Eric Rivera’s Cooking Blog

Let me just start off this whole post by saying thank you to Chef John Howie (thanks for the greenlight!), Chef Joe!, Chef Terrance Nishihira, Chef David, Chef Lee (makes the egg foo young I’ve ever had), and Chef DJ MacIntyre for putting me in front of the Bellevue crew. Also, big thanks to the rest of the crew in Bellevue for being extremely patient with me while I stumble through the kitchen and also for showing me the correct/faster way to cut an onion….and so much more (thanks Sergio!)

The following happened on December 10, 2009.

Ok, so you want to be a Chef one day? Well, it’s going to take a lot of listening, not much talking, and a lot of patience with yourself while you do everything wrong…over and over again until Chef says, “looks good”.  Another thing, you’re going to need to start from the bottom.  That whole “Chef” thing doesn’t just happen overnight.  It happens at 6:12AM when I’m leaving each morning to drive from Federal Way to Bellevue (34 minutes without traffic…with traffic about an hour).

Traffic is a little tough sometimes.  If I can leave early enough then I can get past the massive crowd of cars that is going to work from Tacoma to Seattle……I split off around the Sea-tac area and get onto 405 and head up to Bellevue.  I used to do this drive a few years ago when I worked right up the street from Seastar as a loan officer, but I’m not going to talk about that….this is a fun post!

Sweet, traffic was smooth and I’m here just in time! Wash hands!  Say hi to Chef Lee and his wife Wai. Then do the secret handshake hello with Alvaro, Sergio, and Jose. I walk over to my station with my knife bag and set it down and pull out the equipment I’m going to use.  10 inch Chef’s knife, pairing knife, steel, peeler, and ruler. I walk over to Chef David’s station and grab a spatula then walk over to the dish pit, taking my knives with me,  and grab two measuring cups….a 1 gallon measuring cup and a 8 cup measuring cup.  I wash my knives and place them in a steel container then walk back to my station and drop the knives off. I wash my hands then I check out my list to see what I’m going to be making.

Right as I’m reading the list Chef Lee says, “the mini cream is for a banquet and we rented the ramekins so use them”.  240! This is going to take a while…..I walk over to the hallway and see the milk crates containing the ramekins and I start to pull them out of their containers but I notice they’re a little larger than the mini ramekins we normally use…..this is going to take a little while longer!  Chef Lee tells me that if we can’t get them done today we will be able to finish them the next day (Friday).  He tells me to finish the 21 vanilla and 7 mixed creme brulee’s first before I begin the mini’s.

I place the ramekins in 4 inch deep hotel pans then move over to the oven and make sure it’s on and at the right temperature then I start pouring the mix in.  There are two varieties that we serve at Seastar.  The vanilla which does not skimp on vanilla awesomeness (I’m not going to give you the recipe but let me just tell you it uses extremely high quality vanilla) and a mix of vanilla and chocolate pot de creme (again, high quality ingredients).

It’s 7:35 and the creme’s are torched and ready to go in the oven.  I fill the pans with water and close the oven. Check out that torch!!!!

7:37, seafood is in for the raw bar. I grab all the recipes for the day that I will need (I can recite the creme brulee recipe in my sleep.  My name is on the recipe book….it’s temporary tape so I know I can easily be replaced. When it has my picture on it I’ll feel a little more secure.

I go to the walk-in to get ingredients for the blue cheese dressing and coconut pie filling (it takes a long time to cook so I will do this first) . On the way I drop off the empty containers for the creme brulee mix…..I’ll have to make a lot more mix later! I grab all the ingredients for the blue cheese dressing and then Sergio tells me we need to put away the produce and arrange the walk-in refrigerator. It’s 7:43.

All the prep cooks converge on arranging the produce and making sure the product in there is clean and organized! It’s 8:01.

This picture doesn’t do it justice, it’s a lot bigger in person. There is also a walk-in freezer inside of this area. It’s 8:09 and I walk out as the lobster delivery has arrived.  The crew from the line has arrived a little earlier than I’m used to seeing them, I forgot there were three banquets that evening. The dishwashers are here too so the clinging and clanging of dishes and pots has officially started! I walk back to my station to work on the coconut pie filling and blue cheese dressing.

It’s 8:29 and the coconut pie filling is on the stove and will be there until it’s ready….how long is that? Until it’s ready!

At 8:44 I check the creme brulee’s and stir the coconut pie filling while I start un-packing the ingredients for the 4 gallons of blue cheese dressing I will be making.

It’s now 9:09 and I’m done making the blue cheese dressing. I have three different ways that I can make this.  Sergio, Chef Lee, and Pepe taught me different ways but I stuck with Pepe’s way, it’s easier for me.

It’s 9:10 and it’s time to rotate the creme brulee in the oven.  This is my most nerve-wracking event of the day.  It’s a balancing act and the first 5 times I did it I broke out in a sweat and my hands would shake.  Now my hands just shake but the sweating is gone. It’s not a terribly expensive product and not the end of the world but I hate messing things up.  A few drops of the mix falling out of the pan as I turn it means I have to spend more time wiping the ramekins individiually after they are cooked (time that could be spent on something else more exciting than wiping a ramekin because I messed up).

I start working on the 3 cups of Herb Gremolata. Lots of mincing on the way.  This one takes a little time because the parsley has to be minced, washed, and dried. The oregano is fresh and each leaf has to be pulled off the stem….this is time consuming!

It’s 9:45 and I stop to check the creme brulee, and add more water to the pot holding the coconut cream mixture.   Back to mincing!  It’s 10AM and the health inspector is making his rounds with his flashlight, camera, and even speaking Spanish to the crew….totally blew me away. Gremolata is done, I’m slow with mincing but I just want to make sure it’s uniform so I don’t hear about problems later. Also, I need a different knife for this….the Chef’s knife isn’t cutting it……..hahahaahahaahaa cooking joke or something…….alright not funny…yikes.

I take the Gremolata to the walk-in then make this little video at 10:22AM.

done

It’s 10:30AM, Chef David starts breaking down the cuts of fish for the sushi bar.

Start working on the Wasabi Sambal Olek Cocktail Sauce. Check out the creme brulee at 11:00 AM and it’s done so it’s time to pull them and let them cool before transferring them to a sheet pan and place in the walk-in so the line cooks can burn sugar on them later on tonight.

I wish I could have shown you the disasters I have had with these creme brulee’s. They are brutal to learn at first but I have the hang of it now……after a few hundred or so!

11:05, the meat guy is here to take Chef Lee’s order. It’s 11:15 and the cocktail sauce is done. Tranfer, label, and take to the walk-in.

At 11:25 I transfer the creme brulee’s then get them ready for 60 mini’s to go in right the oven.

11:47, the mini’s are in  and I walk over to Chef Lee to seeif there is something else I can work on.  He gives me some coconut pie crust and asks me to weigh 3 ounces from the batter then wrap it in a place them in a pan.  At 12:36 I finish.

At 12:37 Chef Joe! drops off an Seared Ahi burger on my work station and asks me to try it…….Try it? I’m going to eat the whole thing!!!

12:41, I’m done eating (I eat fast..) and I go snap a picture of the line while they’re in the middle of lunch rush.  I don’t know where to go that won’t get me run over so I snap a quick picture and get the hell out of there fast!

I start working on four pounds of pico de gallo for Chef Lee. I get my ruler and my 10 inch Chef knife and start my precision cutting action.  This was one of the first salsas I worked on at Seastar. The first time I made it Chef Terrance walked up and told Chef Lee that it looked wrong……it was served for staff meal the next day and never saw the light of day……he handed me the ruler and said 1/4 inch means a 1/4 inch……

The first round of mini’s are done at 1:45 so I take them out of the oven, let them cool, then pour in another 60 into the ramekins then place them in the oven.  At 2:22 the coconut filling is done so I pull it off the bain marie and place it on ice so it will start to thicken up even more than it already has.

At this point I’m starting to ask if anyone else needs anything while I’m finishing up the pico de gallo……4 lbs…….precision cuts…..takes forever!!  I feel like I’m going so slow sometimes but it doesn’t matter, as long as the product looks great and tastes great then time doesn’t matter……I know one day the time thing will come into play more but for now it’s all about getting things right.

Pico is done at 3:00PM.  I walk around and ask the other guys if they need me to help them out with anything. I check the mini’s and they’re not done yet so I start sweeping and cleaning my area.  The cleaning thing is becoming a lot more easy for me.  My mind travels at 1,000 MPH and sometimes I try to do too many things at once which leads to a messy work station……Nobody at Seastar appreciates that so I have done my best to keep things as clean as possible.  Someitmes it’s tough, flour everywhere sometimes!

3:25 PM and the second round of mini’s are done.  I cool them, transfer, and clock out and run out the door so I can get home, shower, and wait for Mindy to get home so we can go back to Seastar for dinner.   I get home at 4:45PM and do a couple things around the house and then Mindy and I head out the door. We arrive at Seastar at 6:45PM.

Erik, the director of wine/sommelier, greets us with a little bubbly…A Duval-Leroy from Champagne, France.  I need to start learning this whole wine thing…..

Jim, the server, greets us and Chef Joe! comes by the table to say hello.  We talk a little bit and I start explaining the menu to Mindy.  I look at it and notice that I have prepped a lot of the things on the menu…..I’m feeling pretty good.

I have two things that I want to try for appetizers. I watch Alvaro prep these stuffed calamari all the time and I have been waiting for a few weeks to try it so I order them….it’s spicy and I love it.   Also, we order the deviled eggs, both varieties!

Putaportiwon’s Crispy Calamari Poppers

Tender calamari is stuffed with spicy ahi tuna, fried crisp,served with zesty slaw, grapes and lime.

Seastar Deviled Eggs

Spicy, creamy deviled eggs are topped with Truffled Ahi Tartare or Citrus Salmon Gravlox.

Erik has paired a couple wines for us to play off the deviled eggs and the spiciness of the calamari. I’m an idiot when it comes to wine so I forget to write the choices down. Yikes.

Mindy and I go over the menu and we have decided what we wanted. She’s going to eat the Lemongrass Seared Salmon with Szechuan Shrimp and I’m going to eat John Howie’s famous cedar planked salmon with smoked brocolli.  We order and Jim asks us if we want a salad.  I say, “uh, sure…….”.  He says, “try the Five Spiced Smoked Duck with Walnuts and Chevre.   Jim, that was a genius call my friend.

This is the best salad I’ve ever eaten.  This is the gold standard for me from now on when it comes to salads. Why is it so good Eric?  Try it for yourself then let’s talk.  Amazing.

Mindy and I polish off the salad and just as that is happening Jim brings us the main course.  I look at the dishes and I get a little shiver. I have just realized that I work at an amazing restaurant.  I knew this before but sitting down at the restaurant is different than working in the back all day preparing the food. I rarely get to see the finished product in the prep area so seeing all these components come together is very surreal. I’m almost to the point of pinching myself……

Cedar Plank Roasted Red King Salmon

Pacific NW red king salmon seasoned with Chef Howie’s famous rub, roasted on a cedar plank to impart a subtle woodsy flavor, served with smoked broccoli and citrus rice.

Lemongrass Seared Salmon with Szechuan Shrimp

Flash-seared king salmon, sticky rice, red Thai curry sauce, sweet onion, bell peppers, onion and spicy Szechuan seared white gulf shrimp.

Mindy’s favorite thing to eat is Thai curry so she loved the dish. The salmon was perfect and the curry had the right amount of heat for her.  The cedar plank seasoning was amazing and I’ll never eat brocolli that isn’t smoked, it just doesn’t match up to applewood smoked brocolli.

We’re in a little food coma at this point but we press on. Jim brings over the dessert menu but I already know what I want.  I started the day making it so I order the mixed creme brulee with the chocolate pot de creme and vanilla cream. I’m looking over the menu and I see the truffles that I help Pepe with but I read the menu and it says, “take these home”.  Alright, I will!

Jim, brings the last course to us as well as an espresso for me and a coffee for Mindy. We had to pick up a friend in Tacoma that night that was flying to Vietnam in the morning so the day was going to last a little longer than I thought.

Have no fear,  Creme Brulee is here!!!! Nice to see you again! I made this little guy this morning so it’s nice to see the food follow me from start to finish.  I’m so happy at this point and then Jim comes to the table and lets Mindy and I know that the meal has been taken care of by the Chef.  It’s nice having perks Chef Terrance comes by the table and says hi to us then tells me not to call in late tomorrow…..haha.

We leave with a little bit of chocolate.  We get home at 9:45 then leave to pick up our friend who has that flight tomorrow.  I’m still in a little bit of a haze over what just happened. I work at a great restaurant…how did this happen?!?!?! Right off the bat!  Crazy.   I’m feeling pretty good about myself and the experience I just had with Mindy at Seastar.  It was her first time there and my first time sitting in table to eat.   Fantastic!  The best part is we get to do it again soon at Chef John Howie’s new restaurant……John Howie Steak.  It’s going to be epic!

I woke up the next morning and went to work. The first thing I did was start working on the mini’s again…..I had 60 of them in the tray then one of the trays toppled over…..10 of the ramekins broke…..they were rented…..I feel like a complete moron….I just mastered these things and now this!!!!!  Oh well, it’s all part of this whole “Chef thing”.

Eric