Sunday, December 6, 2009

Nectar

Last night was the first night of my stage (apprenticeship) at Nectar, a small bistro in Mt. Lookout. I was able to get this great gig with the help of Kathleen Rupert, one of the advisers at MCI. My interest in slow food and organic ingredients, combined with excellent preparation made this a wonderful fit for my first cooking exposure outside the confines of school.

While driving to Nectar, I was wondering what it would be like to actually be in the kitchen of a real restaurant. Not at school, where everyone is clamoring for produce, towels and equipment, or a Hell's Kitchen environment, but a truly professional operation, where a few lucky souls are able to do what they love and make money cooking for others. The experience completely exceeded my expectations. Julie and her staff are truly delightful, warm and welcoming.

Lisa started out by showing me how to prep potatoes for brunch on Sunday. Peel, quarter lengthwise and cut into about 1-1 1/2 inch pieces. After I did about 30 pounds of potatoes, I moved on to slicing grapes in half. Grapes were followed by pineapples. Then Julie said she wanted me to do something for her. She pulled out a box that contained perfectly beautiful cultivated trumpet mushrooms on one side and gorgeous wild oyster mushrooms on the other side. The trumpets were sliced in half and cut on a bias until I reached the cap, then I cut them vertically across the top. The oyster mushrooms were tossed for a few minutes to remove debris (pine needles and dirt-these were wild mushrooms) and then the larger ones were torn in half to allow me to remove any grit from inside the stems. Last but not least, I cut, peeled and sliced persimmons. Wow! Those are one slippery fruit!

While lost in the quintessential only child world of prep work, I had time to think about how happy I was standing there working with these alluring ingredients. I also was able to contemplate the many similarities between cooking and nursing. There are also some distinct differences. The differences that screamed out loud in my mind yesterday afternoon were positive. The smells are much more enticing in a kitchen than in a labor and delivery unit. I could expound on that, but this is a family show, so need I say more? I shared my thought with Julie, who laughed and said "Yes, I am sure that is true. The food is better too!" I replied, "Agreed, but it would not be much of a challenge to make better food than a hospital!" Laughter from both of us! The other advantage is that ingredients don't talk back and if they did, I have a sharp knife to use on them!

Prepping exquisite ingredients was not the end of the adventure yesterday. Julie walked over to the prep table with a taste of elderberry jelly on a spoon. She had procured the Amish made jelly on her Saturday morning trip to Findlay Market. It was sweet with a unique flavor and I will be seeking to purchase a jar of this delicious nectar on my next trip to the market. Then there was the opportunity to taste the salt cod and mashed potato appetizer topped with olives and red pepper. Crisp and savory on the outside and soft on the inside. Yum! As I was peeling persimmons and trying desperately to hold onto my knife with my ever increasingly slippery hands and NOT cut myself, (as Richard had given me firm instructions prior to leaving the house-"No leaking!") Julie came back to the prep area with a ramekin containing a few of the oyster and trumpet mushrooms I had cut after they had been sauteed. Fantastic! After a taste of persimmon, I packed up my knives and went home to go ice skating with Richard, Hannah and her friend Maddie with a giant smile on my face. I had survived my first day in a real kitchen and LOVED it! It was almost like watching my first birth in labor and delivery as a student. I knew that was what I wanted to do. The difference is I was 18 when I saw my first delivery. Why do we have to decide what we want to do for the rest of our lives when we are 18? Oh, if I knew then what I know now...

I cleaned up my station and thanked everyone, including and especially Julie, who is gracious enough to permit me entry into her world and teach me what she knows. When I thanked her again I also told her I knew in the beginning, I would be more work than I was worth. She responded that I had really helped and that she could see that I really wanted to do this. Julie also said, "Some people say they want to do it and then make excuses why they can't. I can tell this is something that is really important to you. I have no time for someone who doesn't really want it and I have all the time for someone who does." My daughter Sydney had come to visit from Columbus and didn't have long to stay. I had to leave for work yesterday before she left to go home. We were both disappointed about my early departure, but we said our goodbyes for now and I left. It was unfortunate that had to happen, but it was worth it!

Thanks again to everyone at Nectar for their help in my cooking endeavor and I can't wait until next week!

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Here We Are


"Here We Are", the Jimmy Buffett tune that attempts to describe the Parrothead phenomenon popped into my head as I began to write. I wanted to be able to explain why I am writing, so here we go.

Last March I was working as a nurse, performing antenatal testing. Richard and I had been dating about 5 months and living together about 3 months. I was growing more frustrated by the day with the nursing profession, my job and my boss. Richard could tell. I had expressed an interest in going to culinary school. He said"Why don't you go down to Cincinnati State and check out the culinary program?" So, I did. I came home that evening and he asked me what I thought. I said something like, "If I won the lotto, I would quit my job today and start tomorrow!" Well, needless to say, they failed to pull my numbers out of the lotto tumbler, but by Friday I had given 2 weeks notice at work and registered for classes that started in early April.

I completed Cooking I, Sanitation, Nutrition and Survey of Hospitality Careers my first term (Spring 09). When summer came, I registered for and completed and accelerated Excel course. In May, Richard and I set up a garden in the back yard and grew tomatoes and basil. Just a "trial" garden to see if we could grow stuff. The tomatoes grew and so did the basil. It was fun. We GREW something! Then we ate what we grew. Pretty cool. I wanted to know more about growing stuff. My brother was growing stuff too, but on a larger, more successful scale. He had a greenhouse. As always, he was willing to instruct his "'lil seester" on the finer points of gardening.

Early fall quarter started and I registered for 11 credits. Richard and I borrowed my brother's tube bender and went to work building a greenhouse of our own. I began to look back, trying to remember how things came to be and how I had arrived at this point. It had only been about 6 months since I started school, but already so much had changed. I wanted to document my journey. I want to watch the change. I want to be able to look back and read about how I felt during my experience and compare it to the inevitable changes that will occur.

So here we are... This is not Alice's Restaurant or Alice's Greenhouse. These are Alice's thoughts about her journey into the food world. So if you would like to check in on my journey now and then, you are welcome, stop by anytime. There will be current posts and some posts about what has happened over the past 6 months, provided I can remember enough to write it down!