Life's Opportunities

  I was asked recently “how was my cooking repertoire” and that got me thinking. After 17 years in the industry, cooking all over the World for some of The Highest profile people on this planet, it really bugged me a little.
But as it seams I was just slotted into a job were I am now the Pastry Chef. WOW what a blast. I have watched one the Worlds best over the past years, and like a sponge who thought he knew a bit about pastry, was schooled like some aspiring Pastry Chef could only dream of… A repertoire like few others    I have had some great opportunities through out my career that very few actually know the truth, as working with such people require discretion and a level of professional courtesy.

It maybe a game of chance “LIFE” but sometime you end up in places and situation that you could not have even dreamed of.

E.g.: The lose of electricity and a small gas explosion just as the first course is served for a 5 course Dinner consisting of Royal Family members and delegates of 2 countries. Leaving my Executive Sous Chef missing some eyebrows.

As everything in life, the show must go on and a few very tense moments and a quick phone call all was served without any guest knowledge, just great food.

Yes CHEF

Entremet Chicken Biriyani

Mild Spiced Chicken, Fragrant Saffron Basmati Rice, Refreshing Yoghurt, Crisp Cashew Nut, Onion and Golden Rasin Salad

(All filled in a Brittany Paste Case)

  What happen to the days of a Kitchen where the Head Chef rained Supreme? I have had the privilege of moving around in different kitchen this year in different parts of the World and a lot of the Head Chefs no longer wishes or expects to be called “CHEF”

I have worked many years living by this rule. If I enter another Chefs Kitchen, he is CHEF. His Kitchen, his rules (within reason) the title of Head Chef is, and should be earned, not owed. Years of service do not mean you deserve something because you outlasted the others. Skill, knowledge and sheer love of food cannot be bought.

To this day I still call all my previous Head Chefs “CHEF” out of respect for the teachings of my youth. Some of them very hard and some extremely hard but in the long run, made me the Chef I am today.

Or maybe I am just old Fashioned….

To all my Chefs… Thank you CHEF

Ultimate Chocolate Cake

CHOC-NUT VALRHONA CAKE

Chelsea Market & Cafe, Bonifacio High Street, Philippines

Over the years as a Chef, people are always telling you of their favourite place to eat and the reason why I have to go and try it. I am no food critic I just like to eat well and have enjoyed the pleasure of eating some great food but very few are a true mastication of the ages that you would recommend to good friends. I have had the pleasure of eating some of the greatest meals in the World but usually from my own kitchen, I am not speaking out of arrogance just through working in amongst a great team and working where opportunity of Food culture and cuisine was on the top of our priorities, Our focus was on great food and us being the most critical of our own work. I am not talking molecular gastronomy of smoke and bubbles; I mean real food and satisfying the taste bud and hunger within.

Upon a recent food tour, with a great pastry Chef friend of mine in Makati, Philippines. It was recommender we go and eat one of the most delicious Chocolate cakes ever made on this planet. To me they are pretty big word from my Pastry Chef friend as I have had the ultimate pleasures of eating his creations for many a year and was always awe inspired by them. Something I would call a privilege more than anything else, so if he were going to produce a desert of wonder I would reciprocate with a Main meal to precede such a wonder.

Well… I must say eating this particular Chocolate cake was a very humbling experience in my life. I will say this. It is the greatest Chocolate cake I have ever had the pleasure of eating and I would like to thank Chelsea Market & Café in Bonifacio High Street for the pleasure (Choc-nut Valrohna Cake). To those who do not want to take my word for it, jump on a plane now. With the cost of a plane ticket and accommodation and the price of the cake, it is still worth it.. Yes it is far beyond nice, I cannot explain the texture of the chocolate goodness topped with gooey marshmallow but it is second to none at this stage of my eating career. I like the sound of that “my eating career” pleasures of cuisine.

Happiness

House Smoked Duck Breast, Sweet Potato, Arabic Truffles and Zereshk Puree and Spicy Coriander Oil

Everyone has a different definition of Happiness. One might think money brings happiness and the headaches that go with it, but most of us would like to give it an honest try at least. Others think it is sitting on a beach for a week in a tropical island, being served drinks in between a dip in the ocean, some would say a close family. And me, why not combine the lot and add cooking great food for who ever wants to enjoy the delicacies of the day… Seasonal produce served at its freshest, to awaiting palates ready to satisfy a burning hunger.

Is a hamburger just a hamburger? Or is it ground Black Angus beef with aged cheddar cheese, House smoked Bacon, homemade tomato relish, slow cooked caramelized red onions, seasoned vine ripened tomato and crisp little gem lettuce leaves. This is a chefs version of the cup being half full or was that half empty, was I filling the cup or drinking it???????

In the words of Edith Wharton

If only we'd stop trying to be happy we could have a pretty good time. 

Chasing your own happiness is like a dog chasing the wheels of a car. Maybe other people do not understand why you do it, but it is your actions that change your own future..

Memories of a childhood meal far surpass nearly any other meal. When we all grow up the thought of a floating reformed tomato that explodes upon the first bit (molecular gastronomy) sound great, but really most of us just want a meal that triggers true happiness of memories that last a lifetime.

The key to happiness as I see it is in these words:

When I stand before God (or what ever you believe) at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, 'I used everything you gave me'.

Erma Bombeck 

FRIENDS . . .

Bbq Char siu Chicken, Sticky Rice, Pandanas Leaf, Bok Choi and Coriander Chili Oil

(marinated, barbecued and glazed chicken)

Some things in life are inevitable..

You’re born and you live to Die, sound sad but true and we all know it.

Do we work to live or live to work?

Me.. I just want to cook, travel, teach, learn and live…..

That said, it is what you do with your life that can change the lives of others and those you instil memories and knowledge in them to pass on to the next.

I am not famous, and will most likely never be, but am grateful for what I have, and what I have done up to this point of my life. I do not plan on changing the World nor do I plan to, that is something the World powers think they are doing.. Change yes. For the better, it seems not.

Can one person make a difference.. Yes.. It all depends on how you look at it and to what scale. Everybody affect somebody in someway. You can learn something from anybody.

I already know this theory but Facebook did teach me this again.. The amount of people from my past that remember me is astounding. I always thought I never left an impression on anybody, until later in life I guess. We all grow up (sort of) and life always goes on. People come and go in our lives and as I have travelled the World many have gone.  In saying that the World is getting smaller. I regularly run in to people in other countries that live in the same town as I do, I just never see them at Home….

To all my friend out there I say Thank You and see you all soon…

PLEASURES OF TEACHING

Pan Seared Scallops, Crab Nero Tortellini, Truffle Cream, Braised Vegetables and Herbs

One thing in life we all know is “The teacher is still always a student.” as we never stop learning.

"There are two kinds of people; those who do the work and those who take the credit. Try to be in the first group; there is less competition there." -- Indira Gandhi

I was given the pleasure of heading a large brigade of cook not chefs. What I started with was what some may call passable as a kitchen brigade but we should always aspire to greatness within the Kitchen, something average can always be great with the right technique and guidance within the same time frame. Life is about learning and growing as a person.

I was very lucky to have a very small great team of Senior Chef who share the same dream as I did, and we had almost a clean slate of minds to mould. The majority of the cook never dreamed of being in a Kitchen. So off we set to work.

We all worked hard to create, inspire and teach and most of all, make it fun. What we accomplished is a large team of Cooks who enjoys their work, ask the right questions and go above and beyond everyday. Those who were good became great and those who were lacking became very good, and other just surpassed all expectations. Mistakes were met with guidance and how to do it next time to get a much better result.

"Ideal teachers are those who use themselves as bridges over which they invite their students to cross, then having facilitated their crossing, joyfully collapse, encouraging them to create bridges of their own." -- Nikos Kazantzakis

To have your students teach others and pass on the techniques they had learnt and mastered, there is no greater reward not to mention, making your life easier as well.

A teacher who is attempting to teach without inspiring the pupil with a desire to learn is hammering on cold iron." -- Horace Mann

We all have to work that is a given. Though when you enjoy what you do and get the result you have aspire too, is a dream for all of us….

In the words of Anthony Robbins I leave you with these words.

"I challenge you to make your life like a masterpiece. I challenge you to join the ranks of those people who live what they teach, who walk their talk."

BETTER THE DEVIL YOU KNOW

Fried Kibbe with Cucumber Yoghurt Sauce 

Fried Balls of Lamb and Burgal, stuffed with Lamb, Pine Nuts, Onion and Sumac surved with a Refreshing Cucumber Yoghurt Sauce

People have always said to me, and it is thrown around a lot in life “it is better the devil you know, than the one you don’t know” but is this really true when it comes to the work place or life in general...  If a member of staff is under performing, do you keep them as you should just become accustomed to their incompetence or inability to learn? If after all the correct training and mentoring has been exhausted, do you get rid of them and start again and hope for someone better next time around.

If the correct recruiting is done, the latter could be of great benefit. If resumes were honest and referees were of a high calibre themselves, not just high positions, to know they have really tested their ex-employee, or were they just a good employee to party with. True enthusiasm and passion with the correct basic skill go along way when it comes to getting the result from the staff you really want to work alongside you.

Have labour laws become so strict, or has senior management become so short sighted that it works against productivity and improvement for a business and the customer. I read an article recently about large HR companies having departments to check Facebook/ Myspace and so on when recruiting, to see how the prospective employees are in real life not just a luminary on paper. This maybe an invasion of privacy, but it’s out on the Internet for anybody to see, so be it.....

To be a good kitchen manager you must be a Kitchen all rounder, do and teach what you preach. Know body ever knows everything, though life is about being a sponge, soaking up information, evaluate its integrity and practicality, then put it to use.