Customs and Cooking

A Mentor is an advisor, coach, guide, teacher, instructor, trainer, confidant, and (if you are lucky) a friend. Most career paths, including those within the realms of cooking and Customs, are aligned with a trusted mentor. In the kitchen, the executive chef gains the compliments, but hopefully passes those on to the entire team preparing the various dishes. (See Blog: https://customsandcooking.blogspot.com/2021/04/the-taste-test.html .) But the Executive Chef also has the ability to mentor each individual within the team to meet and exceed their culinary expertise and expectations. The amount of information surrounding Customs compliance is extensive. Developing and gaining a trusted mentor to be able to navigate all the various details is essential to growing a career within the field of Customs compliance and consulting. One of the opportunities that I have been able to achieve is not to have all the answers but to be able to know someone who does. This past Friday, my mentor within...

  I usually make cheese cake two or three times a year. Using a premade graham cracker crust and cream cheese, our family enjoys a nice dessert. Sometimes I add some chocolate syrup. But last week, I did something new. I prepared for quite a while finding the recipes and determining how I should go about making the new, never attempted before, recipe. Always enjoying a piece of New York Style cheese cake when visiting the Big Apple (it has been a while since I have been there), I thought that why go to New York when I can bring New York to me! I set off to conquer the task at hand. My New York Style Cheesecake Recipe... Step 1 - 10 chocolate cream sandwich cookies and 10 vanilla wafers crushed - 1/4 cup of melted butter - 2 tablespoons of sugar After crushing the cookies and wafers add to a bowl and mix in the melted butter and sugar. Stir. Using a lasagna size deep aluminum pan, cover the bottom with the cookie/wafer mix. Recipe found at: "Second Helpings, Please!" (Norene G...

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear someone cooking yell... OH NO... I FORGOT TO... Some might think it is that "I forgot to add the salt ." Others would believe it to be, "I forgot to mix and stir the ingredients ." I think that the only reason to scream about something in the kitchen is because "I forgot to turn off the stove !" Even though the dish may not have the perfect taste when you add the salt at the end of the cooking process (see blog: https://customsandcooking.blogspot.com/2021/04/sop.html) the dish could still be very tasty. If the ingredients are not thoroughly stirred while the pot is simmering, the dish may be a bit sticky or mushy but not something to scream and yell about. But when you forget to turn off the stove, what happens? The dish could burn, the surroundings could potentially catch on fire (G-D forbid), etc. The ramifications could be quite disastrous.  There are many reasons of why someone could forget to tu...

There is one aspect of Customs that continues to confuse me. That is the hesitation and maybe even fear to arrange a call with a Customs officer to review an issue at hand.  Time and time again, concerned importers contact me with questions about an aspect of a decision that a Customs officer rendered and are adamant that they do not want me to contact the officer for clarification. On the other hand, I have conversations with importers who outline an entire dialogue that they had with the Customs officer to understand how to initiate next best steps. Why such drastic differences between how importers communicate with Customs? Communication is key! It is very similar to exchanging recipes. In order to broaden ones understanding of various techniques, use of spices and getting to know the different flavors that cuisine has to offer, a great enabler is to speak with "foodies" and obtain recipes and their recommendations on what they use to make a dish go from the ordinary to ex...

  When something is not broken then why fix it? From the perspective of a Chili dog (see picture), everything was perfect. Sunday night supper was enjoyed by everyone. A nice spicy chili poured over a roll with a jumbo hot dog, some cabbage/coleslaw and sautéed onions. Yum!  But what happens if someone is a vegetarian? Can only eat gluten-free products? Is allergic to pepper? Then, certain things have to be changed. - The roll can be gluten free - There are vegetarian hot dogs and the chili can use tofu instead of ground beef - Replacing pepper should not be a problem as there are many spices that can be used to liven up the taste. We just identified something that can be enjoyed by some but requires adjustments in order to be enjoyed by others. The Customs environment with respect to compliance is constantly changing. For example, the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT) issues rulings setting precedent for importers to realign their import declarations. In the most r...