Kids these days...

Kids these days.

I have always put a lot of faith in teenagers. I have always  employed them, I have tried to develop their skills, I have tried to help them grow into healthy adults.  Recently, my faith in our youth has been tested.  I feel myself wanting to give up on them. And so, I feel the need to talk about my challenges with these kids, maybe as a way of processing, but how do I write about the problems with our teenagers without sounding like an old man, an old codger complaining about “kids these days”.

It drives me crazy when I hear people my age or older talking about how much better things were when they were kids. “We would never have done that!”  Every generation has had its problems, and every generation of kids have been a part of that. We get freaked about youth crime but ignore the fact that crime rates have been dropping since the 70’s. We talk about drugs and alcohol, but ignore the fact that we were all skipping school to get high or drinking southern comfort in the park when we were their age.  In fact, I think that most of the kids I meet are better behaved than I was as a youth. Kids take school more seriously, have a better work ethic, are more concerned about the enviroment and their political life, are less racist and less sexist and less homophopic than my peers. And many of them get involved in all kinds of interesting and creative projects. I just read an article about a young woman who is making chain maille clothing using pop-can pull tabs. One of the things I find surprising about teens these days is that they actually go to school on a regular basis. I would go weeks sometimes without seeing a teacher or a text book. (and i graduated!) So, I have always rejected notions that kids these days are so bad.

In my work I have always employed teens. They start as dishwashers and bussers. I draw great satisfaction when I can train them and see them rise up the ranks to become cooks and servers. I feel that we are giving them real life usable skills. Wherever they wind up, they can always find employment. Restaurant work puts people through school. It facilitates travel. And it gives them something to fall back on if plan A falls through.  For some of us the restaurant industry becomes our plan A.  We have servers pushing 50 who have houses on the river, two vehicles, travel regularly and have no desire to “find a real job”.  Years ago, I ditched my Plan A of a PH.D in Philosophy and Religion in favour of what has become a pretty good day job.

For a lot of teenagers, the best thing you can do for them is give them a job. People do more growing up when the get their first job than they will ever do at school. At work we don’t treat them like kids. I don’t talk to their parents and I expect the same level of responsiblity from them that I would for any of my adult employees. At school, kids get stuck in a very artificial setting where everyone they have to relate to is of the same age. At work, they will build relationships with people who are younger and much older than them. This, I feel, is very healthy for a growing mind.  And at work they learn real responsibility: responsibilty to the employer, responsibility to each other and responsibility to the customer. 

Working with teens, particularly teens with questionable backgrounds and difficult family situatuations can be challenging. Many of them just don’t understand the rules. they have no one teaching them that if you have a scheduled shift, you show up for it. On time. Ready to work. They have no one to teach them that if you want to quit, you give proper notice. They have no role model to show them that it is not okay to drink or do drugs before work.  I had one kid, when I was lecturing them about drug use, say to me in his defense, “I always smoke an hour before work, so that I am all burnt out for when my shift starts.”  I hire lots of kids who don’t last very long. But sometimes you hire a kid who you want to put effort into.  There is something about them that you like, or you see promise in them. These are the kids that I give a lot of chances to. They screw up, we talk, they come back, they do a good job, they screw up again, we talk... These kids, my wife calls my “projects”. There is nothing more rewarding, then when I see one of my “projects’ turn out successful; when I can take a teen with sketchy history and give them a skill and teach them how to be a good employee.

I love working with teens, and I think very highly of this generation of teens, but recently my faith in them has been challenged. I can talk about the kids who I gave a lot of chances to, the kids I tried to work with who let me down, the kids who unleashed anger on me when I finally gave up and stopped giving them more chances. I have many of those stories. But I just feel that those are the risk of me taking on my “projects”. Sometimes they will be successful, and sometimes not.  And when we finally part ways I might feel dissapointed or sometimes even betrayed, but that goes with the territory. However, recently I have had to deal with two incidents that have really shaken my faith. 

One Sunday morning, at 4:20, I got a call from the Liquor Inspector. “I just locked up your restaurant, did you know it was full of kids smoking and drinking? You better come down and make sure everything is okay.”  Turns out, a former employee had shown up, bullied or cajoled the dishwashers on shift to let them come in to “wait for them”. They turned this opportunity into a party.  My dishwasher says ‘I tried to get them to leave’, but he also joined in on the festivities. Had my inspector not shown up for a random check, they would have partied all night. The next day I was given a big long list of violations, I had to fire two employees, I took legal action against the former dishwasher, and we changed a bunch of policies. We have always operated our business from a position of trust. Unlike a lot of restaurants, we don’t have cameras to watch our staff. We feel that if you give people trust, they will repay it in kind.  On that day, trust was eroded. And the policies we enacted said “I don’t trust you”. And that hurt me.

This past week, I had a similar event at my home. My daughter, sweet and a bit naive, told one of her young friends that we were going away for three weeks. He told a few friends, and they told a few friends. My mother in-law who lives with us, was out at the lake with us, was not planning on staying out at the lake. She arrived home to a house full of teenagers. She should have been frightened, but she stormed into the house full of anger. “Who the F’ is in my house!?” They weren’t just partying, they were drinking my liquor, including my Veuve Cliquot, smoking my cigars and butting them out on the furniture, rummaging through all our stuff, stealing jewelry, much of which had sentimental value, such as grandma’s cameo, and trying to steal our tv’s. Had ‘Nanny’ not come home, I am sure things would have been much, much worse.  We called the police and rushed home from the cottage. We hung out with the cops until 6 am that morning. At one point we were asked “what do you want to do?” Do you want to press charges?  We debated this for a while, we were pretty angry, but decided there would be no benefit to putting a bunch of 14 yr olds into the system. We opted for a “caution”. We asked the police to go talk to each of these kids parents and to ask that they come apologize to us. At 5 am, the police came back and informed us that their mission didn’t go well. The parents seemed ineffective, “what are we to do? the kids are out of control”. So the police encourage us to press charges. Maybe the kids would learn from this. The police also suspected that they had done this before. But the piece that kept coming back to us was how could a group of teens do something like this?

So my faith in teens has been shaken. The three themes I come back to, and the three ideas I worry about are 1) the lack of respect for other peoples property and livelihood 2) the lack of concern for consequences and 3) the inability to take responsibility for your own choices. We all make stupid choices, but when we do, It is important to own them.

As I am writing this, I think that these three concerns are not just concerns for “youth today”. They are issues we had to deal with when we were kids and issues that adults have to deal with today.  I make many poor choices and I am not always good at taking responsibilty for those choices. (I am working on it) I am thinking about successful adults fighting “speed trap cameras”, and I think “you were speeding, just pay the fine, its not the camera’s fault.” And so maybe its not a teenager thing, and maybe it is not a generational thing, maybe it is a common struggle that we all must engage in every day of our lives.

So, I will continue to put faith in our teenagers. I will continue to hope for good things for the future. I will have many moments of satisfaction and joy as I see them grow up and be successful and I will have disapointments and heartbreak when they slip.  It is important for me to not become the old codger complaining about “kids these days”. I must believe in these kids and their ability to overcome their own challenges, to become happy and stable adults and maybe even to make our world a better place.

Part Two: August 29, 2012

So, as if someone wants to test my faith in teens, I have a few new stories over the past few weeks.
I had an employee take a personal check off my desk and write himself a check. He had another buddy cash the check at a bank machine for him. When the check didn't clear, cause it looked sketchy (he even got the date wrong) his buddy was out $450.00. Screw your boss, sure, but screw your buddy as well? Then I had one of my recently released teens bust into my restaurant one night to steel the cash from the cashouts. Silly boy, didn't realize that these days no one pays with cash. busted into the bistro but left empty handed. Then, sunday night, one of my cooks and two of my former dishwashers let themselves in to the bistro, drank my cooking tequila and took my truck for a joy ride.  Monday night, someone, busted the windows of two cars, busted the door of the apartment next door, started to bust my door open. They vandalized, but didn't take anything.

I never thought I would have camera's in my restaurant, but I am giving them some serious thought.

So, I am looking for some new cooks. Responsible adults only please.
I am officially fed up with teenagers.

The Bee and the Pozoles

Bees are highly evolved creatures,

with intricate social structures,

they build complex buildings

they have elaborate systems to collect, store and distribute resources,

yet they are defeated by window panes

I was sitting on the front balcony of our little casita

the balcony overlooked the beautiful Bay of Banderas

thick foliage of palm branches, banana trees and vines partially obscure the view.

there is a high wall dividing our house from the neighbour’s.

covering the wall is a thick tangle of vines

decorated with large, open, purple flowers

which may or may not have been morning glories.

I was sitting on the balcony of our little casita

coffee in hand, watching a honey bee.

The bees down here are much bigger than we have at home.

This one had the body of a honey bee, but was bigger than our native bumble bees.

I watched her as she flew from flower to flower collecting nectar

she would approach a flower, give it a sniff,

If it was a good one, she would crawl in and drink in the sweet nectar.

only one in about every five blossoms was good enough for her.

I know from school that she would then take the nectar back to her hive

it would be stored in wax containers that other bees had built

the nectar would be sorted, stored and distributed as needed

I know that there is an intricate social structure

which is rigidly maintained to preserve the hive.

I am thinking about this as the bee flies through a wide open door into my room.

When the bee turns around, she bumps into a clear window pane.

She keeps bumping and buzzing into the window pane trying to get through

less than 3 inches from where she is flying, there is a wide open door

which would allow her to escape.

yet this bee keeps hitting the clear glass

not understanding what she is hitting

not understanding how to get away.

Bees are highly evolved creatures,

with intricate social structures,

they build complex buildings

they have elaborate systems to collect, store and distribute resources,

yet they are defeated by window panes

I wonder, if there was someone watching us from a distance

would they think they the same thing?

Would they think that we are a highly evolved species

with a well developed civilisation

with intricate social structures

that builds complex buildings and cities

with elaborate systems to collect, store and distribute resources,

yet we keep flying into a window pane.

Would this observer wonder why we don’t see the window pane?

Why do we keep buzzing and bumping into the same window pane?

I wonder, what is our window pane?

Why can’t we see it?

why do we keep bumping into it, not understanding what it is?

I am thinking all these “deep” thoughts as I go down for breakfast

Bruce has made poached eggs on tortillas with

refried beans and salsa verde.

I offer to do the dishes after breakfast.

As I wash up, I am drafting this piece in my head.

I decide to make pozoles.

I have been trying to think of how to connect the pozoles

with the bee. I felt that I should write about them together, but having written,

I don’t know why they are connected. Maybe it is about how I sort out the panes of glass in my life. No matter what is going on, how stressed out I become or how difficult life gets, I can always find solace in cooking. Cooking is therapeutic. But more than that, cooking is how I work stuff out. Cooking makes connections for me, gets my brain working in different ways, helps me see all the different levels and structures in my world. I am not conscious of it, but cooking is how I think. Maybe making pozoles is how I will see and understand the window panes in my world.

Corn and No Meat Pozoles

I figure a pot of pozoles on the back burner would be a good thing today

we decided we would stay close to home, saving energy to party on the Malecon tonight.

Sunday night is the night when the locals enjoy the boardwalk.

I read the bag of corn for the pozoles, the recipe calls for 1kg corn and 2 kg of meat.

Because we are staying with one vegan and two vegetarians I decide to make a vegan version. The pozoles itself is corn, but not like the corn we know from home. It is hard and woody. It is the type you would grind to make tortillas. It is treated with lime to break it down to make it edible. This corn came in bags, pre cooked, and stored in plenty of the water it was cooked in. This preserves the starch from the corn that will thicken the soup. The closest you will probably find to this in canada, unless you have a really good latin grocer, is canned hominy corn. Feel free to use canned yellow corn, or corn fresh off the cob for this recipe. In this recipe I used a local squash that looked similar to a zucchini, but was considerable woodier. It held up well in the soup. Use zucchini or whatever squash you have available. I used 1 whole ancho and one whole guajillo chilie. These are both fairly mild. Feel free to use whatever chilies you prefer, just be aware of their different properties and levels of heat.

1 tbsp olive oil

4 small spring onions with white bulbs and greens, sliced. (or one white onion)

2 cloves garlic, chopped coarsley

1 jalepeno, minced

2 carrots, slices

2 zucchini like squash, diced

2 large tomatoes, diced

1 dry ancho chile

1 dry guajillo chile

1 kg pozole corn (hominy corn) with liquid

1 litre of water

salt and pepper to taste

lime and cilantro to garnish

1. in large heavy pot, sautee onions in oil. add garlic and jalepeno. sautee.
2. add carrots, zucchini and saute some more.
3. add tomato, corn, water and chilies. bring to a boil.
4. reduce heat and simmer for an hour, add salt and pepper to taste
5. serve with lime wedges and fresh chopped cilantro.

A note on authenticity:

As I am writing this recipe, I can hear all the food purists out there questioning its authenticty. There are people out there who feel there is only one right way of doing things. They feel that authentic is more inportant than tasty. This recipe may or may not be authentic, I don’t really care. I am comforted by Bruce Springsteen’s words from his speech at South by Southwest: “We are living in a post-authentic world” “There is no one right way of doing, no pure way of doing, there is just doing.” Having said this, this recipe is as authentic as the recipe of any grandma in any village in Mexico, because like the grandma’s pozole, this one was made with love.

Too many rants, not enough recipes

Bistro 7 ¼ Braised Beef Shortribs

2 lbs English cut beef short ribs (from the shoulder)

2 tbsp canola oil

1 large onion, diced

1 dark beer (I use fort garry dark)

1 tbsp chili powder

2 cups beef or chicken stock (you can use canned)

2 cloves

S+p to taste

1. season short ribs with chili powder
2. brown on all sides in canola oil
3. add onions, cloves, beer and stock.
4. cover and roast for 6 hours at 225F (or put in slow cooker)
5. cool in the liquid.
6. Skim fat, reheat in liquid. Reduce liquid until it is saucy. Check seasoning.

Serve with mashed potatoes and vegetables

White Bean and Chorizo Soup

1 chorizo or other spicy sausage

1 small onion, diced

1 stalk celery, sliced

1 clove garlic minced

2 l chicken stock

2 cups cooked white beans (or one can)

1 potato, diced

2 cups chopped kale, or spinach or any other dark leafy green

1. 1) slice the sausage, sautee

2. 2) add the onion , celery and garlic

3. 3) add stock, potato and beans, bring to a low boil. Simmer until potatoes are cooked

4. 4) add greens and simmer until cooked. (kale will take a few minutes)

An open letter to a customer on the subject of foie gras

I received a letter today on the subject of foie gras. A customer chose not to come in to my restaurant because I have Foie Gras on my menu. This letter is quite timely, as the debate is heating up in California. I wrote her a lengthy response, which I decided to post. Some of the themes in my response you will see reflected in previous blogs. I have posted a link to a letter from Incanto on the subject of foie gras.

This customer chooses to eat a vegan diet. For those of you don't know this about Bistro 7 1/4, we do an excellent job of accommodating vegan clients.

Her letter:

Dear Chef Alex,

I was recently disappointed to find out that your restaurant menu features foie gras. I'm sure you are aware the controversy behind this dish, but I would just like to provide you with some further information regarding the production of foie gras, in hopes that you will seriously consider removing this item from your menu, and set an example for other restaurants who also feature this cruel dish.

Ducks and geese used to produce foie gras are kept in tiny cages or sheds and have pipes jammed (roughly and painfully) down their throats three times per day so that grain and fat can be pumped into their stomachs, causing their liver to bloat (about 10 times its size!). The birds suffer a great deal of pain as well as injuries and infection in the process. The birds often develop foot infections, kidney necrosis, bruised and broken bills and tumours in their throats so that this unnecessary 'delicacy' can be eaten. Production of Foie Gras is so cruel that it has actually been banned in California and force feeding has been banned in several countries around the world. As a vegan and animal rights activist I wish that all meat could removed from the menu as cruelty and pain is involved in all farming methods. I understand that your clientele eat meat and the majority are neither vegetarian nor vegan, so all I am asking is that you please consider removing the foie gras from the menu. It is cruel, inhumane, painful and unnecessary. In fact, I know many people (omnivore) who refuse to eat at any restaurant that serves foie gras, so I believe removing foie gras from the menu would have only positive effects.

Here is a video exposing the cruelty and torture involved in the production of foie gras, if you are interested in seeing exactly what goes on: http://youtu.be/32815SIgq1A

Thank you for your consideration,

Anonymous

my letter:

Thank you for your letter. I appreciate hearing your concerns.

I feel that any time you make a decision about what to eat, you make a series of ethical choices. Are you content with factory farmed pork or do you seek out pastured pork? Do you eat meat or stick to vegetable proteins? Do you buy organic from california or uncertified produce from down the road? Farmed fish or wild? None of these decisions are simple.

You can buy organic produce from california, but it is wrapped in plastic and shipped 200 km in diesel trucks. And do we ever consider the plight of the migrant workers that harvest the produce?

As a chef and restaurant owner I daily make ethical choices about the food I serve. Sometimes, for practical or financial reasons, I fall short of the standards I set for myself. This being said, I think I do a very good job of buying sustainable fish, locally and humanely raised meats, naturally farmed or organic produce, and I feel the need to support small local producers.

But beyond that, I feel it is also my customers place to make ethical choices about their own dinners. I oppose most attempts to restrict or regulate our freedom to make those choices. Most of my customers enjoy meat, so I am happy to provide this. Some choose to only eat meat from small, local producers that are humanely raised, I do my best to provide that. Some of my customers choose to eat no food from animal sources, I feel I do a very good job of providing food for those customers.

As for Foie Gras, I feel there is a lot of misinformation and sensationalism. The language used colours the debate. No one says that the ducks an geese are not force fed, but the anti-foie movement will colour the description by saying the birds are "painfully force-fed. There is little evidence to support the claim that the birds feel pain in this process. The videos that the anti-foie activists use are quite horrific, but these videos are made to shock. The process of force-feeding happens for a very short period of time and is very quick the rest of the time, these birds live quite peaceful and happy lives. Ducks and geese being raised for foie are free range and are treated better than any factory chicken. Most egg producers will raise their laying hens 3 to a cage, in cages barely big enough for one of them.

But ultimately, the choice to eat foie or not to eat foie lies with my customers. If my guests feel the same outrage that you do, or are simply turned off by the idea of foie, then they will stop ordering it. If my customers stop ordering foie gras, I will stop supplying it. My menu is filled with many great choices. If you choose to not eat foie gras, you are welcome to make that choice. If you choose not to meat at all, you are welcome to make that choice as well. But please remember, that even those who choose to eat vegan are still faced with many ethical food choices.

I just received a link to a blog posting on this very subject. This is from Incanto restaurant in the San Francisco. Incanto is probably on the forefront of sustainable and ethical dining in the US. Their position is interesting and well researched. It is worth a read, if only to further the debate. Check out http://incanto.biz/2009/02/01/shock-foie/

Again, I thank you for your letter. I feel that food, and the choices we make around food, is not something we should take lightly. Healthy debate and discussion is always a good thing.

Alexander

She responded to my letter with the following:

Dear Alexander,

Thank you for your reply. I wholeheartedly agree with you that one makes an ethically driven decision whenever they choose to purchase or eat food. Meat vs. vegetable, local vs. imported, etc. However, the truth is that the majority of people do not know or understand exactly what is involved in bringing their meal to their plate and are not aware of many of the issues such as animal abuse and torture, environmental damage, etc. Reform needs to start somewhere, which is why I chose to write to all restaurants in Winnipeg serving foie gras. It is a small start - I understand that removing all meat from your menu would definitely affect your clientle, but foie gras seemed like a small enough opportunity to make some change and prevent some suffering. Before someone can make an informed ethical decision, they need to know the facts, and sadly most don't. I don't think the people who choose to order foie gras off your menu are monsters who would knowingly support the gruesome torture of innocent creatures. I think that they are individuals who maybe aren't aware of the exact processes and vast amount of suffering and abuse involved in the procurement of their meal. If someone had to sit down and watch beginning to end the process behind foie gras and then eat the end result, I highly doubt that most people would (on the same note, I feel that if most people actually witnessed or knew completely what goes on in a factory farm, most people would be vegan).

I understand that business is ultimately about profit and customers, but animal abuse of any kind is never tolerable and I do disagree with your stance on providing this option to the customer as long as they keep buying it. Although your customers may dictate specific tastes and demand in your restaurant, ultimately as the restaurant owner and chef, the menu is up to you and the decisions you make as to what goes on and is removed from the menu is completely up to you. As an animal rights activist I know the importance of standing up for what you believe in and if no one ever did that - or educated people on the implications of their decisions when they are not aware of them and therefore able to make an informed ethical decision - no progress would ever be made. It's never good to take an all-or-nothing attitude. We can never make the perfect ethical decision ALL of the time - but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't do everything we can to try to make the best ones we are able to in any given situation. Because you serve meat on your menu which means the suffering of millions of animals, doesn't lessen the impact of a simple and single decision like choosing not to support one form of cruelty (foie gras).

Thank you for the link - I did check it out. I have heard that argument in a few different articles and books before - that because animals are not physiologically the same as humans we should not anthropomorphize them. Equality doesn't mean treating two beings exactly the same (we would never allow a duck to vote because they are not capable of reasoning) - it means viewing their life and wellbeing as equally important to another's. The thing is, we cannot ever fully have a sense of how any creature other than ourselves feels pain. I can't even be sure that you feel pain in the same way I do - I have never felt it from your point of view and therefore I cannot say I know what it would feel like. But, since we do not know for a fact that animals do feel pain in the same way we do, we need to give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that they do. To assume otherwise would be cruel. I find little validity in the statement that tube-fed birds in foie gras production appear "unstressed". While in each and every case it may not necessarily be the "tube" that is the thing causing pain and suffering to these animals, certainly having one's liver expanded 10 times it's size and suffering infections, breaks and bruises is undeniably painful. Farms and production sites are all about turning a profit - very little to no care is taken in ensuring that each individually animal is healthy, comfortable and not suffering - that's not profitable. I'm not saying all farms operate exactly the same, but largely most farms do not have the resources to ensure the wellbeing of each animal. I recently wrote to the Minister of Agriculture on two particular foie gras production sites in Canada - birds were witnessed choking on their own blood, suffering infections and broken bills, unable to move, kicked and thrown about like pieces of garbage and beaten to death by being pounded against the ground while fully conscious. No one can even try and tell me that these birds are "unstressed" and pain-free!

You mentioned that the videos made by anti-foie gras activists are made to shock, but unfortunately they are shocking because what is witnessed is shocking! There are many large organizations who produce these videos; they are not contrived or set-up - they are actual footage. I'm not sure where you heard that the birds live painless, peaceful lives - their lives are anything but painless and peaceful. If you look up information and laws regarding "free-range" you will see that the term actually means very little. The term is not clearly defined in Canada and is often open for interpretation amongst farmers - a small piece of dirt for animals to run around in, a window in a shed - the birds often live in filthy conditions with a variety of bacteria and parasites - I have read a number of studies done on "free-range" animals in both Canada and the U.S and am disappointed that so many are deceived by that term actually denotes. Most people think that free-range looks like the idyllic farm - red barn with animals happily grazing and running around the field, but that's not the way it is. Please do not think that free-range means peaceful - it is not.

Anyway, yes, debate is always healthy and welcome! I did receive your request to post my email on your blog and I did check out your blog (I was very happy to see you take an interest in vegetarianism and veganism - it is such a peaceful way to live and I commend you for that!). You have my permission to post my initial email to you on your blog, but only if this reply is posted as well and my last name is omitted. Also, if you could send me the link to your posting that would be great!

If you want to reply to this email that is ok, but I will not reply back again. I have contacted quite a few restaurants and am anticipating on replying to all of them at least once. I just don't have the time to keep a debate going with each one (as fun as it would be!). I do really want to thank you for taking the time to read my email and for responding - I'm sure you are very busy, but it does mean a lot to me :) I have heard wonderful things about your restaurant and your food, and I also do appreciate you accommodating vegans and vegetarians on your menu :)

Thank you and have a great day!

soft food, its a bit of a rant

Why is it that everyone wants their food soft?

Every year, our society spends millions of dollars on the toothpaste-toothbrush-dental industry, so I doubt it is because we all have bad teeth.

But we do we all want out food soft? The "best" and most expensive cut of beef is the tenderloin. Everyone loves it because it is soft. The biggest compliment you can give to a meal is that you can "cut it with a spoon" or that it is "like butter". But again I ask, why is soft food good? If soft food is good, why am I not charging $32 for a bowl of pablum?

Let me give you an example. Chef's love hanger steak. You always see it in chefy type cook books. You might see it on the menus of the hipper restaurants. It is a very tasty, very beefy tasting cut of meat. But you know the problem with hanger steak? You have to chew it. I am not saying its tough. I just saying, that compared to beef tenderloin, it is a little more "toothsome." When I serve hanger steak to my customers, unless they know what they are ordering, they will complain that it isn't tender enough. Me, I will always choose a flavourful steak over a bland piece of meat that is "like butter".

Here is another example. Last year I switched to a new shrimp. I did it because I was trying to find a shrimp that was considered sustainable. The options for procuring sustainably wild-caught or farmed shrimp range between devastating to the environment to just really bad for the environment. There is some "laughing bird shrimp from the gulf that is sustainable, but reminds me of the little shrimp you would have in your shrimp and avocado croissant sandwich in the early eighties. There is some "organic" farmed shrimp from belize or honduras which is pasty and bland. You can get beautiful spot prawns from BC, but they are expensive and highly seasonal. And most of them stay in BC. So, I discovered, with help of my fish monger friend Phil, some very tasty shrimp from Mexico. This stuff is caught by small day boat fishermen in the Sea of Cortes. This stuff is considered sustainable, and best of all, it is really tasty. It tastes like the shrimp you would have on the beach in mexico. But you know what? I get complaints. People are so accustomed to the mushy texture of mangrove-raping black tiger prawns, that the extra chew required to enjoy these shrimp is too much for some people to take. You know the difference between a crapy supermarket skinless wiener and the satisfying snap you get from a "european" style frank? Well this shrimp has that little snap. But people say its tough.

So I ask you, what's with all the soft food? We are gifted with agressive incisors, sharp little canines and good solid molars. We spend a lot of money to maintain our chompers. So why are we afraid to use them?

Don't judge your meal by how tender (read soft) your meal is, but by how tasty it is. Sink your teeth in to it, enjoy it!

tune in next week when I talk about "sweet food". Another example of North America's juvenile palette.

Bistro Gal

Before she was Bistro Gal, she was my wife. Before that, she was punk rock chick, figure skater, folk fest volunteer and activist Danielle.

The wife of a chef puts up with a lot. Late hours, unpredictable schedules, lousy money is kind of what they sign up for. It can get so bad that they become what people have started calling a Chef's Widow. (www.chefswidow.com) And over the years my wife, Danielle, has put up with a lot.

Not only did Danielle have to put up with the usual chef craziness, she had to put up with my own unique brand of craziness. For example, every time we had a baby, I left a good stable job and took a new job. When my first daughter was born, I left the Tap & Grill to go work at 3 different jobs until I found on that stuck. When my Son was born I left Pasta La Vista to go work at Pineridge Hollow and when my youngest was born, I left Pineridge Hollow to open the Bistro.

When I was at Pineridge Hollow, I had everything. A stable job, a decent salary, full creative control, a garden and my own goats. So, I decided to leave and open my own place. Not only did Danielle support this descision, when she should have said "are you nuts? stay at your perfect job!", she actively encouraged me and helped me get the place off the ground.

And that is how she has always been. Any crazy idea I come up with, she is right there with me. When I asked her to put our lives on the line to open a little Bistro, she said sure, lets do it. Owning a restaurant was my dream, not hers, but she made it her own. When we opened, she was homeschooling our children, working in the post-trauma department at Klinic and working nights at the bistro. Very soon, she put her career on hold to work at the bistro full time. The bistro is what it is, and is as successful as it is, because of the genuine warm welcoming hospitality that she brings to the room.

Even though life can be stressful, it is not easy running a small business, it is so much better that we can do this together. I get all the glory, and she holds me up. Nothing I do could be possible with out her. She supports me, she helps me realize my dreams, she nurtures and cares for me, she has fun with me, she joins me on all of our crazy adventures. In return, I give her more craziness. Often I wonder why she puts up with me. Often I wonder why she sticks around. She could just find a nice doctor or lawyer to be with. But she chooses to remain by my side. And for this, I love her deeply.

Thank you Danielle Carignan Svenne for all you do. Thank you for being you.

Chef's Don't Get Hangovers

People think chefs drink a lot. This is, of course, a myth.

I woke up this morning for the second time in a month in a strange city with a low grade headache and my insides asking me WTF? This is the second time in a month that I found my self closing down a local wine bar with my new BFF Chef Michael Blackie. And just like last month in Ottawa, our grape fuelled carousing was the night before the big event. Why do we do this to ourselves?

One my friends in the twitter universe asked us if we were "nursing hangovers". I flippantly responded, "chefs don't get hangovers". While this is not entirely true, it is true that chef's don't "nurse" hangovers; we ignore them.

There is an ethic among chefs that you just have to "git er done". My friend, Chef Aron Epp, has a motto: "Head down, work hard." Guests will arrive, they will expect to be fed, and it is our job to feed them. How we are feeling in the process, really doesn't matter.

I learnt this as a teenager working at Chi Chi's. Some nights I'd stay out all night carrying on with my friends, catch a couple hours of Z's, and then show up to work for my 7:30 prep shift. I wasn't going to let my boss give me shit for being hungover so I would work extra hard. What I learnt in the process, is the best way to get rid of a hangover is to work hard. If you are really hungover and you lay around all day nursing it, you will feel like garbage all day long. If you ignore the hangover and just do some hard physical work, you will feel right as rain in a couple short, painful hours. I see this in my young cooks at the Bistro now. They will never complain, they will never call in sick. The only way I will ever know that they are hungover, is the jumbo size bottle of Gatorade in their station.

But why do we do it? I think people attracted to the restaurant industry are highly social people. I don't party like I used to when I was a young man, but I do like to get together with friends. And because for the most part we work nights, our socializing happens in a friends restaurant with a few drinks. While we are enjoying each other's company we are fully aware that we have to get up tomorrow morning and "do it all over again". But we never want the party to end. How many times have I said , "That was stupid. But it was so much fun". It is hard to end a good conversation with friends.

In the past month I have been involved in two national "chef events". Last month I was privileged to represent Manitoba at the Prairie Scene conference. Today, I am cooking at the Cooks and Curds gala dinner at the Great Canadian Cheese Festival. Both times we had the opportunity to get together with the chefs involved. We all work so hard that it is nice to meet other chefs in fun social settings. Last night, we had chefs literally from coast to coast. We had a chef from Tofino, and chefs from Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, and everywhere in between all sitting at the table together. This was such an incredible time that how could we cut it short, just because we had a lot of work to do the next day.

We all knew, that we would wake up feeling rough, down a couple mugs of coffee and then get to work. No one at the table would be "nursing a hangover". And tonight, we will do it all over again. Watch out "Acoustic Grill", we are all coming tonight.

I am especially privileged to be able to work with my wife Danielle. So when I am out carousing with "the boys" she is right there beside me.