These are a Few of my Favorite Tools:
1. Offset spatula(s). If I were to be horribly mangled in some sort of industrial accident where I lost one of my hands, I would have it replaced with a small offset spatula.
2. Silicone whisk. I use this for creme anglaise, pastry cream, anything eggy that I’m making in an aluminum pan. A steel whisk will turn the mixture gray, but silicone doesn’t. Brightly colored silicone on the wires is a plus since the silicone will eventually start to come off, and it’s easier to detect with a bright color. It’s best if you can remove the little red bits from the pastry cream before serving. Unfortunately, my current favorite whisk, the CIA Masters Collection 12″ Balloon Whisk, has clear silicone. It’s big, but not too big, soft, but not too soft, and very sturdy. I’ll just have to watch it carefully and send it out to pasture when the silicone starts breaking down. “Out to pasture” can be as a regular whisk, once you’ve stripped the remaining silicone off, or cut the wires and make a caramel cage spinner out of it.
3. Scale. This goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway. I don’t have the patience to do volume measurements anymore. I weigh everything, including water and fresh whole eggs. I have two sets of batteries for my scale at work, and a spare scale at home.
4. Silicone pot holders. Yes, I know it’s unmanly to use pot holders, but let me explain why I love these — first of all, they ARE unmanly, so nobody takes them. Oh, they’ll USE them when nobody’s looking, but they won’t take them. I bought some at Sur La Table that have little squares on them and when they get wet, they form a slight suction so that the pan you’re holding isn’t so likely to slip. Regular silicone potholders are somewhat stiff, and are prone to slipping, but these grid ones are very flexible and don’t slip. And when they get wet, as in you’re taking a sheet pan of creme brulee out of the oven, you won’t get burned like you would with a towel. Finally, they’re stain resistant and you can run them through the dishwasher. Love ’em.
5. Sprayers. The 99 cent kind from the discount store. I use them to spray (clarified) butter for phyllo, spray egg wash on my pastries before baking, spray ice water into pie crust dough, or warm water into bread dough. I buy ’em by the dozen.
6. Good knives. I like Henckels knives — I’m very old school, probably because I’m used to them and they fit my hand. . . or maybe my hand now fits Henckels knives. I’ve tried Global and Wusthof and have even had a Shun Bob Kramer in my hand, and I like Henckels. I do wish they held an edge a little longer and a non-slip grip would be nice. I also like Microplane graters of all types and descriptions, and strip zesters, and peelers, and garnishing tools. And Joyce Chen poultry shears. Expandable cutters. Basically, I like anything that cuts.
7. Probe thermometer with timer(s). These are indispensible. I have one in the proofer that alerts me if the temperature gets too high. I also use it for cooking sugar and for baking Bundt cakes. Try to find one that has a good loud alarm. It’s also helpful if you can set hours and minutes separately, and one that goes over 99 minutes is a plus.
Aphorisms: They Will Screw You Over in Ways You Can’t Imagine
They will screw you over in ways you can’t imagine, let alone anticipate.
By “they,” I mean the people who are in the kitchen when you aren’t.
Let me give you an example:
I left this on the prep list:
Please peel, core and slice 150 Gala apples. Put them in a big Lexan in the walk-in and cover them with half apple cider and half water.
I came in the next day and found them soaking in apple cider vinegar and water. Mmmmmmmmm, tasty!
I asked somebody why they used apple cider vinegar instead of apple cider, and they said “We’re not bakers; we don’t know the difference.”
We don’t know, don’t care.
Not our problem; it’s yours now!
We walk away clean.
All too often, there’s a calf-roping mentality in the kitchen, first one to finish and hold his hands up wins! It often doesn’t matter how the job is done, or whether or not it’s done correctly, it’s all about speed.
Maybe it’s a cultural thing, or maybe it’s bad training in other kitchens. Speed is terribly important, don’t misunderstand – but there’s no point in doing something really really fast if it’s really really wrong and has to be done over.
There are a couple of things going on there:
- Nobody wants to ask questions because asking questions would be like admitting that you don’t know everything about doing your job – it’s an admission of weakness or inferiority. In the macho kitchen, not a good thing. The weak animal gets cut from the herd. It’s better to mess up than to ask questions. I’ve never understood this part, but it’s true.
- There is a fatalistic attitude towards life. If you run into a problem, don’t try to fix it, find a workaround. Nothing ever gets fixed, so there’s no point in asking. Plus, asking might cause waves, and you don’t want to be a troublemaker – could lose your job. Show your worth by being creative! If you need more bus tubs, there’s no point in putting them on the Edward Don list on the board, just grab the grey ones out of the proofer in the bakery. Yes, the ones that are marked “¡pan solamente!”
Not that I’m pissed.
The “reckless speed” thing is one of the biggest problems in the kitchen. It’s a kitchen culture issue and is extremely difficult for a chef to change. Oh, it’ll change when he’s there, but it goes right back to Plan “A” when he’s gone, and he can’t be there 24×7.
It’s a very different place when the chef is gone.
I’ve never known a chef who wasn’t aware of this, and challenged by it.
I won’t go into details, but one chef I worked for was so frustrated that he took to stomping on things that were done “calf-roping style.” The kitchen crew was horrified. What they learned was to hide from him when they did stuff like that.
I have a note on my board that reminds me to hide the apple cider next time apple tarts are on the menu.
And the bus tubs.
Shuna Fish Lydon
It’s nice to know I’m not the only one thinking these thoughts:
Working the line is what it’s all about.
It’s somewhat rare to have the pastry chef working the line for dinner service in a large facility. In smaller, chef-owned restaurants, it’s more common. In fact, you may even see the chef on the dessert station. Savvy chefs know that dessert is their last chance to make a good impression on the diners, and they aren’t about to blow it by serving Sysco Lava Cakes.
Working the line, and doing it well, is what it’s all about.
It’s the testosterone-fueled, adrenalin-rush, head-on combat that cooks care about, and the high-fives, cigarettes, and the drinks, etc., after it’s all over. It’s group hunting and conquering the beast (dinner service), overcoming all odds, to make it happen. It’s a male bonding thing.
It’s not about what goes on the pastry kitchen.
It’s not about what the pastry chef does.
If you’re the pastry chef, working away in the basement, you don’t exist, unless there’s a problem with dessert.
The real stuff is upstairs, on the line. The line cooks are the real cooks. Everything else is girly, even if the pastry chef is a man. The line cooks view pastry with a combination of fear and contempt. The contempt may be borne out of fear; it’s probably a macho cover-up. But it’s still there, and it’s still real. Anybody who gets hauled off of prep to help you is somehow less of a man, even if the man is a woman. He or she will be ribbed about it. And God Forbid anyone should volunteer to help you. Volunteer to be emasculated? Don’t think so.
If you have a chance, work the line sometime. Keep your eyes and ears open. You need to understand the line works — you’ll never really understand kitchen life if you stay in the basement. You’ll hopefully make some changes that will make life easier for the person on the dessert station, and you’ll gain some credibility in the process.
It also helps to love offal and be able to drink everybody else under the table.
The Pastry Chef & The Brigade
If you look at the classic kitchen brigade org charts,
http://www.g-w.com/PDF/SampChap/60525_1189_Ch03.pdf
the Pastry Chef often reports to the Sous Chef, but may report directly to the Chef de Cuisine.
Your life will be better, probably, if you report directly to the Chef.
But why, you ask?
Because the Chef de Cuisine probably has an understanding of the importance of the sweet side of the kitchen, and probably has a considerable degree of skill in that area. He or she wouldn’t have made it to Chef de Cuisine otherwise.
Unless you’re in a very large organization, the Sous Chef’s primary concern is the savory side of the street. They may give little or no thought to pastries, and they may have little or no pastry skills. Fear and loathing go hand-in-hand.
The difference between a Sous Chef with Potential, and a Sous Chef with No Potential — among other things — is an awareness of the Big Picture — that pastry is not a thing to be tolerated, but is, in fact, an essential part of the operation. Too many Sous Chefs think only about the hot line, prep for the hot line, ordering, and dinner service. They don’t care about the pastry side, and in fact, would be just as happy if they ordered everything instead of having it made in house.
They have decent palates, but go tongue-deaf when it comes to dessert: Box cake is plenty good enough. They may try to doll up the plates with miniature Ferris Wheels carved out of carrots, but taste is generally not something they’re concerned about.
I blame all of the places where the hot food has to be fresh, but the desserts just have to be on the menu. This category includes all chain restaurants — the breeding ground for Sous Chefs. I blame all of the places where dessert is an afterthought, only for the sugar-crazed few, and is perceived as insignificant to the bottom line.
Best to find out where the Sous Chef worked before.
It may save you a lot of grief later.
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