50 years in the making

When my father was born, John F. Kennedy was in his first year of service. The Vietnam war would start in 2 months. And last but not least, The Ken doll was introduced to the world. A lot has happened in 50 years. Electricity, running water, and the wheel. ;) Just kidding dad, you're not that old.
Everyone always looks at my father and thinks (and later says to me) he does not look 50. We have been confused as brothers on a few occasions. His brown hair, the same as it was in high school, shows no signs of grey. Only his beard, when grown on vacation, gives way to the inevitable sign of aging. No wrinkles show on his face. His hands, strong as hell, emit those of a 25 year old, not someone celebrating their half century mark. I feel as if it wasn't for his bad knee and hips, the man would still be out playing soccer and basketball with people half his age, as he did when I was a child.
       We never say much, my dad and I when we are together. The shared silence says enough. When we do talk, it's either complaining about an athlete, or arguing about the direction of our country. We used to have some doozies of disagreements, but no more. A quiet man, you can most likely find him on the beach now, or when in Minnesota, in the woods, staring at bark. While my mom is the one who made me decide to go to culinary school, my dad was the one that showed me what food could really be. Not he himself, (He does grill pretty well) but the things and places he showed me. When we traveled, we never ate at the typical Johnny McFunandstuffs, and Captain Crabpants, etc. We ate at nice restaurants, we ate at ethnic restaurants, we went to markets. A particular trip stands out for me, when he took me to New York City for a weekend. He was there on a national business meeting, and I tagged along. When schmoozing was still allowed, he would take doctors out to dinner, and we went to a couple decent places. But then, the night before we left, me and him went out to dinner. We went to Morimoto, Masaharu Morimoto's namesake restaurant in the meatpacking district. I was 16 years old, and this was extravagance at it's finest. Looking back, we'll both say it was over the top, and over priced, but when we went in, I think both our jaws dropped, and we will both remember it forever. That night taught me what a restaurant could be, and what it could do to two people. My dad showed me what maybe someday I could do to a father and son. The most politically correct man I know, he also taught me to be fair to, if not hard on, people. He taught me it's essential to grow a beard on vacation and the weekends. He taught me to play soccer and basketball. He helped me build my school projects at 7 o'clock the night before they were due, every single time, for my entire life. Yes we had our differences, and yes we fought like hell, but I am a better human being for it. I look at other parents, and back to mine, and I realize how amazing I had it growing up, and how amazing I have it now. I turn 21 on Sunday, the day after my Father's. 21 and 50 are two big birthdays in America, and I am sad I will not be home. I have a feeling my first legal beer with my father would be something like this.
(Click the purple thing mom)
I know this was long winded, but I just wanted to say I love you dad, and thank you for everything you've done for me, and will do in the future.

Coming Home

All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another.

Brian's coming home. Not out of want, but out of need. Chris Nathan told me it was that pesky Speedy Rewards incident, or maybe it was the fireworks at Lewis, or most logically, my spy of a cat made it happen, but for some reason, I cannot get my work visa. Lots of paperwork was done, pictures taken, bills procured, days of work taken off, and when it came down to it, all I was given was a stern no. Because I could not get my visa, I am technically illegal in France right now, thus, I cannot work. I have 2 more weeks in the country as of right now. I haven't seen much of it since I started working in June, so I shall be sightseeing from now until I leave. Work was work, not that enjoyable, but I learned more than I could ever have imagined, and met some great people. But, it's time to go home, and start over. I couldn't have asked for a better year. Yes, I had my heart broken, lived in the hood, hated school, hurt a lot, and got lost many, many times. But, I also met some of my best friends, got closer with my old ones, grew as a human being, grew as a cook, and found myself again. Do I think I made the right choice coming here? I don't know, but I'm glad I did it either way. I will surely miss it. The next month is full of interviews and stages in various cities in the U.S. If you would like to know where just email or Facebook me, and I will let you know. "Who woulda thought your shit dilemma of being booted would turn into a shit dilemma of having too many options back here..." - Joseph Harvey. He's right. It'll be good to come home.

Growing Up.

So I went to culinary school. I cut things, made sauces, roasted meats, and met a lot of people. I moved three 3 times, lost some friends, gained some better ones, and got a cat who shits on my floor, but I love her anyways. I'm a big boy now. 

Afterer school ended, I was offered a stage at a restaurant called Taillevent, near the Arc de Triumph. Having been 3 Michelin stars for most of the past century, after being demoted to 2 in 2007, it's needless to say I was ecstatic.

These are the two dining rooms at the restaurant. In just one week, its become my favorite place in the world. Work goes like this.
8 am: Walk in, put on apron, put very high quality ingredients into fridge.
8 30: Peel shit. I.e mushrooms, tomatoes, pick herbs, apricots, almonds, or any other kind of produce.
11 am: Help make something in Garde Manger (Salad/Cold dish section)
1145 am: Eat lunch. Really damn good food. stews and pasta, rice, massive vegetable salads.
1210 pm: Wash the kitchen, and the back rooms/fridges. Floors mostly, but the walls sometimes too.
1230. Service starts. Sometimes I just watch, or I help plate. This is my arch nemesis

It's crab salad, on remoulade sauce with radishes, and some green shit that comes out of a fridge somewhere that I have nothing to do with. I put the radishes on top, and make the ring of crab sometimes. I also plate the cheese course by myself sometimes, that's exciting. 
2 pm: Service ends. Cleaning begins. Everything gets scrubbed down, floors scrubbed, squeegied and dried.
3 pm: Nap time. I drool a lot, and my arms fall asleep.
5 pm: Back to peeling shit, and prepping for dinner.
7 pm: Dinner, and cleaning.
8 10 pm: service starts, back to plating.
1030/11 pm: Service ends, cleaning begins.
1145/12 pm: Leave for home.
That's my life from now on, and I couldn't be happier. I also received some very good news on Friday from chef, and hopefully it turns out. Also, today I found out that Chef Thomas Keller of The French Laundry and Per Se also worked at my restaurant in the 80's. For those of you that don't know, he's the king of American Haute Cuisine. And the fact that I even have a micrometer of a connection with that man, makes me feel so proud. I liken it to wearing the Carolina blue, knowing Jordan went there. I haven't stopped smiling. Hope everyone's summer is starting off great. I will leave you with a picture.

 This is me, no matter how grown up I am. I'll always be the little kid in the background of the pictures, ruining it for everyone else.

There and Back Again, A Cook's Tale.

Hi, I'm Brian. I am the owner of this blog, and I am holding a fish calzone. Don't ever make this. I haven't written in a long time, so I am going to today.

Since my last blog, I have done a lot of very interesting things. I have driven around France, spent two very crazy weeks with Matt, and moved apartments (again.)
My mini vacation between intermediate and superior went like this. "Hey Lesley, let's drive somewhere." "Okay!" says Lesley. "Call Kate." "Kate let's drive somewhere." "Okay!" So Lesley, Kate and I drove around France. Our first stop was Burgundy, where we stayed in the city of Dijon. The city is a lot like most mid sized cities, it reminded me of Sioux Falls, with a little Southwestern US involved, very strange. We toured the Cote du Nuits, where some of the best wines in the world are produced, and had a tour of all of the Grand Cru wineries, and a tasting at two different cellars. For anybody that is into wine, this is the thing to do. Just google Burgundy wine tours, and you're sure to find a good one. That day/night, we decided our second stop would be Strasbourg, near Germany, about 4 hours drive away. After arriving safe and sound, we went to a local Winstub, or wine bar, and had wonderful Alsacian cuisine. Mostly pork, cabbage, potoatoes and sausage. Let the poopensteining begin! After that, we went to the "Academy of beer" and had some various brews, then to Zanzibar, a local club. This picture describes Strasbourg.

Waking up the next day, ready to fight the day, and after a little late night planning by Lesley (pictured) and I (pictured), we decided to surprise Kate with a trip to a Chateau in the middle of Champagne. We arrived in Etoge about 3 hours and 6 bottles of free mini bar drinks later. Don't ask. We pulled up, and for lack of a better term, Kate shit herself. 

Kate in front of the Chateau

"Dad, were at a Chateau, with a Moat!"

Vineyard bike rides, champagne tastings, and wonderful meals are a hard thing to leave, but we had to. So we made the 1 hour, I mean 4 hour drive back. Stupid traffic. 

The next day, Matt arrived. Let the walking begin. Looking back, it was the most I've walked in my long 20 years. On average, about 5-10 k a day, lots of times more. We'd look at a map and go, "Hey that's not bad" and it would take 4 hours! but it was great seeing him, and having him there. Took him to places I hadn't even been to like Sacre Coeur, and some restaurants. We drank, and dined, and did things a college student doesn't do in Waukesha County, Wisconsin. 2 weeks of meandering came to a close, and he left early Thursday morning. Later that day, I picked up my keys to my new apartment, WAAAAAY over on the east side of Paris. My friends and I refer to it as Saudi Arabia, but it's home! And I love it.

The semester, and my Culinary School days, are coming to an end soon, and I'm scared. Scared of work and life, but ho boy am I ready for it. When most kids are studying for their Business Admin. tests, and Psych exams, I've been trying to figure out how to keep a parmesan custard inside a thin tube of leak in the oven without it all falling out, and howsmall to slice my asparagus for my tempura. We have a mini exam of sorts on Tuesday, where we are given a list of ingredients, of which we have to use 6, and then make two courses out of it. I'm nervous and excited at the same time. I should probably start making dinner. Happy Springtime everyone, hope to see you soon!

Last Few Weeks of Intermediate.

The last three weeks have been very very very fast. It seems as if we just started Intermediate courses, and now, in the next two weeks, we will be finishing them. Written exam on Friday of this week, Practical cooking exam Friday of next week. Should be fun. Let's see, what have I done. I've stuffed some animals with other animal products, and filleted a lot of fish. This past week I went to the International Agriculture Salon in Paris. For all of you Minnesotans, its The Pig, Cow, and Horse barns at the State Fair, all combined, multiplied by 100, and then substitute delicious French food for the delicious "Food" already served at the fair. All of this is inside a convention center. It got a little stinky. I don't know if this will help any of you, but here is the website.
http://www.salon-agriculture.com/
Tomorrow I am making Monkfish wrapped in bacon, with pancakey things, and braised artichokes. Last night, we attempted to curl my roommate Afonso's hair. It didn't work, he has a nuclear forcefield surrounding his hair.

That is Lesley doing the job. It was a valiant effort. By the looks on both their faces, and the fact that I was sitting across the room from them, I probably had said something stupid at this point.
I cut my hair finally, It was the longest its ever been in my life, and I went with the buzz cut for old times sake.

These are the last golden tendrils left from my luscious locks.

WTF. What the France.

I'm hungry. But more on that later. The last week in January has been one of the worst of my short time on this planet. Hospital stays, fights with Chefs, emotional turbulence, and life just not going right. Saturday morning I woke up with a pain in my stomach that I just ignored, and went on with my day. Was very sick that night, and Sunday, the pain was still there, so I decided to go to the hospital. My friend Lesley joined me in my first taste of socialized healthcare. This is not a political rant, so I wont get into it, but it's awful. For the first 4 hours of my stay, I was given a Tums, and told to pee in a cup. Beautiful. I was then laid on a bed, and hooked to an IV, after having a bag fall on my face, and the nurse leaving with a needle sticking out of my arm. There were not enough Nurses, Doctors, or medical professionals of any rank to treat the hordes of people there seeking help. After 11 hours, x-rays, ultrasounds, and pain meds, I was sent home with a bruised and inflamed large intestine. Don't know how that happened. It's not my appendix though, so that's a positive.
I haven't given a food update in quite some time. So, here it is.
Intermediate Cuisine and Le Cordon Bleu = Stuffing proteins with other proteins. On friday, we removed all the bones from a chicken, and stuffed it with pork shoulder and foi gras, and then poached it slowly in Court Bouillon, or a wine flavored chicken stock.
Before that, a Lobster cooked in the oven, with rice, and Lobster sauce.
Magret duck breast with cream braised leeks, and potato cakes with bacon and mushrooms.
Times before that, Mullet stuffed with olives. Dourade stuffed with shrimp and more dourade, and we broke down and cooked 11,000 different bird varietals.
A chef and I got into an argument over the clarity in which a certain chef gives demos. But, it was cleared up, and he gave me a smile afterwords so thats good.
Ate at Le Comptoir
http://www.hotel-paris-relais-saint-germain.com/
Hannah
http://www.qype.fr/place/1527003-Hannah-Paris
And an oyster restaurant I cant remember the name of.
Maybe post a few pictures in my next post. Hopefully February is better.

Recap

Gallivanting around the globe has it's ups and downs. Seeing beautiful places, meeting wonderful people, and eating everything in front of me, are definitely the ups. Not being able to just sit and reflect, write a little, spend enough time with the people you love and miss, are the downs. Last I wrote I had just returned home from the U.S. Nothing too exciting there, drove to wisconsin and back in two days, the usual. During the second week of December, I decided to visit a friend in Barcelona, on a whim. After an hour and a half bus ride to some "Podunk" airport in the north of France, I boarded my 27 Euro plane ride. Also, before I go on, I flew home from Barcelona for 4 Euros. 4. I bought a sandwich on the flight for 5. This is sort of a shameless plug, but Ryanair is the greatest company in the world, especially for 20 somethings trying to travel around europe. After arriving in Barcelona, my friend anna took me to her home about an hour west of Barcelona. It's truly a beautiful place. I walked in the mediterranean, saw Montserrat, and ate and drank some of the best things ever. You know those movies where a man is on vacation, and he meets a beautiful "native" if you will. Well, jamon iberico, and pa amb tomaquat are my native vacation lovers. I could eat those two things every single day of my life. The later being simply bread with the flesh of a tomato rubbed into it with olive oil and salt. The blog isn't allowing me to post pictures right now, but i'll give the link to my facebook to see them all. After visiting castles from Roman and even earlier periods of time, and seeing structures still standing from that time period, it gives you a little perspective on life. After two days in the mountains, we went to Barcelona. It takes a lot for me to like a city, I am now just starting to love Paris. I am not sure if I liked Barcelona or not. The architecture was bizarre, the parking expensive, and the traffic bad. But, the food however, was life changing. Tapas have always been my second favorite food, behind Vietnamese and Thai, but this was a whole new level. Cerverceria Catalana was wonderful. Usually known as one of the best in Barcelona, I was very excited to get in. We had little deep fried green peppers, I can't remember the name right now, Tortilla, which is like quiche without crust, Pa amb tomaquat, sardine like things, sauteed wild mushrooms, and something else I cant remember. A good spanish beer, and a coffee rounded the meal out. We also visited Boqueria Market, which is a place I recommend all human beings to go to. It really is astonishing. Also, we went to Bar Marsella for absinthe. I recommend no human beings do that, unless they have to. My trip had to come to end, and so does this description if it. I got on the 4 euro flight home, for one day. The next day I had a flight to Norway.
Woke up early in a snowy Paris, and flew to a snowy Oslo. My Godfather Geir, my Father's best friend, picked me up, and drove me to his home in Ringsaker. A beautiful village, overlooking the largest lake in Norway, with a 900 year old church at it's center. A perfect place to celebrate Christmas, with my second family. We watched soccer, and I hung out with the kids, and went to work at the DMI. It was a wonderful 2 weeks of relaxation.
After coming back to Paris, my friend Peter flew in for New Year's from his school in Nottingham, England. Not much extraordinary happened. We ate a lot of Kebab, and witnessed the New Year at the Eiffel Tower. That was pretty spectacular.
School Started a few weeks ago, and I am now back into the swing of things. The dishes seem to be pretty easy still, so we will see. I'm doing well, meeting a lot of new people, and the apartment is still wonderful. I hope everyone had a happy holiday season, and I wish everyone a great new year!
Places Visited in Spain:
Vilobí
Vilafranca
Vilanova
Sitges
Barcelona.
Restaurants:
Cerveceria Catalana
Random Jamon shops
Random Tapas restaurants.
Bar Marsella
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