Decision Time

So what am I going to do?  My two trial days are over and they went well so the job is mine if I want it... if I want it? Isn't this what I have wanted since well forever.  To finish culinary school, and go see the world.  Work under some good chefs, and learn as much as possible before deciding what to do next.  For the longest time I thought I had it all figured out, but in recent days the confidence in my decisions has seemed to waver.  I am second guessing everything, and I am very confused.  It is starting to set in, if I take this job I will not be going home for a while.  Now is that something I really want?  I don't have answers right now.

Canadian Thanksgiving in London

Delayed post from Sunday October 11

One of the stipulations of me going on this culinary tour with my Aunt was that I would have to show off some of my skills and cook a couple dinners during our trip.  It just so happen that Canadian Thanks Giving fell on the weekend I arrived, so why not have Michael cook Thanks Giving Dinner for Kathy and a few of her friends, that would be fun, right?  Well Kathy thought so anyways, and she volunteered my services.  I didn’t mind though, it was only for five or six people and I enjoy cooking for family and friends, it is actually one of my favorite things to do.  Kathy gave me enough notice to come up with a few contemporary takes on some traditional Thanksgiving recipes but the morning of I was informed that I would be cooking a turkey, with all the fixings, and that our number were slightly higher then we initially planned.  A little higher, we went for five or six to fourteen, and I had about five hours to come up with what I needed get to the store and put the turkey in the oven so that it would be ready to eat by seven.  

It was going to take a small miracle to pull off, and I wasn’t likely going to be able to do it on my own, luckily I had already had plans to go and meet with a friend of mine who was the perfect candidate to help me pull off such a miracle Thanksgiving, James.  James is a friend who I met during my summer in Banff working at the Rimrock.  I met up with James in the early afternoon and we sat down for coffee.  Last time I saw James was just under a year ago, so we had some catching up to do but not really much time to do it.   As soon as we met up I explain the situation to him and of course he was on board right away, we would finish our coffee go back to the flat to plan our attack.  There would be time for catching up later.  I find when you sit down and try to talk about things it feels to forced anyways, we would bring each other up to speed with our lives current affairs as we planned and cooked.  So we came up with a menu and headed in the direction that we were told the grocery store was in.  Now I could probably write an entire post on the walk to the grocery store but we don’t really have time for that so, long story short, James asked a cute blond for directions and we ended up on a wild goose chase when all we needed to do was walk about three more blocks in the direction we were going, but hey we eventually got there and we were not too late getting back to the flat.

  

I was starting to get a little stressed by this time and this was still only my second day in London so jet lag was setting in somewhat.  When we got back to the flat the first thing we needed to do was make the stuffing, and stuff the bird because it needed to go in the oven a half hour ago.  We both focused on getting the turkey in before we did anything else.  Once we did get the turkey in we both sat back and came up with a game plan for the rest of our menu.  I would start on the soup, while he got the bruschetta marinating.  We plugged away at it for pretty much all day, all the while catching up and talking about future plans.  We eventually felt like we were ahead of the game and stopped to enjoy a drink, while we waiting for guests to arrive.  The calm before the storm.  Once people started to arrive, we really kicked it into gear and pretty much didn't stop moving till everyone was served.  Here are a few pics of what we made.

This is a traditional bruschetta, with goat cheese and balsamic reduction

This is a mango chutney served on a toated baguette with goat cheese

James and I taking the turkey out of the oven, it was cooked perfectly

This is the roasted pumpkin and curry soup

This James plating the entrees

Light and dark turkey

Rustic mashed potato with parsnip and roasted garlic

Traditional stuffing

Red wine and rosemary gravy

Maple and dill glazed beets

For desert we had a

Pumpkin spiced cream brulee

(forgot to take a photo)

Although it was quite a hectic day, and I knew there would be some minor hiccups, dinner was excellent and everyone had a great time.  I could not of done it with James's help in the kitchen, or without Kathy's constant running out to pick up things we needed or forgot.  Once dinner was done and we could finally relax it was great to sit down with everyone and drink wine and socialize.  It was an unforgettable Thanks Giving.

First Impressions

First impressions of this place are really good.  The Chef ended up picking me up from the train station and driving me back to the hotel.  He told me a little bit about where he is from and the hotel and asked about my travels.  I told him all about where I had gone in the last few weeks and the restaurants I had been too.  It was good, we held a conversation without any awkwardness for the entire car ride.  He also informed me that the other candidate for the job dropped out.  I was suppose to go in for my trail on Thursday but he asked if I wanted to come in Wednesday as well.  I told him I would be happy to.  He took me straight to the kitchen where my friend Crystal was waiting.  I had not seen her since the last day of school, so it was good to see her.  I caught up with her for a bit, but dinner service was going to be starting soon, so they gave me a plate of curry and rice for my dinner and set me up in the staff lounge.  As I sat in the lounge eating my dinner, many people stopped by and introduced themselves.  "Are you Crystals friend from Canada? Good luck with your trail tomorrow"  It seems like a very tight nit group here, everyone already knew I was coming and everyone is super friendly.  It is a lot different then working at a big hotel like the Rimrock.  After I finished my dinner the chef invited me back to the kitchen and said I could stick around for service if I wanted to.  So I did, and I watched, and I talked with the chef a little.  I think he liked the positive attitude I was showing and he basically told me that whatever I put in to this job is what I would get out of it.  If I was here to learn and further my career, there are people around to facilitate.  After service Crystal and I walked to the little pub down the street for a quick drink.  It truly was a little village pub where everyone knows everyone, they sold us drinks to go and just told us to bring back the pint glasses tomorrow.  So we headed back to the staff pavilion and had a few drinks with people as they got off work and were unwinding.  All in all this seems like it could be a great place to work, it is a very nice hotel, the food seems good, and all the people seem really great so far.  We will see how my trial days go, and I will go from there.

Way way behind

I am back in the UK now and my culinary tour is officially over.  The next step in my Europe trip has begun, I am officially looking for work.  I am now in South West England outside of a town called Yeovil at a place called Summer Lodge which is a country house hotel, restaurant, and spa.  A friend of mine from culinary school, Crystal, has been working here for several months now and has put in a good word for me with the Chef.  I now have a trail/interview tomorrow and Thursday and if all goes well I should have employment here by the weekend.  Wish me luck!  In the mean time I am way way behind in my blogging.  I did not have a whole lot of free time during the culinary tour, and when I did I was exhausted and did not really feel like blogging.  I have quite a few entries started and I have to just finish them up and edit them before I can post them.  So again I am sorry for the delay and I will try to get caught up within the next week.

First Night in London/Dinner at Nobu

Delayed post from Saturday October 9

15 Berkeley Street, London, England
tasting menu for three + two bottles of wine <200 Pounds

Just to be clear Nobu is not one of the restaurants on the list of top restaurants we are going to on my culinary tour, it is just a restaurant that my Aunt likes in London.  With that said it is still a very nice restaurant, and I have never had better sushi anywhere else.

After my long travel day to get to London, I was finally there. It was just after four o’clock local time when I arrived at Cam and Siobhan flat. Cam and Siobhan are friends of my Aunts who live in London. The thing you will find when traveling with my Aunt Kathy is everything will be pretty well planned out and there isn’t all that much free time planned. So of course as soon as I arrive at the flat I find out we had dinner reservations at Nobu for half past six. That gave me all of two hours before we needed to be at the restaurant, and about an hour to settle in and get ready. I was quite tired at this point, but it is my first night in London so there is a certain excitement I am experiencing and a night out on the town sounds great.

I inquire about the dress code and the overall ambiance of this Nobu restaurant before getting ready to go.  We step out of the flat and hail a taxi.  We arrive at the restaurant and walk in, I feel under dressed, and in fact I have felt under dressed since arriving in this country.   Londoners just seem to dress better then Canadians.  All that aside, we sit down to our table and open our menus.  Nobu is a sort of Japanese fusion franchise that have restaurants in London, New York, Miami, Tokyo and many other places.  My menu looks Japanese to me; I guess that is because some of it is.  I am a little out of my element and I am not really sure what to order.  It is ok though because My Aunt and Siobhan do frequent Nobu and they inform me that we are going to order two of the tasting menus as well as a couple additional plates. 

Rock Shrimp Tempura

White Fish Sashimi with Aji Amarillo Salsa

Salmon Tartar with Caviar

Salmon Sashimi with Paper Thin Salad

Tuna Sashimi Salad

Black Cod Den Miso

Creamy Spicy Shrimp

Chicken with Teriyaki Sauce

Tenderloin of Beef with Teriyaki Sauce

Assorted Sushi

Chocolate Fondant with Green Tea Ice Cream

Pure Decadence

Not to sound like I am complaining, but I can't take it anymore.  We have eaten at four Michelin 3 Star restaurants in the last five days and every night I have had the Chef's Tasting Menu with wine pairings.  I have never in all my life eaten so much and drank so much wine.  If you don't understand what that is let me paint a picture for you.  A Chef's Tasting Menu is on average eight to twelve courses accompanied with about  nine glasses of wine over about four to five hours.   I am ready to explode, they practically had to roll us out of the restaurant and into a cab tonight.  I need a day off, tomorrow I don't even want to eat, I almost never want to eat again, and not because no other food will compare, which is true, but because I am so fucking full.  Pardon my French, but I am in France.  So far we have gone to Gordon Ramsay's Hospital Road, The Fat Duck, Michel Bras, and Arzak.  Four restaurants which are all in the top fifty in the world and believe me they all deserve to be.  I have never in all my life had food like I have had on this trip, and not to mention the attention to detail and service.  I have got to go into each kitchen and meet and chat with the Chef.  It has been an absolute dream come true so far and I am completely grateful for the opportunity to do so.  I will be doing an individual post for each restaurant with a break down of everything I have had to eat complete with photos of everything I have had to eat.  This would already be done, if only I could get a day off.  I know, my life is hard.

Arriving in London and People Watching

So far one of my favorite things to do in London has been the people watching.  It was the first thing I did when I arrived in London after my ridiculously long travel day.  Door step to door step from Calgary to London took me approximately twenty three hours, with waiting at the airport, layovers, and flight delays.  So when I did eventually reach my final destination I was a little irritable and because of all my delays I had missed my Aunt Kathy at the airport and had to take the busy London underground to go and meet my Aunt's friend who's flat we are staying at.  There I was sitting outside the Knightsbridge station just beside Harrods, up for over twenty four hours and had just fought through central London crowds with a huge backpack and two additional bags, not really knowing if and when this person who I was meeting with was even coming.  I was not in the most pleasant of moods but as I sat there on top of my backpack, I just started watching the people go by.  So many different people, all walks of life, all different races, all different styles, all different destinations, all different reasons for being there but in a sense all the same.  Who knows what all their stories are, some probably very boring and some probably very interesting.  My own story was being played out just as there's were right in front of me in all the sights and sounds of that busy intersection.  There was something very calming about it all, and I just sat there and watched.

One Extreme to the Other

I have been in London for about five days now, give or take depending what time zone you are in, and it has been everything I've wanted it to be and more.  Monday night was the highlight so far when we went to the first restaurant on my culinary tour of Europe which was Gordon Ramsay's Hospital Road.  Now I don't know if it is just because it was the first restaurant on my list or my first experience at a restaurant of this caliber, but it was absolutely incredible.  It was without question the best meal I have ever had in my life and all around one of the best nights of my life.  Everything was just perfect.  I was completely ecstatic afterwards.  Nothing was going to get me down, or so I thought.  Within a few hours of getting home from this life changing meal, my life did indeed change, Ruth and I broke up.  In a matter of hours I went from completely overjoyed to feeling lower then I can remember feeling in a long time.  Being in a foreign country and away from my usual support network have made these last few days even harder but I am getting by.  I did have a free day yesterday in which I wanted to get caught up in my blogging but I was just not feeling up to it.  I am starting to fall a little behind so bare with me as in the next six days I will be doing four more restaurants and a wine tour of Bordeaux that will see me travel from southern France into northern Spain and back to France to go to Paris to finish the trip.  I am not sure when I will get all this writing done but I will do my best to get them done and posted soon.

Topics to look forward to include, my first day in London, Thanksgiving dinner, days around London, dinner at Gordon Ramsay's, and dinner at the Fat duck which I just got home from.

You will hear from me soon! I hope...

Final Night in Canada

Last night was my final night in Canada for, well I am not quite sure how long yet.  I spent it in Calgary with my sister Kristen, her husband Eric and my Mom.  I was physically and emotionally drained and just kinda felt numb from saying goodbye and getting ready to leave.  I was kind of all over the map, I went through periods of overwhelming excitement followed by slight fear and anxiety.  With this roller coaster of emotion I just tried to stay calm and enjoy my final night in Canada.  The Oilers were opening their season against the Flames and it may have been the only hockey game I get to watch in a long time so I wanted to enjoy it.  I put on my Oilers jersey and hat and set out into enemy territory.  We went to meet Kristen and Eric for a late dinner at The District.  The Distract is a kind of gourmet sheik pub type of place.  They buy all their product from local producers and do everything from curing their own bacon right down to making their own ketchup in house.  The food was excellent, I was very pleased with it, and would highly recommend it.  I had a blue cheese and avocado burger with shoe string fries.  After dinner we headed to a pub close to Kristen and Eric's house to watch the rest of the game.  In the end the Oilers shut out the Flames and won the game 4-0.  Eberle scored his first NHL goal which could be one of the best goals of the years, and MacIntyre knocked out Ivanans, so all in all a great win by the Oil and a hell of a send off.

Don't Say Goodbye... Say Good Journey

I wise man named Andrew Gray once told me, Don't say goodbye say good journey.  The first time I heard him say these words was when a mutual friend went to study overseas in Europe and  I have heard Andrew say it every time someone else has left our lives ever since.  He first said it to me when I left to work in Banff two summers ago, and he said it to me again now that I am leaving to work in Europe.  When saying goodbye to all my friends and family during this last week, nothing has rung more true.  Most everyone I have talked to, although sad to see me leave, are very proud of me, and wished me nothing but the best for my future.  Saying goodbye is hard, it has negative connotations surrounding it.  Saying good journey just feels better, it gives hope for the future and promises excitement in ones life.  After all, it is all just one big journey.

My final days in Canada were hard, well hard might not be the right word, what I am getting at is the mix of emotions I felt during these final days.  I am excited for my future and journey ahead of me, but there is some definite sadness in knowing what I am leaving behind.  I have the best friends anyone could ask for, not to mention all my family in the Edmonton area but the hardest has been leaving Ruth.  Ruth and I have grown incredibly close since we initially met in June, and leaving her has been one of the hardest things I have ever done.  Funny how life happens, Andrew also told me recently, we have to always account for the variable change that will inevitably happen during our lives and that no plan in life is ever a sure thing.

Although it was hard I did really enjoyed my last week in Canada.  Last Friday I got to see one of my favorite bands Current Swell play a show at The Pawn Shop.  I took Ruth to the show, it was her first time seeing them and we had an amazing time together.  I also ran into quite a few people I have not seen, well since the last Current Swell show and it was good to say goodbye to them.  On Saturday I had a going away party at my house. Lots of friends and some family came, it was nice to see all those people.  Sunday was a lazy day and that night my roommates and I ordered pizza and watched the Oiler game.  Monday I met with my Dad right after work for a couple beers, and some pub food.  We talked about everything and he told me how proud he was of me for doing this.  I am really glad we went.  Tuesday my Mom came into Edmonton to pick me up and because I was flying out of Calgary.  We had dinner at my Grandmas house that night with my Mom, my sister Natalie, and Ruth.  Wednesday morning my mom took me to buy a backpack, the day before I leave I get a backpack nothing like the last minute.  Then I spent the day packing and doing last minute things to get ready.  Eventually I went and picked Ruth up at her house to spend our final evening together.  She planned to take me to this special spot to watch the sunset.  I won't go into specifics but it was a beautiful spot and we had a wonderful moment.

Afterwards Ruth and I went to Bestbuy and then we had dinner at the Kelsey's on 137th Ave that I worked at like ten years ago.  We eventually just went back to my house to hang out while I finished some last minute packing.  It was a very nice night, although other then going to watch the sunset we didn't really do anything special, we were together and that was all we wanted.  I got up early the next morning to say goodbye to Jer and Corbin before they went to work and then I made Ruth breakfast in bed before I drove her home.  Then it came, we had to say our goodbyes and all I am going to say about it is, that it was not easy.

Date Night

Last night was date night!  and what a great date and night it was.

Initially Ruth and I planned our date night for the Tuesday after my birthday, she wanted to take me out for dinner and give me my gift.  But then "we" decided we wanted to go see Mama Mia, so we pushed it back another week.  As the night drew closer, I could tell we were both getting quite excited for it and it seemed like more then just a simple birthday date.  So we dressed up a little and showed up to pick her up with flowers at the door.

She loved them! We had her roommate take a few pictures and Ruth then gave me my birthday gift that she had been so stressed about.  I won't go into specifics but I will say I absolutely LOVED my gift.  It was so very thoughtful and you could tell she put a lot f time and effort into it.  After I received my gift we were off to a surprise location for dinner that Ruth had made reservations at.  She gave directions on the way but I could still not figure out until we arrived at... The Creperie.

Dinner at the Creperie was excellent.  If you have never been there, the atmosphere is of an old French restaurant that serves traditional French food.  We ordered a bottle of Champagne and proceeded to look over the menu.  Ruth ordered the Chicken Primavera, and...

I ordered the Lamb Shank.

Both portions were ridiculously huge, but overall the food was good.  The Lamb was done in a red wine and tomato sauce and served with garlic mashed potatoes and grilled vegetables.  After we ate our we glanced over the dessert menu as our server brought over some chocolate covered strawberries.  He said that usually when people order champagne it is a special occasion and that the strawberries were on the house.

We also ordered a Chocolate and Raspberry crepe which was also very delicious.

After dinner, we headed over to the Jubilee Auditorium for the opening night of Mama Mia.  This was my first experience ever going to a musical or play of any kind and I have to say I did enjoy it.  The show was quite entertaining and I very much enjoyed the company of my date.  Towards the end of the show Ruth was getting cold so I offered my jacket to her like a true gentlemen.  And they say chivalry is dead.

After the show was over we rushed out of the auditorium in order to beat the traffic of the mad rush to get out of the parka-de.  Ruth is a seasoned vet at going to the theater, so she knew all the short cuts and the do and don'ts of going.  It was similar to how I would show her the proper etiquette of going to an Oiler game.

At the end of the night I drove Ruth home and walked her up to her apartment.  We went inside and I kissed her goodnight.  All in all it was a great date and I am very happy with how it all went.

I will close by saying thank you Ruth, for a wonderful evening!

Do You Realize???

I have been to my fair share of concerts, festivals, and shows over the past few years but I have always stated that The Flaming Lips at Sasquatch 08 was by far the best I have ever seen.  Don't get me wrong I have seen some other great performances, the first time I saw Arcade Fire at Coachella 07, or Explosions in the Sky at Sunset also at Coachella 07, or even The Police reunion tour at Commonwealth Stadium on a hot summer night in 07.  For whatever reason some concerts just stick with you.  Maybe it is your absolute favorite band or maybe the band just puts on a really great show.  When I saw the Flaming Lips at Sasquatch in 08 it seems that all the circumstances were just right.  They were my favorite band at the time and I loved their last two albums.  The show itself was on the last night of the festival and it was a beautiful evening.  To top it all off The Flaming Lips are said to put on one of the most entertaining shows you will even see and Rolling Stone has put them in the top 20 bands you must see before you die.  So in June when Tim emailed me to tell me that he got us tickets to The Flaming Lips for the end of September, I was initially a little nervous.  I was excited but I thought to myself, there is now way that The Flaming Lips could do it twice, and that it would almost be a let down to see them again.  I didn't want to try and recreate that moment.

I went into this show with little expectations.  I had not heard anything off there new album, and I figured there is no way they could put on the crazy show they are known for in such a small venue.  How wrong I was.  The show was almost better then the last time I saw them.  They still put on one of the most amazing spectacles I have ever witnessed and it was that much more intimate because of the small venue.  I won't go into specifics of the show because it just won't do it justice but I will say, the band opened the show by coming out of a massive glowing vagina, and Wayne came out in his space bubble and walked on the crowd.  Then two confetti guns at both ends of the stage shot millions of pieces of confetti into the air, and about one hundred massive balloons of all colors were dropped onto the crowd from the rafters.  It was really something to see.

Although The Flaming Lips do put on an absolute spectacle of a show, the real energy comes from lead singer Wayne Coyne and that's what makes there show so memorable.  He really just wants everyone in the crowd to have a good time.  He even said during the performance that, the higher the crowd gets, the higher the band gets, and the better the time everybody has.  He just looks so happy on stage, and so happy to be sharing in the experience with everyone around him.  Before the show even started Wayne came out and warned everyone that he would be coming out in the space bubble and that they use lots of strobe lights that have been known to make people sick during the show.  He followed that by saying if you do feel sick, just don't look at the lights, cover your eyes and enjoy the rest of the show.  If you want to get a sense for what the Flaming Lips are all about just listen to this song.

The Flaming Lips - Do You Realize???