Another Delay…

Well, sorry about that. I’ve been “in the shit”, as it’s so eloquently called, for the past while at work. Waking up early, long hours…it’s all a bit of a blur right now. Tack on a busy Father’s Day brunch (13.5 hour day at the end of a streak of 12 hour days), and I can safely say I’m pretty beat. Not enough to write for a bit, however. Things should even out soon, as we get used to the workload and become more efficient with our time. We’re told that the breakfast shift will be fun. I’m going to take advantage of that. Still, my nerves are getting the best of me at the worst possible times, and I’ve already made my share of embarrassing rookie mistakes. I’m treading carefully.

I’ve been forcing myself to read up on beer as of late, with dreams of brewing at home (yet to be decided), and have come across a couple of interesting books that I may end up reviewing here soon. I’m also using a new website called Untappd, which is a pretty social, fun way of sharing which beers you’re drinking at any given time. I recommend checking it out if you love beer!

Here’s to another more detailed update tomorrow! Until then, have fun.

The Dinner Party Recipes

As some of you may know, I recently held a dinner party at our humble little apartment (had to eat off TV trays!). I went with a tried-and-true recipe, an on-the-fly recipe, and a completely experimental recipe that didn’t work out the first time I’d ever made it. Miraculously, for the most part, it went really well. So I figure it’s good enough to share the recipes with you:

Being a Better Customer/Being a Better Cook

Just when you thought I’d simply posted an article about intangible future ideas and promises of more content, more content actually appears!

Based on recent discussions I’ve come across, recent articles I’ve read (such as this “Angry Chef”), and the opening of a new sandwich shop Downtown (Hubbub, right here, with some reviews for reference here), I’ve been inspired to write about the eternal battle of the “Always Right” Customer vs the “Never Wrong” Chef. This is an incredibly touchy subject for both fronts, so I’ll try to keep it as honest and balanced as I can.

Welcome, again…

…to what is now Chefery.ca! I’ve made the decision to drop the “Pursuit of”, as even though I’m still pursuing the goal of becoming a chef, I really wanted to be able to do more with the site, and I felt that this was the first step to removing some of the constraints.

I’m pretty brutal when it comes to updating this blog, let’s be honest (a bunch in the beginning of school, then 3 blocks in I drop off, and BAM!, I’m done school!), so I have an ultimatum for myself: write, or else. The “or else” involves having to cook everything with margarine instead of butter AND I JUST CAN’T DO THAT. Really, I just don’t want to talk about it.

Chefery.ca is now much easier to punch into the browser, so when you’re thinking about how I’m doing, you don’t have to punch out (begrudgingly, I’ll bet!) chefery.wordpress.com. Though that works as well. And I’d recommend updating your bookmark too, to get rid of that eyesore…minimalism is in, addresses showing obvious newbie blogs are out.

An announcement:

I have recently been given the opportunity to open the upcoming Hawksworth restaurant in the Hotel Georgia. This is kind of my dream job, so I’m still a little stunned! Feel free to check out the website, though it’s not much for the time being: http://hawksworthrestaurant.com/

The opening date is slated for May 7th, and I should be starting my training very shortly. I invite all of you to come out once it has opened, as I’m fairly certain it’ll be a hit.

Post-Grad

So, it’s finally over. I am, of course, referring to culinary school, and hopefully my procrastination as well. Realizing I can put words into sentences to form paragraphs that can be somewhat coherent, I have decided to blog officially as much as I can, with varying topics. This may mean I won’t blog for a week or two, but realistically that shouldn’t happen, as I have a pretty good ability to give my (awesome) opinion on just about anything. Anything food-related. I could talk about my other main interest (video games) for days on end, but I would risk eyes glazing over. Not cool.

The Third Coming

Miss me? I believe I had a hiatus before, and I said I’d be writing more. Then I left again. This blog became like the kind of personal journal you try to keep when you’re younger: it goes untouched for a while…a long while. But so much has happened, and so much will be happening, so I wouldn’t mind writing about it again.

I’d been in the butchery block, got myself a little bloody and came out with a new appreciation for carcasses. And laundry that’s paid for by the school.

Then I got into a bit more institutional cookery, with some advanced techniques and dishes that, in my honest and fair opinion, were educational and delicious, but the block left me wanting more.