All is well, just really busy

Front of the house was a lot of fun and definitely a learning experience. I think mostly I learned that the idea of service goes a lot farther in fine dining establishments. Every detail is poured over and over again every day to ensure patrons have a wonderful experience. Before this I had no idea that there was a particular side dishes should be served from! Its gave me a much better perspective on why food costs so much in fine dining restaurants. It is not necessarily that the food is some rare or out of this world item. It's in the attention to detail in all areas. Most before the doors even open to the restaurant. It's having a different piece of silverware for each dish on the table. While I personally see it as wasteful in a fine dining establishment it is all about that extra mile that the corner diner isn't going to take. Now that is just Front of the house.

Edit: Forgot to add a link to a video I managed to take during a demo in front of the house tableside service of Crêpe Suzette.

With back of the house its not just a piece of steak or chicken with a side dish. its a Piece of food that has had the flavors, sauces and seasonings carefully thought out and paired with side dishes and drinks (usually wine) that will compliment each other creating not just a meal but an experience that you can only have at that restaurant with that staff.

This is why some chefs hate it when a patron asks for salt and pepper. they certainly understand dietary restrictions and allergies but needing salt and pepper is saying that the chef isn't doing his job and that all the hard work and attention to detail he put into that meal was useless.

I think that is kind of the difference between a cook and a chef. A cook will prepare food so it can be eaten. In other words it will be cooked properly along with whatever sides but the effort ends there. It is then up to the patron to make it taste how they like. Whereas a chef will prepare food so it can be enjoyed as is, no further action required. That, and chefs use fancier words to describe a meal.

Anyway, the past couple of weeks have been pretty dang busy. Besides completing on campus training I started to move all my stuff back up to my house, enjoy the holidays while not enjoying a cold, and look for and find an Internship!

Thats pretty much everything up until now. I have just started working at a bakery nearby. From what I have heard they are in need of a second pastry chef to fill in on the days the main chef is off. Since its so early they are still kind of feeling me out but no matter what I will find work somewhere, somehow.

So, once again I will keep on trucking and let you know if anything interesting happens along the way.