I am having the feeling that this forum is in the doldrums and as such I am going to post snippets of my experiences . If the feedback is positive then I will continue.
I had just finished my apprenticeship as chef and two of the sous chefs took me out to celebrate at a local restaurant . There was no one there except a waitress and the bartender ' We were having a great time when two lovely young white girls walked in . I blurted out " you guys are late , we were waiting here awhile " . T hey were taken aback and one said
"Do we know you" ? We explained that we were kidding and they were good sport about . Ten minutes the came over and asked if they could join us and of course we said that they could .
My friends bought them a round of drinks and were having a good time
One of the girls explained that she was a recent graduate in accounting and was looking for work for four months and that she was not a person of means and was desperate for a job .
I felt sorry for her and told her that I can get her a job entry level in the in the laundry section and of course she was skeptical .. The head of laundry section was a Guyanese woman with who I was very close. '
T o make a long story short she accepted the job making eleven dollars per hour .
Two months later , there was an opening in accounting and guess who got the job .
This woman within three years became chief accountant . She never stopped thanking me .
As the years rolled by we all moved on , She went with another company got married and I quit the profession . Now and then we will chat on the phone exchanging pleasantries and when possible meeting for drinks at a bar but mostly we drifted away.
Many years later , I was surprised to receive a phone call from her , She wanted to hire me to make lunch for some very important guests of hers . I explained that I don't do that anymore but she implored , begged, cajoled until I agreed .
We met up at the same restaurant and she basically gave me an unlimited budget to work with
I planned the menu and on that Friday we went a shopping . She promised me a woman assistant who supposedly knew something about cooking .
I tkink That I should now share with you what I served
My menu
Appetisers
Tempura ... Prawns , sliced red snapper snow peas , slices carrots and mushrooms
Soup .. cream of mushrooms
Salad Belgian endives topped with sliced Quail breasts cracked black pepper and a warm raspberry vinaigrette dressing
Main course , This is where I got innovative . I was going to invent a dish that these people never had in a restaurant or any poster here for that matter
I was going to serve tenderloin of veal cut into three ounce medallions seasoned with only white pepper and kosher salt .. Two pieces person topped with crab meat .
The crabmeat will be sautéed in butter with chopped garlic and shallots with some white wine added, I planned then to make a hollandaise sauce to which I will fold in whipped cream '
The veal will sautéed in butter and some olive oil on medium heat two minutes per side .
I was then going to place some crabmeat on each medallion of veal topped with the hollandaise and cream mixture and place under the broiler for two minutes to give a dark glaze appearance .
I kept the vegetable and starch component simple , Fresh green beans sautéed in butter and garlic topped with sliced roasted almonds . I made a simple rice pilaff .
Desert
I made her buy Boston cream pie from a pastry shop'.
THE BIG DAY
I had every thing prepared by 930 am and then I realised that I forgot to purchase Saki for the Tempura dip but not to worry , I used sherry and you couldn't tell the difference.
I was going to do this the Al A carte way , no Buffet style
INTERMISSION
It is late now but if there is interest I will continue with what transpired on that day , If not I will delete
I had just finished my apprenticeship as chef and two of the sous chefs took me out to celebrate at a local restaurant . There was no one there except a waitress and the bartender ' We were having a great time when two lovely young white girls walked in . I blurted out " you guys are late , we were waiting here awhile " . T hey were taken aback and one said
"Do we know you" ? We explained that we were kidding and they were good sport about . Ten minutes the came over and asked if they could join us and of course we said that they could .
My friends bought them a round of drinks and were having a good time
One of the girls explained that she was a recent graduate in accounting and was looking for work for four months and that she was not a person of means and was desperate for a job .
I felt sorry for her and told her that I can get her a job entry level in the in the laundry section and of course she was skeptical .. The head of laundry section was a Guyanese woman with who I was very close. '
T o make a long story short she accepted the job making eleven dollars per hour .
Two months later , there was an opening in accounting and guess who got the job .
This woman within three years became chief accountant . She never stopped thanking me .
As the years rolled by we all moved on , She went with another company got married and I quit the profession . Now and then we will chat on the phone exchanging pleasantries and when possible meeting for drinks at a bar but mostly we drifted away.
Many years later , I was surprised to receive a phone call from her , She wanted to hire me to make lunch for some very important guests of hers . I explained that I don't do that anymore but she implored , begged, cajoled until I agreed .
We met up at the same restaurant and she basically gave me an unlimited budget to work with
I planned the menu and on that Friday we went a shopping . She promised me a woman assistant who supposedly knew something about cooking .
I tkink That I should now share with you what I served
My menu
Appetisers
Tempura ... Prawns , sliced red snapper snow peas , slices carrots and mushrooms
Soup .. cream of mushrooms
Salad Belgian endives topped with sliced Quail breasts cracked black pepper and a warm raspberry vinaigrette dressing
Main course , This is where I got innovative . I was going to invent a dish that these people never had in a restaurant or any poster here for that matter
I was going to serve tenderloin of veal cut into three ounce medallions seasoned with only white pepper and kosher salt .. Two pieces person topped with crab meat .
The crabmeat will be sautéed in butter with chopped garlic and shallots with some white wine added, I planned then to make a hollandaise sauce to which I will fold in whipped cream '
The veal will sautéed in butter and some olive oil on medium heat two minutes per side .
I was then going to place some crabmeat on each medallion of veal topped with the hollandaise and cream mixture and place under the broiler for two minutes to give a dark glaze appearance .
I kept the vegetable and starch component simple , Fresh green beans sautéed in butter and garlic topped with sliced roasted almonds . I made a simple rice pilaff .
Desert
I made her buy Boston cream pie from a pastry shop'.
THE BIG DAY
I had every thing prepared by 930 am and then I realised that I forgot to purchase Saki for the Tempura dip but not to worry , I used sherry and you couldn't tell the difference.
I was going to do this the Al A carte way , no Buffet style
INTERMISSION
It is late now but if there is interest I will continue with what transpired on that day , If not I will delete