Collin Cooks; Around the world

On 21...

2012-02-06T14:40:00.000-05:00

The day arrives.

This post and the following thoughts are a long time coming..

The law of 21 has haunted my life for the past three years, and the experiences missed unable to be repeated.

The tasting of 100's of beers, wines, liquors, in the various restaurants that I have worked and traveled to throughout the United States. This is my profession, the food and beverage industry, and pairing thereof, and for the past three years the tastes and pairing I have missed have been detrimental to the furthering of my palate and education.

To say that I harvest and produced wine in France, and travel back to the United States and cannot purchase or have an ounce of that wine, is mind blowing.

What happens when midnight strikes this evening, is a switch changing physically inside of me, a maturity suddenly found? In my various travels throughout Europe, not once was I carded in the six plus countries I visited. What does that say of our society, where with one ounce of alcohol in my system or possession I could be thrown in jail?

I can agree with consumption comes maturity and responsibility. I can agree that alcohol is best left out of high schools and the hands thereof.

I'm not asking for 16, 17, or 18. I can agree that European societies are quite different than ours. But why not 19? Or 20?

What are we doing with the blind eye to the act of binge drinking throughout college campuses across the country? To the kids thrown in jail for possession or consumption responsibly of alcohol, who may not be 21 yet, but are acting responsibly.

This all comes from a soon to be 21 year old whom on my birthday tomorrow and the following days, will choose to consume 1991 wines drank with delicious foods: Riesling, Gran Reserva Tempranillo and Alsacian Muscat. Not shots, upon shots.

Just some thoughts to think about.

Meddle Menu

2012-01-17T00:22:00.000-05:00

And here you have it, the menu, in ingredient form....

Meddle Menu

1. Oyster, salsify, sea beans, oyster leaf, seaweed

2. The chicken or the egg?

3. Goat, baharat, juniper, carrot, dates, goat curds

4. Beet root, malted barley, coffee, dark chocolate, sorrel

Tickets go on sale tomorrow!

2012-01-12T23:50:00.000-05:00

Tickets for Meddle go on sale tomorrow. !!!

Tim has outlined the process on his Tumblr, http://timbereika.tumblr.com/ . Please reference there before purchasing to make it a smooth process with no confusion!

Stay tuned on Monday for the release of the menu !

And so was born: Meddle

2012-01-09T17:00:00.000-05:00

With the strong desire to cook creative food, cook once more with my friend and mentor Chef Tim Bereika from Secco, and the thought of bringing Richmond a popup that was exciting and new, Meddle was born.

We began to throw the idea around quite a few months ago, and solidified both of our desires to see our dream become reality. The difficult part from the beginning was figuring out where to start..where it would be, how we could do it, when, what we would cook, how we would create the menu.

Through back and forth emails, tweets, meetings, Facetimes(21st century cooks!), ongoing google documents, we finally released information and the confirmation of our endeavor.

Thus far it has been an incredible growth and beautiful thing to watch, and the excitement both Tim and myself feel is overwhelming. Perhaps we should film our next creative session-it is truly remarkable our relationship and ping-ing of ideas. The collaboration is brilliant-ideas, techniques, and ingredients that we will display momentous. The realization that it will all be coming to fruition in a few weeks is mind blowing.

And I can't wait to show you all what Tim and I can do in the kitchen.

I hope to see you there!

Meddle

2012-01-06T09:40:00.001-05:00

This should be fun. Be prepared for creative food set in a lovely environment. Tim and I are very excited about this and have been planning for months. Be there on Sunday or Monday, or miss out! Stay tuned to Tim and I's blogs and twitters for more information, and I hope to see you there!

Meddle, a Richmond pop-up restaurant from chef Tim Bereika of Secco and Collin Wagner, runs 2 days only February 19-20, 6:30-9:30PM in the Roosevelt space on 25th Street.

Meddle will be a limited-run, two-day restaurant that will “pop-up” in the Roosevelt while that restaurant is closed on Sunday and Monday night.

* 45 seats are available each night
* Four courses for $65, tax and tip for food included
* Beverages are available a la cart for an additional cost
* Menu available by 1/16
* Tickets can be purchased at Secco Wine Bar
* Seating times are staggered and available by request on a first come, first serve basis
* Cash only
* All ticket sales are final
* Please no special dietary requests.
Follow Tim and Collin on Twitter for updates on the event.

Hope

2011-12-24T13:12:00.000-05:00

I hope that you, too, in these days of the holiday will have your thoughts and prayers with those protecting our daily freedoms abroad. I cannot imagine spending the day apart from family and friends, in a less than ideal "home" in the middle of the dessert. A day marked so much with tradition, family, and friends, my heart goes to those abroad.

Below I have included a video from my brother Nathan's platoon, Cold Steel, that they made to wish their family and friends Happy Holidays from.

Happy Holidays to you, Cold Steel, and thank you for service. Thank you does not do justice to what you all do daily, and I hope to show my admiration and respect for your work in the future.

When I asked my brother today if they will be having any sort of special meal for Christmas, he said yes they will, and he hoped it would be something a bit better than what they normally had.

Thanks for your support,

-Collin

The Process

2011-12-05T23:16:00.000-05:00

Today my writing drifts away from food and into the realm of wine, and the process thereof.

As many of you know, I spent two weeks in the south of France close to Avignon at the end of September and into October working on the harvest team at Domaine Rouge Bleu. A long time dream of my own to work a harvest and learn the process of wine, the importance of terroir, work needed to produce a bottle or vintage of wine, and generally be surrounded by vineyards for a few weeks. With the networking help of Julia Battaglini, my former boss at Secco Wine Bar, and now mentor-friend, and the contact of Nicolas Mestre at Williams Corner wine distributors, my dream was made reality.

I don't know that I could have landed at a better vineyard, with such a hospitable and great group of people. Two weeks of hard work, but an incredible time was had with much learned about wine and the processing required. I hadn't any idea when arriving what to expect. How do we pick the grapes? Are there bad grapes? What does a vine look like? What will they taste like? What happens after picking? Millions of thoughts racing through my brain, I arrived and learned bushels upon bushels of knowledge, furthering my deep passion for fine wine.

The man himself! Picking Lunatique.

Jean-Marc Espinasse, Vigneron of Rouge Bleu, produces wines that are made in the fields and not in the cave. What does that mean? He produces wines with the littlest human interaction possible. No herbicides sprayed in the fields, little to no sulfur in the tanks, and with wild herbs and weeds growing amongst the 80+ year old vines. Perhaps one of the most incredible experiences of the weeks was tasting his top wine, Lunatique 2009, and in the aroma finding layer upon layer of eucalyptus, mint, thyme, and wild arugula. Then whilst picking the 13 rows of vines in the old river bed in one afternoon to produce the whole production of 120 cases of the wine, in the mistral or breeze of the Rhone valley comes distinct aromas identical to that found in the wine earlier the in the week. Time and place, the truest expression of the land, is omnipresent in his wines. Brilliant, remarkable, mind blowing, beautiful.

So picking from the vines, what do we take? Everything. From the snails found on the clusters in Chateaunuef-du-Pape, to the Botrytis-ridden raisins aka gold as Jean Marc calls them. Even the raisins on the ground, and if someone were to miss them and Chief Grape saw, he would become very irritated. The raisins don't bring any juice to the wine, but bring great concentrated sugars and aromas. Not wanted in coop wines, but gold to a small all natural producer. Perhaps what sets him apart? The only grapes that were left behind were the clusters that were reminiscent of vinegar, indicating spoilage(found in tiny minuscule amounts in my experience).

Our best friends for two weeks,
Secatateurs

How do we pick? Simple, really, with our Secateurs, or clippers. Clipping as close to the cluster as possible, and putting into our handy buckets that need to be dumped often to the tractor. With smaller clusters or the Carignan grapes, we could forgo the Secateurs and easily pick with our hands, pulling directly from the vine with little harm to the clusters or vines.

The day is done, the grapes have been picked and transported back to the Cuvée. At the cave, with the help of multiple people, the grapes are gently transported from the trailer to the cement fermentation tank via a rotating screw and hose connecting the trailer to tank. The screw in the bottom of the hopper is powered by the tractor. No de-stemming, no washing, minimal crushing, au natural. Chief Grape believes deeply in the stems providing body and tannins that help the wine age and provide structure at years later. A belief that newer generation Bordeaux wines lack in age-ability due to the de-stemming and desire from producer for their wines to be drinkable at a young age. The cement tanks being also unique, provide pores and a bit more aeration occurring during primary and secondary fermentations. (This process of transferring the grapes is viewable in the below video.)

Before pumping the grapes into the tank, an all-natural "filter" is put just in front of the valve that is used to release the juice from the tanks. What did we use? Rocks, and bundles of asparagus ferns found all around the vineyard.

From that point juice is pumped over the must daily in order to have fermentation happen throughout. The juice is tasted daily, with the *Brix or percent of sugar content in the juice is taken. From the percent sugar of the juice, the likely final alcohol content can be calculated. Primary fermentation before filtering and pressing is decided by taste and *Brix, but normally is between two and three weeks.

The Press

When Mr. Espinasse decides he is happy with primary fermentation, the juice is filtered and immediately pumped into a second tank. Then, the marc, or remaining grape solids are pumped to a press. Not an easy task in the least, with the eventual person being in the fermentation tank shoveling alcohol fuming marc into the pump to be pumped the press. Grape stained clothes, hands, and legs occur here! The press could be described as a cylinder with closing sides on each end, with trough, hose, and pump connecting it to the tank with the already filtered juices. A majority of the tannin, flavor, and colour comes from these pressings. If I am not mistaken, Chief Grape presses the marc twice before refusing of the now dry stems and skins.

Oak Barrels

Depending on the wine, but most likely six more months in the cement fermentation tanks, and the wine is then transferred to oak barrels to undergo six more months of aging and fermentation. A process known as racking is undergone during both transfers, leaving the bottom portion of the tank behind undisturbed as it contains sediment that has dropped off from the liquid over time.

Bottling. Over a year after the grapes have been picked and processed, the now wine is ready to be bottled. Done in one or two days, a sort of mobile bottling truck as I understand comes to the cave, and it is all corked and set on its side. Officially unfiltered, drinking the wine you can expect to find

Storage of unlabeled bottles, Domaine du Banneret,
Chateauneuf-du-Pape

a bit of sediment in the bottom of the bottles. Bottled, but unlabeled, for if it were labeled the taxes are due at that point. Hand labeled as it is sold, and sent to the United States, all across Europe, Australia, and perhaps a future in Japan.

Domaine Rouge Bleu

The first day, tragedy struck.

Full buckets.

80 year old vines.

Fermentation

Hopper with screw

Hatch on cement fermentation tanks.

Old school press used at Domaine du Banneret.

Morning dew covers grapes.

The field of Lunatique, one afternoons work.

On the final day we picked in the morning hours of 6-9,
and that evening from 6-9. Here is the sunrise, with
a beautiful cluster of Grenache.

From vine to bottle, Jean Marc shows ingenuity, passion for natural wines, and the process thereof. I urge you to search out a shop or distributor close to you and drink something that I am certainly proud to have been a part of, and Jean Marc surely is as well. Information on his wines, vineyard, and places to purchase is all located on his website, http://www.rouge-bleu.com/. A perfect wine to pair with your holiday meals, that is for sure!

A Cook's Statement

2011-11-15T20:23:00.002-05:00

I cook for the simple act of making people happy. Indeed I have an insatiable addiction to cooking, kitchens, and delicious products, but no matter the food or circumstance, the daily pursuit towards perfection is in the direction of creating as near a perfect experience for the guest who has put their self in the kitchen's will. There is nothing more rewarding to me than the smile of pleasure or invoked memory that I can produce from food on a plate. No other art can touch a person's soul as deeply as a dish that conjures childhood memories, or a memorable morsel from a meal in the past. That is where from deep inside myself I find the drive and passion to continue pushing myself through the stressful hours of a painful service, and in the early morning hours find myself researching a technique or ingredient. It is through the increasing knowledge and experience gained, while on my free time at home, or in a country abroad, that helps mold an ever evolving-and hopefully increasingly better- experience for whomever is eating my food.

Hospitality

2011-11-07T18:01:00.001-05:00

As I've said before, service in a restaurant can only hope to be equally as good as the hospitality provided by moms around the world on a daily basis.

Marco and Chef-Friend Stanley, in his wine bar, Barcelona

But now I plan to expand this statement, to hospitality provided by people, friends, acquaintances around the world that I have experienced throughout my travels.

The best way to see a new place, to experience the culture, eat the food that the locals are eating, is to have a friend in the location that you are traveling. In no other way can you experience a place as well as if you have someone willing to host and show you around. Luckily enough, with my travels I have mostly had wonderful people willing to give me a small view into their culture, life, and eats.

Tapas, Barcelona

When moments after arriving somewhere and dropping your bags someone is beckoning for you to get ready to go back out, to rent a bike, to go eat, you know you are in for a good time. Renting a bike in Barcelona, having a local show you their hangout spots, where they go, what they do, and when they do it, is a remarkable experience. And the bike tour couldn't be complete without multiple stops for tortilla, a drink, or the main event stop at their favorite tapas bar.

Upon seating at the prime location of the bar, in the to-the-street-bustling restaurant, I left all the ordering to my friend Marco, and the tapas seemed to never stop coming! Gambas, Sollomillo, Queso Fresco, Tortilla Patata, Crema Catalana, Estrella, Patatas Bravas...euphoria......

To getting woken up in the morning in a small German village, with the mention of a classic German breakfast awaiting especially acquired for me: Dark Breads, White Breads, Käse, Leberwürste, Wurste, Sausages, Leberwürste, Leberwürste, did I mention the Leberwürste?

Perhaps the best thing I ate on my three and a half month voyage de Europe...smokey, fatty, unctuous, umami laden, spicy, this pork liver infused spreadable pate smeared generously on some wonderful rye bread, this my dear friends is what dreams are made of. It kept me coming again and again. The day that the opportunity arises to eat that mouth-watering, swine-lovers cured Christmas will be a day that I very much look forward to.

Linsensuppe

Having a stew made specifically by my request prepared by a German grandmother was also a very, very memorable meal. Linsensuppe, or lentil soup with potatoes and spicy German Frankfurters, was an hour event that will be remembered for as long as I can remember.

Kuchen, kuchen, it kept on flowing. Apparently when one celebrates a birthday in Germany it is expected to receive and eat multiple pieces of cake throughout the day. It flows endlessly, all served with copious amounts of coffee. A sugar and caffeine induced celebration is assuredly acquired. Birthday jitters? Or sugar-caffeine IV to the main-vein coma? Gooseberries cake made from berries in the garden, with whipped cream, almond meringue, next up dark chocolate-raspberry and alcohol soaked, there was a rum cake, and an apple cake, and perhaps one might have slipped the memory. Kuchen, would you like more cake? Here, have a piece of this. Coffee? Want a refill? Flowing with no end in sight.

Gooseberry Kuchen, Großmutter

Chateau Rayas 2001

"I have something very special to open tonight." Wait, so the other '89's, 91's, and never-see-again, super obscure, tiny production wines weren't special that you've opened the other nights? To say that the 2001 Reserve Chateau Rayas Chateauneuf-Du-Pape that was opened at the Harvest 2011 Dinner was special would be an understatement. The one bottle that the winemaker would sell to our humble leader after tasting in his cave, and in Jean Marc's "Top 10" wines of his cellar, it was a very special wine indeed. Complex, perfectly balanced, rounded from the age, it was an incredible wine that will never be forgotten.

Macaroons!

A tour of Cannes from a local violinist who I had started talking to a mere week before. But through the kindness of her heart, a mere day before I was leaving the area, she wanted to show me the city she called home. First stop on the tour was her favorite macaroon shoppe, one that will forever live in infamy in my head due to their creation of Foie Gras Macaroons with Apple filling. Out of this world. I have reached the mountain top with that, how can I live on knowing that that is existing and I am not indulging? A tour through the main streets on Cannes, continuing through the old part of the city, through the bustling, fig laden market and the consumption of numerous fresh fruits and indulgences, a dive into the beautiful blue salty sea, an incredible day, all thanks to a warm, hospitable, passionate lady who wanted to show me her culture, what she knew, what she grew up with.

After a morning of picking in Chateauneuf-Du Pape,
a Quiche was prepared

There is no better feeling than having someone say they have a special something prepared for you to eat, an agenda for the day that they are excited about, a person that they insist upon you meeting. Furthermore, the mere arrangements that they have made for you to be able to stay with them. It is a feeling of warmth, one created by hospitality and service for others.

I urge you all to one day travel somewhere and have a local show you around, take you to their favorite places, ask them where they hang out. You won't be disappointed.

The best travel is only achievable with a willingness to let go of all pre-notions and leadership, to place your agenda, meals, with someone who is passionate and excited to show you and let you into their daily lives and culture.

And if I am in the situation to host you, feel free to ask and come on over! I hope I can return the hospitality that has been shown to me throughout the world.

Mid-Harvest dinner, Jean Marc let us each pick
a bottle from his cave, mine, a '91 Margaux

More to come.

Now Playing: Ingrid Michaelson- "You and I"

Is There More to It?

2011-10-21T02:44:00.000-04:00

I began cooking with the intent of becoming successful. Not successful for personal satisfaction, to make those who know me proud, nor money. With the intent and theory that to have the widest impact on the world, to elevate the quality of life for the most souls living about, the easiest route to do so would be to become a big name, using my then fame, success, and resources then to touch the widest audience.

It eats at my soul knowing that some of us daily have the luxury of choosing what we want to eat, sometimes in fancy restaurants, sometimes what to cook that evening, sometimes purchasing a product from a far off land that is luxurious. And knowing that others, many, many others in the world, are wondering where their next meal will come from, what it will be, and some even perishing due to lack of food.

Today, the twenty first century, and many in the world don't even have the means to stay alive. What an incredible, and stunning, extreme difference of societies that coexist.

I love cooking. I love working in restaurants. I love the life that they cultivate. I love cooking incredible food, seeing what can be done with food, using incredible products to create pleasure to a guest by means of food. But at times, during those day in and days out at the restaurant, I question whether there is more, whether I could do more in those hours. Should I wait to see if that success happens, or do I go down a path helping others immediately.

A dilemma to be in, one that will surely affect my future decisions as far as the path of my career goes.

One day, sooner or later, I will help people through food. It's only a matter of when.

What's Next?!

Oh my, how far we've come!

2011-09-25T06:49:00.000-04:00

"belles fringues"

The first day of harvest (Part II) ended with a blast! And a down-on-his-luck Chief Grape drove, with a flat-tire, two hours beneath the darkening, cold sky. The harvesters waited for him, .......

Check out this lovely blog, written by Jean Marc's wife, Kristin, which the latest post details the first hours of the harvest! I find her writing so very elegant, some of the best!

Respect

2011-09-22T07:57:00.000-04:00

When I first arrived at the idea of working on a vineyard for the harvest, one of the main reasons is that I wanted to learn what it takes. The amount of work needed for one bottle of wine, the importance and expression of terroir, how the personality of a winemaker affects the wine.

Respect has become the biggest theme that I have taken out of the first four days here. The thought that we are picking from vines that are 79 years old-nearly four times that life of my own, is mind blowing. The vines that have survived and tended from all those years.

Respect for the natural process that Jean Marc at Rouge Bleu has dedicated his vineyard to. Vines growing amongst meadows. The sometimes rough but unique and personality giving of the rock bed terroir.

Respect for Jean Marc's livelihood. The dedication and work that he puts throughout the year for the two weeks of action in the fall. The counting on the team that he meets a mere day before beginning the two weeks of harvest. My respect for him is so overwhelming, that perhaps out of habit but also for the feeling, I find myself calling him Chef. The respect is garnered by the wonderful product he creates yearly. His rejection to classic means of production, the saying no to pesticides. The kind and caring way he treats his team, the hospitality he and his wife Christie have shown. The fearless and unrelenting leader.

And respect counts. I feel it everyday when I feel tired, feel an ounce of laziness. It motivates you to pick your grapes as fast as possible, being sure not to miss a single one. For the vines are 79 years old, they have survived and been tended to for longer than my lifetime, it is the least I can do to give it my all. Respect keeps you going in times of low, creates a humble and positive work environment.

Full circle, I realize that in the highest points of my kitchen times, respect is there. Respect for the ingredients, as they so much work has been put into them to get into the kitchen. Respect for my peers and for the leader whom I am working for. Through doing the manual labor of picking and tending to the vines here, I will forever be marked with a respect for quality produce and products. The work and time spent for it to get to my use, it deserves the best. In the kitchens where my mood was low, respect was absent.

My time thus far working on the vineyard has truly been magnificent. I have seen so much, developed respect, tasted so many wondeful things. I can't wait to post pictures and update you all on more! Internet is limited here, and we are very busy! But more posts and pictures to come soon!

København

2011-09-15T07:23:00.000-04:00

The fastest, most efficient, best cook I have ever had the chance to work with..Leonardo, from Portugal. Coolest guy ever. I aspire to be as good as he is one day.

In Germany right now! Spent a few days in Berlin. I am loving it here. On Saturday I will fly back to Nice, and Sunday I will take the train to Avignon to begin work at the vineyard!

Hopefully I will find sometime in the next days to write about Copenhagen and Germany. Leberwürst is very very delicious for breakfast!

Talk soon!

One Chapter Closes, the Next Begins

2011-09-01T08:30:00.000-04:00

Thursday, September 1st. Fall is in the air here in Cabris, France, my last full day here! Last night was my last service at the restaurant, I am officially finished! A sometimes seemingly long stint, it flew by, the two and a half months working here.

Garde Mange view

Not the most enjoyable kitchen experience I have had, but still one that I learned from and am a better cook and person because of! Onto the next.

I am happy to say that I have an incredible month ahead! Tomorrow I will take the train to Nice, where I will meet up with a friend (who has been my neighbor for all my life), who happens to be studying in Genoa Italy for the semester. Nice is nearly the halfway point between Genoa and Cabris, and he happened to plan a trip to Nice the same weekend I was going to be available! Should be a wonderful weekend spent on the sea adjacent to city.

Monday I will fly to Copenhagen, where I will remain for a week. Another week at noma! I am beyond giddy with excitement to return, so curious
to see what has changed in the past 5 months, see the different seasons menu, cook alongside the greatest team I have had the chance to work with, see the impeccable products once more, feel the energy of the "Best Restaurant" in the world once more! Stoked!

The following Tuesday I will fly to Berlin, spend a two or so days there, and then take the train to a small city where I have a friend from traveling a few years ago. I will be in Germany for five or six days, and then fly from Berlin to Nice.

From Nice I will take a train to the city of Avignon, just north of Marseille, on the 18th I am scheduled to report in the train station to be picked up and begin the work on the vineyard! I will be working for two week close to Avignon, for the crush of the grapes, learning the process, seeing the importance of terroir, learning what it takes to make a bottle of wine! A long time dream of mine, one of the goals of my life, to work on a vineyard. And its coming true! So curious and excited about those two weeks. Here is a link to the vineyard, http://www.rouge-bleu.com/, a small all natural vineyard producing a few different wines, all incredibly unique and top quality! Sold at Secco Wine Bar and River City Cellars(alma mater!), in Richmond!

I finish at the vineyard on the 3rd, and am planning on flying out of Barcelona back to the U.S. Expecting to return around the 5th or so, we will see!

Excited for what should be an educational, cultural, and fun filled month ahead. Hope to provide you all with pictures and stories from the sites I see!

Talk soon

The moments

2011-08-28T18:35:00.000-04:00

The tapas in Spain. Perhaps the most perfect time and place meal that I have had in my lifetime.

Riding a bike next to the beaches of Mallorca with bleu waters, with the city of Palma on the opposite side, and mountains in view.

Feeling the sense of camaraderie, of personal happiness, and well being, that those in Spain feel on a daily basis.

Watching a Spaniard teach me how to make the perfect Tortilla Espanol, with no communication, as I speak no Spanish and he no English. The emotion and love put into the simple dish of Eggs, Potatoes, and Olive oil.

Braving the ruthless winter winds and snows everyday in the trek to and forth, the best restaurant in the world. Noma.

Eating a Smorrebrød with my brother in Denmark.

Spending a weeks time in perhaps the most sought after kitchen in the world, the one who is most looked upon next as to whats the food trend. The boat at Noma, ie the development and test kitchen of the World's Best Restaurant.

With no more than $100 dollars for the week, eating some of the best tasting and exciting food of my life, in Istanbul.

A weeks time in Istanbul with no one but myself, and being entertained, curious, and excited, seeing the busiest city of my life.

Drinking wine in France.

Eating nothing more than Baguette, Cheese, Grapes, and Figs for lunch.

Experiencing a true French kitchen, with guidelines and attitudes as one might expect coming into France.

Although I sometimes might seem to not enjoying myself, one must always look at the big picture, more than the moments or days that aren't the most joyful.

The moments, tastes, and lessons I have learned learned thus far on my travels have been beyond my wildest dreams. The highest highs and the lowest lows, the most excited flavors and the most disappointing dishes.

But one always learns from every moment, takes something from it. Becomes faster and better at a task, learns a new flavor or combination, learns a new culture or a few words in a new language.

And I can't wait to see what's next.

Three days and four services left here in Cabris. A quite exciting month ahead it seems.

A longer post to come, thank you all for the support. I can't wait to update you.

Sincerely,

Collin

Questions and Answers..

2011-08-17T18:48:00.000-04:00

Catching Up with the Travelling Cook: Collin Wagner

Photo Credit- Chris Ford

If you don’t know Collin, he has made the most of his post high days by traveling the world, gaining interesting experiences in different locations with the hopes of someday becoming a head chef somewhere. Collin is currently in France and he was kind enough to answer these few questions with me.....

http://www.themarinara.com/2011/08/17/collin_wagner/

Thanks Matt for the questions, made me laugh.

Press

2011-08-06T18:49:00.000-04:00

Recently, the restaurant here in Cabris was featured in the local (with a very high percentage of circulation) newspaper, called the Nice-Matin.

I haven't been able to find the article on the newspaper's website, but here is a picture of the article and photo of the staff.

-Wearer of blue aprons.

"According to French culinary tradition, white aprons are reserved for those who have ascended to the level of chef, having completed a journey that began as an apprentice wearing a blue apron. But within the kitchen of any Thomas Keller restaurant, everyone from the commis to the chef de cuisine, wears a blue apron during the hours prior to service, changing into white only once service begins.

While respect for tradition is a common thread among the kitchen staff, what's just as important is the desire to constantly learn. Everything can always be done a little better. Everyone can always learn something new. It's that constant exploration that allows the experience to continually evolve. Assuming an apprentice's mindset for a little bit each day is a reminder of that." -The French Laundry

An Era Ends

2011-07-30T18:28:00.000-04:00

This evening, Saturday, July 30, 2011, comes the final service, the final dishes served, in what is the current and known identity of El Bulli in Roses, Spain. Ranked the number one restaurant in the world for five years, El Bulli changed the dining landscape of the world, whether you know of the restaurant and or not.

Ferran Adria, the driving force and Chef behind the restaurant, came to the restaurant in 1984, taking charge of the kitchen in 1987. He did not however gain popularity until the late 1990's and early 2000. Known for foams and transformations of food, Ferran is noted on starting the now popular food movement coined "Molecular Gastronomy," a term that Ferran objects to.

Without a doubt in my mind, Ferran is the single most important Chef in the history of cooking. Sure Escoffier, Keller, others are very important. But who else in the industry has made such dramatic changes to the landscape? Who else has questioned the limits of food, and pushed things year in and year out, to higher limits. Who else has made as huge of an impact on the industry?

During Junior year of High School, is when the passion and throbbing heartache of day in and day out thoughts of cooking and restaurants began. I was taking culinary classes at the local technical center, working dinner services at The Can Can Brasserie in downtown Richmond, and when the day was over at nearly 11 or 12 at night I would jump on the internet and research various foods, techniques, chefs, or anything that my education or time in the restaurant had me note to research later and learn about. During this time period is when I first learned about El Buli, from San Pellgrinio's Best Restaurant's list. When I first began reading about the restaurant, and seeing pictures of the food, I was in a euphoric state. Here I was in Richmond, Virginia, seeing what I thought was THE food industry, classic French cuisine, classic techniques, and I see pictures of a Spanish chef flipping everything on it's head.

Foams as sauces? Hot gelees? Caviar pearls of apple? A green pea ravioli, encased in itself? How is this food possible? And how haven't I seen any of it? This Chef, was taking any rules and throwing them away, asking why is this always used in this way? How can we best show this ingredient. I was truly inspired. Beyond inspired, ecstatic, I couldn't sleep.

Amongst my never-ending searches and views of any information I could find, I stumbled upon Anthony Bourdain's 2001 film "Decoding Ferran Adria." A film that forever changed me.

Certainly watched over 50 times, perhaps 100 times, the one hour, now outdated, special by Anthony Bourdain, was one of the most important pieces of my beginnings. It showed me that beyond the limits of Richmond chefs were using their creativity, questioning everything they had once learned, working in a collaboration instead of the classic hierarchy system.

The film and everything and anything I could find on the restaurant, fueled my desire to see more, learn more, and question what the possibilities of food could be.

Having never made it to the restaurant, it will forever haunt me that I never got to experience the most important restaurant in history. Ferran plans to re-open in 2014 with the space being a some what altered state, currently called the El Bulli Foundacion, it is said it will be a creativity center.

This coming Monday, August 1st, Anthony Bourdain is releasing a second episode centered around El Bulli, this time a "Last Meal." You should watch it, without a doubt it will be a historic and monumental video. And one that will be close to my heart.

Thanks Ferran and all those who have worked at El Bulli, you forever changed the landscape of dining, and inspired many without even knowing.

The beginnings of a cook, the beginnings of passion and hospitality,

2011-07-12T18:32:00.000-04:00

For a love, passion, and desire for good food and cooking, began long ago, the days when I was young and an active soccer player. This I realized today during staff meal, after recreating one of my mother's classic dishes, named Chicken and Rice. Really, it is that simple, chicken with a mixed medley of vegetables, plethora of white rice, and topped with cheddar cheese and bread crumbs.

When confronted with the task of creating this evenings family meal at the restaurant, on hand we had guinea fowl, already cooked farro, mixed vegetables. And thus came forth in my head an European version of my mom's classic dish. In place of rice farro, instead of cheddar parmesan, holding steady for the chicken was guinea fowl. I told the story when presenting the food, making it more than food to those being served. Heart was in the food, a story, history.

The team loved it, and it even brought me back to the meals from my home. Although Chicken and Rice was never a favorite or requested from me, it is my sister Morgann's favorite, and a very memorable one of my own. With four kids to take around to the various soccer fields, volleyball courts, and other events, the food my mom prepared was simple, quick, usually all in one, and healthy. But always delicious and home-y.

This hospitality, simplicity, was the foundation of where my love of good food and cooking came from I have come to realize. This thought now makes me giddy inside due to nostalgia: during the fall, a full day of school, soccer practice for school immediately following, and then a mere hour or so after that one finished, another soccer practice to attend. And finally, after the full day of non stop activity, I would return home, and a meal to be eaten with the family or ready to be eaten solo, was there, the smells permeating all the way to the street. Always hungry, and ready for a warm meal after the day, it was at that point of the day that I was most appeased, and happy. That state of content was exasperated in the fall, with the cooler temperatures outside, warm inside, and my favorite foods abounding. Baked potatoes, sweet potatoes, and pastas with vegetables were some of the more memorable.

The sense of content, of how much joy that evening meal was after the long days, the hospitality, is where it all began.

Thanks, and love, family.

At a loss..

2011-07-11T18:33:00.002-04:00

View from Cabris...

As to what a new post should be....don't want to do an old update of the happenings day and day out here, as it is a bit repetitive... imagination and creativity have been flowing the last two days, however.

The past two days have been the best here thus far..

Some pictures to sustain all hundreds of my dedicated and passionate readers...

Violet Macaroon in Grasse..

Lavender; everywhere..

wild fennel grows..

markets in Cabris..

Kitchen.

Now Listening: Rhianna-Man Down

Quotes, To Live By

2011-06-28T07:13:00.000-04:00

Some of my favorite quotes;

"When you acknowledge, as you must, that there is no such thing as perfect food, only the idea of it, then the real purpose of striving toward perfection becomes clear: to make people happy, that is what cooking is all about." -Thomas Keller

"..Firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character than giving our all to a difficult task." -Barack Obama

“You can’t let a little press delude you into thinking you’re great. I like to stay downstairs, thinking I suck and pushing myself so I get better and better. If you believe your press, your learning curve stops.” -Dale Reitzer

"Flavor is memory"-Ferran Adria

"Live Passionately" -State of Virginia

"Butter, Love, and Hardwork"-Chris Ford

"Simplicity is complexity revisited."-Rj Cooper III

"I love you"-Family and Friends

A post from France, pictures, and video tour of the village to come soon. Thanks for reading.

-COLLIN

On Hors d'œuvre

2011-06-19T20:40:00.000-04:00

Time after time I find hor d'œuvre at any type of function to be lackluster at best. With hot dishes being passed and becoming cold after time, uninspired flavors, same items time and time again, and lacking in execution, I set out to become creative and try some new things.

"Chips and Salsa"-Corn Tortillas stamped and baked in muffin tins to create a bowl, filled with a beautiful Pico de Gallo, topped with tomato water foam.

"Shrimp Cocktail"-Pickled horseradish strips wrapped around broiled shrimp, nestled in a hollowed cherry tomato. One bite with no sauce to dip into, but flavors the same as Shrimp cocktail.

"Macaroni and Cheese"-A personal favorite dish of mine, in its modern form especially exciting me. Toasted bread crumb Cappelletti, Chedder and bacon mornay sauce, bacon bits, and fresh herbs. One bite, an explosion of bacon cheese sauce in the mouth.

Tortilla Espanol-Having cooked in Spain, this dish is close to me. Egg, potato, and yellow onion cake stamped into one bite circles, with a beautiful paprika aioli on top.

Vietnamese Spring Rolls-With Vietnam being my most desired travel destination, and Vietnamese cuisine being my favorite, this was an ode to the country and cuisine. Delicious and fresh. Rice paper, Vermicelli noodles, five spice marinated hanger steak(I know, not Vietnamese), pickled varieties of radish and cucumber, basil and cilantro.

Pork Tenderloin-Marinated in fall spices, red wine, whiskey, grilled, and served on crostini with my own apple butter. Out of season, but wonderful all the same.

PB&J Lollipop-Having eaten peanut butter and jelly every day in high school, and loving every single one, the flavors make sense and continually make me happy. Virginia peanut parfait, poached peeled noir grapes, stuck on a lollipop stick, dipped in mint scented and sweetened lamb fat, and rolled in chopped Virginia peanuts. Incredible.

Dill pound Cake-Inspired by Nordic flavors and mentor and friend Pastry Chef Chris Ford's Basil Pound Cake. Dill pound cake with a beautiful Cucumber foam.

Everything came out moderately well, execution could be enhanced and perfected, but proud nonetheless.

And as a matter of house keeping and keeping all five of my readers informed, I will be heading to Cabris, France, just north of Cannes on Tuesday the 21st. I will be cooking at a five room hotel, L'Auberge du Vieux Château, for the summer. Following my stint working, I hope to transfer to a vineyard in France or Italy for the crush, and learn the process of wine and importance of terroir through the fall season. I couldn't be more excited-or surprised, having just confirmed all the details a mere two weeks ago. Wish me luck, and see you soon! ~~Spain~~, ~~Denmark~~, and now France! My crazy dream from the high school years of traveling the world by cooking, has somehow become reality! More blog posts from France to come.

A foraged dessert

2011-05-27T17:10:00.000-04:00

Inspired by the season, and the wild things shooting about, I created a dessert using Wild Strawberries, Honeysuckle, and Wood Sorrel.

The concept came naturally, I have pondered for the last months about the use of Honeysuckle, why wasn't any kitchen using it, why not in their repertoire. For me, the blossom is quite nostalgic, bringing back memories as a little boy frolicking in fields, inundated by the fragrance from across the way, or whilst driving down a country road. Always plucking them from the bushes, only the golden, and stripping the stamen through the core to reveal the tiniest but most potent droplet of honey and floral like nectar. Beautiful.

And so they are in season, and I went about picking. With plans on making jams, teas, ice creams and sorbets out of them, I began noticing what was also out at the time, and what was living amongst the bushes.

First came the Wild Strawberries, mild in flavor, wonderful in mouth appeal, and growing everywhere. So I began picking them. Another ingredient I have seen used very sparingly.

Amongst the Wild Strawberries came Wood Sorrel. Tart, a bit astringent, but with nice flavor.

The plate was born. I would compress the Wild Strawberries with a Honeysuckle syrup reduction, creating a more dense berry, with a bit more flavor. I created a strawberry jam, cooking the berries down with honey and a bit of sugar, water.

I made a beautiful and equally delicious sauce out of Wood Sorrel, and steeped cream with Honeysuckles to create a delicate ice cream.

The dessert came out, although execution could be amended a bit, otherwise the components and flavors are there. Not too sweet, but refreshing, natural, and memory transporting, something only the best food does.

Push the boundaries, what can't be used in pastry, and why can't one work on either side? Just need to work on creating perfect textured ice creams and sorbets, and quenelling :)

New York City, Life

2011-05-07T14:44:00.001-04:00

When a stagiare friend from Noma, coming out of DC (the only other East Coast acquaintance made?!) Johnny Spero, told me of the pop-up restaurant that Chef Rj Cooper and the team of the upcoming DC restaurant Rogue 24 would be doing, I instantly wanted to be involved.

A pop-up, the hyped culinary phenomena at the moment, is a temporary restaurant in any space imaginable, be it an old restaurant space is this was the case, or on a subway train. (seriously)

Not only a dream to work at a pop-up, but for heaven's sake NYC. The culinary capital of the world. Keller, Chang, Boulod, Liebrandt, Humm, the list could continue on forever. It is no exaggeration to say that if you can work and keep up with the New York kitchens and dining scene, you can work anywhere.

So a two week stint to taste the foundations of New York was a perfect step in. What an experience it was....a journey through the valleys and the mountains. The food was incredible, the team unrelenting, the acquaintances and press met astonishing, and memories never to be forgotten.

More detailed post to come..perhaps.

Enjoy the pictures shot by Chris Ford, over at http://butterloveandhardwork.typepad.com/ check it out, his blog is much more beautiful than mine.

Apparently I am a hand model now..

After a 5 hour layover in Dulles from Denmark, with no phone service, 6$ to my name, and no internet, this is the creative session that came from it. Don't steal my ideas! :)

PS: Did I mention I ate at Per Se?

Not a long one...

2011-02-21T20:26:00.000-05:00

But a blog post nonetheless !

Had a nice weekend, my brother came to København for the days! He arrived Saturday morning, and I was hoping and trying to get him a reservation to eat at the restaurant. But due to no cancellations, he didn't get to eat at the restaurant-per se. Everyday at five we break for staff meal for 35 minutes, so he came and had staff dinner with us then! But before dinner I gave him a nice tour of the restaurant, and introduced him to many of the people! Was very nice!

Sunday we headed out early afternoon for a walking tour of the city, including seeing two of the palaces, the royal gardens, the original Carlsberg brewery and the current Jacobsen brewery! Nice place to visit, with a great area setup to look around and visit. Carlsberg as it turns out is very important to the city of København, and the history. The famous "Little Mermaid" in København? Purchased and donated to the city from Carl Jacobsen, son of the founder of Carlsberg. One of the highlights was a room explaining taste and the five senses and how they affect eating and drinking, and then a station set up with the 12 aromas found in the beers they produce, separated and able to be inhaled at once. Interesting! Also incredibly cool, "Bar Jacobsen" a cool, modern, sleek, bar located literally above and a glass wall away from the whole Jacobsen production for Carlsberg. Jacobsen is their craft and premium beer they produced, brewed only at that location. At the bar, they served Jacobsen beers, brewed mere meters away from where we sat.

Later we went to my favorite Vietnamese restaurant to meet up with a few other people from Noma, whom we spent the night around and about town with.

I spent my last week on snacks this week, as unexpectedly, I will be on "The Boat" next week! The boat is the location of Noma's research and development kitchen, with three chef's jobs dedicated to solely developing new dishes and researching techniques and ingredients. Located merely in front of the restaurant, docked in the canal with a view of the restaurant. This is where currently Chef Rene is spending most of his time. One stagiare at a time is allocated to the boat!

Anxious, nervous, proud, and excited I am! This is a cooks dream! The place of all (some) new happenings in the current culinary world, what the whole scene is talking about! Incredible!! Only El Bulli's El Taller compares! Perhaps the biggest and most important opportunity of my whole career! The dishes and sights I will see could be the next thing of the year! This is the birthplace of the dishes that launched the restaurant to number one in the world! Huge experience, and I begin in the morning! I hope I will gain much insight as to the creation and development of dishes, flavors, and foods, and what it takes!

Should be a very lovely week (a bit earlier hours, also?)! More coming very soon, stay tuned! Have a nice (warm) week! Two weeks remaining here!

Stay tuned for more information!

Collin

Addiction

2011-02-14T15:16:00.000-05:00

There is something addicting about working an intense service at a restaurant. The pre-game of checking everything over, the routine of tasks needing to be done to be prepared. The look at the reservations, notes on any VIPS, special customers, dietary restrictions.

Go time. Checks start coming in. Before you know it you are no longer joking around with your colleagues but working alongside, heads down, making sure that one herb is standing perfectly, that everything is in line, finishing seasoning that plate. More and more comes in, you keep pushing. Sometimes, unluckily, a stutter occurs. A server took that plate to a wrong table. Or this table has a nut allergy, as discussed before service, but you forgot to make that special. And because of those moments of stutter, or maybe due to the mind, the rest of the service just isn't as smooth, paced. But you keep pushing.

Or sometimes you can run a perfect service. Happy with all of the plates, the way the sauce is falling. A perfect pace, one that keeps your working and focused throughout, busy enough to keep you going but not overwhelming. The energy acquired from a well working kitchen with equally passionate colleagues during its height at night is astonishing. The air feels like gold, the energy overwhelming. Your feet and hands move faster than ever before, standing those 25 pieces of micro cress up on the chestnut domino like dish in a mere minute and a half, a feat you could never conceive.

And then there's the post service, often with high fives and smiles all around. You did it again. Even with the stutter and maybe the collapse during service, most of the time the mood is quite upbeat. You clean the station, and then begin more mise en place for the next day, the prep list, and ordering.

Before you know it you are unbuttoning your jacket, walking home in the utter cold, thinking about the day, what could be done better, quicker, more efficiently. Thinking about what went wrong, and why, or how well the day went. Often thoughts about how tired or hungry you may be find their way to the head also. But mostly thoughts of the day are running through the head on the now appreciated culmination of the day walk through København south en route to home.

Its addicting, the lifestyle, however intense it may be. There is something about working with such intensity day in and out, working the services and seeing happy faces in the dining rooms. The drive and dedication it takes, the friendships made, the touching of wonderful ingredients and produce, producing things that taste wonderful. I thought about these thoughts quite randomly yesterday, after waking up from sleeping nearly all day(until 8PM). I woke up, and thought about the tiring week, but was energized by the thought of the restaurant, and my heart warmed to the thought of cooking.

Hope the above thoughts weren't weird, just started writing! Here onto other thoughts

The past two weeks I have been in Toast University 101. The station that is responsible for the first 8 bites of the meal, labeled snacks. :

Moss and cep
Seabuck thorn leather and pickled rose hips
Cookie with lardo and currant
Fried leek and garlic
Rye bread, chicken skin, lovage, and smoked cheese
Pickled and smoked quails egg
Radish, turnip and carrot, soil and herbs
Toast, herbs, smoked cod roe and vinegar

The final snack, a crisp, wavy, toast made from a simple bread, dotted lavishly with a smoked cod roe emulsion, covered "forest-like" with a multifarious array of herbs including but not limited to: sorrel, lemon verbena and balm, chickweed, water cress, carrot tops, chervil, and dill, finished with shaken vinegar powder and a crisp duck "skin", made from the film that forms on top of duck stock.

The picture may or may not do justice, but each one of these can take up to four minutes time, depending on the herbs and skill of producer. This combined with the attention this one snack gets on its perfection from both chef de parties and expediters, about the mere length, amount of dots, size of herbs, and placement on plate, it becomes a real time consumer. During services, there are two full time cooks doing this all service long, with more hands coming in when needed. I got a "Herb toasts look good today" from Rene himself!

Snacks is a fun station to work, you are a part of service everyday, and there is always something to do. This week was beyond intense, as Rene was back for the first time in the new year. The mood was much more concentrated, serious, extreme. It was beyond stressful walking toasts up with the man of the restaurant there at the past, look with eagle eyes at his creation that you just created with the guidance from his workers. Interesting guy, perhaps I will tell more about him at a later date.

This coming week I will be plating:

Seabuckthorn leathers with pickled in-season rose petals from the coast,

Radishes, Carrots, and Turnips in a pot, with foamed herb emulsion and malt "soil"

And many of the other snacks, here and there.

The past weeks have been nice, the weather the past week was creeping on warm, with the sun out on most days! Nice! But this weekend coming into this week it is cold, and suppose to stay cold, with snow forecasted (for the first time in two weeks?) on Wednesday.

On Sunday, a large group, American and not, went to a local pub and watched the superbowl! Was a nice experience, many in the group had never seen a game before, didn't know the rules, etc. The place was packed, as were many of the other places with tv's around town. Many Americans were out, didn't know so many were in København! Also during the evening, my birthday hit!...

Monday was my birthday, which turned out to be a bit nicer than I had anticipated! Woke up late and relaxed, then made dinner for and with my roommates (French student and Ivorian mom). Got a present, to-go coffee mug! Had a cake, ate a nice large salad, Aglio olio e Pepperoncino, a beef and rice dish, grapes, and participated in "hygge" ! As defined by wikipedia: "One of the fundamental aspects of Danish culture is "hygge", which, although translated as "coziness" is more akin to "tranquility". Hygge is a complete absence of anything annoying, irritating, or emotionally overwhelming, and the presence of and pleasure from comforting, gentle, and soothing things. Hygge is often associated with family and close friends. Christmas time when loved ones sit close together with candles lit on a cold rainy night is "hygge", as is grilling a pølse (Danish sausage) on a long summer evening. These examples, although they do not precisely define "hygge", can give an English speaker an idea of a deeply valued traditional concept of Danish culture.[4]"

Was nice, sitting, talking for a long while around the table during and after a nice meal. Thank you everyone from the US who remembered and wished me a happy birthday! I expect presents and celebrations when I return! 20, not a good age, just doesn't sound as good as 19 and in Denmark cooking. 20 puts me with the rest, I have to act civilized now! ah!

I have found a few places that I really enjoy, including a nice vietnamese restaurant. Hip place, delicious food, and good for Copenhagen standerds service. (The service here is really, really horrible. Incredible that they are allowed to get by with it, really.)

Hit and reckoning with the one month homesickness, I miss all of my family and friends! No relationship can equate to those developed in Midlothian and Richmond.

Starting to hit anxiety about what is next, after Noma. May have an in with an incredible restaurant in Australia, but don't know yet. Had a talk with a few people at Noma on Saturday evening about being an American and trying to work in Europe, seems from their perspective harder than I had thought. We will see.

My best friend from the street I grew up on and lived at for my whole life, Emma is coming to Copenhagen on my last day of work for a week! She will try to eat at the restaurant, and we are planning what else to do whilst she is here! So utterly exciting, can't believe she is coming!

More than a month has already flown by here, quite incredible really how it is flying by. One month remaining! I will hope to blog more in the coming weeks, for sure.

Also, more pictures should be posted in the future, as my wonderful aunt from Washington has a camera En route for me! Incredible! I am in debt to you !

Thanks for reading, talk soon!

Noma Life

2011-01-17T16:14:00.000-05:00

I sent my cover letter and resume to eleven restaurants. Eleven. Ten of them are scattered across Europe: Czech Republic, Brittany France, Sweden, Italy. And the only one I heard from, maybe the most sought after for a position in the kitchen, Noma, in København, Denmark. Unbelievable.

So here I am, a short time ago (Saturday) finishing my second week at the restaurant where I will reside at until March 5th. Never in my career did I think I would arrive at one of the top restaurants in the world so early. I can recall quite vividly my discovery of "The List" of best restaurants, a night during high school, after a long day of school and then working at the Can Can brasserie. I don't recall why I was searching, or if I just stumbled upon it. But I found the list, and it had my heart racing from the start. I began going to the restaurants websites, watching videos, and seeing things that blew my mind and that I had no idea about. At the time I was at the Chesterfield Technical center learning basic cooking skills, working at a French Brasserie in Richmond, Virginia. A secluded and...poor cuisine world(mostly). I believe I got very little sleep that week, because each day I would return home with time for myself around 11:30, after a full day of school and work and begin again reading and watching and looking at all of these places doing miraculous things with food. I set as a dream for myself to one day step foot in, if not to eat then to cook at one of the restaurants. Thinking it was very far off, after I had spent many years in kitchens and slowly building up my skills, I still have this dream. And now I am for two months in one of those restaurants, surreal. A young 19 year old boy, with 3 years under his belt, no formal education, from Richmond Virginiawhere?! is that?, who spent two months in a former Michelin starred restaurant, walking in every morning with cooks much older from around the worlds top restaurants, and working alongside. Luck? Skill? Fate? Who knows.

For those unaware, Noma is the restaurant ranked #1 in the world by Restaurant Magazine's 2010 list published every April. Located in Old Town København, Denmark, along side a canal that makes up Christianshavn, or the old part of town, mere steps away from the palace. Started by a young Danish Macedonian, Chef Rene Redzepi, only 8 years ago, and the restaurant has quickly risen to the top in the world. Known for due to their usage of pure Nordic ingredients, inspirations, and techniques. During the warmer seasons, the kitchen team is also known for their usage of local herbs, greens, and vegetables, foraged by kitchen staff and other local personnel.

My position at the restaurant is a stagiare, a common position created amongst the larger restaurants in the world. I come for a set period of time, work for free(sometimes living and expenses are provided), and then leave(or maybe get offered a job?!). It is a bit crazy, this system the restaurants have created, as in any other industry I don't think free labor still exists. But seeing as I did not go to school, I see it as my expense for that. Much better in that case, as I am seeing the world and cooking! Noma's kitchens work on a loose 8:30-11:30 schedule. Some days earlier, some days later. Therefore, I am working at least 15 hours a day, sometimes more, with Sundays and Mondays off. In 3 days I am working over the "overtime" for the U.S. You've got to be loving your job to do this! With a 30 minute walk to work, it leaves little time in the day for anything else.

This past week, there were around 25 other stagiares in the kitchen, along with the 14 paid kitchen staff. Funny thinking of those numbers, and then thinking about the 40 available seats for lunch and dinner daily at the restaurant! It is truly incredible the amount of work that goes into the mere prep of a dish at this restaurant, the amount of man hours taken to create the food. Without the stagiares, all of the hands, the restaurant wouldn't be able to do what they do. Some of the more almost humorous kitchen projects include: picking chervil leaves off of the stem to get around a 1 inch miniature leafless "tree" for a garnish on the Pickled Vegetables and Smoked Bone Marrow dish(300 a day), peeling raw chestnuts first of their husks and then peeling the skin off, and maybe the worst, picking veal strands off of the cooked veal for each single string.

But I have really enjoyed my time thus far at the restaurant. The first week I worked hard and quickly, almost "proving" myself that I not only wanted to learn but that I was capable of doing other jobs. Maybe due to my youngness, I somehow emerged out of the endless projects that the kitchen had to offer and now do somethings that seem to be out of the stagiares normal realm. I am questioning it all, at the moment however, after hearing the others credentials. Certainly they are far better cooks than I, perhaps it's just my energy to keep on pushing. I have even begun to work dinner services, dressing plates, and even running food to tables(even when the queen was present!). The kitchen is divided into five? sections, and currently I am working on the section that is responsible for appetizers. The restaurant serves a seven and twelve course menu, so for the sevens course maybe three or four courses come from our section, and the twelve course maybe quite a few more. Depends on the menu for the day. Including the courses on the menu, there are quite a few other "courses" that get sent to the table, including snacks which is 6 or more it seems.

Cold section seems to have been a great starting section. Next week, I will most likely get moved to another. The Chef de Parties, or paid positions on the station are Trevor(head) from England?, Oliver from England, and now friend Leo from Ireland and Portugal. Leo has almost taken me in, and because of that I have gotten to do and see many more things. Not only has he become a great friend but also a great mentor. Also on the section are more stagiares, including now from the beginning Henrike, a Swede. Henrike travels daily from Sweden, a in total two hour commute one way. I feel horrible for the guy, thinking about how much time he is left with in his day. By the end of the week, he is often looking very tired and downtrodden. But he is very funny and like minded, there are a few mostly stagiares who feel the need to talk, the entire day. It is often very nice to work and have silence, and the certain people break that quickness and peacefulness so often with jabber about what restaurants they have cooked at or this that the other.

Everyday we eat dinner at 5:00, and during the work week other than early morning and late night snacks that is my only meal. Usually it is quite good, an Irish cook's daily task is to make dinner. On Saturday he did an American meal: Barbecue with Macaroni and Cheese, and Coleslaw!

Currently Chef and face of the restaurant, Chef Rene Redzepi, is on vacation for the month in Mexico. It is his first restaurant since the restaurant opened. It will be very weird and interesting to see how the dynamics will change once he returns. The past few weeks, it is often talked about keeping the energy of the restaurant up in the dining room, as he is not in the kitchen and guests are traveling quite a ways to eat there. Although the food is no less of quality I am certain, the energy level is most likely lower without his presence. I have heard some stories and things about him from some in the restaurant, I will be interested to meet him!

The restaurant is situated in the corner bottom floor of a very large building, "Nordatlantens Brygge House" which is an old warehouse building that use to be the departing and arriving building for boats headed to Iceland, Norway, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands. Because of this, the restaurant houses now the Faroe Island and Icelandic Embassies, a museum, and a few other offices pertaining to the cultures. That is why when Noma was created, it must only have been a Nordic cuisine restaurant. With mostly all of the original interior, panelings and floors, it is a very unique space. From the upstairs prep kitchen windows, the Palace, Canal, and Opera house are all visible.

My living situation has been quite perfect thus far, and the cheapest I have heard from all the other stagiares situations. I am living in a room I found from CouchSurfing, with an Ivorian mother and a Brazilian student. Just a small room, bed, desk, and couch. But who really needs luxury when you are working all day? The Ivorian in the begininning week was very helpful in helping me learn about the city, where to go, etc.

I had a classic Danish lunch last week, at Restaurant Schønnemans. Pickled Herring, Lamb Meatballs, Aquavit, and Rye Brød med Lard and Butter. Delicious. Last weekend I also found per the sommelier of Noma's suggestion, a good local wine bar. The owner was very welcoming and interesting to talk to. Currently I ride on a train in return to København, I spent the weekend in Goteborg with friends Simon, Robert, Jonathan, and Jonathan's girlfriend. Last night Simon and I had a chill night, (Simon is quite the cook!) and today we toured Goteborg, had meatballs, and many laughs. Was quite nostalgic returning to the first city I visited in Europe. The trip was short, I hope to return again atleast once during my time in København.

Although I won't necessarily learn to "cook" on this journey, I believe my time spent at this restaurant should have a huge impact on my career. I hope to take from it the philosophy of the restaurant, the style, thought process, and seasonality of one of the best restaurants in the world. Soon to become habit surely will be the ways of working in a kitchen. A kitchen whom accepts nothing less than 100%, cleanliness, perfection, finesse, quickly and efficiency. These are things that I can surely take along. The time spent at a known restaurant will surely also open new doors never imagined for the future.

The current menu at the restaurant is as follows:

12 Course

Snacks

Moss and cep

Seabuck thorn leather and pickled rose hips

Cookie with lardo and currant

Fried leek and garlic

Rye bread, chicken skin, lovage, and smoked cheese

Pickled and smoked quails egg

Radish, turnip and carrot, soil and herbs

Toast, herbs, smoked cod roe and vinegar

Leek and seaweed

Dried scallops and grain, squid ink and rucola

Langoustine and sol, parsley and seaweed

Oyster and the ocean

Cauliflower and pine

Celeriac and black truffle, garden sorrel

Turbot and unripe elderberries, stems and cabbage

Pickled vegetables and bone marrow

Wild duck and apple, malt and browned butter

Dessert

Pear tree

Snowman

Øllebrød and skyr

This post has been a long time coming. I apologize for the delay, I hope to get one written every weekend. We will see how that goes! Thanks everyone for the support. Thank you again everyone at Secco for a great last night, I will never forget my time spent with you all. I hope to return! Thanks especially to Julia and Tim for your wealth of knowledge, guidance, and support. Thanks to my friends for the great going away before leaving! I miss you all. Thanks family for a wonderful Christmas and holidays spent together.

Unfortunately at the moment I am camera-less, and phone-to-computer cordless, so I haven't anyway to post a few of the pictures that I have taken on my phone(decent pictures). Next weekend I will try to find a cord to connect my phone to my computer. But blog readers, don't forget my birthday is coming up...ha!

Perhaps next week I will post more in depth about the food at Noma. Thanks all for reading, talk soon!

Sincerely,

Collin

Noma Tomorrow.

2011-01-05T17:53:00.000-05:00

Short Post. I am here in Copenhagen.(in depth story on this later) Visited the city today, pretty incredible. Saw the Queen. It's cold here.

I start work tomorrow at Noma, and I am scared beyond belief. Here we goes!!!!!

Happy 2011!

Collin

An Applesque Return

2010-10-22T00:40:00.000-04:00

Well, here is the promised returning blog post. Not quite what I had in mind or probably you, but I am super excited about it and found it blog worthy. ! Since my return from Spain, I am now cooking and have been promoted to Sous Chef at Secco Wine Bar. If you haven't visited me there yet, you truly need to come in. Beautiful unique space, under the ownership of River City Cellars' Julia Battaglini. Really really great Italian and Spanish influenced food from Chef Tim Bereika, my time thus far has been both a learning and truly an enjoyment, I learn something everyday! You can taste not only the love, but the flavor from the ingredients that are purchased from local markets. And, the people working around me, WANT to work there! They care about the Beer they are serving, and the cheese that abounds! Passion emanates from all corners of the restaurant, come in and experience it!

But I am not writing to advertise Secco, but more to record my making of Apple Cider! That's right, what screams fall more than a nice glass of local Apple Cider!

On a cool, Monday morning I ventured up the treacherous what-seemed-to-be 80* hillside that leads you to Charlottesville's Carter Mountain Orchards! There, millions flock yearly for the pick-your-own apples, and, oh yea, Apple Donuts. (They also have grape vines?!) At the orchards, I picked close to 10 pounds of apples, all being Fuji's. Following the pickin', having gotten wind of a special deal known only to those in the know, I asked the registers for apples known as Dear? Apples, or Apples that one necessarily wouldn't want to eat due to indentations or other defects, but perfect for a low budget cider. The pick'em yourself apples are 1.19 a pound, and the 2nd's were 75 cents? I think I left the mountain with between 20-30 pounds, or about a bushel.

Now, conventional Apple Cider makers would use a mill to juice the apples, but being a cook, I chose to use my trusted Cuisinart Food Processor, and then push the juice out using cheesecloth. A little slow, but it did the job!

The Yield from the apples was almost exactly a gallon, and wanting a bigger production, I purchased two gallons of cider. (Note: these must be preservative FREE, or else it will affect the fermentation process/yeasts)

If you are to go about doing this, I would suggest reading anything and everything you can online, as I did. Following my research, I was warned of wild yeasts in the cider producing off putting flavors and unwanted desires. Therefore, it is recommend to simmer all cider before jarring for 45 minutes. Before simmering, I added 1/3 pound of honey in each gallon, and approximately a pound of dark brown sugar in each. (A POUND of sugar you say?!) Yeast is an active micro-organism, or fungi. It is alive! What yeast does, is eats the sugar, lets off Co2, and, well you know the other. Upon some research, I found that the yeast should and will most likely eat all of that sugar.

Now, after the simmering, I let the ciders cool to close to room temperature, which went into the early hours of the morning. Once at an acceptable temperature, I added a controlled purchased yeast, and siphoned the cider into three-one gallon super sanitized with special cleaner jugs. Attached on the top, are sanitized "airlocks" which let the co2 out, and forbid the oxygen or other yeasts or bacteria in.

The jugs now sit for two weeks, for the fermentation to change the cider. Following the two weeks, the cider is then siphoned into bottles, capped, and let sit for one more week to carbonate before being enjoyed. A priming sugar, or sugar added before bottling may be added to give the yeast more "food" to carbonate in the bottle, that decision will be made upon tasting the sweetness before bottling.

This has been an incredible learning experience and exciting process for me to induce, amazing thinking I have been a part since the apples left the tree!

I hope you found this entry as intriguing as I had dreamt, albeit my writing is rusty and it is late! I hope to write more often, thanks for reading!

PS: Apple Butter is truly delicious, and so simple. Google a recipe and make a batch from some apples this fall, you won't regret it!

Back in Richmond

2010-07-13T02:20:00.000-04:00

Although it has been busy since my return to Richmond, the blogging will commence once more in due time! Sorry about the recess, I have much to post! Hope you all are enjoying your summer! Post soon!

Collin

So so long

2010-05-10T03:31:00.001-04:00

Have been living some busy days here on the island! I hope to craft a blog post in the coming days on the world of cooking, perfection, the next step, and generally life on the island. The past week has been great, although extremely stressful and tough. I took over a station by myself, and am doing decent. A new cook from France arrived on Sunday last week, she is extremely nice and I am learning a lot from her. We hang out a significant amount of the day. Amazing hearing about the food culture and lifestyle in France. More on all this later! Tomorrow will mark two weeks until my departure from the island! Today I have off, as does Markus. We are renting a car and driving around the island, eating, seeing. Should be a wonderful day, will take many pictures! A blog on all this coming soon, sorry it takes so long! In the meantime, watch a video of the evolution of an idea at the seventh best restaurant in the world, Alinea, in Chicago, which I had the privilege to eat at last summer. So much thought goes into a single element, the centerpiece, for a menu. Mind blowing, it is a dream place of mine to one day work.

Cathedral

Martin, Uruguayan. Speaks no English, I no Espanol. Our

relationship is funny.

Markus, I, Marco(last night spent at Factoria),
Irene, Irene boyfriend Jose

Overdue

2010-04-26T11:31:00.001-04:00

Although hectic, I can't seem to find a reason for the delay in this post. Maybe partially linked to a lack of inspiration and thoughts to inscribe..who knows! But here I am now, two weeks since the last post. One month ago today, I began this journey. Seems so many days ago, ! But only one month, and one month until I will be boarding a plane back to the U.S. Oh my, how time goes. Time, Tiempo, Zeit, (my Spanish has gotten increasingly better) I have realized that I must enjoy and take in everything whilst I am here. Life moves far too quick...I hate that. I enjoy so much thinking about past memories spent with friends and family from various occasions. My life has been so incredible and continuous to amaze me, what a path.

Flavor is memory, the best food/tastes/dishes are ones that evoke a memory from before, from an event/past time that was ethereal. Example: last summer, I had the chance to travel to Chicago with my good friend Emma. We (from my persistence) went to a very expensive dinner at my dream restaurant, Alinea. Currently I believe it stands at fourth best restaurant in the world? We had the smaller set menu, of 12 courses. The best course and one that I will never forget was Blue Crab "Salad" frozen pea puree, cinnamon, ginger, rice milk, and clove. Many times before, I have eaten blue crab close to the Potomac river with my good friends, a feast, good weather, great place, not a happier place to be found. Immediately this dish brought those thoughts forward, with a taste more refined and so so decadent.

I have off today, and have spent it eating a cheap and delicious meal in the local town, wandering the town, buying a few groceries, and relaxing. Spain and this life has now become very natural, seems I don't even remember what the days are like in Richmond, VA! But do not think I have forgotten any of it, it is far from that. Life is very enjoyable here now, and the kitchen is challenging and rewarding. I have not eaten as much food as I am here ever in my life. Two and a half full meals each day, and still hungry. I think and hope I am on a growth spurt! But not too much, I need to fit my tux that I got suited in before I left for the wedding five days after I arrive home!

One of the more recent updates and most exciting for me personally is that soon I will acquire a borrowed bike from Sous Chef Damian! I am quite excited about the soon possibilities of seeing the local areas via bike! Who would have thought, !

Soccer on Wednesdays is as fun as ever, and finally I have begun to get comfortable again like the old days on the field. In shape, also! Chef Felix is in Germany currently, he was suppose to come back 4 days or so ago, but because of the volcano is stuck there. But, he is not working again until the end of the month. In Europe I have discovered after discussions that holiday time is much more common. Two months, for the chefs. That is quite unheard of in the U.S, and is almost a deal breaker for me to settle down in Europe. Only future will tell, however I do think cooking in Europe gives a more comfortable lifestyle than that in the U.S.

Two weekends ago, my good friend Mona from Germany was on the island. I got Saturday and Sunday morning off and got to go spend the night and day with her and her german schoolmate, Carina. We spent the time in the German part of the island, seriously. All of the signs were German, Schnitzel and Sausages served everywhere, German spoken everywhere. Almost thought I was in Germany! It was extremely rewarding seeing someone I knew outside of the hotel and to being able to spend sometime with them. Last weekend, Marco, Markus, and I went to one of the biggest "Disko-Teks" as they call them, or clubs on the island. House(my kind of music) was played all night long! It was an incredible experience, and I think we will venture there tomorrow.

Because Chef is gone, Markus has been taking care of Chef's dogs, sleeping at his house, and using his car. Because he has a car, I have seen and done much more on breaks when normally I was in the room or walking to and from Santa Maria. One day, due to a need of more dog food, we went to Alcampo, or Spain's answer to Walmart. It was huge, bigger than walmart, with a filled food section. One whole aisle dedicated to Spanish Jamon(Ham, like prosciutto but better) and sausages.

One sad update is that Marco will be leaving at the end of the month. The English owner of the hotel does not like seeing so many paid cooks in the kitchen, whilst so little business is being done. Sad and a stupid mistake by him for making Chef let Marco go, he is talented and has become my closest friend here. Stupid order from the owner, seeing as I will be leaving in one month, and business is surely going to rapidly increase in the coming weeks. Without any reservations I am sure the kitchen will need to pick up at least one more cook for the summer. In the past summers, I have been told that there were at least 7 cooks in the kitchen during the height of the season. When I leave, it will be two cooks and the chefs.

(Whilst writing this before, on Friday night, I was interrupted and went out for the night, and now am finishing the post. Time has been flying by this weekend, it is now Monday at 4:45!)

I am getting extremely comfortable in the kitchen...my skills have increased visibly in the past few weeks. Today I worked a station by myself, and exceeded proficiency. Exciting stuff!

Saturday night we went again to the disko-tek, and had a extremely enjoyable, and late(got home at 5:30ish, woke for the morning shift at 10:45) night. Highlight was meeting a large group of Americans who go to Bucknell (all but one were girls) studying in southern Spain in Granada. They were here for the weekend to see the island. Funny to see/and talk to them.

Also interesting and fun to see has been two 18 year old students who are doing externships at the restaurant. They are attending a culinary school on the island and will be at the restaurant for two months. Slow, but good workers. About the skill-level I was at a while ago.

I am getting excited for a promised dinner next week, with one of the front of house managers named Dmitri, from the Ukraine, and Jozef, a server from Slovakia. They are both hilarious and nice, really funny when together. They promise to take me to their favorite spot, a Chinese food place, and then out for drinks afterward. I think to this point in my travels, I classify eastern Europeans as the nicest and most fun. They don't come from much, and are happy it seems to be where they are. Funny lifestyles and characters, I truly excited to go to dinner with them.

I am also excited to bike around the island, all over the internet is information and recommended routes to travel on the island for bikers. That will be a great way to see the island and good thing to do on a day off. Tomorrow, I have off, and tentatively plan to bike around Palma, we will see!

That is all I have for now, not much. I need to regain some concentration and organize my thoughts. Another blog post should come later this week. Also, more pictures! I am on a "Police-listening-to" streak at the moment, "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic" is a great song! The weather is really really great right now, almost too hot already though! I am getting tan! Hope you all enjoyed or will enjoy the postcards, I think I've sent around 20! Let me know if you want one and I'll send you one!

Buenas Dias from Spain, talk soon!

Mah and I parting ways at the airport, she cried

The "Yellow Ferrari" range. Hotel reads inscribed on the front. Tour/pictures/more details about the kitchen coming soon.

Local town Alaro

An array of thoughts

2010-04-08T18:25:00.006-04:00

It's been a week; lo siento. This post will most likely be quite random with thoughts scattered across the spectrum.

It is Thursday, at 12:30 for me. The past few days and the next few days the weather is suppose to be rainy, and has been cloudy/extremely windy the past two days. Although today there were patches of very bright skies and nice weather. The island seems to crave good weather, and somehow makes it happen to my point of view most of the time. My window view (seen here) will be changed tomorrow, as the owners of the hotel, an old British couple, are putting all three cooks who live in the hotel in one room as to make more rooms available for guests(the hotel has in all 23 rooms). In some ways, bad, as we already spend 5 days a week/10 hours a day together more time isn't quite needed. Also, a bit of privacy/space to be away is always good. But then in some ways it'll be better, get to know them better, become closer friends with them, have something to do/talk to. We will see. The new room I think is going to be nice, maybe I will give another tour soon. (still due, a tour of the kitchen and hotel, coming soon)

Tuesday was my second day off, and I spent it sleeping in and then went to Palma. Palma is a bit of a small city, and the parts that are interesting to a foreigner/traveler to my knowledge are able to be seen in one day, as I did last time. So with little of must do's during the day, I spent it walking around, eating, seeing, sleeping on a bench, and enjoying being in a different environment. When I first arrived, it as lunch time, and per Lars Johansson's suggestion I went to "Cellar Sa Premsa." Great recommendation! Lars is the Swedish exchange teacher, through whom I got in touch with the Chef here and got here. As said in the past, I will never be able to repay him! I owe him much. Bon Voyage, also, on your upcoming trip to Richmond with the students. Sorry I won't be able to be there! En route to the restaurant, which I figured I could make by walking but was sadly mistaken as there are little to no road signs here on the island, I eventually took a cab a mere 500 yards to the restaurant. It has begun to get very frustrating when I have an address and can't seem to see where I am, because of no road signs and the people not speaking english or not knowing where they are either. On to lunch, a big, wooden/brick building, nice interior. Sat around 300 people I'd say, big and bustling restaurant. After a little wait, I was seated. Popular and abounding in Spain, the restaurants all offer a "Menu del Dia?" I believe is how it is spelled, menu of the day, for lunch. They give you options for 3 courses, and it is usually very reasonably priced. As was this lunch, although the menu was in Spanish, and my waiter only spanish speaking, it turned out quite a meal and enjoyable experience. First course I had a tomato, beef/offal/rice dish. (Although in that definition it says waste, in culinary terms it means more organ meats, that most of the time turn out much more tasty than other part. Also, it is kind of a hip thing in the culinary scene nowadays to turn these use-to-be throw-away parts into a art. ) Very tasty, and generous portion. Also with the menu is the option of a cerveza, small bottle of wine, or any other drink offered with the meal. I opted with the local red wine, which came out very chilled, and tasted as if a sangria, very delicious. Second course was a fish that I could not understand the name of, served simply with olive oil, lemons, and potatoes. Texture like a halibut, but with more flavor of the sea, not as bland as you would expect with a halibut. And for postre, or dessert, Creama Catalan, a popular and local dessert found in Spain. Much like but less set then a Creme Brulee, and with lemon and cinnamon, this was spoon lickin' good. This three course lunch amounted to 13 Euros, so very affordable, and becoming more and more everyday thanks to Greece bringing down the euro. I would like to thank Greece at this time personally for helping me financially whilst in Europe. !

And so the wine do me in. The plan was after lunch to go back to the Vodofone store to get the Sim card that I purchased for my phone whilst here to work. I had bought a prepaid plan/card to slip in my phone so that I could have a local number while here, don't know if it'll get much use but good to have. When purchased I asked the associate if I only had to slip it in and it would work, and of course he said yes. But when doing so, admittingly careless in doing it after leaving the city that night, it asked for numbers and codes that I did not have and didn't know where to get. So when I tried to go back, they, as all other Spaniards living the great laid back life, had gone on siesta break. With nothing to do, I wandered and became increasingly tired from said wine, around the time I reached the old part of the city near the cathedral, laid down on a cement bench and slept for two hours. There were many people bustling around, so I was in no harm. Until some punk came and screamed close to me as to wake me up, and be cool in front of his friends.

By that time I figured the store would be back open, and so I went back, go it sorted out, and texted cook Marco who also had the day off, whom was roaming around the city trying to get his recently broken 3-kilometer-pushed to mechanic moped fixed. Just after texting him, I look up and there he was. And so we took a coffee, he got a music tattoo on his wrist whilst I sat and cringed at the needles, and we headed off to a pub in old town to watch the Champions league soccer game that was on that night. (There are more details to this part of the day, but at this time I feel as if I am rambling too much and providing too many useless, boring thoughts.)

FC Barcelona vs. Arsenal

Cultural epiphany of the week. Soccer(I get yelled at here when I say soccer, its "Fuutball!") is embedded in their culture. It is organic for the European men and (most)women to like it. But not just like, but know the teams, when the games are on, who is playing, and the players. More mainstream and embedded than football, basketball, or baseball in the US. Everyone knows and watches here. If you like soccer, as I do, it is awesome to be around. The news of the game the night before is not in a sports section, no, it is on the front page. The news of the fuutball games is the news. Awesome. I knew I would be in for something special seeing Barcelona play, as the Barcelona fans would be predominant in Palma also. The star of the Barcelona team, and one of the best players playing in the game today from Argentina, Lionel Messi, scored 4 goals in the game. One big fan of Barcelona, after every goal, fist pumped to the window screaming. It was a good sight and awesome experience.

Yesterday, Wednesday, we played soccer against another hotel. However, I was pushed onto the other team, disappointed at first but it turned out better. They were much better then my hotel's team who is all talk and extremely competitive. They knew how to play, the structure, the shapes and runs and how to show for the ball. Brought me back to my days of playing, it is nice playing again. Although I am in terrible condition, it was tough at times, I hope to start running here during breaks soon.

Now onto thoughts about cooking. One technique that has piqued my interest is the kitchen's use of Parmentiers. A french word, pronounced as one would expect in french, pronounce the "tier" as tee-ay, and you have it. Because starch is heavy and boring plated as is, such as potatoes, parsnips, or salsify, we puree a well cooked mix of potatoes and said flavoring veg(parsnip, salsify) to create a nice potent puree for the dish. Interesting, and fulfilling. Next thought is rudiments. As I have come to learn, success/praise for a cook cooking in a restaurant kitchen comes from precision and the ability to work extremely quickly. Thats about it. The faster you are, the better and more praise you get. Quickness comes from years and the rudiments that come so naturally after hours and hours laboring over those vegetables. And slowly, I am getting them in. I have in my opinion so much knowledge about the craft, but lack the rudiments and hands on. But it is coming along.

It has become to seem as though I am the outsider in the kitchen, with the jokes on me and I being the..."bitch." Although somewhat expected as I am the youngest and lowliest person. But also being not from Europe and not understanding or speaking Spanish, I am kind of an outsider. Could almost say I'm getting bullied at times. Sucks, but alas.

Can I say that I love it or hate it here, no. There are good and bad aspects that I have seen thus far. It is a great experience and I am surely learning a lot, and it will be good to have done. But this past week I have missed having someone to talk to to that I know, having someone to do stuff with, and kind of being around things that I am familiar and comfortable with. I miss all my friends and family, all the people that are so amazing and kind! It is kind of lonely and boring here at times, as working leaves little time to meet other people/get further away than the little town of Santa Maria. I like the people I work with, but would be nice to meet some other people also, and be around other people since I am around them so frequently. I truly believe things will only get better though.

I hope Easter treated you all well, for me it was a normal day here. Thank you for reading, hope you could follow and understand. Let me know if you want any information, descriptions, or posts on anything in particular and I will try to deliver! I am working on postcards now, but don't quite know where to find stamps...I am doing my best. It's late now, much love, see you all soon. Enjoy the below pictures from the last week.

The restaurant I had lunch at, Celler Sa Premsa, thanks again for the recommendation Lars!
Nice view of the mountains with the Reads vineyard in the forefront, taken after a walk from Santa Maria
Meadows/groves
Forgot to mention, Saturday night we went out to "Factoria De Sol?" A music school who in the nights puts on jam/concert/parties. Pictured from left to right: Marco(Venezuela), Me, Chef Felix(Bremen, Germany), Damian(Argentina, Sous Chef), Marcus(Dortmund, Germany). (Not pictured: Martin, who I work next to, speaker of no english, Uruguayan)
Woman in picture, Damian's wife, Mallorcan

Also forgot to mention in post, on the return trip from Santa Maria one day, a group of 5 or so 16ish year old girls on bikes figured out/talked to Marcus who was with me and found out I was American. They took a picture with me. Alas

Peace!

A day in the life

2010-04-01T17:50:00.005-04:00

So, a week now! Wow. Feels as if it has been much longer! Everything is good here, today was a long day in the kitchen, everything is picking up a bit, because of Easter and the weather. I am a bit tired, so lets see how good my writing goes tonight. PS if you didn't know, as I didn't, Spain is crazy religious. Super religious, they are (apparently? I have not seen) having parades/marches? through many of the major cities right now because of Easter. Lets see if I can catch you all up on some of the occurrences from the past few days.

I'll start tonight with a daily "schedule" in the day and life of cooking at Reads Hotel Mallorca, for me.

Wake up at 10:00

Hang around, get awake, take a shower,

Head downstairs to the kitchen around 10:45-11:00

Cook, cook, cook, drink espresso,(oh boy, oh boy, do I truly miss a good cup of coffee. There is none here. Only espresso. So sad.) eat croissants,

12:45ish, eat lunch, prepared by us everyday. It is very good usually, much better than other family meals from other restaurants that I have experienced

1:15ish Come back for lunch service

3:45ish-4:30 Depending on how busy lunch was/how late the last table ordered in, break time from time we get out to 7:15

BREAK...for me, this has been really weird, luxurious. So much free time in between working. Some days its good, I do things during it, other days its bad because I get tired. I am not use to this. It's a hefty amount of free time. I almost wish we worked straight through..

Although,

7:15-10:30-12ish Finish prepping and dinner service. Spaniards eat LATE. Our first order doesn't usually arrive until atleast 8, if not later. And we some dinner get orders in close to 11

So one week ago, I had my first day of work. Was tired, we got out late, and was still settling in. Did nothing over siesta(nap) break.

Here following are activities done on break:

Friday; walked (uncertainly, unaware, and scared about getting lost) to the local town, or the outskirts of, and found a small convenience store. However, the problem is, is when I am free, so is everyone else. And so most stores, restaurants, and cafes are closed. But I found a open convenience store and bought a fanta and that apricot cake. On the way to the store, as I had just entered town and was wondering if there was anything. I saw an old man walking very slowly with a cane, past a school. And so I first asked him "Con permiso, hablar ingles?!"(excuse me, speak english?) He chuckled, and shook his head, saying he was from the island. Next I asked if he spoke any german, again a chuckle and a no. Finally I asked in my very weak spanish, where I could find a cafe or something. And he pointed me in the right direction. This right direction put me walking right down a school with a playground, with kids playing in it. And, I guess due to my clothes, they could tell I wasn't from there. I was in disbelief, they were all pointing, laughing, and looking at me. A group even took a picture of me. However, It is a beautiful walk, it is nice to get out and see things, and later in the week I found more interesting things.

Saturday, with the Germans (Chef Felix and MarKus, fellow cook, who I was misspelling the name of earlier on) went to Felix's house and watched Fuutball matches. As they described to me, Saturday in Germany is the Fuutball holiday, with the German League teams playing. Felix's team is Bremen(who's jersey's I think are cool, they say "So gut. Bank Heute." So good, bank today They are sponsored by some bank.) and Markus's team who is Dortmund. Both of them are from said team's towns. This coming Saturday they play against eachother, and in the standing one or the other is winning by 1 point. Should be funny watching with them.

Sunday during break: Walked to Santa Maria. Overview of walk: past grove, after grove, after grove, of Almond Trees, Olive, Lemon, Orange, and Clementine trees. Past dogs barking (everyone has livestock/dogs here, they are loud in the nights/mornings, and wake me up), past a few houses/ranches here and there, and then finally to the small town of Santa Maria. Through my perspective, Santa Maria is profitable because of the foreign bikers that bike the island and need a place to stop. On Sunday, the 7 or so cafes located on the main street in town had tables and chairs scattered all about, and everyone was sitting outside, enjoying tapas, drinking espresso, beer, or a wine. And so I followed suit, ordering from a non-speaking english/german restaurant crew a potato/olive/chicken salad, local wine, and some croquettes.

Monday I had free! The following is what I did on this day. Palma is accessible via train, which comes every 20 minutes to Santa Maria, where I had been just the day before. And so, although weary and with so very little information, I headed to Palma for the day. I wandered the city, looking in the shops, walking along the Mediterranean, seeing the magnificent and huge cathedral, seeing the old palace, royal gardens, and generally feeling the vibe of Spanish culture. The highlight of the day was lunch, which was truly spectacular. Also, the girls are BEAUTIFUL here. agaaast. I found the city to be very interesting, small and walkable, but very nice. It didn't quite feel like Spain however, with for the most part a majority of German and other people.

For dinner, I ate and relaxed at a place in Santa Maria. It was an Italian place, and because I didn't want to be in or coming home too late, I decided to head back kind of earlier. The restaurant in Santa Maria was enjoyable, I talked a lot to the waiters and bartenders.

Tuesday during break, I decided to relax as I had done something every waking moment since arriving.

Wednesday: Fuutball, although we we're suppose to play against a different hotel, they didn't show. And so we played 3 vs. 3. It was fun running and playing once again, as I haven't done in a while. I believe everyone was making fun of me or something, because I am new? American? or something, I don't know. That got a little annoying, but it's o k. I have blisters now from my shoes/we played on fake turf, with the black pellets, and they got in my shoes and clustered under one area, making my feet blister.

And now we arrive at today. A week, it feels much longer. Some side notes that I have been wanting to mention in previous blog posts but have yet to. Every time I step outside of the hotel I get a big wift of straight olive. It is so refreshing, and walking every few hundred yards I get it again. Its amazing. Also, dotting the island every which way are windmills, as seen here , they make a nice scenery. Driving through the island is nice, the scenery is beautiful, with groves every which way, mountains abounding, and sometimes the sea in sight.

The past few days I have begun to miss my people, it is different being somewhere where most of the time you can't understand anything anyone is saying, and you don't have anyone too close to talk to. I have also been craving a heavy, American meal, as most food here is light with bright bright flavors. Not bad, quite the opposite, but every once in a while you crave that hearty meal.

I hope soon that we will go out and I will get the chance to be around a common place for some Spanish people, talk and meet to some other people.

This wasn't the best post yet, hopefully next time will be better! Soon, a blog with pictures and stories from the kitchen. Also due, a tour of the kitchen and hotel. Hope all is well! Happy Easter, miss and love you all!

A food Epiphany

2010-03-29T18:07:00.007-04:00

Hello!! Sorry it´s been so long for some words! (Now Playiñg: Stevie Wonder-Uptight) I am sitting now again in the hotel lobby on their computer, as Marcus took his computer power cable last night(I´ll get it back tomorrow, for first time readers my electricity converters aren´t working over here even though they should be and so I can't use my computer.) The time is now 12:10(lets see what time I finish, I bet 2ish), and I had free all day today! I spent the day in Palma, the capital and biggest city on Mallorca. In the past few days I have been working and had many blog worthy stories, as I will recount later on. But I want to recount this one to you all first.

Let me start by saying I don´t know if anything can bring more happiness to me than eating. Not just eating, but eating good food, with the setting matching the food. Mostly, I don´t think these occasions can be duplicated. It happens at the right time, right place, and can only happen there. The food came from a few miles away, maybe the yard next to the table where you are eating it. It is so fresh you can taste the last rain that dropped on the vegetable. You can´t quite say you´ve had tapas, if you´ve eaten them in Richmond. It´s not the same. It may be good, but eating it in Spain, hearing Spanish all around, eating the food with the ingredients that came from so close to where it was prepared. What only makes the experience better is eating with people you love and enjoy being around. Food is a commonplace, brings people together, everyone is in a joyous mood, naturally as food is only good for the body. On many occasions in the past, and I hope you all have had these also, I have had food epiphanies. Times where happiness is so full, everything is so right, overcome by a blissful food blanket. It is ethereal. My mind, body, and soul are at ease, and the only thing that is coming to my mind is how dang good the bite is that is in my mouth, and how good that next bite will be. (Now, I am not fat, and hope to never be fat, food is just so good, it is my medium, my art, my love.) Today, I had one of those occasions. I´m going to attempt at writing this a la Anthony Bourdain esque...if you don´t know who he is, he is the only tv show I watch. He travels the world and eats, and was a former french chef in NYC for 30 years. He knows what he´s talking about, and more importantly, HOW to talk about it. He is funny, smart, and puts on a very good show. Check it out. If you´re in a foreign place reading this, search his name and your country on youtube and who knows, he might have done an episode in your country.
Hungry, hot, tired, I continually stumbled through the streets of Palma looking for that right place to eat. I had no idea where I was or what I was looking for to eat, something good and Spanishesque, please though. Finally I trudged onto the right street-seeing six or eight Jamon Iberico legs hanging in the window, I thought this is the place for me. And I was right. Busy, and deep in the streets, not along the water tourist trap, I foresaw this meal being a very great one. This blissful moment in my life all began with five nice, crusty slices of bread generously smothered in a vibrant, most true tomato flavor I have ever eaten. Topped off with a good handful of olives and more pressing, the oil. The oil was seeping from side to side, onto my fingers. So substantially beautiful, I would truly soak myself in this stuff. I was crying with pleasure. The oil/brine from those olives, with that tomato...heaven. The olive in the juice rang the taste buds, I couldn't stop eating it.

Next came the good friend sausage. Sausage you say, you mean that tough, flavorless, fake casing tube of meat found in the U.S.? Oh no my good friend, this was tender enough to cut easily with a fork, flavorful and juicy. Soaked/braised in red wine, I say we replace the hot dogs in the baseball stadiums with these. The fans wouldn't know what hit them, this my friends would be more historical to the game than Babe Ruth.

And finally, the Primeros (Primeros meaning appetizer or small plate in Spanish) sampling paradise.

When this came into my life I was already tense with happiness, still working on the Sausage and Bread, but the feeling had already blanketed my whole body. Nothing could stop it, it was flowing through the veins with such intense vigor as the Nile. It flowed faster and it grew.

The platter was composed of Dates wrapped in Bacon, Fried whole Baby Calamari con Lemon, Croquettes, and Mussel shells filled with a mousse of the mussel, and other joyous ingredients. Salty, fatty bacon encased the sweet morsels from god, and the flavor profiles went in the same order. The mussels were rich, beautiful. Croquettes fluffy and full of flavor. The calamari was great and tender, unlike the chewy normalcy I have experienced in the U.S. Flavor was extremely fresh and vibrant, rang true and complemented well with the lemon of course.

All this swished throughout with a local, cold, and as of right now my favorite cerveza to taste in Spain. Of course, no, I cannot remember or tell you all the name, as I couldn't quite understand the person who served me. Guess I can account that to more authenticity of the place?

This was a lot of food. And I finished it all. I sat after for quite a few minutes, gazing, still in a food bliss euphoria. Beginning to snap back, I attempted to talk to the minimal english speaking workers, wandered the restaurant, gazed upon the Jamon Iberico legs incredulously, and eventually wallowed back out onto the small streets of Palma, Mallorca.

Hope you enjoyed this post. Tomorrow during break I will hope to recount the rest of the day spent in Palma, and finally recap the past few days for me here. Enjoy the night, talk soon!

Tour of my room

2010-03-28T12:31:00.003-04:00

Hope to soon also give a tour of the hotel and the kitchen! Stay tuned for that and a blog post later on tonight!

Collin

PS 12:35, not 2:35!

Some Pictures

2010-03-26T20:17:00.003-04:00

Here are some pictures from my first few days. I have some more and there will definitely be many more. I wandered away from the hotel today into the small town...funny stories to come. Now, I am really tired and am working the morning. (Also, my body is feeling a little achey/sick...hope I don't get sick.) I am borrowing the German cooks power plug for the computer, although it doesn't resolve all the problems (don't know when he will want it back, how will I shave?, and how will I charge my camera...) all is o . k . right now. Have a good day, and we will talk soon! Hope you enjoy the pictures!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2031554&id=1573200196&l=e24510d76a

The tales of a stupid American

2010-03-25T18:15:00.004-04:00

Alas. I am sitting here in the "resort", it is definitely not what you would consider a hotel, lobby, drinking a glass of the wine made from the "resort`s¨ vineyard, a red wine. Bare with me, for my lack of correct punctuation, as I DO not know how to use this keyboard. The time is now 23:18, or as we Americans say 11:18. Back to the start, no?

Boarded the plane from Philadelphia to Washington after a grueling few hours in Reagan International. That flight was good..If I remember. Ah yes it was half full(all the memory is now coming back to me) My bad din´t fit in the area and I was confused and then the flight attendant told me the flight would´nt be full and I could move to the back. I sat near some pilots, and when we were landing, some Asian guy had to go to the bathroom. The flight attendant told him no, to sit back down, he din´t listen, went anyway, got arrested when we left the plane. Drama. Then, as that flight was a little late, I had less time than expected in Philly. I wolfed down a Philly cheese steak, walked to the...what Do you call it, I´m thinking two other languages right now, also. Gate? Yes. Called my people to say goodbye, charged my phone, had to get my boarding pass ¨"stamped?" and then pretty quickly boarded the plane. I took a video that was SUPPOSE to be with that lame post from Philadelphia, but for some reason it didn't´t work. I even had tried it before to make sure it would work. It was a funny video of me walking through the terminal talking to myself (my phone) so people were looking at me. Perhaps I will get it up here sometime. Onto the plane to Madrid: 1. There was a stupid/fat Mom-Sister-Grandpa sitting in front and to the left of me. The mom and grandpa who wasn't that old by the look kept complaining "I have NEVER been in a seat this small, OMG" I laughed. There was nobooody sitting next to me. That was nice, I listened to music, watched "Love Happens" but fell asleep to it. Good movie!!! The part I saw, Jennifer Anniston is beautiful. I barely slept, which sucked. Almost everyone on the flight was speaking Spanish, so already I was confused. "Dinner" (I barely ate it) was Tortellini? With spinach mush, 5 pieces of lettuce with carrot sticks, potent Italian vinaigrette, and a fluffy chocolate something. Oh and a packaged role that was good. I took a picture of it as it to me was kind of ironic, a cook on a plane going to cook, and getting served that POS. One of the flight attendants was kind of mean, and yelled at me for not saying please first.

Finally in Madrid. After 2 hours of ansy-news, we finally landed. Beautiful, the Spanish country that we flew over. Groves/vineyards everywhere, and MOUNTAINS. ! There were mountains surrounding the Madrid Airport, which by the way is HUGE. Got off the plane, with a 3 hour layover, pretty tired. After a bus ride with a man who I thought was going to the same place(the guy was from Miami) he was going to "Las Palmas" which is in some islands of the OTHER coast of Spain, not in the Mediterranean. I didn't know that. Good thing I didn't board his plane with him. Went to the food court, and immediately it struck me. Spain is food centric. It is AWESOME. I mean, orange juice freshly squeezed by some compounding machine, it must take 6 oranges for a glass. Iberico Ham, (the GOOOD stuff) being sliced to order for a baguette by some girl who decided to get a job at the airport cafe. Awesome. At the duty free shop, a whole refrigeration section dedicated to iberico ham and manchego cheeses. Iberico ham to those in the not know, is like proscuitto, or salami almost, but much much better. The fat ribbons melt on your lips. Take a little bit of this stuff, keep it in your pocket, and you will never need chapstick again. I don´t know if you can say that you have eaten unless you´ve come to Spain. So I hung out at the Madrid airport for a bit...began To get very tired. My first meal in Spain was a Baguette with Iberico ham slathered all up inside. Very good! Some old man came up to me and said "Nordsk?" which sense I have Scandinavian connections, I knew meant Norwegian? And I said no, and he proceeded to ask me ins Englisch if it was free internet in the airport, and I said no, I had my laptop out. Lame Madrid, even Richmond has free internet.

So, then, when they released which gate would be my flight I went to that gate. Sat there for a while, people watched, listened to music. After a while I looked at the monitor that displayed where the flight was going. GONE. What?! This is where I was suppose to be. Ok. Went back, looked again, 6 gates away. Ok. Went there, began to get VERY tired. That was when 5/6 was hitting me. I was getting so tired that I was scared I was going to fall asleep and not wake up, so I set my alarm on my phone. By the way, there were people all around me speaking every language, I truly think I was the only American.

Finally the time arrived to start boarding, about two minutes when we were suppose to start boarding, a HUGE group of old people got in line. They were obnoxious/oblivious. And of course the person over the intercom saying which zone was boarding spoke spanish very fast and English very fast with an accident low so that I COULD NOT UNDERSTAND. I just boarded. They let me on aha. I sat next to a couple, from Ukraine? We didn't talk on the plane/I passed out.

I awoke, began to get excited since I was finally on the island. All was good. Until I started looking for my bag. Went to the first belt that it was suppose to be at. Nobody else came. Looked again at the screen, it was the WRONG belt, a different flight from Madrid. But on the way there I saw a plane had come in from Paderborn, which if you really know me would know I have a friend from there, it is a small German town.

Finally got to the right belt, after everyone else had come and gone. My bag was nowhere to be seen. But the Ukrainian seat passengers were still there. Where are our bags!? I was super scared. Almost started crying ahhh. The Ukrainian girl went to look around, and apparently since we weren´t from the EU our bags were suspicious and sent into this gated belt. We had to get them scanned again. Thank goodness for that couple, or else I probably wouldn't´t have found my bag. If I could have read the signs, I might have gotten it, but ALAS.

And then, out into Mallory looking for the Chef´s wife that was suppose to pick me up. Couldn't´t find her. Walked every which way, no sight. So I tried to call her. Couldn´t get the payphone to work. At this point I was getting pissed off/nervous. I tried and tried to get the payphone to work. I had the right money in it. Of course it was in Spanish and had no German. No budging. I pressed all the buttons. Agh.

Then, I walked to all the booths and asked if I could PLEASE use their phone, I couldn't get the payphone to work. Finally a German tour type of group girl let me borrow her phone. She was nice and cute, and I talked to German to her. Everyone, speaks German here. It is amazing. Finally reached the chefs wife, Sarah, I don´t know if she didn't´t come or had come and gone, but she was no longer there. I had to take a cab.

An experience that was. He was of some different origin than I am aware. He played cool music that was rappish/rockish, of which I could not understand. That does not however, rule out German. He drove fast. Weaving in and out of cars, on the highway. And then we get to the closed in Spanish roads, which are curve and you can´t see past that curve. That didn't´t mean he slowed down. Good times. I saw part of Palma I think¿ Quintessential Spanish looking place. It seemed as though every house/place had their own grove/vineyard, we drove past so many. It was amazing. I have pictures of the ride in, but my camera is upstairs/don´t want to upload on this computer.

Finally to the Resort. This is becoming quite a long blog post. Entschuldigung(sorry, don´t know if that's how you spell it in German?) Saw it from a distance. It is so beautiful. Walked in, and Chef Felix was standing there. Awesome. Then came the rest of the restaurant crew. (Bless your heart if you´ve read this far, this must be boring.) I met three of the cooks then, Marcus, 22, from Germany. Very nice, it looks like we will be good friends. He is very funny, don´t know where he is from. Has a girlfriend from the island, who is 30. Told me some crazy stories of what happens on the island. Is currently playing poker with Chef Felix, told me he goes out everyother night. Went to sleep last time at 5. 5! Woke up at 10:30 to start cooking. I am not ready for that, I am still jet lagged for **** sake! Marcus speaks German, ok Spanish(better than anyone I know) and good English. (In Europe, they say their English is OK, or their Spanish is OK. But it seems they are MUCH better than we are at other languages, I can talk almost how I feel and he can understand me. Crazy. They are insecure about their speaking of other languages.) The other cook who I worked today also was Marco. He is from Venezuela. Speaks Spanish, perfect English, and no German(although im sure his German is better than mine.) Felix speaks perfect all three languages. Marco is 26? Martin is Spanish? And around the age...30? I don´t know. After I arrived I talked for a little, and then went up to my room...a Room IN the hotel, queen sized bed, nice EVERYTHING, kid you not. ! Cheese diese ist zu laange! (shit, this is getting too long.) Unpacked my stuff, hung up all my shirts, (kid you not mom) unpacked everything. The restaurant people were going to play soccer against another hotel, as they do every Wednesday. Apparently they lost 12-6. They were excited when I said I though I was pretty good and would be of assistance next week. I was suppose to meet back downstairs for a meeting/food at 7:00. Set my alarms. For sure over slept them. I was soo angry. I knew how much it would mean for me to wake up for them. Aagh. Woke up around 830? And found out that none of my lights/electricity were working. They have a very weird system for the room, there is a box in Spanish, and then a card that you have to slip in to turn it all on. I didn´t have the card. Went downstairs, got Malcolm (English? The hotel is owned by English people) and he got me a card. But agast, I can still not get my plugs to work even though I have one transverter, and a borrowed one from the lobby. Must be something else with the plugs. I will ask another day, I am too embarrassed currently. For now, this lobby computer suffices. Finally after getting the lights on, I took a shower and was invited down to eat at the casual area and have a drink. I had Mango Risotto with Duck Confit, stir fryed vegetables and a spicy sauce. It was extremely good. Before I had house cured olives, if you have not had an olive in Spain you have not eaten an olive. So amazing. With a yogurt chive spread and olive tapenade. All amazing. And a huge "Becks" beer to go with it. I tried to pay for it, but apparently if you work here and are eating, alle ist freu. (All is free) The bartender/my server was Slovakian and spoke English, German, Spanish, and Slovakian. Blows my mind.

After eating I went into the kitchen after they had just finished up. We had some more beers outside and talked and they smoked cigarettes like they were nothing. 5 or 6 a piece, crazy. Felix, Martin, and Marco left, and it was just I and Marcus. Again we talked, he is very nice, we are going to be good friends. As customary in the kitchen, you are always playing jokes on eachother, saying nasty things. Today I already made a joke about Marcus´s sister. ha ha! Aso, before Felix left, he told me to meet down in the kitchen at 11 ready to go. Already?! What!! I still have jet lag! Ok. Chef.

So I went back to my room and soon thereafter fell asleep. Woke up at ten, opened my window and enjoyed the amazing view of the mountains, orchards, houses. Everything.

Headed down to the kitchen at 10:45, by the way, its just two flights of stairs and I´m to my place of employment. Crazy. The hotel has many rooms that are just for decoration, with all sorts of plates and things. Weird. There is one dog and one cat that live here. I think? I hope to make good with the cat by the end. My room number is 15.

I started by cutting breakfast fruits for the next morning. One melon I have never seen before. As cooks, we get three meals a day from the kitchen, and thus far they have been quite good. During my cutting of the fruits for the next morning, a Spanish waiter asks me if I want a coffee with or without milk and something or another else, my Spanish is good for only 1. Cafe-Coffee. 2. Leche? Milk? I think. I had to translate. Still jet lagged, as this was 5 or so for me, I got to work. Next I worked on small dicing parsnip, and running Salsify along the mandolin. Sorry for you non foodies..Look the terms up, this is a cooking blog. The littlest things were big differences to me, I had to check about everything before I went. We put salsify in Water and lemon, they, in Milk and Lemon¿ What is better? I don´t know. Their plastic wrap is just a roll without a cutter, that caused me the biggest problems. To me, their coriander tastes the same as parsley, I got in trouble for that. I have never used fresh coriander before. This will be a long journey. Along comes 2/3 o´clock. Then arrives tickets for dishes to start coming in. You want me to do what chef, already start being the Entree-Mat for your proteins? I don´t know any of the dishes or even where anything is...agast. So I worked lunch service with chef doing all the accompaniments to the meat/fish. It was long and grueling.

After we cleaned and organized for dinner service, which apparently was much later than usual...around 5:45, we drank cokes and hung out for a few minutes, and then got a 1 hour break. By the way, during the prep time, we were listening to the radio. No no, not some foreign radio, but what I would call Classic, lame, American music. And they all sang to the songs?! What! Any American coming into this kitchen seeing German/Spanish guys singing to...the Titanic theme song?! We are family?! Smash Mouth Shrek song?! Oy, it was funny.

I went to my room, tweeted? Hung out for a few with some sparkling water. Tried to get the electricity to work...nope...read Over the menus or as Felix calls them "cards" and by that time it was time to head back. During break I had imagined how to set a more efficient station, although I had no idea what I would be doing that evening for dinner. What is the main difference for me though, is not having a open "station" that which I have everything set at to pull from. Here, everything is in closed containers, some distance away, with a different language written on them for what it is. That for me has caused problems. Also, my sharpie doesn´t write on said containers?! Agh.

During lunch, I ran a very messy, disorganized, ugly, bad, station, that was quite hectic. During dinner, this was changed quite a bit. Although still a bit lost, it was a great improvement. So I made a few mistakes, I am still an American, who has never worked a hot-line before, doesn´t speak Spanish, doesn´t know anything about the food here, and, is STILL JET LAGGED. I think my work was quite good. It can only improve. I think by the end, I will be ahead of the game. I can make a much more efficient station, with food of better quality. (Although, the products here are AMAZING. Seriously, the lemons, local, oranges, from here. You can feel, smell, taste the difference. It is mind blowing.)

By the way, I forgot to interloop the beautiful English girl I met. I don´t know what her job is. She is soooo beautiful, brown hair, her name is Roma? Ruma? I don´t know. We talked for a little. Ahh.

We cleaned after service, made a list, ate curried chicken/pineapple/pepper/other things over rice. It was good. Had a Spanish beer with that. I don´t think I will be spending much money, as when I am working all meals and drinks are paid for. Awesome. Scrubbed the beautiful range down, it has the name of the restaurants/hotel painted on it. Unlike other kitchens I have been at where it is a line, this is an island, as I have seen only at Metro! Roanoke, great restaurant, check it out if you have a chance. After, I was invited to go and play poker with the other cooks, people, at Chef´s house. But am tired, and weary of losing sight of the cooking, and becoming too tired. I will go out next time with them.

Thus far, the food has been somewhat familiar. The pastries were of a different world, I didn't´t recognize much. I saw a beautiful paella that felix made that I didn´t get to try. Next time. We try everything before we plate it, that makes it fun and exact.

My scabs were worn off during services, I now have bare wounds that are hurting currently while typing. Already, my German/Spanish have gotten better. I spoke a good bit of both today, although most could speak English to me. The hotel is beautiful, my room is beautiful, I hope to get my computer working up there so I can be on more often. I work in the morning, who knows what tomorrow will hold. Hopefully should be a bit better, as 2 more cooks will be there tomorrow.

This was too long of a post with a lack of pictures. Hopefully it won´t happen again. I hope you enjoyed it, laughed, and learned about my first two days. It is now 1:10, and I should head to bed pretty soon as I must wake up around 10 again to start day 2. I thank you sincerely for reading, I hope it wasn´t too boring. The next will be better, I promise!

Day 2 at the beautiful Mallorca awaits! Tschus! Adios! Guten night! Good night! I love you all!

2010-03-23T20:01:00.000-04:00

Hello from Philadelphia! PS I just crushes a philly cheese steak!! Talk to you next from Spain!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

The "why", "what", and an adiós

2010-03-22T11:40:00.006-04:00

Please note: If you are an English major, highly intelligent, or generally get angry about poor writing, grammar, or incomprehensible thoughts, please don't hate me.

Plane leaves tomorrow, 6:00, from Ronald Reagan National Airport across the river from the District. Just about to start packing, no I have not started yet. I'll be fine, I have a list. I had a superb weekend at James Madison this past weekend, spent it with most of my best friends. Nick, Jeff, Emma, David, Kelsey, and every other person, thanks for making my last weekend in the United States(for two months, or forever!?) a memorable one! I love you all. Seriously!

In the past week or so, I have begun thinking about the "WHY" and the "WHAT," of everything. Why I love cooking, why I want to cook, why do I enjoy traveling, why do I sometimes have reservations about fully committing to cooking for the rest of my life, what do I want in life, and many more, I'm sure. My memory is horrible.

I have a deep passion for cooking, and it continues to thrive and develop every moment I spend in the kitchens and eating, seeing, enjoying. However, I know the lifestyle, I know that once I commit to cooking, there is no looking back. I know that if I do cook, my days will be long, pay will be short(although I firmly believe due to the Food Network and food awareness that has come about that wasn't present during my role model's in the culinary field's beginnings, that hopefully the field will get a bit more recognition and overall the harshness in the field will be relaxed) In the past, I have been weary of this. But thinking about what I really want, and why I want it, it helps to really show whats true and what would make the best sense to continue on with. I recently applied to George Mason University, thinking that I would attend there for a degree in politics and work the nights in one of the kitchens in Arlington/Washington, D.C. Therefore, simultaneously keeping both paths running that I wouldn't mind spending my life in, Politics and Cooking. However, due to my mediocre grades, average SAT scores, and what appeared to them as a lazy, recently-graduated high school kid, who has done nothing in the past year, they denied my acceptance. I can't blame them, but how do I explain what I'm doing on an application that is solely education based? I don't know if I could do politics, maybe too much paperwork, might be too boring at times. But I would have liked to try. But currently that path has been closed. I'm alright with it though, food and cooking are my gig.

Hang in there, I hope the thoughts in the past few paragraphs have been comprehensible. It's difficult at times for me to communicate what I am thinking.

If I work hard enough, cooking and food will give me all I need in life. It might be hard, but it will be rewarding. I owe it to everyone who has helped and shaped me in the past 8 years of my culinary journey.

Why I love cooking: the food, the fast pace, the comradery, the people involved, the places it can take you, the difficulty, the reward after a successful dinner service, the drive and endurance it takes to succeed, the feeling of pleasure that you receive after someone eats and is blown away, smiling ear to ear, because they don't know what they just ate, or why it tasted so good, but they love it, and it evoked memories from the times that I can't know, but connect to only by means of food.

One recent memory of this is just last week, during dinner service as it often happens, a patron came up to the window at Acacia, and older gentlemen. With a huge smile and with jubilance in his voice, he said something to the like of "Outstanding, really amazing. That is all I have to say. Amazing. Thank you." It hit home for me.

Who knows what my next year will look like, I wouldn't mind spending it in kitchens in Europe. Or perhaps Culinary school in NY or Providence. But they need to give me some money. I'm not trying to have over 40,000$ in loans. We'll see what happens.

It is now 12:23 and I need to begin packing.

But first I want to thank everyone who is in my life, a lot of the time I think about how incredible all of you are, how everything is so perfect, I like to think that my life and relationship with you all is really something special. Different. Thank you familia for supporting, being amazing and funny, and awesome. I love you all. Thank you Nicholas for being my best friend, you are my boy, YOU ARE AMAZING. Thank you Jeff for teaching me, we're good counter parts. Emma, we have grown, I love you. You keep me grounded. Thank you Courtney I owe you, your passion amazes me. Ynhi, Caroline, Joni, David, Kelsey, people at Cafe Caturra, teachers at Midlothian, Phil, Andy, Dale, Chris, Star, Edgar, and Aidan at Acacia. Chef Joe at Can Can, Chef James at Can Can, Mike Y, foreign friends. If I know you, then thank you for being a part of my life. So many thanks and appreciation.

I began to find my voice in this post, awesome. Much to do in the next 24 hours before I leave, thank you sincerely for reading.

Now listening to: Gettin' Over-David Guetta Ft. Chris Willis

Next post should be from the Philadelphia Airport, Stay Tuned!

Below are some shots I took during my last days at Acacia, Enjoy

Finishing Scallop plate

Sous Chef Phil

Peruvian Style Tuna Ceviche, avocado, pickled watermelon rind, tuna, pickled red onion brunoise, cucumber, crispy shallot.

Left: Smoked Salmon Salad: celery root, pickled red onion, hearts of palm, blood orange mousseline, house smoked cured and smoked salmon, blood oranges

Picture at the top: Pan seared Sea Scallops, house-made linguine, baby carrots, brussel sprouts, cipollini onions, basil butter sauce (That picture came out real nice)

A superb day for a first blog post

2010-03-16T14:22:00.008-04:00

First blog post. You all will have to bear with me, hopefully I will develop a blog voice in the coming weeks. In one week, Tuesday, March 23rd, at 6:00 in Washington, DC, I will be boarding a plane en route to Palma De Mallorca, Spain. I am embarking on this journey to work at a one Michelin star restaurant, at the Reads Hotel and Vespasian Hotel. I will be working the restaurant Bacchus. Once again I apologize for my dry writing at the moment.

I come back to the states on May 25th, four days before my sister Morgann's wedding.

I am nervous, anxious, excited, uncertain, and at the moment disillusional that it is truly becoming reality. A giant opportunity for me to not only increase my skill and experience in the kitchen but also as a person, learning a different culture, language, and lifestyle. Nervousness resides due to the huge step up this will be in the culinary artistry....the food is much more refined and precise then I have ever been exposed to. I can only hope that I will be able to hold up in the restaurant. Without any reservations I am sure that I will learn extraordinary things and my skill will be increased ten fold.

This opportunity came about due to the Swedish Exchange teacher, Lars Johansson, whom I will forever be in debt to. He has a house on the island, and is a friend of the Chef at the restaurant. Hopefully one day I will be able to treat him to the meal of his life at a restaurant that I own. Until then, I can only offer many "thanks" or, in Swedish, "Tack!!"

I am hopeful that during my stay on the island I will be able to provide all my family, friends, and random people that decide to read my less-than-average writing style with a insight into the kitchen, my day to day in Spain, and other occurrences!

Today I am counting down my time in Richmond(Midlothian), enjoying the beautiful weather, gathering things needed for the journey, and enjoying my last few nights at the restaurant I have worked at for the past year and some.

Acacia Midtown, which since being employed at, I have repeatedly insisted to all inquiring as the best food in Richmond, Virginia, today finally received the press it deserves. Today, Style Weekly awarded the team with "State of the Plate Best Restaurant 2010." A HUGE and well deserved award, Chef Dale, Phil, Chris, Andy, Star, Edgar, front of the house staff (and I, although deserving much less of the credit to compared to the others) have worked tirelessly the past year, and it shows in the food. Come out and eat, you will not be disappointed. I cannot express how proud, honored, and happy I am for the restaurant.

(In picture at the top, from left to right: Andy(stirring caramelized white chocolate), Me, Chef Dale, Phil, Star, Edgar, Chris)

Also deserving some words, Chef Dale was nominated as a Semi-Finalist in the James Beard Awards: Best Chef Mid-Atlantic. Finalists will be announced in the coming week I believe, and he certainly deserves a spot.

A sincere and big thanks is due to Sous Chef Phil and Andy, I have been working under them for over two years now, in the beginning at the Can Can Brasserie, and then following them to Acacia. They have been like brothers to me in the kitchen, teaching me and giving invaluable guidance. I will forever remember them, as they are my beginnings.

Hope this wasn't too painful of a read, thank you for taking the time to read it! Off now to Sur La Tabla/Williams Sonoma for some last minute kitchen items needed. Then to dinner service at Acacia. Half Price wine night, come eat! 7 Days until I depart! In the words of my Swedish friends Robert and Jonathan, who blogged their cross the United States van trip, "Stay Tuned for more information!"

Hopefully sooner rather than later!

Collin