June

     Theres no two ways about it, I am a complete failure at keeping up with writing. I suppose the good part about this is what when I write I always have a lot to say so here goes the news for now.

Spring in Athens is crazy busy. Being the college town that it is spring is jam packed with sorority and fraternity events, school fundraisers, graduation parties, engagement parties, weddings and more. April and May are two of our busiest months at work and it was a record breaking period this year. It was my first spring in an Athens restaurant as a full-time cook and was both exciting and very, very tiring. 

     Through graduation I was working the same positions I have been working for months now, lunch grill or gm and the occasionally dinner gm. Our chef told me one night in passing that after everything calmed down he'd like me to train on a new station. I said great but didn't think anymore about it assuming it would be awhile or he was just talking in theoretical terms. Much to my surprise the week immediately following graduation I was scheduled for three training shifts on grill. My first couple nights were good, working closely with another one of the cooks I learned how each of the items were to be prepped, cooked and plated. They helped me keep track of which tickets were on fire and which on order and checked my steak temps to help me get a feel for the proper doneness. One Thursday night was surprisingly busy and I had to stand back and let my trainer take over entirely, I could only help him plate and stand by with glazed over eyes trying to follow his movements. A little over a week training and it was time for me to take the line by myself. Summers are typically slow in our restaurant and in Athens in general. Sort of the reverse of a resort town, all the students leave for the summer and town is blissfully quiet and empty. Due to the growing popularity of our restaurant however this summer is apparently not nearly as quiet as is typical. Thursdays are a gamble of night in general, sometimes following the cue of a weeknight and being rather slow, sometimes starting out the weekend a day early with a big bang. I went to work with knots in my stomach wondering which it would be. The night started out steady, not overwhelming but certainly not slow. About 8 pm a storm rolled into town that zapped the power over a 5 block radius and put a quick end to the stream of dinner guests. I ended up having a quite manageable first night on the grill. Hopefully summer with be kind to me and give me a chance to get my flow together before getting my ass handed to me once the students come back to town this fall.  In related news I am now sporting an intense new collection of burns along my forearms as is always the case when I learn a new station and have yet to force my natural clumsiness into some semblance of muscle memory. 

     On the flip-side, I've also been spending a lot of time outside of the kitchen. We've had the opportunity to travel to two of the farms that we source several of our ingredients and produce from and serve food there in the field. The Athens Culinary Federation hosted a brunch in the field at Red Mule farms owned by Alice and Tim Mills. Several Athens restaurants, catering companies, and the culinary program at Athens Tech were there to serve food that highlighted the grains produced at the farm. We had a chance to spend some time outside on a nice Sunday morning, chat with fellow cooks and sample their foods. We watched the big red draft mule, "Luke" grind corn into grits using a mile created by Tim out of old truck parts. For our dish we brought polenta made with Red Mule grain and local braised pork belly topped with a relish made of local radishes and house-made pickled vegetables. 

Chef Peter Dale making radish-pickel relish at Red Mule Farms

"Luke" grinds corn into grits

     Our second event was at Sundance Farms for the Tour De Farm in which cyclist cycle from farm to farm over the course of a weekend and are served a meal created by a local restaurant using food sourced from the farm at which they are staying. Cyclists camp out overnight before moving on to the next farm the following day. For this event we brought food that was cold or room temp and very heathly. Given that these folks had been cycling all day and had another day ahead of them it seemed fitting to give them something that would't slow them down. We really focused on the vegetables that the farm had supplied us including carrots, onions, potatoes, beets and more.

Our Menu:

Chicken panzanella with tomatoes and greens

Potato and beet salad with smoked GA mountain trout, leeks, pecans, and hardboiled egg

Moroccan carrot salad

Sea island red peas with local feta, radishes, and nasturtium leaves 

Kale slaw with grated carrot and shaved baby onion in mustard vinaigrette 

Red mule polenta with seared mustard greens

For Dessert:

Shortbread crumbs, housemade granola, local blueberries whipped in local fresh cream and topped with Booger Hill Honey.

We had a great day despite having a minor mental hiccup and forgetting half of our food on the first trip. We cooked in the family kitchen and served out of their personal china. We toured the farm, petted the dog, chatted with the kids and some of the cyclists. Going to these farms its amazing some of the things you never even think about how they look growing, like celery or brussels sprouts, even spending as much time as I do in the kitchen it never occurred to me to wonder that these things look like in the ground. The dessert was a last minute experimental concoction that really fits the idea of necessity being the mother of invention. With limited ingredients and some time constraints we created a dessert that was sweet without being overwhelming, made the most of our local fresh product, fit the country setting and even looked beautiful!