'bain marie'.
This is in fact my herky-jerky printing, on the servers notice board, (more like dumbass board), with very sketchy info re the oysters currently in stock. And the count, in blue, is current, as of today. Counting day. Please note: if you are, like me, left-handed, printing in dry erase on a white board, SUCKS.
The now pailed 15 litres of brandied peppercorn sauce, essentially a beef sauce tarted up.
I believe it rather clear we've had thoroughly enough of this nonsense. So what makes YOUR camera shake?
I found this post VERY INTERESTING, J. I wish you'd do pictures of making your lobster soup, I've always wondered exactly why your customers are so wildly enthusistic about paying (what is it?) like....$8 or $9 a bowl, must be beyond delicious to warrant that kind of devotion from your countless foodie fans.
ReplyDeleteit's 8 bucks, yes, it's expensive and exotic, and well made, that's what people pay for. And i hate making it, 60 litres a batch, which lasts 3 weeks. The veggies, and lobster, have to be fine diced, because we also sell it in a shot glass, for 4 bucks.
ReplyDeleteand stop praising me..i don't have fans..i work in the silence of daytime.they can only fan me if they can see me. and they can't.so there.
Well I'm a fan of reading what goes on behind the scenes at your restaurant. Yes I am.
ReplyDeleteIt's fascinating.
Mom, and Linda rae-you're just too darn nice to me. i guess it's kinda interesting, my not so little kitchen duties. here's a tip, click on the pictures, and they come up super big, you can even read my chicken scrawl all about oysters...it's been up there about a year, so, bits and pieces have been smudged about.
ReplyDeleteI'll try make better pictures next time, i think it might be 'cause i kept turning off the flash. this is the first camera i've had in 20 years.
I liked this post a lot, too! I have always been intrigued by behind-the-scenes stuff, restaurants especially. I read all about your oysters and they sound tasty (though I doubt I could ever convince PK to have a try). I like the way you write your lowercase "q"s.
ReplyDeleteAND...I really want to spend 8 bucks for a taste of your lobster soup. Although, (and I'm no chef), is it still good after 3 weeks? Must be---you would know. I think I'd rather come in week one, though! : )
Camille-hah, i suppose i would prefer it in it's prime of soup life. But yeah, it's always fresh, i freeze each 60 litre batch in 4 litre pails, so only one is in the cooler at one time, each pail lasting about 2 days. And it's very stable in nature, there's no dairy, ie, cream, added until i heat it up each morning when i'm setting up the line.
ReplyDeleteI've only tried a few of the oysters, i'm not much of a fan regarding them. But i'm responsible for them, keeping them fresh,(alive), and well stocked. And they're such a cash cow. A dozen of one of the cheaper west coasters, like Miyagi's, costs us $6, sells for $30. The westies are cheaper because they grow much faster in the warm pacific, only 2 years to maturity, and they're not native to the west coast, were introduced from Japan, where they're used to quick growth. The oyster lovers say the east coasters are the best, the only species native to North America...the varieties are all one species, where they grow give's them their name, and flavour profile. So a malpeque looks like a bluepoint, or a chesepeake bay, both US grown oysters. The industry there is HUGE. Lotta oyster lovers there.