Princess Sabia Has Spoken!!!!

I Love You Too Beana...

Unkle

Nessuna Passione-Nessun Amore

No Passion, No Love...

Jeez, how many times have I said that?

Lately the professional passion was kind of wearing down trying to figure out administrative procedures for our opening...

But then...

The wrench gets thrown into the system...(how many times have I said that?...ha ha)

Our menu concept has now changed to fine Italian...no problem, we still have time before opening, I know so many chefs that would have just gone ballistic if they spent as much time and energy as I did on this menu, but anyway, that's neither here nor there...

No Passion, No Love....that's what I'm writing about...

Once while speaking with Chef John Fleer from Blackberry Farms in Walland, Tennessee he expressed that his passion was getting into the hearts of the diners, it's been that way since the beginning of time from that first meat being roasted over an open flame and ever since. All of the worlds decisions are based around a plate of food in some extent or another...This was several years ago, but it made a lasting impression on the existance of the CheffyBoy...

So I had written a decent menu to do Italian on Wednesday evenings so when the idea of the Italian concept came up it brought a bunch of questions in my mind, not only how I could make the menu and the concept as individual and standoutish as possible but how am I going to rock the clientele as well as educate them on Italian Cuisine.

You know that when the average Joe thinks about Italian food they automatically think of tomatos, pizza, salami and pepperoni, etc. Never really getting it that there is so much more to Italian Cuisine...how often do people think of fish when they think "Italian"...freaking amazing isn't it being that 7/8ths its 117,000 sq miles is surrounded by water...

So letting the CheffyBrainHousingGroup go into overdrive the thoughts and ideas just won't slow down long enough for me to think about the last one....ha ha

So anyway, this is what I am leaning towards...

Regional Menu, changing monthly, first month will be Sicily.

The idea is to do a good sampling of foods all throughout Sicily and once or twice a month I will have a "Slow Food" night and between courses I will go into the dining room and tell a little story about the course that next...history, funny fact, why I chose this dish or that...maybe do 6 or 7 courses and make it a one seating event and then change everytime the menu changes, perhaps the second one will be on Tuscany...

So this morning I get the psychopassion started early and decided to call my friend and one of my former Chef's who has family in Sicily and travels back and forth frequently...



Chef Tom, Chef Greg and me being goofy...

Tom and I had a great conversation which led me to thinking more regionally...I had to laugh at him cuz he said that he was just gonna relax with a Gourmet magazine and I planted the inquisitive bug in him so now he is going to try to find a bunch of stuff for me to play with...

It kind of makes me feel good that once I wind up in that CheffyMode how that energy reaches other passionate souls...

Sometimes you just gotta love life....

The Tao of Being A Chef....

Walker Update

The Walker House Update

A quick note to everyone that has been checking out the blog and attempting to find out more about Chef, especially Amy and Darby...kind of a cute story...was out for dinner at Mineral Spirits and gave up my seat so that Amy and Darby can sit down, through our conversation it came out who I was only to find out that they have been to my website and to the blog checking out the stories and pictures of my food, I thought that was kind of neat....

The Update

Unfortunately, due to the inevitable glitches that often occur when opening up a new business, the Walker House will not be open for New Year's Eve as projected, but will open up as soon as possible and I am accepting other projects while we are waiting for construction to be completed. Our construction crew is diligently working daily in order to get us open but unfortunately we all have run into brick walls either physically or legally that have prohibited progress in some areas. These guys really rock and are doing their best to keep us moving forward. There was something that I had written a few weeks ago that was taken out of context, so regardless of whoever said what let it be said that these guys are working their asses off.

As a thank you to our staff we have been cooking for our staff on Friday's and that has been kind of fun. Our sheetrocker Matthew really amazes me with his palate. Matt had brought me some venison that I had cooked for the staff (pictured above) that was pretty awesome and Matt really likes to cook so I had showed him the marinade that I love to use for venison and had him alongside tasting each dimension of the marinade, was kind of fun, I love that kind of shit when someone really gets into food and I am able to teach them something. Last Friday I almost spaced out cooking lunch, so I had thrown something together quickly. I had made a grilled chicken with rice pilaf, while I was eating my chicken, in my mind I was trying to taste one of the flavors that I had used and then Matt looks at me and says "Sweet Chili Sauce right?" All I could say was "Good Palate..." I couldn't taste it but he could not only taste it but he distinguished the flavor...awesome stuff...

For Christmas I am going to do a cooking class with all of our workers and having them invite their families, that should be a lot of fun...anyhoooooo...will fill you in on that when we make it happen...

Other than that...

My bakery is almost completed, am going to move the ovens today and attempt to straighten out the pantry area so that we can move equipment around in an attempt to set that up.

I will be a happy boy once the bakery area is totally completed, is just a matter of time, but it looks more like a bakery everyday, so I guess in that sense I am pretty happy.

The health dept. has been over a couple times, just want to make sure that he and I are on the same page about things. Unfortunately, he is leaving town over the holidays so in order for me to be inspected I have to have the kitchen completed by the 18th and that is just not going to happen. The interior can be completed by then but there are issues with the make up air and hood systems for the bakery and dishtank that can not be completed by then...

Anyway...

That's pretty much the long and short of it, everyday we are making progress, but as it always is when opening up a new business there are always walls that we run into, is just a fact of life...

So be patient...

And the answer is Yes!!!!

The Walker's Back In Town Baby!!!!!

Walker House Update

What in the heck was I thinking?????

It's bad enough that I am not very fond of snow...but is my passion for food so ridiculous that I would actually move to Wisconsin in the middle of November?

Jeezul Cheffy...what are ya' thinking? Don't you know that it's warm(er) in Maryville, TN?

No Passion No Love I guess....

The buzz is definitely created about the Walker House in our community and then some. I have been as far away as Madison and had people approach us about the Walker House opening back up. A couple things have happened the past couple days that was kind of neat about us opening and the recognition of the CheffyBoy...

On Thanksgiving I had an article printed in the local paper on cooking turkey, thanks to Joy Gieseke, the director of the local chamber and there is a historical paper that comes out quarterly that did an article on the Walker House and had a little sidebar on Cheffy that included my idea of sustainable dining and I had supplied Mr. Beaman with one of my favorite sauces for Venison....so that is kind of neat.

On Wednesday, Dec. 19th I am going to be a guest chef at a local eatery and Dave Bulla and I are going to do German food, I will put something else on the blog talking about what is going to go on that night...

I was at a restaurant auction in Madison last Sunday and while I was out at the roach coach grabbing a couple bratwurst a woman approached me and asked if I was Chef Mike, and got all excited about the Walker House re-opening and said that she had seen the article in the Historical Paper...I thought that was kind of cool, is almost like Cheffy is turning into some kind of local celebrity...

Here is a list of some of the things we have going on:

Meeting this week with one of the teachers from Mineral Point High School, I am going to do a fundraiser for the chorus from MPHS to help raise money so that they can go to Branson this spring. Not really sure what I am going to do, but it will probably be one of the cooking classes, or a series of them, don't know yet, but for those that know me, it is going to be a blast regardless...

Guest Chef at Mineral Spirits on Dec. 19th

My mentor, Chef Roy England is coming to Mineral Point the end of December to teach me the finer points in pizza production. Chef is coming for a week to hang out, he has been a sound board for me since I decided to take this job and has always been a great influence in the establishment of who I am and what I do.

As always, it is great to talk to Chef Scott about what I am doing and bouncing ideas off of him, so I am always in contact with him throwing ideas back and forth with each other.

Will be back around later to fill you guys in on my concepts about the menu, sustainable dining, my use of the local farms and businesses plus talk about my gig with Mineral Spirits.

Peace, Hugs and Cookies,

Chef

PS Hugz out to Darby and Amy-thanks for keeping tabs on your little CheffyBoy

Feel The Burn

Feel The Burn

We survived the crash,
Felt the burn,
Carried that burden,
Another lesson unlearned...?

It's Zero Hour, twelve AM,
Warriors and survivors,
Once more becoming friends...

I collapse on the floor,
Hand out some beers,
The night may be over,
But the end's far from near...

I let down my hair,
Roll up my sleeves,
Dish-dogs are pissed,
They're all threatenin' to leave...

Dishes, Silver,
Pots and Pans,
This is the kinda stuff I live for,
This makes me who I am...

I feel the burn,
Survive the crash,
Grab some more brews
For my triumphant staff

We survived the crash,
Felt the burn,
Carried that burden,
Another lesson left unlearned...

I feel the burn,
Need to soothe the pain,
But I'll see y'all tomorrow,
And we'll do it all again....

Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow,
And we'll do it all again...

You need to feel the burn,
To survive the crash...

Chef

Thanks Knoxville

Sharing The Love

That's what it is all about...

Gave a dehydrator to a protege and he wants to dehydrate his entire kitchen

Chica tried Tuna and Snow Crab Sushi as well as Surf Clam.

Me, Greg, Tivo and Tom taking each other to classes regularly

A ton of lessons taught and learned from Chef Tom to Greg to Vickie to a 1000 others.

Taught, Studied, Worked, Sweat, Bled in whole lotta different cities.

Am really gonna miss this one.

Thanks Knoxville.

It's all about the food.

Always has been.

Always should be.

Chungachungabam!!!

Peace, Hugs and Cookies,

Chef

Culinary Warrior?

Why Waltz When You Can Rock And Roll?????

As Chef collapses on the floor from getting his butt kicked on a busy weekend one of his cooks asked him how many sauces, stocks and emulsions he had made that day...

Chef stopped and started counting
24 sauces for the 55 parties we had today and for tomorrow...

That kind of stuff amazes me...
Did I do that?
Hug a cook...we're all animals, but we can be tamed...

ha ha

Chef

Walker House Update-10-23/Cheese History/Recipes

Just inspired to write...so here are a few points of interest....along with a little cheese history from the Cheffy Boy...

The Walker House is rocking...construction projects produce a new image everyday...

I will be in Wisconsin on the Fifteenth, and I am attempting to recruit my buddy Chef Dave Bulla from Pittsburg, PA. Dave, his wife and I have a history together and I would love to have the three of us together. Dave is going to meet me in Mineral Point on November 20th for a week-long, hands-on interview for my Executive Sous Chef position. I hope Dave likes it in Mineral Point, he would be an asset of the dream I have in mind...

Anyway, just putzing around on the computer trying to get tired enough to go to sleep and found an article that I had written when I was staying with David and his wife in Austin, Texas. The article was about Cheese. I thought that was pretty ironic.

This article came from newsletters that I used to write...I have gotten away from the recipes and history writing somewhat and have become more of the kitchen reality writing so it was kind of fun to find this...I am even giving away some recipes, which is something that I haven't done in years....This article is dated May 2001, I took a short hiatus to Austin with my Rottweiler Harley for a couple months, and I was staying with Chef Dave and his wife.

To read some more of the newsletters and stuff go to "The Chef's Office Newsletters" you can sign up for the sporadic CheffyBabbles also, or just go give 'em a peek...

Cheese History Stuff

"...A little history on cheese ...

Most authorities consider that cheese was first made in the Middle East. The earliest type was a form of sour milk which came into being when it was discovered that domesticated animals could be milked.

A legendary story has it that cheese was 'discovered' by an unknown Arab nomad. He is said to have filled a saddlebag with milk to sustain him on a journey across the desert by horse. After several hours riding he stopped to quench his thirst, only to find that the milk had separated into a pale watery liquid and solid white lumps. Because the saddlebag, which was made from the stomach of a young animal, contained a coagulating enzyme known as rennin, the milk had been effectively separated into curds and whey by the combination of the rennin, the hot sun and the galloping motions of the horse. The nomad, unconcerned with technical details, found the whey drinkable and the curds edible.

Cheese was known to the ancient Sumerians four thousand years before the birth of Christ. The ancient Greeks credited Aristaeus, a son of Apollo and Cyrene, with its discovery; it is mentioned in the OldTestament.

In the Roman era cheese really came into its own. Cheesemaking was done with skill and knowledge and reached a high standard. By this time the ripening process had been developed and it was known that various treatments and conditions under storager esulted in different flavours and characteristics.

The larger Roman houses had a separate cheese kitchen, the caseale, and also special areas where cheese could be matured. In large towns home-made cheese could be taken to a special centre to be smoked. Cheese was served on the tables of the nobility and travelled tothe far corners of the Roman Empire as a regular part of the rations of the legions.

During the Middle Ages, monks became innovators and developers and it is to them we owe many of the classic varieties of cheese marketed today. During the Renaissance period cheese suffered a drop in popularity, being considered unhealthy, but it regained favour by the nineteenth century, the period that saw the start of the move from farm to factory production. How's that for a little bit of useless but interesting info...

Cheese dishes

Here is a little bit of Chef Mike fusion, mixing my love for Mexican staples with that of traditional Italian...

Fettucini alla Carbonara

This is not the traditional dish, although similiar, like all else it has that little Cheffy twist to it.

The traditional recipe calls for pancetta bacon and I substitute chorizo for the pancetta, cause that's thekind of guy I am...I love chorizo, something about that spicy pork fat I think...ha ha

If you would prefer to use bacon or pancetta, feel free, it's your world baby!!!

3/4# Fettucini or spaghetti

4-6 ounces of chorizo, pancetta or lean bacon

3 cloves of garlic, halved

1/3 cup of white wine

1/3 cup of heavy or whipping cream**

1 egg

1 egg yolk

2/3 cup grated Parmesan Cheese

Cook your chorizo and garlic, roughly 4-5 minutes, oruntil it is done.

Drain, reserve 3T of your sausage fat, discard your garlic.

Prepare your pasta, drain and rinse, return to dry pan.

When your sausage is done and you have drained it and returned it to the hot pan with the 3T of drippings add the wine. Allow the wine to simmer for 3-5 minutes, add your cream. In a double boiler, whisk in the egg and the egg yolk,whisk in 1/3 cup of the parmesan cheese and cook until the sauce thickens slightly.

Pour the chorizo-cream mixture over your fettucini and toss well. Re-heat.

When reheated toss with the egg cheese mixture. Toss to coat.

Fix the kidz a peanut butter sandwich, sit on the floor of the kitchen and eat it all...

Some things are just not meant to be shared...mmmmmmm....ha ha

**Cheffy Notes:

You can thicken low fat or skim milk to replace the heavy cream.

One other thing I like to do is omit the sausage, keep the garlic when I am making the cream sauce and add asparagus tips and artichokes...

mmmmm, not to mention a helluva lot healthier...

Cheddar Cheese Dumplings

Ingredients for 4 servings:

16 oz Cheddar, Shredded

2 Large Eggs

1 c Unbleached Flour

1 t Salt

1/2 c Butter

1/2 pt Sour Cream

Mash the cheddar cheese and then add the eggs mixing well.

Stir in the flour and salt.

Drop by tablespoons into the rapidly boiling water or chicken stock

Cover and boil for 15 minutes.

Drain and serve with melted butter and sour cream.

Sprinkle with chopped parsley or paprika,if desired.

Good Stuff Maynard..."

OK...enough babbles...will be back soon...

Chef

Make it Happen-CheffyBabble

Making It Happen

Another Cheffy Babble

“This is who I am and this is what I do” is one of my favorite sayings at work, (I took it from an episode of Kung Fu a long time ago).. If I am bouncing off the walls rocking and rolling or if I am sitting at my desk with scratch paper and a calculator trying to figure something out, “this is who I am and this is what I do”, just “a magician that dresses funny…”

There are many professions in this world, why I have chosen to become a culinarian I have often wondered, as I am sure a lot of us have.

Is it the sense of and need for urgency? The speed, the energy, or do you just love to cook? Are you projecting your creativeness and artistic ability through food? Maybe your energy comes from the organization, development and imagination? Or is it the rush from seeing a major event come together from beginning to end, knowing that you were an instrumental part in”Making It Happen”

The line between success and failure in our business is a mighty fine one, but failure is never considered an option.

You have to do whatever you have to in order to “Make It Happen”, there is no alternative to success, and we are never given an option, we are expected to “Make It Happen”

Does that mean crossing your T’s and dotting your I’s? Absolutely.

I have seen successes and near failures (quite a few of them my own), and sometimes “it jus’ ain”t pretty”. It’s all about respecting everything that you are and everything you do.

We all have fallen prey to this situation before (myself very much included). As chefs, cooks, culinarians, managers, prep or stewards/dishwashers for all that matters, like I said, we have but one option: Make It Happen

“Are all the ovens set right? What product is going in what oven? What temp are the hotboxes? Who didn’t show up for work, where in hell is everybody? Is that enough sauce? Hmm, now that I think about it, do I have enough starch? Kristopher???? Where in heck is the banquet event order? How many pounds of potatoes did you have them cut? Where’s my calculator? Who’s got my probe? What time is it anyway??? OK, FIRING PROTEIN AND VEGGIES IN ONE HOUR LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!!!??

** Cheffy takes a breath of air and tries to figure out what he is forgetting**

This scenario may seem a little exaggerated, but the funny thing of it is, that this happens more than not.

I feel that a process must be going through your head all the time; the second our guard is let down is the time we get slapped the hardest.

This occurs mostly out of not paying attention and respecting every logistical level of imagination, preparation and execution of the product you are permitting to leave your kitchen.

SO!!! MAKE IT HAPPEN BABY!!!!!!!!!!!

In Walks The Cook

In Walks The Cook
Cheffy Babble #1

In my not-so-illustrious career I wish I could have worked under a Gordon Ramsey, Rick Bayless, Charlie Trotter, Adrian Ferran, Martin Chiffers, Gerhard Keegan or any of the other million great chefs that rock the culinary world.

I have worked under some very great chefs don’t get me wrong, it is so cool when you find someone that thinks on the cutting edge or is hell bent on leather in creating his own edge. That kind of passion motivates me…

I’m just a freaking cook.

From the dish tank at Campus Inn in Ann Arbor, to chief cook/bottle washer in small Twenty-seater Mom and Pop dive in Michigan, into being an Executive Chef in some decent sized hotels, B&B’s in the southeast. To getting my ass beat more than more often than not in Conference Centers and Catering Facilities across this nation of ours over the past twenty years plus. I’m still just a freaking cook.

The cooks’ world is a community of some very insane people that thrive on passion, speed, love, hate, the sense of urgency, an uncanny sense of humor, and perhaps some of the meanest people that you can meet in the heat of the moment.

This is who we are and what we do…
Just freakin’ magicians that dress funny…

The kitchen is a battlefield. Either your team gets along or they don’t. They learn how to dance or they wind up standing there lost in a world they may not belong in. I have worked with (and once upon a time been) the kid that knew all there was to know but has freaked out totally when they stepped foot in a REAL kitchen with REAL cooks only to realize how ignorant they really are. REAL cooks are freaking animals…

In life, as culinarians, we make a whole lot of choices in our professional career. Some of us live in the mediocrity of just having a job, and then there are those of us that eat, sleep, and drink talking about food, these are the warriors!!! Simple people that take food very seriously and are always on the quest for new flavors, textures, colors, presentations, methods, systems----whoa!!! .now that’s life!! Chungachungabam baby!

Every chef has a story about some CIA, JW or FCI intern that has just simply amazed us with the misinterpretation of what they thought a REAL kitchen was about and the poor kid is totally lost… And then there have been a chosen few that motivated the chef because of their passion to learn and their passive submissiveness of clinging onto every word and questioning things they didn’t understand… These are the people I want next to me when I am going down in the heat of passion!!!

ChungaChungaBam!!!!

Why Waltz When You Can Rock and Roll?

I want the individual that is constantly seeking methods, answers, developing flavors, textures, techniques, simplifying this thing they call a life/profession. How can I be faster? What did or didn’t I do right? What was up with communication tonight? What issues do I need to address? Man, I need to talk to Chef…

For those of us serious about food,
This, my friend, is true motivation and stimulation.

You can not lie your way into a job in our profession. You can not lie about food or capabilities period-we’ll know in 43 minutes or less (and sometimes much less) if you were feeding us a line of bull. If you survive an evening successfully you may have found your next family.

“…Those who know not,
And know that they know not,
I can teach…

The ones that know not;
And know not that they know not,
Are fools;
Shun them…”

Bruce Lee- The Tao of Jeet Kune Do


A fed horse needs to run like hell, you have been fed the book of knowledge, now let’s see what you do with the “application of ass-whoopin’” that the REAL kitchen gives hundreds of thousands of cooks in our nation on a daily basis.

It’s Pass or Fail and failure is never an option.

Then, In Walks The Bloody Cook…

ChungaChungaBam Baby!!!

No Passion, No Love!!!!

CheffyBabble #1

More Walker House Stuff

This picture is of my first night in Mineral Point, I made dinner for Mr and Mrs Dickinson, their friend and resident roofer, Henry and the Cheffy Boy out of stuff I pulled out of their fridge...

Broiled Flounder with Parmesean Crust, served with Tequila-Lime Butter Sauce, Confetti Rice Pilaf and Early Peas with Smoked Salmon deglazed with Tequila

Picture before the plate was sauced and cleaned.

Roasted Garlic and Cheddar Riced Potatoes surrounded by a succotash of vegetables deglazed in Raspberry Beer and topped with a Soy Infused Pork Loin Steak

This is a picture of the plate that I did for the twenty guests the Dickinson's invited to dinner on Cheffy's second night in Mineral Point...

Dinner Night at The Walker House

Dinner Night was kind of fun...

For me, you know you can put me in any kitchen with any obstacles and I am cool with that...I am in my element...this is who I am and food is what I do...

The Dickinson's on the other hand were witnessing the beginning of their dream coming true, by having some long haired Chef guy from Tennessee pumping out an impromptu dinner for twenty out of their kitchen...the visual reality of the life that is to come...

Joe washing dishes and hanging out with Chef in the kitchen, while I am italking to a local farmer about products her family farm offers while flinging saute pans and broiling pork loin...

Susan and their kids finishing up in the dining room, Susan helping me plate salads and entrees...everyone running food, setting salads, opening wine, running a complete food service out of a kitchen that hasn't been cranked up in twenty years...

Fun stuff...

I don't think we have any pictures of Susan helping Cheffy plate up, but that was really cute...she just wanted to be such a part of this (and she definitely was), we all had a really good time...

Although I babble a bit about the food, Susan and their son Paul were the true heroes of the event. The dining room that we chose was a construction zone and it took them the better part of the day with all of the equipment and tools that had to me moved along with all of the other stuff that has long since accumulated in the dining room, all the sweeping, dusting, wiping, vaccuuming etc., not to mention setting the tables and chairs to resemble a finished product of a dining room set for twenty...

Susan bless her heart was non-stop...all the way up to Chef and her bussing the dining room after all was said and done...(we had to make sure Joe had plenty of dishes to do...ha ha)

Anyway...fun stuff...

Chef

Cheffy Does The Walker House Cornish Inn, Mineral Point, Wisconsin

Cheffy Does The Walker House Cornish Inn,

Mineral Point, Wisconsin

I have always been a history buff and have lived in some of the most historical cities and small towns in the States, from Charleston, SC to San Francisco, to Appomattox Court House and Pamplin, Virginia to the cobblestone streets of Calumet, Michigan. I love the history of everywhere I ever go…

This week I had the honor to have my travels land me in a little town outside of Madison, Wisconsin called Mineral Point. The history and the passion in Mineral Point’s restoration projects are absolutely overwhelming.

On one of my food message boards on the internet someone had posted a question:

“What would you do with a recently restored 150 year old hotel?”

Jokingly I replied,
“…I’d ask Chef Mike to send me his resume…”

So we took that one step further and Mr. Joe Dickinson and his lovely bride, Susan had sent the totally unpredictable CheffyBoy up to my newest favorite town, Mineral Point, Wisconsin.

The Dickinson’s had bought the Old Walker House Hotel in historic Mineral Point and have been working day and night as of late to get the doors open of this old railroad hotel, circa 1836, that has not been open in over twenty years...

The Walker House Needs A Chef

So they investigated Cheffy…man, this guy sounds like fun...

Joe and I had communicated both via email and telephone for a couple days and he got me pretty excited about his family project…the goal is to open up the doors of this critically acclaimed haunted house; the Walker House, and serve unbelievable food that is going to be an imagination destination both culinarily and historically in their recently restored Cornish Inn.

So I wound up taking a couple days off of work and the Dickinson’s flew me up to Mineral Point to see their passionate dream.

Words couldn’t express the feeling of stepping into yesteryear that I felt.

Before I got there I told Mr. Dickinson to have his wife go out shopping and find Cheffy something to cook, don’t care what it is, you just aren’t allowed to tell me what it is…

This “…don’t tell me what it is…” turned into Cheffy cooking a nice dinner for me ,the Dickinson’s, Henry, (the Dickinson’s good friend and roofer), the first night, just stuff I found in the freezer and reach-in…Flounder with roasted garlic-tequila butter sauce, Confetti Rice and some kind of veggie, I don’t remember…

Up to feeding a bunch of my new friends in Mineral Point, most of them on the Historical Society and involved with the restoration of Mineral Point that welcomed me with open arms, and I haven’t even talked about accepting a job yet…heck, I was just cooking supper...

Anyway, Joe tells me he bought a pork loin,

assuming that I saw it…
I didn’t…

Anyway, you know how the Cheffy mouth never sleeps…
“…a whole loin or tenderloin?...
Reealllly, why don’t you just invite some people to dinner?”

Anyway, I cut the loin into steaks and wound up with twenty and told him to invite twenty people to dinner…Now he’s excited…his wife on the other hand (I think) was a little more apprehensive then Joe and I were…This means that we need to turn the construction zone of one of the dining rooms into a dining room…I must admit that I was not much help, the Dickinson’s along with their son Paul and other members of the family turned the work zone into a dining zone, it took them most of the day, but they succeeded and was pretty awesome…

They set up a twenty top down the center of the dining room so that everyone was at the same table with Cheffy at the head of one end with Joe and Susan’s youngest grandbaby at the other...

The Menu:

I only did two courses since we were so pressed for time, I didn’t get into the kitchen until the afternoon, Joe and I were running around most of the day checking out produce markets, organic farmers (both vegetable and protein), local meat markets and butchers…that was fun…

For breakfast that morning, reminiscent of my Bed and Breakfast days, I cooked an Italian Herbed Frittata with smoked salmon and Hook’s Two Year White Cheddar. Flanked with Crisped Cinnamon Bacon. Yum.

Dinner was fun, even if I didn’t have time to do the dessert…

The fresh herbs I used throughout the day came from a Walker House flower pot…

Mesclun Salad with fresh basil, tarragon, oregano, dried fruit with marinated grape tomatoes and cucumbers finished with Hook’s award winning twelve-year Cheddar Cheese. Served with a Creamy Pesto Salad Dressing.

Italian Grilled Flatbread (home made)
Chef’s favorite- whole grain bread infused with roasted garlic, basil, thyme, oregano & honey, grilled and sliced into triangles.

Soy and Roasted Garlic infused Pork Loin Steaks
with herb scented brown sauce
Riced Potatoes with Garlic and Cheddar Cheese
Succotash Vegetables sautéed in Basil Infused Olive Oil then deglazed with Raspberry Beer…

I originally planned on serving dinner at 7:00 which would have given me time to throw together a dessert, but Joe threw a wrench…one of the things that I love about this business…sometimes…

There was the council meeting, a historical meeting, travel writer in town and the list was endless…no one could make it for dinner at 7 but they could be here at 5:30…hmmmm…

And the question is what…?

Heck its only 3:30 if I can’t pump out two courses in two hours for twenty people by myself I guess I just failed my job interview…ha ha…

But you know me…failure is never an option…

“But they ain’t gettin’ no dessert and I need a dishwasher…”

Mr. Dickinson found a oneness with the dish tank while hanging out with the dude who was pumping out a function for twenty of the town folk in a kitchen that has not pumped out food in twenty years…many of whom have not even set foot in the historic Walker House in twenty years…

Anyway…
I think I passed my job interview.

The hotel is just awesome, my first day Joe thought I was going to run away because I was pretty much speechless and overwhelmed with the experience. He thought something was wrong…I was just speechless and overwhelmed; trying to soak it all in…I was in love…

So, now that both of us pretty much decided that we found what we wanted we started on menu ideas, listening and interpreting the dreams of the Dickinson family, Willie Caffee (resident spirit), the Walker House Cornish Inn and the historic hideaway, Mineral Point, Wisconsin…

The Walker House found a Chef…

So if you live in Mineral Point and are reading this let me put the rumors to rest…

Yes, the Walker House is re-opening as a Cornish Inn with lodging and full food service. They have hired Chef Michael Hayes of Knoxville, Tennessee to be their Executive Chef.

No, the Pub is not gone…it has been refinished to meet building specs and is destined to be one of the coolest pubs in Mineral Point. The pub is going to host a variety of beers and wines until such time as a liquor license can be obtained. The pub food will focus on Cornish, Italian and Americana pub foods including gourmet pizzas.

There are three additional dining rooms available at the Walker House for dinner service. The two upstairs dining rooms will be open every evening at 5:00, only opening the third dining room when necessary for overflow.

The current estimation is that the Walker House can seat 160 people.

Although the Pub menu is available throughout the restaurant, Chef Mike and his team will design special menus to change periodically based on supply and demand from the farmers local to Southern Wisconsin.

Although we have filled out credit applications with local food service providers, I don’t favor seeing a truck in the Walker House driveway with availability that the local farmers, meat markets and butchers have to offer. As of November 15th, the can opener at the Walker House no longer exists and aside of paper products, things like salt, sugar, yeast, and boxes of printer paper for our Point of Sales system I really don’t want to see a box…

The evening dining focus is going to cover a variety of cuisines that includes Cornish, Italian, Mediterranean, and Chef Mike’s fun versions of fusion. All of the protein will be purchased locally from local farmers, as will majority of the herbs, vegetables and fruits.

We are projecting opening on New Year’s Eve 2007.
Understanding the diversity of the world of permits, inspections, fire marshals etc. this may or may not be the truth, this is only a projection.

My heart feels comfortable making a life’s decision with a community that has willingly embraced my spirit.

I think Cheffy is going to do Mineral Point for a long time...

Pics of Cheffy and Harry

Hanging Out With The CheffyBoy and Harry

Here are some pics of me and Harry hanging out in the kitchen and of dinner

When Harry Met Cheffy

Thus the Men and the Myth

I really don't know where to begin with these CheffyBabbles...might be a long story...

(tongue-tied???? ha ha...you should be so freaking lucky...)

Like I said in a previous entry, I took over this kitchen in March and renamed it Chef Mike's Cravings Cafe, developed a new menu and a different concept, put a little "About Chef Mike" section on the menu, all in an attempt to draw more food revenue.

From March to May I was working an inhumane amount of hours as a chef at an extremely busy catering facility, hired a couple people to run the Cafe and I would go to the cafe after work and stay there until after close.

For those couple months I was kind of in and out, just a face on a menu I guess you can say, met a couple people but did not really get close to any of our regulars, hell, not until recently am I learning some of their names, they know me by name and I only know them by face.

And then there's Harry...

I guess me and Harry first met each other because he was Harry and I was Mike, the new kid on the block. I always found time to hang out with Harry and talk about food, color, taste, texture and the relationship was on. Harry is a big, personable blue collar construction guy that has a passion for cooking, so we hit it off pretty well.



Harry had told me about these eggrolls that he does that he is pretty proud of and I never really gave them that much thought, of course, I listened to Harry tell his stories about his eggrolls with interest about the passion he was sharing, although I have been known to roll tens of thousands of them in this thing I call a life...

In April, Harry was going to make his eggrolls for a little birthday party the bar was putting on for one of our regulars and Harry had asked if I could just heat them up and put them out for everyone to eat on. On the day of the birthday party, my sister had taken deathly ill and I had to leave immediately. I instructed my cooks on how I wanted them cooked and presented, had them cook me up a couple of them to take on the road with me and then headed to Virginia.

I started getting the munchies along the way and remembered that I had some of Harry's EggRolls. Oh, my goodness...I stopped on the side of the road and looked at my next bite and just thought that "these Eggrolls really rock...' Holy Crap Harry, remind me to tell you this story...

(At this point Harry was a name and a face, a friendly hello and an exchange of food stories...)

So starts the story with Harry, our relationship and his "Redneck Egg Rolls" as I refer to them affectionately...

This blog entry is going to be continued, I have to go give a cooking class, perhaps will finish it tonight...

Later That Day....

Freaking Harry is a blast...I had more fun watching him have fun than I did playing with the food...and we all know how Cheffy loves to play with his freaking food....

(just ask Harry what he thought about me eating my dinner with my hands...heeeee heeeeeeeee....purity baby...just freaking purity...what'd they do with food before someone invented the spoon...man...that ribeye is freaking awesome isn't it...as
Cheffy tears off another piece of one of the most succulent steaks I have ever made/eaten...)


This pic was kind of funny and kind of has a double meaning...

Harry was looking for a whisk in the kitchen to mix up a slurry out of cornstarch and water that we were using to seal the eggrolls...

I think the CheffyQuote wuz:
"Harry, what the hell you need a whisk for????? Use your damned hands!! How are ya gonna know when all the lumps are gone?????? Perfect slurry ain't got no durned lumps..."

P.S. (commonly referred to as 'Yo' Harry?????? What da' hell are you thinkin'?'

What the hell would'ya've done without a whisk??????? Did the fork evolve from the dag goned spoon or not??? Hey!!!!!!!!!ya know what????????They both look like our freaking hand don't they???? Just another CheffyPsychoBabble...

But anyway, the second fold of this story is that I used to work under a German Chef named Chef Fritzen and one time Chef told me that "...'da bes' tools in your kitchen Mr. Bones is the one that is on your wrist...jus' make sure your f***in' hands are clean...when I see you have dirty hands is the day you find another job..."

A lesson the CheffyBoy has never forgotten...



So anyway back to the "Harry Meets Cheffy" Babbles later...

Harry and Cheffy (The Men, The Myth...The Beginning)

First, I guess I need to explain where my world has gone since it has been so long that I have written…

Left the catering facility in May and am at the café full time…not making any money, but am having fun with some of the events… I started doing cooking classes/private instruction at the Café (when we are not open) along with of the special events/cooking classes I am trying to schedule trying to score some more bucks, but as always…playing with food makes the CheffyBoy happy---financially profitable or not…and lately it is a big freaking NOT>…

Took over a Café at a Karaoke Bar last March, kept on working my job and hired a couple people to run the café and then I would go there when my day was done…for a while I was pumping out 100 plus hour weeks-freaking maniacs…am just a magician that dresses funny….

That was from March to Late May…since then I am the only employee and trying everything in my power to drum up more business or finding ways of taking advantage of my kitchen when I am not “providing a service” for the establishment

Then I met Harry...

Bullfeathers Karaoke Bar and Chef Mike's Craving's Cafe

Harry and Cheffy (The Men, The Myth, The Menu)

Harry and Cheffy...what a story this is going to be...




Better get into the menu before I even attempt to get into the Men and Myth thingy….The Harry and Cheffy Boy Story is kind of in depth, but a lot of fun….

I was going to give Harry a private instruction. One-on-one with the Cheffy Boy in my kitchen on a day when the kitchen was closed and do a private invitation-only dinner for 10-15 people

“Find something you want to learn and I will teach it to you…” I even gave Harry my new edition of the “Professional Chef” textbook… “Find something Harry…”

So after talking about it for a couple weeks, Harry came and hung out with the CheffyBoy in his magical world...what a freaking blast…

The Menu-

Mesclun Salad with Vine Vegetables Garnished with Roasted Garlic and Chipotle Infused Caesar Salad Dressing

Redneck Eggrolls in an arabesque of Sweet and Sour and Harry’s Hot Mustard accompanied by Pan Fried Asian Noodles on Napa Cabbage. The Eggrolls were drizzled with a Wasabi Dressing.

The Grand Finale was Asian Infused Ribeyes with Baked Potato and Garlic Infused Sesame Oil Asparagus Tips….

Dessert was Friends, Family and talking about food...

Freaking Life Is Good!!!!

Harry, The Cheffy Boy, Asparagus and Green Onions

This pic was comical...shit like this keeps me humble...

I had shown Harry how to make the flower/firecracker out of the green onions, then I showed him the importance of snapping asparagus rather than cutting it...in the midst of his cleaning asparagus, I decided to clear his cutting board of the asparagus ends (which I wanted to save for a soup) I put the pile right into all the green onions I just had him cut the ends off of...so the pic is The Not-So-Freaking Infallable Cheffy Boy, and Harry looking through the asparagus to try to separate the green onions... (now what in the hell did you do that for??)

Inspirations and Cooking Classes

Inspirations....

Man, where would life be without them...

Quick story about the pic...

Me and Greg haven't been bouncing around in the same kitchen for about 8 months and we fed off of each others behaviors both in and out of the kitchen, we were truly an inspiration to each other.

In this pic, Greg walked into the kitchen and was like "What'd'ya want me doing?"

I was in the final stages of a cooking instruction for a buddy of mine Harry and we were going to do 4 courses for 12-15 pp---totally freaked Harry out seeing that part of the world...a lot more about Harry later, but Greg, Harry and myself had a freaking blast...

Harry is really proud of these eggrolls that he makes that I call the Redneck Roll (reasons I'll explain in my Harry post), I really like them. Harry was pretty proud to show me how freaking simple his recipe is. So needless to say, me and Harry rolled quite a pile of eggrolls (none of which lasted long).

When Greg and I were contemplating plating design of Harry's Infamous Eggrolls I am explaining to Greg, (after I shot down a couple of his other ideas, and he popped in with the arabesque idea)...BUT I WANT HEIGHT!!!!! Is funny sometimes how much talking my hands do...Greg's arabesque made the plate, awesome idea...



The plate was really awesome looking, Harry was beside himself, I showed him how to make the green onion flowers (firecrackers, whatever you wanna call 'em)

That there's the durned pertyest plate of Redneck EggRolls I ever have seen...

The arabesque for the plate was sweet and sour with Harry's Asian Hot Mustard, then the eggrolls, a Napa Cabbage leaf topped with an Asian Pan Fried Noodles.

Just having a day off and bringing someone into my kitchen, cooking for a couple hours showing them how crazy my world can get, and hell, we were only doing 15 people...hell ya oughta see me doing 1500...ha ha....



This story is far from over, I will post alot more pics in the other posts of all of us. Man, that was a fun night...

Tired, Wired and Inspired

pic-Pretty Place, SC

Tired, Wired and Inspired

Sometimes in life you wind up inspired about things, sometimes these inspirations are stimulating while other times shaking our hearts and stirring our emotions.

There are the eccentric people on this earth that can’t wait to write down the thought process, especially if I found the process beautiful, if nothing else, then for the sake of the memories.

I am one of those people and such was my case today, my first day on the road.

As some know, I have a lot of roots in the southeast so traveling from Knoxville through North Carolina into South Carolina was very reminiscent.

The thousands of flowing creeks and the beauty of the Smoky Mountain and Cherokee National Forests, the awesome feeling of being in Maggie Valley and spinning around in circles just to capture the majesty of the surrounding mountains, the memories I have living in Waynesville, the solitude of the morning fog through Buncombe and Haywood Counties…awww, man, what a great beginning to a crazy week.

One of the many reasons I have not written in a while is that my schedule/life has been so demanding, and as soon as I get a break I head out on the road to feed masses in South Carolina with my buddies at Palmetto Expo Center in Greenville, SC. So anyway, I am here for the week pumping out major volume and dancing the Alley Cat….

Now that I am not home and far away from my real job perhaps I will have some time to write and can catch up on a bunch of stuff. A lot has gone on since the Cooking Classes, so maybe I can squeeze some of that stuff in as well…

Talk at ya soon,
Cheffy