Chef Darian’s Blog

Knowing Your Plaice……

Well, I knew going into this trip that there were a lot of words and phrases that we don’t use in the US that are common in the UK and Ireland. I watch a lot of the Britcoms on PBS and am a huge AbFab fan. But I have to say that I have run into a lot more than I bargained for here. One of the first tribulations I had was the accent. There are many different Irish accents and even in Dublin there are several. For instance, I happen to live in a “Posh” neighborhood (just down the street from Enya and Bono, I pass by their houses on my way to work). The accent here is very clear and has a lot of American influence. On the north side of the Liffey River that separates Dublin down the middle from east to west, there is a much heavier accent and incredibly hard to understand. There is a common phrase here, “What’s the story?” and it simply means “What’s up, what’s going on, how are things” (you get the idea). Well, on the north side of the Liffey they say “Story”. If you don’t know the whole phrase you might think the person asking you is a little “thick” (or stupid, if you will).

When I first started working in the Dungeon I had some things to learn there about terminology. One thing that happened right away was when an order for “Plaice” came in. The chef yelled out, “ONE PLAICE PLATE”. I had absolutely no idea what he was asking me for. Asking him for an explanation on Plaice only made things worse. A few minutes later he yelled out, “PLAICE AWAY”. I have to admit that at the time there was a lot going on, I was nervous, the POS (point of sale) was spitting out tickets, there were waiters yelling information to us, hot oil burning “chips” (French fries) and so on. I was sure I would throw up. I had no idea what he meant when he said “Plaice Away”. Well, with some guidance from a young chef who knew exactly what was happening to me (deer in the headlights syndrome) he jumped in and said to just drop it in the fryer. Oh, that simple. Plaice away – drop it in the oil. Got it. Duh! You might be wondering what Plaice is. I know that I am ignorant on a lot of fish. Don’t eat a lot of it and not really a person who cares……sorry. I love the Silver Streak Striped Bass from Texas. You can get that at Central Market or Airline Seafood in Houston. Love it. But Plaice? Well, when I got home I opened my trusted Food Lovers Companion and found that it is in the Flounder family. I have to say, when I saw the fillets that were not breaded, they were pretty unattractive. Well, it is a mild fish, similar to flounder. Easy enough.

One very funny incident happened when I was working in the Dungeon with two Polish chefs. The head chef asked me to go to the banquet kitchen and get some cauliflower. I asked him how much he needed and he said, “very little, maybe a spoonful”. Why so little cauliflower. I asked him, “cauliflower” and he replied with, “yes, cauliflower”. I was very keen on learning why he needed so little? He was making a sauce and I was pretty sure that cauliflower would not thicken it, or would it? How clever. I was really interested in learning how he was going to use a spoonful of cauliflower in his sauce. I ran to the banquet kitchen and came back with one floret. I would eat what he didn’t use. When I returned he had a puzzled look on his face. Too much cauliflower? No, the problem was that he had asked me for “cornflower” or cornstarch. They say cornflower here. Cornflower, cauliflower…..how stupid was I. The same chef also asked me for a portion of Kolislav (pronounced Kohl-e-slav). After a good laugh, my English is apparently not as good as I thought it might be, he really wanted coleslaw. Go figure. When you are busy and orders are flying in, it is imperitive that you know your coworkers. Now when he asks for Kolislav I go right for the coleslaw (with a little giggle).

I have been banished to the Dungeon!

For real, I have been moved to the Dungeon Restaurant Bar and Grill for the next month or so. I was being split between two different restaurants in the hotel before. This is actually a very good thing. I get to spend more time working on one menu and all of the things that go along with it. I have been working on the starters and all of sides and desserts in the Dungeon already. Now I am getting more experience with the main courses. I am helping to plate – which means put the base on, place the protein, flash under the salamander, garnish, make sure there are no spots on the rim and get it out the window FAST! The chef I work with there is a little more “energetic” than the rest of them. He makes sure that everyone is moving and moving quickly. He runs a tight ship and is quick to get your attention should he feel you are wandering around aimlessly.

Last night he took me through the inventory process – a simple process, not the easiest to accomplish. It was on paper and you searched through all of the freezers and frig’s looking for the items and you take a very good guess on how much is there. Oh, in case you don’t know – everything is metric! Yeah for me. As an American we don’t do too much with liters and kilograms. So when the chef asked me how much fish was on the tray I said, “about 3 pounds”. Oh boy, was that a mistake. I explained that in America we don’t understand why the rest of the World does not do things the way we do and I’ll be damed if we will change! That was followed by the entire kitchen in a fit of laughter.

Oh, I wanted to share the dessert menu with you. Pecan Pie with Caramel Ice Cream, Berry Crumble with Creme Anglaise, Coconut Tart with Berry Compote, Cheese Plate, Strawberries Romanoff (Vanilla Ice Cream, Romanoff Sauce – whipped cream and orange liquor – and lots of strawberries with a chocolate fan on top, Poached Peach with Cinnamon Ice Cream, and a Drunken Peach Sunday. I love dessert!

Well, I need to get ready for work! The Dungeon awaits. Happy Cooking!

A Little Welcomed Holiday

I was lucky enough to have the day off and it was sunny – all at the same time! The Gods were smiling on me today. I took a wonderful walk through the harbor in Dun Loaghaire, just north of the village where I live (south of Dublin). The Stena Lines ferry had already left for the day and the harbor was pretty quite. It was lined with sailboats, docked, waiting for a weekend of nice weather so they can be unleashed on Dublin Bay! Good luck with that.

On Monday, the 27th of October I am going to France for five days and visit some friends that I haven’t seen in 6 or so years. They have a mill in Burgundy that they remodeled. Can’t wait to see the changes. The mill is a four story structure with the wheel still intact. The terrace overlooks the river and that is where I plan to be for five days. I might get up to retrieve another bottle of wine, but I cannot think of too many other reasons…..I will certainly leave a posting – including pictures with all the details!

It is now 2 months into my trip (halfway)! It has been a great experience so far. I am planning some classes for after my return the first of January. As soon as I have the dates confirmed I will post them on my website, www.chefdarian.com

Recipes

I have always liked recipes. For someone with the need for organization and structure, recipes are a set of rules for me. I can not say with any amount of truth that I keep to a recipe (entirely) but I feel more comfortable with the structure that a recipe provides. When making bread, for instance, I am not one that “knows” the amount of flour, yeast, water, etc, just from the feel. I have to be told, I need to be told and I can feel safe if I am told. I do know that I may need to add a little more flour or water depending on the humidity and so on.

Well, this trip has left me without lifelines. Recipes are never used. The first day I arrived I was told to make ratatouille. I had never made ratatouille before, although I had an idea what was in it. What were the proportions, all of the ingredients……I asked the chef that was training me and his reply was simply, “egg plant, zucchini, red onion, bell peppers and a can of diced tomatoes.” Oh great, that got me no closer than I was before. A young German chef came to my rescue. he took me to the walk-in and helped me gather the ingredients. We stopped by dry storage and got large can of chopped tomatoes and off we went. I diced vegetables, sautéed and the end result was great. I was so nervous, I thought I would be sick. I need structure!

Well, last night I had the task of making cream of broccoli soup and carrot soup with roasted garlic for a wedding tasting. I knew already that there was no point in asking for a recipe – there are none. (who will make the carrot soup for the wedding since she liked mine – the next persons will be different) I started with mirepoix (carrots, onion and celery) for each, added extra carrots for the carrot soup, broccoli for the other, instant vegetable stock (no chicken because of vegetarians) and simmered then pureed, strained and served. I was feeling really good about the whole thing. Two months of “winging” it and I was really feeling good. Well, the bride sent for the next course following soups. Chef asked what she said and the waiter replied, “they like the carrot soup, but the broccoli was too salty.” Oh crap. Chef asked who made the soup. “Texas, did you make the soups?” (I didn’t know that I had a nickname – oh crap!) I admitted that I did make the soup. Then there was a minute or two of loud noises coming from Chef’s mouth – none of which I could decipher.

Okay, so I always tell people, “Taste, then season. You can always add more salt – you can never take it out.” Although, I think I read somewhere that you can add a raw potato and it will suck up the salt. Too late for that. I don’t remember adding salt, the stock is salty enough. Did it concentrate as it cooked down? Did someone come along behind and taste, adding more salt? I will probably never know. I want my recipes!

Galway

Well, not as good as I thought about keeping up as I thought I would be. I went to Galway for two days. Galway is located on the Western Coast, directly opposite of Dublin. It was a three hour train ride, first class of course. Anyway, the countryside was beautiful. I stayed at the Kinlay House near the train station. It was a youth hostile with about 200 beds. Great location – central to everything. I took a bus tour through the Burren and to see the Cliffs of Moher. It was the most beautiful place. The cliffs just drop, plunging into the sea. Very dramatic. The Burren is an area of limestone that has been stripped of trees and brush (a hundred years ago) and is just now starting to get back to what it was before. It takes so very long for trees to grow back and it is just only now that the brush is coming back. We happened onto some wild goats. There were castles all along the coast. Most of them in a state of ruin. Ireland doesn’t seem to, until now, keep up on its own history. Even the museum of natural history is in disrepair. It is currently closed as apparently, it is not safe for tours to walk around. Funny thing, they were going to move some of the Parliament there while their offices were getting work done, but it wasn’t safe.

Speaking of the Parliament, I was lucky enough to get a tour of the Parliament while they were in session voting on an Unemployment Amendment. I had dinner in their dining room followed by the tour. I went through the Upper and Lower houses…very cool. Then off to the bar in Parliament for a few pints of Guinness. I asked around and found that no Irish person that I came in contact with had ever been in the Parliament. Oh, almost forgot, I got to watch while they debated the amendment. Very cool. A little arguing going on. The sitting party blames the US for their problems, Labor blames the Irish. They said that the Celtic Tiger (economy) was so good the past 10 years, but what did Ireland (specifically the govt.) do with the money? They squandered it away. Anyway, it was finally nice to hear someone say that the United States is not entirely responsible for the World’s economic woes.

Well, enjoy and I promise to do better keeping up. I updated my website and will try and post at least one new recipe a week. Cheers, Darian