10.31.07
Posted in 1. The Story at 10:12 pm by Chef Matt
Autumn has arrived, and our new autumn menu is in full swing. Sure, it continues to change day to day as we refine it into something that works for our kitchen as well as our customers. But there was one addition I was able to make to this menu that is working out really well so far.
The empty pizza crust. An empty canvass for my personal invention.
Image from pinchmysalt.com |
One day chef comes up to me and says, “Matt, we need to change the summer pie (pizza) into the fall pie. I want you to come up with what that pie will be, so you can have some ownership on a menu item… you know, feel invested in the food…”
This was really exciting to me, as I had an idea for what the fall pizza should be. I had thought it up from some previous pizzas I had made on my own with my family with some refined ideas based on what foods are in season (which is important for something that would sell itself as a “fall pie”.
I was opening my mouth with my idea when chef immediately chimed in, “You know I’m thinking that with the summer squash we had on the summer pie, perhaps we could do something with fall squash. Or maybe even rutabaga or something like that… not everyone likes rutabaga, but I do…”
This was a completely different direction from what I was considering. I couldn’t even really bring myself to tell chef how bad an idea I thought a rutabaga pizza was. Instead I just decided to go for broke with my idea - even if it stood in stark contrast to his plan.
Little sweet nuggets of heaven that are one of the best parts of fall. |
“Actually chef, I thought that we should take advantage of the fact that it is now the season for black mission figs and have a pizza with blue cheese, figs, ham and balsamic onions.”
“OK. That’s a neat idea. We could also add some rainbow chard as a green when it comes out of the oven…”
“That’s a good idea to, and in season as well.”
“OK, make me a sample of what you are thinking, and let’s see how it tastes.”
So with the green light to give this new pie a shot, I started to cook up some samples. I immediately realized that balsamic onions were too much work to put on a pizza, so I settled for just putting on a balsamic reduction when the pizza came out of the oven. Additionally, the chunks of blue cheese were too intense, so I needed to come up with a change for that as well.
The other problem was the ham. The fresh ham placed on after cooking was light in flavor and just wonderful on the palette, but it was impossible to chew through, and it pulled off the pizza. The ham that was cooked on to the pizza was able to be chewed through easily, but was way too salty. Chef had the solution - we just had to julienne the fresh ham so as to make small enough pieces for people to eat without pulling all the topping off their pieces on the first bite.
But the flavor was fabulous! Honey-sweet figs, tangy Maytag blue cheese, fresh and salty country ham, sharp balsamic vinegar and crisp rainbow chard all came together on the pizza in a way that was nothing short of amazing. This was a flavor combination that was really working well together, and made for an awesome pizza that was truly representative of the season.
This was not the way to add the cheese - need to tone it down a bit… |
The fix for the blue cheese was to make a blue cheese béchamel. It spread the blue flavor more evenly all over the pizza, and acted like a sauce which helps to form a crust on the edge of the pizza as it cooks as well seeing as how the only ingredients that go on the pizza before it cooks are the blue cheese béchamel and the figs. The ham, chard and balsamic all go on after the pizza comes out of the oven.
So how do people like it? Well, in its first week it debuted as our 5th best selling pizza. Last week, it was #3. If this could become our #2, that would be nothing short of amazing. But to reach the number one spot - to replace our basil and fresh mozzarella pizza - would almost impossible. So I will consider it a real victory if it just made it to #2…
All I know is, I think this pizza will outsell anything with rutabaga on it… 
Chef Matt
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10.16.07
Posted in 1. The Story, 5. Rants and Raves at 4:10 pm by Chef Matt
Again I have received a question in the comment field of another one of my posts that is just too big for me to reply to in the comment field. Back on my post about how we had a culinary student working in our kitchen, Angelica posed me the following question:
“I have just enrolled in culinary school. Do you have any advice you can give me?”
Well first off let me say that I’m honored Angelica that you’d think that I’d have advice worth listening to on the subject. But seeing as how I’ve been down this road, and to date have had a pretty successful career of it all, maybe I do have a few pointers that can help get you, or any other students starting down this road, on the right path.
For example: Why is it that every culture from Eastern Europe through Asia has some form of dumpling in their culinary history? |
The first thing I would say, and this is the most important point I feel, is to stay curious about food and cooking. And not just in school, but outside of school, all the time. You have to try new recipes, new techniques, new styles - and not worry about failing as much as worry that you might not be learning while you try them. Your chef instructors will teach you lots, but they can’t teach you everything, so take it upon yourself to learn even more.
That includes the science of cooking, the history of cooking, the cultural aspects of cooking. Take it all in, and never stop. The second you stop being curious about all there is to know about food is the second you’re done in this business. A chef who is not interested in where food came from, and where the culinary world is going ceases to be a chef, and becomes merely a cook.
And it is in that sense of curiosity that I come to the second point. Get into the world of cooking as soon as you can manage. Again, your chef instructors will teach you a lot, but a classroom is nothing compared to the learning experience of a professional kitchen. The fast-paced, injury-laden, ego-busting experience that is working in a professional kitchen can’t possibly be replicated in a classroom - but it’s what we live for and learn from.
This learning comes mainly in the form of developing your own style based on what your chef will teach you. There is more to learn than you can imagine from them, so be open to what they are showing you and take it all in. But someday you will learn all you can from them, and when you realize that time has come, it is time to move on to the next place.
Be careful with this though. It’s easy to think you’ve learned all you can - hell, I moved through three kitchens in my first year - so don’t let your ego cloud your judgment on this one. I still stand by my decisions to move like I did, I really had learned what I could in those specific instances. But I know that where I am now has a lot to show me, and so I’m not planning on moving for some time now. And that’s what you’re looking for ultimately: a place that “fits”. Once you find that fit, stick with it and learn from it - and some day you’ll have learned enough to pass on your knowledge to someone else.
The circle of life…yadda yadda… |
And that is the last piece of advice I have to give. Share what you learn with others. Be a teacher, a mentor, an advisor to anyone who’s willing to listen. Not to get all “Lion King” on ya, but that’s how the cycle continues. You learn all you can from others, and then pass it on to the next round of people like yourself who want to do the same.
After all that, the only thing I can say is: have fun and enjoy yourself. It’s one hell of a ride.
Chef Matt
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10.09.07
Posted in 1. The Story at 10:13 am by Chef Matt
After almost two months of testing and refining and subjecting my fellow chefs to varying degrees of palatable bottle-fermented concoctions, my root beer has made it to the production block! Seven bottles of Rustico’s finest homemade root beer (I need a name for it, don’t I? I’m thinking “Fin Root Beer” - “Furb” for short…) were officially deemed worthy of serving to our customers (by Chef and myself) and so we put together the dessert for our servers to sell.
Root beer and vanilla ice cream. The best dessert flavor combination since… well… ever. |
We decided the root beer would go out as a dessert item with a scoop of high quality vanilla gelato for a “build your own root beer float”. Homemade root beer, awesome ice cream - what’s not to love about this?
Well apparently in the first night, there was a lot that was not to love, as exactly zero were sold. But on the second night, I was still hanging around (watching my beloved Philadelphia Eagles get their asses handed to them by the Giants) when Andrew came out and told me that one root beer had been sold.
I was ecstatic. Here was all my months of effort finally culminating in a single sale. The first review is always the most important I feel with a new dish. For me anyway, it sets the tone of how everyone else will perceive the dish from then on. I wanted this one to be perfect. I pulled out a scoop of ice cream, opened the bottle of root beer, let the fizz overflow die down, rinsed off the bottle and placed them together on a cedar plank (for the “rustic” look we go for at Rustico) and sent it out.
I pulled aside our floor manager, Jon, and told him that he had to “touch” the table that ordered the root beer float to see what they thought. I just had to know.
The next few minutes were arduous, both because I was dying to know how they liked my root beer, and also because the Eagles continued to suck.
Jon came back into the kitchen and gave me the news:
“Matt, they LOVED your root beer. One of the people at the table was a self-proclaimed ‘root beer aficionado’ and he said the root beer was ’simply outstanding’!”
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLL!
Yeah, it kinda felt like that… |
Vindication.
Chef had given me an awesome project, one I really put my all into, and now, two months later, the result has turned into something our customers think is great. It’s hard for me to put into words exactly how that feels. It’s like seeing your own kid hit a homerun or come home with straight A’s. This root beer was my baby - and on it’s first time at bat, it knocked the ball clear out of the park.
I won’t say “scored a touchdown” because even the Eagles couldn’t manage that…
So come one, come all - please come visit me and try out our root beer float! I don’t have a huge amount of them - I make batches of about eight at a time, but I am trying to make sure we always have enough on hand for the next visit by an “aficionado”. If you are that special root beer lover - I think I have something here that will not disappoint you! And I’d love to hear what you think!
Chef Matt
P.S. I know that the next question y’all are going to ask is, “What about the recipe?” I’m not ready to post that yet for two reasons:
1. I only just came out with this root beer, and I want people to come by and try it first.
2. I’m actually still working on the recipe. It needs more little tweaks here and there - very minor ones, but tweaks all the same - and I don’t want to give you all the recipe until I have it perfected.
So patience please - it’ll come eventually!
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10.05.07
Posted in 1. The Story, 4. Teaching Classes at 8:54 pm by Chef Matt
About two weeks ago now, I had the second of my cooking classes up in Bedford, PA. The first class had a waiting list that was almost long enough to fill the second class, so we just decided to run my first class over again for those who couldn’t fit in the first time around. Apparently my first class received such rave reviews though; this class had a waiting list of its own! Ahh, the cost of fame…
Scolding my class for not using enough wine in their food. I am firm, but fair…
Photo by Ken Sepeda |
I wanted to give this second class a little something different, so I was going to make a different risotto recipe - risotto with pancetta and asparagus - but asparagus was just too far out of season to find anywhere. So I had to stick with my original recipe of saffron risotto with shrimp and marinated artichoke hearts. (Oh darn…)
Like my first class, the group really involved themselves in the class, laughed at my jokes, and asked questions about things they were interested in. I was worried when one of the first questions was, “What species of pine tree to pine nuts come from?” (Answer: “I have no fucking clue.”), but I covered for it well enough and the rest of the questions were more manageable. In the end I did receive a round of applause and everyone was effusive in their praise both of the food and my presentation.
Ladies, ladies please! There is plenty of me for all of you! |
The first surprise of the night came shortly after the end of the class when one lady came up to my demonstration table and asked me to sign her recipe packet. Yes ladies and gentlemen, for the first time in my life someone asked me for my autograph. Next stop, Hollywood!
A few more people came up and asked me specific questions about the dishes I’d just demonstrated which I was happy to talk with them about. It was in this series of conversations that the next surprise of the evening occurred. A man came up - who knew my parents actually - and asked me if I would consider moving to Bedford. My raised eyebrow must have shown him that my interest was indeed piqued, so he continued. Some friends of his have recently renovated a hotel in Everett, PA, and they had a chef lined up from Pittsburgh who fell through. He wanted to know if I wanted to be the head chef at this new hotel/restaurant.
Not only had I been asked for my first autograph, but my first attempt at being “poached” had happened as well. Simply put, he was trying to steal me away from my job and give me the ultimate promotion in the culinary profession. I’ve been a professional chef for just under 14 months, and I have been offered my first executive chef position. I dare say that’s not bad by any measurement.
But I had to tell him “no”. There are three good reasons:
How could I leave all the glamour of teaching behind?…
Photo by Ken Sepeda |
1. I like living in DC for now. While I have mentioned before that I have no interest in working in downtown DC, the DC area still has many fabulous restaurants to work in and learn from. I’m situated in a great place to start my career and continue forward in the years to come. And the job I have in DC right now is one I love. It’s not every job that lets you make your own root beer and saw pig heads in half. And I get to do these things without the pressure of it being all on me if they fail…
2. I don’t think my wife and I are ready to move just yet. Not only do I have a good job, but my wife has a fabulous job that she is advancing in as well. Just because I have a good lead doesn’t mean she does, and I am not sure what Everett, PA holds for her as far as her career is concerned.
3. Most importantly, I just don’t think I’m ready for it. I’ve learned so much and come so far in this past year, but I know my limitations. Someday I’ll be able to open my own place, I know I will. But today is not that day, and neither is tomorrow. I’m not going to fall into the trap of setting phony deadlines for myself, so let’s just say that I know when the time will be right. And when it is, I’ll be open to such offers.
But until then, I’m just going to have to enjoy the fact that at least people are asking if I’m interested. I guess I’ll just have to pass the time holding more classes and signing more autographs!
Chef Matt
The obligatory group shot with my class.
I’m the guy in the chef’s coat in the front…
Photo by Ken Sepeda |
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10.02.07
Posted in 1. The Story at 10:05 am by Chef Matt
The other night, after I had finished my kitchen work, and had entered all the invoices into our QuickBooks system, Chef came by to ask me if I could help him with a new layout design he was thinking about for the recipes we have in house. You see, most restaurants write down the recipes they are using in house so that if one chef is out for some reason, and more gremolata (for instance) needs to be made, then another chef can quickly take over for the absence of that item.
It just makes good sense.
“Dammit, the recipe for our mushroom sauce has got to be in here somewhere!” |
The problem at Rustico - and we all agree it is a problem - is that our “menu book” has only about 60% of the recipes in it, and the ones that are in there are placed in no discernable order, and with no consistent style/layout. Any time I want a recipe for a salad dressing, I have to scan the whole notebook, and even if I do find it, I may or may not understand what the recipe is telling me.
So Chef wanted me to help him with a standard recipe layout for our in-house book. One that was clean, yet professional, and stylized enough that if he ever wanted to go for the “next step”, he could use it as a starting layout for his own cookbook from Rustico.
It was time for me to show him what I could do. I mean, I had done this for 8 years - surely I could show him a few skills in layout design and so forth?
Well, it took a few hours for me to get something together, but it was looking pretty sharp by the end of the night. Chef was getting more and more excited as we went along and he saw it all coming together. So much so he went out into the kitchen and had Armando make me a steak while I worked. He only sort-of asked me if I wanted a steak though. He was in a hyper-manic state of production - something all chefs get into when they get into the “zone” - so the conversation went like this:
Chef: “Haveyoutriedoursteak? Doyouwa