Canada Wins Gold..Canada Wins Gold!!!

NOW YOU KNOW WHO'S GAME YOUR PLAYING......GOLD BABY!!!!!

Fuji Japanese Restaurant

 

Not everyone in the world loves Sushi. I can sympathize with ya...it's raw meat! To some it is a texture thing...to others it is just the sight of raw seafood on a plate. It sent shivers down my spine years ago too. I was in your seat years at one point..it grows on ya though! Some might say it eventually becomes an obsession. My Wife and I cant go for very long without going on the hunt for it. Sometimes random scraps of Ahi Tuna or a bit of minced Salmon Belly (while butchering) at work fill the craving...but usually not! We were quite excited and a lil bit nervous about the fact that when we googled Sushi in the Oil Fields...up popped more than one place. We debated the fact there should not be a Sushi joint so far away from an major Ocean...or at least a really freaking big lake with a bounty of Northern Hemisphere fish to which no one has ever tasted. Before we even had a home to live in ... we had our first meal at "Fuji's Japanese Restaurant"....and we return time after time.

 The traditional form of Sushi is actually fermented Fish with Rice. The term actually means "It's Sour"...referring to the fermented Fish. Nowdays it is usually some form of raw or cooked seafood mixed with julienne vegetables or fruits  and sauce wrapped in Nori Seaweed...usually accompanied by pickled Ginger and Wasabi Mustard Paste. Chefs around the world have used Fusion to create a million different rolls. Everything from South West versions to Middle Eastern. The roll fits into any Culture. One of the best my Wife and I have had was in Las Vegas at Chinois (Wolfgang Puck)...we snapped pics of his too.

 Fuji's Japanese Restaurant is owned and managed by Ron Lim. A Chinese Canadian born in Vancouver,BC. He has had the Restaurant on Franklin for the past seven years. Previous to Fuji he was in the lower mainland honing his craft at various establishments.

Serenity in the midst of Chaos!!

A Sweet Tooth

So here is the second installment of the "Chefs of Fort McMurray". I decided to do Candace Cheney who has a home based business called "Nice and Sweet" as well as being the Pastry Chef at the Sawridge Inn and Conference Centre. I chose Candace for a million reasons...but mostly because she maintains my "Girlish Figure" with oodles and oodles of sweet things.

Alot of people in town have contacted me thru various means to ask if I could make a cake for "such and such" reason...I suck as a baker...I can do it, but my male "lack of patience" does not allow me to do it well. Candace on the other hand Rocks at it...and she is the person  I always hand people off to. She pushes the limits daily...and it shows in both appearance and taste in her work.

The final reason for doing her Bio is she doesn't get mad at me when I say "Nice Shitter!" hehe

 You can contact Candace for all your Baking needs at : candacecheney@hotmail.com or 780-715-5064

Name: Candace Diana Cheney
Age: 26
Position: Pastry Chef
Company: Sawridge Inn and Conference Centre / Nice and Sweet





Where did you attend Culinary School / or did you??
College of the North Atlantic in St Johns , Newfoundland. But I have been in the business since I was 14!

What did you find most difficult about this training?
Bread....not because it is hard to make, and I do it well....but because I dont have the patience to let it rise!!  I love bread.....mmmm!!!

Girl Cook.....

So today I wanna post a blog by my Wife....Christina! You can visit her blog at : http://acookswife.blogspot.com
 She is starting to get some traffic at her site...so I thought I would help the cause and post a link here. Everyone check it out :)

 Have women changed the face of professional cooking?

Traditionally all through time a womans stereotypical place has always been in the kitchen, the home kitchen that is. Actually I take that back it wasn't so much a stereotype as it just was what it was. I actually think traditionally that is where most women wanted to be, taking care of the home and spending time with the children. Whether thats because of the maternal instinct or because that is what they felt society expected of them, I don't know.  But oh how the times have changed, we see more and more men staying at home being the caretaker and more women being the career focused, financial provider.

With the help of many rights activists, world wars and social and economic upturns and downturns women have been able to explode into the work force, not without many challenges. This is true of the cooking industry, professional cooking is a male dominated industry, it has been very hard for women to break into this career. Which seems strange to me since as I said before a womens place was traditionally in the kitchen, it has been said that it is too labor intensive for women, but we have set out to prove them wrong and I think we have done a pretty good job.  With the likes of Alice Waters, the great Julia Child and more recently Anna Olson, Lynn Crawford and the list goes on, women have been taken more seriously in the professional kitchen.

I have been working in kitchens for a very long time and yes it has been with mostly men, but over the years I have seen more more women entering the industry actually I have worked in one kitchen where there was more women than men, not something you see too often. Currently where I work the head pastry chef is a woman and the last place I worked the only sous chef was a woman . But I have never had the pleasure of having a women executive chef.  There are more male head chefs than women... do I believe that is because they are better cooks, or women just are not getting the recognition they deserve, no not all, being that there is more men in the industry it seems to only make sense that more men would be head chefs.

A Cooks Valentine's Day!!

Chef's of the Oil Sands : Chef Clarence Buchanan

So I am going to start a new Feature on here today! I am going to start interviewing the local area Chefs. I am pretty sure I'm going to get to meet quite a few characters this way. So today I am beginning with the most important Chef in our area..."Mine". I am going to ask them all the exact same questions...so everyone should get a good glimpse into the  "How and Why" they chose the career they did. Hopefully there is some humour thrown in there somewhere.

                                       Name: Clarence D. Buchanan
                                       Age: He wont F@ckin tell us
                                       Position: Executive Chef
                                       Company: Sawridge Inn and Conference Centre



 
He has been the Executive Chef of the Sawridge Inn and Conference Centre for just over a year now. Clarence is Originally from Cape Breton. He came to the Sawridge via the Royal York in Toronto. He is an excellent Chef! He expects his team to push the limits...and does not freak out when the limits are pushed with a failing result. The only way we learn is by making mistakes...and sometimes those mistakes lead to even better insights..or a new way of doing things. He doesn't yell...that's what he has Billy for.  He genuinely gives a shit about you as long as he knows "You give a shit about the food". You may think he isn't watching what your doing ... but HE SEE'S ALL!! You can feel those piercing steel blue eyes burning into you every once in a while. He helps our whole team to improve daily! He doesn't claim to know it all...and he doesn't expect you to. He is politically correct...but knows when to play! I know this may appear to be an "Ass Kissing" but if you knew me you would know that isn't the case. I call a spade a spade...for better or worse!

A Little Peice of the Sahara in the Oil Fields!!

I was very hesitant to move to the Oil Fields of Alberta. A Chef loves a Global selection of ingredients. I love small Town Life...but Big City Variety!! Here it's a mix of "Meat and Potatoes" with a lil "East Coast Seafood" kinda town. Oil Riggers are known for their love of Quantity not Quality.

 With that being said...I have found one of the "Jewels" of the Oil Sands. You could drive by it a dozen times and not even notice it...sandwiched between Fuji's Sushi and a Health Food Store. It's called "Mediterranean Groceries Plus".

 The place is a Chef's dream up here!! The ultimate pantry at your fingertips. Ali Jomha immigrated from Lebanon and started the store a few years ago. It definitely has a Middle Eastern flair to it. Everything from Pomegranate Syrup to Zatar Seeds. You could spend a day just looking at all the sauces and spices. Everytime I walk into the place it takes me a good half an hour just to get out again. Every visit is a lesson in ethnic food...and I can never get enough of it.

There is a secret to the store if you really look around. Hidden in the back by the dozen or so varieties of rice for sale there is a window....if you peek in...you will see Ms. Badran making handmade Somosa's and Middle Eastern Meat Pie's. Which usually disappear the moment they come out of the oven. A shy Muslim woman with skills of a Chef. Everything I have eaten is so flavourful ... you taste the Love!!

A Cooks Wife

 

I am a lucky man...I am in a career that usually kills most relationships!! I consider myself luckier than most because not only am I a cook ...but so is my Wife. Now I'm not talking about how my Wife likes to make me dinner every night...she actually works right along side me at the hotel. I thank my lucky stars for this fact daily. I work in the Banquet Department and Christina works on the Restaurant Line. The fact that we are both in the same industry makes both of our lives a hell of a lot easier. 

 A cooks life is not as easy as the Food Network makes it out to be. We don't spend our days tasting wine and jetting around the globe in search of our next dish. We spend a minimum of ten hours a day in a hot, stinking, loud and stressful room with no windows and no outside noise. If we aren't in that room...we are in a cold frigid freezer or refrigerator. Music consists of a myriad of fans, several motors, steam machines, a few knives hitting their boards, foreign dialects and the chattering of a micro's printer. You leave the Kitchen to Smoke and to Piss. Your allotted a half hour lunch and two fifteen minute breaks...we dont take them!! We smoke!! Our life's consist of one thing...and its all consuming..FOOD!! 

Kefir Update

Just a quick note to let you know how the experiment is going. I had three going.....I now have two. The Milk Kefir is now producing...the grains are nice and plump (growing even). I strained my first batch last night and replaced the milk....It was fairly thick like it should be. I didn't drink this batch...I am going to let it produce a few batches before I start consuming it. I added about a quartre cup more of milk this time...I will keep upping the milk content till the little guys are producing about 750mL a day. I washed the grains once I strained the kefir off...apparently this is a no no...next time I will leave some of the curd on them when switching milk. I am going to buy some whole milk and goats milk this week...they will produce better flavours  I think.

Moving some Cows up to Skull Mountain!

    

With Spring quickly approaching...I am beginning to miss being in the Mountains of British Columbia. There was always an Adventure to be had...you just had to seek them out!

One of the Adventures was helping two local Cattle Farmers. Ian and Anja Mitchell. The proud owners of Mitchell Cattle Co. A family business since the 30's. Ian's Father started the Ranch...and to this day there is still a Mitchell running it (Thompson you better be once your Dad has decided his body hurts too much...like that will ever happen). Both Ian and Anja are two of the nicest people I have ever met...and I dont say that about alot of people! Truly honest decent people who just want to share their love for Beef and Cattle with everyone they come into contact with. I really appreciated the time they took with all of us...they taught me alot..and I will force the info onto almost every cook I come into contact with. Even the Mountain  Oysters Ian haha. A cook learns how the Rancher develops the meat characteristics we are looking for if he gets out on the land.

Our previous hotel purchased Beef from the Mitchell's. Eventually the call came that they needed help to herd the cows up the Mountain...and would any of the cooks be interested in helping out!!! Ohhhh F@ckin' Yaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our Health Inspector "Lily"

 One of the most dreaded of calls a kitchen can get from a hotels front desk staff is "The Health Inspector just walked thru the doors!!". Now in a hotel they are there to check multiple things...but the kitchen is one of the main ones. Once this call goes out...it is usually followed by mass pandemonium. A small army of white coats running around trying to correct everything that is not up to standards...usually with alot of yelling ... and the odd accident. Total Chaos for about five minutes or as long as it takes the Inspector to walk to the kitchen. Usually a Chef is sent out to meet and greet them...we call this stalling! Everyone fixing all the "Bads" of the day as sudden death approaches. This is not the case with the Sawridge Inn.

 This is the first hotel I have ever worked at where we actually maintain most of the standards Alberta Health Services imposes on our operation. Were not perfect by any means...but we do our best to achieve it.

 Meet Lily....Lily is our usual Health Inspector. She is an Immigrant from China I believe. Even the name instills peace. With a smile that just never stops!! Not the scowling, crusty, white coat that I am used to. She methodically goes thru the kitchen checking everything....and I do mean everything. "That insert has a crack in it! You might want to get rid of that because the bacteria can form in the crack and the dishwasher will never get that sanitized again!" She gives helpful advice all the way along. She doesn't dictate...just suggests. We listen to those suggestions.

Experiment Gone Wrong Already!!!

 So the experiment has blown up in my face already.....there was a mix up between my Father and I. He had actually dehydrated and mailed Milk Kefir Grains...NOT....Water Kefir Grains!!
 So the experiment is getting more interesting now. I have pulled 2 Grains out of the Brew I made this morning...and transplanted one of them into a simple water and sugar mix (Pops thinks the Lemon and Ginger may have harmful effects on them)....and the other I have placed into half a cup of 1% milk. The remainder of the Grains are still in the Lemon/Fig/Ginger Water. So my single experiment has now turned into Three!
 It will be interesting to see if the Milk Kefir Grains convert to Water Grains....and which of the Water Grains survive and thrive quicker...the one in the simple sugar solution...or the one in the flavoured.
 Hopefully I have not harmed the Milk Kefir Grains by submerging them into a Sugar Solution for the past ten hours!!
 I`ll keep ya posted.
 Till next time.....

Water Kefir

Water Kefir...an Experiment!!

 So my Father dehydrated and mailed me some Water Kefir Crystals from Sidney, British Columbia the other day. They arrived on Friday!!! Now to find out if they survived the dehydration and Arctic temperatures. Let the experiment begin!

Kefir, which actually means “feel good” in Turkish, is a handcrafted, effervescent, cultured and enzyme-rich probiotic drink that's filled with friendly micro-organisms that help balance your inner ecosystem.
Drinking Water Kefir will help you achieve your optimal health, strengthen your immune system, and help to prevent diseases of all kinds.

Old Fashioned Porridge Bread

 When we have a home cooked meal that we are really excited about...usually there is Porridge Bread involved. I must admit I have never made the recipe. I am not much of a baker...and I have the patience of the typical male. Which brings me to my loving Wife Chistrina. When we were first going together in St.Andrews by-the-Sea she surprised me one night with her Grandmother's Bread....that was it...I was hooked!! Not only was I hooked on the Bread...but I was falling in Love with her. Who takes the time to make their own bread now days.She did...and it paid off!!

 In a Global Village where we can buy Artisan Bread at any local Grocery Store...or throw a bunch of ingredients into a gizmo (Bread Maker) and Voila...Bread an hour later. Not many people take the time to make Hand Made Bread. This may be because it is more a science than an art form. There is no winging it when it comes to making a a loaf. Most people have encountered some sort of disaster when it comes to the process....not measuring correctly...not letting it rise properly...generally just not following the Mad Scientist's Formula and Experiment to a T. I am one of those people that would rather buy a French Baguette than make it.

Caesar Dressing (20L)

A buddy in Ontario (BoBo) needs a Caesar Dressing recipe for the Masses. I used to make this recipe while working at Delta Sun Peaks in the Mountains of BC. BoBo never did get around to writing out a recipe book to carry around during his Adventures. Finding a recipe for large batches can sometimes be a problem...so here ya go Bryan!! You can adjust any of the flavours to your liking.

Sisig Recipe

  

The ultimate Pulutan companion for beer. Around bars and restaurants, the many varieties of this Sisig dish are a best seller.  Either to go along with your favorite drink or to be chowed down with hot steamed rice.I had it at a friends house a couple days ago. It was the spicy part of a Filipino Feast enjoyed by half our food and beverage dept. Rey Amarilla (one of my fellow cooks at work) gave me the recipe for all to enjoy!!

Originally, Sisig was made from chopped parts of a pig’s head — ears, snout, the brain, etc. Over the years it was reinvented into simple minced meat served on a sizzling platter with chili, liver, onion and seasoned with Calamansi and Vinaegar.

Sometimes topped with a fried Egg for Breakfast...a favorite among Men in Manilla.  

Carimanola's Recipe for MamaSita

 

This recipe is for Dave (aka: MamaSita). Carimanola's are fried Yucca wrapped around a savory filling. A favorite carnival food in Panama. You might also be lucky enough to find them as appetizers or breakfast food at local restaurants.

Yucca is a starchy root crop, not unlike potatoes.

• 3 lbs Yucca
• salt to taste

Filling:

• 1 lb ground meat (Iguana, Gatosolo, Vaca, Puerco....since were in Canada well go with Chicken or Pork.)
• 1 teaspoon chopped Parsley
• 1 large Onion chopped
• 1 teaspoon Tomato Paste
• 1 clove Garlic pressed
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1/8 teaspoon Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Vinegar
• 3 or 4 Capers

Boil Yucca with salt but do not allow to get too soft.  

Grind with fine blade in grinder and knead with salt.  

Form balls, flatten in the palm of the hand and fill with stuffing forming into an oval shape. 

Pinch to close ends. 

Fry in very hot oil until golden.

 

To Make Filling:
Season ground meat with salt, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, capers, onion, sugar, garlic and parsley. 

Brown in very small amount of hot oil and add tomato paste.  

Simmer until quite dry.

 

If you want to freeze the Carimonolas, dust with a little flour after they are formed and place on a cookie sheet in the freezer until firm and then place in sealed ziplock bags.  

To fry, take from freezer to hot oil at one time as they may fall apart. 

Do one or two at a time only.

A Cooks Tool Box!!

So a lot of restaurants don’t require a cook to provide his own tools ... such is the case with our hotel. They rent a few sets of knives. Which are re-sharpened  once every few months. I call these the crap knives. They pass thru so many hands that don’t really care about them ... that inevitably they are crap within a few weeks of being re-sharpened. I have always been of the view that you care for something that you paid for. A cook should own his own tools!!

 Now I have went thru four tool boxes since I became a cook. Currently my wife and I own 4 tool boxes. Two at work...one for each of us. Then two spares at home that contain the things we don’t use that often. Now if you wanna start a fight between cooks...you just have to catch someone going into your toolbox without asking. Some Chefs just refuse to let anyone use anything of theirs...I am not this type...as long as you ask..you can borrow it. I try to keep anything that will make my life easier in my box at work. I also try to keep anything that work will not have...or is a heavy use item and starting to wear out. Sharpness is key in this industry...and a hard lesson for a lot of cooks to learn.

  So let’s delve into my box!! It is like a “Tickle Trunk” of wounds and cuts!!  Not everything in my box has a knife guard on it...which keeps prying hands out of it. Let’s start with the box itself. I use a mechanics red steel box. I actually prefer the two or three drawer type...but I was too cheap at the time to spend the extra twenty bucks...and now I suffer as I pull out stuff looking for that one lil thing I need. So if your just starting out...spend the extra twenty!! A note to most cooks-Clean the f@ckin thing once in awhile please!! Your knife may be clean...but once you put it into that treasure chest of food scraps it is no longer sanitized.

Pig Bellies

Today I am off and just lounging ... which inevitably leads to craving something!! So I am going to venture off to the Butcher and try and get some Pork Bellies. In these parts they are not common...and hard to come by...slab bacon just isn't the same. So hopefully I score!

Pork belly is the meat derived from the belly of a pig. In Canada, bacon is made most often from pork bellies.