Lately, I, along with Charles and Lee, have spent extended time in the kitchen, in the absence of a Food Service Supervisor. Charles supervises the Elderly Nutrition Program, I supervise general food service, and Lee screams at the Charles and I. Nevertheless, it is a part of our Center that I have always wanted to learn more about, and lately, have done so.
A commercial kitchen is made up of food, stainless steel, and heating elements. I am a fan of all of these things, especially in unison. I am a sucker for efficiency, and prefer not to waste food, time, or energy. Scheduling the cooks and servers is no big deal - I schedule a staff of 35 throughout our summer camp program, so I can keep up a schedule for 8 kitchen staff, at least I have so far. The biggest challenge is to ensure to customers that our food is hot, tasty, and nutritional - and to prevent any and all food waste. Our general rule is to prepare enough per guest, plus 10% - this is in the event of burning or any other food prep disaster. Well, I also learned that burning food can ruin a pot or pan and must be cleaned, then you have to have soap, or at least order some soap to clean the pot or pan with ...
I have also been able to learn about menu planning. Despite Lee's propensity for self-induced meat poisoning, he does a good job of putting starches, greens, and meats on a plate at the same time in a manner that "goes good together". Unfortunately, my refined tastebuds and whirlwind dining experiences go beyond our tasty soul food offerings, so Lee doesn't like my ideas of boutique pork with yukon mash and wilted arugala. When I tell most folks that I am truly a good cook, they laugh or assume I am talking about "grilling" instead of cooking. Personally, and my friends will tell you, that while I am a good "griller", that I only view the smoker (I make the world's best pork shoulder) and grill (my hamburgers truly taste like Kobe) as tools or methods of delivery. I don't like cooking, I like the food. I don't do spicy, spicy isn't a flavor. Spicy doesn't mean hot either...cinnamon is a spice. I also like preparing stuff for my friends when I know that they don't prefer certain foods - and telling them it is something else, watch them enjoy it, and them tell them the truth.
I really like preparing things that are out of the ordinary...pork loin with sweet potato, pecan and marshmallow stuffing is a favorite. The visual effects of white goo in a savory meat dish send most people running, but you have to keep an open mind...and an open mouth.
Nevertheless, my dishes, known by "normal" folks around here, are called weird. Maybe I'm ahead of my time...
Enjoy the day...
P.S. tonight is Program Joe's night to cook...it is either pumpkin themed, pumkin inspired, or pumpkin flavored, but all three are different.
Enjoy the day (again)...
1 comment:
As someone with a quantitative foods degree, I loved this article! Glad you are getting Lee to see that vegetables are a good thing!
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