No attitude issues

No alcohol abuse

No drug abuse

Just a committed,  professional, culinary manager for summer seasonal resorts, ranches, and restaurants.

TemporaryChef is here.

No alcohol abuse

No drug abuse

Just a committed,  professional, culinary manager for summer seasonal resorts, ranches, and restaurants.

TemporaryChef is here.

I’ve got a generator to power my heater fan.  Three old oil lamps.  A box of candles.  The larder’s stocked with cheese, sardines, crackers, canned tuna & chicken, beans, apples, peanut butter, and other goodies.

There are plenty of books to read, ( the dark humor from the amazing  mind of cartoonist Gahan Wilson is perfect ) and a new volume of The New York Times crossword puzzles to work on thanks to my step-father Billy.

There are heaps of websites providing advice on coping with power outages.  Barbara Brown, a food specialist at Oklahoma State wrote this one.

The Ontario Ministry of Health  proffers dark wisdom here.

My favorite was written today in the Concord Monitor by Hillary Nelson, and was the spark for this post.    No Electricity Needed – simple meals for when the power goes out. Check out the open fire basket of fingerling potatoes, cipollini onions, and rosemary  -   That just plain made me hungry.

Tiffani Miller and her husband were impressed with their first meal at Jonathan’s The Rub (9061 Gaylord). Not so with the second one. Her group of six all requested the Black and Blue, a filet mignon with blue cheese sauce.

Everyone at the table ordered it medium rare,” Tiffani Miller says. “My husband added ‘emphasis on the rare’ to the server. When dinner came, my husband cut into his steak and we both noticed that his was much closer to medium than he likes. He very politely called the server over and let her know that his was a little too done. He asked to have another steak and told her to just send back the same sides with it. Another staff member returned immediately with the same plate and said, ‘Chef says that this is how he does medium rare. If you wanted it raw, you should have requested that.’

“She put the plate back down in front of him. Everyone at the table was so dumbfounded by this remark that we were briefly speechless. We decided to avoid further embarrassment, swallow our pride and address it another time. Two of our guests showed us that their steaks were more rare than my husband’s had been and even offered to switch with him.

“We never saw the server again until she presented the check with all charges included. She even asked if my husband wanted to take his untouched food home with him. It was never mentioned again by anyone on the staff.

“Obviously, we will not go to Jonathan’s again. I made a point of letting everyone know what a great experience we had the first time and many of my friends went on my suggestion. I will now tell twice as many people about this experience. Apparently, even in a recession, the customer is not always right at Jonathan’s The Rub.”

In the comments section, many people came to the restaurants defense with tales of much better experiences. 

My response:

1.  The term “BLACK AND BLUE“  is universally accepted to mean, charred outside / rare inside, another term, “PHILADELPHIA-STYLE” is synonymous.

2.   Alienating customers will result in closed doors.

3.  “Blue”  should be  “Bleu” denoting the use of cheese.

I got a call yesterday from a restaurateur who was experiencing problems with erratic behavior by the Chef they had hired for the summer season.

I’ve also spoken with the owners of seasonal ranches and resorts,  all facing similar problems in finding reliable and knowledgeable Chefs to lead their kitchens.

The most frequent response is the desire to have a Chef that can lead and manage the kitchen, giving the proprietor, the freedom to concentrate on the rest of the business.

Other issues include the ability to administer proper ordering and portion controls to maximize profitability,  a full season commitment,  a sober  personality without drama,  and the talent to consistently produce attractive and flavorful meals.

Surprisingly, considering the consequences of an episode of food borne illness, seldom mentioned is the need for the individual to be knowledgeable about food safety, allergies & sensitivities.,

Many of these operators told me they are paying between $4oo.00 and $600.00 a week, some including room and board.

A professional Chef salary, as reported in a 2005 survey on StarChefs.com, starts at a low of $60,000 a year and tops out around $87,000.

When considering the above issues, the most important of them is that of food safety.  The result of an outbreak of food borne illness can result in a serious loss of business and a host of attendant problems.

These problems can be addressed by hiring a professional Chef that has the training and dedication to guide your culinary endeavors.  It is,  indeed,  a bit more expensive,  but,  the cost of  not having a pro can be steep.

The Chef is a key component of the over-all management team and is well worth the extra investment.

Two Worlds Same Guy

(I’m not at all long winded so this piece, heartfelt as it may be, is gonna be concise.   I’m not real good at this kind of writing, but here is a little something…..   [ We disagree with the  "not real good" comment. Ed] )

In the past thirty years, I’ve cooked in many worlds.  The two that I will take us to tonight are a hotel at Yellowstone National Park, and a wonderful summer estate in the Lake District of New Hampshire.

Yellowstone is an extraordinary place to cook, and to be a part of.  It is so awesome that it is indescribable.  The cooking at almost 8000 feet is a little different.  Water boils at about 208 degrees and pate au choux can be a bit vexing.
One thing I’ve learned over the years, however,  is that a good chef can work anywhere at anytime.

The thing that sets this job apart from the others was the great sense of teamwork.  As  Kitchen Managers, our mission was to perfect the menu for the summer, to train the staff, many of whom had never cooked
before, and to assure quality and consistency of service.

Since we all lived in the park, most in a dormitory situation, we had ample time to get to know one another.  Not everyone got along, but a vast majority of our coworkers developed a healthy respect for their teammates.
Everyone had different interests, but in the kitchen, all interests became one, quality service for our guests.

This happened every night to a completely full house.

The words ‘me or I’ were never spoken on the line.  It was always we.  That was astounding.

************

I am presently working as a private chef for a wonderful family in the Lake District of New Hampshire for the summer season.

Even though I work alone, we still have a team.  The family is the team.  We rarely confer on a menu, except for important parties, but we have an understanding of what the job entails, the needs of the family, and how it should be done.

The clients are so warm and welcoming that I feel as if I am part of their extended family.  The love and warmth flows in both directions, and the results are very satisfying indeed.  I would not give this up for anything in the world.

Here is the point.  Teamwork is the essence of our business, whether there is a team of forty, or a team of one.
It is important to be confident in your skills, but equally important not to get carried away with one’s talents.

Perhaps this is why I’ll never be one of those celebrity chefs.  Its better to be happy.

Thanks…….see ya

Robert

Robert is a top notch professional and a charter member of the  TemporaryChef.com crew.

“The kitchen is a country in which there are always discoveries to be made.”

Grimod de la Reyniere, 1758-1838

Personnel retention,   year to year continuity,   and competence deficiencies are three of the biggest issues.

TemporaryChef.com offers a solution.

1)  Reliable full season commitment.

2)  Mature career Chefs experienced in purchasing and menu management.

3)  Year to year continuity to maximize quality and  guest satisfaction.

4)  Experience with ethnic cuisines, dietary restrictions, and vegan menus.

5)  Pre-screened veteran professionals with even temperaments that will provide total professional attention to your operational needs resulting in a positive End of Season picture.

Your seasonal solution is only a phone call away.  Let’s Chat.

Susan Holaday,  Editor & Publisher of Foodservice East,  the B2B Publication of the $ 80 Billion Northeast Foodservice Industry, interviewed TemporaryChef.com founder Paul W. Green CDC and published the following article in the Spring, 2009 issue.

Chef Paul Green meets a marketplace need with a website that places “temporary chefs”

TUFTONBORO, NH – A lifelong passion for food leads to a new business opportunity in ‘retirement.

No one was more surprised  than Chef Paul  Green when his idea  for a new business venture,  Temporary Chef™, serendipitously  turned out to meet  an unfilled need in the marketplace,  providing seasoned  chefs with an opportunity for  short-term employment.

Buying the domain name,  TemporaryChef.com, which  had expired, led him down a  new path of doing a service for  senior chefs who had the desire,  skills and talent to continue  working on temporary  assignments.

A venture begun as a  search for short-term gigs of  his own, Temporary Chef led  Green, a ‘retired’ chef  who remains  passionate about food  and cooking, into a whole new  realm.  “We are a Brigade De  Cuisine of highly experienced  career chefs with proven track records in all facets of culinary  operations and management,” he explains.  “Our menu of talents  includes HACCP, menu  development, budget / P&L  management, team building  and training, multi-kitchen  operations, product development  and much more.”

“When I launched TemporaryChef in March, 2008,  it was meant to be a vehicle  for myself and two other career  chefs to pursue our deep passion for the culinary arts.  Since then it has grown to  include many   other chefs in  various parts of the world who share our devotion, including  a group who specialize in private  yachts,” Green writes.

“The pursuit of a career  in kitchens is an affair of the heart and soul.  We strive for  perfection and endlessly seek knowledge and technique.  We  have honed our skills in many  disciplines including vegan,  macrobiotics, special needs,  and a world of ethnic cuisines.   Food is in our thoughts even  as we sleep or take our leisure,  waiting for that glimmer  of idea that will become our next entrée.”

“I tapped into something  unwittingly and I think it will grow.”   Kitchens require a “tremendous amount of energy and as chefs age, they often move out.  You don’t see  too many 50-year-old broiler cooks except in major urban areas.  It’s the demands of the job.”

Green, a former sociology  major in college with a minor in psychology, grew up  with a love of food  instilled  by a grandmother who made  her own noodles and baked  breads.  “She let me knead the bread,” he recalls, “and I fell in love with the smell of the  yeast and how it changed as the bread baked.”

Later, in college, he “discovered  the benefits of having a  date over for a well prepared  meal with nice  music playing  and a good bottle of wine.”    Meeting a French chef, he asked to work in his kitchen free and quickly got a taste  of what the industry was all about.  The experience led him to  Chicago, moving up the career  ladder and eventually becoming  executive sous chef at the  95th floor restaurant at the  John Hancock Tower. “It was a constant learning, growing experience. I love food, the  chemistry of it, and exploring  new flavor sensations that  make your mouth dance.”
Older chefs, he says, are  “looked at askance by the industry,  but operators need the expertise, maturity and talent they bring.  I’m having success  placing chefs with seasonal resorts,  or they can fill in while someone is looking for a new  full-time chef when someone leaves suddenly or is fired.”

Temporary situations can work well, Green points out, noting that his first client, a  high end restaurant at a resort,  could not find a chef in  the “limited labor pool” where  it was located.  “I sent a guy  who’d been an executive chef at a Northeast resort and they  almost immediately switched him to manage eight  operations and teach ServSafe to its entire staff, raised his weekly salary and gave him a stipend so his wife could visit.

I’m filling a need.”

The benefits of temporary Chef services are apparent to large food service operations like Aramark, Sodexo, or Compass.  The costs of hiring and training are avoided since we are already highly skilled, talented, and mature professionals, ready to slip into a short term position at a fully functional level.  The attendant expenses of benefits and payroll costs (liabilities) are avoided as well.

The independent restaurateur will find relief when they need to replace a chef that has chosen to relocate.  The relationship between a restaurateur and chef is a marriage.  Bringing in a seasoned Executive Chef to temporarily guide and manage kitchen operations gives the operater the luxury of taking the necessary time to find the perfect Chef to compliment the style and philosophy of the restaurant rather than make a costly mistake of hiring too quickly.  AllBusiness.com posted this article about the benefits of  outsourcing.

As the seasonal resort Tahoe Mountain Club discovered last summer a Temporary Chef is a major asset.  Their entire season was covered, alleviating the problem of early departures,  and the issues of continuity and quality were no problem due to the talents and experience of the Executive Chef they found at TemporaryChef.com.

We are also available for private assignments world-wide and have Chefs that specialize in providing culinary services aboard yachts of any size.

Anywhere in the world.

Any time.

If you employ a private Chef who becomes indisposed – we are packed and prepared to travel.

A restaurant needing time to find a replacement Chef,  or corporate provider with a client to satisfy?  We can help.

We have backgrounds in all aspects of food service from large hotels,  to boutique restaurants, corporate cafeterias, catering operations, resorts, private yachts and more.

Above all we are discrete and confidant with no ego issues to rock the boat during a transitional period.  In short – we are pros.  We have pride in providing you with exceptional service.  Consistently.

“If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur.”

Red Adair