Purpose of this group.

[chefrob]

 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. 

 the best advice i can give is when certain people come over to eat, it is advantageous to others to get the right person "pinned" between the wall and table so that they are out of reach from the good stuff!

 

[shooterrick]

I think the best way to proceed with this t hread is to try and ask specific questions or to explain a problem and ask for a solution. 

This way a responce can be targeted.  LOL

 

[chef jimmyj]

Very interesting.  Thank you for pointing him out to us, Venture.

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

This approach to Hollandaise is nothing short of BRILLIANT! Stabilizing the emulsion by denaturing the egg proteins with Acid instead of Heat!...Phenomenal !Considering the only commercially available Bases are all Starch Stabilized...I can't believe this had no backers...Awesome! Thank you Chef, with much Respect...JJ

 

[scooper]

Thank you very much, Chef JJ!  Coming from you that really means a lot.  You obviously know your craft well.  I believe the idea was ahead of its time. 

We had one company interested in it, but they were a licensee of the Sally Sherman prepared salads you see at Costco and such.  The restaurants they delivered to were mostly deli's.  So it would not have been a big seller on the menu.

I really wanted to target the cruise ship and hotel industry.  On 5 star ships, they cannot serve hollandaise in a U. S. port because of the temperature/time safety rules.  This could have been made in small enough batches to get them through breakfast service in increments.  Especially since my base was made with pasteurized yolks. 

The base can come right out of the cooler, into the mixer, and have hot butter added to it.  The temperatures would balance each other out keeping the sauce from breaking as it does when it gets too hot.

I put my heart and soul into that invention and the resulting products for a long, long time.  I gave up on it and let the patent lapse by not paying the maintenance fees.  It is probably one of the reasons I burned out from the restaurant biz. 

Thank you again, Chef.  Your words mean a lot to me. 

 

[chef jimmyj]

You are Welcome...I was truly impressed!...I would love to see some of your other work, if you are so inclined...Thanks again, Scott....JJ

 

[supercenterchef]

scooper, I'm impressed as well...the details of the patent are more than I can digest while at work, but I'll definitely peruse it over the week...thanks for sharing!

 

[venture]

That is certainly dedication.  I can see where burnout could become a factor in such circumstances. 

Brilliant, nonetheless!

Good luck and good smoking.

 

[scooper]

Thank you, all of you!  You are all too kind. 

 

[spec]

Like Scooper I went on a quest a few years ago...Not Hollandaise sauce , but a quest for the perfect spaghetti sauce

I never went to chef school but am serve safe in 2 states...

Wish I had realized earlier in life that I truely love to cook, and help others in their quests for tastee goodies

So Much good info here and to know that it's real info...and not just "gramma did it this way"

Don't get me wrong...I do most of my cooking, Preserving, and growing old school...Just adding some of the modern twists to ensure safety

 

[supercenterchef]

good to hear, spec...spaghetti sauce has been one of those 'easy to learn difficult to master' recipes for me too...any findings from your journey you'd like to share?

 

[big casino]

I am no Chef, but I did stay at a holiday inn last night... hehehe

 awesome Idea for a group

 

[spec]

HE HE HE

I should have well enough alone

Seriously tho

Using a juicer, and a crank seive add to cremy texture and growing several types of tomato's for your sauce...That's a big subject all it's own, But in a nutshell, Roma,cherry, Big mamma, and Opalka's are the best of the best to create a base from...Use all of them to get the charictoristics you like...I always juice in at least 1 bell pepper, 1 Jap, a couple of cloves of garlic and a medium onion per gallon of tomato juice and pulp while simmering from the start...

Also powdered tomao is your friend...I usually wait until the sauce is over 1/2 reduced before adding the chunky bits...Onion, Garlic, Peppers, Fennel with seeds, basil, oregano, chili powder... Add small amounts  Since it will blossom as the sauce reduces.

In the end...

AFTER 4 YEARS OF THROWING AWAY/ DUMPING ON MY COMPOST PILE prolly hundreds of GALLONS OF SAUCE..Honestly...20 to 30 plants worth of tomatos per year

I went back to my old reciepe...and just live with it

Hope this helped some...If you want I could start a thread in the sauce forum

 

[supercenterchef]

sounds good, I'll look for it over there...

to be honest, I've got a heretical secret--take any cheap store sauce and add loads of Cavender's to it...won't work for foodies, but...in a pinch...

 

[spec]

I'm a food snob

I always think I can make it better than whats available in the mass market chemical infested stuff people have become accustomed to...powdered gravies, soups, and dips at high end eateries...Running a eatery I also discovered there aren't enough hours in a day to make everything from scratch....even if I didn't grow it

But other things...I will run out of and my patrons will have to do with out before I comprimise them...

Yes...yes I am a food snob

But I'd rather serve nothing than cut rate crap

 

[wade]

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

I think the ServSafe Food Safety course is the equivalent of the Level 3 Food Hygiene certificate here in the UK. Great course.

 

[tbrtt1]

Discovered this site a couple of weeks ago and just now found this group.

I cooked in a restaurant for a few years many moons ago. It was the basis for a lifetime (hopefully still much more to come) of experimentation and enjoyment. To this day, it may be the most valuable skill set I have ever acquired. Don't misunderstand me, I am no chef by any stretch, but I learned from a talented guy and picked up just enough to be dangerous.