I have recently had to do some traveling to look in to a few job opportunities, and this piece was inspired by recent question that was asked regarding the tastings that I have participated in.

 

Often times when a Chef goes out for a position with in a different organization it is common practice for that Chef to go to a kitchen with in that group and perform what is known as a “tasting”. Chef’s tastings on the road are not like ones that you will experience in a restaurant. When a guest goes to a higher end restaurant and orders a Chef’s tasting, or degas station the guest is one hundred percent allowing themselves to submit to a Chef’s will. That Chef has the time and advantage of being in their kitchen. Typically speaking they have a staff to command, and suppliers that can get them the ingredients of their wildest dreams with in reasonable notice. This allows Chef’s the opportunity to put something that might come off as a “left field dish” to life. Would this dish typically sell on an a la carte menu? Not necessarily, but can it be a great dish that fits just right like a puzzle piece in a composed menu? Absolutely!

 

Generally speaking the candidate is asked to make a few items that could be potentially on a menu for whatever concept they are trying out for. This allows the employer to see if the candidate would fit within the concept model, as well as seeing if the candidate can actually cook. Resumes, Accolades, Recommendations, and Interviews are all fine and well, but the “the proof” as they say “is in the pudding” (pardon the pun).

 

However, for those of us who have been asked to take our act on the road know that when you walk outside the comfort zone you are subject to anything.

 

You can put your best foot forward by composing a great menu, and submit your ingredients list weeks in advance, as well as coordinate with the Chef of the kitchen that you are heading to. It all seem like you have planned everything out as well as you can, and then you get to your destination and find out that there can be ingredients missing from your list. Missing ingredients can sometimes mean disaster and that the dish that you had planned on serving will have no chance of coming to life, thus making those days or weeks of planning a complete waste.

 

In some instances you can show up with no plan of action and not knowing what to expect. When you ask the Chef or Owner what they would like to see, they may simply reply “make whatever you want, using whatever you want in my cooler.” This is the equivalent of what stage performers would call improvisation.

 

I personally prefer this method for many different reasons. It allows me to live in the moment, as well as forcing me to be observant of the environment that I am in. I have to think through every single component of the dishes that I want to create, and figure out if there are the ingredients, time, equipment, and style of plates lying around for me to pull off my vision. One slight misstep and a horrible case of events can transpire before my eyes. Images of the Hindenburg disaster, crashing NASA Rockets or any other cliché disastrous footage play in my head. If I pull it off, however, I can walk away feeling like I just hit a home run.

 

Another reason why I prefer to be put in this position is that I have to rely on myself and myself only. I do not have to worry about another person coming through with what I need, the responsibility is solely on me and I am in complete control of my destiny.

 

Needles to say there is usually a large deal of stress and anxiety that goes along with these “try outs” (at least there is for me). Once I start thinking about the big picture I realize that I am out on a possible life changing experience. However the compounded stress and anxiety only add to the excitement, and make the experiences all the more enriching and rewarding.

 

Sometimes if you are lucky at the end of it all you can make an announcement like this one:

 

A Perennial Gourmand will be relocating to Atlanta, GA. in August!

 

I will have more on this later,

 

Good Night All.

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I was able to have a lot of fun with this dish; it forced me to create something that was solely based on what was hanging around, I had a few shucked oysters on hand. In fact I had way more than I needed. It was one of those few instances where I became over zealous with purchasing and my old friend Jason’s voice popped in to my head saying “Better to have and not need, than to need and not have!” So needing a means of using them up before having to throw them in the bin., I did a little research on the Creole classic Oyster Boudain and decided to tweak it a bit to try to elevate it to the next level

 

I will admit that we deviated a bit from the traditional preparation. In stead of using tasso, I substituted house smoke bacon. Other than that I used a very traditional recipe and followed it letter for letter. I made a batter using some blue corn flower from Anson Mills, but the tricky part was molding it to that shape that I wanted. So I decided to use flexi molds and pour the boudain mixture in. Once the mixture was in I placed it in the freezer to allow them to set. Once they were set I started to coat them with the batter and par- fried them to set up a corn meal crust on the outside.

 

I have to admit that inspiration for this came from a case of Vienna Beef Corn Dogs that I picked up at Restaurant Depot for staff meal one day. For those of use who have worked in industrial kitchens, we all know that one of the perks is having access to deep fat fryer. Corn dogs are particularly good fresh out of the fryer, even the institutional ones. The Boudain to me was like a high end corn dog, crispy blue corn batter with a silky molten aromatic filling. The poached oysters, roasted salsify and bacon cream were admittedly put in for an overkill effect. This was some serious eating, and I will be sure to resurrect this dish one day!

 

 

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What is it about the Cheese Burger that can bring so many people together as well as divide them?

 

There are certain points like it is an American classic and further more become a symbol of Americana. I am sure that everyone out there has a favorite story or memory of the great staple. Maybe it is your Dad firing up the grill and getting ready for the 4^th of July,

Or maybe it is a favorite place that you would go to when you were a kid to indulge in a treat. What ever the case may be we all have our own opinion of what the perfect burger would be.

 

This my friends is where the controversy begins. The simple statement of “the perfect burger” is a bold claim simply because we all have different ideas of what the perfect burger would be. This conversation could become as difficult to navigate through as the taboo subjects of Religion, Politics, and Abortion while having a few cocktails (well… maybe to those who are crazy about food anyway).

 

In my opinion there are many ways to go when trying to pursue the perfect hamburger. In fact there ate too many ways, and that is why I have come to the conclusion that there is no such thing as the “perfect burger” I have had many burgers that people have claimed to be perfect, and I can’t say that I have ever agreed with them. I have attempted at to figure out what would make the perfect burger, and yet have never achieved in what I would consider perfection. I feel that it is like chasing a white unicorn. It simply is never meant to be, but there was some damn good eating in the process. So is there a “perfect burger”? The answer is no. Are there “Damn Good Burgers”? The answer is absolutely, in fact I have found quite a few locally and nationally. I think that we all achieve “Damn Good” status because people are applying as much thought and care to the humble burger.

 

The burger that you see here is just another “Damn Good Burger”. I put this together when I was asked to develop a burger for the restaurant. It is pretty straight forward we

Used and 80/20 blend of local grass fed beef, and seasoned it appropriately. It was topped with farmstead cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, red onion, bread and butter pickles, and house bacon. For a little added humor, I developed a special sauce (a blend of my steak sauce, mayonnaise, and stone ground mustard).

 

 

I call it “The Larry Burger 5000” in honor of the man who guided me with this “Damn Good Burger”

 

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If you have not guessed by looking at the picture this is a take on the Good Ol’ Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich. This was a fun dessert that I think both young and old were able to identify with.

 

Big props go to Alex Feldmeier for executing the reinterpretation of this American Classic. This truly was an underappreciated star on the dessert menu!

 

 

 

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