Sunday, January 25, 2009

Alinea Stage



So, this is it! Alinea Restaurant. No sign, the address is hardly visible, and I only had to ask two people where it was. I stayed at the Arlington House Hostel, which was only about a mile away. The walk twice a day was very nice. It got the blood flowing in the morning and the blood freezing at night. The stage was a great experience. I did a lot of menial tasks that included cutting mire poix, cleaning baby corn, cleaning shell fish, picking herbs, assembling some aromatics, and scrubbed about $10,000 worth of french truffles. There were some other small jobs in between. I didn't mind doing these jobs at all. It is a nice change to work like this where all of the major responsibilty falls on someone else. It was fun to hang out and see how things roll in a kitchen of this caliber. This does not mean that I did not have to bust my ass! The work, though menial, was intense. It had to be perfect. Their kitchen gets slammed and out of align too. That is when the stages get sent home.
There were some disappointments. I didn't mind being free labor, for a little while. It was obvious that some of the chefs would rather us not even be there. No one wants to feel like a nuisance. I'm sure it is stressful for the full time cooks to have new people in their kitchen every week. That's the way it is going to be. Get used to it and take advantage. At some point, every kitchen could use some extra hands around! Also, there was alot of waste. This was surprising considering some of the other pet peeves that were upheld.
It was the cleanest kitchen that I have ever seen. That's no surprise. This was the first time that I had ever vaccuumed a kitchen. With 18 other chefs in the kitchen, and in a hurry, this was not an easy task. Another tough job was trying to remember which cabinet housed what. I had read alot about the great kitchen design and how everything that each station needed was within reach of that station. I don't know where I read that, but someone made it up. The work space was great. Great enough to give about 18 chefs just enough. Under all of this workspace is where cutting boards, spices, vita-preps, refigerators, freezers, utensils, pans, flour, sugar, etc. was all stored. Without any sort of labels, of course. Then again, the chef wanted everything that makes magic 'hidden'. There was alot of space for stuff to hide downstairs, too. The scales, for example, are used in every recipe. They were stored in a closet in the locker room in the basement of the restaurant. Anyway, this is just one chef's experience in another chef's kitchen. Thanks Alinea for giving me a week to see how you guys make magic!
I was able to eat at Alinea while I was in Chicago. The food was incredible, the service was incredible and if you ever have the chance, take it! Having the opportunity to see Alinea from the front of the house and the back of the house gives me complete understanding of why they are in the top 25 restaurants in the world. There is alot more to say, but you will just have to go see for yourself! If you are thinking about doing a stage at Alinea, see what some other chefs have to say.

http://thegourmetpiggy.blogspot.com/2008/01/stage.html
http://chadzilla.typepad.com/chadzilla/2008/02/alinea-tasting.html

Thursday, January 8, 2009

New Year's Menu



New Year's Eve 2009


Amuse
Blackeyed Peas, Collards, Watauga Country Ham, Sweet & Hot

1st
Shrimp Bisque, Saffron, Kaffir Lime

2nd
Smoked Trout Brandade, Potato Blini, House Cured Salmon, Basil Caviar

3rd
Ostrich Carpaccio, Horseradish, Micro Mustard

4th
Asparagus, Apple-wood Smoked Bacon, Wild Mushrooms

5th
Virginia Beef, Herbed Gnocchi, Butternut Squash, Gruyere

6th
Wild Boar, Sweet Potato, Pear, Aged Balsamic, Honey, Cumin

7th
Key Lime, Blackberry, Grande Marnier, Prickly Pear

Joys of Winter




The New Year at The Gamekeeper always starts off with the restaurant closing four days of the week! Sounds great for about a day. Our days of service are Thursday through Saturday, due to being in a very seasonal area. The majority of our customer base is summer traffic. However, we do have great local support, year round, and we appreciate you very much! You know who you are. Our local crowd also knows that the cold snowy nights, with few other diners, are sometimes the most memorable. For the chefs, it is sometimes very difficult to purchase for such a small window of service but I guess it is these challenges that keep things interesting when other challenges change with the weather. I don't know what it is with the weather but it always seems to stay relatively nice, until Thursday, the first day of service for the week. Cancellations, icy roads, loss of power, no deliveries, always on the days we are supposed to open. Why? I wish I knew. Happy New Year! Can't wait till summer!