Cooking demo series begins at William Sanoma

This morning, I began a series of cooking demonstrations for a local William-Sanoma. We began the series with a summer menu based on local and seasonally available produce taking advantage of their incredible selection of gadgets! The demo started at 11 am and went for a couple hours. We also had a local gardener discuss his business and the importance of organic gardening. He brought me some of his victory garden produce which was perfect for the three recipes I demod for the crowd of about 25 people.

More to come so stop by again in a few days!

Check out the pictures:

I started off with a roasted corn and grape tomato salad. The "picked that morning" local corn was rubbed in olive oil, grilled on a table top electric grill and put into this amazingly fresh salad.


This dish was a cold and refreshing cucumber soup. These cucumbers were so fresh and flavorful that when I grated them, people way in the back of the room could smell them, awesome.


Here is a zucchini and tomato dish using really fresh veggies and herbs. Drizzled with some amazingly fruity extra virgin olive oil and maldon sea salt, it was amazing!


The above recipes can be found on their web site.

Farmers market food demos are fun!

I had the pleasure to demo at two local farmers markets in the area these past few weeks. Kinda odd how I got roped into doing that, but was really fun. One of them was a neighborhood farmers market right smack dab in the middle of an eclectic artsy district in downtown Charlotte. I met some of the nicest and down-to-earth people Ive had the pleasure to meet.

I was setup under a small tent in front of the vendors. It was a wicked hot summer day, about 98F and the humidity was close to that as well, yuk! :) With my thick Egyptian cotton chef coat and black pants, I wasn't very comfortable, to say the least, lol. But, when you love what you do, what's a little sweat, ah?

After gathering some generous samples from a few vendors, my demo started. Armed with my wares of a propane burner, salad spinner and cutting board, I did grilled ostrich loin simply seasoned with salt and pepper and local herb infused olive oil, yum, on top of a simple garden salad tossed in a white wine vinaigrette. The entire thing was quick, easy and light almost in a refreshing way. A few visitors gathered around to try the samples and learn a few tricks. I'm such a ham, lol.

The other market was on the other side of the planet, seemingly, in Concord. It's located in a small park in the middle of a tiny rural area in the middle of nowhere. There are some incredible salt of the earth farmers and producers that just rock. They were glad to give me a few samples to cook with, such nice people.

Most vendors at farmers markets are just awesome to be around. They're mostly always happy and love to talk about what they grow or produce. From the health benefits of buying them to where the seeds come from, the breeds, to what soil they use to tons of preparation suggestions. And, when they find out you're a chef, they become almost GIDDY! We both click and realize that their produce, meats or cheeses are going to get a great final resting place.

At the second market, I took my tonnage of samples and, armed with my tiny Weber charcoal grill, hard woods and my favorite boos cutting board, began the creation process. I grilled a marinated skirt steak, sliced it thin, slapped it into a grilled fresh corn tortilla (yes, I made those too, lol) and topped it with their choice of two types of salsas; one made with local peaches, grilled and tossed with sweet onions and hot peppers, the other was a 4-chili and heirloom tomato salsa. Yeah, the 30+ samples went very fast, to say the least.

One vendor gave me like 3 pounds of really fresh okra that I had no idea what to do with. Having grown up in New Hampshire where I've never even HEARD of the stuff, let alone ate it, and, having only ate it in stews and fried in cornmeal after I moved here to North Carolina, I really hated the stuff, to be honest. Its slimy and tastes like it feels, lol. BUT, I had all this left over charcoal heat that was a shame to waste and just tossed some of the okra straight on the grill grate hoping for the best. Wow! It was charred and crisp with no slime! It tasted like the hard woods it was cooked over with a slightly grassy sweet taste, yum! After the cautious okra lovers looked at me like I had 3 heads, I made a few believers out of them. Wow, a healthy way to eat that stuff!? It was a proud moment :)

Cooking, in my opinion, is so much more than just applying heat to food and putting it in your mouth. It's about the creation and thought processes, the gathering of ingredients and information, the teaching and mentoring and the gratification you get from doing all those things. That's what cooking is, its like an all-in-one rush that you cant get from any other profession. Just seeing the look on someones face when they love your food or the excitement they get when they learned how to make something from nothing is what its all about.

I signed up to do a few cooking demos at a local William Sanoma these next 2 months. I'll keep you posted and I'm looking forward to these demos as well!

Last day of the road to my CEC

Yes folks, it's over. I took both tests (cooking and written practicals), blew way more money than I thought the whole ordeal was worth and sent in my paperwork this afternoon for my CEC. I should receive my Executive Chef Certificate in the mail in a few days. I think Ill hang it in my office in a pretty frame. :) More to come about that soon, I just had to share my excitement NOW!

Thanks for following along.

New job, new staff, new menu, new challenges

Wow, what a ride it's been these last 6 weeks. For those of you following along, I started this new chef job at a local country club about a month and a half ago. I was out of work for a good while before that due to lay-offs. We had tons of people praying for us which has truly paid off. Thank you everyone.

Also, I am truly blessed as I know there are many people out there out of work struggling to make ends meet. I thank God that he provided us with this incredible opportunity in my career.

So, I start this job and, to make the biggest understatement of the year, the kitchen was filthy. The equipment had been abused and left in its own grime for a couple years or so. The ice machines weren't fit for healthy ice consumption. There was more black mold on the inside of those things than I care to share. Stuff stuck to the shelves because they weren't cleaned since Regan was in office, lol. You seriously had to pry stuff off of them to use anything. Crazy stuff. To be honest, I'm surprised noone got sick from eating there in the past. So, I held a "cleaning party" on a Monday (clubs closed then) and most of the staff volunteered to help out and we tore the place apart. Now, it's all about maintaining the cleanliness levels.

The kitchen was WAY understaffed. We were like 3 people short or so which effected everything from cleanliness to ticket times to poor moral. It's hard to believe anything got done there at all with the skeleton crew they had back there. I was able to hire a few people who have some great experience which has helped a lot. We have a pretty strong crew now, which is exciting.

The old menu? Um, it's not worth discussing :) Needless to say, I redesigned it from the ground up. We had a new menu tasting last night for the board of directors and it went over perfectly. They loved everything which was a relief. It was a multi-course sampler of most of the menu. From local lettuces, vegetables and fruits to domestic lamb and day boat coastal fish to local made desserts, I was proud of what my guys put out last night.

Tonight, we roll out the new menu unofficially. I decided to run half of the menu tonight and half over the weekend. With the 4th of July weekend upon us, I think that would be a little easier for everyone to handle. Next week we run the entire menu and out with the old menu completely. (thank goodness)

Well, I'll keep you posted with the new job and exciting things that are planned ahead. Cigar and wine dinners are in the works. Chef cooking classes for the members and the like are coming soon. Gonna be awesome :)

On the road to my CEC, part 2

Wow, what a journey! I'm half way to the goal of making it to my CEC (Certified Executive Chef) status. Today I had the pleasure of doing the cooking practical half of a two part testing session. Next week I will begin practicing and studying for the written part of the test. God willing, I pass, I should be certified officially by the middle of August, SAAAWEET! :)


This leg of the journey began two nights ago at the club where I had one of my associates help me pack up all the TONS of stuff I needed to bring with me. There's a picture below to show you what I mean. It's a great idea to stay organized when doing this test as it will be your downfall if your not.

I arrived in the afternoon yesterday in a town called Jamestown, NC, near Greensboro around 4:00, right before the night students arrived. I kinda had the place to myself. I dropped off and staged all my food and equipment at the test location kitchen at Guilford Technical College campus' Hospitality department. I was still missing a key ingredient though.

I decided not to buy lobsters, which is one of the required items for this test, until I arrived in town. I wanted to avoid killing them during the ride down (and, I live in a back woods red-neck infested town that wouldn't know what a live fresh lobster was if it jumped off the sign at that chain place everyone visits for the cheese biscuits!) Anyway, I would have much rather done that myself with my own knife (evil grimace). So, after calling no less than 8 stores, Super Wal-Mart prevails! (once again). So, off I went to get them. It was on the way to my hotel and not too far away, easy cheesy, right? (hmmph)

Well, after getting a parking ticket from the over achieving rent-a-cop/ campus security dude for parking at the loading dock and near a fire hydrant, losing my car keys and having the entire classroom and faculty hunting for them, only to find them in a students pocket! (long story but he thought they were his as he has a similar remote door lock, apparently), getting lost twice because google maps decided to suck that night, I arrived at this HUGE super Wal-mart and bought my victims with the help of a cute little Jamaican girl named "Welcome to Wal-mart" (her name tag was blank and she didn't seem to remember he own name, lol, sweet little Jamaicans, eh?).

ANYWAY!!! 45 dollars later (for two!), it was time to find my hotel. I ask an employee where so and so hotel was and he gave me PERFECT directions! Nope, too easy, I had to not trust this guy and start reading my Google maps sheet again (WTF?). To make a long story short, I ended up 20 miles out of my way and finally had to ask a trooper for directions. He got me back to the exact spot and with the exact directions as my Walmart buddy had told me in the first place, wow.

I check in to one of my favorite chain hotels, STARVING! All this stuff I just went through made me hungrier than a (insert stupid Larry the Cable Guy joke here). The dude behind the counter suggested I try this "Italian" place next door. "Here, have a coupon for a free appetizer." he said with glee. "Sure", I thought, I can walk next door, eat a decent meal and go to bed fuller than a tick :) Yeah!

Having forgot that I was VERRYY chafed from my long day and no corn starch in site, I John-Wayne walked my hungry ass to Villa Rosa. 4 cars in the parking lot (3 were employees), Frankie playing lightly on the outside speaker system and fake flowers all over the place, nice. I get my seat, the host was a cool dude. I decided on the calamari as my app (decent) and a chicken dish for dinner. After eating my wilted house salad with thinned out bleu cheese dressing, stale garlic bread and tough capon chicken breast covered in mop water and canned black nacho olives, I took my to go water and left. hey, it only cost me like 15 bucks with tip. Rachael would have been proud.

After a horrible nights sleep (I think all that worrying combined with the 3 red bulls and 2 venti Starbucks I had the day caught up to me, lol), I arrive at GTCC at around 7 am where they gave us an awesome continental style breakfast, nice. The chef gave out our competition times (mine was 11:30!) and we were off to the races. I'm kinda glad my time was 4 hours from then because I was a basket case with nerves and needed about that much time to calm down!

I watched my fellow chefs sweat through their paper hats, listened to the sizzles and the pan banging, smelled the smells of stress, was weird to be watching. I felt like I need to grab a pair of tongs and help out, or expedite or something! Ah, old habits die hard, eh?

Finally! My turn. Luckily, I was organized and mentally ready. I started on time and ended about 20 minutes early. Aside from a few minor infractions, I did really well. I felt like I was on my game! A nice redemption for falling on my face during my last two competitions! (for you few that are following along). I had the opportunity to practice these dishes three times before and it really paid off! I only used one chef hat! (Which means I didn't seat too much. Most of the time you could go through at least 3 during that amount of time).

Check out these pictures and WISH ME LUCK for the written test. I'll keep you posted.

ROB!

"SOMEBODY'S WAAATCHING YOOUUU!"

My Mise! This doesn't include the 3 sheet pans full of food that was in the cooler!

Healthy cooking demo at Pregel USA in Charlotte, NC

Another grand event offered by yours truly. I was asked to do a healthy cooking demonstration for a group of folks that work for a company (Pregel America) that makes the ingredients for the best gelato I've ever had the pleasure of eating! I mean, when I say the best, I mean, you will never eat anything so incredibly sensational in your life (unless you travel to Italy or something, but this has GOT to be at least as great as that). This plant is HUGE and very state of the art. It was very impressive to see this place and some of the stuff they are creating over there. Truly awesome.

Weekday Gourmet approached me with a need to teach this group how to make a couple healthy side items to accompany one of their "build your own" entrees. Check out their web site for more information.

We started off with a simple hummus with crispy baked wheat pita chips followed by a crispy locally organic vegetable side dish using REALLY fresh green beans and white/ red baby new potatoes. I tossed all that in a sherry vinaigrette and some fresh herbs for color contrast. The recipe is listed below along with a couple pictures of the event.

After my demo, one of the company chefs made this unbelievable strawberry rhubarb crumble that reminded me of New Hampshire in the spring time. It was a perfect end to a great night.

Check it out;






Warm Green Bean and Potato Salad

Serves: 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

* 2 whole red peppers
* 1 1/2 pound assorted red and white new potatoes
* 3/4 pounds green beans, trimmed and halved
* 1 bunch scallions, sliced
* 1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 2 tablespoons chopped oregano leaves
* 1 lemon, zested and juiced
* 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
* 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat the broiler. Place the red peppers on a foil lined baking sheet.
Place the red peppers under the boiler. Turning every 2 to 3 minutes cook the peppers until the
skin is blistered, about 8 to 9 minutes total. Place the blistered peppers in a plastic bag. Seal the
bag and allow the peppers to sit for 10 minutes to allow the skin to separate and to let cool.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the potatoes and cook
until tender, about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove the potatoes to a cutting board. Add the green
beans to the pot. Cook the green beans until tender, about 3 minutes. Remove the green beans
to a large bowl. Slice the potatoes in half while still warm and combine them with the green beans
in the large bowl. Remove the peppers from the plastic bag. Peel off the skin from the peppers.
Slice the pepper flesh into wide strips and remove the seeds and veins. Place them in the bowl
with the potatoes. Add the scallions, parsley, and garlic and toss to combine.

In a small bowl combine the oregano, lemon juice and zest, and white wine vinegar. Whisk in the
olive oil. Stir in the salt and pepper. Toss the warm vegetables with the herb vinaigrette. Serve
immediately.

Private multi-course dinner for 8

Last night I had the opportunity to cook 4 out of 5 courses for a group of eight clients/ friends celebrating their neighbors 40th birthday.

What a great time! Not only did I have a blast cooking for these folks, but everyone seemed to have had a great time, which is always nice :)

The guests arrived at around 7:30 and were greeted by an artisan fruit and cheese platter with whole grain lavash, flat breads, crackers and spreads. Since it was such a beautiful night, the host insisted everyone eat outside on their heavily candle-lit veranda which just added ambiance to the evening. As they munched on the awesome array of fruit, cheese and crackers, I began the evening with course number one while explaining everything to everyone. The night progressed with another course, intermezzo, main course and, finally, dessert. I was full just watching everyone eat!

All ingredients were either local, organic or sustainable in one way or another. As most of you may know, I like to keep that in mind when planning my menus. It just makes things better, if you ask me.

Check out the menu and a few pictures below;

1st course – Salad

Local greens with butter poached lobster tossed in a white wine and citrus vinaigrette.

2nd course – Appetizer

Nectarine and mascarpone cheese purses with bourbon vidalia onion jam.

3rd course – Inter Mezzo

Chunky gazpacho shooter with Absolut vodka.

4th course – Main Course

Pan-seared salmon with local summer vegetables, creamy mashed Yukon gold potatoes and classic beurre blanc.

5^th course – Dessert

Apple cobbler with vanilla ice cream provided by the hostess.

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Nectarine and Mascarpone Purse with Bourbon Vidalia Onion Jam.

Chunky gazpacho shooters with Absolut vodka served over ice.

Pan-seared salmon with local summer vegetables, creamy mashed Yukon gold potatoes and classic beurre blanc.

My upcoming Certified Executive Chef (CEC) test

Wow, been a little while since I posted last. I apologize to the one viewer that reads my blog for not having new and exciting material to get you through your week :)

So, as a few of you may already know, I am a Certified Chef de Cuisine. I earned that certification back in 2007 after gathering a list of work related experience points and just plain busting my ass for years to gather enough experience to become what the American Culinary Federation (ACF) deems as "certified".

If you ask me, it's a money making scam facilitated by a few ornery retired chefs running the food world, but I digress. (personal rant about to start, wait for it, wait for it...GO!!!) See, not only do you have to work upwards of 60-80 hours a week, 12-16 hours a day, endure hours and hours of heat, stress and the scum of the earth, get screamed at by the Gordan Ramsey's of the world, catch a VD once in a while, become an alcoholic (or at least be able to hold your weight in stolen liquor), screw a few bar tenders and waitresses, cut and burn yourself a few hundred times, fall a few hundred times, work countless holidays and weekends away from family and friends, get criticized by your peers and all the other bull shit that comes with the food service industry, then there's yet more!

You do all that, THEN, you have to prove it by getting your old bosses that most likely wouldn't piss on you if you were on fire, to sign a paper stating that they put up with your crap for "X amount" of time, copy all those pieces of worthless paper you spent God knows how much time and money earning (serv-safe, GED, COLLEGE DEGREE!!, etc., etc.), take a written test that is full of trick questions about shit that never happens in a real kitchen, cook a multi course meal with all your heart and soul just to have it picked over, sneered at and ridiculed by people that, if the tables were turned, would make the same food you did (maybe smaller, lol).

After ALL THAT! Yes, THERE'S MORE!!! They make you pay for it! WTF!? Check this out; over $100.00 for the food you need, the gas it takes to drive 4 hours out of town because the town you live in is 20 years behind a proper culinary city (in my truck at 17 MPG, that's a lot of loot, 150 bucks or so), hotel stay (another 100 bucks), about $100.00 to take the ridiculous cooking test and about $100.00 to take the even more ridiculous and unrealistic written test in a closet at a testing center hidden at a regional airport on 15 year old computers next to a guy taking a plumbers exam. Grand total to become a "Certified Chef de Cuisine" or "CCC", about $550.00!!! That's two car payments for most people! We do this to make note of our personal achievements, so people will notice us for our hard work, maybe pay us more, maybe get that "dream job" before the "young and hungry" culinary graduate gets it for a few grand a year less. We do it for the pride of the business, to prove our love for it and to get a sense of achievement. But, most people don't even understand what the "de" means or how to spell quiseen! ;) Most people wonder why we have those three little letters after our names on our chef coats, the often asked "what's CCC mean" rings through kitchens all over the world, surly. (rant complete, thanks for reading!)

But, aside from all that crap they make us go through, all the hours and money we spend getting ready and completing the tests, all the hours and time away from a social life, when you see your name on that fancy piece of paper, when people look forward to eating the food you spent years perfecting, all that crap is WELL worth it. Going for those certifications keeps us focused on the ultimate goal, to be the best chef they ever had and pass it on to others. Kinda funny how that works. We collect, earn, burn and create just to give it all back to the next generation. Full circle stuff at it's finest.

I write all that to tell you this; I'm doing it all AGAIN!! MWAHAHAHAAA!! "CHEF BRADLEY, YOU MUST BE CRAZY!!!", well, perhaps, but this upcoming certification has been in my sights long before my current one. I've wanted those three letters, "CEC" by my name since I saw them on the jacket of the first chef I ever worked for over 15 years ago. The three letters that define a good chef from a great one (in most cases), the ones that stand for "Certified Executive Chef", see, more people KNOW what that means and that feels well worth it in the end. Employers know what that means too and are willing to pay accordingly. And, before you get your panties in a wad, its NOT all about the money, its about making a living and there's more to a living than just a paycheck. But, if I can get more, should I turn it down? HELL NO!!! :)

Here are a few pictures I took of my practice cooking practical earlier this week. The real test is on June 19th. The requirements are listed as well. Enjoy...

Requirements

• 1 each 10 ounce Salmon filet
  
• 2 each 1.25 pound live Maine Lobster
  
• 2 each Whole chickens, 2.5 – 3.5 pounds each (fabricate to your menus specifications during the exam)
  
• 2 ounces smoked bacon
  
• 1 pound fresh spinach
  
• 2 heads Boston lettuce
  
• 1 piece Belgian endive
  
• 1 pound Carrots
  
• 3 each Russet or Yukon potatoes
  
• 2 each Globe Artichokes
  
• 2 each Bartlett pears or Granny Smith apples
  
• 1 pint Grape Tomatoes
  

The three courses shall include:

• Fish course (including both seafood items): appetizer size
  
• Salad course (tossed, with extra dressing served on the side): as part of a 3 course meal
  
• Main course (with two or more accompanying vegetables and starch): approximately 6-7 ounces protein
  
  
  The three courses shall include:
  

• 4 classical vegetable cuts (i.e. Julienne, Tournee, Brunoise, Alumette, Small dice, Paysanne, and Batonette)
  

• 4 different cooking methods must be shown (i.e., fry, broil, sauté, roast, boil, poach, steam or grill)
  

• Appropriate vegetable and starch accompaniment for the main course (may bring in additional ingredients and prepare them for plate accompaniments) prepared and presented during the exam.
  

• An emulsified vinaigrette (ingredients must be brought in)
  

• 2 different sauces using different methods (i.e., roux based, reduction, or butter)