My aunt and uncle came up yesterday, and we all went out for lunch and diner.
Lunch was as Estias, which is a greek restaurant in the heart of downtown, not more than a ten minute walk from my house. I love it there, and I am addicted to their Paninis.
For supper, we went to 44 North. I have yet to eat here, as during our staff stay at the hotel, it was closed due to a function, and Chris and I ate at Fife and Drum instead.
My aunt, Susan, had a lobster diner. Which was interesting, as usually she eats it at home, never orders it. Watching her pick at it, very carefully, was a good time. I must admit I got hit by a few stray pieces of lobster meat.
My uncle, Jeff, ordered French Onion Soup and a burger. We made fun of him for the burger choice, though he said it was wonderful. But he simply raved over the soup.
Chris ordered the Salmon, and I order the Bass as I have never had bass before. I must say it was delicious, not quite what I expected it to taste like, but wonderful none the less. It had a pineapple chutney on top, which was amazing.
For dessert both couples shared a Blueberry Grunt of course, because the whole meal Chris went on and on about how delicious it was. I really should try and make some of it at home.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Moving Around
I spoke to Chef awhile ago, about getting the opportunity to move around into different components of the kitchen.
Well the past two weeks have been just that.
My shifts in 44 North breakfast have been so wonderful. I work the omelette station, and as I have previously discovered, I love being in contact with the guests and customers. I love hearing where they are going on vacation, and I enjoy showing off a bit in front of them. By day two I was able to flip and catch and omelette in the air which usually got a nice "ooooh" and "aaahhh" out of the guests.
The most exciting thing that happened is that I got to speak some German! There was this woman and her husband who came up to order an omelette. They had a son, who was about 8 years old. I noticed he was talking to his mom, and then she was trying to translate - poorly - what he was saying into English. So I just casually asked the boy what he wanted - in German. the reactions on the parents face was awesome, and we quickly fell into a conversation asking how I learned German. I found out they lived not 20 minutes from where I was, which is why the dialect was so close.
I also had my evening 44 North shift which was a bit stressful I will admit. A nice sort of stress, that quickly turned into a bad sort of stress. I had no idea what I was doing, I did not know their menu at all, not even what each plate was supposed to look like in the end. As each of the chips where coming through, I was trying to figure out what they said, and even if it was my responsibility. As I was doing Pantry. Therefore salads and sandwiches and the like. Well a beet salad is grill though, as it is a hot beet salad. Little things like that, all quickly added up for a stressful night. The walk-in was used as a cool down room, for me to gather my thoughts and get ready for the next rush.
Working in the Fife and Drum is a bit of fun, though the kitchen is cramped, and the menu doesn't allow for a whole lot of cooking. It's mostly nachos and potato skins. It was incredibly warm in that kitchen, but the waitresses are nice, the customers are more patient, and it is a fair bit slower, so we have time to get prep done, and keep a tidy, tiny, organized kitchen.
I also learned how to make beer battered fish, and blueberry grunt which has turned into my boyfriends favourite dessert. He had it when we went to Fife and Drum, and again when we went to 44 North.
All in all, I enjoyed working in my different stations.
Well the past two weeks have been just that.
My shifts in 44 North breakfast have been so wonderful. I work the omelette station, and as I have previously discovered, I love being in contact with the guests and customers. I love hearing where they are going on vacation, and I enjoy showing off a bit in front of them. By day two I was able to flip and catch and omelette in the air which usually got a nice "ooooh" and "aaahhh" out of the guests.
The most exciting thing that happened is that I got to speak some German! There was this woman and her husband who came up to order an omelette. They had a son, who was about 8 years old. I noticed he was talking to his mom, and then she was trying to translate - poorly - what he was saying into English. So I just casually asked the boy what he wanted - in German. the reactions on the parents face was awesome, and we quickly fell into a conversation asking how I learned German. I found out they lived not 20 minutes from where I was, which is why the dialect was so close.
I also had my evening 44 North shift which was a bit stressful I will admit. A nice sort of stress, that quickly turned into a bad sort of stress. I had no idea what I was doing, I did not know their menu at all, not even what each plate was supposed to look like in the end. As each of the chips where coming through, I was trying to figure out what they said, and even if it was my responsibility. As I was doing Pantry. Therefore salads and sandwiches and the like. Well a beet salad is grill though, as it is a hot beet salad. Little things like that, all quickly added up for a stressful night. The walk-in was used as a cool down room, for me to gather my thoughts and get ready for the next rush.
Working in the Fife and Drum is a bit of fun, though the kitchen is cramped, and the menu doesn't allow for a whole lot of cooking. It's mostly nachos and potato skins. It was incredibly warm in that kitchen, but the waitresses are nice, the customers are more patient, and it is a fair bit slower, so we have time to get prep done, and keep a tidy, tiny, organized kitchen.
I also learned how to make beer battered fish, and blueberry grunt which has turned into my boyfriends favourite dessert. He had it when we went to Fife and Drum, and again when we went to 44 North.
All in all, I enjoyed working in my different stations.
Wedding Action Stations
July 23
My chef is a very observant and caring man. A week ago I went to him explaining that I would like a few shifts in different areas of the kitchen. As much fun as Garde Manger is, I am quickly growing bored of it. As well as I don't feel that I am making any more progress. Though my knife skills have significantly improved, which was one of the key things I wanted to work on during this internship. I feel much more confident when I am handling a knife. So after this talk with Chef I found my schedule this week in many different areas, including hot side, carving/action station, 44 North Breakfast and diner as well as a Fife and Drum pub shift. So far I have completed my carving/action station shift. This was a lot of fun, and I really realized how much I enjoy interacting with the guests. For my station, I had a whipped potato bar, this was at a fancy, large, Lebanese wedding. There must have been over 300 guests. I served up over one full hotel pan full of whipped potatoes in the course of 3 hours.
Another story to testify to Chef's observance: chef Brian has this oyster shucker that we all love very much. Whenever we need to shuck oysters, we borrow his tool. Well this week Chef came into the kitchen, with a big bag. Inside were oyster shuckers, all identical to Chef Brian's. We all got one as a gift - which is perfect as I was just about to go out and buy one.
My chef is a very observant and caring man. A week ago I went to him explaining that I would like a few shifts in different areas of the kitchen. As much fun as Garde Manger is, I am quickly growing bored of it. As well as I don't feel that I am making any more progress. Though my knife skills have significantly improved, which was one of the key things I wanted to work on during this internship. I feel much more confident when I am handling a knife. So after this talk with Chef I found my schedule this week in many different areas, including hot side, carving/action station, 44 North Breakfast and diner as well as a Fife and Drum pub shift. So far I have completed my carving/action station shift. This was a lot of fun, and I really realized how much I enjoy interacting with the guests. For my station, I had a whipped potato bar, this was at a fancy, large, Lebanese wedding. There must have been over 300 guests. I served up over one full hotel pan full of whipped potatoes in the course of 3 hours.
Another story to testify to Chef's observance: chef Brian has this oyster shucker that we all love very much. Whenever we need to shuck oysters, we borrow his tool. Well this week Chef came into the kitchen, with a big bag. Inside were oyster shuckers, all identical to Chef Brian's. We all got one as a gift - which is perfect as I was just about to go out and buy one.
Hot Side
July 23
I had my first shift over on Hot Side. It was a 10am - 1pm and somehow felt about 3 hours long. i was the only one in until 1pm except for Jr. Sous chef Dorothy. She was filling in for Dalpat, who had fallen off a ladder and was out of work for at least 3 weeks. I had a function for 20 people that went out at noon, though everything for it was already prepped and I just had to cook it all off. 12 minutes for the rice and 12 minutes for the chicken Souvlaki. I got that all done - and dropped half a hotel pan of rice - and went over to 44 North to see if they needed any help. I noticed Mark was swamped and I helped him with his prep work, which consisted of 2 buckets of chopped Romaine and Artisan Lettuce.
I had my first shift over on Hot Side. It was a 10am - 1pm and somehow felt about 3 hours long. i was the only one in until 1pm except for Jr. Sous chef Dorothy. She was filling in for Dalpat, who had fallen off a ladder and was out of work for at least 3 weeks. I had a function for 20 people that went out at noon, though everything for it was already prepped and I just had to cook it all off. 12 minutes for the rice and 12 minutes for the chicken Souvlaki. I got that all done - and dropped half a hotel pan of rice - and went over to 44 North to see if they needed any help. I noticed Mark was swamped and I helped him with his prep work, which consisted of 2 buckets of chopped Romaine and Artisan Lettuce.
Reduced Hours
July 23
Last Shift I worked, I was notified that the busy part of the summer was just about over, and it won't be pick up again until late august or September. Possibly even until October. This news is slightly stressing me out, as I want to catch all of my hours before the beginning of September if at all possible. As my Sublet in my apartment is over at the end of August. the past two weeks worked out to 22 hours each. This will be a bit more of a problem if it doesn't pick up, seeing as at this rate I will need 7 more weeks to get all of my internship hours. I will see how this week works out and will do my best to not get sent home early at all. Otherwise I will have to have another sit down with Chef.
Last Shift I worked, I was notified that the busy part of the summer was just about over, and it won't be pick up again until late august or September. Possibly even until October. This news is slightly stressing me out, as I want to catch all of my hours before the beginning of September if at all possible. As my Sublet in my apartment is over at the end of August. the past two weeks worked out to 22 hours each. This will be a bit more of a problem if it doesn't pick up, seeing as at this rate I will need 7 more weeks to get all of my internship hours. I will see how this week works out and will do my best to not get sent home early at all. Otherwise I will have to have another sit down with Chef.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Donald's lessons of "S#!& you don't learn in school" Part 2
I had the chance to have a slow day, and be able to work directly under our first cook, Donald.
I finished up all my work in the Garde Manger section, and went over to ask Donald if he needed any help. He gave me some veg to chop up as we were going to make a mire poix.
I learned how to keep a demi-glace from tasting burnt and bitter. Donald showed me how to cut the right corners, and which corners are there for a reason, and should not be changed.
I finished up all my work in the Garde Manger section, and went over to ask Donald if he needed any help. He gave me some veg to chop up as we were going to make a mire poix.
I learned how to keep a demi-glace from tasting burnt and bitter. Donald showed me how to cut the right corners, and which corners are there for a reason, and should not be changed.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Extravagant VIP
I left my camera with one of the banquet servers, so you can finally see the end product!
This was a rather intense display, with King Crab legs, smoked scallops, steamed shrimp, oysters, sausages, deli meats, smoked meats, olives, house made cranberry crisps, crustini, rolls, roasted garlic spread, whipped butter, cloudfruit compot.
There were 22 people and we made 3 of these displays.
Can anyone properly guess how much this cost?
This was a rather intense display, with King Crab legs, smoked scallops, steamed shrimp, oysters, sausages, deli meats, smoked meats, olives, house made cranberry crisps, crustini, rolls, roasted garlic spread, whipped butter, cloudfruit compot.
There were 22 people and we made 3 of these displays.
Can anyone properly guess how much this cost?
44 North
I finally had my first 44 North shift. And I must say I absolutely love it!
It's the pace that I have been craving for, having orders coming in, and needing to fill them out as quick as possible. Even though it was just a Pantry shift, it was still wonderful.
Ronnia would be taking me under her wing today.
When I first arrived, I was to make up a few Parfaits for Starbucks, which is located in our lobby. This was easy enough, and once I was done I moved onto preparing mixed berry cups. These are used for room service and dining room. In the morning we do up an insert worth of them, and this way they are always ready to go.
After that was done, I did some sheets of bacon, that would be used the next day for breakfast, sandwiches and salads.
Prep work was done when the morning was slow, but once we hit a rush, everything was dropped to get food out as quickly as possible.
My work area was small, but I welcome the tight spaces, everything was organized and within reach, and even the rush flowed smoothly. Everything had a backup waiting for it, so there were no last minute panicking. If we only had a side salad on our order, we would then place the plate over to the other side of the kitchen, where the plate was completed.
I was shown how to make up a fruit plate, the fruit was already sliced and ready, all that was needed was some arranging and adding some berries to spruce it up.
This is our club sandwich on rye, it was usually done on toasted whole wheat bread though, unless a customer requested otherwise.
Ronnia used inserts Then I learned how they make their Caesar Salad,
and it all came together on a plate.
Then I learned how to make their Smoked Chicken Salad, Lobster Rolls, Lobster Cobb Salad.
It was a super fun time, I loved every minute of it, time flew by. It was just an all around good time.
It's the pace that I have been craving for, having orders coming in, and needing to fill them out as quick as possible. Even though it was just a Pantry shift, it was still wonderful.
Ronnia would be taking me under her wing today.
When I first arrived, I was to make up a few Parfaits for Starbucks, which is located in our lobby. This was easy enough, and once I was done I moved onto preparing mixed berry cups. These are used for room service and dining room. In the morning we do up an insert worth of them, and this way they are always ready to go.
After that was done, I did some sheets of bacon, that would be used the next day for breakfast, sandwiches and salads.
Prep work was done when the morning was slow, but once we hit a rush, everything was dropped to get food out as quickly as possible.
My work area was small, but I welcome the tight spaces, everything was organized and within reach, and even the rush flowed smoothly. Everything had a backup waiting for it, so there were no last minute panicking. If we only had a side salad on our order, we would then place the plate over to the other side of the kitchen, where the plate was completed.
I was shown how to make up a fruit plate, the fruit was already sliced and ready, all that was needed was some arranging and adding some berries to spruce it up.
This is our club sandwich on rye, it was usually done on toasted whole wheat bread though, unless a customer requested otherwise.
Ronnia used inserts Then I learned how they make their Caesar Salad,
and it all came together on a plate.
Then I learned how to make their Smoked Chicken Salad, Lobster Rolls, Lobster Cobb Salad.
It was a super fun time, I loved every minute of it, time flew by. It was just an all around good time.
Safe Grads aka Today has been brought to you by the word "Copious"
I do not have as many photos as I would like of this, but Safe Grad took place in the Marriott for a few schools, and we made copious amounts of food. I also worked my first 5:00am shift, which was interesting. That was for a plate up, or breakfast, to feed these kids and send them home. According to our security guard, he was very happy to see them leave, and if we could just slip something into their food, that would be nice.
The pictures that you see here are the desserts they had, Pastry was making copious amounts of treats! (Meaning we got scraps of brownies all day.)
The pictures that you see here are the desserts they had, Pastry was making copious amounts of treats! (Meaning we got scraps of brownies all day.)
Open Faced Sandwiches
When you usually think of open faced sandwiches, you think of hot sandwiches, turkey and gravy is what came to my mind.
The open faced sandwiches that we did, were just more beautiful versions of our usually sandwiches. Personally I think they would be a pain to try and eat as break food/finger food.
We had (in order of photos):
Smoked salmon deep fried capers and sour cream
Roast Beef with horseradish mayo
Tomato and boccaccini with balsamic vinegar reduction (and a few without boccaccini for the vegans)
Open Faced sandwiches are more of a northern European thing, where they serve them on a plate, and as a meal, or late snack. Usually consisting of healthy meats and spreads. In fact, in most Nordic countries, and open faced sandwich is the "normal" sandwich to them.
North Americans have taken this custom, turned it into turkey and added a layer of gravy.
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