Weekend at the Country Club

The weekend has come. Functions are minimal, unusual, since most celebrations are held during these days.
Our Production chef has come down with the flu, and our garde manger chef had an attack of asthma. Stock clerk did the opening for the garde manger station. lovely. But short staffing has been always a problem.
Sometimes I wonder how a 50 kilo sack of rice is consumed every day to feed 150 employees. If you calculate, an average person consumes the equivalent of 120g of raw rice grain. that means 18-20 kilos should only be consumed each day. it's a mystery to me how the rice just disappears. A requisition for 3 sacks of rice has been made. denied of course. what are they going to do with the rice?
The gas stove for the cafeteria production sprung a leak, creating a wall of fire about 3 feet high. After shutting off the system, we found one of the copper links has broken loose. good thing it didn't explode this morning.
After several deliveries, our regular supplier finally delivered great tuna loin. pinkish red, vibrant color, just the right size and shape. Our japanese chef was ecstatic.
Hot and humid nowadays. And even with the help of air curtains, flies still seem to find their way to our preparation tables. You gotta love the tropics.

Weekend at the Country Club

The weekend has come. Functions are minimal, unusual, since most celebrations are held during these days.
Our Production chef has come down with the flu, and our garde manger chef had an attack of asthma. Stock clerk did the opening for the garde manger station. lovely. But short staffing has been always a problem.
Sometimes I wonder how a 50 kilo sack of rice is consumed every day to feed 150 employees. If you calculate, an average person consumes the equivalent of 120g of raw rice grain. that means 18-20 kilos should only be consumed each day. it's a mystery to me how the rice just disappears. A requisition for 3 sacks of rice has been made. denied of course. what are they going to do with the rice?
The gas stove for the cafeteria production sprung a leak, creating a wall of fire about 3 feet high. After shutting off the system, we found one of the copper links has broken loose. good thing it didn't explode this morning.
After several deliveries, our regular supplier finally delivered great tuna loin. pinkish red, vibrant color, just the right size and shape. Our japanese chef was ecstatic.
Hot and humid nowadays. And even with the help of air curtains, flies still seem to find their way to our preparation tables. You gotta love the tropics.

POS Systems

The POS system is the primary control in any food service establishment, it serves as a recording of all the transactions in any given day, giving the operator a basic idea on how the business is going.
It is unfortunate that the amount of technology available nowadays does not get to the ones who use it the most. This can be due to either (1)ignorance (2) apprehension. More so on number one since most service staff would rather deal with the status quo than think out of the box.
The POS system in the Alabang Country Club are not interconnected, no server where valuable data such as guest count, month-to-date sales, or even product performance that are ususally stored in, can not be retreived. It's like steering a ship blind in the dead of a foggy night with sunglasses on.
For purposes of cost control, I will use excel to create a cost compass, plotting sales against sales by category. If the POS system can not give me valuable data on a timely basis, at least the cost compass will give me a good bearing on where the business is headed.
There are cost compasses available on the net, but they cost money.
This morning, that is what I plan to do.

POS Systems

The POS system is the primary control in any food service establishment, it serves as a recording of all the transactions in any given day, giving the operator a basic idea on how the business is going.
It is unfortunate that the amount of technology available nowadays does not get to the ones who use it the most. This can be due to either (1)ignorance (2) apprehension. More so on number one since most service staff would rather deal with the status quo than think out of the box.
The POS system in the Alabang Country Club are not interconnected, no server where valuable data such as guest count, month-to-date sales, or even product performance that are ususally stored in, can not be retreived. It's like steering a ship blind in the dead of a foggy night with sunglasses on.
For purposes of cost control, I will use excel to create a cost compass, plotting sales against sales by category. If the POS system can not give me valuable data on a timely basis, at least the cost compass will give me a good bearing on where the business is headed.
There are cost compasses available on the net, but they cost money.
This morning, that is what I plan to do.

Sunday at the Country Club

Well, the buffet went great. the Sauteed Chicken l'Italienne was a hit. But more so the Mongolian Grill section. guests just swamped the area. the club used to average about 20 guests on sundays, but today was 60! last week for mother's day was 118. Getting better. Leftovers from the buffet, such as the herb crusted fish fillet, will be recycled. The Water Chestnut puree wasn't much, maybe because guests did not know what the heck a water chestnut was.
The buffet broke even, but at least the guest numbers are climbing up again. We have to make the Country club known not as cheap food, but of great food because it's at the country club.
the Polo field also made money. the satellite kitchens needs some work, but I am sure it will
be worth it. the potential sales are staring at my face!

Sunday at the Country Club

Well, the buffet went great. the Sauteed Chicken l'Italienne was a hit. But more so the Mongolian Grill section. guests just swamped the area. the club used to average about 20 guests on sundays, but today was 60! last week for mother's day was 118. Getting better. Leftovers from the buffet, such as the herb crusted fish fillet, will be recycled. The Water Chestnut puree wasn't much, maybe because guests did not know what the heck a water chestnut was.
The buffet broke even, but at least the guest numbers are climbing up again. We have to make the Country club known not as cheap food, but of great food because it's at the country club.
the Polo field also made money. the satellite kitchens needs some work, but I am sure it will
be worth it. the potential sales are staring at my face!

Sunday at the Country Club

Tomorrow is Sunday, so we prepared some of the items for the weekly buffet featured at the country club. One of the dishes is 'poulet sautee a l'italienne. The chicken can be roasted in the morning before service. The Italian sauce needed to be done this morning. Recipe is simple enough. Sautee some chopped shallots and onions in olive oil. then add chopped button mushrooms. heat until all the liquid has evaporated. then toss with tomato paste for about 2 minutes. then add stock. lower heat and reduce by half. season with salt and pepper.
The kitchen staff didn't seem to be eager in learning this new recipe. But then agaiin, they have lived in a box for several years, so anything new is alien to them, therefore risky.
Well, we made all the other stuff as mise en place.

Sunday at the Country Club

Tomorrow is Sunday, so we prepared some of the items for the weekly buffet featured at the country club. One of the dishes is 'poulet sautee a l'italienne. The chicken can be roasted in the morning before service. The Italian sauce needed to be done this morning. Recipe is simple enough. Sautee some chopped shallots and onions in olive oil. then add chopped button mushrooms. heat until all the liquid has evaporated. then toss with tomato paste for about 2 minutes. then add stock. lower heat and reduce by half. season with salt and pepper.
The kitchen staff didn't seem to be eager in learning this new recipe. But then agaiin, they have lived in a box for several years, so anything new is alien to them, therefore risky.
Well, we made all the other stuff as mise en place.

Feel the heat

Another indispensable tool for the professional cook is a small item that has been in my chef's jacket pocket for close to 10 years. When I started out cooking professionally, roasting huge cuts of beef or turkey was difficult to test for doneness. Of course, experience is the best teacher. But for those who rely on technology to give an accurate reading, I rely on my trusty Cooper Pocket thermometer.
It reads in Fahrenheit, and is fairly accurate to a few tenths of a degree. About the length of a pen, the thermometer has a dial about the size of a lady's watch face.
It can easily be calibrated. A screw nut under the dial rotates for calibration. Just dip the tip of the thermometer into boiling water, wait for the needle to register the temperature. When the needle has settled, turn the screw nut for the pointer to rotate to a reading of 212F, the boiling temperature of water. then the thermometer is calibrated.
There are other thermometers that have a digital interface. Alto Shaam has a good one that is used by chef's the world over. Others have PDA probes. That's good too. But since I have had the thermometer for quite some time, it hurts to part ways in favor of upgrading. Besides, it has served me well.
Any comments? Do you know a good pocket thermometer? Let me know

Feel the heat

Another indispensable tool for the professional cook is a small item that has been in my chef's jacket pocket for close to 10 years. When I started out cooking professionally, roasting huge cuts of beef or turkey was difficult to test for doneness. Of course, experience is the best teacher. But for those who rely on technology to give an accurate reading, I rely on my trusty Cooper Pocket thermometer.
It reads in Fahrenheit, and is fairly accurate to a few tenths of a degree. About the length of a pen, the thermometer has a dial about the size of a lady's watch face.
It can easily be calibrated. A screw nut under the dial rotates for calibration. Just dip the tip of the thermometer into boiling water, wait for the needle to register the temperature. When the needle has settled, turn the screw nut for the pointer to rotate to a reading of 212F, the boiling temperature of water. then the thermometer is calibrated.
There are other thermometers that have a digital interface. Alto Shaam has a good one that is used by chef's the world over. Others have PDA probes. That's good too. But since I have had the thermometer for quite some time, it hurts to part ways in favor of upgrading. Besides, it has served me well.
Any comments? Do you know a good pocket thermometer? Let me know