Bitter Sweet Pill
One of the hardest mistakes I ever had to learn was not to over process my food; I think that is the first thing every young chef wants to do and was exactly the reason I failed my CEC with the ACF a very bittersweet moment in my career that would take me years to truly appreciate as a producer of fine cookery such as it may be. So heed my lesson or not, I say to you all save your Roulades, Stuffing’s, and for God’s sake your Mousses for the not so benevolent creatures of the night and let your protein shine with what may soon come to light highlighted with appropriate sauce and such of course. If this doesn't make sense, wait 5 years and reread it.......
Tapas Menu for Bar
Seared Scallop on Truffled Parmesan Risotto with Basil Oil
Sherry, Garlic Shrimp on Basil Ricotta Crostini
BLT-Beef Tenderloin Lettuce, Tomato and Dijon Aioli on a Crostini
Sherry, Garlic Shrimp on Basil Ricotta Crostini
BLT-Beef Tenderloin Lettuce, Tomato and Dijon Aioli on a Crostini
Yes We Recycle!!!!!!
In my household we have employed one Calypso; here she is found working day two of an orphaned Bone in Ribeye an instrumental part of our program to say the least
Tonight’s Service
Beef Tortelloni in a Truffled Mushroom Ragout 
Fresh Pasta
Laying out the sheet
Beef Short Rib with Demi-Glace Filling
All lined up and ready for the water
Finished Product with Mushroom Sauce
Fresh Pasta
Laying out the sheet
Beef Short Rib with Demi-Glace Filling
All lined up and ready for the water
Finished Product with Mushroom Sauce
From Dinner Service
Bone In Ribeye with Hollandaise
Shrimp & Grits
Chocolate Chambord Raspberry MousseSo much more to come.......
Easter in New York with 21 Main
I was blessed with the opportunity to visit our sister restaurant this past week in New York and got a rare glimpse at a real professional gastronomic Juggernaut in motion
Chef Pauly making Nitro Ice Cream
The Bain Marie from Hell kept at a saucy 200,000,000 BTU's
Uber tender Ribs....
Chef Pauly making Nitro Ice Cream
The Bain Marie from Hell kept at a saucy 200,000,000 BTU's
Uber tender Ribs....
32cm of cheesecake
Bittersweet dark chocolate cheesecake, Raspberries,Graham Cracker Crust, XR Anglaise and Fresh Mint
mmmmmmmmmmmm Soooooooo Good!!!!
mmmmmmmmmmmm Soooooooo Good!!!!
Bamboo Rice
Is a sushi grade short grain rice that is soaked in bamboo juice and green tea to achieve that vibrant color then is cooked and bound together with a gastrique in order to to form a seared rice cake that we serve with our saku tuna it is found to be aromatic as well as herbaceous in quality
Strand chefs sweep S.C. Seafood Challenge
This was such a fun dish to do and so whimsical I couldn't have enjoyed it anymore if I had tried(coffee and doughnuts) was a triumph for all cooks in our area proving that outside the box does work and we are able to strive above the calabash seafood platter after all
Service
Nothing intrigues me more than shots of kitchens during service; the intensity, focus, hustle and controlled ciaos I find fascinating as well as fulfilling much like a mental sandwich
Pickled Cauliflower
Basic Pickling Recipe
8 cups water
2 cups rice wine vinegar
8 tablespoons pickling salt
3 tablespoons of pickling spice blend
1 tablespoon of Turmeric
2 tablespoons red pepper flakes
6 bay leaves
6 garlic cloves
8 to 10 cups vegetables, washed and diced
Method:
To prepare brine, combine all ingredients in a large stockpot. Boil for 5 minutes. Allow to cool slightly. Place vegetables to be pickled in a plastic container. Pour warm brine over vegetables. Cover and refrigerate for days to allow vegetables to pickle before eating. The vegetables will stay crisp for up to 30 days.
8 cups water
2 cups rice wine vinegar
8 tablespoons pickling salt
3 tablespoons of pickling spice blend
1 tablespoon of Turmeric
2 tablespoons red pepper flakes
6 bay leaves
6 garlic cloves
8 to 10 cups vegetables, washed and diced
Method:
To prepare brine, combine all ingredients in a large stockpot. Boil for 5 minutes. Allow to cool slightly. Place vegetables to be pickled in a plastic container. Pour warm brine over vegetables. Cover and refrigerate for days to allow vegetables to pickle before eating. The vegetables will stay crisp for up to 30 days.
Working on New Dishes
On of the most loved things of any chef is a menu change, I for the life of me am not sure why, along with being nerve racking and also certain number of politics that must be adhered to in the corporate world
Lobster and Shrimp Spaghetti
Escabeche
This is another dish that we are currently playing with is a Local Grouper Escabeche served with Cassava Chips in the heat of the low country summer's I consider this one to be sex on a plate
Bringing Home the Bacon
The other day I fulfilled a lifelong dream of mine and made a side of bacon, Ol what fun it is to cure meats
Pork Belly all cleaned and ready to cure...
Day two of curing in a mixture of Salt, Cracked Black Pepper, Mustard and Maple Syrup
After Five Days curing and Three hours in the Smoker I was really impressed how much flavor the cured belly retained from the smoking
Pork Belly all cleaned and ready to cure...
Day two of curing in a mixture of Salt, Cracked Black Pepper, Mustard and Maple Syrup
After Five Days curing and Three hours in the Smoker I was really impressed how much flavor the cured belly retained from the smoking
Oscar Wilde
"To make a good salad is to be a brilliant diplomatist–the problem is entirely the same in both cases. To know how much oil one must mix with one's vinegar."
Early Summer or Late Spring, You Decide
Well much has happened since my winter of construction gig, Please understand it was my every intention to bring you updates of new foods and tidings of edible joy from Bovine's but that is sooo not the case. As the greater powers that be at D.D.G. have seen fit to offer me the Chef de Cuisine position at The Divine Fish House and to answer your question; I never looked back..........First order of business The over grown Garden.
We added a Peach Tree which I am very excited about
We added a Peach Tree which I am very excited about
100 Best Chefs
All I can say is Thank You so very much and for those of you that are not familiar Chef2Chef.com it is the premier chef's practical guide to practically everything culinary. Whether you're a professional chef, an aspiring culinary student, or just love to cook, you're bound to find something you'll love. From their online cooking classes to forums, and from culinary school directory to a chef job board, you can commune with fellow food lovers and find the resources you need to take your cooking skills to the next level,please follow the link and give it a look.
Tell the world we're a Top Chef!
I am very honored, Much Thanks again to all who voted for me.
Tell the world we're a Top Chef!
I am very honored, Much Thanks again to all who voted for me.
The Down Low
To my readers that may be curious, I have been spending my off season masquerading as some sort of foreman for D.D.G. all though I'm not really sure how this little job came to me I currently find myself working on my second of what I am told to be a trio of restaurants one of which is my own that I am currently stationed at. Please don't get me wrong I love my job, it's just that I'm a cook not a carpenter, I've always known this. As I am far more successful in my daily duties within the confines of a commercial kitchen.I guess in retrospective it's good to be involved in the construction phase of restaurant design after all the say what doesn't kill us only makes us stronger.
All the while some of the less savory workers spend their time talking of women of ill repute and cheap hooch, I tend to find my mind wandering to things like a proper bouquet garni,the simplistic beauty of a whisk or making stocks aahhhh to depouillage. It is at this moment in my life I truly understand the feeling of frustration and dealing with it...On the plus side, My knives have never been sharper
Dark Roux
So rich and nutty tasting, it really made my gumbo. It does resemble chocolate don't you think??
Chocolate and Water
I can remember in school taking pastry class and making big bowls of ganache (with absolutely no purpose at all) and the instructor telling us to make sure that no water what so ever hits the inside of the stainless bowl or all will be loss and once again Herve This has shown us a that is simply not true Watch and enjoy as a considerably younger version of Heston Blumenthal illustrates this point via video
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We heed more Cow Bell
Years ago local restaurateur Peter Ryan and Master chef Detlev Kreiner (aka Chef Ted) had a thriving restaurant named Nicole's in Vermont circa 1986 that seemed to have the beat of the nation down as far as foodies were concerned and anybody who has had the pleasure to work with chef Ted would see how that is possible as he is very charismatic as well as talented not to mention Peter's unprecedented ability to give inspiration as well as motivational speeches.
(can you find them in this photograph?)
I often wonder why we can't have a Nicole's and are we that biologically attached to the infamous fried seafood platter that we can't attract a better class of restaurant to the Myrtle Beach area or at least think outside of a monkey dish.
(can you find them in this photograph?)
I often wonder why we can't have a Nicole's and are we that biologically attached to the infamous fried seafood platter that we can't attract a better class of restaurant to the Myrtle Beach area or at least think outside of a monkey dish.
How to become a Chef
Here's how you do it.
1) Go to any cooking school
2) Work for a month here and a month there for really GOOD chef's who've paid their dues
3) Don't learn how to cook. Forget learning how to make mashed potatoes correctly, make wasabi mashed potatoes.
4) Don't read anything about food or cooking except glossy magazines
5) Carry around evey little kitchen gadget and 20 dull knives in a big briefcase
6) Land a executive chef's job and freak out when you have to think on the fly. Then yell at everybody for your own inabilities.
Isn't it enough we have to have the public insult our intelligence on a daily basis without having to deal with these young , little twerps that see a chef on t.v and discover their true calling? I discovered mine when I was about 7 or 8. For some reason I always liked arranging cheese and crackers for the family. I then made strudel dough from a book and stretched it across our kitchen table. I didn't do anything with it as my friends came over and we had to go blow some shit up, but nonetheless it was so thin you could see through it. In hindsight, I guess I was destined for this profession. Years of sacrifice, verbal abuse, ungodly hours and reading...reading...reading..working...working...working...and Voila! Here I am! Broke because I have principles. Anyway, my point is I don't ever recall saying" I wanna be a chef!" I just took jobs because restaurant jobs were easy to get. Washing dishes, then doing a little veg. prep AND washing dishes. Helping the cooks and washing THEIR fucking dishes. Eventually making some salads...helping the busboys break the rungs out of the chairs so they would collapse under the customer. Slowly...verrrrry slowly working my way up. I don't ever recall thinking I was too good for whatever job I was doing. I was learning tons but didn't realize it. It was just work to me. I remembered every single thing I had to do.
Nowadays try teaching some snot how to cook. They don't want to learn how to cook. They want to learn how to make money and have people tell them how great they are. Then you're assigned a couple of student helpers who follow you around, keeping you from smoking cigarettes and scouting for potential chef groupies. One kid who was particularly annoying just came right out and asked...."What's the fastest way to get to where you are?"
I wanted to shove his head in the toilet. "There's no fast way to get anywhere good" I told him.
He kept on.."Does it take a long time to become a chef?"..."I was thinking..like..when I get out of school, I could like.. get a job in a restaurant." It made me think. You just got a lecture from a bunch of chefs on how we got where we are and you didn't even listen. And this is the future of cooking. It the same as writing, painting, designing clothes ...ANYTHING . You have to want to do it more than anything else in your life. If it doesn't consume you ..GET OUT QUICK! If you think making fresh pasta and cleaning 30 lbs of fish is boring and gross. Quit. Please.We don't want you. Don't insult us and don't ruin your own lives. Most of all don't insult us, or we'll ruin your lives worse than you could ever hope to. If you have no passion about anything ...if someone asks you what really gets you fired up and you can't answer, you're a worthless human being to me.
What's wrong with this generation of "artists" who don't believe in the most important part of the learning process. The sacrifice. Wanna train to be a chef AND have a life ? Go screw yourself.
I hate and am actually kind of scared where cooking is headed. I feel like a dinosaur most days. Mostly though I get worried that I'm gonna stroke out from some asshole that's too important to learn to cook properly. If you roll your eyes when I show you how to make gnochi guess what, next you'll be taking out the trash because my dishwasher is a lot more valuable than you. I'm not really a screamer anymore but I'm not so sure this is a good thing.
1) Go to any cooking school
2) Work for a month here and a month there for really GOOD chef's who've paid their dues
3) Don't learn how to cook. Forget learning how to make mashed potatoes correctly, make wasabi mashed potatoes.
4) Don't read anything about food or cooking except glossy magazines
5) Carry around evey little kitchen gadget and 20 dull knives in a big briefcase
6) Land a executive chef's job and freak out when you have to think on the fly. Then yell at everybody for your own inabilities.
Isn't it enough we have to have the public insult our intelligence on a daily basis without having to deal with these young , little twerps that see a chef on t.v and discover their true calling? I discovered mine when I was about 7 or 8. For some reason I always liked arranging cheese and crackers for the family. I then made strudel dough from a book and stretched it across our kitchen table. I didn't do anything with it as my friends came over and we had to go blow some shit up, but nonetheless it was so thin you could see through it. In hindsight, I guess I was destined for this profession. Years of sacrifice, verbal abuse, ungodly hours and reading...reading...reading..working...working...working...and Voila! Here I am! Broke because I have principles. Anyway, my point is I don't ever recall saying" I wanna be a chef!" I just took jobs because restaurant jobs were easy to get. Washing dishes, then doing a little veg. prep AND washing dishes. Helping the cooks and washing THEIR fucking dishes. Eventually making some salads...helping the busboys break the rungs out of the chairs so they would collapse under the customer. Slowly...verrrrry slowly working my way up. I don't ever recall thinking I was too good for whatever job I was doing. I was learning tons but didn't realize it. It was just work to me. I remembered every single thing I had to do.
Nowadays try teaching some snot how to cook. They don't want to learn how to cook. They want to learn how to make money and have people tell them how great they are. Then you're assigned a couple of student helpers who follow you around, keeping you from smoking cigarettes and scouting for potential chef groupies. One kid who was particularly annoying just came right out and asked...."What's the fastest way to get to where you are?"
I wanted to shove his head in the toilet. "There's no fast way to get anywhere good" I told him.
He kept on.."Does it take a long time to become a chef?"..."I was thinking..like..when I get out of school, I could like.. get a job in a restaurant." It made me think. You just got a lecture from a bunch of chefs on how we got where we are and you didn't even listen. And this is the future of cooking. It the same as writing, painting, designing clothes ...ANYTHING . You have to want to do it more than anything else in your life. If it doesn't consume you ..GET OUT QUICK! If you think making fresh pasta and cleaning 30 lbs of fish is boring and gross. Quit. Please.We don't want you. Don't insult us and don't ruin your own lives. Most of all don't insult us, or we'll ruin your lives worse than you could ever hope to. If you have no passion about anything ...if someone asks you what really gets you fired up and you can't answer, you're a worthless human being to me.
What's wrong with this generation of "artists" who don't believe in the most important part of the learning process. The sacrifice. Wanna train to be a chef AND have a life ? Go screw yourself.
I hate and am actually kind of scared where cooking is headed. I feel like a dinosaur most days. Mostly though I get worried that I'm gonna stroke out from some asshole that's too important to learn to cook properly. If you roll your eyes when I show you how to make gnochi guess what, next you'll be taking out the trash because my dishwasher is a lot more valuable than you. I'm not really a screamer anymore but I'm not so sure this is a good thing.
The Weirdest Cookbook Ever
OK the is a real cookbook from a Scandinavian Chef, The dirty little bugger. It's kinda like some obsessive part of me that is drawn to trying these recipes. Even better would be trying to convince Kurt or Sheryl that this could in fact be a running bull on the menu or as a special.....
The Autumn wind comes blowing in....
The Autumn wind comes blowing in, just another botched line from an old blue eyes song but ol so fitting. As I sit to ponder another seasons passing I can't help but wonder what will happen when we do turn the corner of fall as I feel almost certain that this Autumn will be a decent one I take a breath in remembering Oct. 3rd will mark a one year bitter sweet anniversary that Divine Dinning has tightened they're belt as I am starting to see progressive changes that are for the best interest of the company I pray that our very own Greater Grand Strand will find its way to morph into whatever shape it is trying to take on,it just makes me a lttle sad because of the inner struggles of grassroots politics and the effects it has on the area Chefs.
Live Cooking
Thursday night mid-rush my first attempt at video action I might rethink the camera being used. What is hard to grasp from the video is how intensely quite it was for how busy we were and I'm not really sure if anyone even noticed me filming
Note just before Delane started freaking out I so hate I missed that one it was classic!!!!!
Note just before Delane started freaking out I so hate I missed that one it was classic!!!!!
Fennel Pollen
Fennel Pollen is collected from wild fennel. Flowers are picked at full bloom, and then dried and screened to assure the sweetest and best flavor possible. Often referred to as the Spice of Angels, Fennel Pollen makes any ordinary dish extraordinary.
We have a dish of mussels at the restaurant I am currently at(The Divine Fish House), kind of a take on the classic Billy B, which requires fennel pollen I feel that the addition of the Pollen lifts the dish to a new level and quite possibly lends to the integrity of the plate.
We have a dish of mussels at the restaurant I am currently at(The Divine Fish House), kind of a take on the classic Billy B, which requires fennel pollen I feel that the addition of the Pollen lifts the dish to a new level and quite possibly lends to the integrity of the plate.
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