Our trip to Kittery, Maine; purses, a private beach and Lobstah!!

As you may already know, I moved back to my home town of Manchester, NH to be close to loved ones and, being the day-trip-nuts that we are, we decided to run up to Maine the other day. We went to Kittery, specifically, for the shops that town is known for. Of course, being near the coast, we couldn't go up there and NOT see the ocean!

After a jaunt through a couple purse shops, a sweet knife shop and the best candy shop we've ever seen, I was on the hunt for a proper lobster roll.

Winding through the back roads of a small town out-side of Kittery, we stumbled across this lobster shack called Chauncey Creek Lobster Pier that was PACKED full of patrons. It was one of those "BYOB" places that you only find in this sort of setting.

A little expensive but well worth it.

 

 

 

 

A quick stop into the historic Fort McClary was a huge hit!

 

 

 

 

 

 

We found a private beach that belonged to a neighborhood. Yeah, the "No Tresspassing" sign was really small :) Amazing views!

 

 

Private "Day School" management; never a dull moment

As many of you may already know, I've been involved in the food service industry for quite some time now. For almost 30 years, I've been doing everything from scrubbing pots to food purchasing to turning around bad kitchens to educating people how to cook and make good decisions when eating. I guess I've done almost everything! Most of my career revolves around challenges. I've always accepted challenges head-on with above-average results. I have a lot of people to thank along the way and give back when I can.

 

My latest venture is a private "Day School" on the North Shore of the east coast of Massachusetts. I run a small kitchen with a staff of 5 dedicated culinarians where we pull off some pretty amazing miracles. When I say "small kitchen" I'm referring to about 600 square feet of cooking space to create about 150 breakfasts and 400 lunches 5 days a week. Not only do we pull that off, but there are dozens of catering and banquets thrown in there on a weekly basis as well as the countless concerns for food safety and allergy awareness. Throw in ordering, dealing with vendors, financial stuff, paperwork, constant training, menu development, inventory, complaints and unforeseen circumstances and you have yourself quite a juggling act on your hand.

 

Yes, I know some of you out there are rolling your eyes right now saying stuff like, "We do that many meals on a good Friday night!" Well, you guys and gals are setup for that sort of thing. We are working out of pretty much a walk-in closet with minimal equipment. Tiny kitchen and a small staff to boot. But, Im not complaining! I have an amazing staff, very qualified and most of them are foodies, like me! We pull it off and everyone loves it (well, you can't please everyone, lol).

 

I absolutely love my job and my career path. Working at this amazing school with amazing faculty, staff and, of course, the students, I always look forward to making the hour trek to work and back each day (glad I have a comfy car, lol).

 

There is never a dull moment for us, not ever. I'll keep you posted with new and exciting things soon.

 

This is my view most mornings...

 

 

New drink station went in, custom logos :)

 

 

Fresh, local and delicious!

 

Hoop house went in, now to fill it with produce!?

 

Each day we integrate a new and interesting item on the menu. Pushing the "Try Something New" campaign gives everyone a chance to try unusual foods and expand their palates!

 

Helping other chefs in the district is always a blast! Networking, mentoring and pulling off the impossible is just a great day for me!

 

Bamboo signage, beautiful and sustainable!

 

 

That's my ugly mug ;)

 

Custom bev-naps please! Nice touch.

 

The catering board stays full of amazing events.

 

North East Family Farms Beef, carved to order.

 



 

 

Senior Dinner!

 

New position, new school, new list of bloggable projects ;)

So, as you may already know, I started this new job with a private day high-school back a few weeks ago. I'm really looking forward to sharing my knowledge and passion for food with everyone. My new staff is just awesome and I recieved a very warm welcome from all the faculty and students.

Just so happens, this month is Native American Indian Heritage Month. It's a great way to, not only, introduce the students to a fun and exciting new food, but also a great chance to educate them about a topic they may not know much about.

So, that being said, I decided to set up a little Fry Bread Taco station in the corner of the servery, put up some nice educational posters, make an authentic recipe given to us from the Rose Bud Tribe that a teacher just happen to have laying around and start handing food out. The schools percussion section of the music department put together an AWESOME tribal drum demonstration in the middle of both lunch periods. Wow, was that fun! It was a learning experience for all involved.

Pics below...

Been a long time, lots of changes for the better...

Sorry for the delay in blog updating these past few (cough) months. Well, to say the least, a lot has happened in my life and to make a very long story a lot shorter, I'm back home. After 16 years in North Carolina, Manchester or bust! I've had some great times and have met some great people. I will miss a few of the people that I have met and am looking forward to my new life back home in Manchester where I was born and raised. I need to thank the good and, especially, the not-so-good people that I have met along the way while I was down there. Good or bad, you have enhanced my life in one way or another. You have helped me be a better person and showed me how NOT to act and for that, I am truly grateful.

Charlotte, NC (The Queen City)

Anyway, I'm settling in to my new life, one day at a time, and it's great to be back. I missed everyone so much, I missed this old city from which I was brought up. I missed all the old mill buildings, the river and the food. I must admit, not being plugged into the local food scene like I was in Charlotte is kind of a drag, but I just got back and this town could use my help, for sure.

Manchester, NH (The Queen City)

I must admit, though, Manchester, NHs local food scene has come a long way since I left almost 16 years ago. At one time, the best place to eat here was the local diner, but now, there are many locally owned places that take advantage of the local/ seasonal fair in this area. I'm amazed on how many farmers markets and farm stands there are around here! So many to chose from. Makes me very happy to know that I can drive within 15 miles and find a half dozen places over flowing with produce and locally made products.

I'll miss the friends I met in the Charlotte area, I'll miss the amazing food and the southern hospitality and charm, but BOY its great to be back. I'm looking forward to our first snow storm, growing old with my amazing girlfriend, landing my dream job and making a difference. Thank you Charlotte for helping me become who I am today and thank you Manchester for such a wonderful welcome home.

Stay tuned for more fun and excitement :)

Radio interview at Basil magazine...

In another attempt to spread the word about local and seasonal foods, I had asked Basil Magazine to allow me a few minutes to discuss this on their online radio show. The Hostess Chef Jennifer Booker interviewed me this evening, asking questions pertaining to what projects I am working on, where I work, the challenges of writing a seasonal menu and more.

It was awesome to be able to chat with Chef Booker. What a perfect medium to get the word out! In addition to plugging my employer, we discussed lowering our carbon footprint by buying local, the nutritional value of foods that are very fresh as well as the excitement of using products that are fresh and grown or made with passion. Of course, we discussed the two schools I'm currently working with with the "Chefs Move to Schools" program.

Check out the interview here. Thank you for listening!

Winter Cooking Demo at Pinewood Elementary

As we are slowly making our way out of winter and into spring, I've been asked to return to Pinewood Elementary and talk to a few 4th grade classes today about eating locally and seasonally.

For this demonstration, I brought a farm box from Barbee Farms that had the items that they have in season right now that I can make a salad with.

The demo began with a review of what we learned last time. It was awesome to see hands fly up to discuss Basil Pesto and Pasta. Most of the students even remembered my full name! Was great.

As we progressed, I opened my box of goodies and discussed the lettuces and vegetables I brought. Red and green leaf lettuces, arugula, mesclun mix, carrots and more. I brought some citrus and some balsamic vinaigrette to make a seasonal dressing and, of course, a few cool gadgets to show off.

We discussed the nutritional value of eating fresher, local foods that are in season. Also, informing that, once the vegetables are picked, they lose vitamins and minerals and the sooner they are eaten, the better. This is one good reason to eat from your area farms as the stuff is coming out of the ground.

A film crew from the local health department was there to film my demo as well as a photographer taking pictures. They submitted their film to a government web site and sent me a DVD of the video and all the pictures. Very cool, helping to spread the word!

Before we all left, the film crew and I visited the 4th graders garden sites where the new spring garden will be going in a few short weeks. We are all very excited to grow stuff and I'm SUPER excited to show the students how to create healthy meals with their new food items.

Coming up, we will tour a local farm and I will create a healthy dish using those ingredients grown at the farm.

Check out the video below!

Garden planning at Davidson...

Moving right along with the "Chefs Move to School" program with an area school in Davidson, NC.

We are in the beginning stages of the garden planning for this Spring. We will be planting a small garden in front of the school for the next semester and today we pulled weeds, marked off the garden plot with stakes and twine, discussed what we will be planting and so on.

The students decided to grow snap peas, carrots, radishes and more. I will be showing them how to create healthy meals and snacks using these ingredients and to help them make smart choices when eating.

It was great to see everyone get excited about the garden. I think I'm more excited to show students how to make the food than they are of planting it, lol.




Stay tuned for more fun!

My "nose-to-tail" pig project...

I've always been in to pushing the boundaries of the day-to-day. I think this is why I am so attracted to the restaurant business. Never a dull moment and you never know what each day will bring.

A fellow chef and good friend texted me asking me for ideas on what to do with a whole pig he recently purchased. My mind was racing with great things one could do with such a divine creature; guanciale, bacon, smoked trotters and hocks, head cheese, chicharrón, the sky's the limit! I was inspired by my friends quest and so I did something about it. (Thanks Bryan!)

Someone showed me this pic and asked me if I could really eat such a cute creature? (Umm...YES!)

So, I've decided that, since I've never broken down an entire animal before, I'd do just that. I bought a whole 60 pound suckling pig decided to create as many items as I could with that beast. Kind of like showing respect to the animal. Besides, will be great practice for my butchery and charcuterie skills. :)

Cut in thirds...

My piggy came in frozen solid and needed a few days to thaw. After a good "chill" in the cooler, I plopped her out onto the prep table and began. Armed with a hack saw and a couple sharp knives, I began my duties.

Dispatched...

Even though this was a small pig, I still had to put two cutting boards together to have enough work space to butcher this bad boy. After a good rinse, I began by removing the head. I put this aside for head cheese I plan to put on our charcuterie plate at a later time. Besides, I've always wanted to taste head cheese over a nice local salad.

Burning off the hair for the head cheese.

Simmering away in wine, garlic and herbs for about 5 hours.

The finished product, pretty yummy!

Next, I removed the hams and then the buts with my boning knife and under sized hack saw (next time I do this, I will be sure to buy a real butcher-style hack saw and not a small house-hold one from my neighborhood hardware store, lol). It took some doing, but worked out perfectly.

I removed the skin for pork rinds, the trotters to add to the head cheese and the hocks for smoking (think I'll put those in some local collard greens, yum), then saved the butts to make American style hams. The hams came out amazing, but, sadly, I didn't get a picture of the pork rinds before we ate them all! Yes, they were insanely good.

Perfect ham with Dijon brown sugar glaze.

Smoked ham hocks for collard greens? Maybe soup?

Now, I split the saddle down the middle. I removed the bellies of both sides. One of them will be stresa (a flat pancetta) and the other half will be traditional belly bacon (or streaky bacon).

Hack saw. Splitting the saddle in half.

Future bacon.

With the loins, I sawed one into chops (I marinated those with jerk seasoning and grilled them!) and the other, I broke down into loin/ tender loin feeding the ribs to my cooks for our dinner. (they simmered them in a spicy jalapeno salsa and we ate them over rice with tortillas, yes, it was good.) The other loin, I made into Canadian bacon for eggs Benedict ;) .

My finished Canadian bacon came out perfect!

Tiny loin chops!

I love tasso ham, so I de-boned the shoulders, cured them, packed them with spices and smoked them over hickory. Salty, hammy goodness :)

Any scraps left over were set aside for meatballs. I will sear them and serve them Swedish style over home-made egg noodles.


So, head cheese, tasso ham, American style ham, pork rinds/ chicharrón, bacon, stresa, Canadian bacon, smoked hocks and meatballs. This little piggy definitely went to market and a tasty market at that! Next time, I will source a larger animal and get some better tools. But, this was a great experience for sure and I really learned a lot!

(more pics to follow!)