Food for thought for the Golden Years

I just received my Red Report and while I appreciate the excellence in developing new methods while bringing in worldwide flavours, introduced by our dearly departed Anthony Bourdain and others. The media level in food exposure is vast. With every level of the dreaded masterchef series on tv I am fed up(pun intended) for the […]

HellofreshCA have the right idea

UPDATE The concept of this program is still quite good, however others who have participated are providing some feedback. When there is a dietary need there seems to be a limited selection of menus. For the normal dietary need there are so many more options.  Unfortunately the selections are limited and repeat week over week, […]

Kitchen 101 – The Required Staples for EVERY Pantry

So many ask me what are the ingredients EVERY pantry should have? For me it is quite simple Dry staples include: Flour, Sugar, Baking Powder, Baking Soda, Salt, Pepper, Spices (Bay leaf, basil, curry, oregano, sage, poultry seasoning, seasoning salt), a few dry pastas, a few different rice types, cornmeal, cornstarch, dry legumes, beans, lentils, […]

Too hot in the kitchen?

Hey Chefs out there, it is certainly hot in our kitchens and we are thankful for the walkin at times. My story today is about a walk in the day of a protected environment in a war zone. There were a few days where we were notified there could be insurgents in our company. We […]

Making a Cohesive Team

On the first day of your new job you meet many faces, coworkers, supervisors and managers. Having a cohesive team is important so that everyone takes on their responsibility. It is always great to work closely with another to show you a flow of work in that facility, but more often you may be on your […]

Large Venue Services

My wife often asked me for a story from the time of my several rotations overseas. When we think of large venues in conventional terms we think of weddings, charitable functions, and even remote camps for the sheer size of a sitting, service with high volumes that need to be completed within a short duration. […]

Dining Portions

As I approach the “senior” era of my life I can reflect on the evolution of food over many decades. According to Canada’s Food Guide, based on best estimates, a volume is determined so the body is optimally maintained for all the elements of sustenance at a minimum. This has everything to do with your health and […]

Shopping Fresh

Last weekend I went out to discover the produce and fruit stands from Vineland to Welland in Ontario, Canada. When buying fresh I like to see the sizes of containers being offered are smaller since most of the products are ready to use and not as green as you might see in the local grocers. […]

Menu Writing

Menu writing normally comes with a need to make changes as a result of availability of different products or the costs of the same. Other reasons to create new menus is for a new restaurant opening or even a restaurant changing genres or ownership(often is not mutually exclusive). I had the opportunity to prepare a […]