Will Work for Food(Experience)

I have always been told by all of my chefs and all of the instructors that I have always learned from that a chef is always learning always watching, as a somewhat young and pretty green member of the Kitchen world I know that anything I can absorb like a little sponge will be greatly appreciated. I was told by a very wise man that I should read about the famous and ever loved Marco Pierre White. In his book he writes that everyone wears blue commis apron even himself as a sign that everyone is still learning. Many people take many different routes to attain the "ENLIGHTENMENT" of the food world; some people in my mind have attained such nirvana such as Thomas Keller, Ferran Adria, Marco Pierre White, Rene Redzepi and Juan Roca, there are many more but I don't have all day. Chefs spend years working and shedding blood sweat and tears just to know half of what these masters know. I want to know more, I want to work over a 1500 degree oven and cry when I get home because I messed up the puree, I want to work with the most obscure and the most beautiful produce I can procure. I want to travel the world and try foods that haven't even seen American soil. I want to go and milk a goat in Sicily, I want to work with Miamis best chefs and then work with the worlds best chefs. Isn't that any ones dream? All of that needs to start from somewhere. Normally one would Stage, for those of you not in with the kitchen lingo, stage is to go and work briefly for free in another Chef''s kitchen, they will then learn their techniques and cooking styles, in return the Chef has free labor for that amount of time. As I have progressed in my knowledge I know that it is time for me to learn more. That being said I want to start to Stage in different kitchens around Miami or surrounding areas. I want to broaden my horizons and network with the people that make the Miami food scene what it is. Any suggestions? How should I go about this? Thanks for any help!

TO GREAT FOOD AND GREAT FRIENDS,

~Lady of the Knife~

Pour Me a Sweet Tea and Keep 'Em Comin

Calling all Southern Connoisseurs and pretty much anyone with a love for home-made, just like your momma made it, rib sticking good food. YardBird Southern Table and Bar will be opening in August by former Gigi Chef Jeff McInnis. A native North-Floridian, he sure should know a thing or two about Southern fare.The restaurant is slated to open in August right off of 16th St. and Lenox Ave in the heart of South Beach. I have had the pleasure of speaking with Chef Jeff on a couple occasions while he was top dog at Gigi (while the food was good) He seemed like such a chill and laid back guy with a love for really tasty food, hes pretty humble even though he is one of the few Miami chefs that have reached national notoriety (his Top Chef appearance gave him the spotlight he needed to make a big name for himself in Miami) It has been told that Yardbird is going to be southern fine dining with all the southern hospitality to boot. This might seem like a good idea since it is a demographic that hasn't been filled especially with some of the over the top, frou-frou and sometimes pretentious food that has been coming out of South Beach lately. Find more info at the cleverly named website runchickenrun.com. Wait and Watch.




~Lady of the Knife~

Whats in the Risotto Again?

That was exactly what I was saying tonight during service, I guess my mind totally checked out the minute I left for Europe because it was all day of... Wheres this pan? What temperature do I put the Circulator on for? Where are my rags? Why cant I find any of my garnishing powders. Anyways, we FINALLY started our new menus YAAAYYY!!! We brought on a lovely Lobster Bisque with a Truffle Creme Fraiche, A Fig and Prociutto Salad with Spiced Pistachios(SOO GOOD!!! I was eating them all day), Roasted Sea Bass with PEI Mussels and Manila Clams dripping with a beautiful Tomato and Lobster Jus Reduction YUM YUM YUM. We changed our Lamb to be a little more homey with an inclusion of a Polenta and Fig cake that is placed under the beautiful Medium Rare hue of the Lamb Rack. And for the most popular dish of the night is our new Surf N'Turf. it is a tender and juicy 7 oz. Filet(roasted) with a HUGE Prawn that is beautifully grilled to perfection. it sits above a silky spicy carrot puree and roasted root vegtables. You gotta come try this one, its everything you need all on one plate! Oh yeah, I never told you i work at Eos in the Viceroy. Goodnight!!

Back to the Grind

Well... today I go back to work after an amazing two weeks in Europe tasting some of the best food in the world and seeing some of the most beautiful cities to boot. (blog to come) I think menus have changed, we have gotten a new intern (fun for me) and im a little out of practice. Should be a fun day.

Secret Society Dinner-Cobaya Area 31

Can I just say this is one of the cooler concepts to be happening in Miami right now!  There is an underground secret dining club that gets together every so often (the Chowfather is one of them) and gets to try these menus that let the chefs go wild. I was lucky enough to snag the last ticket to the event that happened tonight at Area 31 in the EPIC Hotel. I was plesently suprised to see how this society worked, you were picked at random from an email resonse you send in to get the invitation to go to this meal. There is about 25-30 people that got to go and you have a wonderful tasting with or without wine and it is in a communal table arrangment so you got to meet a whole bunch of cool people from all walks of life. But the coolest catch is you dont know the place (until right before it happens) and you definetly dont know the meal. You will know when they set the menu before you. For a chef this is highly intriging because we try the same things day in and day out so this is very amuzing. We started with a beautiful Amuse Bouche, tomato and peach with truffled cheese and a basil top from paradise farms to top it out, clean simple DELISH; Then we had the Cobia Ceviche wow! There was obviously alot of thought and work that went into that dish.the cuts were beautiful and the texture was all there. Then for my favorite there was the foie gras fluff, so smooth, it was like eatin butter haha beautifully composed the Foie just melted in your mouth and the maldon gave it that extra flavor it needed. Then I had the Flounder with Asparagus and Vanilla Turnip puree... not my favorite I think since my piece was relitivly smaller than everyone elses my piece of flounder was overcooked but it was also underseasoned. oh well on to the next, Then came the crab and diver scallop with farro and coconut broth (couldnt find it) farro was cooked nicely and the english peas were a nice pop of color and flavor. One of the tops in my night had to be the sous vide duck with pork belly confit. OMG the pork belly blew my mind!! SO GOOD! For me duck is not the best choice for sous vide unless it gets a bad ass sear on it after its done cooking in the vaccum. Duck tends to be chewy anyways so maybe not the best. if that duck was braised I would have loved it forever Then came dessert filled with cherry sorbet, dehydrated mousse, greek yogurt panna cotta and truffles to top off the decadence. Wow that was such a beautiful panna cotta kudos to whoever made that one. I would have to say I will be excited to try out Area 31 again. The new Chef looks like he really knows his stuff. Overall this secret dining society is like my new guilty pleasure. Who wouldnt want to meet with some amazing people who like to eat good food just as much as you do. As for telling you anything about contacts ill have to leave you with the famous quote from Gossip Girl "and thats the secret Ill never tell, until again XOXO Gossip Girl"

To Good Friends and Good Food

~Lady of the Knife~

Down the Rabbit Hole

Hey everyone!!!!! This is my first official BLOG!!!! so exciting... anyways welcome to my world. My name is Christine Guzman. I am presently 23 and I live in Miami, Midtown more officially. I work in the food industry and love every second. I graduated from Johnson and Wales University for Culinary Arts not too long ago so I am still a blossoming flower (squash blossom to be exact hehe) I have a twitter that you can follow @christyg21887  anyways getting to the heart of my blog, I am fortunate enough to get to experience many of the great restaurants Miami has to offer. I have also had many a friend tell me why not start to write about the experiences, lets just say yelp.com wasnt personal enough for me (although a great way to find good eats). I also have people ask me all the time about work and whats going on in the industry so why not make a website for all needs and curiosities.I love to get responses and I will try and reply to all. Enough about me and more about the food. Please enjoy.

To Great Friends and Great Food,

~Lady of the Knife~