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

Second Harvest

Fondue Through The Ages

Fondue Through The Ages
Chef Michael Hayes

In a world where you can attain anything from a hamburger or other fast food meal in a matter of minutes, to being able to purchase almost any kind of food in the frozen food section of the local supermarket, it intrigues and captivates me when we are able to go back to the basics of traditional “roots” cooking and dining.

Such is the case of fondue and derivatives of this ancient method of food preparation and consumption. When we think of fondue we often think of the dessert fondues and not of the origins and the different types of fondue that have been around for hundreds of years. To get a better understanding of fondue, the origins and history of fondue and the types both traditional and new fusions of this ancient art of cooking me and the soon to be Mrs. Cheffy went out to a fondue restaurant to get a deeper understanding of this little known art.

Terminology:

Fondue refers to different communal dishes shared at a table in a caquelon (earthenware pot) over a rechaud (small burner) which has French and Swiss roots, most notably the Swiss Alps. It is said that fondue was first documented by Homer’s Iliad with a mixture of wine and goat cheese. The word fondue comes from the French “fondre” which means “to melt”.

Although the origin of fondue is not really known, it is speculated that fondue was an invention of necessity by the French-Swiss as a way of using breads, locally grown produce, preserved meats and cheeses that were prepared in the summer and fall months by mixing the locally produced cheeses with wine, and melting the cheese, then dipping the stale bread in the cheese mixture. This method rehydrated the breads, vegetables and meats to make them palatable. Through the course of centuries there have been many varieties and variations of the original fondue.

Swiss Cheese Fondues:

Fondue Neuchateloise-the mixture of emmantal and gruyere cheeses
Fondue Molite-Molite- equal parts of gruyere and Friborg vacherin
Fondue Vaudoise-Gruyere
Fondue Fribourgeoise-Friborg Vacherin (served with boiled small potatoes instead of bread)
Fondue de Suisse Central-Gruyere, emmantal and sbrinz
Appenzeller Fondue- Appenzeller Cheese
Tomato Fondue- Gruyere, Emmantal and the use of crushed tomatoes instead of wine.
Spicy Fondue- Gruyere, red and green peppers and chiles.
Mushroom Fondue-Gruyere, Fribourg Cacherin and mushrooms
Varietals.

There are different methods of cooking proteins and vegetables in non-cheese fondues.

Fondue Chinoise- Meats and vegetables cooked in a vegetable or meat broth with red wine and a variety of herbs and spices which should always have garlic and shallots among other herbs and spices. Fondue Chinoise as well as Fondue Bourguignonne is served with a variety of dipping sauces.

Fondue Bourguignonne- Meats sliced thinly and cooked in a caquelon with hot oil and occasionally butter.

Fondue Bressane- Chicken pieces dipped in buttermilk or some other form of cream, then rolled in seasoned bread crumbs and fried in the caquelon like fondue bourguinonne. Bressane is also served with a variety of sauces.

Dessert Fondues- The most popular dessert fondue, by far, is chocolate fondue although dessert fondues can be made out of fruits, coconut, caramel, and marshmallows to name a few. Chocolate fondue is usually made with milk chocolate melted with the addition of vanilla extract, liqueurs and other flavorings. Dessert fondues are usually accompanied by an assortment of confections such as marshmallows, cheesecake, cookies, brownies, pound cake and with a variety of fruits like bananas, pineapples, strawberries and other berries to name a few.

Although fondue has been around for centuries it did not begin to gain popularity until the 1950’s and 60’s mainly due to the markets of the Swiss and French Alps cheese industry coming to a standstill. So, as with a lot of other industrial ideas the idea was to introduce the fondues to the American market and the rest, so they say, is history. Today, although the preparation of fondues is quick and simple you can buy fondue kits which include all of the necessities to make a successful fondue to purchasing microwavable fondues in a variety of flavors.

Cheffy Does Fondue Photographs

Vickie and I went out for Fondue to learn more about the methods of preparation for a la carte restaurants and we had a real good time. Was informative and very interesting.

Had to laugh at my honey, she points to her pot of Coq Au Vin and said to me "This is to me what Sushi is to my CheffyBoy", so I guess Momma had a real good time too.

Who Are You?

Who Are You???

And what have you done to my chef???

It was Vickie's birthday last night so after pumping out major volume all day yesterday, I took my honey out for dinner and dancing at a Holiday Inn near our house. She loves getting me dressed up in something other than my chef clothes or torn up blue jeans and rock and roll t-shirts.

Well, it's OK I guess, as long as she doesn't get used to it....ha ha

Food Art by Chef J Cooney and Nama's Sushi Bar

Sushi J and his staff just rock my world!!!

Click on photograph for larger version

Chef's Roundtable Babbles

Salmon Sashimi drizzled with chili-basil oil with candied garlic shrimp (that blew me away) and shredded nori.

What happens when you get some Chef's together around a table with a couple cocktails (and Shirley Temple's) talking about food?????

The stories were hilarious, the bonding was unbelievable, and the evening went on forever....

What an experience, I love this stuff...

Cheffy savors a happy moment with his Toro Belly

The Chef's Roundtable kind of existed over two days. The first was a group of us together over cocktails at Baker's Peter's in Knoxville and part deux was at Nama's Sushi Bar enjoying the food art of Chef J Cooney and his staff, and is definitely going to become a monthly occurance with the Cheffy Boy and Friends.

It was pretty comical to sit and listen to the different stories of nightmares, dreams, the corporate schmucks that enter and exit our lives and more...words could not express how much fun I had.

Some of the items we discussed:

One question that I posed that got some pretty good feedback was I asked "If you could snap your fingers and fix one thing in your establishment immediately, what would it be?" Is a pretty good question to ask yourself if you are in the industry...

Other topics:

Tricks and practical jokes we have played on waitstaff and staff

The frustration of playing into the politics of being a profiled chef in communtiy events like Chef's Auctions, Taste of the Nation, ACF Meetings etc.

Complex fusion flavors and how excited talking Asian food makes the Cheffy Boy. Sambals and why you should not send someone to the Asian Store for products, why Chef's should not go to the Asian/Ethinic stores during working hours.

Different viewpoints on why none of us can seem to find and keep good waitstaff and why some of the best waitstaff in our community wind up in corporate chain restaurants instead of higher end restaurants and catering facilities.

Man, was this a lot of fun...

During part deux it was kind of hard to carry on conversations because we kept discecting Chef J's food trying to figure out how he did this or how he did that, trying to guess his combinations of flavors and methods of execution. He just blows me away.

Will post some pics of the food art of Chef J and his staff in another entry.

So keep in mind, that if you are interested in having a Roundtable in your town email me and the Culinary Evangelist may be coming to a town near you...

Peace, Hugs and Cookies,

Cheffy

Chef's Roundtable

On Thursday, October 26, Restaurant Edge and Chef Michael Hayes will be sponsoring our first"Chef's Roundtable" at Nama's Sushi Bar in Knoxville, Tennessee featuring the impressive food art of Sushi Chef J Cooney.

The premise for the Chef's Roundtable is to get local chefs around a dinner table discussing what Chef's love to talk about the most: food, their jobs and themselves.

Unlike organizations and organizational meetings, these gatherings are designed so that the passionate can discuss our industry, new and old products, systems that we use and facing/dealing with common problems that often arise in our kitchens/establishments.

Our first Roundtable will feature Chef Mike discussing RestaurantEdge and the advantages of its use for all phases within our industry. The Chef's Roundtable will feature local chefs from diverse backgrounds and special guest, Chef Rob from Aspen, Colorodo.

Hopefully, this will be the first of many Chef's Roundtables sponsored by Chef Mike and RestaurantEdge. So, stay tuned, the Culinary Evangelist may be coming to a town near you...

For information on hosting a RestaurantEdge Chef's Roundtable email Chef Mike at chefmike@restaurantedge.com

Cheffy and Greg Do Sushi

A Little Cheffy Babble About Sushi

Sushi really rocks my world.

It is one of the only purist cuisines readily available and affordable for the general public, and not only that, no matter where you go, it's always real food by real people.

There are people that push the envelope as far as sushi and variations of sushi goes but the bottom line it is pure food prepared in an ancient technique.

I am pretty good with sushi, but to hang out with a sushi chef and be in constant awe of his ideas and knife skills is something that always captivates me.

Last year during the holidays I had taken Greg out for Sushi, and as the saying goes, "the rest is history..."

I was able to take Greg to a level that I once was taken by Chef Scott. It is so much fun being able to play with stuff that you don't normally get to play with, or learning stuff that you really don't know anything about.

The Sushi Bar that Greg and I went to we pretty much found by accident and man did I freak out. The sushi chef was a young white guy that was totally phenomonal. I was so captivated by Chef J and his taste, color, texture, presentation, combination of flavors that Greg and I commenced on eating his entire menu and then some...that was kind of wild...

I featured Sushi Chef J on RestaurantEdge as a "You've Been Spotted By RestaurantEdge" spotlight and I published the article for him and now it is hanging on the wall in Nama's Sushi Bar in Knoxville, TN