A Word From The Other Parsimonious Chef...: Whistle While You Work... Salt Encrusted Bluefish.....

Fresh Caught Bluefish w/ Mise En Place

Mackerel

Salt Encrusted Bluefish

I have been fortunate enough to have been surrounded by quite a cast of characters my entire career in a professional kitchen.The common two prevailing characteristics have been a big heart and an even bigger sense of humor.

I started cooking at The Motion Picture Association of America in Washington DC, it was here that I met my first chef, Jim Whatley. Jim is gregarious and extremely accommodating, and was the first to tell me "stop crowding the cutting board it will only make it harder to use and easier for you to cut yourself!". Several cuts later I started to listen. In that kitchen we had such a good time with a group of the funniest people that I have ever met in life, but the life of the kitchen by far was Jim. I called him "Good Time Jim" because this dude would keep us laughing at all times. He has remained the most influential chef in my life because of the balance that he instilled in me as a cook/chef. Jim made me realize that while a sense of urgency is key, of equal importance is the ability and necessity of being grounded by the fact that we are cooks and not brain surgeons. We are to provide a service to help others appreciate a place in time by the food and service that we provide to them. He also makes the best bread pudding I have had to date. I'd love to share the pranks but if you ever worked in a kitchen you know that what goes on in those spots can rarely be repeated or shared due to the lack of "PC"-ness that goes on. Just know that Jim was the ring leader in all of the jokes and pranks that went on and he kept us all wanting to come to work everyday to see our family. Jim is also a person that calls me every year on my birthday just to see how I am doing, literally every year. I can't tell you how much this touches me, of course he teases me about something when he calls but that's what we do, make fun of each other. It's all love....

I was a chef at Google for 3-4 years when I first moved to California. The crew I cooked with and learned from on a daily basis had me in stitches on a constant basis. The environment was always loose and funny. Of course it was hectic at times, after all it is a kitchen. We made breakfast and lunch along with setting up for the dinner shift, but throughout the day we found ways to keep each other motivated through laughter.

There's Scott G, the definition of a professional chef that would crack a one liner in the middle of serious instruction. Jef P. or as we all called him Old Blue Eyes, this guy remains one of the chefs that I most admire. I had never seen anyone so serious about cooking and knowing the nature of what he wanted to do before he even picked up a knife to start prep before I met him. At the same time I don't think there was ever a moment when his dry sense of humor and uncanny timing didn't have the kitchen crying in laughter. Then there's Joey D this guy has the biggest heart you will ever find and there's nothing he wouldn't do to help anyone out. Joey is a Rock Star in every sense of the term, personality bigger than life, knows his stuff as a chef and now runs FaceBook's Culinary Program as the Culinary Overlord. Joey is one of the funniest people I have ever met, very blunt and direct with an "I'm just saying" approach. Chris Moss is another chef that I learned from, he was one of the first chef to tie the importance of organizing on a computer and how easy having files of recipes at your disposal via the computer rather than having them balled up in your pockets. My dear friend Virgil, or Young Virgil (in an English accent) as I called him. Virgil is calm and laid back but will give you a disapproving glare when he knows you are going "too far to the left" with your creative license as a chef. He wouldn't necessarily stop you, he'd just ask you to make a small batch first and when we agreed that it sucked, lesson received, committed to memory, small batch thrown out and chef clowned for the rest of the day. Elaine, by far the most beautiful and one of the most technically sound chef's I've ever worked with would have me cracking up daily. Ray Ray, is my brother from another mother and there was never a moment that he wouldn't take the time to help me with things. He's larger than life but a big teddy bear with one of the heartiest laughs ever heard and he can't wait to offer a helping hand. Zeke, ole Zeke, where do I begin with him? Zeke is by far a character for the ages, we would crack jokes from the start of the day to the end and he made one mean Agua Fresca, watermelon, strawberry even honeydew melon there was never a fruit that didn't succumb to his blade and the Agua Fresca Gods. Then there's Dontaye who leans toward Italian food and Soul Food but everything he makes is incredible. He's also the funniest guys I ever had the pleasure of knowing and working with. We would make up characters and play them all day on occasions. He's also a chef that takes his time and allows a product to develop in a way that is well worth the wait. The two of us would sit in the lab and just create and perfect dishes. One of the things that we would make for the Googlers was Salt Encrusted Salmon, the salt would keep the fish moist and allow the fish to keep all of it flavor, it also has a wow factor when you present this to be broken at a table. There are too many others at Google that had a profound impact on me and what I do, they will be in later post. For now this is wordy enough.

Working in a high volume kitchen is a grind but if you have the right teammates with you time flies, you learn a lot, teach a lot, laugh a lot and have the possibility of having lifetime friends and that's more important than anything to me.

On the menu today is:

Salt Encrusted Bluefish with Wild Rice, Roasted Corn & Kale

Bluefish with Wild Rice, Sauteed Corn and Kale

For This we will need the following:

Bluefish (whole, scaled and gutted)
Coarse Kosher Salt (up to 2 # depending on the size of your fish)
Egg Whites (6 ea)
Garlic (6 cloves)
Dill (2 bunch)
Sage (1 bunch)
Bay Leaf (3 ea)
Lemon (2 ea)
Orange (1 ea)
Wild Rice (1 cup)
Corn (2 cups)
Olive Oil (2 Tbs)
Kale (12 oz)

Add the garlic, salt, dill (1 bunch), lemon and orange slices (2 slices each) to a food processor to combine. Whip the egg whites to stiff peaks (see picture below) and then fold in the salt mixture to form a paste. Encrust the fish in the mixture (see picture below) and bake in a preheated oven of 425 for 25 to 35 minutes or until the fish is reading 125 degrees internally. The salt mixture will be hard once it's done and needs to sit for 3-5 minutes to allow to cool before presenting or breaking.