[Sca-cooks] Chef::: was ::: good brands of vinegar

[Heleen Greenwald]

Hi Jadwiga,
We ate at a Macaroni Grill in Baltimore for my birthday last year. The portions were huge so hubby and I split an entrée. We had chicken, spaghetti with some sort of red sauce and veggies. I thought everything was great.

Now 2 questions:
1) a Sous-chef runs the daily workings of a commercial kitchen , yes? While 'the CHEF' makes the menus and tells the staff how to prepare a dish... am I right in thinking this?

2) Did you ever see the Brit com  *CHEF*? Starring Lennie Henry as the domineering chef.  Very funny Brit-com....well, anyway..... When a patron's order comes into the kitchen on a piece of paper, he  (the chef character) says
"samash" - at least that is what I am hearing.... Then the person who is going to prepare the dish, shouts out " yes chef"...  I have always wondered what 'samash' means.
Thanks!
Phillipa
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Jadwiga Zajaczkowa / Jenne Heise 
  To: Cooks within the SCA 
  Sent: Tuesday, August 31, 2004 11:31 AM
  Subject: [Sca-cooks] good brands of vinegar


  Christopher and I went to a relatively new (about 2 weeks)branch of an
  Italian restaurant chain, 'the Macaroni Grille', last weekend. Had a
  nice chat with the waitress (long time waitress/manager coming from a
  mom-and-pop that hadn't appreciated her), discussed the dynamics of the
  waitrons (order entering station was right behind my head!) and of the
  staff in the open kitchen [what an experience for someone who had just
  read _Kitchen Confidential_ and was dining with someone who'd worked his
  way through college as a sous-chef], and criticized the menu. :) Of
  course I proved that my tastes are less well-developed than
  Christopher's, I liked almost everything. [Our waitress dragged the
  manager over to talk to us, and I admit I told him what I thought. The
  perils of asking Jadwiga... :) ]

  We had the mozarrella/tomato/basil/vinagrette dish, and I was appalled 
  to discover that they had used supermarket type tomatoes (in NJ in 
  August!) and hassled the staff by changing my main dish from capellini 
  pomodoro to a create-your-own-pasta. However, I loved the vinagrette, 
  which was relatively sweet with an interesting balsamic vinegar.

  Even though I love vinegar and cook with it a lot when I cook, I really
  don't have a sense of what brands are best, or where to get the 'good
  stuff'. You do as many sauce and mustard classes as I do, you generally
  buy the cheap stuff in bulk. :) So... what kind/brands do y'all
  recommend?  How do you tell a good vinegar?

  -- -- Jadwiga Zajaczkowa, Knowledge Pika jenne at fiedlerfamily.net "If you
  have no faith in yourself, then have faith in the things you call truth. 
  You know what must be done.  You may not have courage or trust or
  understanding or the will to do it, but you know what must be done.  You
  can't turn back.  There is no answer behind you.  You fear what you
  cannot name.  So look at it and find a name for it.  Turn your face
  forward and learn.  Do what must be done." - McKillip
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