Green Chef Deli

Cuisine in the heart of Cajun country is an art form. It is really very little science to this type of cuisine that includes much more than mere lagniappe in the pantry or the spice cabinet. Cajun cooking is something that has often been imitated around the country and the world, but very rarely can be reproduced accurately. One of the fascinating things about Cajun cooking is the fact that there are very few exact recipes. Most if not all authentic Cajun cooking is done to taste rather than measurements. Even more surprising is that every day a person can do the same dish over and over again and it is likely to taste a little different each time it is made. The main reason is that besides being an art form in itself, Cajun food is often made even more tasty, or just the mysterious atmosphere that makes cooking. I’m sure many of you have seen as Emeril Lagasse makes some special blend and exclaims “Bam!” There is some good that when it comes to Cajun cooking. Something that goes far beyond the ingredients in the recipe and somewhere in the heart and soul of the kitchen in question. There is a reason that many southern cooked dishes are called soul food and not for one second forget that New Orleans is located in the south. The most difficult thing, perhaps when it comes to preparing good Cajun dishes outside the area of New Orleans is to find the right ingredients. It is almost impossible to find a new seasonings and spices that are essential for most outside the heart of Cajun cuisine Old South. Not only that, but fresh crawfish and andouille sausage are a little hard to find in the heart of a Michigan winter. If you decide to learn to make Cajun food of your account, you must first find ingredients. Specialty food stores or special requests that might be your best bet. There are some stores that carry a limited stock of Cajun seasonings on their international food aisles. Note that these sources are very limited. Once you have the ingredients, it is time to let a little jazz speak from your speakers to set the mood. Most of the best Cajun dishes require a lot of time for simmering and this should be taken into account. Cajun food is not pressed, as citizens of the Big Easy. The food will be ready on time and the cooking, you must learn to accept that about Cajun food. He has a way of knowing when it is ready that is almost mythical until you’ve experienced yourself. Cooking Cajun food try your patience, test their talent and sometimes zap your energy, because it tends to be an emotional process for many. At the other end however, Cajun food is one of the richest and most delicious dishes of the world. Mastering the ability to cook this wonderful food will make you a slave to its taste for years to come.

The prep chef is the lowest chef on the totem pole, doing all the grunt work before the Artiste de Culinaire strolls in and makes the cooking magic happen. A person could probably make a good career out of offering door-to-door slicing and dicing for every John or Jane cooking dinner at home in their neighborhood. What home cook hasn’t realized at the crucial moment that nothing is worse than realizing you need to drain and chop the sun-dried tomatoes sitting in the unopened bottle on the counter or uncork a bottle of Pinot Grigio for a pan sauce while you are supposed to be stirring constantly.

Every time Emeril reaches under the counter and magically pulls out a bowl of minced onions or seasoned bread crumbs, a prep chef had a hand in it. Prep chefs never get their own TV show. There’s no fun in watching somebody peel, chop, mince, mix, measure, slice, dice, and blend, then store the results in a Tupperware in the fridge. Of course it looks easy for Rachael Ray to whip a meal together in ten minutes. When she needs three quarters of a cup of grated Parmesan, a little bowl of it instantly appears at her fingertips, leaving out the serf behind the scenes who grated the Parmesan and measured it.

Duties

Meats and poultry: Have to be properly thawed, butchered, trimmed, and cut to whatever the recipe calls for. Marinating is also something a prep chef has to think about.

Fish and seafood: Must be scaled and deboned. Shrimp and other shellfish have to be peeled. Other slicing and marinating as the recipe calls for.

Veggies and fruits: May have to be washed, peeled, sliced, diced, grated, deseeded, chopped, or shredded. A salad is 100% prep work. Garnishes are often all prep work as well.

Doughs and mixes are always prepped. Blenders, juicers, and mixers are part of a prep chef’s life as well. Anything that has to be done before the ingredients actually get added to the pot or pan, the prep chef lines it all up. The French phrase is “mise en place” and that’s just what you’ll practice as a prep chef.

Prep work also involves equipment. A pastry pan might need greasing or an oven might need preheating. The home cook doesn’t think about this, but even stove pans should be preheated to a specific temperature before the action starts.

Tools of the trade

As much as possible you want to automate everything. There are blenders, mixers, juicers, slicing machines, graters, presses, and choppers.

For measuring there are cups, spoons, and scales. Hopefully you have enough of these, because reusing the same measuring device means you have to wash it and dry it after every use. Don’t forget temperature and time are also something you measure, and so there are thermometers and timers!

Knives of every description and category, plus peelers, whips, spatulas, graters, crushers, skimmers, strainers, brushes, ballers, scrapers, tongs, cutting boards, shears, and bowls, bowls, bowls.

The Skills

The biggest asset is speed. A line of prep chefs resembles a factory assembly line or a NASCAR racing track pit crew. There’s teamwork, coordination, and planning. Prep chef is a high-energy job, and thinking three steps ahead of the schedule is absolutely required.

One can get by with the basic culinary school background. One area which a prep chef absolutely must be expert at is safe food handling. A prep chef has to be a certified Safe Food Handler and usually be trained in (HACCP) Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point as well.

High energy is always needed. With enough experience, a prep chef will always find work. Usually a prep chef is just one stop in a chef’s career, and many places rotate prep work. A novice or apprentice chef working their way through school will usually find themselves doing a lot of prep work.

“The Iron Chef”

The famous TV show “Iron Chef” is instructive in the ways of the prep chef. This show is a competitive cooking event. The show’s resident chefs may be picked by a challenger chef for a head-to-head competition to prepare three dishes featuring a key ingredient. The key ingredient is only announced at the beginning of the show after the challengers are “on their marks”, and each chef, teamed with two assistant chefs, must race to complete the task in time for the panel of judges to taste their creations and declare a winner. All in sixty minutes!

This format of the show allows one to see prep work in action. While a fully stocked larder of just about every kind of food is on hand to complete dishes with, almost none of the prep work is done and each chef must take into account the preparation time for their meals before deciding what to make.

The action is an astounding circus of kitchen acrobatics. Unlike showman chefs working in themed restaurants, there is no time for flashy stunts for the sake of entertainment here. All the action here has a purpose, and the action proceeds at a feverish pace. Sometimes the chefs start off doing something with a really mysterious purpose, and the commentators will try to explain what they are doing. The show is always instructive to prep chefs to watch.

If at all possible, you should forgo the American version and catch the native Japanese version. While the dubbing in English has kind of a hilarious 1970’s kung fu effect, the Japanese version is a much more cooking-focused show. While the American version cuts the camera to the commentators or celebrity guests on the show, the Japanese version almost never takes the camera off of the frenzied activity in the kitchen arena as long as the cooking is happening.

During your visit to Asia, you get a chance to enjoy not only the spectacular sights but also the great cuisines of the various Asian cities. Singapore tops the best Asian restaurants list because of the innovation they offer in the form of providing the diners a chance to see the kitchen action, and thus communicate directly with the chef. Iggy’s in Singapore is the restaurant that is renowned to be the best in Asia. Other great restaurants in Singapore are Les Amis, Gunther’s, and Garibaldi.

The L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon in Hong Kong is a great restaurant. The restaurant is very casual in its ambience, and allows the diners to see the preparation of their dishes. Moreover, the people are also allowed to compose meals in accordance with their appetite. Another very good restaurant in Hong Kong is Bo Innovation. Old Chinese methods of cooking are used in the restaurant. This restaurant offers great ambience with its chopstick shaped lamps and a cosy kind of lighting.

The Mozaic Restaurant in Bali, Indonesia is also a great one. It has a unique setting that is elegant, enjoyable and charming. The chefs are popular for their changing culinary creations all over the world. There are some very good restaurants that you can visit in Tokyo. For example, the Tempura Mikawa is a restaurant where seafood is prepared in the classic Edomae style. Other great restaurants in Tokyo are Bird Land, Ginza Harutaka, Nihonryori Ryugin, and the Teppanyaki Ukai-tei.

There are some restaurants in Beijing which are very popular all over Asia. The one considered best is Made In China which is in the Grand Hyatt. The dining room is in the open kitchen, and people can watch the preparation of their orders. Another very good restaurant in Beijing is the Ding Ding Xiang which has banquets that are concealed with beaded curtains.

Some very good restaurants are situated in Hanoi. The one that is considered best is Bun Cha. Another very good restaurant in Hanoi is Green Tangerine which has a terrace with alfresco setting. Verticale is another very good restaurant which offers very skilfully prepared French-Vietnamese cuisine.

Bukhara is a restaurant in Delhi that is considered not only the best in India, but is also one of the best in Asia. If you want to have a truly Eastern experience, you should go to Bukhara where you would have to eat your food with hands instead of utensils. Moti Mahal and Smoke House Grill are other very good restaurants Delhi.

Almost all the hotels that are amongst the best in Asia have open kitchens which enable the customers to see the chefs in action. The Blue Elephant in Bangkok is a restaurant that offers classis Thai cuisine. China Town and Chote Chitr are two other very good restaurants in Bangkok.

For authentic Malay cuisine, go to Bijan in Kuala Lumpur which offers traditional cuisine in an alfresco setting. The Senses is another great restaurant in the Hilton Kuala Lumpur. Other restaurants that are considered amongst the best in Asia are Robuchon a Galera and Antonio’s Fine Dining in Philippines.