Dear Diary

Stuart Klassen the new Executive Chef at Delta Kelowna and I worked together in Whistler. I was a 1st cook and Stuart was our new Sous Chef. Let’s say this was 1995 (ish).

Right away it was obvious that Chef Klassen was going to be a great addition to this team. I was working the line in our all day restaurant, my section that winter was GM/ cold composed appetizers and bar food, burgers, nachos etc. I was into my second winter in Whistler when Chef Klassen started; he brought with him a energy and enthusiasm for food and people that has stuck with me since we worked together. He was the first one to pitch in and help out or just the right amount of levity to help us make it thru a tough shift.

Like I said I was in my second winter in Whistler and to be honest when I left Toronto for the mountains I was not to sure about working for Delta Hotels. The only Delta Hotel I knew about was the Chelsea in Toronto and it did not have the brand appeal to me. Mostly because I was at one of the best hotels in Canada at the time and I had been hardwired in kill mode by the team of chefs at the King Eddy. Delta, OK I will do this for the winter.

I had left Toronto because of what I would call apprentice burn out, long days, never see your friends bla, bla, bla. I was young and had accomplished a lot in a few years in one of Canada’s top kitchens. It was time to have some fun and cook along the way.

My blasé attitude stuck with me thru the first 8-10 months, don’t get me wrong I worked like crazy and kept my nose clean but I was here for fun right?

Things started to change for me, reflecting on the impact Chef Klassen had on me, I can honestly say that I needed the medicine that he gave me.

It started like this.

I was feeling sorry for myself during service one night, tired from snowboarding all day and wham, we got spanked. Now I have always been “en place” always! This night was no exception I was ready for it but not mentally. Things started to go sideways, full rack of tickets and it was all bar food. I flipped out to Chef Klassen. “What’s wrong with you?” he asked. “Chef I am getting a little tired of cooking burgers and fries” I said. Well that was when I learned the best lesson in my life. After service we went for a beer, chef and I spoke about my frustration. “Riddick, you’ve got it all wrong in your head” he said "But chef I was cooking Sweetbreads and Foie Gras before I got here. I am classically trained. I can really cook!”

“That’s right” said Chef “You can cook, that is not the problem. You need to change the way you look at what you are preparing. The guest that ordered the burger was expecting the best burger they ever had and if we don’t approach each dish asking ourselves would I eat this? Is this the best I could do? Then we have not done right by the customer”.

Embarrassing for me to admit this right? No way, we all make errors in judgement, take our eye off the ball for a second and need those around us to help correct our direction. That’s what teams do for each other.

From that conversation on I did think about the guest more, made an attempt to give every ounce of love I could to everything I cooked.

April of 1996, our Executive Chef Bruce Knapik came up to me and asked to talk with me. I met with chef after service in his office and out of the blue he said that he wanted me to open the Clubhouse as Sous Chef! I had worked so hard to correct my attitude and I guess it worked because a month later I had opened a brand new kitchen at the Whistler golf course with a team of 4 cooks representing Delta Hotels as a sous chef!

Attitude is everything and that burger in the winter of 1995 might just have been the one item that taught me the most about food and cooking. A burger, go figure. Cooking food for people requires love, attention and a desire to satisfy them at a very basic level. I am glad I learned this lesson sooner than later.

I celebrate my 15th year with Delta Hotels next year. 15 years is a long way from “one winter season” the opportunity’s I have had, places I have seen and people I have met are now part of the chef that I have become and continue to strive towards.

PS. If you find yourself cooking for Chef Klassen make sure you know the words to a few Lynyrd Skynyrd tracks I am sure Chef Klassen still likes to rock out! Stuart if you are out reading this thanks!

Until next time, keep you knives sharp and your pans hot.
Chef

Chefs Resume Files

So most of you are aware that I did my apprentiship at the King Edward Hotel http://www.starwoodhotels.com/lemeridien/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=1912 from 1990-1994, at the time it was part of the Trusthouse Forte Group and now is with Starwood.

I completed my apprentiship under Chef John Higgins. I wanted to share a website http://www.chefdb.com/ This site was started in Toronto to keep track of cooks and chefs in the city. Now when you look around you will see it has expanded around the world. Take a look and add your name to the record, it is a great way to see what happened to your culinary friends and keep track of "whatever happened to......

The Pantry

Here is the link for the article on Sous Vide that Roy provided...(he wanted to give Eric props for helping him with the French translation) http://amath.colorado.edu/~baldwind/sous-vide.html

OK, very cool but I have to admit some of the material in the mathematics section will require a second read for me to understand....Eric picked up Thomas Keller’s new book “Under Pressure” and you can see how Keller’s style has changed/influenced by his restaurant chefs.

Chef

Chef's Top 5

Top 5 cookbooks-

1. The French Laundry Cookbook by Thomas Keller
2. Culinary Artistry by Andrew Dornenburg
3. Mastering The Art of French Cooking, Volume One by Julia Child-Seriously this was the first cook book I ever had, my mom got it in 1975 in the "book of the month club" laugh if you will but Julia knows how to rock + she saved North Americans from the "casserole years"
4. Repertoire de La Cuisine by Lewis Saulnier (I have a 1912 copy of this bad boy)
5. Larousse Gastronomique by Prosper Montagne
6. On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen by Harold McGee (OK I said top 5 but McGee knows what he is talking about and gets the honourable mention)

Chef

Some Important dates:

December 2nd
New Menu in BHL
Community Gathering 3pm MKM Ballroom C the theme is “Praying for snow” guess what I heard that we are going to get some Monday/Tuesday…Melissa is one of the nominees for our Heart of the House award…good luck Melissa!

December 5th and 6th
Our next round of Corporate Christmas parties

December 9th
Orientation, we have 11 new employees starting! All sections. Let’s welcome our new team and show them what a community like ours can accomplish when we put our minds to it!

December 10th
FWG new menu Breakfast/Lunch and Dinner

December 11th
The annual Valley party, a chance for us to entertain our friends from Kananaskis and thank them for our wonderful partnerships.

December 14th
Annual DLAK Children’s Christmas Party

December 16th
Staff Christmas Party

Chef

High five to the team!

From Heather in Tour:

Although our Ski Teams are not completely gone yet (French Women, Monaco Women & Czech Republic are still here), I wanted to thank everyone for accommodating all these people! I know there were times when the demands were many! The feedback I have received from the teams has been positive especially regarding Food and Beverage service. All teams were very happy with the Dinner Buffet options this year, which was a new addition from past years.
Thank you again and watch to see if you recognize some of the faces and names that make the podium during FIS World Cup races this year! We look forward to welcoming all of our Ski teams next year in the lead up to the Olympics!

Ciao!
Heather

The Kitchen Sink

I know it has been a few weeks but I wanted to thank everyone for your efforts during the Longview group’s events. From my perspective we knocked this one out of the park! Great feedback and a few standout moments for sure! I never did get downstairs to see the camel….Thanks for knocking the socks off this return group.

Victoria has taken on the first blog challenge and is reading Daniel Boulud’s book, “Letters to a young chef” looking forward to her observations from this read. Check chef Boulud out http://www.danielnyc.com/

Chef