Food

Does this say something about Chicago

Posted by on Jan 20, 2012 in Food, News | 0 comments

Five of the top 10 most expensive restaurants are here in Chicago. Has the perception of our city changed to a center of fine dining? What do you think? http://www.bundle.com/article/25-most-expensive-restaurants-america/slide/1/?fromMSN=true#comments Share this:PrintEmailPin ItFacebookShareStumbleUponReddit

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A Catering Christmas Story

Posted by on Jan 6, 2012 in Consulting, Food | 0 comments

As a culinary consultant I spend many days a week in a variety of kitchens discussing ways to improve kitchen operations. Impromtu demos, menu and recipe design and coaching are always are always happening. Stepping in and out of kitchens you don’t always see immediate impact or maybe I just witness a quick fix. As we are in the height of the holiday season I visted several kitchens these past few days and was given a great gift without even unwrapping something.  It was calmness, professionalism and focus. Owners, operation managers and chef’s always know this time of year is...

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Planning a New Year’s Eve Menu

Posted by on Jan 1, 2012 in Consulting, Food, Menu Development | 0 comments

I write and develop a lot of menus over the course of a year. From small little snacks to elaborate menus for a fundraising gala based on a specific theme.  After all these years some of the questions I ask  myself when thinking about what to serve are instinctive and come very natural to me. I want to stop for a minute and take some time to write down the process I go through when putting together a menu. In this case it was putting together a menu for new year’s eve for my family and best friends.  I break down the menu writing process into several steps: Inspiration or...

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Organic farming may be outgrowing its ideals

Posted by on Dec 31, 2011 in Consulting, Food | 0 comments

I started my working career on a organic farm at the age of 11. I undertsand how hard it is to maintain a stocked shelf of ripe and ready produce even during the growing season. I worked on a small 1 acre farm that was completley organic for its time in the mid 70′s. Natural fertilzers made from animal manure and cut nettles were part of our watering supply once a week to help restore the soil. Hand harvesting and pest control by walking the fields with a small can where we would deposit the the bugs we picked of the leaves. However we only sold what we where able to pick that day. If...

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