This year’s signed on chefs are:

Hosting Local Chefs

Michael Blackie, National Arts Centre
Matthew Carmichael, Restaurant 18
Jonathan Korecki, Side Door
Marc Lepine, Atelier
Patricia Larkin, Black Cat Bistro
Clifford Lyness, Brookstreet
Cesare Santaguida, Vittoria Trattoria
Jason Duffy, ARC Lounge

Visiting Chefs Confirmed to date:

Susur Lee
LEE, Toronto

Vikram Vij
Vij’s, Vancouver

Jason Rosso
The Distillery, Toronto

Patrick McMurray
Star Fish, Toronto

Quang Dang
West Restaurant, Vancouver

Ned Bell
Four Seasons Hotel, Vancouver

Jason Parsons
Peller Estates, Niagara

Lynn Crawford
Ruby Watchco, Toronto

Jeremy Charles
Raymond’s Restaurant, St. John’s

I cant wait to buy my tickets!!

Click on this link and take a look a the different shapes and sizes here

Basically you have your brunoise which is a very small cube and is typically used for garnishes. One step bigger than that is the macedoine which is your typical diced vegetable. I like using this in anything that doesn’t require you to have the onion as a major player but you want the aromatic.

The chiffonade is used for some vegetables like leafy greens which are layered and require just a thin slice . For other vegetables you get get slices by a paysanne which are against the grain (picture a celery stalk) or you can have julienne which are thin slices with the grain. One step up from the julienne is the jardiniere which are your basic chunky slices of veggies (like that of a vegetable platter).

Not sure why the mirepoix is included in this as its not really a cutting style of a starter for lots of soupes, stalks, etc. A basic mirepoix will be a mix of aromatics such as onion, celery and carrots sauted very slowly in butter.

Check this video out… its doesnt include all the styles but its good to see. click here

As for some oldschool literature check out this cooks illustrated depiction here.

There I was walking from my excellent parking space and into the Back Lane Cafe, one door, two doors, a single second of wondering where to go next since the entire entrance was encased in curtains, and pushing my way through one of the sides I felt like I stumbled into Narnia; everyone starring at me like I wasnt supposed to be there. I stood there with confidence and slowly a man approached me and asked if I wanted a seat. Likely, given that it was a restaurant, but I politely said yes and ducked into a table for two. He said the kitchen might be closing but shortly thereafter reassured me that I was good to stay.

I had a moment to look around, and was very confused by the decor. The place was covered wall to wall with fake window panes and an eclectic collection of wooden tables and chairs. There weren’t too many people in the place but several other people came in after me.

I have to admit that judging a place on their brunch menu is a little unfair but there were some things that said ‘home made’ so I had to try them. I settled on the homemade sausage and poached egg with a grain salad. Hmm… though I hate to say it I was really disappointed. My entire mean had virtually no taste. The egg was nicely cooked but the sausage added very little (and I mean size and taste) and eventually I had to skip the bread because I couldn’t cut through it. The grain salad was really nice… and then to my left there was a side of fruit… (*sigh)… I know its Winter but there has got to be something to offer other than imported melons – strawberries, honeydew, … the whole gammit. Oh well…

I will need to come back to the Back Lane cafe to try out some of their dinner menu items but truthfully Im a little disappointed with the whole picture – the decor, the food… even the service was a little lack-luster.

I’d love to hear your comments on the restaurant.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Syndey Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 27,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 10 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

Executive Chef - The executive chef is responsible for the entire umbrella of the kitchen. He/she is responsible for maintaining the integrity of menu by approving all changes and coming up with new ideas. The Executive chef is also responsible for activities of his chefs, and will often hire staff and take care of food costs. The Executive chef may often partake in cooking (depending on the Chef). While the Executive chef generally implies status they can run the extreme of someone who is very hand on, or someone who has input in the menu but leaves the majority of duties to the chef de cuisine or sous chef. In the latter scenario it is usually because the Executive chef helps run several establishments.

Chef de Cuisine - The main difference between the Executive Chef and the Chef de Cuisine is the status. As mentioned above, the Executive chef usually has his name on several doors, and is much more well known. However, establishments prefer to only have a chef de cuisine. The responsibilities are much alike (and you will find that if the Executive Chef is more hands off, the Chef de Cuisine is in the kitchen much more in comparison).

Sous-chef - By definition this means ‘under the chef’. The Chef de Cuisine and Sous-chef alike are usually the ones who create the menu items and build the recipes that comprise the menu. Responsibilities are to look after the quality of the food and the staff as much as possible. Though less well-known than the Executive chef the sous-chef is the Executive/Chef de Cuisine’s right hand (wo)man.

Garde Manger - The Garde Manger is a specialized cook and is designated to cold plates such as salads, canapes and hors d’ouevres. In addition, the Garde Manger has the palate to combine flavour profiles which includes creating sauces and dips to partake in the cold plates. This will run anywhere from chutneys to vinaigrette.

Entremetier - The Entremetier is responsible for entrees. This is a specialized position and is quite high up in the ranks.

Saucier - The Saucier is responsible for preparing sauces. Although this sounds quite basic, most dishes require sauces that are made with consistency. There are five main sauces that any given Saucier will be familiar with and will have a part in many of the dishes.

Commis - This is an entry level position. This Commis will work directly under the line cooks (Chef de partie) and is responsible for the tools in the kitchen.

I really did not think the blog would see it this far, but it has been a very fun adventure. 10 years of eating in the city, 10 years of being in a relationship with a chef,…I had a lot of knowledge of food and restaurants stored in this little brain of mine, it had to be shared.

The original plan was to eat at as many restaurants in one year and share my views. At times, I wont lie, IO had a Julie and Julia plan of setting out to a restaurant once a day but yes… financially this was not so feasible. Instead, it became my passion to share about past and current experiences…whenever I did make it out.

There are still so many restaurants on my wishlist so I dont see the blog ending anytime soon, but I will say that in the last year my blog has reinvented itself more into a culinary culture blog and less about reviewing restaurants. The feedback I received from chefs in the city was that I needed to share the inside knowledge of the culinary culture here in Ottawa – the inspirations, the chefs, the restaurants, the trends, and the events – so that readers like so many of you can understand the method behind the food you eat.

Now that I have achieved both goals and continue to do so, I thank all of my readers for supporting me along the way, and for all the Urbanspoon clickers who stumbled upon my blog and made it more visible to others.

Congratulations to ME and thank you to YOU! (Im going to get a glass of wine now)

Anusha

I had known about the SmoQue shack for some time now but was waiting for a time my husband and I could both go – I knew he would enjoy is just as much as me. I had heard all kinds of rave reviews about the restaurant and it really did shock me when I went in that it was so hidden in the city. It was, to be perfectly honest, quite appealing.

Upon entering, it felt very much like the San Franciscan theme we had experienced not too long before – it is unapologetic for being busy and being small. We were very lucky to find a table and it was right smack in the middle of the restaurant. Cool by me. You know going into this that its not going to be quiet so who cares how many people are surrounding you.

The menu was nicely laid out. You pick your drinks, you pick your meat, you pick your sides. Our server approached us immediately and ordered our beers (you gotta have beer with this amount of meat). Jonny and I decided on the 1/2 pound jerk and the 1/2 pound brisket with slaw and fries on the side. Holy Molly now that was jerk. I’ve got moms of friends who make real jerk and this was bang on. You can’t really complain that the jerk was quite spicy either because… its jerk. The brisket melted in my mouth. Fries and slaw were just that, but I didnt need it to be anything else.

I tried to go back the week after but no room. Oh well, Im gonna have to go back and get some ribs on a less busy night!