Purpose of this group.

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shooterrick

Master of the Pit
Original poster
OTBS Member
SMF Premier Member
Jan 13, 2008
2,035
20
South Louisiana
I thought it might be useful if we could get the chefs who are members of SMF to join this group and provide a central resource point where others could solicit their input and help.  Their more formal training and experience can provide some great insight. 
 
Thanks for the start up! I for one would like to know who the Pro's are, Culinary and Hard Knocks School Trained...It would be Embarassing to give a 100 word Sanitation and Safety lecture to a member that is already ServSafe Certified!...JJ
 
Thanks for joining JJ.  I have always loved to cook but am not a chef by any measure.  Brains are not only something we all have but most of us can benefit from picking the brains of others and your input will be appreciated.

Shooter
 
.It would be Embarassing to give a 100 word Sanitation and Safety lecture to a member that is already ServSafe Certified!...JJ


so true,  but some times even some one who is ServSafe needs a little reminder

I am not a chef I just love to cook. I have taken the ServSafe food handlers course online for $15 well worth my time and money.

Robert
 
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Well guys - this is really near and dear to my heart. I started cooking with my mom at 8. I worked in a restaurant for about a year as the prep chef working the coffee shop and prepping for the dining room prime rib restaurant on the graveyard shift. 

We ran a small catering business for several years to put our kid thru college We also did weekend festivals serving sausage. We hosted a black tie party for 80 raising money for charity for the last 18 years.

We have done a wedding for 100 and 5 rehearsal dinner in or back yard for at least 60  in the last 5 years.  

It is our pleasure for the last 8 years to teach the advanced cooking class for the Fallbrook 4H group.

We are foodies and love food and eating 
 
I am NOT a Chef. I have no culinary school background.

I did cook professionally and work the restaurant biz many years ago, but I have no pretensions there.

Having said that, I am happy to be here and learn from the best!

Good luck and good smoking.
 
All are welcome here.  Al, that is the exact point of this group.  For those pros who are willing to assist us to become better or more proficient or provide insight thank you for being here. 
 
I am by no means any kind of a Chef, but I will definitely join this one.

If I can add anything at any time, I will, but I'm sure I'll be reading 99% of the time, instead of typing.

Thanks guys,

Bear
 
I also am not a chef but would like to be part of this group to learn what I can. I love cooking and smoking meat. My Dad was a cook in the service and I have learned a lot from him growing up and helping him. No formal training, so I probably won't have much to offer but I know I will learn a lot.
 
School of Hard Knocks chef here.  Dad bought a restaurant when I was 13 and made me bus tables.  At 14 I was washing dishes.  By 15 I was cooking.  I worked at various restaurants around S. FL under some really good chefs.  One was so rough he made Gordon Ramsey look like a teddy bear!  But those chefs are who taught me what I needed to know.  

I went on to work at a few country clubs as sous chef and learned the foundation of classic cooking under a couple good chefs.  The went on to some of the new "California Cuisine" restaurants that were popular in the 80's, and was lucky enough to work under some really great chefs.  I finally burned out of the restaurant biz in my late 30's. 

As much as I know about the basics of cooking, I almost feel like I did not really learn how to cook meats properly until I discovered this forum,  It has even changed the way I roast meat in the oven. 

I am not a food safety expert at all.  But I can help those in need of some of the more basic things when it comes to cooking.  Glad to be a part of this group!
 
I joined to learn.  I'll be reading much more than contributing.  Probably have some questions.  Thanks to all the chefs, however you learned, for contributing.
 
I am a Chef,not formally trained,but through hard Knocks as JJ says. I never had the $$ to go to school. I did have a stroke of luck in moving to Toledo area; I was lucky to find a Restaurant that had a program for Chefs through the American Culinary Foundation. I only paied for the books and tudored under my Chef. Having some skills already made it a breeze. I acquired my Chef-de-Cuisine in two years and worked as a Sous Chef for 3yrs. until the body gave out.

I thouroghly enjoyed my time at the French Quarter and if the lungs would co-operate, go back in a Heartbeat;however,the smoke and aerosolized grease got my lungs. I shouldn't be Smoking anything,but I'm not going to give up my passion
biggrin.gif


I'm a little slow.so slow smoking does me just fine...

Have fun and...
 
For the school of hard knocks guys, just Google a guy named Thomas Keller?

Not the way I would recommend for a young person, but it is the way it was done in the old days.

Good luck and good smoking.
 
Very interesting.  Thank you for pointing him out to us, Venture.

One thing that piqued my interest was in Wikipedia it said, "he worked at the Palm Beach Yacht Club, starting as a dishwasher and quickly moving up to cook. It was here he discovered his passion for cooking and perfection in a hollandaise sauce."   That sounds almost like my story!

I was infatuated with hollandaise sauce, and wanted to find a way to standardize it in the restaurant business.  In the mid 80's I invented, and eventually patented a method of making an all natural hollandaise sauce base.  It took me over 10 years to perfect it, tinkering with it in my spare time while working at different places.  It was an unheard of idea, so no food companies wanted to license it.  So we started our own business making it and selling it.  We had over 2 dozen accounts, ranging from small restaurants to hotels, and even a convention center. 

I used the same method to make a Caesar Salad Dressing Base, and also developed a line of tropical fruit vinaigrette bases too. But it was not to be, and with no financial backers, we closed it down.  The patent is not worth the $ it's printed on. 

Here is my patent:  http://www.patentgenius.com/patent/5387428.html
 
Hmmm?  A good Hollandaise?  Or even a good Mayo for that matter.  Tricky stuff for an old duffer like me!  LOL

Then again, a good omelette or even a properly fried egg seems to escape some of these TV guys.

Good luck and good smoking.
 
...... a properly fried egg seems to escape some of these TV guys.
and that's just one..........try doing 100's for a couple of hours and getting them all right.

i learned the old school way and then 10 yrs later went to school. at the time i was disapointed at the school since i "aced" it and felt i got jipped. looking back i was expossed to things in a short time that would have taken years to come across so in that respect it was a good thing to do. as i get older i find that i learn more and more everyday, i learn from other chefs, cooks, dishwashers and even guests. the one thing i did when i came here was to take off my chef's coat and learn a technique from people who for the most part do not cook for a living.....and learn i did. while i was ahead of the curve on food saftey and had an understanding of applied heat, i just sat back and let it all sink in.
 
and that's just one..........try doing 100's for a couple of hours and getting them all right.

i learned the old school way and then 10 yrs later went to school. at the time i was disapointed at the school since i "aced" it and felt i got jipped. looking back i was expossed to things in a short time that would have taken years to come across so in that respect it was a good thing to do. as i get older i find that i learn more and more everyday, i learn from other chefs, cooks, dishwashers and even guests. the one thing i did when i came here was to take off my chef's coat and learn a technique from people who for the most part do not cook for a living.....and learn i did. while i was ahead of the curve on food saftey and had an understanding of applied heat, i just sat back and let it all sink in.
And we have all learned a heap from you and the other talented folks here. I think what Rick and many of us are looking for is some of the special tips that you all have to help take us to the next level. Understanding the processes and your thoughts on how to get from point A to point B is what this thread is all about. 
 
Not trained in any way, just a fat Cajun cook. did try to enroll in the local trade school culinary class . Sat and talked to the head chef / instructor

for a couple of hours . He then led me into the kitchen gave me an apron and told me. There's the walk in ,there's the seasoning rack ,Here are all the utensils and pots you will need . Cook me something.

 Did a shrimp and grits dish w/ some blanched asparagus tips.  we sat back and ate and then he informed me that he didn't want me in his class???

 Said i would not get anything out of it except food safety and portion control and that i would be bored stiff for 80% of the class..

   No matter how much i talked he would not take me into the class.
 
Not trained here either. Just watched my Mom a lot. Man she can cook. Left home at 18 so I had to learn to cook so I could eat the food I was used to having my first 18 years. Everyone I ever cook for always compliments me so I must of learned something. Would love to learn more of the finer points and hone my skills even further.
 
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