A Change

Today we were at the restaurant to start cleaning some of the new equipments and get ready for the restaurant's opening. The restaurant is coming along beautifully. The decor is ultra cool. Everything is natural. They chose to use wood, marble and leather as the theme thru out the restaurant and it is really amazing.

I had a private meeting with my chef today. I was on a natural high to know what she thought of me. I think one of the best compliment I've ever received was when Chef said I reminded her of herself when she first started out. I am also honored that she wants me to be part of the team for years..for the long run. Esp. for the next restaurant they want to open. It's such a big honor for Chef to believe in me like that. By that I know I have to change the way I think and trust myself...I just need to boost my confidence which I know will come with experience. I know I will give Chef everything I have, not to impress her but to show her my respect because she believes in me and my abilities.

I'm super excited about the restaurant and really can't wait for it to be open.

1st Round!

So it was the first time I made anything that my chefs were going to eat/taste hence my stress to succeed. When I told her I made something she was very excited to try it and I had described it as not my best....just because I know it wasn't my best work. It's was pretty good but not my best. I've done so much better in other desserts. So I brought out the green tea cheesecake for her to try and when she tasted it she liked it. It was a win for me. Our Chef de Cuisine liked it too so I was very happy with it. They both said it was good. I know that Chef was disappointed I didn't say it's the best thing I made but I'm only honest about what I create and I definitely intend to stay humble about my work. I think she wants me to express more confidence in myself and my food.

One of my peeves is that a lot of Chefs I've met are really arrogant. Some I have to say can be but there are those out there that just thinks WAY too highly of themselves. I know to be a good chef one must completely believe in and stand behind what they make. They also must have a lot of confidence in themselves but...it doesn't mean you have to become an arrogant ass. I'm so excited and happy that my chef is nothing like that. She is so down to earth and so passionate. I'm very excited to be working for her. I can't wait anymore....I should be in the kitchen by Tuesday!!! Fingers crossed.

Thursday Desserts!

We have a staff BBQ tomorrow and I wanted to bring some desserts. I have spent all day making them. Unfortunately it wasn't what I had expected. I started by making mini tofu cheescake. I expected a smooth texture but the recipe had called for firm tofu. I should've used soemthing else. The firm tofu made the texture too lumpy. I think the recipe is ok...just need to be tweaked. Next I tried an Asian dessert. Sago with a coconut pastry cream filling. That didn't turn out right either. I think my problem was overcooking the sago. It was too gooy. So I screwed up 2 desserts. I started to stress that I didn't have anything to bring to the party.

So after thinking a little I decided to just do what I know best. The desserts I've already done before. I made mini Green tea cheesecakes. They turned out fine. Light green tea taste. It is good. I'm happy with it. I didn't really want to do something that heavy but....really didn't have much choice. I had no clue where I could get mini ramekins like the ones I had in HK. Otherwise I'd probably do my signature creme brulees. I just hope that everyone will be ok with what I bring...maybe I ought to bring alcohol instead.

1 More Week...Hopefully.

Today was very exciting. We had a meeting and I met everyone from the restaurant. The entire Kitchen team. It's was great to finally meet everyone. The feeling was light and happy. I think everyone of us were really excited and glad to be apart of Abode. I personally can't wait to get into the kitchen. I think it's a wonderful idea to have a dinner together before we open. Next Thursday we are all meeting up for dinner and drinks. It's going to be fun. I think if we are all sorta friends, the kitchen will work together a lot better.

I think by next weekend we should be able to get in and start organizing where all the equipment should go. Labelling and just work out our space. It's going to be great. Just waiting for the health department to ok the kitchen.

There is a dry opening planned where we can invite friends and family to the restaurant. The grand opening is still scheduled for April 7th. Pressure is on!!! All my friends have already started asking me about "getting on the list" for the opening. I think I've created a lot buzz within the few friends I have here. My landlords Kelly & Patrick are so excited about it. We've become really good friends. Roger wants to bring Wendy & also his sisters. There are others but I'm not going to list everyone!

The interior design of the restaurant is amazing. The furniture and decor are all natural material. I think the chairs and tables are all handmade. They cost a fortune and I'm so glad the investors are really serious about this restaurant and want the best all the way thru.

At the meeting, Chef talked about the high expectations since our restaurant is almost classified as super fine dining! It makes me nervous but at the same time very excited. I am nervous because I don't have alot of experience in the kitchen but I am excited to see how much I can push myself to succeed. I want to be able to meet the expectations of Chef and I want the restaurant to be known for the entire meal. I mean most restaurant reviews talk about the highlight of a meal...usually the entree or the dessert stands out. Our goal is for the entire meal to stand out and be balanced. I want to make sure the dessert is going to be as fabulous as the main course. I do not want to disappoint Chef in any way. This will be the pressure I put on myself to make sure I succeed.

To add to the pressure, the James Beard Foundation has a newsletter which will talk about the opening of Abode as well. The PR firm hired to promote the restaurant is one of the best. They are sending out press release packages, etc. Therefore, the pressure is starting to stress me out and I'm not even in the kitchen yet!! People who knows me well knows how anal I can get with making things as perfect as possible. I think my chefs at school knows how much pressure I put on myself for everything I make to be 100% perfect. At least this anal side of me will aid me with making sure I can live up to the standard of Chef.

We worked out the lunch menu and I'm dying to learn the steps to making the entire dinner menu. Lunch menu is stemmed from Dinner...just to start and make it easier for us. I don't know the Petit Fours or the pre-desserts yet. I'm sure Chef will let us know very soon. She also told us that the tasting menu will be different everyday which means that the dessert for the tasting menu will be different everyday. Which means a HUGE challenge for us. I'm really excited about that! Where is there a job that will push your creativity to the limit? I still can't believe that I am part of something so special.