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Dear Matt,

I just love your enthusiasism! It’s times like these (reading your post)
That I get a great big smile on my face. This is the type of attitude that is so refreashing.

It’s really hard sometimes to stay positive and focused on your goals when you are the new guy/gal on the block, but if you stay true to your heart, and work as hard as you absolutely can, you will succeed.

It’s obvious to me (and others) by your posts scatterd around the boards that you really want to learn and grow. What a pleasure for us to watch people’s development.

I would love if you could start a running journel of your expereainces for us.
A few have done this in the past and it’s a great tool and a lot of fun.

Once again Matt
Congratulations
CC
:chef:
 
Matt, reading posts like yours make me happy to work in this industry. Yes, learning is wonderful, food is wonderful, growing is wonderful.

BTW: what is/are prassopitakia? :lips:
 
Matt,

Greek food is a great cuisine to learn it is my favorite. Everything is fresh and simply prepared. One of my favorite dishes at a restaurant I frequent here in Chicago is fresh roasted snapper with olive oil and fasolakia as a side.

Congratulations on the job.

Here is a tip on Greek cookbooks. The books by Diana Kochilias are very good. However if you want to get the real "from the heart" recipes find a local Greek Orthodox church and by one of the cookbooks that they ladies of the church put out. It will have everything you need and it won't cost much.

Also you haven't truly prepared Greek food until you have prepared Magaritsa (gut soup) or Kokoretsi (Athenaeus help me with the spelling).
 
There was a thread on Kokoretsi just around when I first got here last year (May? June?). Yum. Looking forward to the Ninth Avenue Festival just before Memorial Day to get to eat some again!
 
Discussion starter · #26 ·
<<Hey Mat, do you serve dolmadakia with a lemon sauce??>>

I'm not sure how the Dolmadakia are plated. Hopefully if I can get all my prep work done early today I'll be able to hop over to the expo and watch some of the plates go out.

<<Tell me what else you serve?>>

Welp, the entrees are mostly fish, prepared simply with olive oil and lemon juice. Fagri, Tsipoura, Lavraki, Salachi etc. The Mezedes are Dolmadakia, Pressopitakia, Tzatzki, Taramosalata, Melintzanosalata, Htipiti, Kalamarakia Tiganta, Piperies Kai Antzouyies, Feta Epirou Psiti. Side dishes are things like Agriohorta, Melintzanes Domates, Patates Tiganities, Patzaria Me Skordalia.

<<BTW: what is/are prassopitakia?>>

Melted Leeks, Scallions, Feta Cheese and Dill wrapped in Country Filo Pastry and then Baked I believe (maybe fried, not sure).

Matt
 
Let me get this straight... you graduated from the CIA and can still admit you don't know everything? That's when the chef knew he'd found someone great!

Hee hee... take that last comment with a grain of salt. Really.

I think having someone come in who is excited to learn and full of energy is better than someone who has worked with Greek food before and thinks they know everything.

Never stop learning.

I agree, keep a journal, then you can look back someday and realize just how very much you have learned. It can be an incredible realization.

Sounds so wonderful! We're all happy for you!

~~Shimmer~~:bounce:
 
Discussion starter · #28 ·
<<Let me get this straight... you graduated from the CIA and can still admit you don't know everything? That's when the chef knew he'd found someone great!>>

Heh, I wish I had graduated from the CIA...not yet, though I do plan on attending in about a year or so. Though, I know that really won't change my prospective on everything.

I made a promise to myself a while ago that once I graduate from the CIA I won't take any job other than a line cook position at a good restaurant. Sure I'll probably get job offers to be a Sous Chef someplace or if I'm lucky even the executive Chef position...but honestly, doing those things that early would just be pretentious of me.

<<I think having someone come in who is excited to learn and full of energy is better than someone who has worked with Greek food before and thinks they know everything.>>

Heh, I don't think even after I have ten years of experience behind me in a certain type of food will I feel comfortable saying I know everything about the food. I may say "This is the way I like to do it so this is the way we will do it" but not "This is the only way to do it" or "This is the best way to do it."

Matt
 
Discussion starter · #29 ·
Just thought I'd give an update of the goings on in the kitchen. Work is going good, I think I'm fitting in with the overall operation of the place and the line cooks and Chefs all are nice folks and seem to like me.

My hands are in shambles because the restaurant operates in a somewhat unique matter when it comes to the fish. Basically our main kind of entre is fish prepared in a classic greek style and sold by the pound. So, you could order your meal to be a 1 pound lavraki or a 1.5 pounder. Most of these fish are gutted, cleaned and scaled before service but they also have a display of fish near the entryway of the restaurant where customers can also say "I want that fish" and they will weigh it, bring it back to the Kitchen and that is where I come in cleaning the fish and preparing it to be cooked. The problem is I'm also doing other work as well while this is going on so I'm constantly having to take my hands from dry to wet then back to dry. I wear gloves when cleaning the fish but it still doesn't keep my hands from getting wet. Hopefully soon I'll devlop some good calouses and it won't bother me as much.

I recently bought a set of some Wusthof Grand Prix knives and I absolutely LOVE them. Great balance, a good handle and they keep their edge well. I also bought a pair of Wusthof kitchen shears for clipping of gills and fins. Unfortunately they weren't that well constructed and they broke tonight (the conection between the two blades spread about 1/4 an inch apart making them unusable. It was kind of funny because after service was done we had four line cooks gathered around this one set of shears trying to figure out how to fix them. But we could never figure them out so I'll have to take them back to the store tomorrow.

It's been really fun so far. Even though I'm stressed to the max trying to keep up with what I have to do every day.

I've been really impressed with the lengths the Chef has us go to to assure that everything that leaves the kitchen is as fresh as possible. The fish is very fun to work with and incredibly fresh. Crimson gills and clear eyes all around. My favorite fish to clean are the Dover Sole. It's really amusing how their skin can just be peeled off in one quick motion.

Welp, that's all for now, I gotta get some rest...Saturdays are (as everyone knows) incredibly busy and I have to be on top of my game.

Matt
 
The antibacterial soap I always had to use made my hands break out really badly. I bought a generic creamy Vaseline lotion (cream, not gel or jelly) and it did wonders. Just thought it might help your hands take a break!

~~Shimmer~~
 
Discussion starter · #31 ·
Welp, another Saturday evening service down. I didn't get nearly as much done as I had planed/wanted to because of all the other things I did to help out.

Was fun to see the line cooks trust me enough to help prepare intregal parts of their mis-en-place (sp?). I actually got to show off a small bit tonight with my knifework. I helped chop some onions very thinly. Working in a Japanese place did have it's advantage of giving me a solid foundation of good chopping/slicing skills.

It got kind of hectic tonight for me when the fry station was running out of prepared calamari and at the same time the Expo was running out of parsley. Had four things going at once and wanted to pull my hair out. But luckily I got it all done in time for everyone.

I realized tonight how well the kitchen is constructed. It's about a medium size kitchen I would guess, but everything is arranged so well it seems to be the prefect size. Two walk ins and lots of refrigiration at every station. A seperate expo for the Garde Manger, Hot App/Fry station and then a third for the Grill/saute station. It all works very well and the plates seem to be very well timed. About the only thing that throws the kitchen out of whack is when the Grill Assistant gets bogged down with too many fish to plate. The fish can be cooked much more quickly than the GA can cut/debone them. Plus the occasional extra large fish will slow it down as well. We had a 12 pounder come through this evening....those usually take about 40 to 45 minutes from start to finish...but they look just AMAZING once they are plated.

I found out that the Dolmadakia aren't served with a lemon sauce, though in my humble opinion their flavor stands very well on it's own. The combination of the flavors of the filling contrasted with the soury sweetness of the grape leaves is just great. It's on my list of dishes to make at home for sure.

I have a question for everyone though. As most of you probably all know I'm VERY much into food as well as doing a good job. I've been wanting to ask the Chef his honest opinion on how I've been doing but don't want to come off as pushy. Any suggestions as to if I should or shouldn't? I've worked here about two weeks so far.

One last thing was my discovery of our good olive oil. Stuff that they have specially imported from Greece. It is incredibly amazing and adds a certain special touch to everything it goes on. If I ever visit Greece or Italy I am going to make a point of going to an oil pressing factory and tasting fresh pressed olive oil. I'm going to have to find out if it is possible to get whatever brand of olive oil they are getting and using it at home. If anyone has any suggestions of their favorite olive oil I would love to hear that as well.

Matt
 
My opinion on asking the Chef how you're doing - go for it! Phrasing might be the key - like saying, 'gee, I feel like I'm a little slow (or whatever) compared to the other guys - do you have any pointers that might help me out? That way, you've immediately addressed something, instead of putting him on the spot to say, well, you're this and that, and maybe putting you on the defensive.

He obviously knows your experience level, and I would think he'd be happy to give some guidance along the way. Although, some positive strokes are great, too! And can go a long way when you're in the weeds and it seems like you have four thumbs!!!

Re tastings of olive oil - I'm sure there are 'Fancy Food Shows' or 'Restaurant Shows' in Atlanta; the best way to taste is to get to one of the shows, where there are booths from Italy, Greece, Spain, the U.S., all with their oils showcased and open for sampling with a little bread. The first time I was at a show, I was totally blown away by the differences in all the tastes! Up until then, I had read about it, and from my own kitchen purchases had done a little comparing, but to have all those oils right there in front of you - amazing!!!
 
Discussion starter · #33 ·
So, I thought I'd just check in, been a while since I posted or read the boards, I've just been busy busy busy.

Work is going along quite well, at least, it is in my opinion, of course I've allready found out that my view of "quite well" is a bit slanted compared to everyone elses.

I'm the kind of person that thrives on pressure. I like having so much to do that I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to get it all done. It's kind of an internal challenge I keep for myself to get it all done. So while the other cooks are like "dude, you're here all the time!" I'm like "I love this!"

I had an interesting conversation with one of the chefs two nights ago. Just discussed my plans, food, being a cook etc. One thing he said that I think will stick with me is "Remember, it is not a sprint, it is a marathon"

I found out tonight that the executive Chef used to work at the French Laundry. Something that put him in a whole new world of respect in my eyes. Actually, I allready had all the respect for him in the world, I would guess that now it has a tinge of awe.

I'm beginning to wonder when everyone will get tired of me asking questions. I'm constantly peaking over someones shoulder and asking "What is that" or "Why do you do it that way" I'm learning tons every day.

Welp, I'll be reading more of the boards and posting more soon. Hope all is well with everyone else.

Matt
 
Discussion starter · #34 ·
<<Also you haven't truly prepared Greek food until you have prepared Magaritsa (gut soup) or Kokoretsi (Athenaeus help me with the spelling).>>

We made both of these this weekend for Greek Easter. Both were amazing...even though we did offer a version of the Magaritsa without the innards.

I got to help prepare the Kokoretsi from start to finish. My only complaint was after rolling them all in the lamb casings my hands didn't smell too good for a while.

The most amusing thing was all the Greeks in the kitchen kept stopping by my station as I was rolling them and stealing a few bites of the filling. It's a good thing we ran out of casings before we ran out of filling.

Matt
 
I guess we have been doing the same things this week end Mathew ;)

In order to remove the odour from your hands, rub them with lemon peel and lemon juice :)
 
Hey Matt!

Really diggin' reading about your adventure - so glad it's going well for you and, most importantly, that you're enjoying it so much!

I would also love to find an olive oil tasting event. Never really appreciated the stuff til the last couple years.

My personal favorite is Sagra (or is it Sarga?). Give me a hunk of ciabatta and a dish of oil, and I'm in heaven! :D

Let us know the brand your place uses-
 
Discussion starter · #37 ·
<<Let us know the brand your place uses>>

That's the thing...I don't know if our best olive oil is even a brand. We actually use two or three branded olive oils and blended oils in the kitchen, but our best stuff is specially imported, comes in these five gallon non-descript containers and is simply amazing. It's not something you could buy unless you set up a special importing deal with a producer in Greece.

The other branded stuff really isn't anything to write home about...but it's all good quality...just not anything like our "good" stuff.

Heh, I almost forgot. Yesterday I actually had a day off, so, being a complete foodie I made reservations for me and my family at the restaurant I work at. Showed up, got one of the best tables in the house, ordered some Ouzo and a bottle of really great Greek White wine. Then our waitress came back and promptly informed us that she needed our menus because the Chef would be planning our meal for us.

My family was completely flabergasted, they had never had anything like that happen (neither had I but I suspected Chef was prone to do that since he did work at the French Laundry). What came next was a veritable laundry list of just about every thing we make. Dolmadakia, Spanocopitakia, Calamari, Octopus, Pan Fried Feta, Htipiti, Tzatziki, Taramasolata, a three pound lavraki and then four deserts, our fruit plate, Baklava, Ravini Me Santiyi, loukomades. I think I was the only one at the end that could still put anything in my mouth and swallow it, they were all stuffed and completely content. It was simply amazing, a food experience I'll remember for the rest of my life.

Matt
 
Hey Mat it was a great idea to visit the restaurant with your family!!!

Greeks appreciate those things very much.
They are very flattered if you go to their place and let them feed you especially of you bring your family together. This means trust.
Key word in our culture :)

Do you know where the owner of the restaurant comes from. Which region of Greece I mean?
 
Hi, Matt -- a lot of good restaurants really want their staff to come in as customers. That way they get to see things from the customers' perspective -- it can make a big difference in the way they work afterwards. Some give gift certificates, some give discounts, some comp you, it varies from place to place. Some even ask you to fill out a report! It's all part of the education you get on-the-job.

As for the treatement you got: Hey, we take care of our own! Especially if they work as hard as you do. One of the great perks of the business.
 
In another life, I was at a convention in Detroit. They have/had a reknowned Greektown. There were about 12 of us milling around trying to figure out which restaurant to patronize. We settled on the one with the longest line, figuring that it had to be THE place. Were were told that the weight was going to be at least 90 minutes. After a couple of minutes we noticed that one of us had disappeared, Nickos! 2 minutes later we see him up front talking to the captain and waving us up. We were ushered upstairs into a private room. We were not presented with menus but the food started to flow. I can't remember what we ate but it was great. We must have eaten for 2 hours! Now that's hospitality :)
 
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