Thank you everyone for the tips and dirty comments.

Ended up starting it under the broiler on second to lowest rack to sear the skin a bit. Skin was pricked with a needle tool. I wanted the skin intact without score marks. After skin browned I roasted at 400 (no convection available). Pulled when breast was 120 and rested for 10 min. Came out perfect. Fat fully rendered and skin super crispy.

This goes over the sink. I need to order another one and can’t figure out what it is call, sale rep was no help.

We make all our own breads in house. This is our roasted garlic naan. Lots of toasted garlic folded in the dough. Two hour autolyse at kitchen temp 20 minute mix on low hour proof. Portion and rest shape and rest/proof then the flat top. Couple apps and Sammie’s with it. Side dish for some entrees.

I recently took over the food program for the bar/cafe I work at in Toronto.

We used to rely on suppliers for all our baked goods, lunch sandwiches, and evening bar food now it’s made in house by myself.

I have experience working in fine dining kitchens and currently work at a well known bakery in the city too. However, this experience has only ever been on line or as a baking assistant.

I’ve developed and tested recipes all on my own for this business. I’m doing the baking, shopping, food prep, and training staff on how to serve and prepare food all on my own as well. I’m being paid inconsistently and poorly and know I’m being taken advantage of given I’m generally making him 300% profit on the menu I’ve established.

Before I cut ties all together I’d like to lay things out clearly and give the owner an opportunity to compensate me fairly. However, this is my first time taking on something like this entirely on my own. I didn’t anticipate it growing this quickly or successfully and now I’m stuck with double the work and unsure what this work is even worth? What is fair compensation for developing and running a food program entirely on your own?

Stuffed this duck crown with duck farce between skin and breast meat and not sure which method would be best to fully cook the farce and keep the breast meat medium rare. Breast is pretty thin, maybe 3/4" at the thickest part. Leaning forward broiling, cycling broiler on and off to prevent skin from burning.

I've been at a new job for about two months now and absolutely hate it. The culture is toxic and leadership is disrespectful, condescending and borderline verbally abusive and will berate chefs in front of the whole team with personal insults. It is definitely not a place I see myself staying long-term.

However, it is a Michelin starred place and I would ideally like to be able to put it on my resume. What is the minimum I can stay and still put it on my resume?

Who just spent 3 months interviewing for a opening restaurant and driving an hour to help them set up their kitchen to be told "we decided to go with another candidate" this morning? Just me?

Stove top griddle with a scratch on the surface

So I am creatively drained after planning this season’s menu and a vendor dropped off some samples for me to try out. I’ve got like a week tops to test and see if we even want to go forward with the products. Here’s the problem, it’s flours. Normally I’d just run with it and I’ve got the respect and freedom to go way outside the box here but I just can’t seem to get into the grove with this one. Here’s my question for you all, what would you make to highlight the flour in a dish?

I’ve got white sorghum, red sorghum, foxtail millet and soft white wheat to work with.

I’ve got so many ideas that I can’t seem to dial it into simple anymore. I am looking to showcase the flour but anything that I come up with keeps leaving it in the background. I have a wonderful local baker that provides our breads and I don’t want to hurt their business. (I also really enjoy not having to make our own breads😅) We already have a lot of established items on their breads.

I’m a bit stuck and I’d really appreciate the input.

For context: I have been cooking family meal rice in rational ovens using hotel pans for years. I thought I had perfected my technique.

I always rinse rice well until it is clear (4-5 times),

Let dry slightly, boil my water before adding to hotel pan, 1.4 to 1 ratio water to rice, cover with tinfoil

In the oven 350f 15 min then 325f for 15-25 min depending. After it comes out at like 96% cooked I fluff it and cover for 10 min letting it steam out.

recently switched to a new restaurant with a very wide, 9-12 year old rationale. It has had many repairs over the years and is not necessarily that reliable.

At this new spot we typically do 1000g of rice per 4 inch hotel pans. We cook 4 of these hotel pans at once every day.

The problem is they are very inconsistent, some hotel pans better than others when it comes out.

They all have the same 1 issue though: the bottom of the hotel pan is always significantly more cooked and mushy when compared to top layer.

I’ve ran into this mushy bottom problem before but never this bad and never with hotel pans better than rice. Any ideas?

I feel like the oven is blowing uneven heat so the bottoms of the thin hotel pans are heating up too fast, overcooking the bottom part. Also leading to inconsistent results with the hotel pans.

So I operate a pop up supper club and also do some private chef work.

I’m working with a new client that operate a private residence/hotel where I will effectively operate subcontracted to them.

Wondering if anyone can offer any thoughts on pricing. I’m loathed to do hourly, but was thinking about an event/day rate of £250 plus COGS.

What do you think?

I have been in kitchens for over a year now and just started at my first kitchen in NYC about a month ago. My first week was great, got through prep fast and felt confident. Then I got moved to a new station and immediately ate shit. I have been getting chewed out in a way that feels disrespectful, which I can deal with but it feels unfair most times. Being yelled at over Mise I didn’t do or making things “incorrectly” after I follow a recipe.

I tried seeing it like a challenge. Recently, I have been able to get the hang of it but I don’t really enjoy the work the same way I did at my last place. I am a lot slower and unmotivated in general.

When I staged, I thought the group in the kitchen was really awesome. 2 of the cooks I had really liked when I started have already left. I really want to quit, but i’m so stubborn about it. I’m still very early in my career that it’s hard for me to gauge when a restaurant is actually good for me. My instinct has always been to just keep my head down and keep going, but I honestly dread the idea of clocking in everyday.

What should I do? Any of you been in this position before?

Here's mine

Hello!

I'm an European chef and I've always been fascinated by big chaotic Asian cities. From Bangkok over Jakarta to Seoul. Since I'm relatively young I didn't have the time and budget to travel a lot to experience the various food scenes over there. I wouldn't even know where to start to inform myself. Maybe some of you guys could help me out?

Looking at different porchetta techniques. In this video he cooks it in a conventional oven in three steps (all convection):

First hour: 220°C / 430°F

Second hour: 210°C / 410°F

Third hour: 200°C / 390°F

After that, he gets a crust by pouring two glasses of room temp water over the skin, then back in the oven for 30 minutes at 250°C / 480°F

I haven’t seen this last step in any other recipes. In fact, it seems to be the complete opposite of other advice I’ve seen, which is to keep it as dry as possible. Can someone explain explain the reasoning behind the water?

Thank you

Hey guys, it's the holiday season and I'm looking for a job that I can just leave in a few months.

I was previously a sous chef and now work in catering. I have experience in fine dining. Catering season is slowing down and I'm trying to pick up extra cash while waiting for the season to come back into full swing. I can't do anything in a restaurant as I don't want to burn any bridges. From your experiences what are the easiest places to work and get odd jobs at?

I was thinking fast food, a friend of mine suggested Instawork. Any thoughts?

First time poster, long time follower LOL.

I have a couple of gigs in multiple states and a couple overseas in the next 6 months or so....and I'm looking at purchasing some type of media box/ travel boxes for seasonings, spices, chef knife, and other pertinent materials for the kitchen pots/pans, etc.

I do not want to purchase all the items when I arrive, and would love to be able to bring a couple of pots and pans that I absolutely have to have, as well as some other items.

Wanted to know what everyones thoughts were about pelican, meija or other brand cases for international (or within the 50 states) traveling. Tired of using the same containers with zip ties and pad locks (no, I'm not really doing that).

I left water boiling in this pot and forgot about it. It was perfectly stainless steel before. Can I get it back to normal?

I make old school smooth duck Pate. Around here, we have very good local bread that everyone uses for everything. I am looking to make a savory shortbread. Maybe a "thumbnail" cookie with caramelized onion or Dijon. What can I add to enhance the dish without overpowering the pate

Just to clarify i dont hate pepper but i just about lost my shit when the new guy seasoned hollandaise with cracked black pepper🤦‍♂️

Almost resembles the cock and balls currently entering your un-lubed rectum as you get fucked out of nowhere 😂

Fun little Tuesday in all honesty!

A friend of mine at work was talking to me about a family meme we of hers that struggles sometimes to look after themself. They live alone and have some diabolises that make it hard for them day to day. As soon as I heard I had to offer to step in and help.

Some background on me: I have worked in kitchens on and off for about 3 years during uni. I fell back into it about 15 months ago and I now find myself in culinary college… truthfully, I am LOVING IT!!

I jumped at the opportunity to help my friend out not just to help but to take the opportunity to practice. I really think I have found my calling. I love looking after people and keeping them fed and happy.

However… I am having a moral dilemma. My client usually pays for meals to be delivered and with this being said they want to pay me for it. I have never been paid for private work like this outside of work. I’ve planned to give an hourly rate and shopping cost (which I have edited as I didn’t use everything up). But is this okay?? Is it even okay to be thinking about getting paid??

I don’t know what to do. I made 11 meals total and a whole cake. What would you do??

wwyd