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Face it, most of the world is just average and there are only a few stars out there. Travis McConnell is a star. Travis has been the Sous Chef in charge of the Capital Bar & Grill since the hotel reopened. I am such a big fan of his work and professionalism, it has been great working with him and being friends with both him and his lovely wife Carla. Recently, they have moved on to new adventures, but we wish them all the best and will miss them tremendously.
Tandra Watkins
Pastry Chef
Who ever said it was easy... a cake walk that is?
In a professional kitchen like ours, there is always something happening on a daily basis. From planning and changing menus, properly caring for all the produce that comes in, big dinners to special requests, each day is a challenge. I manage that situation with THE LIST, which by the way is revised constantly. But it helps me to stay focused and keeps the stress level down while juggling all those tasks.
So over the past couple weeks, along with my other projects, I've been working on wedding cakes for the local bridal show. We contributed three cakes, and at the end of handcrafting all of the sugar-paste flowers,(yes, they are edible) covering, assembling and decorating the cakes, we spent about 72 hours total on them all.
Regardless of the long days, I like being busy, it's certainly better than being bored. But it is that daily discipline & pressure, trial & error that is the steel that sharpens us as chefs. And I like the idea that being a chef means being a lifelong student pursuing the limitless knowledge of food and techniques. The fact is that in this business there is always something to strive for and albeit frustrating at times, it is exciting.
Tandra Watkins
Pastry Chef
Just like capturing a beautiful scene by taking a picture, preserving is how we capture the beautiful flavors of the garden. This invaluable technique for eating well is the best way to enjoy your garden or "eating local" throughout the year. But at the same time, the art of preserving is no longer as common as it once was. Perhaps because we
don't have the time, the availability of convenience foods, or we may have never learned how. Whatever the reason, preserving is easy once you learn the basics.
Recently, I was approached by Liz about making fig preserves. She recounted to me about making them with her mother back in Mississippi, and eating the preserves on a warm buttered biscuit. After a momentary pause, we were directly on the phone with "Momma", (Mrs. Barbara Howard-Brock) getting the recipe which was originally Liz's Grandma Howard's recipe. We made the adjustments for quantity, and in no Download Fig Preserves time Liz had our first batch cooking. Conventional methods of canning call for immersing the jars in boiling water to kill any of the mold, yeast, & etc. and it seals the jars. In our kitchen we have Electrolux "combi" (combination) ovens that allow us to cook our food with a combination of convection and steam. So, I decided to use our combi oven at 100% steam, 212°F for 12 minutes, and I was able to achieve the same result with this new method. We have used the preserved figs for many applications in the kitchen. I particularly like them on the dessert cheese plate. And yes, they are really good on the biscuits too! Thank you Miss Barbara for sharing your recipe with us and keeping these traditions alive.
I love how food appeals to all of our senses, it evokes memories and is tied to our relationships with the people we love. When we cook and carry on these food traditions it allows us to relive those feelings of comfort and happiness, it tells about who we are, it bridges one generation to the next, and it inspires us to add our own flavor & style to the family food tree. In the same way that opening a jar of homemade preserves in the winter takes us all the way back to warmer days of summer, likewise, preserving these food traditions transports us back in time and allows us to access all those emotions and memories any time we like.
Tandra Watkins
Pastry Chef
