March 29th, 2009 Chef
Just got back to town from my Dallas trip. Boy I sure do love Dallas!!!! Spring has sprung, the birds are out and they are cutting GRASS>>>>>>>>>>>> I love that smell, I wish someone could truly bottle that.
The Blue Canyon in Rockwall is doing well and fighting the good fight dealing with this economy. Chef Scott and the kitchen is pumping out some killer food and Aimee is doing such a great job with the FOH..(Front of the House)
I went on Dallas Fox 4 on Wed and did the Left Over Gourmet segment. I think its so fun to show what you can do or how you can make a completely different meal and fool your family into eating leftovers. The Fox people are such great people to work with. I always love to go on Cleveland Fox and Dallas Fox from Make up stylist to the Anchors to the Producers are so nice to be around and are always super cool to me.
Chef Scott and I worked on some new dishes and great Tapas menu ideas. We installed a wood grill down in Blue Canyon from the beginning and YES there is a huge difference on how a steak tastes. I never order steaks when I eat out, but I always have to get a couple when am downt there….yummmmmmmmmmm.
We had an AMICA happy hour party for this great group. Its alwasy so nice to see my new friends and every time I am apart of something they are doing, I get tomeet some new friends….They are a Class Act!!!……….they sure do love to have a GREAT TIME.
I had a lunch date with a Great Friend of mine, She took me to Twisted Root Burger…What a killer place the shakes are the dittley dank and the burgers are pretty good also…. if you can go check it out….hopefully you will get the Bill Cosby card….listen up when they call you..( you just have to go and check it out to understand)
What I love about traveling is all the new and great people you meet. From my new little Gluten buddy out in Denver to my oh so styling” Jean girl”… I just got to know this last trip. You got to love FACEBOOK, it’s so helpfully to stay in contact with all of them. (Send me a message on FB would love to hear from you)
Someone close to me just told me last week “Its the last step to the top of the mountain that is celebrated but it is every step before that makes it possible. No day of you life is unimportant. Each is a critical step.
Dont forget to pay it forward today……
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
March 20th, 2009 Chef
Would you ever think brown sugar, butter, sliced bananas would make a memory forever like a wedding or prom and even remembered like a birth of a child???…crazy huh!!!
Sometimes I think us Chefs forget the culinary power that we posses, or how we can install or make an imprint onto someones memory/ life forever, simple by hugging their taste buds.
Let me catch you all up to speed……about two months ago I had a wonderful young girl and her awesome Mom sit at the kitchen counter one night, I over heard that this girl was celebrating her 16Th birthday!! I over heard she loved Bananas Fosters for dessert..So I had one of my guys run down to the Hotel next door to go get some bananas…( if I ran…I would be still running…lol)
So there I was bananas in hand ready to go!!!!……….I was so excited to make her night and she told me she couldn’tstay, she had to hurry home and go and see some old BOYfriend………all I could in vision was my little baby girl Madison telling her daddy that she doesn’t need help on the slide anymore……or that day when the training wheels come off and she peddles away from me……I know it was just bananas but hell…I was excited!!!-*
So last night Sarah was BACK!!! I was given a heads up a couple days earlier that she was coming so ( I was ready to go bananas…get it????? that was really bad…I know) But I waited till the dessert course to go out and talk to her. Chef Danny earlier that day ran to the store and got a Balloon the size of the Good Year Blimp that said Happy Birthday on it. I walked over and wished Sarah Happy Birthday and told her I was there to make her Bananas Fosters. She had a smile ear to ear, you would of thought Publishing Clearing House just rang her door bell.
I love the fact that she will remember for the rest of her life that she was at the Blue Canyon for her 16th birthday with her Mom and I made her Bananas Fosters………now that rocks the mic!!
I made her the Bananas Foster,,had to do it twice…haven’t made that one since Culinary school…. the first one was ok, but the second one was spot on!!
Oh ya, we made a deal….every year on her birthday… we have a date here at the Blue Canyon. Sarah, Mom and me at the kitchen counter with some Banana’s Fosters and no BOYS allowed I told Sarah they can eat in the car.
Thanks Sarah for keep giving me reasons why I put on my Chef jacket everyday!!!!
Chef Brandt…
*** If you live in the River , You should make friends with the crocodile.”************
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
March 7th, 2009 Chef
I decided to head on up to Kalispell while I was in Montana to do a “Around the World” wine dinner, and Boy was I glad I did… Todd Liphardt the Executive manger at the Blue Canyon has some of the best wine taste buds that I have worked with in my whole career….You can tell the Todd just doesn’t make wine list or just orders wines for the list…He LOVES wine. He is very passionate about a lot of things and wine has to be top of his list…( besides his gorgeous little newcomer to his family)
What I love about wine dinners is the challenge to create the pair….To take the wine and the food and develop that into whole new level for the guest taste buds. There is something very magical that happens when the Food and Wine “hits” ……
I worked in the Kitchen that night with Chef Matt, we would take turns on creating dishes for each round. We didn’t know who should start off the dinner so we flipped and coin….and Chef Matt started the dinner with killer Mussels cooked perfectly in a Tomato Fumet with Crispy Capers served with Crunchy fresh Olive Bread…I think I could of put this sauce in a glass and drank it all night long…..I will post the menu with all the foods and wines so I don’t have to type out all 7 courses.
But Chef Matt’s Tangerine, Ginger Glazed Pork Belly gave me the feeling after I ate. like I was Five years old and I just walked down stairs and noticed Santa stopped by the night before….I was all excited!!!! Boy knows how to cook!!!
Paula was the server and didn’t miss a beat. Its sooooo nice to work such a pro!!! She could write a book on serving the guest.
Whats so nice about visiting Kalispell is the staff. Its more then just employees. They really are like a family and have such a passion to serve and to be in the hospitality business. Its really a cool thing to watch them work and interact with the guest.
At the end of the meal-/night…I truly realized why I put on my chefs jacket and do what I do everyday…. It’s all about Great Food and Great People
Thanks Kalispell Blue Canyon for a very special dinner for me professional and personally.
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »