I was wondering what is your favorite recipe to cook. I wanna learn more about what you have learned. Can you pass on a little of your knowledge? I have three years of culinary arts I'm gonna learn, but I'd like to know a few thing from a former chef. So one chef to another, what kinds of words of wisdom can you pass on? I'd love if you could teach me, but you are there and I am here. I also wouldn't want to take you away from being close to your boyfriend. I know how it feels to be away from the one's you love.

Phil

 

Phil:

Where do I start:

Go buy Harold and McGee's On Food and Cooking... everything you ever wanted to know is in there, and it is invaluable

Go to a farmer's market and buy what you want.  F recipes.  Cook with your heart.  If you are working with great ingriedients it will be a success.  Just remember your job is to make them better.  In the peak of summer there is no way to make a tomato taste better then by adding salt and pepper.  Sometimes this is enough.

Learn the basics, but again f the recipes.  I don't use recipes, I use formulas and ratios.  Know that for 1 G stock you need 8 of bones, 1 M.P. and 1 G water... this will be enough... always

Keep it simple stupid.  Never try to cook above your head.  You are not Feran Adria, and I am not GR.  Don't try to be.  Stick to what you are good at.

Eat everything you can get your hands on. Through sight, smell, and taste you will learn everything you need to know.

Oh, yeah, and don't take out to much in student loans.  Those suck.  Never underestimate the volume of learning that is attained in an actual kitchen.

MOST IMPORTANT:  Feed people well, but love them more.  Find your balance between the kitchen and your home.  You will be a better cook, and a great lover.

I guess that's the basics... enjoy!

CMAC

So everyday I check my msgs, and respond, or at least try to.  None-the-less, I find myself answering the same questions over and over.  So here are all of your top questions answered and top secret hk myths revealed:

About me:

I have a boyfriend whom I love dearly.  Sorry.  However watch the status, if we breakup I'll let you know.

Yes, I was a culinary student.  I have, in truth been a culinary student for 5 years.  I was origionally attending commiunity college to make sure this was the right path.

Yes, I have worked in a restaurant before.  So many, in fact, that I could not name them all.  I have been in this industry for over a decade.  Granted most of my positions were front-of-the-house. (Up until 2003)

I live in St. Louis.  This is my home plate, my spring board, and the place I hide after graduating culinary school, or appearing on a reality television show.

I am employed.  I work in a restaurant run by my mentor.  Some people have asked if this means I lost.  No.  Win or lose you will find me behind a stove somewhere.  This is my job.

oh yeah, Please don't ask me if I won.  I cannot answer that.  I can tell you I made it into the finals, and I am a control freak with borderline O.C.D. my restaurant will kick-ass... or I won't sleep.

About HK:

HK is filmed.  This still doesn't mean I can tell you anything, and besides you only have 2 weeks to wait.

I never watched enough to know much about Mary-Ann (sous chef), but I felt fortunate to work under Gloria.

I don't know how to get a seat in the restaurant.  I hear something about Craigslist?  But am not sure

I have no pull with casting directors, and cannot get you on to the show.  Season 5 has wrapped.  Sorry.

We all look like idiots on the show for a couple of reasons.  No sleep, I forewent eating in pursuit of coffee, stress, and of course Gordon.  These things get to you no matter how tough you are.  ( I thought I was a tough girl, but on film I look like Bambi... who knew)

I love GR.  o.k. so maybe it's not that creepy, but it was an honor to work with him... I would do it again if given the chance.  I wish all chefs were like him, in that there was a sense of standards that were upheld, and you always knew where you stood.

The cast:  We share a special bond.  We were all put through a trial by fire.  I respect all of them for their individual talent and skill, regardless of how they looked on film

About the Finale:

Love Lou, aka Petrozza.  You will never find a more genuine person anywhere.  It was great to compete against him... although I will try to kick his ass  : )

 

Extern., St. John, USVI

Dec. 2006

 

     I came to ..:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />St. John and Caneel Bay with two goals in mind.  I wanted to cook fish and live on the beach.  I have come close to the latter, and decided that an air-conditioned apartment was better.  The first has been harder to come by than I originally thought.  I left St. Louis on the coattails of the year's first winter storm.  I was underdressed for St. Louis winter, and over dressed for the Caribbean.  After saying goodbye to everything I thought I knew some months earlier and moving to New York, putting my life into two suitcases was relatively easy.  Stepping off a boat into a whole new world was much harder.  In my own fashion, I was devoid of funds and needed to work as quickly as possible.  This anywhere else may be relatively simple, but in the islands one needs a health card for handling food.  This is nothing more than a parasitic test conduced by the "doctors" on the island.  "No big deal," I thought.  I had to do this before I was allowed entrance into the CIA.  My doctor gave me a cup, and I went home and awaited nature's guidance.

            The health clinic lies in a squat pink building nearly a skip away from where the ferry docks in Cruz Bay.  Upon entering, I was greeted by a barrage of health pamphlets dealing with the adverse effects of a high sugar diet, as opposed to the friendly receptionist I had expected.  This should have signaled the strife that was to follow, but I have never been adept at recognizing such clues.  A head popped up from behind the desk on the left, and I explained that I needed to get a health card for my employment at Caneel Bay.  I was asked to sign my name in a paper bound ledger, and was then handed a vial no larger than a test tube with which to store my sample. "You can go across the street, there is a public restroom," the face said.  I must have looked an awful bit confused when I looked at the person and asked, "I have to do this now?"

            "You want your health card today, you do it before 9:30," the man said in a West Indian accent that made me feel more embarrassed about the question I had asked, than the task that was before me.  I glanced at the clock that was located conveniently over the "reception" desk, and winced at the meager 45 minutes remaining before my deadline.  I shoved the vial into my purse, and left the health center a little defeated.  I did not even glance towards the restrooms, knowing that there was not a chance that I could remit my sample.  I walked around the foreign city, which in size is no bigger than a few blocks.  My stomach was grumbling.  I had had nothing more to eat since I left St. Louis the day prior.  I found Joe's Diner a block or two away, which offered a few items at prices that in St. Louis would have been laughable.  I ordered a five dollar bagel with cream cheese to-go and a ginger beer for my nerves.  I began walking again, taking in the sights of endless jewelry stores and souvenir shops. 

            In the end, it was a matter of mind over fecal matter.  Never before had I been able to complete such tasks on sheer will, but this was a first I was grateful for.  I returned my bounty by the mandated deadline, and completed the rest of the registration.  All of the samples have to be sent to St. Thomas for analysis, so I would not be able to receive my card until the following day.  This was fine with me, as I had yet to make it to the beach, which is a mere ten minute walk from my apartment.

    If you would have told me, on my first day in Hell's Kitchen that I would make it this far, I would have been floored.  This was a great accomplishment for me personally, but it also stands as a signal.  I wanted this prize so badly it hurt at times.  It alienated me from my competition and from my peers at school.  Every step was hard.  I know it looks easy on t.v., and I had the same thought, "I can do that."  Turns out I was right.  My mom reminded me, before I went on the show that there was a chance that I could sacrifice my career, and I thought I had.  In episode 2, when chef Ramsay said "The person leaving here tonight is going for all of the right reasons,"  I saw everything that I had worked for pass before my eyes.

    The truth is, I want to be a cook.  I want to be a great cook.  I gave up everything I had to go to the CIA.  I was managing a wonderful restaurant in STL, and making enough money to support myself and put some away.  I had a beautiful, if small, apartment, 2 wonderful cats, a great group of friends, and an amazing boyfriend.  But for me it wasn't enough.  I wanted to be the best, and I could not do that in STL.  So, in 2005, I quit my job, broke up with my boyfriend, sold everything I could, and packed my Ford Focus (which only has 3 hubcaps) all to attend "the world's premier culinary school" in Hyde Park, NY.

    My education here meant everything to me.  This was my life, which was more happy that not, traded in for something better.  Traded in for a world of opportunities I couldn't understand coming from such a small pond.  I wanted to do everything, and be the best at it... which obviously made me very popular with my classmates.  None-the-less this expirience had a real, tangible meaning for me.  I knew what I had given up, which was more than most of my classmates, so I gave it my all. 

    Close to graduation, I was given an opportunity to gamble all that I had worked towards for a platform.  I knew, deep down, that I could do it.  Participating in Hell's Kitchen was still quite a sacrifice.  I knew I could undo all of the tribulation I had been through.  But I strongly believe that nothing worth attaining comes without sacrifice.  So off to LA I was, for better or for worse. In my eye I achieved suceess in the final six, then five, then four, and now three. 

     I learned throughout this whole experience that I was on the right track.   That success takes sacrifice, and throughout all of the strife, creative financing, and stress, doing what you love is worth it.  I have lost "friends" through this expirience.  I have lost respect from some of my contemporaries who believe that food media is not a respectable endeavor.  But I have gained a confidence in myself, and though I may have less sleep, I have what most in my position do not, which is a voice.  And the reach of media cannot be measured.  So thanks to all those who read this blog as it begins to be spilt into two parts.  The first the life of CMac, and the second soley dedicated to the food that has given me direction.

 

 

 

So, I guess it's crunch time now.  This was a great episode for me, both with winning the individual challenge and with being the best of the worst.  There was not a whole lot more I could ask for.  I have done really well in the individual challenges so far, with one win and one second place.  I work really well under pressure, and now I don't have to get anyone's approval.  It's nice to be able to do your own thing with food and be held directly accountable for it.  Don't get me wrong, in the past I may have not faired as well with out my team but now...

Can't wait till Tuesday?  For those in the Tampa area, I will be in the sunshine state this weekend to visit with my grandparents.  Tune into the FOX morning show (7-9am Monday) and watch as I teach Charley some fun summer dishes.  Recipes will be posted on their website following the airing.

Don't forget next week "The Mother of All Challenges" where the final four prepare lunch for 80 very hungry, very pregnant mothers-to-be.

Christina

 

OMG!   I have had some days in a restaurant, but nothing like today. We have had a wet spring here in the midwest, but today mother nature let loose. Our basement began to flash flood, and we all ran downto the basement to pull items off the bottom shelves and try to save them from the flood waters. The the water rose above the electrical outlets,and someone screamed, "electric!" as we bagan to get shocked.  We ran for the stairs.  I thought a live wire had come down, and said aloud, "Please don't let White Castle be my last meal."  None-the-less, we survived.   However, after 10 years in the industry, I have never seen so much water so fast.

No lie, Jen and I are not and were not friends.  But even I was surprised to see how harsh she looked in this past episode.  We never see what goes on in the blue kitchen... we just hear and speculate.  JP holding the crab in front of Jen was probably the funniest this I have seen.  I know he might look a little stiff, but JP is hilarious!

 

 

Sorry myspacers... I am new at this.  I guess I will figure it out over time, but I have always been a facebooker.  So now I guess it is time to get updated.