Trying to embrace the food... key word: trying.

For those of you who know me, you know that I love good food. And here in Barcelona, I've been having a couple of hits, but plenty of misses. 

So I thought - maybe if I shift my perspective a bit, and start eating like a local, I might actually stumble upon something good.  Rather than getting frustrated that I can't find what I'm used to finding in that agricultural wonderland that is California... I should start playing with what's at hand. 

See these guys:

EUR 55,00 per Kilo!! most of which is shell and rock.

Percebes (aka Goose Barnacle).  I had never heard of them before, but I see them all the time at the Mercat Galvany.  They are these little tubular shellfish-y things that latch onto the undersides of rocks along some coastal parts of Spain & Portugal - where the waves come crashing in.  Very dangerous to harvest - hence the expensive price tag.  Some governing offices also want to ban this practice of harvesting due to the danger of the task.

Now I would never buy anything so expensive while clueless as to what to do with them.  Especially since I don't like shellfish all that much to begin with.  But my friend Patty (who's an incredibly good cook) served them up last week for her birthday dinner. 

You eat them cold, like crab legs (which she also served).  hold the little "goose barnacle" at one end and then you pinch just below the grey claw-like part and then pull the sleeve off.  what you're left with is the edible part - which is at most one inch long by a quarter inch in diameter - it's TINY.  And very SALTY. 

Worth the price tag?  I'll pass.  Give me lamb, foie, anything dreamed up by this man... I'll skip the percebes.  and the crab legs. 

My recent attempt at cooking with local flavor was a recipe given to me by one of my English students:  "Sepia estilo Vinaroz"- a Fisherman stew using Sepia (squid - larger than calamari - 1 kilo each), potatoes, toasted bread, and chocolate!!!???!!!  I'd learned how to clean calamari while working at Ludobites - but this sepia was too much to deal with.  I didn't enjoy preparing it.  The finished product was kinda odd - but I don't know if it's because I made it wrong, or that's just how it's supposed to taste. 

Have I had some good meals here?  yes.
And if you love seafood, cured pork products and potatoes, you'll love Spanish food.

As for veggie lovers like myself, well, I just need to get more inventive with what I see.

12 Grapes!

There are many curious customs that are celebrated here in Spain.  And guess who's gonna embrace them?  That's right, yours truly! 

Starting with the tradition of eating 12 grapes at midnight to ring in the New Year. 

No one I asked actually knew the origin of this curious tradition. They just all do it - for good luck.  At the stroke of midnight, you have to start popping those grapes, one at a time into your mouth - at 3-second intervals until they are all gone.  If you can finish the dozen before the end of the chimes, you will have good luck all year long. 

My aunt Lisette sent us a couple of little tin cans - each containing 13 peeled seedless grapes (a fruiter's dozen, perhaps?).  How is that not cheating???

For a first timer, this was a cinch - total piece of cake.  This was my first New Year's celebration in Spain, and while I was invited to a couple of celebrations - I kept it mellow and celebrated with my mum. Well, I had have a miserable cold which is still with me 3 days later.  Argh!

But imagine having to down 12 large tough-skinned grapes.  with seeds.  not so easy sounding.  One of the parties I was invited to had a minor choking incident... i'm not so sure it wasn't a girl trying to make it with the waiter. 

Mum & I toasted at midnight with a split and some strawberries

 So here's looking to a bright new year.  2011 was a tough year for many people.  Let's hope 2012 will be better. 

maybe 18 should read - "be kissed by a wonderful man, often."

Rather than make a list of lofty goals that may or may not be achieved, I spent about 10 minutes thinking of things that I'd hope to do this year.  No, I'm not going to change the world... just work within my space within the world - trying to make a few things better. 

Photographing LudoBites

While I didn't get to go around taking pictures, there were several professionals who were invited in to the kitchen to document the experience that was LudoBites 007. 

There will be a LudoBites book coming out sometime next year... perhaps I'll make an appearance?  who knows. 

One guy named Wesley came in for a couple of days, and shot hundreds of pictures.  It's funny looking at the whole photo stream - looking at the experience I lived through from another person's perspective.  I also get a glimpse of the magic that happened in other parts of the kitchen - things I never got to see.  

If you're interested, please take a look... some of the photos are simply gorgeous.  There's one in particular of Chef joking around with me just laughing.  This picture makes me happy.  

Chef was tough to work for ("I may be an asshole, but i'm not a monster"), but he joked around a lot.  It was fun.  It was intense at times.  And if things were going wrong, it got scary.  But in the end, he got the results he wanted: the diners were served some beautiful, inventive, and delicious meals...

I just love food.  I love being around people who appreciate good food.  Food should be enjoyable, and fun.  I consider myself lucky that I got to experience working at Ludobites.  And if I could do it again, I definitely would. 

Where The Magic Happened

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The "punishment jam" was cooked in that lovely copper pot

The mayo on the ceiling after Chef "expressed" his anger by slamming the container down on the ground.

Doughville

Pistachio financier with berries and marscapone - it was a lovely deep green, but the picture doesn't do it justice... so good.

Foie gras, creamed corn & popcorn - plated, and ready to take out for service.

The outline of where the mayo was on the ceiling... I'm sure the glops of mayo fell to the ground that night, but the cleaning staff at Gram & Papa's still didn't clean the ceiling... ewwww.

yes, it's The Fred Savage - from the Wonder Years.  He interned a couple of nights.  Chef had him peel grapes that night.  And he did it. 

Rosanna, the pastry chef during the last 2 weeks.  Such a sweetheart. 

Me, sauteing the coins of fingerling potatoes that I'd sliced on the mandolin.  I look happy there, but I was always worried and nervous when using the "plancha" or flat-top. 

Erika, Rosanna & Joon (the machine)

Greg, moments after the sink handle fell into his hand again, and Grace totally cracking up, again.  Yep, it was a fucking miracle that we got anything done in that kitchen

Me & Ila - line cook, blogger, doodler extraordinaire

The Mise en Place for the Tropezienne dessert - strawberries macerated in sugar, black currants, powdered sugar, lavender blossoms

Sabel!  I adore this girl!  she always had the best disposition - always happy to be there, she also got assigned "standards"... and she taught me how to clean squid.  she liked that task.  me? not so much.

The oxtail entree - closing night... it was really good

Ludo Lefebvre - with his intimidating glare... this is him in a good mood. 

Chef & Joon

Scallop & Prawn ceviche - the leftovers plated for the after service final staff gorge-fest.  I took a deli-cup of this for take away

Brioche for the Tropezienne, with the creme patissiere & black currants - these were the leftovers for the staff

Now I get to wear a big red coq on my chest. 

I probably would have lost it if he'd told me to use nice long strokes...

All of the equipment French Chef brought into Gram & Papa's need to be treated with lots of care.  Many items - like the giant wood cutting board below, are very expensive...

This wooden cutting board is 24"wide x48"long x2" thick

Chef:  You see that Paco Jet machine (it spins the ice cream)?
Me: Yes, chef?
Chef: you be careful around it - it's more expensive than your car.
Me: (ouch, that's a low blow!) yes, chef. 

That wooden cutting board is also probably more expensive than my car.  And it needs to be conditioned.  With oil.

Chef:  Tonight, Sharon, you are going to oil the cutting board.  Scrub all the dirt off of it first.
Me:  (using a scrubbing pad & soapy water, I clean it off, and wipe away the soap with a clean towel).

Chef: (squirting a cutting board mineral oil generously over the surface) Now you need to massage the oil onto the wood...

"Be sure to use enough oil... rub the oil into the wood... use both hands, Sharon!  Like you're massaging the wood... that's right... don't forget the sides, they need it too..."

What's a kitchen without some innuendo? 

He is French, after all. 

She Noms things - and blogs about it

Another co-intern at LudoBites, Ila, has a pretty awesome blog. 

You should check it out.  Her comic strip drawings are the most adorable things - and she totally nails it.

She refers to herself as a doodler extraordinaire - and she is!

Go and visit. now.  just click here.
 
and her comic for LudoBites 007 can be found at the link below.  Maybe you just had to be there to get it... but it's true - what we did there was a miracle. She called it 99 problems (but I think there were more).

http://www.flickr.com/photos/inomthings/6143261024/

I'm gonna miss her.  She got us all laughing a number of times. 

Too bad she had another job at this Gastropub down in Orange County - so she couldn't be with us daily.  At least we can always keep in touch on Facebook and via our blogs.

Just Make Happen

LudoBites 007 has come to a close.

Some people didn't think I would last.

Sometimes I thought I wouldn't last.

I'm a stubborn girl.

I wouldn't give up.

Kinda like that marathon I completed back in 2004... I'd had food poisoning two nights prior... That was a miserable marathon... couldn't eat... could barely drink... took me 7h 14min to complete (some people can complete 2 marathons in that time)... but I didn't give up.   After all that training & raising money for AIDS Marathon, I wasn't going to return to LA with any excuses... I finished it...practically doubled-over in extreme discomfort... but I did it. 

What was I thinking as I crossed the finish line?  If I can do this, I can do anything I set my mind to. 

And I completed the 6-week run of LudoBites 007... It was an honor and a privilege to work under such an inspiring and accomplished chef, and with such a fabulous crew. 

There was blood.
There was sweat.
And yes, there were tears. 

As Chef likes to say - Never give up, and Just Make Happen. 

Just like on the day of the marathon, I wasn't having my best personal day (a fever?  why?  thankfully there's Advil)... but I didn't want to miss the final day of the run.  Which was tougher?  Ludo Bites, by far. 

... pictures and fun stories to follow. 

LudoBites - week 5

What a crazy week!

I got the new recipe for the new tart - the Choucroute Tarte Flambe.  With it came a whole slew of new responsibilities.  And a very valuable lesson:

Joon:  "never trust anyone in the kitchen."

What Joon was telling me was more of a guidance of not relying on anyone else - be sure you know your own inventory, and know what you need.  I had been relying on Elodie too much for my own good.  But now that she left for France, it's up to me to be sure I get my one dish done.  And help out with desserts when I can.

Rosanna joined the team on Tuesday to take over desserts from Elodie.  As they worked together on getting the recipes down, I was learning the components of my new recipe. 

I still start the day in Doughville

next I have to slice 5 pounds of Russian Fingerling Potatoes into thin coins on the Mandolin (yes, I already skinned my knuckle on it).  Rinse well, pat dry - then sautee them in clarified butter... Pommes Sautee a la cru.  It takes me forever to sautee 5 pounds of potato coins - so I've been moved to using the plancha. 

Some time in between, I need to cook the bacon & slice onions... and make the creme melange (with mustard).  And be ready with my "Mise en Place" by 5:30.

Well - this is how it went:
Tuesday: I got help from Elodie - and the tarts were fine - no snafus.

Wednesday: Miserable.  I still hadn't taken charge of the inventory for my recipe, or the techniques for getting it all assembled.  But I tried to get it all done on my own... Somehow I still earned the scornfull wrath of Chef. It was Elodie's last day (sad face).  I also left in tears.  Next stop, The Burgundy Room for a much needed drink and hugs from friends.

Thursday: I was so nervous and anxious about getting everything done, that I over-prepared the components for the Mise-en-Place, leaving me with plenty of extra for Friday. I knew what ingredients needed to be ordered, and put them on the shopping list in time. We also had a full house in the kitchen with extra interns who were helping with the tarts.  I found myself standing around with nothing to do.

Friday: We were short-handed in the back kitchen.  It was just Joon (3 different entrees), Rosanna (3 desserts & an appetizer), me (Choucroute Tarte Flambe - and helping out Rosanna & Joon).  I had a bit of help from Sabel to get a few tarts assembled before service started... but then she had to go to the front to help Grace, Sam & Greg.  And you know what happened?  Everything went right! 

Chef:  Sharon! How many tarts do you have in ze oven?
me:  2 chef!
Chef: ?? (confused for a moment)
me: one that's on order, and one is par-baking
Chef: ok, good.  Well done, Sharon.

No mistakes... well, one slight mistake of a torn crust - that I gave to Mike (owner of Gram & Papas)... but no missed orders, no late orders, and I had just the right amount of ingredients for the Mise en Place.  And after the appetizers were done, Rosanna & I helped Joon.  When desserts were being ordered, I helped Rosanna.  And then the appetizers again... Just the 3 of us back there - we worked well together... no time to just stand around twiddling our thumbs - we were constantly moving.  And to see Joon work - it's like a well-choreographed dance. 

Best. Night. Ever.

From Doughville to Tartlandia

**note: update Sept. 13 - pictures added.  and the recipe changed from onion tart to a sauerkraut/bacon tart... so some of the details for "tartlandia" changed in the last two weeks of LudoBites...

I've finally made peace with my role of being the person in charge of this appetizer dish I've been making for the past 4 weeks.

You need to cook happy.  You can't be angry while preparing food.  It'll somehow reflect in the outcome.

Hence the names.

I arrive at 11:30, and start working through "Doughville".
Step 1: gather the equipment, measure out the ingredients, and start mixing away using my Sea Foam Green Kitchenaid (which always makes me happy).  Then I set the giant balls of dough into the fridge to let them proof while I clean up my station and prepare for the next step.
Step 2:  Cut up a giant dough ball into 11 portions of approx. 80 grams each.  since I'd been scolded for not having even sized dough back in week 2, I started weighing the portions to get them as even as possible.

Giant dough ball - proofed overnight in the walk-in fridge - ready for slicing

Step 3:  Knead the 12 portions and then gently coax them one-by-one into soft pillow-y balls, with as few lines/seams as possible.

this is what you are going for on the underside - the seams are shallow

This is the top side - nice and smooth.  kinda satisfying in its velvety surface feel.

Step 4:  In order to keep them from drying out, I line the balls up on a sheet tray and cover them with a humid kitchen towel.

I get in early so I can "spread out"... my work station is rather tight. 

Step 5: Pass each ball through the pasta machine 5 times - to get it stretched out enough, and close to the correct size.

sometimes i go from 1 to 3 to 5... sometimes i have to do 1-2-3-4-5... and before I got my pasta machine back from my friend Joan, I didn't have a clamp to hold the machine in place... I almost got carpal tunnel syndrome in my left hand because of holding the machine steady!  ouchie!

Step 6: Using a rolling pin, further roll out the dough to the correct width & length. (the pasta machine has a fixed width which is too narrow)

This task helped give my arms some definition

Step 7: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, dust it with flour, lay out the rolled out sheet of dough, dust the top side with flour, lay another sheet of parchment on top.  Then repeat with the remaining balls of dough. I top the stacks with another sheet pan to help prevent the dough from shrinking back - wrap the sandwiched dough with plastic wrap. label it, and place it on a speed rack in the fridge.

Then repeat steps 2 through 7 at least 1 more time, sometimes 2 - depending on how many sheets of dough we need.


It's methodical.
It's time consuming.  
It's a helluva workout!
My arms are getting some definition now (happy dance!)
And it's my assignment.  I gotta do it.
There are no shortcuts.
But I've learned how to manage my time better and get consistent results.

After exiting Doughville, I am free to work on other projects.
If I have time to do Step 1 the night before, then I can potentially finish by 2pm.
This doesn't apply for Tuesdays.
If there are any leftover sheets from the night before, I might get away with only doing the recipe 2 times instead of 3. 
Again - it doesn't apply to Tuesday, as we don't keep leftover dough from the previous Friday.

At approximately 5:30, I enter "Tartlandia". 
Tartlandia is where it all comes together.
Step 1:  Organize the "Mise en Place"

• Scoop some ice into a rectangular tub, and sprinkle it with kosher salt. 
•  Gather the deli cups of the Creme Melange, Caramelized Onions, Thyme leaves, Bottarga (fish roe pods) and place them in the tub to keep cool. (weeks 1-4 was an onion tart; weeks 5 & 6 were sauerkraut/bacon tarts - so the mise-en-place changed)
• Hopefully there are some half-sheet pans available (I try to start hoarding them around 5 so I have enough to start - at least 6)
• Have the wood cutting boards (for serving) stacked and wiped clean
• Place the white cutting board at my station with the tools needed (spatula to lift any stuck dough off the sheet pan, mezzaluna to cut the tart, Chef's special rape to grate the bottarga & this bamboo tool to scrape any stuck bits of bottarga off the rape)
• White pepper mill & fleur de sel
• Have a dry kitchen towel for removing trays from the oven, and a wet towel to wipe the station clean

Step 2:  pull out the rolled-out dough from the fridge - and start carefully lifting each dough off the parchment stack - and laying them on floured sheet trays.
Step 3:  apply the creme melange onto the dough - not too thick, not too thin - close enough to the edge without getting on to the pan.
Step 4:  spread the caramelized onions atop the dough - again, not too heavily - allow enough room for the hot air to move around the onions to cook the tart.
Step 5: par-bake them for about 5-7 minutes in order to keep the dough from getting too soft which leads to sticking on the pan.

Par-Baked "Choucroute Tarte Flambe" ready to be fired as the orders come in

The real stress comes when the order tickets start feeding through.  Because if there are more orders than prepared tarts, it's a scramble to get more into the oven.  And then after they bake, there are still several steps before the tart is finished to go to the customer...
Step 1: remove the tart from the pan (sometimes it's not that easy)
Step 2: grate the Bottarga evenly on the tart.  sometimes the bottarga is very gummy and hard to grate.  This is the most time consuming of the finishing steps.
Step 3: sprinkle the thyme leaves, a small pinch of fleur de sel, and several grindings of white pepper.
Step 4: slice the tart into triangles with the mezzaluna.

Once the tart looks good and is ready to serve - it needs to get "run" out to the front for the server to take.

Of course the order tickets come in randomly, and sometimes 3 tarts are ready at the same time.  Or while I'm in the process of finishing 1 tart, the next one that was fired into the oven is ready to pull out.  This is where I need the assistance of either Elodie, Erika or Sabel.

Ryan is rad.  He totally took charge - but he was only around after 6 on Wednesdays & Thursdays - and on the final night

Some nights, I can do most of this alone.  But most nights, I need the extra set of hands.

Doughville is my place of zen - and I'm on my own there.  But I can't linger too long.
Tartlandia is all about adrenaline and speed - I must have that sense of emergency to get the orders out in a timely manner. It's usually crazy from 6:10 to 6:50 - then it dies down as the diners are eating their entrees.  Then after I help Elodie with her desserts, the second seating comes in and I again get that rush from about 8: 30 to 9.

this was what the onion tart looked like - served on the cutting board... it's missing a couple of slices - sometimes we had to do quality control checks ;)

All this for one appetizer that will set you back $10.
Chef is thinking of changing the toppings next week, and tested it on Friday.  If we switch to that new recipe, Steps 2 & 3 of the finishing will be eliminated. I'd probably get those tarts out faster.

Choucroute Tarte Flambe - mustard creme melange, sauerkraut, pommes saute a la cru - or thinly sliced potatoes sauteed in clarified butter, bacon, onion.

On Thursday, I'd expressed to Joon how I wanted to take part in working on caramelizing the onions - so that I can truly say that I worked on 90% of each tart that I sent out... So Friday, I tended to the onions on the stove - visiting every 10 to 15 minutes to give them a good stir to make sure they weren't sticking.  Thanks Joon, for chopping the onions for me... I'd have been a teary-eyed mess as I didn't have goggles for protection.

Another good thing about this role... how can I snack on raw dough?  eww... It's definitely helped me get muscle tone and definition on my arms, and I've lost weight.

I used to really hate this assignment, and wished I had a different part of the menu to work on.  Especially because Chef would get so angry that they went out so slowly.  But I've gotten faster, and finally earned some praise.  When Chef got mad at me the other night for something about the tarts, it seemed for a moment he would re-assign me.  I almost didn't want that to happen.  I've grown to like both Tartlandia and Doughville - they are polar opposites... but I'd miss them.

The Wrath of Chef

I've finally witnessed it.
It happened at the end of week 4 of LudoBites 007. 
And it was scary.
Someone almost got fired.
Something was wrong with the Mayo (missing ingredient? I have no idea)
It was soooo wrong that Chef grabbed the container of it, slammed it down, and it went flying everywhere... even on the ceiling.

See those 2 glops of stuff just above the edge of the light?

Thankfully, I wasn't the instigator.
Nor was I even a culprit in any of it!
Though I am one of his favorite "whipping boys" and a frequent target of his stern, vocal admonitions... probably because i'm so sensitive, and he always gets a reaction out of me.

Everything that could go wrong was going wrong on Friday - and most of it was outside of any of our control.  This is not Ludo's kitchen either.  It belongs to a restaurant called Gram & Papa's... and the faulty equipment maintenance, which heretofore was a running joke (this is not working? ah yes, welcome to gram & papa's...) was no longer funny.  Elodie had a running list, most of which I forgot, but here are some of the highlights, errrr, lowlights:

Heat wave in L.A. (circumstance)
Broken Air Conditioner (G&P)
Freezer that never stays cold enough to let the ice cream harden (G&P)
Ice machine not cranking out enough ice (G&P)
One employee almost fainted (combo of stress and the heat) (circumstance)
Dish washers who are not the smartest and don't quite know how to keep a kitchen clean (G&P)

But when the fault lays squarely on a member of the team, and becomes apparent during dinner service - watch out!

One guy wasn't prepared with his "Mise en Place" and rather than sending an intern to do what he forgot, he left his station to fix his mistake... (wrong move).
And this was followed by the discovery of the messed up mayo. 

I had just run one of my tarts to the front, for service, so I didn't see how the mayo went flying and how some of it ended up on the ceiling.  I heard it all going on, but my role was to smile, and hand the appetizer to the server, as though nothing was going on at all.  Acting!

Upon returning to my station, all I could think was "just do your job, and don't fuck up".  Joon, Elodie, Erika and I all exchanged knowing glances that this was Chef being mad for real.  He was ranting in French - most of which I didn't quite get...

But this anger diffused when he was in the process of making a new batch of mayo at Elodie's station, and I heard a crash followed by Elodie and Ludo laughing, and Elodie was on the floor, having slipped on something.  Thankfully it wasn't a bad fall, because they were laughing - and I guess that was a reminder of what's important... you don't want anyone getting hurt in the kitchen... and you can't (or shouldn't) cook while mad. 

Still - the mood of the night: don't fuck up because Chef was on fire. 

Notice the temp on the freezer thermometer?  It should be about 20 degrees colder.

Oh - and then around 8pm, right before the second seating - we ran out of ice.  Krissy came up to me asking if I had a car - gave me cash and sent me off to get ice... as much as could fit in my car.  hurry.

Off I went to Ralph's, during dinner service, leaving my tarts behind, to get ice for the restaurant.  It was when I was walking through the parking structure of the grocery store that I realized how sweaty, and icky, and smelly I was... 9 hours in an extra hot kitchen, after kneading & rolling out 33 pieces of dough, whipping the creme patisserie over a hot stove, stirring the caramelized onions over the hot stove, and getting the onion tarts in & out of the oven - I was a hot mess!

I returned with the ice to everyone's relief, returned to my station, continued firing out those tarts as the orders came through...

Chef:  Sharon, you've been doing a good job today
Me: (relieved) thank you, chef

Yay! some recognition and praise from the Chef! 
How did I follow that up?
Yep, I promptly messed up.
Twice.
In a row.
Luckily for me, this was the end of week 4 and I was prepared with back up plans, and unless Chef reads this, he'll be none the wiser.  shhhhh - don't tell him.

About the mayo on the ceiling... Chef only discovered it about an hour after it happened.  He told us not to clean it up.  He wanted to see if anyone at G&P's would notice it and clean it sometime before we return on Tuesday.  We are all guessing it will still be there. 

When "Yes, Chef" isn't the right answer.

 One of the reasons I was so resistant to cleaning those strawberries last night was because they were getting mushy, and had lots of soft spots.  Not pretty for serving anymore.  But perfect for jam.  And that's what Elodie made today.  I refused to partake, on principle.  Well, that, and I was working on other projects.  Though I will say that the jam smelled so good. 

My punishment jam, cooling in an ice bath.

Chef walked by and I said: "so this is my punishment jam..."  to which he then got this grand idea.

Chef:  Ah yes, and if you talk back to be again tonight, I'll tell you in advance what your punishment eeez ... (he glances around the kitchen and sees a deli-cup of cherry tomatoes)... Your punishment will be that you will peel for me those tomatoes sherry (cherry tomatoes).  And not just that basket - there eeez a whole flat in zee fridge.
Me:  (eeek!) yes, Chef.

My goal of the day - well, I had several... look at me being all ambitious!

Goal 1 - not to get yelled at by Chef.
Goal 2 - not to mess up on any tarts.
Goal 3 - finish rolling the dough super early so that I could do other things.
Goal 4 - remember the answer is always "yes, Chef"

Technically, Goal 3 is the only goal that isn't already a given. 

Yesterday (Tuesday), I made an extra recipe of dough, and wrapped it up in plastic to cut up and shape today.  And since I had 8 unused already rolled-out doughs, I only needed to do one recipe today.  After I mixed together one recipe of dough, I popped it into the fridge to let it proof/rest and then I was able to start rolling out yesterday's dough.  I was able to finish rolling out all the dough by 2 pm.  That's 2 hours earlier than my average of 4 pm!

Elodie was thrilled, that she was able to use me to work on other things with her.  Like making the Creme Brulee (not bacon, anymore - just regular).  And then I made the Brioche dough for the Tropezienne.  And I also assisted her in making the Creme Patisserie that's used to fill the Tropezienne desserts.  

Service time:  I got all the Onion tarts out in a timely manner (finally learned the trick of par-baking them - that helped us get around the slow oven situation, and the sticking situation). 

But then I burned my arm when I was putting another tart fresh out of the oven on the speed rack.  My arm just barely touched another sheet pan that was cooling.

My left forearm.. with a brand new burn.

I was icing my new battle-wound/permanent memento of LudoBites when chef walks back and sees me icing it. 

Chef:  (sarcastically) what do you think you are doing?  you cannot ice your arm during service!  Oh stop everything, 86 the Onion Tarts, Sharon can not continue... 

there were no tarts on order at that moment.  I wasn't forsaking any of my duties... does he have to be so dramatic?

Me:  (hold your tongue, you know what the answer is) yes, Chef. 

So other than this little bit of mockery... nothing for him to yell at. hooray!  I prepared 2 recipes of dough during my little lulls in action so that tomorrow, all I have to do is roll them out. 

Later, Chef & Elodie were discussing what to do with the leftover Brioche from the night before - they decided on making  a bread pudding for the staff meal. 

Chef: (to me) have you ever made bread pudding?
Me: yes, chef.
Chef:  good - then you can make it tomorrow.
Me: (damn!) yes, chef.

Hmmm... now I have to look up some recipe, and figure out how much to make for a group of approx. 15.  Sometimes the correct answer isn't "yes, chef".

In Less Than One Month...

I'll be back in Barcelona soon...

The original intention of this blog was to chronicle my journey as an ex-pat living in Barcelona - hence the title. 

And since the name "Sharon" doesn't sound right in Spanish - gets lost in translation, my pseudonym would be Violeta....

My return to Los Angeles got extended due to an unexpected internship that I couldn't pass up.  I'm halfway through the internship.  And at times, I just want to quit - it's so stressful.  But I love being there, and being part of it... just making it happen. 

On the plus side, I'll be returning to Barcelona the same weight as when I left.  See, I don't particularly like cured meats & seafood... so I wasn't eating much in BCN.  But when I got back to LA, I started gorging myself on all the foods I love here, and promptly gained about 7 pounds. 

I never realized how working in a restaurant could be such ass-kicking hard work.  12 hours almost non stop with all the prep and then the service... and then the clean-up.  And no time to eat!  I rarely sit at the staff meals, and rather use that time to get my "Mise-en-Place" put into place for when the orders start coming in. 

Less than a month left in LA... EEEK! 
Of course I'll return.  But will it only be for a visit?
I guess LudoBites will be categorized as things I'll miss about LA.  It's not even over, and I already miss it.

... And that's your punishment for tonight!

Joon:  Don't worry, he likes you.
Me:  How do you figure?

Ok - let's rewind a bit here. 
I was in the process of cleaning strawberries.
At 11:30 at night.
Why?
Because some little stubborn brat (me) couldn't keep her mouth shut, and questioned Chef again. 

Chef: Why you keep arguing with me?  Clean those strawberries.  All of them.  And that's your punishment for tonight.
Me: Yes, Chef.
Chef: You better take some speed (I think he means 'speed it up') because you are not going home until they're all done.

What made this task so tedious was that they weren't big strawberries like Gaviotas or Alvions - they were probably Chandlers or Seascapes - one of the small varieties.  So one little basket has like 20 berries that all needed to be topped and sliced.  And I had to finish the whole flat.  That's 12 baskets. 

Thank goodness Sabel came to the rescue when I was down to the last 4 baskets.  She helped me finish it all. 

Never an easy day.  Ever.

Oh, and other than some minor timing issues - all the onion tarts went out perfectly.  none stuck.  none got burnt.  none went to waste.  The only snag was that Chef came to the back at one point yelling that they weren't coming out fast enough.  Well maybe if Mike (owner of Gram & Papa's) got his oven fixed, it would work more efficiently and I wouldn't have to wait on the oven and get the tarts out faster.

Joon:  In the beginning, I thought he hated me. 
(this is Joon's 3rd stint doing LudoBites - and he gets yelled at all the time)
Me:  Why do I have to be so stubborn?
Joon:  Just do as me - always say 'Yes, Chef' - that's the only answer.  'Yes, Chef'
Me: Thanks, Joon.

What time did I finally leave? 
12:15 am. 
What time did I arrive in the morning?
11:30 am. 
yeah, almost 13 hours. 
and no... i'm not even getting paid for this.

How not to get yelled at by Chef: beat him to the punch...

FRIDAY

11:30am  I'm having yeast issues.  oh wait, let me explain:

Elodie has been making Brioche for dessert.  For the Brioche, she uses fresh cake yeast instead of dry yeast.  I've never used the fresh yeast, but we only had enough dry yeast for 1 recipe of dough - and I needed to make 3 batches.  After 2 failed attempts at getting the yeast to bubble, my 3rd attempt finally took.  But again - just as I'm getting used to all the variables that are involved in making dough, something new has been tossed into the equation. Can't things be consistent? Ever?

I get my 30 doughs done in good time.  Things were moving pretty smoothly all day.

First Seating: it's always easier to plan for.  All the tarts that I assemble get fired and served within the same 30 minutes.

Second Seating: impossible to prepare for!  And anything that can go wrong does go wrong.  If the dough sits out too long, it softens and melts onto the cookie sheet... and sticks.  and the oven door opens and shuts so many times, that the temperature never stays consistent.  Some tarts get too golden - to the point of burning.  So I have to scrap those and fire new ones.

Chef comes to the back - wild-eyed, looking at the over-baked tart that is sitting on my cutting board.

But I'm already exasperated.  This is the 3rd week of making these onion tarts - why can't i get it right already?

Cue The Dramatic Monologue:
Me: Chef, I know as upset as you must be about these ruined tarts, I feel even worse! (There's now an audience of Chef, Krissy, Elodie, Joon & a couple of others)... I mean I put so much work into making the dough and rolling it out and all of the prep to get these in the oven.  And when we had the oven at 425, they weren't cooking fast enough, so we put the oven at 450 - and now they're burning.  And when I assemble the tarts too early, the dough gets stuck (I point at the previous "ruined" tart that we've already been snacking on)

... "So I'm incredibly frustrated by all this!  Why can't they just be consistent?"

Chef: Oh Sharon, Relax... Don't worry so much - it's OK.
Krissy leans in and gives me a consoling hug. 
Chef:  (continues)  If they burn, it's ok, the customer doesn't get it - we only send the good ones out, and your tarts are very good.
Me: But I hate waste... and (i'm stammering now)...
Chef: This is your first time working in a restaurant - you can't expect to know everything.
Me: It's been 3 weeks now of me doing the same thing.
Chef: your tarts are good.  you've been doing a good job.

Chef: your homework this weekend:  Meditate.  You need to meditate and take time to relax.

During this whole discussion, there's a tart in the oven.  It's now ready.  I pull it out:  perfection!  but there's no tart on order. 

There's just so much contradiction with Ludo... we need to have a "sense of emergency", and work fast - but then I'm concentrating so hard, trying to get everything right - and he tells me to calm down. 

Thank goodness he didn't yell at me.  He saw that my frustration was genuine - it's not like I'm slacking or not paying attention.  I'm just having a tough time with this balancing act.  I wish I could be more consistent. 

These 12 hour shifts are totally kicking my ass.  It's Monday morning and my hands are finally recovering - same with my arms.  That rolling pin makes for a serious workout. 

Up. Down. Up.

My learning curve tends to have bumps and dips along the way.  Like a roller coaster.

My 3rd week at LudoBites started off good.  Went terribly wrong.  Then picked up again. 

This is all behind the scenes, of course.  Everything that goes out to the front of the house looks like a well-oiled machine. 

TUESDAY

A great day!  no dough disasters, no baking disasters, no panic... I almost did all the Onion Tarts myself... just a little help during the rushes. 


However Chef wasn't happy with the size of the tarts.  He wanted them wider.  The pasta maker is only so wide... that means back to the rolling pin. 


Chef: Tomorrow you start later - come in at 1 so you can stay later at night.


(I'm on the schedule from 12-8, but usually come in at 11:30, and stay past 9... these days are long)

WEDNESDAY

I started at 1pm, as instructed.  The kitchen was now full and kinda crowded, my "happy zen place" was gone.  I like starting when no one is there... I'm relaxed and the dough reflects it.

But starting in a crowded kitchen, I wasn't as relaxed - and the dough came out tough... it was over-kneaded... I tried to let it rest... hoping that it would be easier to work with a little later... maybe the kitchen was too hot? 

Chef: If the pasta machine only makes the dough that wide (pointing to the strip i just rolled out) use the rolling pin.


I grab the pin & start rolling the dough, and I take him a sample.

The new size of the dough atop the breadboard the tart is served on.

Chef: Yes.  This is the size I want you to roll the dough out - every time.  Memorize this size.  Take a photo if you need, or use the board as your guide - but I want them all to be this size! 
Me: yes, chef... (and I snapped this picture).


Problem:  The dough is nearly impossible to work with.  It kept shrinking.

Chef is making me nervous again and time is ticking by.  We're getting closer to 5pm - which is when we're supposed to clean up and get ready for the dinner service. 

How many tart doughs are ready? about 15. 
How many do I need?  closer to 30. 

And I can't make another recipe of the dough because the KitchenAid is being used for the desserts. 


I was stressed. 
At least I wasn't alone.
The mean girl has turned a new leaf - she's helping me. 

Joon (who's responsible for my output - since I work at his station) is also there trying to roll out the dough with us - to get me to 30. 
Elodie finally frees up the KitchenAid and makes another batch of dough, and starts kneading - to get me something that's more workable. 


Chef: Are you going to be ready? How many do you have?
Me: About 22, chef... But we'll make it happen. 
Chef gives me a doubtful/worried look.  But I haven't stopped, and I'm not giving up.  I have no idea how many finished doughs we had in the end, but we didn't run out.  We had about 5 leftover to start with on Thursday, and half a ball of dough that Elodie made to divide and roll out. 

Chef was on fire today... "Expressing himself" loudly with just about everyone.  He wasn't really yelling at me since he saw how stressed I was.  He saw it on my face. Was it any consolation to me that the seasoned veterans who have worked with Ludo before also get yelled at?  Kinda.  But I don't like hearing anyone getting yelled at...



Joon:  tomorrow, roll out the dough with the pasta machine to level 4, then do the rest by hand.

Thursday

They don't make KitchenAids in this color anymore...

11:30 - I like starting early, when no one else is there. I also brought my beautiful sea-foam green KitchenAid that I gave to my cousins (as I can't take it with me to Spain). 
I started making the dough - and now there's a second mixer - just in case...
The dough came out fine, I used Joon's advice & did the pasta maker/rolling pin combo. 

Thursday was a good day.  Chef was pleased with the tarts.  Since he made little to no comment during the day, I knew I was doing well... otherwise, it would have been nothing but criticism.  Things went smoothly for everyone, in fact. 

But then there was Friday...

The Shopping List Incident

Chef: (loudly) Who wrote "gelatin" on list?

silence

Chef: (louder) Come on - I am serious guys - who wrote 'gelatin' on the list?

we all pretty much know it's Grace, but she's on the line out front and doesn't hear his inquiry.

Chef: No one is going home until someone tells me who wrote gelatin on the list!

Krissy: I don't know, but Sharon's got this guilty look on her face

Me:  Wha? that's not my writing... c'mon - you know what my writing looks like!

everyone laughs

Krissy: oh right - we have about 6 different versions of your handwriting...

Grace finally walks to the back and said she put it on the list for the next week.  Chef, expressing himself in his colorful way, said put it on the list tomorrow, not tonight.

(duly noted by myself as well)

"I have to Tweet this" - Ludo Lefebvre

Who doesn't have a Twitter account these days?

I don't use mine, but I have one.  I added Ludo Lefebvre a while back... (just because?)

but as my current status says "I don't tweet".  I rarely look at the feed.  I haven't gotten into it.  And now that I've been working 10 to 12-hour shifts at LudoBites 007, there's no time for me to even glance at my phone, check emails, read texts, scan push notifications on my facebook - let alone answer any calls or listen to voicemails.  Complete disconnect from the world.  I'm in Ludo's kitchen and I'm giving it 100% undivided attention.

Chef, on the other hand, he can take some breaks... sure he's under pressure to put on the meal every night, but with all the hands in the kitchen working hard...

Yesterday I was in at 11:30, with my "standards" sitting on my work station.

Chef arrived around 1 pm, and as he was checking inventory and deliveries, he stopped short when he saw those sheets of paper with "I will not argue with Chef" written across the page. 

Ludo: Ah non!  ne me dit pas (don't tell me).  I didn't mean for you to... oh now i'm embarrassed... I have to tweet this. This is great.


Ludo Lefebvre on WhoSay

I turned beet-red, as I do when the attention is on me.  But it was funny.

As for the work day... same as before.  Just a whole bunch more tarts.  And while the dough has improved (I kneaded it more, and used less water - so it wasn't as soft), the shapes aren't as even as they could be... Chef wants them completely uniform and a little larger... that means I'll probably have to make more dough - 3 batches instead of 2 - and dividing the dough into larger portions.  He's going to work with me today.  (answer to everything: yes, chef!)

Mean girl was there (boo!).  She doesn't say a word to me, ever.  unless she needs to.  I didn't need her help last night.  I did the tarts almost all on my own (yay!). 

Oh - and Elodie's new dessert - the Tropezienne - total hit.  out of the ball park - awesome!

I will not argue with Chef

100 times.  by hand.  not on zee computer.

The way Joon recounted the situation, it sounded so much more dramatic and awful than it seemed when it was spilling from my mouth.

Friday night.
Understaffed.
There was a rush, and I didn't have enough tarts ready to send 3 to one table at the same time.

Chef comes to the back shouting
Chef: You will not send out the tarts one at a time.  I want 3 tarts right now!
Me: (panicked - because not all the tarts went into the oven at the same time) Alright, we're trying.

Gasp! 

Oh shit - wrong way to talk to him. 
If I wasn't just a student/novice - I'd have been axed. on the spot.

Chef:  THAT IS NOT HOW YOU TALK TO ME!
Me: Yes, Chef. 
Chef: You get me those 3 tarts.
Elodie steps in to my rescue and is getting a couple out of the oven - with another soon to follow - and we're rushing and hustling to get the 3 out together.

After the crazy rush ended, Chef comes to me and says: Your homework this weekend - you will write for me 100 times "I will not argue with Chef". By hand.  Not on zee computer. 
Me: yes chef.

***********
It's now about 11pm and the cooks from the front room are in the back and we're cleaning up and recounting our horror stories of the night.

Joon:  And then she looks Chef in the eye and answered back to him.
Greg, Sam, Grace: (looking at me shaking their heads) you did not!
Me: it was that bad?
Joon: The answer is always "yes chef"

***********
So why were we so short handed?  That girl who had made the off-handed comment to me about the tarts, the one who was throwing me under the bus and sabotaging me in these subtle little ways (which isn't really undermining me, it's undermining Ludo - as it's his name and reputation on the line), yeah, she had "car troubles" and couldn't find a way to get to the restaurant.  Hmmm... I don't think she'll be coming back next week.

Chef doesn't harbor ill will over something like insubordinate talk from an intern who obviously had a case of foot-in-mouth syndrome.  He was back to joking around. 
Chef: I Need a Tart right now - How Long?
Me: 9 minutes chef!
Chef: (smiling) that's ok - i don't need a tart now.  But you will write for me 100 times "I will not argue with chef"
Me: yes chef

Chef: those 4 leftover tarts (pointing to the raw assembled ones on the speed rack) - prepare them for the staff.

Not like we could save them for Tuesday... the staff loves them.  We love all the food... It's all so good!
Too bad we always sell out of the Jamaican Jerk Chicken Wings - I really want to try that dish.

As for my homework - damn straight I did it.  I'm not taking this job for granted.  Even though Elodie was assuring me that he wouldn't fire me over such a trifle.  We all have our roles in the kitchen - and my 3-4 hour task of preparing the dough is my fixed task - it won't be re-assigned to anyone else, as everyone else has his/her own role.  And while some dishes are being rotated in and out of the menu, the tart isn't leaving.

QOTD - "Now You Look Like You Just Voted in an Afgani Election"

I've been having a rough couple of days.

It started yesterday around 4pm.  I was already done with my tart doughs and ready for a new task (I'm getting faster!).

What new task?

Cleaning squid. 

Just like the shucking of the oysters last week, this was a completely new task for me.  Some people actually enjoy cleaning squid - Sabel, who was teaching me how, is one of them.  She was laughing at my squeamishness. 

Sabel: first empty the tube of all the guts
she demonstrates
Me: stick my finger in the tube?
Sabel: and then be sure to pull the plastic-y hard thing out.

First off - squid are slippery little suckers. 
Second - the innards are slimy and gooey and kinda gross.

Sabel:  after you gut it, then you have to peel the skin off
she demonstrates making an incision with her nail, then slitting down between the flaps, pulling the skin over the top, and grabbing the flaps to peel down.

I kept dropping the squid back into the tub i was dumping the guts into.  I was hopeless... but it was something new.  Sabel found my struggles very entertaining.  How anyone can find this an enjoyable or satisfying task is beyond me.  But there was something else preventing me from really getting into it... my back was killing me! And I couldn't understand why.

That was the beginning of the end for me.  Some of the tarts got messed up - the dough stuck to the pan - and a few other mistakes in communication. 

I drove home in tears, just because I felt that I did terribly.  Turns out I had a fever.  A mild one, but enough to zap me of all my energy, and kill my personality.

Am I one to throw in the towel that easily?

Hell no.  I popped a couple of Tylenol and was back at work at 11:30 this morning.  Got my dough cranked out. It takes a good solid 3 hours from start to finish... that means by 3:15 or so, I'm ready to do other tasks in the kitchen.

Today's task:  Help Grace...
peel purple carrots.
Then slice them into 'coins' on the mandolin. 

After peeling the carrots I looked down at my hands.

Me: OMG Grace - my hands are all purple
Grace: Now you look like you've voted in an Afgani election.

That qualified for Quote of The Day.
Note to self, wear gloves next time.

No SNAFU's with the tarts today.  They're like my babies.  I nurse them from raw ingredients, form them into balls of dough, let them rest, cut/divide them, then knead them and form the smaller doughs balls (32 total).  Then pass them through the hand-crank pasta machine until i have those rustic rectangular-ish shapes for the onion tarts.

Thing is, when it comes time to assemble them, put them in the oven, then finish them and serve them, I want to be there.  Here I am, an intern at LudoBites, taking care of one item on the menu from start to finish (with some help from other girls in the kitchen when the rush happens from 6:15-6:45).

One girl yesterday made an off-handed comment that kinda stung - she said "whatever, it's just a tart"... I didn't want to work with her again.  Maybe it was me being cranky and sensitive due to my fever... but I'm sure if she put as much effort into the task as I did, she'd feel otherwise.  Sure, she helps Joon with his important entrees, but I'm doing 80% of one menu item.

But by the time the second seating starts at 8, it's time for me to go.  And today, I couldn't even last til 7:30.  My back was aching and I was going in slow motion.  I hope this fever is done with by tomorrow.  At least I have no symptoms of anything...

Tomorrow I think I'll get it done in under 3 hours. Maybe then, I can do more new tasks. 

TART! - One more tart, 3 tarts all day.

That's my life right now... tarts. 

Chef: so you practiced this weekend?
Me: (i can't lie)  no, chef.
Chef: NO? but why not?
Me: I don't have the equipment, chef.
Chef: but you can borrow zee equipment.

I needed those 3 days off.  Although a part of me actually did want to try the recipes at home, but as I confessed to Chef, I really didn't have the equipment.  or the ingredients. 

Additionally, my agenda was booked.  I rested my feet.  Maybe that's why I'm still so perky tonight.  I even took the dog for a jog - not just a walk - but a jog around the block when I got home. 

We are now in week 2.  I've had 3 full days of preparing 2 mixers worth of triple recipes of pizza dough.  And subsequently rolling out 32 thin rectangular shapes.  They're still not perfectly even, but they are much more uniform than last week's doughs.  The rhythm is down.  They are looking good, and at the end of the night, they all baked up perfectly. 

Next:  Gotta work on my speed.

At least I wasn't panicked or rushed - but it's such a tedious task that I want it over with as quickly as possible so I can move on to something more interesting.

Oh - and we got these gorgeous new aprons with the Ludo rooster logo silk screened on the front.  It has pockets too!  I'd post a picture, but it's in the wash right now.  why?  yep, it was covered in flour.