Everything you've always wanted to know about cooking, but were too afraid to ask
Posted in Chef's Tales on Jul 30th, 2009
Wacky and Wondrous fun at the poolside Depending on which hotel you work at, the pool can be either an incredibly boring place or the centre of all the action. Usually, the poolside scene at city hotels is not that exciting, but a poolside at a beach resort fronting the sea normally keeps the [...]
Posted in 2) Recipes, Cooking on Jul 28th, 2009
Ingredients: 200 g Cucumber, skin on, cut in to wedges 200 g Pineapple, seeded, cut into ½ inch cubes 200 g Green guava, seeded, cut in to ½ inch cubes 200 g Starfuit, cut in to ½ inch cubes 200 g Green apple, cut in to ½ inch cubes Dressing; 250 g Hoisin sauce, (Chef [...]
Posted in Chef's Tales on Jul 26th, 2009
When I was watching television last night and saw how President Obama tried to reconcile with a Harvard Professor and a Cambridge police officer, I could not help but feel disappointed with our level of tolerance and understanding that many of us share. I would not want you to think that I am overlooking this [...]
Posted in 2) Recipes on Jul 24th, 2009
Ingredients: 1kg Sliced beef ribs 2 liters of Water 250 g Large red chili halved, seeded and sliced 40 g Bird’s eye chili or Thai chili, finely and sliced – Optional 50 g Garlic, peeled and sliced 200 g Shallot, peeled and sliced 50 g Ginger, peeled and sliced 150 g Galangal, peeled and chopped [...]
Posted in Chef's Tales, Personal on Jul 22nd, 2009
Michael wrote to me today and sounded as if he was heart broken due to the fact that, after he has now reached a certain level, has been over looked for a promotion as he has been told that he does not have a formal education in the culinary field. He explained to me that he has been [...]
Posted in 2) Recipes, Cooking on Jul 19th, 2009
Ingredients 500 g Any leftover cold rice 100 g Pineapple (fresh or canned), diced 2 Garlic cloves, peeled and chopped 4 Shallots, peeled and sliced 100 g Chicken meat, sliced or diced 10 Prawns, peeled and deveined – Optional 3 tsp Madras Curry Powder 2 tbsp Thai Fish Sauce, or Nam Pla Sauce 50 ml [...]
Posted in Chef's Tales, Personal on Jul 18th, 2009
I always wanted to be a chef; I don’t know why it just happened that way. I remember the first time I walked through the back door of a hotel on my very first day of employment and it was like walking into a totally different world. A world of madness, lunacy and endless stress [...]
Posted in 2) Recipes, Cooking on Jul 16th, 2009
Ingredients 1 whole Chicken, still with bone, cut to 8 pieces 225 g Shallots, peeled and sliced 125 g Cloves garlic, peeled and sliced 125 g Ginger, peeled and sliced 60 g Galangal, peeled and sliced 125 g Fresh turmeric peeled and sliced or 3 tblsp powder. 50 g Chili paste, or Indian dried [...]
Posted in Chef's Tales, Personal on Jul 16th, 2009
As in any venture, business or private, if you are to be successful, you must listen to your circle of friends, advisors, readers or customers and include their constructive criticisms to your growth formula. I started Chef’s Tales wanting it to be a very basic blog, thereby trying to teach readers the cooking fundamentals needed [...]
Posted in Chef's Tales on Jul 15th, 2009
If you have made your beef stock correctly & have followed the basic stock recipe and method, your beef stock should be almost clear….but unfortunately thin. If you then made a sauce with this liquid stock, the sauce would have to be thickened with another thickening agent. Your sauce would then not have the depth [...]
Posted in 2) Recipes, Chef's Tales, Cooking on Jul 13th, 2009
1kg Potatoes 30gr Butter Egg yolk Cream, fresh ground black pepper and seasoning. Making mashed potatoes is the easiest of tasks when it comes to cooking, especially if you have the very basic knowledge of cookery and you are able to look at the process logically. Having a certain level of understanding when it comes to [...]
Posted in Personal on Jul 12th, 2009
If there is one thing that I have learned over the past 30 years is the fact that words are extremely powerful. If we are to use people skills correctly, we have to read people and try to understand what drives them to go to work every day. One never knows what is happening in [...]
I urge non trained chefs to go to their local bookshop today and purchase any cook book that is filled with fantastic food pictures. Take the first recipe and picture that catches your eye, follow the recipe and instructions to prepare the dish. Lay the dish on chosen crockery and compare the finished dish with [...]
Posted in 2) Recipes on Jul 8th, 2009
Are you afraid to admit that you don’t know how to make real mashed potatoes and you cheat by opening a packet. Are you embarassed to tell your friends that you don’t know how to poach an egg for your loved ones for breakfast. It’s easy if you know how and I know how….you can [...]
Posted in 2) Recipes on Jul 7th, 2009
RECIPE 23 Gram Black pitted Calamata olives 90 Gram Capers 2 Tsp Freshly squeezed lemon juice 2 Cloves Roasted Garlic 2 Sprigs Fresh rosemary 2 Pinch Fresh cracked black pepper Extra virgin olive oil Salt Anchovies and Pine nuts (optional) METHOD Place all ingredients in a food processor. Add a little of the olive oil [...]
Posted in 2) Recipes, Cooking on Jul 5th, 2009
General proportions of ingredients for all stocks except fish stock 4 liters Water 2 Kg Raw bones ½ Kg Hard Vegetables (onion, carrot, celery, leeks) 1 Piece Bouquet Garni (thyme, bay leafs, parsley stalks) ½ Pc Whole Garlic Bulb (not a segment the whole thing) A dozen assorted peppercorns 60 Grams Tomato Paste (Brown stocks [...]
Posted in Personal on Jul 3rd, 2009
The first time I walked through the back door of a hotel, I was 15 years old and I walked in with visions of romance, dreams and glamour…I still have those visions today as they have never changed. After finishing cooking school, I left England and set off to Canada starting my life’s adventures that [...]
Posted in 2) Recipes, Cooking on Jul 2nd, 2009
FISH STOCK 4 Liters Water 2 Kg White Fish Bones (red fish bones will darken the stock) 200g Onion 50g Butter 1 Bay Leaf Juice of ½ lemon Parsley Stalks 6 whole white peppercorns METHOD Melt the butter in a thick bottom pan. Add the sliced onions, the well washed and rinsed fish bones. Cover [...]
