I have been fortunate to be acquainted via the Internet with Chef Alan Bickel from Nashville, TN who works at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. Right now he is working at their upscale seafood house called Cascade’s Seafood Restaurant. The restaurant serves mostly fresh finfish/shellfish, with a bit of an Asian flare plus a Sushi bar.

I am fortunate because Alan, who says he is not a chef yet but a Kitchen Lead, one of the supervisors who works directly under the chef, has sent me an incredible article on life in the kitchen and what is involved behind the scenes of a professional restaurant to get that entrée you ordered to the table.

This article is a must read for anyone even thinking about going to culinary school as well as anyone who enjoys cooking and dining out. I am providing an excerpt of the article here but you can read the rest of it on my web site at The ‘Rest’ of the Restaurant.

Please let me know if you enjoy this article and I will try to convince Alan to write some more.

From The ‘Rest’ of the Kitchen by Chef Alan Bickel

When you think of the last time you dined out at a restaurant, what are the things that stick out most in your mind? Is it the food, either good or bad, that leaves a lasting impression, determining whether or not you will return in the future? Is it the service that was offered? Was your waiter friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable about the food, or were you ignored and brushed off as just another nuisance in the life of your server?? All of these are expectable questions, and the answers to most are just as common, but have you ever really thought about what goes into the plate that is brought to your table?

Have you realized just how much labor goes into making just one dinner?

It all starts at the back door of the restaurant, where semi trucks unload thousands of dollars of product every morning. Aside from monthly inventory for cost control purposes, most chefs do daily inventory of more perishable products such as beef, poultry, pork, seafood, dairy, and produce. Unless they happen to be working for a large chain restaurant, where food is ordered from a central commissary, independent restaurant chefs order in smaller quantities not only to ensure product freshness, but to be able to take advantage of seasonal availability of many types of foods like produce and seafood. As you are probably aware, most fruits and vegetables are associated with certain times of year, such as squash and pumpkins in the fall, or strawberries in the summertime. Taking advantage of this cyclical rotation allows chefs to experiment, create, and market menus that are fresh, exciting and appealing to customers year-round.

continued at The ‘Rest’ of the Kitchen