Quote:
Originally Posted by Snipe
Gonna be very honest.
A) I got very excited reading this post (in an appropriate, not an adult way)
B) I'm very, Very, VERY jealous of you. Just being around people with that passion for food and experimentation is really fantastic.
C) Really hope you post more stuff here. Getting some pics / words about stuff you're doing would be great. I've worked in 2 restaurants in my life, but was too young to appreciate anything but my own positional idiosyncrasies. Again, just hearing about some day to day goings on would be great for a guy like me who keeps fantasizing about getting involved in the food industry (but will likely never do it for various reasons).
D) My work has an Austin office, and I will DEFINITELY come down next time I'm down that way
I hear ya, I'm in a very fortunate situation, I'm semi retired and dont need the income from this job (couldn't survive anyway at 9 bucks an hour---> dont know how my co workers do it). The way I look at it, it gets me off the couch and I get paid to learn how to cook some great stuff and they let me work part time (20-30 hours/wk).
There's also the main restaurant with very reasonable prices, so the 5 course dinner isn't your only option if you come to Dallas. The area i work in is turning into restaurant row and is loaded with some amazing food:
Chocolateer:
Dude Sweet,
French-inspired rustic bistro:“
Boulevardier
Italian:
Lucia (6+ week wait for reservations)
All of the above are within 100 yards of each other and only a quarter mile from where I work.
The place I work has a similar vibe to Austin and most everything they do is farm to market, so the menu is constantly changing, its a great gig. Only prob is I'm too tired to work on my poker game which I'd realy like to do in case internet poker comes back, oh well..choices...
I'm in charge of all the charcuterie (here's a great book we use:
Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing. I'll try to write up a post down the road on some of the stuff I get to do, I've got some stuff curing that wont be ready for another month or so that I think you folks might find pretty cool (pepperoni, chorizo, coppa & Bresaola). Its pretty interesting and amazes me people figured out all these techniques...they were mainly born out of necessity back in the day when preservatives, refrigeration and freezing wasn't available. Kind of cool to repeat these time tested methods. I also make the sausage (Brat, Italian Sausage & wild boar) and I get to make some amazing pastrami and smoked turkey breast for our sandwiches (making me hungry thinking about it). I was surprised to find out pastrami is just brined, smoked and cooked brisket that undergoes a dramatic change of flavor in the process.
Here's an amazing book I want to buy (its $500 bucks):
Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking
Here's another one. One of the chefs i work with apprenticed with a chef who was instrumental in the writing of this book:
The Flavor Bible: The Essential Guide to Culinary Creativity, Based on the Wisdom of America's Most Imaginative Chefs
The chefs I work with refer to these often.
great thread bro, keep up the good work!