Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Pre-made Food VS. Scratch Food in My Kitchen

Pre-made Food VS. Scratch Food in My Kitchen

When do I make my food from scratch and when do I just bring it in?

It's not quite as easy a decision as one would think. A “scratch kitchen” is a wonderful thing to me but to a whole lot of restaurants all they see is food and labor costs. I have had the honor of working in scratch kitchens the majority of my life and now that I am running my own place I appreciate even more what those Chefs’ went through on a daily basis to keep it that way.

"I learned that the only way you are going to get anywhere in life is to work hard at it. Whether you're a musician, a writer, an athlete or a businessman, there is no getting around it. If you do, you'll win-if you don't you won't."~Bruce Jenner

I do remember, not so fondly, the few times I worked in places where 85%+ of the food was “brought in” and how I and everyone else it seemed felt like a cog in the machine. The food , if that’s what you want to call it, was subpar at best with a distinct focus to what I call a sheep mentality which is “Get them in, Get them out” attitude which permeated throughout not caring if they produced a decent product only the bottom line.

The food in the kitchens where the majority is from scratch took time and a team effort to produce often with delicious results and a feeling that we actually had some input in the end result. Stocks & Sauces in particular I find have a distinct difference in flavor and texture when made from scratch and provide a wonderful base to a well run kitchen. The soup bases and powders a lot in the industry use have a distinctly weird powdery texture I can spot instantly not to mention an unusual amount of sodium as well. Desserts have a very special quality about them when made from scratch. While I must admit the pre-made ones can taste pretty good I still prefer scratch.

The question is does the average American customer even know of much less appreciate the effort that went into scratch cooking?

"We only serve what we make ourselves" is a motto I once saw over the door of a restaurant I went to and that stuck with me as a pretty good idea however that is not the case in any of the “box store restaurants” I can assure you.

Please keep in mind this is not some crazy bloviating rant on big production kitchens that have seen budgets slashed, jobs lost as well as having a difficult time just staying afloat instead I just want to see if anyone out there thinks like I do?

As Americans we have a not so great mentality of “Eat To Live” instead of “Live To Eat” meaning most of us could care less if the food tastes amazing all we seem to care about is the oversized portion and reasonable price, no wonder most of us as well as our children are so fat. So in mock defense of those places that buy EVERYTHING pre-made I can see where it all reaches a point when scratch cooking, especially here in the states, is impractical and in fact counterproductive to the bottom line. I can tell you right now after a lot of time spent in large hotel kitchens and buffets as sad as this is the public just does not care about good food there.

So, when is it worth the extra expense in effort, labor and food cost to do it myself? Bake my own bread? Roll my own pasta? Make my own desserts? Cut my own meat?
What about making our own salad dressings and coleslaw? I know for a fact that everything I have mentioned so far is available in ready-made form from someone!

Here are some common battlegrounds for the debate between from-scratch vs. ready-made. To me premade food tends to make chefs/cooks 'stagnant' and non-innovative. When you work for a person who requires 100% from scratch such as myself you will work your ass off yet the food will be ten times better in my opinion, all very rewarding from a Chef's point of view.

What this has done for me personally and professionally has turned me into a very discerning person food wise. I will not order a dessert in a restaurant because I know it was store bought and just plated. I am willing to pay extra for food that I know has been done from scratch.

One mentality I face consistently is the people that frequent the “Box Restaurants” as these restaurants have to hire "bodies" that can produce the food on a consistent basis with little or no actual culinary skill. They use pre-prepared products that are best heated in a microwave and are what we as chefs call "idiot proof" so that any worker can be able to prepare it. They usually only have kitchen managers with little or no real culinary background cheering them onto food cost victory while dolling out over salted, over prepared cookie cutter food.

Unfortunately these restaurants are the norm for casual dining in the US which in my humble opinion is the problem us as chef’s face in today’s world.

I will serve as much from scratch as I can with a focus on quality instead of quantity. Hopefully we will be a success doing so.

As always I value you’re opinion.

1 comment:

Matthew said...

Chef,
first time I've read your blog. Great stuff.
On this topic, I think it has more to do with the way we are reared.
My mother made sure we had fresh meats, fruits and veggies as much as possible. I knew who are butcher was. I was taught to cook for myself, and my family by the time I was 6. Yes, we had boxed meals every now and again. But, for me, it was the exception, not the norm. As a result, I prefer a small out of the way mom and pop home cooking place to a big box.
My wife basically reared herself. boxed restaurant meals were the norm. Her preference is Box restaurants. She knows what to expect, no surprises, know quantity. Although, she enjoys the "culinary adventures" I take her on most days.
In this society, we allow our children, and ourselves, to take the easy way out far too often. Unfortunately, our health pays the tab for convenience. And we pay little attention to it.