We’ve all been there: You’re out for dinner, hungrily anticipating your entrée. You watch as the kitchen door swings open. Is that your food? What in the world is sticking out of it? Indeed, that is your entrée — the server stops at your table and sets down what someone surely thought of as a masterpiece of presentation. What is sticking out of your mashed potatoes is a giant sprig of rosemary. It’s practically 9 inches tall. Whoever finished off the dish — and it could be the person who cooked it, an expeditor, or even your server — is guilty of over-garnishing.
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Tag Archives: Marsha Lynch – Industry Standard
To your every whim
I recently joined the catering division where I work, so catering has been very much on my mind lately. The Oxford English and American dictionaries define catering a few different ways: to provide food and drink at a social event or other gathering; to provide what is needed or required; to take into account or make allowances for; to try to satisfy (a need or demand).
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The wearing of the whites
Who gets to rock the color white after Labor Day and all year ’round? Millions of us chefs and cooks all over the world. Our uniforms are called “chef’s whites.” Although the entire ensemble isn’t always white, the jacket, apron and toque (hat) usually are. For verbal shorthand, we just say “whites,” as in “Good grief, I gotta do a load of whites tonight or I’ll have to go to work naked tomorrow.”
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The Service Triangle
In full-service restaurant dining, to provide guests with a satisfying experience, a delicate balance must be struck between three components: the server, the kitchen staff and the diner.
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Cook wanted
With the economy barely keeping its feet amid record unemployment levels, I thought I’d give you a peek behind the kitchen office door — and perhaps educate a few job seekers — with a look at the restaurant hiring process.
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Derby dining dos and don’ts
Happy Derby week! Enjoy your light workload, unless you’re a hospitality worker in Louisville. You’ll be pulling horses’ names (written on tiny paper slips) out of Styrofoam cups; getting off early to attend (or evade) the parade; and showing off your hat. It’s our week, people!
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Closing time: How close is too close?
It’s late, and you’re hungry. Maybe you’ve been to a movie or show, or maybe you’re just feeling deliciously lazy. You’re not in the mood for fast food, so you come up with a short list of restaurants you and your companions agree on, and everyone whips out a smartphone to research hours of business. Two or three of the places appear to be open still, but it’s only half an hour before closing time. What’s the appropriate course of action?
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Sunrise service
IIt’s still full-on dark as I use my key. Moonlight catches on stainless steel corners as I open and close the door behind me. I breathe in the pleasant ghosts of baking bread, bleached cutting boards, roasted garlic. Hello, kitchen.
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Little things mean a lot
Have you ever been tempted, when dining out, to compare the price of your meal to what it would have cost to prepare at home? Let’s see … chicken, $1.19 a pound, so let’s say 60 cents. Fancy mushrooms, at most $8 a pound, but there’s only a couple ounces here, so add a dollar. A splash of wine, some herbs, a few dirt-cheap potatoes. These people are making a fortune!
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My Louisville food industry wish for ’11: Street food!
What would I like to see happen in the local restaurant industry this year? It’s a no-brainer: We need more street food options.
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