05.28.07
Posted in The Story at 9:20 pm by Chef Matt
It has been pretty much ten straight days on the job to get things started for my tenure at Rustico. Technically I had a day off on Wednesday, but I went in anyway to work on some spreadsheets for the inventory for the new menu. It was nice not to be pounding away in the kitchen that day, but working is working, and a ten day stretch of mornings is always rough.
Every Memorial Day, I always lay a wreath at the tomb of the unknown chef. |
But today, Memorial Day, as you all are facing your third day off and getting ready to slog back to your collective jobs, I am kicking back, taking it easy and enjoying my first day off since the Thursday before last. A few cool glasses of my newly-invented margaritas (or “Matt-aritas” as I like to call them) are helping my relaxation along. Thankfully I have tomorrow off as well which I am going to dedicate to sleeping them off.
“So what is going on at Rustico?” I can hear you all asking. I have not been in touch as frequently as I would like to be if only because I have not had enough time to write to you all. It has been a whirlwind training session for yours truly, and I have found myself not only learning all the recipes for the restaurant, but also learning how to do total restaurant inventories, taking on more accounts and more non-food items to keep track of, and making sure the food costs for the restaurant meet our overall goals. But as if learning how to do all this in a few days is not hectic enough, Frank is working on shifting our kitchen’s dishes to the summer menu. Thankfully this is not going to result in an across-the-board change to the inventory - I just have to make sure I am not still ordering the items we aren’t going to be selling any more.
Umm… that was our last piece of cake,
and it’s only 7:30… |
It hasn’t all been smooth sailing so far, I can assure you. My arrival at the restaurant on Sunday morning was accompanied by an account of how we had been forced to 86 multiple desserts the night before. I couldn’t believe it - I had placed the order the day before - on time even! I assumed they had just fucked me over by not taking the order, or not delivering them. In a panic, to protect my good name, I rushed to the office and tore through invoices. There it was - my order, delivered in full. There was nobody to blame but me. I simply had just not ordered enough. Sure, I had kept food costs low, but the result was people who wanted dessert went without. This, dear readers, is NOT a good thing.
But at least I will know for next time.
Another tricky ordering challenge was the fact that most of our distributors were not delivering today because of the holiday. So Friday’s order had to be huge to take into account everything we may need in the coming long weekend. Alas, all sorts of ingredients that I thought we had an ample stock of disappeared in no time. The real creativity of being a chef - making what little you have go as far as it can - was in full effect yesterday.
I can only imagine what it was like for them today…
When those delivery trucks finally arriver tomorrow, I am sure they will be receiving them with open arms. Trucks of salvation bearing a copious supply of fresh produce. All I know is, when those trucks finally do come to their rescue… I will be fast asleep.
Matt
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05.22.07
Posted in The Story at 8:26 pm by Chef Matt
I forgot what it felt like to stand in front of a hot sauté line. But the sweet kiss of sweat rolling down my forehead welcomed me back to the line this past Sunday. So much is happening at Rustico so fast for me, it is almost impossible for me to sum up. I guess I have been unable to post an update if only because I am too overwhelmed with all that is happening to write about it.
No, these are not them, these just look awesome… |
But let me cut to the great day in front of the hot stove. We have six burners - just like at Tirolo - and one flat top - just like Tirolo as well. So the layout was pretty much the same (only with the flat top on the right of the burners instead of the left) and there was even a large pot on the back burner with pasta cookers in it to make me feel at home. To start off the service, I had to pre-cook the grilled cheese sandwiches which are a wonderful creation with smoked ham and balsamic onions. I only messed up a pair of them (and they later became my dinner when I came home) so I figured this was a good sign as I am known for getting flummoxed during set-ups of unfamiliar areas.
My station was responsible for salads (no problem of course) and all sauté items, like the halibut with onion/tomato/lemon compote, the pastas and the deep fryer - which is pretty much just for French fries. It’s a lot to cover for one person, so it was fortuitous that I was being trained on a Sunday. The orders came in slowly enough for me to get up to speed, and learn each dish individually. The real difference with this kitchen was how much the dishes all worked with the other stations. I experienced some of this in Vero - but that was really in the form of telling them to cook things that I would garnish. Here, there are items like the chicken pot pie which the pizza chef cooks in his giant oven, then hands off to the sauté line to be finished under the flat top’s broiler with chicken liver pate and garnished with sautéed fresh vegetables. It is a real team effort to make sure the dishes get out the door, and I think it was more of a learning effort to get my rhythm down with my fellow line-mates than in learning how to cook the dishes.
The lunch shift completed itself free of any major incidents (just one burnt pot pie - that crust goes fast under the broiler if you’re not careful…) and it was seemingly over before it began. Chris - the guy who I’m replacing who is training me as fast as he can before he heads off to work in Craft restaurant in New York - came over and told me it was time to clean up my station. I couldn’t believe it was already over. I was just getting warmed up to the action on the line again. But the paperwork associated with my new job was beckoning me, and I had to run an ordering inventory for the restaurant.
Portion control is key when serving halibut… |
As I scrubbed down my station and wrapped up the food for holding before the PM shift, another order came in for our halibut. I rubbed the fillet down with spices and flour and dropped it (carefully!) into the pan. As I spooned hot butter over the fish to help brown the crust I felt the wave of heat coming off the sauté line wash over. I could feel it seeping through the three layers of clothing on my chest. I soaked through like a warm friend embracing me after a long absence. I stood there and soaked it in, reviving myself of this life-giving heat that provide the sustenance for chefs. After standing in front of a refrigerated lettuce tray for half a year, this was the feeling I had been longing for. Like a sunflower leaning towards the warmth of the morning sun, I found myself leaning ever closer to the burners…. and then realized I should probably flip that halibut fillet and get it into the oven.
But that heat was nothing compared to today’s foray into working on the wood grill. This is a real wood fire in the middle of the kitchen! I didn’t know health departments still allowed such things! I am so glad they do though, as it allows us to feature real wood-grilled hamburgers as well as tuna steaks and skewers of lamb, chicken and shrimp. The heat is tremendous. Not one I lean in closer to, but rather the kind that takes off arm hairs. But that heat, while intense, was still a life-giving thrill that I couldn’t help but enjoy. I know I was only supposed to watch Oscar at the grill today, but I couldn’t help but jump in over and over - if only to get closer to the heat.
OK, so maybe these guys take a little more abuse on the job than chefs… |
Long hours, knife scars, abusive chefs, demanding customers, constant scrubbing… chefs are a breed of people who can handle abuse. I have come to grips with this masochistic side of my psyche long ago. But I was only able to understand just how deep this collective sickness went when I found myself watching a burger on the flames of the grill this afternoon, and seeing just how long I could hold it in my tongs before I finally had to let go.
I love the heat, and I am glad to be back. Next up - the giant pizza ovens!
Matt
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05.18.07
Posted in The Story at 10:20 pm by Chef Matt
The alarm clock awoke me at the ungodly hour of 6:15, and I struck out the door with hopes that I had left myself enough time to get to work for my first day on time. My commute is now 25 minutes each way, and thankfully I seem to be missing rush hour by just a little bit on both ends. Ahhh.. to not have to listen to the traffic report is still pure heaven to me.
I arrived at work ten minutes early, and was greeted soon thereafter by Chris who walked up and let me in. We were the first ones there. This is to be my job. To set up the restaurant before anyone else shows up and make sure we are ready to go as far as prep, inventory and overall cleanliness are concerned. The job seems to have a lot of the elements of a senior position - there is the responsibility of getting the place in shape for lunch, there is the all-important mid-day inventory and food ordering. There is the calculation of food costs with the ongoing spreadsheet, and there is the work that has to be done as an expeditor to make sure that everything is going as smoothly as possible during lunch.
This job seems like it is the next logical step forward in my career. The cooking is still there, but the added skills of office work - like taking an inventory and running line checks - will only help to further round out my skills for running my own place some day.
Back to the story though, the lunch rush was not ever incredibly busy, but the head chef, Frank, did place an order unbeknownst to us in the middle of the service. When the order was delivered, he called the two sous chefs and me (since I guess I am approximately at that level) out there to take a look at what was sent to him.
“Can anyone tell me what is wrong with this dish?” he asked putting the fish in front of us. I had my guesses, but this was one of those moments where I could tell that being quiet would only work to my advantage. It was my first day, and I had been on the payroll for all of about 5 hours at this point. To chime in and explain what I thought was wrong with the food at this point would just be a really stupid idea. So I kept it zipped.
We went through the dishes, and Frank showed to me that what I had heard about him was true - he is a no-nonsense kind of guy when it comes to his food, and he is dedicated to improving the menu and overall quality of Rustico by leaps and bounds. He possesses great skill and a lot of knowledge about cooking and kitchens, so this will surely be a place where I can learn a lot.
That is, if the morning commutes don’t kill me first…
So in that vein, since I have to switch my internal clock to get in touch with my new schedule, I think I need to go to bed. Sorry no pix with this post, I just need to get some sleep instead of researching funny picks and thinking up funny captions. More will be on their way for sure.
I just wanted you all to know I love the new job so far, and yes, I survived day 1. Here’s hoping to many more!
Matt
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05.17.07
Posted in The Story at 3:55 pm by Chef Matt
Well, my time at Vero has come to an end. Those of you who read these posts closely may be wondering what I mean, seeing as how today was supposed to be my last day. Well, you are right, today was supposed to be it, but Thursday night is the slowest night of the week for us, and so there was no real need for me to show up for a final night. As it turns out, last night was my, well, last night.
These darn butternut squash seem to follow me everywhere I go. |
It too was a slow night which had no moments that really seemed to stand out at the time. The only thing that I really noticed was just how comfortable I was in my position. I was doing some prep work for the catering side of things (peeling and cubing some beloved butternut squash) when a ticket for the salad station came in. I heard the order and noticed it came with a plate of crab ravioli as well, so I knew I had some time before I actually had to create my share of the appetizer order, so I kept on cutting the squash.
Another ticket came in for me, and this had two more salads, but they were second course after a soup, so I picked up another squash and began peeling it.
A third ticket came in - two more salads for me - one of which is one that takes me a little longer to prepare. But I still had a few more seeds to pull out of the squash in my hand, so I decided to finish that before heading back around the table to my station.
I was three tickets deep into my station, and while I walked over, a dessert order came in as well. I was, by the dictionary definition of the term, “in the weeds”. Yet I still calmly cleaned my knife of the excess butternut squash juice and washed my hands of any remaining seeds. I then went into full salad making mode, glancing at the clock as I started.
Do you really need a picture to show you what it is like for a salad to be made?… |
My station became a fury of lettuce leaves, dressing bottles and assorted toppings. Throwing together beds for hot entrees, and rolling asparagus spears in sheets of paper-thin Prosciutto, my hands were working at top speed, but seemingly on their own. The first salad went down fast and the prep for the second course salads was easy as well. Constructing the third order took some time, but I was heating the dessert while building it to save some time. The salad was dressed at about the same time I was dropping the scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of the rhubarb crisp. All in all I had brought my side of things together in a mere four minutes.
This was a sharp contrast to my first week on the job - where everything seemed to take forever for me, and any order I received I attacked as soon as I could for fear of falling behind. I am leaving this job fully comfortable in my abilities for that station. And what turned out to be my last order showed that I hadn’t lost my touch on the hot side either…
I was back by the mop sink filling up the bucket so as to clean the floors. It was 9:35 (five minutes after closing) and Jay & Edwin had already gone home seeing as how we had not received a new order in the past 20 minutes. The kitchen was officially closed, and clean-up was in full swing. Anne came back with a ticket in her hand which I assumed was one of the last tables ordering their dessert so they could finish up and hit the road.
But it comes with a salad, so it’s healthy, right?… |
“Can we make a caramelized apple salad?” she asked.
I looked at the clock.
“I know, we’re officially closed, but that’s all he wanted…”
This was one of those moments. A crossroads was in front of me. Down one road I could set the standard for myself of being that guy who works only so much as he has to before going home. This is the kind of guy who sees getting out of the restaurant as the ultimate goal of a day’s work. All I had to do was stand by the kitchen closing time, and I could go home a lot sooner. Down the other road was the recognition that working in a kitchen means your efforts focus around the customers, and helping them to have a good time is what your life is really all about. But this was not my kitchen, and I was leaving tomorrow, so what did I care?…
“Sure, let me wash my hands.”
I fired up the already clean stove top, turned on the hood and got to work. A clean pan dropped down from the shelf, and I dove into my low boy (reach-in fridge) to retrieve my block of butter. When the pan was hot, in went the butter with that fabulous sizzle that just screams out: “You, my friend, are now cooking!” Four slices of granny smith apple joined the butter, and when it was all coated to my liking, I added a healthy splash of vanilla syrup (the kind you flavor your lattes with) and let the heat do its magic on the sugar.
That lovely Zen feeling of being at the stove and cooking on the sauté line is something I really miss from my time at Tirolo, and I am glad I will be getting back to that (eventually) at Rustico. I was enjoying the hot side so much, I almost didn’t notice that an order for a crème brûlée had come in for another table. Looks like everyone wanted caramel in one form or another…
I have to admit, it wasn’t really very hard to choose the right path… |
So it is only now, upon reflection, that I realize this apple salad was indeed my last order at Vero. I hope he enjoyed it, and I am still happy with the path I chose to take. I now get one day to rest up before the new job begins at Rustico. And I had better be ready.
I report to work on a Friday - one of the busiest nights of the week. It will be a real trial by fire, and I have one more major obstacle working against me:
I report to work at 7 AM.
Wish me luck! If I am still alive, I will report tomorrow on how the first day went!
Matt
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05.16.07
Posted in The Story at 9:29 am by Chef Matt
Every chef is different and composes flavors in unique and characteristic ways. Just as you could identify which chef made your dish by the fingerprints he may have left on the side of the plate, you can also identify a specific chef’s handiwork by the spices, sauces or special ingredients he chose to use. The trick to developing as a chef is to learn how to incorporate the special ingredients that other chefs use into your own personal pantry, marrying them with the set of flavors and techniques that already characterize your own style of cooking. In this way, one becomes their own chef with their own style, and the creativity and inventions of the culinary world continue to grow and branch out.
Broccoli Rabe (or “Rapini”) was something I avoided as a child, but now embrace as a chef.
(Photo from gourmetsleuth.com) |
That being said, there are also ingredients that I don’t like and therefore typically won’t use, or perhaps I don’t use them from sheer ignorance on how to cook them. For example, growing up I always thought of broccoli rabe as a bitter and disagreeably pungent side dish that was loved only by Italian grandfathers or people who pretended to enjoy it. Then I attended a cooking demonstration by Giuliano Hazan (son of the great Marcella Hazan) and he showed me how to blanch the broccoli rabe to draw its bitterness out before then sautéing it for a long time over low heat in garlicky olive oil with red pepper. It was fabulous, and gave me a new appreciation for this otherwise inedible green.
Or perhaps some of you remember my earlier post on how to make Brussels sprouts. These little green nuggets of flavor were one of the most dreaded additions to my plate as a child. I would go to incredible lengths to avoid them, or hide them, when they were plopped down on the dinner table. Again, it was through the work of another chef that I learned how to caramelize them in butter or oil instead of boiling or steaming them. The result is that I often use them as a go-to side dish when they are in season instead of avoiding them like the plague.
So in this light of incorporating new ingredients into my repertoire, there are two ingredients that I’ve gained a new appreciation for in my tenure at Vero that I previously considered to be, well, rather useless. Neither of these were foods that I disliked, I just always considered them to be on the fringe of cooking - something to be used only rarely. My time at Vero showed me the light, and now I use these ingredients often, and will continue to do so as I journey forth to new kitchens.
We go through cans like this all the time. |
The first ingredient is pineapple juice. This is something that I have always considered delicious, but previously I only thought of it as something to add to mixed drinks. I always thought of the flavor as too powerful to use in cooking; I was afraid it would dominate any and all other flavors in the dish. At Vero though, I learned how pineapple juice is great for marinating meats and is a fantastic addition to fruit (especially spicy mango) salsas. It’s acidic nature makes it a natural addition to ceviches, and in Asian sauces, pineapple juice adds sweetness without diluting or thickening the sauce too much. And if you thin some yogurt by whisking in a little pineapple juice, and add some preserves for flavor and color, and you have a great dipping sauce for fresh fruit skewers. Simply put, when you need moisture and sweetness together, pineapple juice is often a much better option than just adding sugar and a little water.
And I thought it was only good as a garnish… |
The other addition to my pantry is crystallized ginger. Before working at Vero, I really didn’t have much use for this stuff at all. Upon my arrival there, I noticed a large tin (about the size of a large coffee can) of crystallized ginger, and I assumed that was a lifetime supply - even for a busy restaurant. How wrong I was. Crystallized ginger is not just for garnishing, but it can be pureed into carrot soup for a noticeable, yet not overly spicy, ginger flavor. It can be chopped into fruit crisps and other desserts for a refreshing addition. And mixed in with hoi sin sauce, sesame oil and garlic, it makes for a fabulous sauce for topping off spicy beef short ribs. It’s used so much in Vero that we not only went through the whole giant tin of it in my time there, but we actually had to buy a new one which is already being used in the kitchen.
It is said that the mark of a great chef is that he can make a fantastic meal out of whatever is on hand. However, I’m firm believer that the way he gets to this stage in his abilities is by watching how different ingredients are used by other chefs, and then experimenting with everything he can lay his hands on. In this way, he adds more and more ingredients into his own personal pantry, and is then able to surprise those around him with his incredible spontaneity by creating a proverbial “stone soup” from seemingly nothing at all.
So if anyone out there has any pineapple juice or crystallized ginger lying around that is eating up space in your pantry or fridge, just invite me over, and I will make it look like I am inventing something magical for you from the top of my mind. That is, I’ll do it so long as you pretend to be amazed…
Matt
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05.14.07
Posted in The Story at 10:21 am by Chef Matt
Of course I am sad to be leaving Vero (only three days left!) as they have been a great group of people to work with and for. But since we are all human, it can’t possibly be the case that everything there was 100% perfect, right? Some of you have been writing me asking things like “So come on, what is the real reason you are leaving?” So allow me to re-iterate here that it is nothing at Vero that is pushing me away.
That being said though, there is one thing that I noticed the other day that I would not miss as I moved on to my new job. The walk-in.
Some of you may remember my earlier account of how I was tasked with re-organizing the walk-in back in February. It was cold work in the middle of winter - the time you don’t want to spend extra time in the cold. (Unlike these warmer summer days where it hits over 100 degrees in the kitchen, and we look for any excuse possible to visit the walk-in for a cool-down. “Who needs more water? Nobody? Well then…uhhh…I’m gonna go get some more…umm.. celery! See ya in 5 minutes!”)
I don’t see what was wrong with my organization system…
(photo from piotrzurek.net) |
My organization plan made sense as I labeled the shelves with little notes for what foods should go in which spots. It was based mainly on how we had a lot of things in there already, but a few things got moved to new places, since I was trying to give everything a fixed spot.
I even wrote the shelf labels in English AND Spanish (I had to look up most of the translations on the web) so that everyone could use them. The new system I created was going to speed up our ability to find food we needed, and keep us from over-ordering on other items. At least, that was how it was supposed to work…
The problem with my creating this system is that I am not there in the morning when the food orders arrive. If I were there, you can bet I would check in the food and place everything on the shelves in the spots laid out for them. But alas, the morning crew tends to just throw food into the walk-in wherever they feel like it. I spent the first month of the new system re-organizing the walk-in every night to try to make the new system work.
But it seemed that the harder I tried to make it organized, the more disorganized it would be the next day when I arrived. Since there wasn’t total buy-in to the new system at all levels in the restaurant, there was no point in my trying to keep it together. About a month ago, I stopped even trying anymore. I knew we had hit rock bottom for fridge organization the other day when I was doing an inventory and found grapefruits in no less than four different places in the walk-in.
That fridge is nothing short of a mess. It is like a daily game of hide-and-seek to find produce in there, and I guess it pains me more since I tried to clean it up and failed. When I move on, I am not going to miss this daily reminder of how I tried to make something better in the restaurant, but was ultimately unable to improve it.
By coincidence, when I was touring the kitchen at Rustico, I was taken into their walk-in to see how they had things laid out. The degree of organization and labeling blew my mind. They didn’t just have a section for “herbs” (which is all I tried to do) but rather a series of smaller shelves in the herbs section, each one labeled with a specific herb, so going in and grabbing the oregano would take all of 2 seconds. I was impressed by this and told them how I loved what they had done with the walk-in.
“Well sure. Time is a limited resource in the kitchen,” they replied. “If you don’t organize the walk-in, you’re just wasting time.”
I couldn’t agree more.
So yes, there is one thing I am not going to miss as I head off to the new job. But for all you conspiracy theorists out there, this is hardly the reason why I am leaving. To leave a job because the fridge isn’t organized the way you like is about as smart as using a match to check your gas tank. Then again, as some others of you have pointed out, leaving a great job for the unknown doesn’t seem all that bright either.
I guess we’ll just have to see…
Matt
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05.10.07
Posted in The Story at 10:59 am by Chef Matt
I told you there was big and exciting news afoot!
Yes, in an announcement that I’m sure is a surprise to most of you, I have put in my notice at Restaurant Vero and am moving on to a new job at Rustico Restaurant and Bar in Alexandria. I actually told Joy I was leaving a few days before my trip to Turkey, but I figured there was no sense in telling you all news this big right before I went on vacation and made unable to answer any questions.
So, much like when I told you all I was leaving Cafe Tirolo, I will try to explain this situation in a question-and-answer format.
The pull of promise, the need for me to pioneer my own path. I guess I played too much Oregon Trail as a kid… |
Why are you leaving Vero?
There are essentially two reasons to leave a job. One is where the job is so bad; it pushes you out the door. The other is that another opportunity opens up that is so attractive, it pulls you towards it. This is a case of the latter. This move has nothing to do with Vero being a bad place, or a terrible job. In fact, I still wholeheartedly recommend that you all continue to eat there even though I am gone (even though the salads will be nowhere near as good without me - just kidding of course). This has everything to do with the menu and opportunity at Rustico being exciting, challenging and enticing.
In all seriousness, I wasn’t even really looking for a new position - the announcement sort of fell in my lap, and the opportunity looked like something worth taking a stab at. I applied, loved the kitchen, and had a really great interview. I sent the customary follow-up email, and then didn’t hear a word from them for over a week. As has happened to me before, I figured I hadn’t gotten the job, and figured, “Oh well, that was a nice try, but at least I still have this good job at Vero.”
But then the reply came to me that they were eager for me to start as soon as possible! This was a shock to me, and I was excited that I had made the cut! But I had made it clear to them that I always give two weeks wherever I work, so with all of that worked out between the two places, my last day at Vero will be next Thursday (the 17th) and my first day at Rustico will be the very next day. (No relaxing between jobs break for me!)
What will your position at Rustico be?
I am actually not sure. The chef there - Frank Morales - expressed some interest in my starting out in the appetizer section, which happens to be the open part of the kitchen that interacts with the public. This spot is a natural fit for me, since I’m a ham and love to interact with the public as a chef. But he also mentioned the importance of cross-training all employees to be able to work at any station on any given night to cover for vacations, illness or whatever. This makes infinite sense, and it also means that I will receive loads of new training as a result of working there. This is another reason why this job is attractive to me; learning several stations - including a real wood grill! - is both exciting as well as a major plus to expanding my repertoire.
Tirolo gave me experience with working the sauté, flattop, pizza ovens as well as sandwich making. Vero has made me an ace at vinaigrettes and salad making while also allowing me to dabble with my own creations like foie gras and stuffed calamari. In short, my work experience to date has really been quite extensive looking back on it.
But another appealing aspect of the job at Rustico is that this position has the possibility of forward advancement towards the Sous Chef position. They have NOT promised me this position (I want to make it clear I am not going into this with false expectations) but all the same they are looking for someone to take some responsibility in the kitchen and show some leadership to work into that role. I am hoping that I can be that person eventually. I guess this means I am going to have to get a little more serious in the kitchen.
Photo from Allposters.com |
But Matt, you love to drink! How can you leave a job at a wine bar?
Yes, that is sad to leave all the great wine of Vero behind, but Rustico has a beer list that is to die for. Over 30 beers on tap and a bottle selection of 250 more. I’m thinking that I’ll be OK, thanks for your concern.
So this is your third job now in your first year of being a chef. Isn’t that a lot?…
Yes, it is, and that is a good point you raise there. (Or did I raise it?…) Having a lot of jobs for a relatively short period of time (under one year) on one’s resume is not a plus in this business. You begin to look like one of two things:
- The guy who learns the recipes at the expense of the restaurant’s training, and then runs off with them.
- The guy who is such a pain in the ass to work with, he can’t stay anywhere for fear of being stabbed by his co-workers.
It doesn’t matter that neither of these apply to me - that’s just how it looks on paper.
In fact, I was back at Stratford yesterday morning getting all the final paperwork filled out for my upcoming graduation ceremony, (yes, it will finally happen!) and I spoke with one of my favorite and closest chef instructors, Chef Sinopoli, about this very issue. He told me that moving around too much will make me be known as a “jumper” and that is a really bad thing. I of course agreed with him, and he said “I want you to stay put here for a while Matt.” And then he asked me to let him know when I was settled in so he could come visit. What a sweet guy - maybe he does care about me after all. 
Hmmm… maybe this does look pretty stupid… |
So if you don’t want to be a “jumper”, why jump?
At Tirolo I had learned most of what I could (seeing as how Vic had left) and the climate there was just getting to be unbearable for my day-to-day working. At Vero, I feel I have learned most of what I can from this job, and the advancement opportunities are not as promising as the possibilities at Rustico. There is no doubt about it; this is a gamble on my part. Yes, I am of course a nervous wreck about the chance I am taking - but that is how I feel before any new job.
And if this gamble pays off, I will be rewarded with more experience, a real advancement to my career and you bet I will be staying put. If it fails, maybe I’ll go crawling back to WWF. (No, don’t worry, it’ll never come to that…)
What dish at Rustico are you most excited about learning how to make?
Without a doubt, the duck confit & bacon pizza. Well, actually I am pretty sure how it goes, but combing those sounds like decadence wrapped in butter. (And of course continues to support the claim that everything is improved by bacon!)
While leaving Tirolo called for Johnny “Take this Job and Shove It” Paycheck, I think this one calls for Roy “Happy Trails” Rogers. |
From everything you’ve said, the people at Vero are great. Aren’t you sad to be leaving them?
Indeed. This was not an easy decision to come to, and I sincerely hope I am making the right one. This is a one of those moments - like a Tipping Point in my career - where everything can start really going forward, or everything can come crashing down. But all great advancements seem to come with the risk of failure and the need to strike out on one’s own path. Inherent in the concept of “going forth”, there is always the flip side of “leaving behind”. And in this case, that means I unfortunately have to leave the safety and security of the family (that is the only way to think of them) that is Restaurant Vero.
I will miss them all very much, and can only hope the feeling will be mutual.
Matt
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05.08.07
Posted in Other Fun at 1:30 pm by Chef Matt
While I did get a little bit of computer time in Turkey, I did not get enough to really create a post from the field that would have been worthy of your all’s time. I am sorry you all had to wait so long for the update, but I hope you will find it worth the wait.
Turkish coffee on the Bosporus. |
So allow me to give out the obligatory “Turkey was great, I had a wonderful time, and the people are so friendly!” thing. It was, I did and they are. This allows me to now go into the details of the trip - mostly the food stuff seeing as how that’s probably what you all want to hear about - without further delay.
First off, allow to me frame the trip around the concept of something Turks apparently hate, and something they obviously love. The apparent hate is not food related, so I will be brief.
Turks hate dead skin cells. My wife went to a Turkish bath, and it seemed as though she had been gone over with a belt sander when she returned. She enjoyed the experience, as she - like every other woman I know - loves a good exfoliating, but this was extreme. Even the bars of hotel soap were filled with sand for the purpose of removing this most loathed of bodily accumulations. I actually have a noticeable decrease in some of the cooking-related calluses on my hands as a result of using Turkish soap for a week. This must be the softest-skinned nation on the earth.
Now for the thing Turks obviously love, which is sugar. Wow. The collective sweet tooth of this nation would rival that of the Oompa-Loompas. While our tables in America come with a default setting of salt and pepper, the only consistent spice I saw on Turkish tables were sugar cubes. In their coffee, the baklava, the pastries, and I am sure there were some kebabs somewhere available dipped in caramel. These people love their sweets, which I think is why my mom (with her killer sweet tooth) loves the country so much.
Me with Turkish coffee, and an empty plate of baklava, at Mohammed Said. |
To that end, I had a large supply of Turkish coffee and baklava myself as I am a huge fan of both. On the first night there, my mom and I left everyone else behind since they “needed sleep” – bunch of wimps - and headed up the road in search of anywhere that would serve us baklava late at night. It was a bit of a hike, but we eventually ended up at Mohammed Said, and it was without a doubt the best baklava I have ever had. I would have to look up the address on that one for you if you really want to know where it is, but to give you an idea of how amazing it was - we ended up going every night for 4 nights straight. If you ever find yourself in Istanbul, this place is worth the trip. Several trips.
Beautiful to look at, wonderful to eat. |
The other great food are of course the wide varieties of kebabs. I ended up eating several versions including one which was recommended to us by a rug salesman thusly: “It has smoked lamb and yogurt-sauce-make-you-go-crazy”. How could you refuse a dish whose sauce alone promised insanity? We had it, and the guy was totally on the money might I add. I was also a fan of the finely-diced Cop Sis (pronounced “Chope Shish” - the letters had little dots and squiggles on them that I can’t be bothered to look up how to type…) served on several fine skewers. The method for eating them was to pull them off into your bread, adorn with peppers, shallots and spices and enjoy. And enjoy I did! Frequently.
Lamb: good raw, better cooked. |
I can already hear your question forming: “What was the weirdest thing you ate?” I am a fan of trying whatever I can find, though I have to admit I did not find too many things that elicited the “Whoa, that’s weird,” reaction in me. The meats were generally lamb, chicken and beef - all covered with sugar. (Just kidding!) But on one of my “street food” adventures with my mom - who speaks some Turkish - I found myself passing by a cart where a man was offering up something that looked really tasty and spicy in lettuce leaves. I had to try this. He offered me a free sample which was a nice glob of the reddish-brown mixture in a lettuce leaf. He then said if I liked it, I could have a great big helping of it in a piece of bread. Well, I have never turned down a free food sample, so I took a bite. My mom then read the sign next to it as I was taking a bite and she was taking the following picture, and she said a phrase that you rarely want to hear in mid-chew:
“Ummm, Matt, if I’m reading this right, you just ate raw lamb.”
I thought it tasted a little, well, cold… I had in fact just had my first taste of the famous Turkish delight (not to be confused with Turkish Delight) known as “Cigkoftecisi”. It was actually really good. But I didn’t want a whole big bread-stuffed portion of it, since I was on my way to dinner. I mean how many times have I ruined a good meal by filling up on raw lamb beforehand? The man wanted to make a sale, so he gave a free sample to my mom and wife to share, and troopers that they are, they tried it too. So for the two samples, I gave the guy (even though he tried to refuse) one Turkish lira ($0.75), and was on my way with a great story. And I think also a tapeworm.
I am happy to report that I recognized most of what I was looking at here… |
Shopping in Turkey is also a great adventure because it is a land where people want you to know their product before buying it. Like the aforementioned rug salesmen, so too the Spice Market is loaded with people who are trying to sell you their wares - but only if they tell you the story behind them first. Piles and piles of spices make the Istanbul Spice Market one of the best-smelling places on earth. (Possibly right behind the Cascade Brewery in Tasmania…) Samples abound, and the way you end up tacking on more and more purchases into one order is just infectious. I ended up with rose petal jam (sugar), Turkish Delight (more sugar), Pomegranate Tea (loads of sugar), rose water (for adding to desserts that have sugar), some dried figs (coated with sugar) and a pashmina (how the hell did that get in there?!?) - and that was just the first stall I visited.
Wine and oil tasting. It was soon hard to keep my shot glasses straight… |
We didn’t spend all our time in Istanbul, there was also a trip down to Izmir and the small, but totally charming town of Selcuk. From there, we saw highlights like the travertine pools of Pamukkale and Hierapolis, which were worth the trip. But I was also able to sample some of the local wines and olive oils as well. They were all served up in shot glasses - the way I like to do my drinking - and while the red wines were not at all interesting, the local whites were really quite charming. I ended up buying three bottles - and all for the most modest of prices. (They priced the reds higher thinking those were their good wines… they were wrong…)
So good, how could you not go back again and again?… |
But now I am back, and it is time to get back to work. And there are major updates on the work front as I promised you before I left. Big time news. Really exciting stuff. But for now, I am not going to get into that. Maybe tomorrow. Until then, I will just leave you with a beauty shot of baklava. Because ending with a huge helping of sugar is how any good Turk would want it. 
Matt
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