Power to the People

Its hard to believe so much time has passed since the last post.  Once again there is so much that has happened.  Honestly, it seems like yesterday, when I was punching these keys to post about the occurrences that have shaped my life as of late.  The last time I wrote it was late Tuesday evening and I was heading into a day off, with family in town, looking forward to a world cup semi-final game and some time with my two brothers.  I headed into work with an idea to accomplish tasks quickly and efficiently to ensure time would be on my side.  I arrived at work, on my day off, after 2pm, planning on not staying very long.  10 hours later I left the Restaurant, thinking about how easily this theme seems to re-occur.  Its merely par-for-the-course now, being a chef/owner, duty calls and there are always things to be done.

Since there was no dishwasher, and we got extremely busy, I decided to jump in the dish pit and hammer out some dishes.  Still one of my favorite places to be in the kitchen, the dish pit, without a doubt, brings back a sense of youth and reminds me of my first days in the business of working with food and dining.  The whole time I could not stop thinking about Wasabi (a really good sushi Restaurant in Whitefish) and how I would be enjoying some delightful seafood very soon.  Somehow, though, the dish pit required a good session to keep the Restaurant on track and time slipped away, until a quick look at the clock and 7:30 turned into 10:30pm.  For a nice consolation prize I treated myself to an entree of our Rack of Lamb with Sauce Dalise (our signature plate) and a nice Caesar Salad.  I guess that is about as good as it gets for a 30 day plus stretch, give or take a day, of consistently working 8 hours or more, generally the day averages 10 hours, all spent at the Restaurant.

And there exists the life and times of Andouille.  This impact on me is all too obvious even as I begin to relax and share the tales of recent happenings, as there is a sense of urgency keeping me from fully immersing, now I am enthralled in moments of movement and accomplishment of tasks.  My whole goal and focus has become to find more time away from this challenging cycle by actually doing things related to life outside of work.  So much easier said than done.  Those yoga and running aspirations from the last post dissolved into liquid like a pack of emergenc-y, fizzing into a cup of water, dazzling at first, then merely coloring the liquid and losing the pizazz.  I'd love to be drinking those cups where the fizzing creates a tingling sensation on the upper lip and the flavor is literally dancing; yet often by the time one gets to finishing the cup, the excitement has faded away.  In no way am I suggesting that I am any less enamored by yoga, as the fizzing sensation is as apparent as ever with regards to practice.  What I am saying is that I prefer to drink emergen-c- packets when they are vibrant and fizzing, as opposed to leaving a mixture for any length of time and having the consumption become flat.

I am confident I will be running and practicing yoga soon.  At this point, however, I will not attempt to establish any kind of time-line on when that might be.  Seems better to write about it after the fact as opposed to talking about how much I look forward to it.  Alright back to the stories at hand as there is much to tell especially regarding the Restaurant world.  A five course wine dinner on Thursday, July 8th, featuring a World Cup celebration was quite fun.  A low key, comfort food style dinner with South African, Spanish, and Dutch dishes.  Here is the menu:

*Scallops, Squid Ink, Saffron, Tomatoes, Red Pepper Oil
*Bunny Chow (Lamb Curry, Sweet Peas, Carrots, Chilies, Onion Salad)
*Kobe Beef, Tomato Chutney, Pap
*Frikkadel (Meatballs w/Onions, Bread, Eggs, Vinegar), Potatoes, Carrots
*Cheese Course w/Edam, Layden, Toasted Rye Bread, Chocolate

Overall a fun and super simple menu.  Course 1 was Spain while the dessert course was Holland.  So it was Spain vs. Holland, with South African dishes sandwiched in between the two. 

The weekend continued with a busy period, nothing to crazy to report other than the Sunday night Chef's table with Bill Foley and his family.  We have been trying to get Bill to come and eat with us for sometime now, so it was great to finally have him in our establishment.  For those of you who do not know Mr. Foley, he is the CEO of Fidelity Title and Insurance company.  He also owns Whitefish Mountain Resort, several Restaurants in town, about 50 different wineries, and the list goes on and on.  He was ecstatic about the food and wine and very complimentary at the same time.  Here is Foley's menu:

*Amuse- Pork Belly, Watermelon, Radish, mache
*Blue Prawns, Roast Pecan Meuniere, Parsnips, Arugula
*Black Bass, Heirloom Tomatoes, Sweet Pea, Basil, Microgreens
*Truffle Risotto, Morels, Porcinis, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Balsamic, Watercress
*Quail, Andouille, Duxelle, Fennel Pollen, Poultry Jus, Quail Egg
*Caribou, Huckleberries, Ice Wine Vinegar, Sweet Potato, Tuscan Kale
*Chocolate Souffle, Blueberry-Brandy Sauce, Candied Orange Dust

I stayed at the Restaurant until 3:30am that night, had so much work to accomplish, prepping for an  enormous dinner the next night- a five course dinner for 84 people.  This dinner was for the WASDA (Western Association of States Department of Agriculture) group, containing lots of important people such as the Lt. Governor John Bollinger and several heads of Agriculture for Western States.  The crazy part about this dinner, besides having to plan for 420 plates (84 times 5 cs.), was the power going out shortly after the first course went out.  Power going out tends to happen on occasion in this industry, and more often than not- the show must go on!  We were actually doing this dinner at Loula's, a Restaurant located in downtown Whitefish, a place with lots of windows in the dining room.  So despite the fact the time was around 7:15pm when the power went out, the sun kept everything illuminated until around 9:30pm due to the large windows.  Everything except for the incredibly dark kitchen, dimly lit with candles and the steady stream of flashlights coming in from various helpers.  We still had four plus courses to serve.  And we would serve those courses in the dark, with the help of flashlights and candles.  The guests were mesmerized by our ability to produce such wonderful food with no electricity.  If anything the power shutting off made me look really good, still executing the dinner without a beat.  In fact, I was able to incorporate several jokes as I was actually presenting each course of food and it went out.  There were only three of us plating each course for 84 people, a lot of work but still a lot of fun.  It was most certainly challenging, but not quite as challenging as losing a dishwasher on a busy night.  At any rate the power stayed off until about 12:30am.  So when I arrived back at my Restaurant, they were also without power for the entire evening, yet still managed to pull it together and make it happen for the evening.  This whole experience called for celebration.  Here is the menu for the WASDA event, basically a re-creation of the Endless Feast dinner:

*Ratatouille Montana:  Stuffed Squash Blossoms, Eggplant Custard, Poached Tomatoes, Zucchini-Squash Mousse
*Organic Greens, Highmont Beef Carpaccio, Fennel, Raspberry Vinaigrette, Snap Peas
*Pork Belly, Braised Cabbage, Cherries, Savory
*Buffalo Tenderloin, Morel Mushrooms, Montana Chevre, Sage, Potato-Broccoli Flan, Swiss Chard
*Huckleberry Pie, White Chocolate Ice Cream

The rest of the week encompassed a brutal and grueling stretch of business as I pulled a double on Wednesday cooking both Breakfast and Dinner, smack dab in the middle of a 100 hour work week, still on a long stretch of working daily.  Friday was an interesting night, once again full of really important and wealthy people, serving a two-term former Governor of Kansas named Bill Graves.  The best part about that dinner, another five course extravaganza, was the Governor wanting to take pictures with me, as well as, several other executives in the room.  It was quite a compliment for everyone in the room to want to shake my hand and thank me for the wonderful dinner (this happened at the WASDA dinner also), telling me about how amazing the dining experience, particularly the food, was for the evening. 

I finally was able to attend a yoga class on Saturday morning!  I even went to the Green Tea House afterwards for lunch with a friend, it almost felt like a day off.  And then Saturday night came along and the kitchen got pummeled like that pop-up game at Chuck-E-Cheeses.  We had a 15 top come in and order ten, five course tastings, amidst lots of other regular diners, enough to put us well into the depths of far too much to do in a reasonable amount of time.  We did what we had to do, as we always do, to maintain the best quality we are capable of producing while making it all happen.  It was an incredible challenge and a test of our meddle to that point.

Sunday brought more surprises, this time in the form of one of my cooks deciding to put in his two weeks notice, a mere four weeks into the summer season, to pursue some other interests unrelated to Cafe Kandahar.  Funny thing is part of what he wants to pursue is a pad thai business.  Not sure why this could not happen after the season, or during a period in the offseason when we are closed for 5 months out of the year, but people are people and generally do what is best for themselves.  This is a situation where I think this particular individual is doing what he think might be best; however, it seems like an awfully foolish move.  Not to mention unprofessional, immature, and selfish.  Sometimes people have to pave their own way, on the school of hard knocks, learning for themselves how it all is.  Its a shame and tremendous disappointment that this individual did not fulfill his commitment, although it about sums up his character and attitude surrounding working with us. 

And so the beat goes on, as is life everything is dynamic, always changing.  Monday was my first official day off from work all summer long (I even had work to do on the 4th).  How wonderful it was to be away from work for a day!  I remembered how joyous life is, connecting with my darling niece and nephew, hiking in the gorgeous woods of Montana and enjoying conversation with my brother and his wife.  Its amazing what a day off can do for the spirit.  We had a wine dinner tonight, but I think I will save those details for next time.

For now, I say Power to the People!  We always look forward to what is to come, not what used to be, or what we once were, in regards to being powerful people in our lifetimes.  

Grease, trapped

This is going to be an entertaining post, more so for the reader, as the stories I am about to share are better told than actually experiencing.  So much can happen over a few days in the Restaurant business, especially when its busy, this weekend reminded me of how much can occur that very few will ever know.

Shall we begin?  Since my last post in this world of blogging (late Thursday night, early Friday morning) failed to address any of the happenings of Thursday night, I'll start there.  So we had a large party come in for a 5 course tasting menu paired with wines, for Skye and her crew of L.A. and NY folks, which made for a challenging evening.  We pulled it off smoothly; however, there were no shortage of challenges when it came to executing this dinner for 19 people in addition to all the regular diners that same night.  Skye's crew was full of very attractive people, a modern and classy bunch, many of them around my age.  This is their second year in a row of joining us for dinner and the second year they have invited me to their exciting party in Hungry Horse.  Both times I was invited to this party, happening on July 2nd, I have been single.  And low and behold both times I have been unable to attend.  I had fully intended on being there this year, even feeling giddy about the opportunity.  But sometimes grease gets trapped, and drains become clogged preventing the water from flowing through.  More on that later.

It was a busy Friday night, one of those nights when the early tables show up late, the mid tables show up on time, and the late tables show up early.  It was also a night when the kitchen was short staffed so no matter what happened with how many diners showed up we would still feel a strong push.  We were unable to get ourselves set up in time for service so we faced the inevitable prospect of getting our assess kicked.  It was about as difficult as night as we experience at the Kandahar.  Whenever we begin the night behind, in other words not having everything in its place, we not only play catch up, we suffer with tasks piling on top of tasks.  And just like a stack of color copies at a Xerox testing facility, the piles begin to accumulate quickly, as if we are just paper in the machine made to spit out continuous designs of whatever our customers order- only the ink is in need of toner and the printer is in need of service.  A challenging night of this caliber requires more than pace, strength, knowledge, and experience, as those elements are merely the standard methods of performing at the level we operate at, a base starting point if you will.  A night such as this, requires: dedication to staying the course even when there is no path, a willingness to accept things as they are even if you are in total disbelief at how screwed you might be, and an ability to maintain a tolerance for dealing with any mistake even when these intense moments happen to create a numerous amount of mistakes both big and small.  These are the moments when my mouth begins to utter language often heard in jail cells and street corners, usually directed at the situation.  The problem with this language is staff often interprets these words as communication towards them.  This generally creates even more problems because staff is now upset, the pile keeps growing, and frustration intensifies.

So after finally surviving the 12 round heavyweight battle and winning by decision, perhaps with the help of some biased referees, I got dressed and prepared to make my way towards the party I was looking forward to attending.  That is until I was informed that my jail cell language had severely upset one of our great employees.  I spent the next hour-and-a half conversing with various members of staff to smooth over a situation that needed some serious attention.  Ironically, though, I was not too bummed about missing this party for the second year in a row as I knew it was not meant to be.  I accepted the fact about the importance of how my staff actually felt about the evening, as opposed to how much fun I might be having if I went to the party.  Instead I bought the staff some beers and we enjoyed some laughter and reflection of a night that reminds us why we work harder than just about any other profession out there.  And yes we can boast about it to, because our job is harder than yours, we work longer hours than you, and we get paid less than you do.  But we do what we do to make you happy and offer a reflection of who we are.  Sometimes this makes us happy also, but Friday night was not one of those nights.

And then Saturday comes.  Funny thing about this business is that you get to do it all over again each night, despite whatever happens the night before or what may come the next day.  Thankfully I was able to enjoy the World Cup games that day, two exciting contests, setting up mouthwatering semi-finals.  At any rate I had a six person, seven course chef's table to execute on Saturday night.  That is 42 plates, all from my station, while entertaining the guests.  Not to mention it would be my sous chef's third night working in our kitchen (it has been over a year and a half since he last worked with us), handling the daunting station of Saute.  My sous had worked with me for three seasons; however, we have evolved since then and there is still so much to take in.  And we were heading into a busy Saturday night.  Yikes!  Well we were able to prepare ourselves in a much better manner than the night before and things were looking fairly good until around 4:30 (one hour before opening, scheduled time for the disher) and the sinking intuitive feeling encompassed my being.  This feeling has to do with the awareness of missing the one position that every Restaurant can not do without out, the dishwasher.  You see Friday was payday and apparently Saturday was play-day for our hydro technician.  By 4:40 I knew we were in trouble so I decided to place the call to see if maybe there was a mistake or an emergency.  When his mom apologized to me with no explanation other than a distinct sound of disappointment, I did what I could to take in deep breaths of oxygen and remember that it was not the end of the world.  Considering that I would probably prefer the end of the world to beginning a night this way, the air I breathed did little to prevent jail cell language being sung at disproportionate levels.  I dove in the dish pit and handled the pile until we were at least caught up in that department, just before the doors opened.  Its not doing the dishes that is the problem, in fact I love doing dishes- its still probably one of my favorite things to do in the kitchen.  Its doing the dishes on top of everything else that needs to happen.  I still had a lot of setup to prepare myself for the chefs table.  And then, just when the intensity and challenges felt like they were maxed out, the drains clogged due to the grease trap not draining properly.  So now we had water to deal with anytime we wanted to run our dishwasher since each cycle dumps water down the drain, that same drain that no longer drains.  Water accumulated quickly and we were forced to roll up our pant legs and deal with the new grease-mixed-moat covering our kitchen floor.

Thankfully the chefs table was an enthusiastic bunch and welcomed the entertainment of knowing how incredibly difficult the situation was for us that night.  This table sat at 7pm.  They left at 12:30am.  A five-and-a half hour chefs table.  Part of this was due to the fact that anytime a dish was ordered, any of the six dishes on the menu that I had yet to train my sous chef on how to prepare, I was forced to run around to the front kitchen and prepare these dishes.  To give some perspective- the chefs table is located in our back kitchen where the diners literally sit in a private area and I prepare food for them before their eyes.  It is a very exclusive and intimate way to dine.  At one point I left the table for forty-five minutes to essentially cook food for all the guests in the dining room.  Once again the chefs table were absolutely wonderful people and they enjoyed every moment of the experience.  Somehow Saturday night paled in comparison to the night before in terms of an ass kicking in your face kind of night.  The kitchen staff was completely on point and handled adversity in a championship style manner.  I was very proud of the staff and shared these feelings with them afterward.  The staff enjoyed a drink together and once again laughed off the insanity that decided to return for an encore appearance after an unprecedented show from the night before.  I stayed out fairly late that night and celebrate the fact that on Sunday, July 4th, the Restaurant would be closed!!

I enjoyed a family brunch at Loula's that morning with my: grandma, mom, dad, two brothers and sisters in law, two nieces, nephew, and three aunts.  Good stuff!  So much fun to be around my nieces and nephew, what a treat to be able to spend time with such carefree children.  That night I attended a truly epic event at the DeBartolo home, a Star Wars themed party, roughly a $250,000 July 4th party.  Boys to Men was the band who played the party, there was lobster tails, steaks, and cornish game hens for a sample food menu, with a full bar, beer, wine selection, and a fireworks display that was the most impressive I'd ever seen.  It made Whitefish's firework show look like a backyard sparkler show.  I had loads of fun on this night, a great way to celebrate our independence.

Fast forward to Monday and a very tired crew showed up for work that day, including myself.  I was able to get some folks to come up and clean out our grease trap in order to fix our drain issue.  Unfortunately they were not able to fix the issue and we had to spend yet another night in the trenches of "soaking wet floorville".  This night turned out to be worse than Saturday because there was easily three inches of water on the floor.  And once again I had to perform a chefs table, this time a four person five course meal, although 20 plates are much easier to execute than 42 plates.  The chefs table was far more subdued than the festiveness of Saturday night's crowd which made for a more manageable evening.  Did I mention our dishwasher is not coming back?  That means we had no disher on Monday night either.  And tonight we had no disher again; on the other hand, tonight was a lot more fun as we were closed to the public for my Mom's 60th Birthday celebration.  It was a surprise birthday party and all who attended had a blast.  We did 10 different passed Hor D'Ouevres and attempted to get caught up with the majority of projects that were left behind after a crazy weekend.  So now we have a little bit of steam moving forward as we towards another crazy stretch.

Its 3am now and this post of grease, trapped, has surpassed all previous posts in length.  Congratulations if you have read all of this.  Now go and do something special for yourself as you deserve to be rewarded for such discipline!  I do have a pseudo day off tomorrow.  What is a pseudo day off?  It is a day off when one still works but doesn't really have to cook online.  Nah, I just have to make a wine dinner menu for Thursday night, a menu for the WASDA (Western Association of States Departement of Agriculture) event off-site on Monday for 85 people, and the usual ordering of products, scheduling, organizing, emailing, etc..  That being said, a pseudo day off might entail some yoga!  And it also may include some running!  Laundry, grocery shopping, and various errands too!  I am gasping at the possibilities!  Perhaps I might even get a good night's sleep tomorrow and wake up early for Debra's three hour yoga class in Polson!  Imagine the possibilities!  So despite having grease, trapped, in my brain, I still realize that life is happening as it may, as I choose, as it were.  Who, though, has the recipe for clearing drains?

P-P-P-Possibility, Possibiliteeeeey

Silly title, I know, matching my grinning face and uplifted mood.  And there is lots to be happy about, as possibility has returned to my life in a wholly refreshing manner.  How does one come to realize the essence of possibility?  Well I'd like to share a moment I experienced today on my yoga mat in a wonderful class taught by the beaming yogini, Miss Jodi Petlin.  Today's class was a fundraiser for the Garden of a 1,000 Buddhas and their incredible project in Arlee, Montana.  The Dalai Lama has promised to make a special trip to Arlee, Montana to bless the gardens when all 1,000 Buddha statues have been erected.  The whole story is truly mind-blowing and a once-in-a-lifetime event.  More information can be found at http://www.ewam.org.  I also donated a cooking class for 4-6 people in their home for this fundraiser today. 

Anyway the yoga practice was a two hour class with an amazing cellist Lee Zimmerman.  This was my first class with live music being played and the connection between Lee and Jodi was spectacular.  Lee had an uncanny ability to tap into the energy of the room while his music drenched our mats and minds with soothing harmonies.  As I type these thoughts I see how much possibility plays a role in our daily lives and how easily we forget that each breath is truly a new moment to introduce possibility into our being.  I certainly would not have thought it possible that the Dalai Lama would travel to Arlee, Montana to bless a peace garden, his first ever visit to Montana.  Not to mention this garden is being built solely by donations from individuals, both monetarily and energetically, offering whatever each person has to give for this wonderful cause.  I am baffled and humbled by this project and the potential of seeing the Dalai Lama in person in the Jocko Valley.

Somehow, during the yoga practice, I remembered how brilliant possibility can be to our lives.  For the first time today I was able to do Ardha Chandrasana (half moon pose) with a steady breath, balance, and expression!  Woohoo!  I guess my little yoga hiatus was good for my body because this pose always challenged me and I was unable to hold this pose until today!  And I could feel how much my body was opening throughout the practice and the possibilities of what is to come.  I sense that possibility can be an afterthought when routine, schedules, and commitments dominate our daily lives.  How grateful I am to recognize that each and every moment, of each and every day, is full of possibility.  It is up to us to rekindle our sensational appetite for possibility with enthusiasm and vigor.  The spirit loves to feed on our willingness to be open to the realm of possibility as we create a fulfilling way to experience our daily lives.  Possibility is everywhere, any time, any place, and dwells within any body.  Could it be possible the cellist, Lee Zimmerman, assisted with this realization today?
Anything is possible!  Just like the old saying goes, now more than ever, it seems to ring true.  I am open once again to the possibility of fulfilling my goals on any and all levels.

I was in tears at the end of the class today, as it was that moving.  Jodi told a story that literally had me crying, about how it is not how much give to somebody but how you give what you have to offer.  We all have something to offer each other and the importance lies in the consciousness in what we offer as a measurement of what we have to give.  Amounts, money, and numbers take a back seat when it comes to giving from a place of love and devotion.  Of course this also applies to the yoga practice, its the state of mind and the quality of the practice- not the quantity of practice or the ability to perfect certain poses.   Stepping on my mat felt like a magic carpet as I imagined the possibility of my mat floating along the waves of the universe reminding me that there are always waves to surf if I choose to paddle (breathe) and catch the feeling.  It is clear to me now that no ocean is needed to recognize the changing tides and the movement of the water.  This process is just life, for those of us who are alive; possibility moves like the wind breezing through tall grass, gently swaying with subtle sounds, ever so slight and soothing, calming the mind and connecting the heart to what is to come.

I intended on making this class today and I am thankful for the opportunity to attend it.  It was not easy to do, yet I was able to trust that everything would work out and it certainly did.  I intend on running tomorrow!  First time in a long time.  Cooking has been constant, fun, creative, and challenging.  We have a very busy weekend ahead of us, so running tomorrow will be epic to enjoy again.  A short run, without a doubt, as I can not afford to be injured during this busy time!  Still though, any run is better than no run, as I just learned that any yoga at all is better than none at all.  It doesn't have to be all or nothing, as possibility does not work that way.  Possibility knows how to compromise, how to be flexible, and how to accept things not according to plan.  People seem to struggle, at times, with these items, hence the forgotten essence of possibility.

Lastly, so far, we have raised over $3,500 for the St. Bernard Project!!  Talk about possibilities.  The seeds of hope, love, and support have been planted and we are beginning to grow a positive impact that can truly make a difference.  Check out the recent article in the local newspaper here:  http://www.flatheadbeacon.com/articles/article/helping_to_preserve_gulf_seafood_and_a_way_of_life/18408/

Enjoy!  And ask yourself, what possibilities are you connecting to lately?