What's in a name?

'Tis but thy name that is my enemy.
Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.
What's Montague? It is nor hand, nor foot,
Nor arm, nor face. O, be some other name
Belonging to a man.
What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other word would smell as sweet.I
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo called,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes
Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name;
And for thy name, which is no part of thee,
Take all myself.

Because we've all heard of this by now

From the oven.

I had a chance to see the Horno 3 museum show yesterday, and it left my head filled with thoughts.

First up, I was amazed by the complexity of the steel oven operation. I guess that's something one should try to see at least once. It's a bit of a shame that the place closed down, but it's a blessing, for the local government has really outdone itself with the museum. It has given us a chance to experience a piece of Monterrey history.

The oven operated at about 1100ºC, and people there would stand just a couple feet away while going about their business. It left me thinking because we are in a business that has inherent risks such as fire, heat and sharp objects. But seeing yesterday's show left me thinking that we're a bunch of sissies if we complain about the rough conditions we work in. After all, these guys were probably risking their lives at something like minimum wage.

The show includes a lot of testimonials from former oven workers. The very first thing one hears is a poem written by a shift supervisor from the late sixties. Hearing the poem made me realize the awful state our current education system is in. Here you have a shift supervisor deftly weaving phrases into a poem that many modern-day graduate school people would have a hard time not only writing, but understanding. Secretary of Education, you've got a TON of work to do.

The testimonials also serve as evidence of something. These people LOVED their job. It's very frustrating as a teacher to see so many people try to get into our business because they've been blinded by the media or because they dream of fame. But there's very little passion. They're uninterested and apathetic. Most of them leave the kitchen and stop thinking about it. I've seen the same in many High Schools and Universities around town. Kids don't seem to care about much these days.

Music to eat by...

TreceVeinte, a modern lifestyle journal has published an article on how music affects us while shopping. One of the journal's sections even has advice on how to build playlists for different moments of the day, including shopping.

It's known that sound is an important factor in setting the atmosphere where customers will enjoy our products. Usually the biggest problem is noise, busy restaurants become noisy places and the experience might be hindered. I've had good meals become modest meals because of either extremely noisy ambiances or, yes, bad music.

If you're spending a significant amount of your paycheck at arguably the best restaurant in town, you don't want your ears booming with the electronic pulses of the latest pop band (let alone their hollering).

So the question is, what music do we eat by?

Laurent Gras had his own music made...

Studiokitchen

Is it down? I can't seem to get into the page. It's a shame.

1.5 million pesos

That's roughly what it'd take to have a place up and running in what I've estimated would be less than two months. The most time consuming issues would be getting a team together and tweaking some previously existing concepts.

Too bad I don't have that kind of cash lying around... Probably if I did I'd use it to buy a House.

Any interested investors?

A sad twist of events

Today, the Mexican postal system made me proud. It turns out Winston Industries, who was present at the Starchefs ICC, sent me a card so I could visit their booth and win a chance to get a CVap. I did see the booth, and I saw the equipment. However, the card didn't arrive until today...

There went my CVap. Then again, considering my current budget, I think I'll settle for the smoke gun.

Sources for inspiration

It has always been alluring to delve into the depths of the newest techniques in cooking. Yet actually starting to experiment with these has taken a relatively long way.

My first encounter with the trends was probably still in school, when one of our buddies started schooling us into the techniques of Ferran Adria. Some of us actually went and bought our ISI canisters. Another thing we met at school was sous-vide cooking. It was such a matter of fact technique for the french, that I wasn't expecting it to be such a big issue when I went Stateside. We did use it in every restaurant I was in. Briffard was a master in it, but having worked for long with Robuchon, it's not surprising.

Briffard also introduced me to "aires". We didn't call it like that and we used no lecithin or any other soy additives. Just emulsions. The same guy who used to lecture us on Adria during school told us about use of "aires" in the restaurant he was working in The Plaza Athenée. I was a bit surprised by how much we used "aires" in Maestro. Both Garde Manger and Entremetier used to have at least two or three every night.

Maestro also introduced me to agar (I had heard about it, but never used it) and my first hot gel. After that, it has been mostly reading that has kept me informed. Then came the Starchefs ICC. Watching so many amazing chefs showcase their techniques really got me into track, so as soon as my samples come through... I expect to start turning things upside down.