I’ve been away from writing much for Sauce/ on side, cause of, you know, the whole running and operating a restaurant during a pandemic, and this may schock some, but it isn’t as easy as one might think. And I’m not one for New Year’s resolutions. I’ve worked too many of them that I’m usually still cooking or scrubbing down my section with a beer at the pass. Yet, I wouldn’t trade those moments celebrating a date change for anything. Since New Year’s did pass us by recently, and if I were to make a version of a resolution, I would say that I’m going to try to write more. I think I’ve gotten a little better at writing coherent sentences and subsequent paragraphs people can follow along with. Or maybe I haven’t, either way, I’m not here to write a pulitzer.
Then there’s the idea of doing a podcast. I tried my hand at doing one a while ago and I may come back to it, who knows. But it’s writing that is a growing passion of mine stemming out of my love of reading. Continuing to write and hone my literary skills the same way I do my knives is a challenge I want tackle, and also, Chef Adam Vettorel does an amazing job with his podcast “At The Pass” I highly suggest you listen to it. The conversations are amazing and it’s unreal how amazing, talented and grounded our culinary roster is.
Writing is also quite therapeutic! And therapy don’t come cheap these days anymore. So I’ll put my thoughts and emotions onto the keyboard and if a couple of pals seem to enjoy it and are able to relate, well at least it’s for something. Sometimes I get anxious that I shouldn’t be as vocal as I am. But then I say, fuck it. This works for me, and I hope it’s at least mildly entertaining in the process.
Right now, Ontario is in another state of emergency because the Covid-19 numbers are the worst they’ve been since the first wave hit last march. Thr33’s Co. like many other restaurants, are back on our take-out grind. It’s been a hard road, for everyone. If you’re reading this and have followed me on my socials, especially Instagram, you know how vocal I’ve been about the discrepancies between the restaurant industry compared to most others. Straight up, it hasn’t been fair and it hasn’t been right. We, as an industry, have adjusted, audibled and pivoted every direction we could to make it as safe as possible for the guest while trying to simply have our doors open. Apparently, it hasn’t worked enough, as our doors to welcome people inside are still closed. Here’s hoping that a couple of posts down the road I’ll be writing something positive about finally getting back to being open!
With that being said, I say we’ve done pretty fucking good for opening a restaurant during this fucked up time. Ya, it’s been fucked, but we’ve done the best we fucking can! And I’m fucking proud of it :)
There are a lot of topics and issues to tackle and that I want to discuss within our industry. From mental health, how covid affects our industry and what our profession is going to look like after we get through this pandemic. Also, entering year two of opening up Thr33’s Co., it’ll be fun to record the crazy ups and downs. And you know what, as I’ve always said this is the best profession there is. The fact I get paid to cook and share my passion through the food I create, and a platform to be able to discuss it as well, is pretty special.
The reason I want to do a series of blogs going forward (Chef: After Service) is because each post is going to be a medley of different things. They all might not align, I may sound like an old man yelling at the clouds or I could sound smart enough like I’m giving a dissertation. But it’s going to be what’s going on in the moment. And it could be quite interesting to see where that leads!
Currently I’m a part of the Canadian Restaurant Workers Coalition (https://crwcoalition.squarespace.com/) where our mission is to grow a healthier restaurant industry by:
If this is something you agree with and feel should be implemented sign the petition by clicking here
Have a good service!
]]>Music plays a pretty special part in working in the kitchen, please note how I did NOT, in fact, say important, but special. There are going to be days where music is absolutely necessary. Might be a little tired from the night before and gotta get the energy going, or maybe the day’s tasks at hand seem a little overwhelming and throwing on some tunes is going to get everyone in the mindset to kick some ass.
On the other side of the coin, some day’s it’s crucial to put all your focus into your work and not on who’s got the next song. A fine balance has to be met between having fun and making sure you can be ready for service. We are an industry judged on our performance, and if you get more focused on the music instead of what has to be done you might find yourself in the weeds quicker than you think.
In saying all of that, I’m a big “music in the kitchen” guy. I love spending time outside of work putting together Spotify playlists, finding new albums and playing DJ during mise en place. It’s key to know the vibe of the crew when going into the day, and the person who has the power of the speaker is in charge of making sure everyone’s got the right energy and the mood of the kitchen is on point.
My mixes are all over the place. At one moment you might be hearing the sultry sounds of Michael Buble and the next song that comes on could be Chic ‘N’ Stu by System of a Down. If we’re playing a shuffle of what I have saved in my library, there’s no telling what’s going to come out of those speakers.
But it’s also fun to throw on random albums of your favourite artists and see if there are any hidden gems you might not have known about. Many who have worked with me can tell you, there are certain bands I cannot stand because you can hear their music anywhere and everywhere. Show me some deep cuts, let’s play some albums where I’m not going to hear the same songs you can hear on Chez 106 multiple times throughout the day.
If I have to hear Californication or Can’t stop one more time I’m going to lose it. Queen surely has more songs than Bohemium Rhapsody and We are the champions, right? Every AC/DC song is basically the same so you’ve heard one, you heard them all. If these are the bands that are going to be played, play some whole albums, let’s find some new and undiscovered songs to jam out to! That’s all I’m saying.
I’m no music guru by any means, but I’ve been known to play some bangers. It’s all about the mood at the time and what music is going to expand that vibe. Guaranteed if you pick classic Disney songs on a day where everyone’s got the most energy you’re going to be in for a fun night. If everyone’s looking to clean as fast as they can and get the fuck out, that’s when you throw on the hard shit. The kind of music that’s gonna get you scrubbin’ like a fiend.
When you notice what you’re playing isn’t meshing with the crew though, and you can either keep playing your playlist or start playing songs everyone will agree on, that’s a tough but necessary call to make. Sometimes the music you want to jam out to might not fit with what everyone else is feeling, it’s your call to either stick with it or switch things up. You might find that others are about to be a bit quicker to grab ahold of the speaker to play music for the next couple of days if you choose to stick with the music you’re only vibing to.
My top 9 albums to cook to are below:
Cooking is such a fun profession and music only adds to it. It boosts your energy, get’s the crew moving and above all else, makes what we do that much more fun.
]]>Even being in the space was amazing that first day. Talking about our plans and what we wanted to do with the building. Our goals with the food, drink and atmosphere. Where we see this business going and knowing the hard work has only just begone.
Splitting time between my (then current) job as Chef de Cuisine at Sidedoor and being at Thr33’s Co. wasn’t the easiest as my focus had to be in two very important places, but I knew it was important to give my best to each commitment. Leaving Sidedoor after 6 years wasn’t easy, but I always knew it was such a special place to me that I wouldn’t have left for any opportunity that was less than what I had wanted for myself.
There was lots of work to be done at Thr33’s Co. but we had a very good foundation to start with. Things were moving at a very good pace as we had been setting up for an early to mid-April opening. My final day at Sidedoor was slated for March 21st, I was going to take maybe 3 or 4 days off to recharge my batteries and then hit the ground running day and night to ensure we were on pace for our scheduled opening timeline.
As we all know, things were starting to surface about Covid-19 at the start of March and I needed to dive into what the hell this thing was and why it was about to creep up on us and change the world. On the weekend of March 14/15, I could see the concern many were having about what was to come and it shocked the hell out of me. What the fuck is going to happen in the coming days and weeks? I guess I didn’t need to wait too long for my answer, on March 16th I came into what was essentially my last day of work at Sidedoor. Figuring out with the owners and managers in our restaurant group a safe and effective strategy to ensure our staffs safety.
But with all of that happening, I still was left to wonder what the future of the restaurant was I just fucking bought?! Honestly, what fucking timing!
We’ve still had lots to do at Thr33’s Co. during this time and have absolutely been busy working our asses off to make sure we are ready for everyone when we’re able to open our doors. As I’ve said, the foundation of the place was great, but it takes a lot of work to make it our own. It has been crazy to think as we are currently in the middle of May, we should be working right this moment slinging snacks to your table and pouring gin into your glasses. But the world has had other plans.
This pandemic has not been easy for anyone. With places closing down and thousands of restaurants living in uncertainty, it’s sickening to imagine the toll this pandemic has taken on the restaurant industry worldwide. There has been much written about it, and all I will say here, I truly feel for everyone suffering because of circumstances beyond their control. Not going to lie, I know it’s hard on some days to think positive when you can’t see a light at the end of the tunnel, or the light is so faint you’re not sure how long it’s going to take to get there. Covid-19 has taken a lot from us, but just like one of my favourite movies, Batman Begins, I’ll quote the late-great Thomas Wayne and repeated by the ever-loyal Alfred Pennyworth,
“Why do we fall? So that we can learn to pick ourselves back up.”
And that’s the kind of resilience I know this industry has. I can’t thank Ian, Tam, Jack and Sean enough for how we’ve been working together during this incredibly difficult time. I knew early on these were the type of people I wanted to go on this ride with. As we’ve been working through this and continuing to be positive, resilient and hungry only solidifies the fact of how important this means to all of us, and I couldn’t have asked for a better group of people around me.
Thr33’s Co. Snack Bar is going to be special because of the people behind it. It’s not lost on us the opportunity we have and how special it is to share with everyone who walks through our doors. We are going to bring something fun and exciting to the city of Ottawa because we love it so much and are honoured to be a part of the culinary community. We’re going to come out of this ok. We’ll drink, share laughs (and some tears) over tables full of food. We’ll take shots of Jameson soon and stuff our faces. It’ll be last call as we hope to stay out as late as we can even though there’s a double waiting for us the next morning.
I cannot wait for the day I get to come to your table, dropping off food and sharing an experience with you. Seeing familiar faces while getting to know new ones. Sharing a drink at last call. The amount of support so far has really been special, and I can’t thank everyone enough.
This journey has only begun, the time will come soon enough to share incredible moments with everyone because when you knock on our door, we’ll be waiting for you.
]]>What I wanted to address specifically is the first part of this quote and why it doesn’t make sense to me.
‘No Matter How You Feel...’
It 100% matters how you feel, remember that. There are so many things asked of us in any given shift/service, that if one of the crew seems off and needs to talk about it there should always be an outlet for them. In our world discipline is key, from getting the food and drink to be as exceptional for each guest in the allotted time is no easy task and doing that day in and day out as a chosen profession seems like the only ones who enjoy doing it must be mad!
Of course, you have to work hard in this profession because in my mind success does take into account showing up, working hard and having determination. What we do is always performance-based and everything that leaves the pass should be better each time. We grow, together; and there’s a saying I've heard all too often “Teamwork makes the dreamwork” and I get it sounds corny as all hell, but there’s a lot of truth in those words. We gotta be there for one another and when that happens everyone is better for it.
Growing in this industry means it’s so important to take care of yourself both mentally and physically, as well as taking care of those around us. I continually say we are not robots on the line or behind the wood. We go through struggles, achievements, highs and lows. In an industry in which we are always being judged by what is placed on the table, our feelings, mental and physical health should be considered for the betterment of our performance. That makes sense now, doesn’t it?
For me, the best Chefs I’ve had are the ones that discipline through communication and understanding. It’s helped mould me into the leader in the kitchen I strive to be each and every day to help grow the team around me and myself as well.
Listen to your teammates if it’s being asked. Be understanding if someone’s having a shitty day and could use a hand. I love seeing when the crew is there for one another and positive vibes all around will always yield positive results.
Have a good service.
]]>It all finally hit me. The non-stop running around for the past two weeks, lack of sleep and going hard trying to prepare for a night I consider to be an honour. This fuckin’ cold has got me knocked out on the first real days I have off to relax and unwind. Fret Not! With my trusty Buckley’s by my side, a comfy couch and a stocked fridge, I’m ready to recoup and in the process write about my experience doing my first ever Chef’s Night at Oz Kafe.
Being a part of a Chef’s Night at Oz Kafe is almost a right of passage for cooks in our city. On the last Monday of each month, Oz Kafe hosts a Chef/ restaurant to take over their kitchen and present a coursed menu for $40. Pretty amazing deal if you ask me, and the calibre of talent that has participated in these nights make it an even more worthwhile event to get out and dine.
After attending about a dozen of these events over the years, I’ve always enjoyed the atmosphere these dinners provide, especially from an industry perspective. Even the fact that there are late-night seatings only serves to show the understanding in giving the same opportunity to those of us working our own dining experiences, as those fortunate enough to have a coursed sit down dinner at a normal hour.
In July I took the liberty of calling Oz to see if there was an opportunity to have my own Chef’s Night. I was happy to hear that not only was there a chance to do one but that both August and September were open. Now, given the busy season and the time I felt that I needed in order to pull this off the right way, August was a little too soon for me. It didn’t make sense for me to rush into it with how crazy busy summers are for us at Sidedoor. I commend all of the Chef’s that do a Chef’s Night in these busy summer months as I cannot imagine how hectic the weeks leading up to it can be when each table is constantly being flipped over for the next guest in restaurants of their own,while still having to think about this unique off-site night.
Being ready for September was a blessing. Not only did it afford me the time to wind down from the busy summer months, but it also allowed me some space to reach farther and really do something different than what I’ve been doing at Sidedoor for the past six years. Don’t get me wrong, I love our style of food and cooking, but I was interested in testing myself and pushing off to try something new and different.
To date, there have been three dinners that really shaped my idea of what I wanted to do for my own Chef’s night. One of them was at the now-closed but never forgotten Melo’s and the other was a more recent Chef’s night.
My former Chef Jordan Holley took over Melo’s Kitchen for a dinner that blew me away and one that I still think about often. I spent the majority of what I had in my bank account that evening because I needed to order quite nearly the entire menu it was so damn good. He’d been my Chef for around two years but this was an opportunity where I saw him showcase a different story than what I had ever seen him cook when we were at Social together. It was an amazing and intimate night, and it opened my young palate to something completely new and different than what I was used to.
A second Melo’s take-over with another former Chef of mine, Warren Sutherland. A similar story here, we had been cooking a certain style of food for two years (at the Smoque Shack) but this time, when the opportunity to assist him was presented to me, I jumped at the chance to help and observe what Chef Warren had in store. His menu hit a lot closer to home for him that night and once again proved how you can be committed to a certain cuisine for a period of time yet still be able to show guests that there’s always a different story to tell.
Lastly, but most certainly not least, a recent Oz Kafe takeover night where Chef Michael Korn and his crew from Whalesbone absolutely blew me away, as I’m sure they did with everyone dining that night. That event was an eye-opener of what I needed to bring to the table if I was going to be part of the same company putting on a meal the way that they did. But I’m super competitive and although I have never considered competing with others in that sense, for sure I’m always competing with myself.
I loved taking on the challenge of doing a Chef’s Night at Oz. It was a chance for me to show a style of food that meant so much to me and one that I’ve never really had the right space to showcase before now. Being an Asian-style cook for the closer part of a decade, making the choice to go in a completely different direction for this dinner was for two reasons; to go back to my roots, and to show myself that whenever I choose to, I can do something that’s different than what resides in my comfort zone.
Before I talk about the food, I NEED to talk about my crew and those around me that made this night not only possible but a total success. I can’t state this enough: it was such an honour to be able to do this and for Oz to host these amazing nights goes to show how awesome our culinary community is. There was a night in December of last year when Chef Ben and I were at Oz Kafe and had a couple of drinks into us when I had first talked to him about my idea of doing a Chef’s Night. Without hesitation, he offered his help if the day were to come when I actually went through with it. Well, when I made the call he was the first person I asked, remembering that conversation, (and it was quite the night that I’m shocked that I could) I pulled my card out and Chef accepted. Matt Walker has helped me with a few of the events I’ve put on for Sauce / on side, and he’s the homie that shows up to lend a hand whenever I need so he was an easy choice. Matt’s supportive of S/os and what I try to do with this little project so it was amazing having him along for this. Rowan Dowd, who had recently left Sidedoor for the 23rd time, in this case to help build schools for children in Africa through his church. He had only been back in Ottawa for a few days when I called him up and asked if he wanted to be a part of the crew and with no questions asked, he gladly obliged. He and Matt killed it on the dishes that I assigned them for service. Lastly, although I feel I can’t, I will try to put into words the appreciation I have for my good friend Anthony Moneck for coming down from Toronto to be a part of the special night with me. Through our time at Sidedoor together we’ve bonded over food, drinks, sports and many “Jim and Tone Adventures” no matter where we find ourselves. Many of these conversations we’re not legally allowed to print in case we ever decide to run for office somewhere!
Thank you to all of the guys that helped to make that night so special!
And now to the food! I knew right off the bat that Portuguese cuisine was always going to be the style I was going to offer. It was a new story I wanted to tell and I’m so happy it was the route I landed on. There were things on the menu I was super confident in executing and then there were the recipes that were going to be the first time I’d ever attempted.
The first two courses were dishes I had brainstormed quicker than I thought. All the flavour combos I wanted to use seemed to work so well with each other on paper, and I was happy that they also came together seamlessly on the plate. Our first course was a seared scallop, shiitake mushrooms and local peaches. Simply, the peaches really shone on the plate as they were tossed in cinnamon and the natural sugars came out as we par-baked them. Each component on the dish was there to be just what they were and once you tied all of them together they paired up perfectly.
I love brussels sprouts and whenever I go out to eat and I see a brussel sprout salad on the menu, I'm always going to give it a try. Eat your veggies kids and if you’re picky then brussels are the veg for you. Although I do love them roasted I used the brussel leaves as a salad and I matched those up with a bunch of fun things all in a bowl. A burnt honey dressing with honey I got from a farm in Quebec. Local peaches that we vac’d in rice wine vinegar, salt and sugar. Pecans were soaked in SpiceBox Whiskey, tamari and maple syrup. And for the first time, I made almond cheese and was pleasantly surprised with how it turned out seeing as (and I know saying this is quite blasphemous as a Chef) I’m not a big cheese person.
Working with Octopus for the first time was a great learning experience. It’s always been a protein that I’ve been in close proximity to in the kitchens I’ve worked in but that someone else has processed and worked with. Needless to say, it was slightly intimidating to work with a protein being used for one of the main courses for the first time, on the night before the big dinner; but I think luck was on my side and a bit of skill I’ve accumulated over the years. Making sure I used a couple of tricks I had acquired on how to best tenderize the octopus, I knew the crucial part was the right timing on the braise and with about 4 hours in a pot filled with a bunch of goodies inside (red pepper, sherry vinegar, tomatoes, garlic, onions) I’m happy to say that the result was what I had wanted and it was this dish that turned out to be the talk of the night. Another key piece to the success of this dish was a healthy drop of good ol'Jimmychurri (which is basically a chimichurri but how could we not call it by it’s new christened name!)
The night before the dinner Tony and I went out to have some food at Whalesbone where our friend Chef de Cuisine Michael Korn runs the kitchen and as Tony and I were going through the dishes we felt we might be missing something on the octopus dish and were rifling off ideas. Shishito peppers were mentioned and I was automatically down to put them on as a finishing component but it was the night before the dinner and there wasn’t a hope that we would to be able to source them. Enter Chef Korn, who stopped by our table to ask us how our food is and the three of us start talking about Oz Night. I send out a shot in the dark, and I asked Chef Korn if he had anywhere in mind that would sell peppers to us, like tomorrow. Well, it just so happened that he was getting a delivery the next day from Terramor Farm and knowing they had shishito’s available Chef Korn added 200 pieces on for me and that all goes to show you the community we have in this city and one I wouldn’t trade for any other culinary city in the world.
The chicken main course was a vehicle for sauces. A perfectly grilled chicken breast to help showcase the two sauces I was serving it with which ended up representing the Portuguese flag in their colours. First, a red wine reduction sauce using Julia Florista, nothing fancy but makes you feel like home. Secondly, a kohlrabi tarragon sauce with coconut cream, and that’s all I needed as the natural sugars made this a surprisingly easy sauce, little to no work. All I had to do was stuff these three versatile ingredients in a pot, simmer and blitz.
Lastly for dessert was a dish in which I was able to honour my Vavo (Grandma), by recreating her arroz doce (rice pudding). Yes it is the cliche you hear from so many Chef’s but I did grow up eating so much of Vavo’s cooking and the only regret I have was not learning to cook her specialties from her. She passed when I was 12 years old and wasn’t thinking about cooking food in the same way that I was devouring all of it. Now, I’m not skilled with my pastries so it was even more nerve-racking to make this dessert work than any other dish on the menu. With the addition of an orange caramel and a sponge toffee that Tony made, it was an unreal ending to a menu I’m incredibly proud of.
Oh ya, did I mention yet this dinner was a sold-out affair?! That just isn’t possible without the amazing support of everyone coming out and sharing that special night with me. From friends and family to a little Birdie who got a special order of chicken fingers and fries (my personal favourite as well) the love and support I felt is real and I hope everyone who attended could taste my gratitude in each dish they were served. Thank you to all of those I get the honour of calling my pal.
]]>It started at home. Late at night, alone, I had turned to leave the kitchen and I’d hear it. Knock Knock knock. I ran out to the patio door to see if someone had come in through the back gate. I let the dog out. No-one was there. I chalked it up to fatigue. I’d been pulling extra shifts since getting my new apartment. I had only been living on my own for a year since leaving B.C and I couldn’t believe how expensive it had been for just a bachelor apartment. I mean, it is in a better part of town. I can’t be down around the south end right now. Too close to the whole mess ya know. Makes you wonder why I ended up in a kitchen job but, ya. It’s what I could get. With everything. So ya, I figured I was tired and let it alone. I checked and re-checked all the doors that night. Got a little squirrelly before heading to bed so left the living room light on which bothered the dog for a bit as it wasn’t really routine. She paced for about an hour which really tugged at my anxiety. But she settled and so did I. And I forgot about it.
But then it happened again. About a week later. I had a couple guys over from work. They knew about my situation and dropped by with a pizza. I’m fine to be around it now. It’s not an issue for me to be around it. I can have friends over for pizza and its not a big deal anymore. Not like before. We played card games. I got a bit tense when the cards came out but I kept it cool. No poker. They never even noticed. But I felt fine, really I did. We even did a little arm wrestling. Guy stuff. All really fine and super normal. I think I really just had a normal time. I had fun actually. See that’s where I think I went wrong there. I let my guard down. I wasn’t on alert. Near the end of the night I carried the empty pizza boxes and stuff into the kitchen and there it was again. Right out nowhere. The fridge knocked at me. Three times. Knock Knock Knock.
I immediately yelled for the guys to shut up. Which, looking back now seemed a bit rash but I needed silence in that exact moment. The guys got all antsy and got up to come to the kitchen but I yelled again Shut Up and to stay where they were. I crept over to the fridge and waited. I nearly pressed my ear to the door when one of the guys was right behind me and put his hand on my shoulder. I was so startled I just turned around and hit him. Bang. Right hook to the jaw. He came up right behind me when I told him to be quiet and stay still. I mean, he was told what to do. I guess looking back now it was a bit over the top. But who creeps up on someone like that, in their own home. It’s just not something you do to a guy. It was pretty awkward at work the next few days. His jaw was messed up so he couldn’t work. I talked one of the younger hostesses who knew him into giving me his address. I went over everyday for two weeks with soup from the good deli downtown as I knew he probably couldn’t eat anything too chewy. You know looking back, he never said thank you.
Every night I stood in my kitchen and listened to the fridge. I did that for eight days straight. Nothing. I finally pulled it out from the wall and checked all the wires. I called the Landlord to come and do a once over on it. I youtubed how to clean out the freezer part and made sure there weren’t any loose shelves in the main compartment. Looking back now all that work seemed so silly. Waste of time really.
I felt better after that. Work was so busy. Busy season as they say. The restaurant has two patios they open up in the summer so the work was there if I wanted it. And I totally did. I needed every penny I could make. I wasn’t going to slip back to where I was before. No. Also I wanted to make sure my pup was getting all her shots which adds up. She was a rescue so she needed a bit more care. Looking back, I feel like we rescued each other. I was still watching the fridge, but less and less every day. I finally even turned out the living room light when I went to bed which messed up the pup again. She got used to the light ya know.
I got invited to a staff party one night. It was a really big party. It was on a boat. I wasn’t sure how it would go being so closed in with everything. And I’m not so good on boats. Seasick. I can’t take anything for it now either ya know. Grin and bear as it my grandma used to say. Looking back I remember the night sky being really pretty, all pink and gold. I thought how I never see the sky like that. I did a lot of talking which surprised everyone. And me too I guess. Usually I’m just asking these people to stack those plates over there please. But not that night. I was talking about all kinds of things. I like talking about subjects I’ve read about in the paper or headlines I’ve seen on tv. I really know how to start conversations with people. It just gets a bit muddled when I have to finish them. But it wasn’t a problem as everyone was pretty into the party and didn’t notice me slipping in and out of conversations. Looking back now I think I should have been a bit less friendly. Because it got really loud and I was talking to this one server who was leaning over the railing smoking, and I couldn’t hear her very well. I smiled at her while she talked. She talked a lot with her hands which made me both nervous but also want to smile. But she kept saying something I just couldn’t hear. So I asked her to repeat it. A few times. She did. But I still couldn’t hear it. Then she reached her hand up near the side of my head and knocked on my skull three times saying knock knock knock anybody home. I mean, looking back now, she really shouldn’t have done that to someone she didn’t know. We hadn’t even spoken until that night. Who did she think she was hammering on my head that way. And how did she know to knock three times like the fridge did. Thats not a coincidence is it. No. Its not a coincidence, its a connection. Its a message. Anyway, the boat wasn’t even that far from the dock so swimming back wasn’t a big deal. Seems silly to call it a boat cruise when its only a few hundred meters from shore. Looking back, I think I should have trusted my instincts and just stayed on land.
Anyway, I think I got some water in my ears swimming back from the boat cruise party because I started having trouble hearing out of my left ear. It got all foggy and nothing I heard on that side was clear. Except for one thing. The knocking. It wasn’t just the fridge anymore. It was everything. My pillow. My toilet. The doors. The lamps. My clothing. My rubber gloves at work. The water in the dish pit came out as knocks not gushes. The servers talking to me spoke in knocks not words. All day. All night. Even my pup. She barked in knocking sounds. I did my best ya know, but it was only a matter of time. I mean the answer was right there all along. Looking back now I realize it was my fault for ignoring it for so long. Had I just listened in the first place we wouldn’t be here today. You would have done the same thing I’m sure, had you been in my position. I did my best ya know. And this time I was clear headed. No booze. No drugs. I knew exactly what I was doing and why I was doing it. It feels good to know I was able to make a decision like this with a clear head.
Are you saying that your actions were deliberate? That your plan was premeditated?
Well I don’t normally use words like premeditated or deliberate but I do like talking to you and I like how they sound, in my one ear anyway. Looking back I guess you could say that there was a plan. Can’t take all the credit though. It wasn’t quite ALL my plan.
Who’s plan would you say it was then?
Isn’t it obvious?
There are many aspects of your story that are not obvious to me. Can you please tell me, in your own words, who’s plan this was?
I will. But I actually have to get ready for my shift at the restaurant. Can we pick this up tomorrow?
I’ll have to remind you again, there is no restaurant shift tonight. Let’s circle back to-
Wait, where’s Shelia.
Your dog isn’t here with you. We talked about his yesterday. Can we foc-
A Nurse enters the room
Knock Knock Knock….Time fo-
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
]]>We have finally started to shed more light on mental health in the culinary industry and people are becoming more aware of it and taking the steps to take care of themselves. I think sometimes that as great as it is to have a passion for this trade it’s also not beneficial to be completely consumed by it. So, how do I create balance to find time to relax, do things for myself and let my mind take a break from what I do for 60 hours a week.
There are so many styles of cuisine to focus on in one's career that it’s a little daunting to imagine being so amazing at a large number of them. For the last 6 years, I’ve focused my learning and execution on Asian inspired food. Dishes from Vietnam, Thailand and Japan with a little bit of Indian influence thrown in there. Yet do I know how to make more than 3 types of pasta? Nope. Am I skilled in the trade of making an omelette (which-God forbid-if you’ve heard certain people talk about how if you DON’T know how to make a proper one then you shouldn’t be cooking), hell nah I don’t! And I pray that no one in the near future asks me to decorate a watermelon into a portrait of the Queen as if I’ve done any food carving in my life cause I skipped that class in culinary school. That shit ain’t happening.
But ask me how to properly form a tight spring roll, grill a steak to anyone’s desired temperature and to break down whole fish then I’m your guy. The passion to continue to learn doesn’t stop me, it’s where do I find the time!? Because even when you’re cooking every day you're still in this bubble of cooking what’s on the current menu and each service is aimed at perfecting each dish that you’re putting out for the guest. There’s time to make specials when the time/product is available but if there are new specials all the time, then it’s really taking away from the story the menu is trying to tell.
So my food knowledge is at a humble place for where I’m at right now in my career. I feel like I have answers most of the time for when my crew has a question, my palate is in good shape and my prep skills make me a mise en place GOD! *Jokes*…..but seriously, I’m incredible :)
Most often when an idea sparks in my head I either write down a note/reminder about it or I’m pulling out my phone (this time not to check Instagram) to get on google and save a search result. This is a good tool for me to use so that I don’t lose an idea, and that I can get back to later when I have the proper time to dedicate to it. Or if I really have the juices going, I’ll allow the idea to consume me as I know it’s only going to help me get better and gain more knowledge about the food I’m either cooking at the time or a skill/technique/dish that I want to come back to in the future.
What’s got me thinking is how to balance that time and effort so I can go out there and live my life with the limited time I have without having small fits of guilt I could be doing more. Gaining knowledge is only going to help me in the long run, but there’s got to be the appropriate times for it so I can keep my sanity.
It’s baffling to think that even when I’ve done this till I’m old, grumpy and grey that there’s so much I’ve potentially missed out on. So it’s about balancing time and energy into learning a little bit more each day and finding good sources of inspiration to help me along.
Until next time, Have a Good service.
]]>There are many ways you will be judged on what you plate and so many different areas of a dish to explore and critique. Our job is to make the best possible product. Being given feedback goes an extremely long way in improving our performance. Whether an element worked, or it absolutely didn’t, educated critiques help us see outside the bubble we work in.
There are times for the food to be serious, to be eaten with a sense of dignity. To delicately break apart a slice of tuna or to twirl tagliatelle with the precision of an experienced pasta connoisseur.
Then there are times to dig in and have some fun with your food! This is the case with one of our current plates that involves whole Tiger Shrimp marinated in Thai curry paste, grilled, and then simply served with tajine and finished with half a lime. When describing this plate to the FOH staff we encouraged them to tell the guest to break apart the shrimp from the body, suck the juices out of the head and have fun getting messy! Now, it is also wise to read your crowd and know your company. If you see a family celebrating a graduation or a couple dressed in their Friday night best, this may not be a dish for them; just in case a little bit of shrapnel happens to fly onto their attire.
The server's job is to be an ambassador of the kitchen and they are the bridge between the Chef’s and the guest. Quality checks are crucial to the dining experience. Knowing how the guest is enjoying everything, or not, aids us in knowing how best to make the necessary corrections. But then sometimes, a guest is asked what they think of a dish, and the response leaves your mind numb, asking yourself how to move forward from what you’ve just been told.
A guest had ordered said Tiger Shrimp dish and the response during the quality check left me asking myself, where do I go from here?
Simply put, the gentleman was unhappy that the shrimp came whole with the bodies on and suggested that the dish should’ve been served with the shrimp already peeled. The server had assured me that they told the gentleman how the dish was going to come, and he replied that despite being aware of that, he still felt the dish was simply “dumb”. That was it...It’s Dumb.
Let’s break that analysis down, shall we?
How am I supposed to take that back to Chef? We place a blackboard on the door of the walk-in and map out a gameplan to improve the dish, from DUMB to SMART! Picture if you will, a scene out of ‘The Wire’ where we connect all the red strings together to try and solve the mystery at hand. How can I possibly work with a critique so plainly and unhelpfully summed up in one word? Presentation, sustainability, price, taste, texture, flavour profiles, aroma... I mean there are so many things to think about when consuming food. Yet, here we were, left with dumb.
I’m not saying EVERYONE takes this approach when sharing their analysis of what they’ve just eaten, but I do find this one particularly mind-numbing and truthfully quite funny. If anyone can share their opinion about what we do, then sometimes it’s fair to share both sides of the tale. And let me tell you, this sort of thing happens so I’m not pulling back any curtains as to the inner workings of the industry that we aren’t already aware of; and for all my wrestling fans out there, we call this sort of thing ‘breaking kayfabe’.
Use this as a precautionary tale. If you’re out and not enjoying a plate or a drink be sure to use your words effectively. Not only to help make your experience more enjoyable but also for us slaving away in the back to know what we can do to get from dumb to dumbfounded.
Until next time, have a great service.
]]>For me, it always starts with a tiny seed being planted into my brain by Chef when it’s getting close to a new menu. The seasons are changing, products are about to come and go and how do we create a new narrative of dining for the guest. It’s a time to show creativity with new ingredients and explore new avenues with familiar flavours and plates.
Now, I would love to say that I’m constantly thinking about new food but I’ve always been of the mindset that it’s good to focus on what I have in front of me and make the current menu the best that it can be. Working hard to make effective little tweaks each time I plate a dish to strive for as near perfection as I can. Is there such a thing as perfect food? Maybe or maybe not; and maybe I’ve become too cynical and believe there will always be a tiny criticism of even the most concisely constructed plate.
My first step is to print off about 5 copies of the current menu since I’m going to be jotting down a ton of thoughts and ideas that are going to look like chicken scratch on the page by the end of my thought process. I write down questions to answer later, circle things to research further and most definitely mark off-menu items that have clearly had their time and don’t owe me anything anymore. In the back of my mind I know even though I’ll love everything that goes into a new menu, when it’s time to think about the next one there’s going to be a dish or two I’m happy to say goodbye to.
It’s kind of like a relationship that doesn’t end up working out. You’re glad they were there for a certain time in your life, but when it’s time to go your separate ways, you’re ready to move on. Now that I think about it, every menu creates these micro-relationships you have with each dish. The mainstays or “fan-favourites” are your long-term relationship; those you’re happy with and love to cook day in and day out. Then there’s some you can’t get rid of because everyone loves them too much and you’re looking back and wondering if you could do something different, would you really have to continue to deep fry calamari? At the end of the day, whatever comes and goes on a menu, I’m always happy because I get to cook.
Alright, let’s snap-back to it. With my chicken-scratched menus on my desk, I pull out a couple of cookbooks and have Google at the ready. My go-to reference guide which I think a lot of people will agree is “The Flavour Bible” written by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg. When creating recipes, this guide is so helpful for showing how flavour profiles match up and help me figure things on my own instead of following the steps of someone else’s pre-written recipe.
It’s also great to have discussions with Chef as to what he’s looking for in the new menu and to be able to bounce ideas back and forth between each other. The best advice I can give a young cook or someone in my position as Chef de Cuisine is to be humble and take criticism as a building block to get better and more focused at creating new recipes. Not every idea is going to be a home run, and even if it gets past the discussion phase and into actual development, the whole dish might go to shit and it gets trashed. The thing to remember is that it’s going to happen all the time throughout your career. Once you get over that mental hump of seeing your food fuck up badly and getting past it, you’ll be in a much better position developing recipes in the future.
The development phase is another layer of stress that you gotta have a thick skin for. Pork too salty, try again. The skin of a new fish you’re working with isn’t getting as crispy as you’d like it too, back to the drawing board. The new vegan dish that looked so good on paper is bland as hell and you don’t know what else to add to it without it looking like you’re throwing the kitchen sink at it, well it looks like you gotta try that again too.
But there are moments of bliss where everything seems to work out and you get that feeling like Hannibal from the A-Team smoking a cigar saying “I love it when a plan comes together!” There are some surprises along the way which will stumble onto moments of genius. Accidentally putting coriander instead of cilantro leaves in a dish, but the seeds of coriander make it all pop and come together is one of those happy little accidents. There’s an infinite amount of variables happening at this stage of the menu creation process and it’s best to roll with the punches and keep cooking.
Now comes the launch day, and these days are long. Everyone comes in, hours before service and Chef’s been in the kitchen till around 1am the night before and back at it at 9am the same morning. Things have to get done a certain way and when it all comes from a particular vision; it's easier to do it yourself then worry about delegating the small tasks to the other cooks. I live in a constant state of asking Chef “what can I do next?”, as my job is to make it as easy as I can for him on a day where stress levels are at peak volumes. The clock ticks away as you think you have hours on end to continue to mise out the prep list and get everything done on time, but in reality, it’s a day of constant catch up.
Staff come in and crowd around a designated area to see how the new plates are gonna look and I’ll always get a kick out of seeing their eyes light up once we set down what’s in store for the upcoming menu in front of them. It’s fun to see who’s looking at diving into which plate first. It’s awesome to watch the note-taking and the excitement that comes from learning about the concepts behind new dishes and not just how it’s going to taste. Taking questions and having a discussion about the food is a key component in sharing that knowledge with the guests as well. The staff know that every plate tries to tell a story and the front of house are the ambassadors of the stories that Chef’s going to tell.
Service hits and it’s a heavyweight fight between the cook and getting used to the new menu. The station is set up the way it’s perceived to work, but then you find out that the motion of grabbing something in the lowboy instead of having it up top makes more sense. Or keeping something in the walk-in is going to clear a bunch of space on your station. There’s always inquiries to the FOH about feedback on new plates. Quick reviews on those first nights from the guests go a long way in figuring out what works and what’s completely off, or certain critiques are ignored for a time because yes we’re stubborn and want the guests to get out of their comfort zone and join us on this new culinary journey.
Service ends and its drinks all around for the crew. Unwind and talk about the night like it’s game 3 of the NBA Finals and even though we were down by 10 at the half we still came out of it with a W. No rest for the weary as it’s right back to it the next service and the drive to be better than the night before. That’s why we do it, to achieve as close to perfection with our food as we can and to share our stories with those that come to dine with us.
Until next time, have a good service.
]]>As I stare up into the pudding contemplating how lovely it would be to lay down in that softness a hard hot hand claps down on my left shoulder and stirs me out of my nauseous fog, but only slightly. I’m trying really hard to focus on the features of the mouth and the head talking at me, but my chest seizes up with hot fluid and once again I have to breathe very deeply to manage the very dull pulse of control I have left within me.
Suddenly the hands are pushing me towards a big tall white panel and my jelly legs are also doing their best to try and follow the pushing motion coming from my back. All the while blobs float past my line of sight as I lumber forward towards the big white thing before me. A long arm reaches around from behind me and opens the panel and shapes and smells assault my face. The force behind me gets stronger and I am shoved hard into a large box. I hear loud words in my ears that make their way into my brain and I understand them as saying BREATHE.
I obey and take a deep breath, and the voice says again BREATHE and I do this over and over again with the voice. Like a bullet to my brain, my conscientiousness explodes back into action. I’m in the walk-in freezer. I am now very aware of real life and also of the vomit building up in my throat. Slow down, and relax for a minute says Chef. You’re going to hyperventilate breathing like that. My tongue feels like a thick snake and I feel like I cannot speak but I somehow mumble my apologies and deep embarrassment. I’m piecing together what just happened and I feel like a huge fucking dick head.
Chef pats me on the shoulder and gives me a look. I know the look. It's the, you’re a girl and I knew you couldn’t hack this job but you’re cute so I thought I’d give you a try look. The, your male friend vouched for you and I told him a chick couldn’t hack this job but we smoke weed together and I kind of agreed to let you come by and stage for a couple nights and now I’m regretting you being here look. Fuck.
I swallow hard. I will not vomit in this walk-in freezer during dinner service. I will not vomit on the line during dinner service. I think, I say, I just need a minute to wash my face and I’ll be right back on veg Chef and I somehow find the coordination to swiftly walk past him out the freezer door. I do not look at the line guys staring me down as I walk towards the staff room. I just keep my eyes forward and will my body to move in some kind of rhythm that does not resemble Frankenstein towards the back of the kitchen. When I get there, I throw up in the toilet.
Sadie the hostess has snuck in behind me without me noticing. She hands me an icy cold ginger-ale, two pieces of mint gum and a container of soft and warm flour tortillas. She hands me a cool bar mop towel and gives me a wink. I can barely stutter a thank you before she’s silently out the door, just as she came in. I wrap the bar towel around my neck and slug back the sweet soda and inhale the tortillas. I wipe my face and hands, pop the gum in my sticky mouth, and grab a new apron and head back to the line. The line guys are all sneering at me. I’m the only female in this kitchen. I’m scrawny and smaller than anyone else here. On my first night, I’m working the hot vegetable station. That's five burners. Each meal comes with two sides of vegetables. This little episode put me back nearly 6 chits and not a single one of these assholes is going to help me out of this mess, I can sense that for sure. They wanna see what I can do. I try to think quickly, but my brain is like the pudding ceiling I was so interested in about 15 minutes ago. Everything on the stove is currently burned so I start there. I look over at the dish guy who I knew from high school. I yell out his name. Ethan, I need a pair of hands here for a second. He pretends not to hear me. Ok, remind me to put you on my mental kill list, Ethan. My brain is finding the light in the fog. I’m on my own. My ears begin to also resume functioning and I hear the chit machine crackle down the line. I look around at my feet and see there is room under the oven, so I just start throwing pans under the oven. I hear them crashing up against the bottom of the oven but I have no time to give a shit about this. I’m spilling food all over myself. I’m fairly sure I’ve burned my ankle with hot oil, but my face is already burnt with shame so I shut that part of my feelings off and figure out my next move. All of a sudden from every corner of the kitchen I hear the line guys yelling for veg. All of them. All 9 of them at once. I want to cry. I want to throw up all over them, one by one. I want to take my hot messy pans of burnt food and bash them all in the fucking head as I walk out the damn door. Their calling becomes a cacophony of bullying. I know what they are doing. I'm literally stunned into inaction. I look over to the meat guy. He’s a real country boy. I saw him coming in for his shift wearing a real cowboy hat and boots. I know from Nestor that his dad owns a farm and that they fight all the time because he drinks and keeps crashing the farm equipment. His big tanned arms are working the grill deftly, despite him reeking of liquor, he has a sense for cooking and it’s obvious. He jeers at me and laughs. Come on cutie, pick up the pace or pack up your ass and get out. Ok, think. I look up and grab 5 pans and get them on the stove. I turn around to my station and look for my oil bottle but it’s gone. I start frantically searching my mise when I see that all my inserts have been taken out of my station. I don’t remember moving them but there were about 5 minutes of time that I can’t recall anymore as I was negotiating with my body to stay erect and not faint onto the line. Looking for something? I hear and look over my right shoulder to see the salad prep guys pointing up towards the ceiling. My mise tray with all my veggies and cooking supplies was up in the dry storage loft. I’m sweating so much that beads of perspiration are flowing into my eyes. They are stinging and start to water. We got a crier I hear Ethan the dish pit guy calls out as he walks past me with a full bus-bin of dirty pans. I refrain from tripping him. I take my towel and wipe my face. I grab any empty insert I can see on the way to the walk in. I get in there and start grabbing any vegetable I can find. Whole heads of cauliflower, whole peppers, mushrooms, carrots, and beans. I run back towards my station forgetting to yell behind and I get bumped by the prep guy who wears glasses and looks to be a hundred years old and slip on the greasy floor spilling one of my inserts. FUCK ME. I’m covered in food from the pans I had to discard earlier. I stand up, grab the veg that hasn’t ended up on the floor and just start tearing it all apart with my hands. By now I’m so behind this is all just an act of futility but I cannot, will not allow them to make me quit here and now, like this. There is what I can only assume to be more than 20 chits on my station and again I will myself not to cry. My pans have overheated and I have to start again. Old pans to the dish pit, BEHIND. I grab new pans and run back. BEHIND. I grab a chunk of butter with my hand and start dropping full blobs of it into each pan to grease them up. I wipe my hands off on my apron and start dropping my torn and ravaged veggies into each pan. It looks like a fucking mess. But the veg is on. I have double each portion to try and make up time and I reckon that once it’s cooked and hot I can chop it up and plate it to look normal. I worry that because the pieces aren’t all the same size that they may not cook evenly but at this point, I’m Hail Mary-ing this play and I need to trust in the universe that I can somehow pull this off. I go to wipe my soaked face and on my sleeve and peer out from under my armpit over to my chef. He’s looking at my mess of a station and shaking his head. He’s talking to the sous who I see look over too and nod, with a smirk on his face. They’re coming to relieve me I know it. I turn back to my pans determined not to give in. I’m shaking the veg but I see that they aren’t cooking at all. I look over at the cowboy and he’s crying laughing. Looks like your oven ‘ain't working right he bellows at me and howls with laughter. As the others join in laughter and mocking I realize they’ve turned off my stove and I have no idea how to light it again. I start to tense my body because I’m going to punch him square in the face when I feel a hand on my shoulder, just as before. It's Chef. He tells me in a low voice to head out back for a break. He’ll come to get me to tear down my station. Do not cry. Do not cry. Do not fucking cry.
I walk out. I’ve never understood the term walk of shame, but that’s what I endured as I left the kitchen. Not one of those assholes wants me here. I sat out back on a greasy pallet next to the dumpster where no-one would see me. I did not cry. My hostess friend came out and handed me a cigarette. I don’t smoke, I said. Well, I think you can get a pass on that one tonight honey, she said softly. What the hell happened tonight? She asked once I’d adjusted to the smoke in my lungs.
I have been looking forward to this chance for weeks I began. I love cooking. My good friend Nestor told me that his place was looking for a line cook. Something easy to start. Nothing too crazy. We had cooked a bit together in home economics class and he thought I had some knowledge and skills that would suit an entry position in a kitchen. My interview was great! I loved Chef and we even had a beer afterward. I was so nervous before getting here I didn’t eat very much, and the heat was like nothing I had ever experienced before. Mixed with nerves, an empty stomach and the pressure of being on a hot station my first go around I crumpled like a wet paper bag half an hour into dinner service. I’m never going back in there. I can’t.
Well then, nice knowing you. Good luck kiddo she said as she stubbed out her cigarette and stood up to go. I watched her open the back door and stood to take off my filthy apron when she turned around and said to me, It’s too bad those fuckers got the best of you though. You looked like you had a bit of grit to you. Take my advice and stay out of kitchens from now on, cause they sure do get hot. She walked away letting the back door slam behind her. I stood there alone in the dark back alley of the restaurant with my mouth open like a fly trap. I felt like someone had seen me naked and was pointing and laughing at my exposed body. I sat back down and finished smoking. It tasted awful and made my head feel like a balloon. FUCK ME. And fuck you too Sadie I thought.
I looked at my watch. Almost 10 o’clock. Service was nearly over. I put my face in my hands and breathed in the stink of rotting garbage and grease. My stomach heaved. I rubbed at my face. My skin felt like rubber from hours of sweating. My hands smelled of butter and garlic. I was filthy. My hair was glued to the back of my neck. My socks were soaked with oil and my legs burned from trying to stay steady on the greasy floors. What the fuck am I doing here?
I weighed my options. How could I show my face in there again? This wasn’t a team. They had literally set me up for failure, not once, not twice, but over and over again and when I tried to show them I could take a licking and keep on kicking, they tripped me, kicked me when I was down and laughed at my resolve. I’m intelligent and social and kind and fuck, I’m better than this. I’m better than these losers. I’m not a drunk with nowhere else to go or an ancient dinosaur who’s probably going to die here and be fossilized in the walk in. I could be somebody in a kitchen. Just not this kitchen. These people are beyond me and beneath me. I waved away the hostess’ scathing comments too as I unraveled myself from my apron and threw it in the dumpster beside me as I figured it was too dirty to save. I walked through the back door and back towards the kitchen to grab my stuff and peace the fuck out.
The kitchen was closed and the music was turned up as the staff was tearing down their stations and starting to clean up for the night. Nobody seemed to notice me thankfully, even still I was trying to be as silent as I could humanly be. As I passed the ladder to the dry storage loft I looked up and saw my all mise inserts still up there. I have no idea what possessed me but I climbed up and grabbed them and brought it all down to the dish pit. Ethan the dick head smiled at me as I dumped each inserts contents into the trash and handed him each piece for washing. He leaned over the stainless steel table, his rubber apron squeaking with his weight as it rubbed against the steel and said: congrats, you survived the first night. You call that surviving I asked incredulously.
Look behind you he said.
I turned around afraid of what I would see coming at me. 9 line guys, including the sous, were hovering around my station scrubbing and cleaning and collecting all the pans and scattered food that I had discarded, or more accurately lost, during service. All of them, on hands and knees, cleaning up the mess of my first shift. One by one, they walked over to the dish pit, hands full, smiling and laughing, talking about where to grab a pint after work, who was in tomorrow, normal end of night stuff, like nothing, had occurred. Stunned, I stared at them as they noisily dropped pots and pans and dishes on the steel table behind me. They talked around me, like I wasn’t a human standing there among them. They filed out into the restaurant or staff room slowly. I looked down at myself thinking that their actions were intentional to test my metal. That bringing me to the point of tears on the very first day of a new job would somehow give them an indication that I was good enough to be allowed to stay, or that I could handle this kind of what, twisted camaraderie? I felt like I was in the fucking twilight zone. I heard Ethan close the pit up and he hung up his sopping rubber apron. He was about to enter the staff room when he stood in the doorway and turned around to me, See you tomorrow?
]]>Each year around this time there’s a feeling in the air that something is approaching. I feel like Ned Stark when I sense the summer months coming in the same way the House Stark motto states: “Winter is Coming”.
It’s no secret that people don’t eat out much from January to March. The cold winds, the snowy and icy roads; and no one wants to put on twenty pounds of clothing to go out for dinner. No, it’s easier to make certain that the fridges and cupboards are stocked and you have a warm blanket wrapped around you with a tv series to binge watch.
Then April hits and as the snow melts there’s an energy inside people that starts to build. There’s a renewed vitality as the sun stays out a little longer and you don’t need to wear layers of sweaters and scarfs to go outside for only a couple of minutes. The brisk air is actually refreshing, the longer you decide to be outside you know that brighter and hotter days are ahead and it makes you feel good.
There’s always the one random week in April where the temperature finally hits the 20-degree mark and restaurants start rushing to set up their patios. Hell, anything after the weather gets above 10 degrees, we Canadians are more than happy to drink and eat on a patio with our early spring attire on. Then, once the weather finally decides what it’s doing, the masses come out from under their blankets after watching The Office on Netflix again to swarm the first available patio they see. Or they take advantage of the beautiful weather and being out all day in the sun can make a person quite hungry and parched.
Now, for us in the industry, it means it’s time to tighten up those belts and make sure that we prepare ourselves for what’s to come. January to March has been slow no doubt, I mean there’s still Valentine's and Family Day to keep us on our toes. Those are the days where we run around like maniacs for those that come out of hiding for a night on the town—yet the rest of the time during those months it’s dead season because people don’t really dine out in the winter. What April starts to show us, is that the time doth cometh for us to prepare thyselves to be in the constant juice.
May is when we see the busy season begin to rear its head. Every year around that time, I think that I have my body trained for what’s to come, I’ve done it for long enough it doesn’t come as a surprise anymore, yet it still kicks me in the ass until right away until I get reaquainted to the demands of summer cooking. Even though I feel I know what's about to come, the first wave of consecutive big nights hit, and (holy shit) I realize how this time of year always hits me like a ton of bricks. My body aches a little more than I’d like to the next day, prep lists get much bigger and the shifts become longer to keep up with the demand.
It’s always been interesting to see how easy or quick the transition from slow season to summer happens. Sometimes you have more time to get mentally and physically prepared. The hours that have been cut short during the winter start to build up again, or maybe it happens right away and the staff goes from working 3 shifts a week right into 5 or maybe 6 while pulling in overtime. Each year when the season's change, do tell a completely different story.
This year, I’ve thought about how to take better care of myself. I’m 30, and my body ain't getting any younger. It’s absolutely true what Toby Keith once said: “I ain’t as good as I once was, but I’m as good once, as I ever was”. Perhaps it’s time for me to take up yoga or some kind of a trikonasana stretch to loosen my body up before and during service. In the near future, I’m going to explore this more with the help of my yogi friends to help understand our bodies better and the effects the grind puts on us so that we can take better care of ourselves.
Drinking less after service will go a long way with stamina carrying over to the next service. No one likes working hungover and especially feeling like a bag of shit when the temperatures are hitting over 50°c in the kitchen. There’s something to be said about knowing when to call it a night so you don’t feel like crap the next day for service. I encourage anyone, if you know you have a big service the next day, do the smart thing and pace yourself throughout your work week. It’s probably one of the most important things to keep in the back of your mind as you work your stretches. There’s plenty of time to have a good time, you’re only going to benefit in the long run by taking care of yourself during the extremely busy summer months. Trust me, I gotta take heed of my own advice on that one too!
Another aspect of taking care of myself that I’m going to focus on this summer is STAYING PROPERLY HYDRATED. This one is a biggie since I’m always a sucker for having a couple of Pepsi’s or Ice Tea’s throughout the night and it ain’t doing me any favours. Obviously, I balance it out with water on my station but the goal is to eliminate all that bad shit out of my shift completely. Perhaps I’ll have one at the start or reward myself at the end of service, but the end game is to eliminate it entirely. The game plan is to find ways to make water FUN! Some lemon and lime to flavour it up or perhaps cucumber and mint. Once I find the perfect combination of flavoured water I’ll share with you pals!
In all seriousness doing what we do, both Front and Back of House takes a huge toll on our bodies. The constant hours on our feet, running around along with the lifting and bending are small examples of what our bodies go through and all of that strain is multiplied exponentially when working in the hot sun and feeling those kitchen temperatures rise.
Preparation for the summer season is so important both mentally and physically. This year is no different. The seasons each tell a different story in the industry, but there is always one constant; Summer is fuckin’ busy and you gotta be ready for it when it hits.
Until next time, Have a Good Service.
]]>Here in Ottawa, it’s a sentiment that been bugging a lot of chefs recently. So, why is that?
It’s not just about finding a prospective new cook and hiring them, it’s about HOW the course of hiring begins. A successful stage.
The interview process for a cook doesn’t start and end with a sit-down conversation and a review of your CV. It goes far beyond that, but its starting point is the stage. Staging is what many chefs, including myself, consider to be the most crucial part of our interview method. It allows a chef to see how you work and move around our sacred space. Every kitchen, like every chef, demands a certain level of excellence and that comes with a heaping side order of high expectations. Each chef also has a vision and belief as to how their kitchens should run. You can have a great conversation with a chef about your resume, your experiences, and where you see yourself going—unfortunately, that don’t mean shit if you can’t hang with the crew when everyone is in the weeds during service. Ottawa is abundant with remarkable restaurants that any cook SHOULD be ecstatic to have the opportunity to work in.
OK, so stellar restaurants, incredible chefs, and mind-blowing opportunities for young cooks. What the hell is going on here???
In kitchens around the world, genius chefs can demand that young cooks stage for three weeks or more sans pay. Fortunately, staging cooks here aren’t faced with the “You should be so lucky to be working for free and gaining this level of knowledge” speech from the Michelin starred chefs of New York, London and Paris. Now I totally understand having the good fortune to work and learn in those kitchens is rare and awesome and I’m sure there are many young cooks out there that want, and most likely deserve to work in those very restaurants. But it’s no secret that shit doesn’t pay the bills and I would hope that the days of having staff work unpaid for weeks so they can “pay their dues” are quickly coming to an end. Learning to become a great chef without going broke and homeless in the process is very possible. A long and difficult process albeit, but totally attainable. It still begs the questions then, why can’t we get a solid stage in?
We know how it is. We grind each and every day. If you want to make it in this business and be great at it, you have to come into each service excited about food and about hard work. The first real impression you can leave of that kind of attitude is during your stage.
Good advice would be for me to tell you to work fast, work clean and don’t get into anybody’s way, ‘nuff said. But stages are so important to chefs and their cooks alike as well as the future of their kitchens, so I’m going to impart some guidance on you kids out there to help YOU figure it out (damn, I should be charging for this!)
You may think this is crazy to have to say, but there is one step above all else you need to take when you have a stage scheduled;
SHOW THE FUCK UP!
Nope, it’s not as easy as it sounds to get this part down, and I’m not sure whether its nerves or that some people just don’t care, but no shows really suck. Whether people realize it or not, having an extra set of hands in the kitchen goes a really long way. Being down a capable body you thought you’d have going into service is the worst. So, showing up to your stage and on time, or better yet, showing up a half hour early is only going to put in an excellent position for mise en place.
It’s OK not having your own knives, however, it does go a long way. Knives are expensive and it’s a collection that is built over time. On that note, never be ashamed of the knives you do own, just make sure they are sharp. And no matter what your kit looks like, be prepared to have it analysed when you pull them out. If you don’t have a kit, worry not because most kitchens will have a stack of beater knives you can use. And don’t ever use a knife without asking! The last thing you want is to nick a piece off of a cook’s knife without them even knowing you were using it cause that’s only going to lead to a very unpleasant conversation.
The mise en place that’s assigned to you is a test to see how well you can get them done, and to the chef’s liking. When a chef shows you HOW to do it, you had better make sure it’s a mirror of that because that’s the pressure and expectations of this job. It’s a disciplined art form, so acing the mise is a sure way to show that you take it seriously.
Be aware of what’s happening in the kitchen and study your surroundings. This fundamental component of any cook’s job is called Kitchen Awareness. You’ll get a quick tour when you’ve changed into your whites, but once you’ve started your mise, you must keep focused on your tasks while also keeping your head on a swivel. During my own past stages, I’ve made it my first priority to be aware of all the kitchen equipment like pots, inserts and dishes. Notice a cook in the juice? Ask if they need a hand. All they might need is a quick trip to the dish pit for a small pot or six-pan and because of your keen kitchen awareness, knowing where to grab a needed item from quickly, you’ve eliminated the chances of clueless searching and time wasting during service. What is asked of you is delivered in an efficient manner and that cook is satisfied. That shit gets remembered when the chef is asking their crew after service how the stage went.
Ask questions and dive in! Oh, but hold up, control yourself too, you don’t want to be a blabbermouth. Remember this is still a part of the interview process and you’re a guest here. It seems counterproductive, but being too friendly and talking too much off the bat can leave a bad impression. One time a stage kept finishing my chef’s sentences all night long. I felt like Jim Halpert from ‘The Office’ staring off into the camera trying to break through the fourth wall to my fellow cooks! Needless to say, it was awkward for everyone. Ultimately, we are here to get shit done. When the prep list is a mile long, the goal is to be ready for service, not become besties. Ask the questions that are going to benefit you during your stage and try never to assume what the answer will be if you really don’t know.
Well, there you have it. What I consider to be five key tips to a successful stage. If I kept going, this article would be another five pages, but I’ll spare you that…for now. In all seriousness, I wanted to write this because when stage season is upon us and it’s a beautiful time where help, free of charge even for a night, is truly welcome. Chefs and restaurants are constantly looking for great people. Young cooks should be really excited and motivated to obtain and follow through with their stages and getting a chance to work at some of Ottawa’s finest establishments.
As I spend more time talking with chefs around the city, I’m hearing that so many of my colleagues have this problem in their kitchens. Recently even, a chef I was interviewing mentioned that he’s just satisfied when a stage shows up (SEE TIP #1!!!) He counted as many as 3 no-show stages in the last couple months alone. That’s just shit because working in his kitchen would be one hell of an opportunity for any cook.
So, here’s a little message for all the no-shows: Your name is on the resume. This city is quite small, and many of us are friends looking out for each other. If you take nothing else from this humble guide at the very least remember this: Show up to your stages, we remember those who don’t.
]]>Costs of running a restaurant from every aspect have increased
Margins in the daily operations are significantly tight
Menu prices have to rise in order to not only succeed but survive.
There, now you don’t have to worry about reading the rest of the article.
BUT WAIT!! STAY FOR A LITTLE LONGER!!!
When Kathleen Wynne announced the minimum wage increase in 2017, I felt the storm coming for local businesses, especially when it came to restaurants. As fair as it is to bring the minimum wages up for all, I felt that it wasn’t going to be an ideal situation for the industry. Unfortunately, that has become the reality.
At Algonquin College, we had a class where local Chefs would come in and talk to the aspiring graduates about what their food was about, impart some wisdom on to the youngins, and prepare us for the obstacles we have to face as a green cook making our way in this business. One Chef, in particular, talked about what it means to be a Chef/owner as well as the unexpected costs, people not finding their way into his seats, and other reasons which factored into his first place closing. As he was discussing these same struggles with his second place, it made me realize very quickly that opening a restaurant is the definition of a crapshoot. That conversation has always stuck with me.
10 years later and that conversation holds more weight now than ever. The landscape has changed and people are becoming quite concerned about how menu prices are being altered (and in this case increased) yet still, we as restaurants are identified in a negative light for making these adjustments. The reality is, they have to be made and must align with what’s happening during these times. For each position to earn what’s fair, menu prices have to increase because that is how a restaurant generates its revenue. There aren’t dozens of ways that a restaurant can make money. It’s either through food, alcohol, and/or renting out the building or designated areas for a private event. The guest is going to see inflation on menu prices because restaurants need to make adjustments of their own once they start seeing operating costs rise.
Working as a cook since I was 15 I can safely say I’m well versed in how a restaurant is structured and it gets a bit silly when, with all this happening, we still have “bloggers” out there who’ve never stepped foot on the line telling young cooks to not accept any offers less than $20-22 from independent Chef/Owners. Of course you ask for what you’re worth, but don’t go in thinking you’ll be making that kind of coin. It’s not going to happen when that’s not even what the Chefs make themselves and if we want to see everyone earning a decent wage then continuously questioning why menu prices are increasing has to stop.
There are plenty of adjustments that Chefs/Owners/Managers are making. Keeping a close eye on labour is huge. Prioritizing so that on slower nights staff get sent home early. Making sure that mise en place is done effectively so tasks aren’t taking much time to complete. There are constant changes being made to find cost-effective ways of doing things. Restaurants are quickly becoming hypersensitive to staffing strategies in order to keep costs affordable. More cooks are working 4-day weeks now, which is something that people who’ve been working in the industry for decades and have their “war stories” of 15-hour days 7 days a week could only have dreamt of (although don’t worry, I know there’s still some out there and I commend you). The reality is that the costs of maintaining a restaurant go with inflation. From the cleaning services (Ecolab), water, hydro, breakages and gas. All of these are costs that are reflected in your order of Lamb Shanks served with polenta.
Margins of running a restaurant are one of the smallest of any business, yet it’s sometimes expected for us to make all of these concessions. Free bottle of wine for an anniversary, free desserts for birthdays, and multiple other ways for a guest to receive something at little to no cost. We are in the business of constant variable costs. Recognition of menu price increases come with the territory. Local and independent restaurants don’t get the type of costs from suppliers that major chains and grocers do. It’s not out of the question to expect to find a better price on the cost of a striploin portion at Loblaws than what Chefs are able to get into their kitchen. Since grocers like Loblaws or major restaurant chains like Joey’s have such a stronghold on their buying power, they can get the same or similar product at the fraction of the cost. It’s also not as straightforward as comparing prices in our city to other major cities around the country given our landscape. We create menus based on the food in our area. That is why our food shouldn’t be compared to Montreal, Toronto or Vancouver.
People are now more conscious of what they eat in terms of sustainability–from organic produce, hook and line caught seafood and free-range chicken. Any good place you can find in Ottawa is using as much local product as they can. Chefs are held responsible for creating plates that focus as heavily on local and organic produce as they can and farmers are doing their part to charge a fair price to the restaurant. A 5kg order of carrots grown 30 minutes outside of the city will cost the equivalent as a 20kg bag of horse carrots (I’m calling them horse carrots cause they’re big-ass carrots that could feed a horse) that you could get from Sysco or GFS. That difference in price at a cost to the restaurant is reflected in the cost of the dish on the menu - as it should be. To expect higher quality products that are sustainable/organic and presented through the Chefs finished plate, menu pricing will be reflective of that.
Restaurants don’t want to shortchange their guests. They want the best they can produce because that’s the pride we take in our craft. When I wrote about having a passion for this career, it wasn’t a fluff piece. We want to use the best possible product we can and the guest deserves the best product because they are spending their hard earned money. I think it’s a little unfair to call this a “necessary evil”; it’s the way the world works. With time, comes change and in any business, you need to adapt and evolve. Whether that means redesigning menus with smaller portion sizes to maintain food costs, sourcing product from different suppliers or continuing to put out the best product and pricing it accordingly, we will see how restaurants choose to go. My hope is that these prices become less of a shock and people are more aware of what it means to run a successful restaurant both financially and in quality.
]]>We at Sauce/ on side are happy to have Nayeer Salem of Grove Wellness contribute this piece to our site! I would've been very grateful to have read this in my earlier days having some Jamo and 50's at The Brig thinking I could be Superman the next day for my shift, not the case. This lets us understand not only how to cure a hangover but what the hell that morning devil actually is! Enjoy.
The hangover: a cooks kryptonite. I can tell you from first-hand experience that one of the worst things to endure is a 10-hour kitchen shift on a raging hangover. Not only is it awful to do any job while hungover, but add to that intense prep work, a cutthroat kitchen environment, and a crazy dinner rush and you've got a recipe for disaster. I've tried many things to cure my hangovers before working a kitchen shift, from eating junk food and taking copious amounts of Advil, to combining Labatte 50 with Clamato for a "miracle" juice, and trust me it's disgusting...I do not recommend it!
The first step to understanding how to cure a hangover is understanding what makes us feel hungover (get ready for a science lesson)! The main reason we get those awful hangover symptoms is all thanks to a key ingredient found in every alcoholic beverage: Ethanol. This ingredient acts as a diuretic in the body, which simply means that it dehydrates the hell out of us, and that’s also why you probably have to go pee A LOT while drinking. Another main reason you feel like crap is because of our lovely, helpful organ; the liver. The liver is in charge of purifying the blood and eliminating bodily toxins. For the most part, it kind of works like a filter. Think of the liver as the border patrol organ of your body, it's like Donald Trump trying to build a wall in your anatomical system... no Bueno! The liver pretty much views alcohol as a super toxic substance in your body and wants to eliminate it as fast as possible. However, to properly eliminate, the liver must be properly hydrated. So now we're back to square one dehydrated and with a liver that's panicking because it thinks you're poisoning it...even though you're just enjoying your third rum and coke while singing Sweet Caroline at a karaoke bar. The good news is that you can actually cure a hangover, and it's pretty simple!
So, after a lot of first hand "research", I have concluded that curing a hangover takes three simple things: First and foremost is hydration. The most important thing during a night out is trying to balance out your alcohol consumption with an almost equal amount of water. Don't worry, this won't ruin the buzz alcohol gives you, it will just help you not feel like you woke up in the Sahara desert come morning. Second is to eat liver healing foods. These include beets, cabbage, broccoli, avocado and dark bitter green such as arugula, spinach, and kale. I know that the last thing anyone wants to eat when they are hungover is a nice big salad, but trust me it works a hell of a lot better than McDonalds. My recommendation: make every millennials favourite food - the avocado toast - and then stop by one of the many wonderful juice bars Ottawa has to offer and grab a beet-based cold-pressed juice, it's like drinking a salad instead.
Finally, and in my opinion is the most important thing: you need a good amount of sleep. Cells regenerate during REM sleep, and most bodily repair happens when you sleep, that's why people tend to sleep a lot more when they're sick. Try to get in a good 8 hours at least before going to bed and you'll wake up feeling a whole lot more refreshed.
Now that you know how to cure a hangover in the most holistic way possible, go out and have a shot for me. And remember, when you wake up, to have a beet salad on hand!
Services can be fucking wild. This New York Times article writes about how being an expo is akin to being a Quarterback. They are the play-callers. Watching as everything gets punched in alongside the kitchen. There are so many different factors happening during the dinner rush that the expo has to be aware of what's happening at all times. Watching each dish as they come to the pass, dealing with audibles and along with the Chef, play-calling the flow of service. I’d challenge anyone who thinks they can expo without any experience, to do so at a high end level and see how they fare.
An expo has to almost have the same qualities as the Chef themselves, firm but fair. You can’t hesitate to speak up. During service, communication is as crucial to success as a Chef’s knife skills or a Servers wine and food knowledge. And the nucleus between the two worlds of BOH and FOH are the Expo.
From the 18 year old hostesses rocking that Expo line, to the 20 year veteran Chefs, it doesn’t matter who you are as long as you are up to the task. Between chit times, courses, allergies and off-menu tastings, the expos head is always on a swivel. When they see 20 minutes too long on a chit they have to let the Chef know to get their crew in line and work on getting it up. A server comes to the pass and says table 9 has these set of allergies, so what can we do to accommodate them?The expo is quite literally calling plays and audibles as they happen.
I’ve always appreciated a great expo. When everyone else is in the weeds during service, the expo is pulling a Matt Damon in Good Will Hunting, solving each and every chit’s equation to make sure the ship runs smoothly. I would urge any expo to read this article because you are more valued than you think. You play a massive role in ensuring service runs smoothly and all our tables are properly serviced. You are the last set of eyes that checks plates are up to par, looking great, and allergy accommodations are provisioned for. You fix kitchen hiccups if mods are missed, and are the superhero/heroines if FoH needs something on the fly. You run that bridge between Back and Front of house and if it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t have the stellar services that we do, ensuring quality food with quality service to every person that comes through that door. Thank you, to all the Expos out there, for all the good work that you do.
Now, can I get some HANDS PLEASE?!
]]>But where does the issue stem from, and why do we see two great places close down seemingly out of nowhere?
As I was looking at the articles on their closings, there was one quote on The Pomeroy’s Facebook announcement that really got to me.
‘We had some successes, cherished guests, delightful parties, and the response was overwhelmingly positive in regards to food, atmosphere and service. The harsh reality is that we simply didn’t serve enough of you.’
This was incredibly eye opening but as noted, it is a harsh reality. In order for a place to not just survive but thrive, restaurants need to get butts in seats, people eating their food and quenching their thirst, all while being in an atmosphere they can’t necessarily find anywhere else in town. When people aren’t coming through the door, it’s hard to maintain a business.
This year has easily been the hardest on the restaurant industry with food prices going up at the same time as the minimum wage increase, as Chef Clunie of Gastropub said in her interview with the Citizen. And it’s so true. The margins are so slim as it is when running a restaurant that global and societal shifts like this can end up being the deciding factor. In addition to this, customers are deeply turned off when seeing price hikes on their meals since nobody wants to suddenly be paying more than they were before for their food. “How dare they increase the price of their dishes - it must be greed!” Smarten up people, it’s not that luxurious owning a restaurant. Now more than ever, owners are watching their numbers down to the nickel. They’re not on plush velvety thrones demanding to charge whatever they so choose for their own enjoyment.
I had thought when minimum wage went up that people would be dining out more. More money means greater spending power which should hopefully translate to entertainment and an increase in dining out. Instead, it seems that when people do have the extra cash to eat out, people would rather eat in and spend on premium pricing and delivery on UberEats or SkipTheDishes while getting soggy wings and greek salads. I’ve been to a couple of places this year and Chefs and servers are shaking their heads collectively wondering where all the people are.
It’s up to us, the guests, to DO BETTER! Let’s not lose the nostalgia and connections that come from an amazing dining experience. Food is a connecting medium and we shouldn’t be inhaling it in front of a TV while sitting next to your people. It should be shared with your people, accompanied by great conversation, where you learn something new about that person or bond over that ambient music. It’s having laughs that you create together and sharing memories while making new ones. It’s engaging in a universal tradition that celebrates what you have around you; a community.
Living and working in Ottawa for the past decade I’ve seen lot of places come and go, but there’s something different about this time around with these two restaurants. I’ve seen the quality of food and establishments elevate themselves over the past 10 years which has made me extremely proud to be cooking in this city. The talent that has come up over that decade as well, has been something amazing to witness. We in the industry know about each other through the grapevine and there’s a core sense of community. So for these two places to be closing so close together makes me realize that we have to do our part, and better support those who are trying to do a good thing.
Maybe we have to do a better job of looking out for each other. Whether that’s word of mouth or supporting through social media. I don’t have the answers to create sure fire success for any other place. What I can do on this platform is highlight the true losses of having two really great places close down. This is not what we want to be witnessing.
Next time you find yourself with some time and a little extra coin, go out and enjoy yourself in a new place. It sounds cliche, but we have to support local. We talk about it, but we have to do a better part in the execution. This situation clearly shows that good people still need our constant support to not only succeed but even to just stay in business. Let’s do what we can to make sure this doesn’t happen again to those good people doing a good thing.
]]>As I walk into the restaurant that is under construction I get that countdown to Christmas feeling. You know, when it’s around the 5th or 6th day of December, and you have less than three weeks until you get to open up all your gifts. Time is moving in this weird slow/fast motion. But here, Christmas Day is when the much anticipated GongFu Bao finally arrives and opens its doors! I eagerly await to open all of my presents, which in this case are the variety of delicious bao buns that I need to chow down on immediately.
From being inspired at an early age by Chinese Cinema and John Wu movies, to immersing himself in the Chinese culinary history and discipline, Tarek brings humble ideas of chinese food to the city, with a little bit of funk added to the mix.
Working in Ottawa for the past decade myself, it’s people like Tarek that I’ve seen here and there, but have never gotten the opportunity to sit down and actually talk to. What’s great about our community is that the moment I reached out and asked to chat, he was down. The second we formally shook hands and the conversation started, it was like we were catching up on old times. That’s something you can’t get without a mutual respect for what we do and the love we put into our food.
5 years ago Tarek Hassan decided to open up a food truck, and we’ve been reaping the rewards ever since. It’s a daunting task to start your own business, whether it’s a food truck or a full scale restaurant. But through those 5 years of owning the cart, Tarek learned how to build a business, how to brand himself not only as a Chef, but as a concept (specializing in Bao, with everything else being extensions of that), and how to make that concept come together to establish his name in the Capital.
A huge lesson I learned from my talk with Tarek is the idea of Scope, and how that can really benefit a Chef when they realize what they want to do with their food. Once you realize what your scope is - as it pertains to your ideas and how that extends to the food you’re creating - you become more disciplined and stay within a range that allows you to become successful and in actuality more creative. This goes back to David at The Ketchup Project who talked about staying away from doing a “spicy ketchup” because you can find that pretty much anywhere and isn’t unique to what he’s doing. Once you know your scope, you can specialize in what you focus on. When you don’t have this direction, you sometimes find that people will start with an idea and then create too many extensions of that, becoming a jack of all trades but a master of none.
There’s a reason why Tarek talks about scope and why he chose the name GongFu Bao. Through hard work, perseverance, and practice you achieve a discipline and skill set. This couldn’t be any more truthful when it comes to the craft of culinary arts. This becomes the fundamentals for becoming a great cook and in time a great Chef. Tarek formed this discipline that we can see come forth through his bao buns with years of perfecting what flavours work together. He honours the Chinese cuisine influences while adding a little taste of home, but not the other way around. For example, he’s created a sticky pork belly Bao that uses maple syrup instead of rice syrup which is what the Chinese conventionally use in Hong Kong. Taking an R&D trip to Hong Kong gave Tarek the inspiration on how to recreate and bring a lot of what he was eating over there back to an Ottawa market and thus into a restaurant environment.
As young cooks go to work for Tarek I get a good sense about one thing for sure, you will have the GongFu Bao discipline instilled in you. There might not be fancy dots on plates but the food is love. You learn fundamentals and comprehending the idea of bringing two or more cultures together with respect, through the creation of his food.
Tarek couldn’t speak highly enough of the Chefs and owners in our community who’ve helped him along the way not only for the past 5 years, but through the process of opening up 365 Bank St. It’s really great hearing this because that’s what Sauce / on Side is all about as well, that sense of community and everyone trying to do a good thing. GongFu Bao is going to be the place where you see a lot of familiar faces on a constant basis, because we already know what Tarek can do. Now, with his new platform to showcase his Baos I can guarantee this is going to be a regular spot for many people in the city!
Epilogue
As I rush to close down my station after a Saturday lunch service I’ve got one thing on my mind: get to 365 Bank street! The night prior I see on GongFuBaos instagram that the soft-opening is happening and I want to be one of the first to get my hands on his buns! Oh relax I’m talking about BAOs!! A quick Uber over and there’s already a line up out the door an hour into opening. I order a Beef Brisket Bao and an order of Turducken Sui Mai dumplings. A couple of minutes was all it took for me to inhale the food, so much so that I forgot to take a picture of the dumplings for the ‘gram. If this is only the beginning, than holy smokes I’m excited for what’s to come. We’re in good hands Ottawa, as long as what’s in ours are these delicious buns.
As I sit with Katherine Rainville over coffee, I am humbled by her knowledge and perspective. Because we as men have no fucking clue what it is to be a woman in this industry and succeed. We can talk about how it’s 2018 and that things are on the upswing but we still have a responsibility to change our culture and our perspective so that we do not fall into the shitty patterns of the past, and can look forwards towards an equal future.
As a society, we need to stop thinking we can ask our waitresses to,“Smile, honey”. Let’s leave this behind and never look back. Walk into a place that has an extensive cocktail menu, watch a man behind the bar with a towel over his shoulder, fixing up a drink in his shaker, a serious look on his face and the perception is that he knows what he’s doing and he’s taking it seriously. Put a woman in the same situation, and she comes off as bitchy. You might even question if she knows what she’s doing if she doesn’t shake or stir ‘the right way’. She’s rude and probably doesn’t want to be at work today, ‘but if you just smiled hun, you’d look so much prettier’. While we may not always witness or even notice this in the moment, the subtle condescension of these words are what make them common microaggressions for many women in this industry.
A woman comes up to a table and suggests a wine. She goes through the flavour profiles and how it matches with some of the menu items. Then the questioning begins, “Oh but is it a VQA..” or “You know I heard the opposite though..” in a painfully slow tone because women are also apparently hard of hearing or need words to be slowed down when spoken to. But when men have the same approach they already have that credit and trust, “Oh you’re good! You really know what you’re talking about.” When trusting the decision to be made for you because it was coming from a man (whether you realize it or not), this is bullshit. It’s time to unlearn, dismantle, and change these antiquated behaviours that are informed through centuries of social conditioning.
The locker room talk in a kitchen is archaic. Women Chefs shouldn’t have to feel the need to compete with, or even tolerate that language anymore. It has to become extinct. It’s hard enough to be a woman in the kitchen with that kind of shit still happening. And what happens in a lot of these cases is that women get tired of the same old stupid routine of having the boys club run the show; having conversations and jokes that women can’t be a part of because you know…’they just won’t get it’. A lot of good places are changing this which is amazing but it’s up to every kitchen and restaurant to do more and make sure that we are becoming more inclusive. We need to create environments that allow women to feel empowered and safe to be who they are so we can stand next to them as equals, regardless of how different or similar we may be.
As I’m talking to Katherine, all the dots are beginning to connect for me. Working in the kitchen, I’ve come to see variations of these microaggressions throughout my career and fortunately for me, I’ve worked with teams that have been more progressive than others. For Katherine, and many other women out there, they see, hear, and live these experiences while being expected to just deal with it. All that bullshit needs to end. It takes talking to Katherine to open my eyes up and see that the fight is far from over. As a society, we need to look at inclusivity and respect for others no matter the sex.
As well, the LGBTQ+ communities are becoming stronger and they are starting to have a greater presence in our society, but they still deal with many unfair stigmas. As people become more socially conscious of what they consume and where they’re consuming it, we have a major opportunity as industry leaders to do our part in showing how welcoming we are of everyone. Being a voice in the industry, Katherine has been pushing an amazing, positive agenda at Social for over the last 5 years. From Queers in the Courtyard, Queers and Beers, and Taste for Life, it is truly inspiring to know that she is spearheading so many great events, for so many great causes and bettering our community by making it more inclusive. I use that word a lot here because it’s about damn time we have that mentality.
Food and drink brings all walks of people together and is exclusive to no one. We need to remember this as we move forward and own our voices and platforms to show our support to a changing world that accommodates for everyone. We need to start taking these responsibilities seriously or we’ll be left in the dust. Talking with Katherine is always such a pleasure because when she speaks, she does so with a strong deliberate voice that is fair while bringing forth an inspiring perspective to the table.
Love is Love.
]]>There’s a scene in the movie Birdman where Michael Keaton and Edward Norton’s characters are at a bar discussing the play they are about to open on broadway. Both men play eccentric actors who give everything in each performance on stage, and this play they’re about to open is the biggest risk of their career. As Norton’s character (Mike) leaves the bar he notices the critic who will surely be attending opening night and starts by quoting the line by Flaubert to her.
The critic responds with:
“He's a Hollywood clown in a Lycra bird suit.”
“Yeah. And at 8 o'clock tomorrow, he's gonna get on stage and risk everything. What're you gonna be doing?” Mike responds.
“Don't you ever worry that I'll give you a bad review?”
“Oh, I'm sure you will. If I ever give a bad performance.”
So here we are, talking about something that’s kind of taboo and which I’m not sure why. Why do critics hold the power they do over us?
At Sauce/onside, we don’t do critiques and reviews because it’s not about that. It’s about the discussion of what we do and the passion we have. It’s about our perspective on issues that we face, the struggles that we overcome and the great things that we constantly try to bring to our guests. A chef once told me to always cook like you’re cooking for your mother. Another said, if a mistake never leaves the pass, then it’s not a mistake. There’s so much pressure to do what we do day in and day out that it’s little words of wisdom like these that help me balance my sanity on my road to being the best I can be.
If you want a little insider scoop, a major key to cooking is trial and error. Seems like a crazy concept right? But this is what cooking is all about. It’s an artform to a certain extent isn’t it? The amount of ups and downs that go into menu planning and execution is exhausting. When the Chef finally puts out a menu, there’s so much of themselves in the food they’re sending out. After so many hours in each day and in the months of prepping, there’s nothing like a new menu launch. Daunting is not a fair word for it, but that’s what it is. Sometimes Chefs have entire menus planned out and then when they soft launch they realize that much of it isn’t going to work. Going back to the drawing board happens a lot more than you think because a Chef always wants their guest to have the best experience. The entire process is wild and exhausting. So many pages of ideas and recipes just thrown out the window because it didn’t translate to the plate. It’s Chefs locking themselves in a room, reading and studying. Then they go into their kitchens hours before service and stay much later when hotline is called, to perfect what they envision. When it all comes together, it’s something beautiful. There could not possibly be any greater feeling than to get the food a Chef has worked so hard on to finally be out there for the guest to enjoy.
...Then comes the reviews.
Now, there is a place for them. In all forms of a business, you need to be reviewed and checked. Whether as a company or an individual, in big businesses or in the arts. What I’m talking about is the culture of critics who have never been behind the line or gone through the experiences of what we in the industry go through daily, but still get the privilege to be behind the pen or keyboard judge the blood, sweat, and hours put into the dishes they eat. Let’s call some of them keyboard warriors.
The positive about having food reviews is that it’s an informed opinion on what goes into a dish. It’s great to read a well written review of a restaurant or dish that helps in your decision as to whether or not you would find yourself enjoying a night out at a certain place. But not everyone should feel they have the authority to be a critic. The same way someone who knows how to make a really good meatloaf at home shouldn’t think to themselves they know how to execute an entire menu.
There should be better relationships formed between the critic and the artist. But that probably won’t ever be the case due to an inherent disconnect between the both. The disconnect being the understanding of how hard a Chef fucking works to get new and exciting dishes out and the mental and physical strain it takes on them while the critic just gets to sit down and pick apart what they’re currently eating.
The crazy thing is, people make careers out of these Chef’s incredible hard work. I can’t say that I don’t find it a little laughable. But again, I find more legitimacy in the educated writer than I do in the food blogger that has a little bit of money to spend and a computer at home. It goes back to always cooking like it’s for your mother. When a “blogger” comes to a restaurant and announces themselves, it’s just in poor taste if they try to sneak it into the conversation at any point in the dining experience. We as culinary professionals try to cook for everyone equally. It’s sometimes these same bloggers who feel like they can relate to what we do, sorry to inform you that is not the case. And to those that just tweet and post on instagram their thoughts about the industry, when they never worked a shift in their life, should know that we don’t take you seriously.
For someone to be educated in what goes into the food and can eloquently put their opinion into words, this is a constructive tool. It needs to be on a more human level instead of looking at what we do as binary. There are so many other factors that go into each dish and its execution. Sometimes it’s not as simple as cooking the food and plating it. For the writers that are truly informed about our craft and have the credentials to write about it, those are the words that we recognize.
It’s pretty common knowledge that we in the service industry aren’t out to get the guest. We want to make it the best experience it can be! Educated and informed reviews are vital, but not those who had an unfortunate experience and didn’t try to get it rectified at the time, only so that they could go home and get behind their tripadvisor account to bury so many people’s hard work and effort. That power is a delicate thing to hold over people’s heads. A restaurant will succeed or fail over their consistency. It shouldn’t have to come down to online stars.
People nowadays will almost always look up the places they’re going to eat at from a couple sources. I’m impressed when people decide to blindly go into a restaurant. We want to be certain about what we’re getting into. But sometimes these online reviews are laughable. If a restaurant consistently doesn’t live up to serving its guests the best way it can, it won’t stay open for long. It’s not ok though for a guest to come in and proclaim themselves to be a food blogger and put unnecessary pressure on the people who are trying to cook and serve everyone the best way they can. It’s clout that should hold no weight.
“Yeah. And at 8 o'clock tomorrow, he's gonna get on stage and risk everything. What're you gonna be doing?” I fucking love this line because of the truth it holds. The kitchen and dining room is our stage, and each night we really do risk so much. Yes when you look at it it’s only food. But it’s experiences and memories that we all create as an industry for you, the guest. It’s a shame when we are all so quick to judge without informed opinions.
Anton Ego says it best in his final review of Gusto’s,
“In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little, yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face is that, in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so. But there are times when a critic truly risks something, and that is in the discovery and defense of the new.”
]]>Dave is an Ottawa boy through and through. I’ve talked about how much I’ve seen this city grow and become what it is today on the culinary spectrum in the past 10 years since I’ve been here. Just imagine how Dave has seen it evolve in the last 30! Now he’s doing his part in helping that evolution along on a positive trajectory.
The building of Flora Hall Brewery is a character on it’s own. Not being touched for so many years, I feel like a lot of restaurateurs are slapping themselves for not getting their hands on such a great space. When Dave bought the building there was an incredible amount of work to be done. But 10 months of hard work, gutting the place and modernising it transformed it into what you walk into today. Dave was also adamant to keep the character of the fire hall that came before it. The soft opening was held for staff, but in particular for all the tradesmen who could see and take pride in the work that they’ve accomplished which was something very special to Dave and all those involved in opening Flora.
Dave’s previous experience really caught me by surprise! His previous career was spent running companies and travelling around the world. He would find himself in cities from London to Japan! After his corporate dinners he would sneak off into hidden pubs and bars where he could really experience what these cities had to offer. In doing this you learn so much about the culture on personal level. It’s interesting to see where the locals go and what they like to drink and eat. If someone were to ask me where to go in Ottawa, I’m not telling them to go to Kelsey’s and get a Budweiser with pita bread. That’s not Ottawa. Go to Flora Hall Brewery and get the Rideau Pines asparagus with a pint of the Strawberry Rhubarb Gose. That tells you the story of the city with those spring flavours with everything produced locally.
Here’s the kicker, this is the first restaurant that Dave has ever operated! But talking to him you would think he’s been running restaurants for decades. He hits every note on the psychology of a dining room from the staff to the culture, and even down to the layout(having a horseshoe bar where people can see the drinks being poured and creating an overall unique environment). He didn’t just wake up one morning and decide to do this. He’s been planning it for years as he was travelling and dining out. He spent this time observing what works and what doesn’t in each fine dining establishment to local pub; applying his knowledge of building teams and creating companies into what he’s built now with Flora.
Dave knew that to create a positive culture he needed to build a great team around him. He knew what his role was by contributing a vision for the space, bringing it to fruition and then hiring great people. His first three hires were people that he knew could help build Flora into what it could grow to become, and it’s something quite special already within its first year. Allie O’Callaghan was his first hire before Flora even started construction. Having known her prior, Dave knew what she brought to the table in terms of FOH management and her ability to grow the culture. Linette Edmonds was hired second to run the kitchen. Knowing the strength he needed from a great Chef, and the type of cuisine that was going to compliment the Flora concept, he knew Linette could fuse those two together exceptionally. The final piece of the puzzle was Rod Hughes, who had been working in Vancouver at the time. Dave knew after much searching that he found something special in Rod, who flew out to Ottawa, brought some of the beers he had been working on out West, and both connected right away with what they’re passionate about when it comes to high quality beer.
Dave’s instinct to hire great people and recognizing that talent quickly showed when, within their first ten months of being opened, Flora won gold at the Canadian Brewery Award for Best Ordinary English Bitter. This is a feat in and of itself when a lower percentage beer (3.5%) can beat out higher percentages (averaging around 6%). This was achieved through the presence of great flavours in the lower percentage of beer, which is normally only found in higher percentage beers. Lower percentage beers are normally considered more on the bland side, but in focussing on bringing that punch to a quality pint, Dave and his team made something special happen and they won!
Just spending time chatting with Dave I was learning so much about the history and importance of each beers characteristics. People are becoming more educated on what they’re drinking these days. For example, an EOB (English Ordinary Bitter) is important because if you were to walk into a pub in England, you’d find yourself having a pint of Ordinary or Best - Best being comparative to a higher percentage. The advantage to the Ordinary is that it’s a working class beer that offers a lot of flavour without getting you right messed. It’s what the brew masters themselves would drink and enjoy maybe even during the shift sometimes. It’s all about the learning experience and having a guest leave saying they’ll never have another Keith’s again. Also, there’s a difference between tasting beers and having a flight. When people generally have flights, they’re not taking the time to go by it’s scale. They may have a sip of each and go back and forth. Taking a sip of a heavy IPA, then delving into an EOB is doing a disservice to what each pint offers. But when taking the time to explore each pint for its flavours and characteristics you become much more inclined to know what you like and have a conversation on what you think about each beer.
With a mix of mainstays and rotating taps you’ll always have something new to explore at Flora. There’s a lot of heart in each pint that Flora produces. Dave wants Flora Beer Hall to be the local brewery for hundreds of years to come. As we were chatting Dave took the time to congratulate his friends on their recent marriage. He mentioned to me that they had asked to buyout Flora for their ceremony and he politely declined because Dave knows what it means to be a local spot. He never wants any of his regulars and guests to have a craving for a pint of Oatmeal Stout or the Mango IPA, only to be disappointed to see that they’re closed for a private event. Flora will always be open!
I was overwhelmed with how spot on Dave was when talking about his vision for Flora. From what he had envisioned when buying the firehall to building his team before they even laid down the groundwork. In its short history, they’re already making their mark in the craft beer world. Success happens because of the people and the hard work they put forth each day in what they’re so passionate about. You’ll savour that in every sip of beer you have. Whatever the occasion, you want to enjoy yourself with a great pint at Flora.
]]>Everyone is sitting at the table of our local pub, but in my little corner I’m with my Executive Chef and both Chefs de Cuisine. We’re just shooting the shit and it’s an awesome time. I’m just listening to what they have to say and taking it all in...until I decided to open my mouth. At this point I was greener than goose shit, but I still had only ever been a cook. I was still in the early stages of my growth in this industry. So I start talking and adding onto the points that they were making. For the life of me still to this day, I don’t remember what I said. But I know that I went off for a minute or two just saying what I felt at the time (with a little help from the labatt five-o). As I finish my spiel I take a sip of my drink and think, “Ah shit Ty, you just made an ass of yourself again didn’t ya?” Only to see my Chef take a minute, pat one of my CDC’s on the shoulder and tell him,
“See, this kid just gets it”
Now I’m a little older, slightly wiser, and have been through the ringer a couple of times and still came out with minimal damage. Hence why I still love what I do each and every service. But the fun thing about being in this industry is being on the other side of that conversation. Seeing those young cooks come up. They’re shy and don’t have a fucking clue what they’re doing when they start. If you think you do as a young cook, than this thing about ‘just putting food on plates’ will become a lot more difficult than you think.
It takes time. You don’t have all the answers and Chefs will not expect you to. Often times, you already have the answer that was taught to you, maybe sometimes without you even knowing it. But it’s really cool to see a young cook come into their own; to see them making the right moves and work with the right speed. See how they evolve their mise en place from novice to boss level. Or when they show you a plate and you sense that they’re starting to realize how to use the flavours and ingredients they’ve been working with for a period of time. It all starts to come together and is a beautiful thing.
Chefs see everything you’re doing! Don’t get it twisted. It’s when they see this evolution happening in young careers that they will recognize you more. They see the effort, and there’s not many things that top a Chef’s “happy list” more than seeing initiative and hard work. But overall, it’s more than that. It’s having the understanding on what we do each day; for ourselves, for each other grinding on the line, and for our Chefs. It’s the respect for the craft, the animals, and the produce that we are so lucky to create with. Always stay attentive and always have that respect.
“This kid just gets it” was one of the best compliments in my young career and it still sticks with me. I have the pleasure of working with some young cooks now that I would say the same thing to, as I know Chefs around the city would feel the same with their apprentices. You gotta put the work in. I want each young chef to be told that someday. My Chef at the time might not have realized the impact it had on me, but it is most definitely not lost.
Epilogue
I tasted a dish by a young cook the other night that hit every note to what our style of cuisine is. That’s why I thought about this story, and wanted to write about what that memory brought back for me. I told them how impressed I was by it and how they hit it out of the park. For the young cooks out there, it’s a lot of hard work to make your way in this business. But Chefs will recognize your talent when it comes through what you put forth. Don’t just talk at your Chefs, have a conversation. Talk about food, life, and how to be better each day both on and off the line. I’ve always said how fun this gig is, and as I myself progress each day, I’m excited to see the young ones come up and succeed with me.
]]>I love stepping into a kitchen with a Chef as they tell me about their food and how they run their line. A theme that I’ll continue to talk about at S/os is culture. What kind of culture is created in each restaurant varies, and differs each in its own unique and positive way.
As James is showing me around the kitchen we talked about how lucky he is to turn MēNa into a creative playground. Not bogged down by restrictions or in some cases even food costs, he is able to bring to your table exactly the vision that he has set forth without limits. That is something that he stresses he does not take for granted because he knows that many Chefs that are still doing awesome things are not afforded that same kind of opportunity most times.
For the young cooks that come through MēNa it’s a very different experience because of this. It’s a chance to really show what you, as an individual, can do creatively - to realize that this is not just a job. You have to work hard and push everyday to maintain your spot in a high level kitchen. There are kitchens that have 5 or 6 cooks that come into work with ideas, suggestions and a solid work ethic each day. These are the cooks that wake up in the morning and the first thing to enter their minds is what next they can create. Then there are some that come in to log their time, do the bare minimum, and collect a paycheck thinking that it’s just another job. These people will drown, and they will do it quite quickly. A small lesson for those that want to cook professionally at a high level. The three things James wants to teach his cooks is Finesse, Quality, and Speed. When there is a 12 course tasting menu and the timing between each plate is 10 minutes max you better have those three things going all throughout service, starting from setting up your station to when you’re scrubbing it down. This is how James keeps his cooks interested and excited, by testing the limits of their capabilities and providing the opportunity to see how far they can go. Through this, he can see the quality of cook he has in his kitchen. It’s all about how well you can manage when you’re in the weeds.
MēNa provides a tasting menu each service with a bar menu added, and brunch on the weekends! The advantage of a tasting menu allows James and his team to use only the freshest ingredients. Literally the freshest…No I’m being serious I mean so fresh that I hear that most times their staff meals are pretty wicked. The biggest advantage that the tasting menu allows for, is for James to have fun with different ingredients and concepts, but never for them to stay stagnant. Each dish on his tasting menus are telling a story. Even when you’ve seen the same ingredient on your 7th plate as you saw on your 2nd, that ingredient still serves a purpose on each plate in a different way. It also alleviates the stress of making menu decisions and allows guests to leave everything in the hands of people that want to create an experience for you. This should be the whole point of dining out. The only choices you need to make at MeNa are how many courses you’d like and if you want a wine pairing with your food. It doesn’t get much easier than that! It’s allowing yourself to trust in the Chef’s vision and enjoying the moment.
As James has travelled and eaten around the world, he wants to bring his collected experiences of a high-level of dining to the Capital. He is so committed to this standard that when you walk into MēNa, you are getting Michelin-style service. This goes back to him having all of the creative control that goes into knowing each step that needs to be taken to create this experience for the guest. As we’re talking, I bring up a Marco Pierre White quote that James finishes for me because he has it tattooed on his arm, “Perfection is a lot of the little things done well.” From how James conducts his kitchen, to the knowledgeable Front of House staff forging relationships with each guest so they becoming more than just diners. This level of intimacy with guests is something that James has experienced through travelling, and is one of, if not, the top priority for him to bring into his restaurant.
While James works hard for each guest, it was interesting to talk about the important role reviews play in his success. As MēNa has formed its identity as a fine dining restaurant, it doesn’t shy away from its price point. When you are entering a restaurant about to spend your hard earned money, it is hard to do that on blind faith. So when you are considering your options, reviews become a tool for you to gather insights on what kind of dining experience you can anticipate. As there’s always going to be reviews, what Ottawa lacks is the high level reviews and guides that you find in major cities comparative to the Michelin guide. That’s the ultimate level of fine dining that James wants to be judged on as a Chef. Him and his team are always looking to what they’ve done well and where they can improve with what each guest has to say about their experience. The harsh reality of what each Chef and restaurant has to learn in this craft is beautifully summed up in a quote by Chef Marco Pierre White when he says, "Once you accept you are being judged by people who have less knowledge than yourself, then what's it worth?"
It’s beyond fun talking to James about cooking. He knows exactly what story he wants to tell with his food. He creates an environment in his restaurant that you don’t have to go to London, France, or New York to experience. You can find it in a beautiful 30 seat restaurant in Ottawa’s Little Italy. If a guest wants to know what’s happening beyond the line, Chef James loves touring people around the kitchen even during service. He’ll tell you what his Sous Chef is plating next, or what fish they’re smoking and how long they’re aging their beef for. That’s who James is! That’s why I always say goodbye to James thinking the same thing I do when I say hello, “Now that dude is a fucking Chef”.
]]>Right before he was about to get bottling and have a launch party, David got sick, but this didn’t deter him. After the Christmas holidays, he started doing better! He got the bottles going and ended up in 10 different local stores including The Piggy Market, Around the Block Butcher Shop, Muckleston & Brockwell, and even found its way on the burger at Beckta.
But a successful recipe doesn’t happen overnight. It took David 4 years to settle on a recipe that he was happy to start bringing to the table. When a Chef decides that they’re going to create a product like this, it’s not a project where they pick a recipe online and say I can do that en masse. It takes time and continual tweaking of the recipe each time you make it to see what’s missing, what there’s too much of, and what’s needed to give it a little “Oh what’s this?” What’s awesome when Chef’s go about doing these projects is their nutritional consciousness for the consumer. What you’ll find in The Ketchup Project is that it’s a little looser than the traditional stuff but on the flip side of that there’s only 3% sugar per serving because David uses natural ingredients, so the ketchup gets its sugars from apples that he adds. And this is an awesome point about what it means to create a unique product that’s local and done with love. You don’t have the corn syrup filler or more things you can’t pronounce on the label than the ones you can. Chef’s are aware that small steps like this in a product that they’re selling is viable and benefits all involved in enjoying this ketchup.
The fun part for David with his ketchup is how focused he is on seasonality! With going to the local 613 flea or the Carp Farmers Market he’ll have returning customers ask where the previous special bottle is, as they were maybe looking to get another bottle of the ginger/soy/molasses ketchup. To David though he might explore those flavours again but not when it’s rhubarb season! So he focuses his product by what he can do each season, which is something quite awesome when we think of something as basic as ketchup.
Inspiration can come from anywhere. One of David’s best friends for close to 20 years, is his favourite vegetarian. But he doesn’t necessarily believe in her style of pizza combination. A play on her last name, friends call her specific pizza style “The Zerbanator”. A mix of pineapple, green olives and jalapenos was not something that David or his friends ever found quite appetizing. But dammit if David didn’t give it a try, he wouldn’t have discovered how well the sweetness from the pineapple with the saltiness of the olives, finishing with that final kick you get from the jalapeno’s, would work! Sometimes Chef’s just can’t predict how some of these surprising combos will turn out. David ended up selling it in honour of his friend and people loved it as much as The Zerbanator! One of the main things people should realize is for a Chef inspiration can come from anywhere, it’s the task ahead on making it work for everyone to enjoy!
The world of Ketchup is a domain that David has centered in on. When asked by his customers if he’s going to do BBQ or Hot sauces, the answer for right now seems to be a hard no. There is already such a wide variety available and so many people making similar options next to each other that it wouldn’t make sense for his work to get lost in the mix. “Well why don’t you at least make a spicier version?” The answer to that is simple: take one of the 10 bottles of hot sauce you more than likely already have in your fridge and add it to whatever you’re eating with The Ketchup Project. BOOM. Look at you, chef-at-home!
David takes pride in putting a face to a product. And there’s nothing more powerful than a father/daughter duo to show you the people behind the product you’re buying. David’s young daughter is also their biggest supporter and cheerleader for The Ketchup Project as well! Together, they show a human side to their adventures eating out, and comically demonstrate how yucky the “other” ketchups are when they’re served table side. All you have to do is follow his instagram page to see their adventures! It’s also a great way to keep up to date on where and when David and The Ketchup Project are going to pop up next.
The Ketchup Project is something that is new and unique to not only this city, but to the world of ketchup. And we’re pretty lucky that we have a creator like David, who is so excited about turning the foundations of our food, into products that give us a whole new perspective on what they can be.
As we’re chatting over coffee David comments on my Blue Jays hat and I find that he is a huge baseball fan. A huge stats guy, so much so that as I was trying to keep up with the limited knowledge I know of the Jays rotation this season, one stat still is easy to see. It can easily be said that he sure hit a home run with his project! Go ahead! Step up to the plate and give it a try ;)
“I think I want to become a Chef.”
The idea was never far fetched. Luis (Dad) has been a Chef for all of his career. I grew up with our family having a take-out shop called, Kingston Fish & Chips. Before school I would see the mise en place happen, even though I didn’t have a clue what mise was. Then after school I would come back to the shop and have my favourite for dinner, the fish and chips obviously! Once the shop got sold in early 2000, Luis moved on to be Executive Chef at The Kingsdale Chateau, a retirement residence he took to become one of the top places the Holiday Corporation had in Canada for 5 years running. At this point I was his dishwasher when I proclaimed what I wanted for my chosen career. From dishwashing to becoming a Chef one day, just like Dad.
When I told Dad that I was ready to enter the culinary world on a serious level, he gave me the one piece of advice that I would give to any young cook today, and that has stuck with me ever since.
“You have to have a passion for it.”
Simple, right? At that moment I was told about the realities of this business. The high’s and lows, the hours, the grind, and how much of yourself you mentally and physically give to create.
One summer morning, I got woken up by a call from Dad saying one of his cooks called in sick and he needs me to help him with lunch service. 100 people service, 3 courses and I can still remember the main course was roast beef with yorkshire pudding and scalloped potatoes. I was nervous as all hell, but Chef Lou showed me whether I realized it or not at that time, how to conduct myself on the line. First shift as a cook was with Dad and it will always be my favourite moment in the kitchen. That’s how it all started and now we’re here today.
From that first shift at Kingsdale Chateau to now launching Sauce on Side, he is there with me every step of the way. I graduated Algonquin College just like him. He got me my first knife kit. Anytime I need advice, I turn to Dad. Recipe ideas? Dad. How to conduct myself and grow as a Chef? You bet your ass Luis has got the answer.
At 60 years young you better believe he’s still putting away food orders, making sure mise en place is done for the days ahead, and organizing any special events he’s asked to head up. I don’t think many days go by without someone in the kitchen saying those three little words, “Lou’s got it.” And I guarantee you those young cooks are having a hard time keeping pace with him most days. That’s just how my Dad’s built.
Sauce on Side is about Passion. And if my eyes weren’t opened up to it that day, then I wouldn’t be doing what I absolutely love.
So, to all the working parents out there in this industry, you deserve so much more credit than any feature in a magazine, or accolades given to you. You deserve more than social media followers and passing compliments for creating memorable moments in people’s lives. For those of us who don’t have kids, we’ll never understand how much you do for your family, and your restaurant. A special thanks goes out to all of you.
And to you, thanks Dad.
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I’ve known Matt since going to culinary school together at Algonquin College in 2008 and have always admired his work ethic. Matt had been cooking in restaurants since 2006 when he decided that after 5 years it was time for a new direction in the culinary world.
Matt left Ottawa in 2011 to go work as a private Chef on yachts. Doing that for 6 years, he got to travel the world and experience many unique foods and flavours. But it wasn’t until 2015 when he got asked to be the Chef on a particular vacation that opened his eyes to something simple and amazing.
While working as a Chef on a 10-day vacation in St. Lucia, Matt had the opportunity to work for the owner of a very popular gaming council.. A trip like that would cost on average about $500,000. The food cost budget was a non-issue. While on vacation, the owner’s brother had wanted to cook a special dinner for the family. Matt obliged and offered whatever his fridge had. The dish was fried grouper fish done in a Jamaican style with mashed potatoes and a uniquely pickled onion. Once Matt took his first bite he was amazed that a pickled onion could tie everything together in a dish the way that this had. It was crunchy, sweet, spicy and really brought the whole dish to a completely different level. So he studied the way these onions were quickly pickled, went home and got to work.
It’s hard to explain how the mind of a Chef works. Ya I know you’ve watched the shows on Netflix and probably countless others, but in living and working in it everyday, what you see is often a snapshot into our world. We are creators, scientists and artists. In our first bites, our minds immediately go into dissecting it, isolating all the flavours, catching the different textures and flavour profiles, exploring what you are experiencing, and seeing how it may be restructured through your own vision . This is always such a great moment, and one of the many that inspire us to keep on creating everyday.
Matt worked on his Hunnions recipe at home until he nailed it down. The main idea is to get one great recipe down and go from there. You don’t need to launch with 15 different types of flavoured pickled onions because you’re gonna end up confusing your consumers, and can sometimes compromise the overall quality of your product. Once Matt got his recipe just right, he started selling them off to neighbours and friends. Cutting onions and packaging at home he started to approach local businesses to garner some interest. He went from hand slicing to buying an industrial vegetable slicer. Then business started to pick up! He needed to buy another slicer and find a production kitchen, so he went from selling to friends in the area to about a dozen locations in a matter of 3 weeks! You can even start finding them at restaurants like Tavern on the Hill or the Cheshire Cat. You can also buy them by the jar at places like Lapointes and Grace in the Kitchen!
But even with the fast growing success, the best part for Matt is educating people on what a pickled onion can do for your dish and sharing his experience in creating it. It’s turning non-onion lovers into believers, so he’s basically a magician. Sometimes you have to take a leap of faith and leave it in a Chef’s hands so they can open your eyes and palate to some new and interesting flavours that you may have never thought you would enjoy. Then to have it turn out you can’t believe what you’ve been missing this whole time! The three things you’re going to notice with a Hunnions are Crunch, Sweetness and Spice. To have an onion do so much on it’s own takes time, education and lots of recipe development to find the perfect harmony of it all. It’s a Chef’s commitment to what they create that can go unnoticed until you learn the stories behind it.
It’s great for Matt to find love in not only cooking his product but the business side of it as well. From cooking his onions to marketing and sales. Once you meet Matt and converse with him about why he’s so passionate about this, you can’t help but start buying some Hunnions. It’s in knowing these great people behind the food they create that you see how much love and care goes into such a simple thing; that it’s a thing done well by people who are trying to do good by their food.
It’s a big task to create a new way to call a vegetable that’s a foundation for almost all of cooking. But just like Kleenex or Xerox you never know! One day in the near future you might be asking someone at the dinner table when the family is having a BBQ and you’re looking for that final touch on your hamburger or sausage to pass the Hunnions!
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Respect is a two way street - a value true to S/os. This comes into play when we’re dealing with allergies. What does it mean to a restaurant when you come in with an allergy? Well, we change our complete outlook on service for you. We don’t take it lightly. So it’s important that guests respect their allergies and what it not only means to their service, but to the service for everyone dining that evening.
It’s shitty to say, but this is something that is happening more and more. You see a ton of chef’s nowadays post on their facebook about what a gluten allergy really is. It started off as kind of comical, “UGH, these damn glutens!” but now it’s quickly evolved into a hot topic of discussion.
Chef’s spend months creating new dishes. When dining out trust that a Chef is going to provide an experience with unique flavours that you won’t be able to find anywhere else. Is that really worth alternating their idea of what a dish could be because you don’t like garlic? One of the fundamental ingredients of all cooking.
Cause that’s the point of going out. You want to experience something that you can’t get at home, or even anywhere else. You go to a restaurant for a complete dining experience for sure, but does that mean that you have to alter a Chef’s vision because of a preference rather than an allergy? It would seem the gluten ‘allergy’ example has become a victim of this.
When you go to a restaurant and let your server know of any allergies, it’s a serious thing for everyone who’s working. From the Chef, expo, food runner, to server, nobody is taking your potentially life-threatening allergy lightly. Cutting boards are switched out, everything is re-sanitized and the communication has to be at a higher level between everyone. Keep in mind, that this could all be happening while the entire restaurant is packed. We want to give you a complete experience and we also don’t want to bring any harm to you. The way a kitchen is run comes down to speed, finesse and communication. All three are happening at the same time amongst 4-8 cooks depending on the size of the kitchen. So when an order with an allergy comes in, everyone's hyper aware of what steps need to be taken to ensure quality and safety.
This can easily be taken for granted when you don’t know or see what happens on the other side. There’s in-depth discussion about the allergy, the severity of it, what the guest can and cannot have, tools to avoid for cross-contamination, stations that may need to be moved, the delay this may cause for other tables/dishes, and all the steps that need to be reconfigured for these accommodations to take place. All this, only to have that person share some bites of food others are having that may contain the allergens that were discussed with the server beforehand. It just comes down to the shared respect for what we’re trying to accomplish. Allergies aren’t a joke, and we don’t make light of it. It seems as though we’re becoming a society that indulges in our own preferences at the cost of others. This, relative to what a Chef’s menu is trying to accomplish, is a detriment.
It becomes insulting when someone comes in with a “garlic allergy”. Garlic most of the time is going to be the base of a lot of recipes used in menu items. The shitty thing that happens though is a discussion takes place as to what we can and cannot serve, what we can alter, and what we absolutely need to avoid. The server diligently ensures their information is correct, and lists all of these options only to have a guest say well they’re not really allergic and they can have it if it’s only a little bit. This, plain and simple, is an insult. There are people out there with legit allergies. The frequency in which this happens is so often that I fear a desensitization to these situations will occur, similar to the Crying Wolf parable, and Chef’s are going to start rolling their eyes when these moments come up. Only we can’t, because that’s an ignorance we won’t allow ourselves to have for the betterment of the guest that we’re serving. Plus don’t worry, no good Chef is going to make a dish where the garlic is so prevalent that Dracula is going to call a restraining order on you.
The thing is, I’m somewhat of a picky eater as well, which is kind of funny given my chosen career. When I go to a restaurant and see more than one or two things in the description of a dish that I might not like, I just skip it. Why would I change a Chef’s idea of what a porchetta is if I’m not a fan of some of the accompaniments they put with it?! I love porchetta but maybe I don’t love the blue cheese or pesto that go with it. I move on to something else that I’ll enjoy. I don’t ask for the porchetta with no blue cheese or pesto, because at that point I’m altering the creative process and vision the Chef has for that dish, and that isn’t fair in a line of work built on passion.
An example of this in a different context is when I went to watch Blade Runner 2049. Since cinema and food are both considered forms of art I found it interesting to think about this. I loved Denis Villeneuve’s 2013 movie “Prisoners”, and when I saw the first trailer for Blade Runner 2049 I thought to myself that this was something special. IMAX was the only choice to see this movie. For the most part I enjoyed it, mostly the cinematography. It was so beautifully shot. Outside of that though I had some criticisms on how I felt about the movie. Which I will keep to myself because we’re not here to review or critique. But I couldn’t change the movie, what I saw was how the director envisioned it and I gave that respect. So why can’t it be same with dishes. We’ll always have people reviewing our art form (which we will be discussing at a later date; foreshadowing) but I couldn’t change what I was watching at the time. I couldn’t change his vision on what the film was before viewing it. I couldn’t go into the theater and say “I would like a ticket for Blade Runner please, but can I get an epic Harrison Ford building-to-building leap, and less camera panning of Ryan Gosling walking in a desert? Thanks”
The point is, preferences are not allergies. Don’t hinder your own dining experience, as well as the experience of others. When you go out to dine, of course you’re spending your hard earned money. But when you go out to eat you are making the conscious decision to take the preparation and cooking of food out of your hands and into those who work really hard to give you something that you’ll remember, and hopefully come back for. In the age where people proclaim themselves as foodies and love talking about their dining experiences with others, the places you dine need and deserve that respect back from you.
When we’re living in a world where places just serve up plain boiled chicken and lettuce with a touch of olive oil, you’ll ask yourself “Why is the food so bland?” The answer might surprise you. It’s crazy for me to think of all the time and care we put into dishes for people with legit allergies, only to have that be taken advantage of. That is the reality. More mods are appearing on chits that are hindering a Chef’s creativity.
Respect your allergies because we in the industry don’t take them lightly. We are always here for you. We don’t fuck around when it comes to them. Don’t limit your experience because you don’t like basil, it’s probably a crucial part of the dish. And if you’re so distraught by it than be an adult, pick it off, and enjoy what your eating.
As always, we’re just trying to do a good thing. We’d love if you could be a part of it with us, and share in the passion behind the dish you are consuming.
]]>Fairouz has been the talk of the town for the past year and it continues to be because of Walid. But he wouldn’t say the same thing. To him, he is nothing without his staff. They are the workforce that continue to make Fairouz what it is, and help him continue to build his name as one of the top chefs in this city.
Becoming the quality of Chef that Walid is takes two things: humility and respect. Walid is humble as the day is long after all the accolades that he’s accomplished.In turn, this earns him the respect where people are clamoring to get into his dining room, and young ambitious cooks are lining up to learn from him. What Walid is able to do is build his staff with the knowledge and confidence to earn the right to work beside him and turn out the kind of cuisine that has earned him #46 on Canada’s Top 100 restaurants.
It was interesting to hear that he was curious as to whether or not Ottawa would accept the type of cuisine he was about to unleash on us. As plans for Fairouz drew nearer, he locked himself in his apartment for almost 2 months just researching, reading, and coming up with concepts for recipes to make Fairouz something that the Ottawa market hasn’t seen before. From this, the slogan was born; "A Modern Journey through the Middle East" This was the concept that he wanted to create, seeing as there isn’t a high level of Middle Eastern cuisine in Ottawa. This isn't your classic shawarma you can find at every corner.Everything is carefully thought out, analysed, and recipe tested for months before it goes out into the dining room. Our current exposure to Middle Eastern food in Ottawa is more of the basic fast food versions of it. Walid is here to change that game with how Middle Eastern food is being represented. He’s not only here to show what Fairouz has to offer, but the different levels in which he can take this style of cuisine.
It’s interesting to find out when Chef’s stop referencing cookbooks, or maybe don’t go back to them as often. For Walid it was difficult because most of the stuff that he’s working on isn’t referenced in cookbooks, since he’s changing the mindset of what Middle Eastern food can be. With this, we talked about menu change, something that Chef’s feel the pressure of at least 4 times a year. But the truth is you never want to change a menu just for the sake of it. That’s something people gotta realize. There’s a reason why the Salmon Pastourma is probably going to stay on the menu for a while, because it’s never been done before and it’s one of the highlights on the menu. Menu changes should come from inspiration, not by demand. And when you eat at a place and see a couple mainstays, there’s a reason why they’re there.
The way Chef’s are running their kitchens is changing; the culture is changing. You don’t see those hard ass chefs running kitchens as much these days. The types where they schedule a cook to work and have that cook miss their brother’s wedding. We as people have lives, and need to take care of ourselves. Chef Walid is at the forefront of this movement . He makes sure his staff gets the appropriate amount of hours each week, and for those times when more is needed, he always balances it out. While Walid has the final say on what goes on at the front and back of his restaurant, there is always room at the table for all of his staff to have a seat and share their thoughts on the menu.There are menu items that have come from his team of cooks, and he’ll make sure they receive full credit for that effort. If a table comes up and comments on how good a dish is, Chef Walid is the first to thank them and explain that the dish actually came from one of his cooks. He does this to build character and confidence amongst his staff; teamwork by definition.
The ability to create this culture in his kitchen is something Chef Walid credits to his days at Eighteen, where he first brought a four diamond award to the restaurant. A special time for him where he worked with some of the most talented cooks that are Chef’s around the city itself, and around the world. They all added to the environment that has stuck with that restaurant to this day. Communication and work ethic was something that was built and created from the ground up. Chef Walid has taken this practice everywhere since, and it shows at Fairouz.
Chef Walid really cares about what he does and what Fairouz is all about. It’s not just putting food on plates. Being a Chef at that level brings so much more to the table , turning your young cooks into future Chef’s. To have an educated and informed Front of House staff. Working alongside them to bring the best wine with the most amazing food he’s producing. Creating a culture where his staff learn, have fun and shape the experience for his guest’s to see something they’ve never encountered before. Fairouz does this in spades.
Last year I stepped into the Fairouz kitchen after not seeing Walid for close to 2 years. Last time I saw him was that night at the Black Thorn. Right away it was a big hug and “How are things brother” We chatted and I told him about S/os. He was hyped and down for anything he could do to help me out. When it came time again to follow up with him to talk again about the site, I got the exact same response, a big hug and how are ya. We might not see each other for months or years at a time, but to have that community and friendship is something that I want people to get from this. These Chef’s may create something pretty special for you to enjoy and experience from time to time, but the impact they have as people in this culinary community is quite timeless. You will see it in the food, but this will show you just how special they are as human beings. Thanks Wa-wa
]]>All of that stems from the owner, Steve Ryan. He's the face that runs the place. And if all good things stem from the top, then the Senate is in great shape for decades to come. In the 5 years that the Senate's been open, I've had many a good nights there. Whether I'm having a casual triple after a long service (or several), to the Spicebox Mondays industry nights being one of the best nights to go out on in all of Ottawa. Or even if it's having my heartbroken by another Dallas Cowboys game, The Senate Tavern truly does live up to it's moniker, "Where Everyone's a Local"!
Needless to say, I was hyped when Steve talked about taking over the Georgetown Pub in Old Ottawa South and putting a new Senate Tavern into that community. And that's a huge word ("community") that continued to come up in our talk when he was showing me around the newly renovated place. To be honest, maybe "renovated" is saying it mildly because the place has a whole new feel to it. Steve is not only a business owner but he's also someone that truly cares about what he does. His awareness of providing the people in the community of Old Ottawa South with an establishment they can be proud of is his top priority. You'll never miss a minute of a game since there's more than 15 screens, two dart boards, a pool room, and a foosball table. You owe it to yourself to check this place out.
Just as we're about to sit down, he got up right away and said "Oh man, you have to check out this kitchen!" And what he has done is truly beautiful with everything made in house. Steve credits this to his new Executive Chef of both the Clarence and Bank locations, Joey Boileau. What S/os is about, is doing a good thing. No matter the style of cuisine, as long as it is done with love and to make it nice, you'll always achieve that.
It was interesting when the topic of Landsdowne came up. Seeing as Senate on Bank is kind of an offshoot of everything that's happening in the little nook around TD Place, we talked about how there isn't any local pubs in the new development. It brought up the question that if a city is going to build these developments, shouldn't they help out more local businesses to help go in and have their chance? This made me think of the Real Sports experiment that happened in the market...remember that? I think Ottawa is a place where local businesses can thrive on a city scale, and the more the city develops its new areas (Lebreton Flats for example), the more it needs to keep our amazing entrepreneurs in mind and give these local business owners a hand in starting up.
The culture that's created at both Senates is something in and of itself. The staff have actually become quite decent friends of mine. You can tell right away everyone is enjoying themselves. Even when they're in the juice on busy nights, you will always get what you need with a huge smile. In getting to know the staff from the Clarence location, I've come to realize that they really care about you and whether or not you're enjoying your time - they go above and beyond to make that happen. Going to the new Bank location for the grand opening I could tell that this same culture has been brought over, and good people will always attract each other. Steve wants to make the working environment the best he can for his staff and that shows in how hard they work. The friendships I see built amongst the staff and the clientele are incredibly loyal as well.
In keeping things new and interesting, Steve's thought of a special for each day of the week. But I could tell he was most excited for his "613 Jamboree" where The Senate is going to showcase exclusively local talent. He's looking to collaborate with the local Ottawa music community and expose the great musicians and performers this city has to offer with an amazing venue to get their voices heard.
I always have a good time shooting the shit with Steve about what's been going on. To be honest I selfishly try to pick his brain each time because of what he's been able to accomplish. He does it with this mindset to better the community and the area's that he establishes himself in. It's always a fun time when I go to The Senate, and it's a privilege for this city to have a guy like Steve Ryan doing a good thing.
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Hey friends,
I’m Tyler James Da Silva and the Chef de Cusine at Sidedoor in the Byward market area of Ottawa. Sauce on Side (S/os) is a major passion project of mine and I’m so excited to be able to share this with you. I've worked in the Byward Market since 2009, learning with some of the best at Social, Smoque Shack, and Sidedoor in those years. Ottawa has been home since 2007, and in my 10 years here I've loved seeing our culinary community grow with so many people that I now call my friends.
When I started at Sidedoor 4 years ago, I was told two things by Chef Jonny Korecki, that has shaped how I have come to approach this industry. The first was, ‘Always make it nice’. The second, ‘Go out there and do a good thing’. Simple ideas at its core but much harder to execute. The great thing was, that after working with Chef for 3 years and seeing him maintain his attitude, execute these philosophies, and teach it to our staff, I recognized these ideals more and more in the people working in this industry all around me. It also allowed me to reflect on the great people I had been working with over the previous 5 years before and realized that yep, this is what it's all about.
Now, when I look at the top three major cities in Canada (Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver), I really believe - as I know so many people in this city do - that Ottawa is part of that conversation when it comes to what we're doing to create a truly amazing and unique food culture. The best part about it is that it comes down to one word: Community. I've seen it first hand when I talk to others and when I go out and eat at these restaurants. And it's that sense of community that I want to bring to the forefront, so that people within our industry, and those outside of it, get to hear and see what we're doing on a personal level.
We are here to talk about what's happening with our city, from the Chefs to the service staff on a peer to peer level. There will be no reviews and no awkward Q&A sessions. As someone who has a viewpoint from within the industry, the big thing here is the organic conversation that I always have with these great people that I want to showcase.
All the content that we do here on Sauce on Side is going to come straight from the source. And this is going to be a great chance for people to get to know our Chefs, cooks, and service staff on a personal level. Sauce on Side is about the new ideas these wonderful and talented people are bringing to the city, the heart they pour into their work, and the sacrifices they make in their day-to-day jobs. It’s their stories, in their voices, from their perspective. Because at the end the day, we're all trying to do a good thing.
Tyler
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