Edible Garden and "Food For Thought" Charlotte

The slow food movement is coming along in my area pretty well. A new group that I am a member of called "Food For Thought" is helping bring the "Edible Garden" concept to the local public schools. They are starting off with one school in town, pictured, where we had a simple spaghetti dinner for awareness of what they are doing. Went well. I wasn't able to actually attend but was there in spirit because I made the sauce. :)

Yes, pulled off ANOTHER fund raiser (why do I do this to myself? LOL) A buddy of mine and I worked this fund raiser to help advertise my private chef service. We helped raise money for a culinary educational scholarship for high school students.

Honestly, it was just a free-food-for-drunk-people event, but we had fun. I hope to land at least one private paid event from this, but who knows. It was for a good cause and thats all that matters.

My favorite, 5-spice Braised Duck over Rice with Thai Chili Garnish

Marinate Pan Seared Loin of Venison over Asian Mushroom Medley

Mustard Braised Pork over Asian Rice


Mini Veal Osso Bucco (from another table, not mine), YUM!!

By the time I got around to taking pictures, everyone was leaving so I didn't get many pictures.

Last day at PDS...

Welp, the time has come and gone. My last day at my old unit. After all the good days and bad, the time has come that I get my own place. They "promoted" me to another place last week and the employees from the PDS kitchen threw me a little going away party, which was nice. I was touched and very suprised that everyone felt the way they did about me leaving. Here are a few pics:


My two BAPs, what a pair :)

Most of the gang ...
Me, and the Queen...
Dude?
Aww, they made me a sign!


Ive always wanted to cut a piece out of the MIDDLE of a cake, lol.

Team Building Night with BofA Employees...

Got the pictures from the team building excersize we hosted last Thursday night for some bank employees, what a blast. The chef in charge broke the team of guests up into 5 groups and had each group watch a chef make each course. I was on the main course and sauce. Here are some pictures a team member took:

Myrtle Beach Food Competition January 31st, 2008

Wow, what a great couple o' days I just endured! Just got home from this years food competition at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center in conjunction with the Hotel, Motel and Restaurant Supply Show of the Southeast. What a great time! There were gobs of vendors and stuff showing off their crap and, the best part, FOOD! I was one of the competitors this morning and was able to grab some pictures while I was there.

The competition was an F3, mystery basket. We didn't know what our protein was going to be until our 1:45 countdown started. This was what I made, my protein was Chicken, obviously. Won silver at 35/ 36 points, one point away from gold!!! Better luck next time :)

Menu:
Pan-Seared Chicken Breast of Chicken w/ Citrus Saffron Cream

Trilogy of Roasted Root Vegetables w/ Thyme and Rosemary

Autumn Spiced Double Smashed Potatoes


Another chefs skirt steak.

Look at all the trophies! :)

Behind the scenes...

Other competitors items...



This dude won best of show (AKA Grand Champion) at 39/ 40 points, almost a perfect gold! Man, gold and 1200 bucks! Nice job bro! (tasted good too, I got to have some, yum)

January 26th Private Catering for 30+!

Yowzers, what a night! Over 30 people and BOY WERE THEY HUNGRY! I'm not sure if they drank more than they ate, but everyone loved everything, so there :P







The menu for the evening:

Theme: Steak Night

• Starter Courses (3)
• Jumbo Shrimp w/ Grilled Avocado Cocktail Sauce
• Assorted Cheese Display with Crackers
• Pan-Seared Diver Scallops w/ Chunky Mediterranean Tapenade
  
  
• Salad Course
• Crisp Caesar Salad w/ Crumbled Bleu Cheese, Anchovies and House Made Dressing

• Main Course
• Pan-Seared Tenderloin of Beef w/ Caramelized Onion and Wild Mushroom Ragout

• Dessert Course
• Cranberry Orange Crème Brulee

January 19th Adult Cooking Class for 12...

Yes, another fun filled evening with Chef B! This weekend, I taught some adults how to cook a few simple dishes. 5 hours later, the wine all gone and the bellies full, I was able to make it safely home.











Here was the menu for the evening:

Theme: Steak Night

• Starter Course
• Fried Calamari w/ Three Chili Butter (Great course for a sweet white)
  
  
• Salad Course
• Grilled Romaine Caesar Salad w/ Crumbled Bleu Cheese, Anchovies and Home Made Dressing

• Soup Course
• Roasted Butternut Squash Soup w/ Toasted Pumpkin Seeds and Honey Sour Cream

• Refresher Course
• Orange and Pomegranate Sorbet

• Main Course
• NC Locally Grown Grilled NY Strip of Beef w/ Carmelized Onion and Wild Mushroom Ragout

• Dessert Course
• Cranberry Crème Brulee

Compass Day at JWU Charlotte, NC

What fun today! I was invited to talk about my sector with some JWU students today to promote the Independent School career choice. Some students aren't really sure the direction that they want to go after graduation, or were not aware that we offer co-op internships every semester. This was a great opportunity to share info about what I do as well as hang out with future chefs of America! Was a blast. Here are a couple pics I took today:


Got to meet the Lee Brothers in person today, was a suprise!


Busy for lunch:


Dipping Sauce for Lumpias:


How to cook rice in a cooker:


Rolling Lumpia: