Back on meat section

I started early, this time alone, and commenced my day by puttting potatoes in the steamer for mash.  While they were cooking I began searing the daubs so I could get them in the oven.  The whole cooking time is four and a half hours.  Once they were braising I began the section setup.  Once complete I started my daily prep.  It started with dicing shallots and collecting other items for mise en place.  I pulled a few bags of frozen coco beans from the freezer and made back up containers of mascarpone.  Shortly after my station partner arrived. 

Lunch service started and I was asked to continue prep.  I continued on with cleaning and cooking salsify.  Afterwards I chopped some chives and picked parsley.  I ended my shift by peeling 20 kilos of potatoes. 

I started my day early on fish.  As soon as I arrived I compressed apples and cucumbers for service.  I also setup my soup which was a creamed sweet potato.  While the soup was simmering I cooked off cockles and mussels and then chilled them down.  I had forgotten to make the compressed fennel so I quickly sliced and bagged that as well.  Shortly after, I made juillenne apples for salad.  The section was low on celeriac remoulade so that was the next task.  During lunch service the prep work continued.  I juiced some beets and carrorts for pickle brines and then I sliced smoked salmon for appetizers.  Lunch service was busy and ended quick.  While the section was getting reset for dinner I prepped out some Jeruselem artichokes for a puree.  They take a while to cook out so I picked some crab and made crab mix as well.  I concluded my day by helping organize the walk in and then bagging extra items to be frozen.

Photos from dublin

Some photos from yesterdays service.

Goat cheese, beets, maple candied pecans, hazelnut dressing, compressed apples and micro rocket

Foie gras and chicken liver parfait, compressed apple, apple puree, fig compote, pistachio and micro sakura

Smoked Castletownbere (County Cork) salmon, beet puree, apple puree, lemon puree, fresh shaved fennel and radish, micro cilantro

Bushmill-Lime cured salmon roulade, Liscannor crab salad, compressed cucumber, juniper aoili and lemon puree with micro cilantro

My time in raw bar is nearing the end.  I was told to come in at 12.30 for my setup since the restaraunt was so slow.  Once complete I made the crab mix for the cocktail.  I had picked the meat yesterday so the assembly was quick and easy.  Next I prepareed some juillenne iceberg and followed that up with tomato petals.  I did it using the par boiling method and it took signfigantly less time.  Shortly after I diced shallots and made a back-up container of shallot vinegar.  I was asked my the afternoon tea crew to make some sliced cherry tomatoes as well.  I did 10 boxes and then went on break.

Service was slow so when I got back I peeled potatos for meat station.  My last task before I left was smoked salmon for afternoon tea.  I managed to get a lot of tasks completed during an even shorter shift.

Many people were scheduled off so I was in charge of oyster bar.  I did the setup and then sliced more smoked salmon for afternoon tea.  The station was running low on tomato concasse so that was the next task.  Afterwards pantry station and I cleaned out the main walk in.  I did another small batch off egg mayo and then took my break.

Dinner service was steady but not busy.  I managed to pick some crab meat during this time as well as peel a case of potatoes.  We had five on the supper menu and it felt good to be able to step in and help plate everything.
We have 30 for lunch and dinner so it should be slow tommorow.  Will advise.

Will post at breakfast.

Oyster city

After setting up raw bar I got pegged with an order of one dozen.  My partner cracked them for me though so I could finish setup.  I jumped on crab cocktail prep which is a light crab salad bound with creme fraiche and lemon juice.  Its balanced with chive and chili giving it a complex flavor.  I thn proceeded to make some tomato concasse for the station.  I had cut the petals two days ago so this only took me a few minutes.  Next I diced about 30 shallots, mostly for shallot vinegar.  We had an estimated count of 300 over the next few days on reservation for afternoon tea.  This meant slicing cherry tomatoes was a must.  12 boxes later I took my break.

When I returned I had several orders of oysters.  Most were naked but I got an order of Guinness, Rockefellar as well as Shelbourne.  The Oyster Shelbourne consists of crab and lobster meat heated in a Thermador sauce.  It is a cream based sauce that will be demonstrated tommorow.  Once heated the sauce is poured over the oysters, then topped with a chive hollandaise and gratained.  It results in a super rich seafood chowder underneath a crispy skin.  It was delicious.  Service was busy for all of us tonight and I spent the majority of my time on the station popping oysters.  I will be getting a review tomorrow for my performance  these past several days.  This week I will be moving to fish station and appetizers so I’m pretty excited.

Culture shock

Greetings, I know it has been quite some time since my last on topic post.  It seems that I write in cycles.  I hope to break this habit and start bringing you daily content.  I also would like to mention that a co-worker has expressed an interest in writing with me to create a blog that is more all-encompassing as well as responsible for more frequent posts.  More info on that to come.

As many of you are aware I am interning in Ireland.  During this time the best means of communication will be through skype, facebook and email.  All of which you can find here. 

Since I began my visit here in Dublin I have noticed a myriad of cultural differences.  During this article I’d like to focus on a few that stood out to me.  I normally like to stay on food or food related topics but since this is such a new experience for me, I wish to share it all with you.

The first element that really amazed me was the shear amount of bakeries and fresh baked goods located in the city.  After touring larger cities like New York and Washington D.C. extensively, I have yet to find or see as many bake sops and cafes that make or carry this level of baked goods.  Sitting in a small, heavy emphasis on small, broom cupboard located just of St. Stephens Green, I am still fascinated by the proliferation of the cities baked goods.  The picture above demonstrates this.  (And just as some perspective, that picture is the size of nearly one wall in the café.)  I have also noticed how meat forward the Irish Cusine is.   I would like to add that with the immense frequency of shops with baked goods the coffee is phenomenal.  Everything is brewed as espresso giving even the Americano a welcome robust punch.  I have yet to have a bad cup of coffee.

Next I’d like to discuss the general attitude of many of the Dublin citizens.  I have had the pleasure of speaking with several.  Just as the coffee has been excellent so are the Irish people.  I have only been shown the highest level of friendliness and hospitality.  Most people ask me my origin after hearing m accent (I never thought I’d be saying that) and when I tell them, they jump into a full conversation.  It is a welcome change from the urban dwellers in American cities who would be bothered just to grace you with the time of day let alone any more words exchanged other than hello.  Bar tenders, people on the streets and even the heavily inebriated, 3 am pub-crawlers have greeted me with open arms and intriguing conversation.

The next part I’m sure won’t be well received.  I promise to only do this once and never again.  The Irish, and in my personal opinion, American’s who have any level of common sense abhor Donald Trump.  After hearing multiple conversations as well as participating in a few the general consensus is that he is a stupid, ignorant, fear mongering fool.  Partially my words but also quotes from them.  Many of them don’t understand how America went from electing the first black president, only a short period after slavery was gospel, to supporting a vicious airhead.  They take American politics just as serious as we do. 
Sorry.

As stated above you can find my daily experiences in the Journal section of my blog.  I will make sure to produce content daily but I would like to state that most of it will be under the journal.  My personal goals for now are to pursue articles about sustainability.  While it is a general topic I feel very passionate about it and will enjoy exploring articles and other books in order to bring you unbiased, (un-political) and informative content.  Please feel free to share any articles you find interesting with your friends on facebook, I would love to start developing a larger following.  Cheers