Customs and Cooking

This is the 10th BLOG post for Customs and Cooking, and I thought it would be worthwhile to review the topics discussed thus far. 1)  Disclaimer - How similar are Customs rules to recipes? https://customsandcooking.blogspot.com/2021/02/disclaimer-how-similar-are-customs.html - An Introduction to this Blog... 2) The Secret https://customsandcooking.blogspot.com/2021/02/the-secret.html - Customs --> Duty Drawbacks. The "best kept secret" at Customs. - Cooking --> Chaud-Lent 3) The Origin debate: Taste, Quality or Duty Free? https://customsandcooking.blogspot.com/2021/03/the-origin-debate-taste-quality-or-duty.html (Thank you to Juan David Barbosa.) - Customs --> Origin Declarations 4) Where are the strawberries? Don't forget the assists! https://customsandcooking.blogspot.com/2021/03/where-are-strawberries-dont-forget.html - Customs --> Assists (Valuation) 5) Baked or Fried... https://customsandcooking.blogspot.com/2021/03/baked-or-fried.html - Customs --> Ha...

I had quite a rude awakening when trying to prepare Salisbury Steaks for dinner last week. I read the recipe and prepared all the ingredients. I organized the various tools and equipment needed to make the steaks, sauce and side dishes. Everything was good to go. Once the cooking process started, I was meticulous to follow the instructions to ensure that the quantities of ingredients added were exact and the size of each Salisbury Steak followed the guidelines of the recipe.  The skillet was sizzling. The water was boiling.  Then... ... Supper was served!    - The Salisbury Steaks were falling apart. - The mushroom sauce did not have the consistency of a nice gravy. - The mashed potatoes were not smooth and creamy. And (from what I am told)... Salisbury Steaks are not served on buns! (oops) The saving grace was that everyone said that dinner tasted great and the quick addition of baked beans was a good choice! So, indeed, there is a great need for recipes and SOPs. (...

I am sure that anyone who asked their grandmother for a recipe was told that you need to put in "a little bit of this and a little bit of that". Then, in order to determine what "this" and "that" was you had to stand over grandma to see exactly what she was doing and take meticulous notes in order to try and replicate the recipe in the future. My favorite example of this was my wife's grandmother's chicken soup. There was no way to get an exact recipe except by watching her add the specific ingredients and spices trying to determine how much to add and when in the process to do so. (The end result was a fabulous chicken soup.)  So when we talk about an SOP, a Standard Operating Procedure , "a little bit of this and a little bit of that" just won't do. For cooking, the SOP is a cookbook. Whether you are a novice or a seasoned cook, the cookbook is your guide. Even the greatest chefs use cookbooks. They may be the authors of those cook...

Ever wonder why a chef tastes the dish as it is being prepared? More importantly, as the Sous Chef prepares the dish, the Executive Chef will come to taste and verify if the taste and presentation is to their liking. Why all this hassle to verify and check up on the Sous Chef and the various Line/Station Chefs that are assigned to the various dishes? Are they not compensated to do their job correctly? I learned very quickly that if I do not taste the dish as I am preparing it, the final outcome may be too bland or too spicy, etc. Tasting the dish during the creation process allows for adjustments to be made and to hopefully bring the taste of the dish to perfection.  The "Triple T" ( T he T aste T est) is important because it enables the Executive Chef (who is the mentor) to teach the Sous Chef and the other various talented chefs that are a part of the team. The team in the kitchen represents a partnership. When striving to achieve a "Michelin Star" all team member...