Day 250 - 264: Hello 2011

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. I know I’m 14 days late but finally after the chaos surrounding the last part of 2010, I can finally sit down and write. The restaurants is back down in numbers booking have more than halved after the new year celebrations. It finally time to relax.

I went and looked back on this time last year; I saw I had double the amount of posts, this just shows that in my beginning few months, I had not worked anywhere near as hard as I had in the following year.
I’m on my weekend now and my shifts have become standard again with 2 splits early in the week and the rest singles over the weekend.
It been raining for the last 3 days and very humid and its finally cooled down, glad I wasn’t in the kitchen for those muggy few days. I should be grateful the state of Queensland is totally devastated by the floods it’s amazing yet horrifying to see the conditions up there.
Now I have some time I can finally blog on some of those restaurants that I’ve been to in the last month or 2.

Day 235 - 249: 3 weeks in a blurr

It’s been 3 weeks since I’ve posted anything, I’m still here and alive but the crazy season has really been crazy. Everyone gearing up for Christmas day with all chefs on to get everything ready for 1 massive service of 350 people for lunch, a gingerbread house has been constructed and I’ve worked a 78 hour week for the last 3 weeks.




Here are some pics of what’s been happening.

Day 230 - 234: Better Days.

A light week for me this week only 1 split and a whole lot of PM shifts on the pass. I got to do stock take and learn how to count everything and do all the calculations and paper work behind it. It took almost 3 days but I worked it out and I should be fine for next months.

Sunday was very busy 155 for lunch and I was just tired for some reason, maybe this crazy hot and stormy weather is getting to me but, I was slower and not focused which got me in some trouble, but overall I got my shit together before service finished. I’ve had better days -_-

School Day 33: Final School Day 2011

Final day of school for 2010 is finally here. The day was full of assessments and re-do for all who failed previous tests in the past. It was a short day, I finished what I did and got to go home, we all went out for drinks n said our goodbyes until February 15th 2011.

Day 226 - 229: Farewell Mr. Paramedic

A stormy week last week when I got back from my weekend, we did some ice/gelatin filtration to get a new technique just to see if it was viable for the summer months. A lobster Consume with prawn dumpling and a buttermilk panna-cotta with almond crumble and banana consume. I also got to try out a savory sorbet, which was just a tomato tea churned into a icey slurpy, this was pretty disgusting for all those who didn’t expect it to be savory plus it did had a lot of punch.

This is the last dish that our most recent departure plated, I took a photo to remember him by. Good luck JH!

Hungry for Hamburgers.

Nothing beats a home made burger. Everything you'd expect in a burger we had, including a beetroot relish, pesto mayonaise, sunny side up egg. The highlight was beetroot relish cooked in red wine vinegar with sweet onions cooked til tender.

Restaurant Review: The European.

For the last few years my usual coffee place has been the European on Spring Street, I started going there because it was just close to where we l lived and they made a decent coffee. The European is just one of those places you go to if u want good food, service is friendly and the menu changes according to seasonality quite often and everything I’ve tried is tasty.

The food is from all over Europe and sometimes dwindling down to the Mediterranean or Middle East for inspiration, the head chef here is Ian Curly rumored to have a new TV show involving training convicts to cook.
The view and atmosphere is great, just for a coffee or a romantic dinner in the dimly lit dining room which shouts old school bistro. The supper menu also has a killer croque-monsieur which is very indulgent for a snack after 10PM.
The night I went n decided to take a few photos I had a light summery salad, for our starter, which was pretty plain, kinda reminded me of a viet coleslaw



Moreton Bay Bug, Crispy Chicken, Cabbage and Cervil Salad

 The mains were definetly one of the highlights of the night, the pasta was the essence of the sea, with the shaved bottarga like crunchy explosions of seawater which contrasted the silky smooth linguini beautifully, and the added acidity crushed tomatoes cut the richness of the sweet sweet crab.

If your looking for a soul warming dish, this is it. the duck pie is the pinicle of high end comfort food. delicious flakey pastry with confit of duck in a rich orange sauce with earthy mushrooms and a few sprigs of watercress makes the perfect pithvier.

Free Range Duck Pie with Mushrooms and Confit Orange

Our desserts were pretty extrodinary also, with a Salted Caramel Parfait with Peanuts and Sour Cream Ice Cream which makes the one at Fenix taste like a salted rubber band. I could eat this everyday. definetly worth a visit to the European just to try this bad boy out.

Salted Caramel Parfait with Peanuts and Sour Cream Ice Cream

The Apple Creme Brulee was nice and smooth with a sharp crack of burnt sugar which was bitter enough to compliment the underlying tones of calvados. served with a green apple sorbet and old fashioned tea cake that would remind you of your childhood at grandma's

Apple Creme Brulee with Green Apple Sorbet and Old Fasioned Tea Cake.

European is definetly in my top 10 dinning choices in the CBD. Highly recomended whether just for a coffee or a late night snack. Staff is friendly, great views, impressive winelist, and out door dinning area with heaters!.

School Day 32: First Aid 3. QUALIFIED FIRST AIDER.

Ah third week over and after about 20 revisions of the DRABCD and anti-choking procedures, we are finally and officially first aiders. There’s probably 1 or 2 more weeks of school left after this. Clean and maintain and our test for eggs and farinaceous.

Then its full time work for me, for a few months at least. There’s a wine function I volunteered for after school today, I spent a shift on the weekend in the kiosk prepping the lobster dish, which was butter poached crayfish with shitake reduction. Other courses had a taleggio risotto with chopped chives, scampi tails with marinated peppers, basil oil and bisque foam and seared duck breast with kumquat butter.

Reflection 365: Thanks for a great year!

It’s been a year and maybe a little time for reflection. It was 365 days ago on the 18th of November 2009 when the start of my dream and the first step in becoming more than just another Melbourne food fanatic began.


52 weeks ago I set foot in my first job in a commercial kitchen that wasn’t owned by someone in my family. There’s no way I could have imagined that my first job in hospitality would be at a fine establishment such as the iconic Donovans. Here I’ve witnessed the massive staff turnover in hospitality the coming and going of many friends. Even the head chef left.


I experienced first hand the handing over to a new generation, a passing of the torch to the age where technology and science are used in conjunction with passion for a new style of food.


The last year was difficult there were ups and downs, days where I didn’t want to go to work because of the dreaded fear of being the weakest link in a chain of great chefs.


There were days where I couldn’t wait to see, taste and experience new food, days when I would volunteer to come in on my days off just so I could be a part of something new.


I’ve participated in competitions against my peers from all around Victoria and helped out in a 3rd year competition supporting the best of my school. I’ve had some small cuts and some BIG burns and the scars from each to tell a story of my 1st year in the kitchen.


Well a year on and I know my way around my section Larder like it was the back of my hand. Soon to be on the pass for a while I see on the upcoming time tables and hopefully on to bigger and better sections soon after.


This blog has been a great place to share all my experiences, thanks to all those who are following, thanks for all your support and kind words throughout the year, you’ve followed me as the blog ranked as high as 25th of Urbanspoon, and whilst I been too busy to give close to daily posts.


What would u guys like to see more of? Recipes? Restaurants? Photos? Tell me and I'll try make it happen.


You guys rock! All who are following me and all who I currently work with and those who I’ve worked with in the past and present? Thanks for being part of my hopefully long and epic journey!


And finally a very special thanks to my girlfriend who has been so supportive with my job over the year!

Day 223 - 225: A Year In a Blur.. of SQUID INK?

What a first day back, front section trouble again. A quick mend with a swap of chefs and in for a long night of stressing out from a surprise staff meal to letting two new chefs run larder, while I watch in horror.

Tonight was a record finish for me with all of us staying back to prepare our house chips because the potatoes have become extremely sweet and are hard to fry without them turning black before they actually get crispy.

The week actually becomes blurry after that, few shifts on the pass and more training of new chefs, nothing that eventful but as I reach my 1 year mark at Donovans. Congratulations to me!

I actually do remember what happened, remember the squid crackers I was talking about I did get to make them and they did turn out pretty cool. Even though they look like garbage bags and smell like fish they taste like a prawn cracker.

Mysterious Yellow Fruit of My Childhood...

Seriously does anyone know what this fruit is? I used to eat them when i lived in the eastern suburbs but I never knew what they were called, kinda like a wild apricot maybe? PLEASE SOMEONE TELL MEE!

School Day 31: First Aid 2 so..... Second Aid??

This is our 2nd week of our First Aid Course the week where i get to learn how to bandage my own wounds. This is the lesson i need, not all these myths about butter or ice on burns. it seem the correct procedure is just to run it under cold water and apply burn cream and allow the blister to naturally form and dissipate.
We had some more practice on CPR and even managed to have some fun with the faces of the CPR dummies to make a new friend, Hollow Girl a tribute to KEVIN BACON!



Freaky...