Scratch-Made Stories

We are always looking to diminish that last 10% of food that we do not make from scratch and it seems we are getting closer every day. Thanks to Chef Roger at the West Servery for undertaking the task of redefining deli meat and turkey in general. The chef’s at West are experimenting with roasting whole turkeys and slicing for daily sandwiches and the deli bar. The brand of sliced turkey currently used is exceptional, but you can’t beat a freshly roasted turkey breast.

Once the procedure and guidelines are sufficiently tested and in place, we will expand to all serveries just like the fresh ground natural Angus burgers. Keep it up everyone, the students and I appreciate this hard work very much.

David

Rodeo Food Just Usual Houston Fare

Our son’s Godfather was in town this last weekend so we decided to head off to the rodeo for a little fun and food in the sun. Often times Housing and Dining are questioned why we contract food for our concession stands during the sporting events rather than self-operate them. You only need to take a look at the amount of vendors in this city to answer that question.

When we started checking out the food vendors, I realized very quickly that there was nothing unique, but rather the restaurants we are all familiar with living in and around Houston. These restaurants have become so iconic in fact that they are at the rodeo, sporting events, and other special celebrations around town throughout the year. It would be nice to see a larger amount of lesser known vendors in the future, but from the concessions point of view, it makes sense to have highly visible vendors.

I have to comment on one venue that made “any dinner into dessert.” I know nutritionally and healthfully that this is taboo, so we could sum up the concept as “this will probably kill you.” However, this is what I expect to see at a fair or the rodeo. Something cool and different... If you never had a fried Twinkie or Oreo, go ahead and try it once so you can say you did! Then eat salad for a week to compensate…

Anyway, when I was growing up and going to the California State Fair every year, I always looked for the food I never ate at home any other time of the year. I wonder if kids feel the same joy going to the rodeo or a fair today like I did when I was a kid. My daughter could eat any of the rodeo food as a matter of just dining out on the weekend with us. Does the magic still exist?

Go enjoy the rodeo anyhow…

David

FDA Kudos & Organics?

I know I have been ranting about the effectiveness of the FDA for some time, but to be fair, they have managed to contain a contaminated product before a spread of Salmonella Tennessee in hydrolyzed vegetable protein, also called HVP. It is noted however that an independent consumer tested the product and reported it to the FDA. I suppose I could make the argument here for less regulation and more capitalism (which I favor in general), but I won’t in the case of the FDA. The credit due to the FDA is that they identified the affected product very quickly and issued recalls. In the past events of outbreaks, they have been slow to identify the source and contaminated products, but not this time. They actually got out in front, which is what I would expect from this organization. The current bill in the House will allow for more spending to bolster the FDA is something I have been supporting since it was proposed.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest said the recall is "yet more proof that the Food and Drug Administration needs more authority, more inspectors and more resources to ensure that our food supply is safe." Read the article from CNN>

Now that the FDA and capitalism have received their Kudos, I would like to point out a particular product on the recall list identified as organic. Let me first preface this from a quote by the FDA regarding this outbreak, “HVP is used in processed foods, including soups, sauces, chilis, stews, hot dogs, gravy, seasoned snack foods and dressings.” If we were to focus on two things here, it would be that HVP is itself a processed ingredient and that it is used in processed foods. Follow Your Heart and Trader Joe’s brands of organic salad dressings are on the recall list and I wonder how they can truly advertise this as organic with HVP present.

Those who know me understand that I am for the idea of organic food supply chains, but also realize that I am a pragmatist when it comes to what is considered organic and safe. We in the food industry understand the elements of organics, but I am concerned that the average consumer does not. HVP is a form of trans-fat and is considered to be unhealthy for ones heart. The fact that the company label is named Follow Your Heart, which implies good for your heart and that the product is labeled organic with a processed substance should be a wake-up call to those consumers to question the validity of many organic products. Don't believe me? Read the product description... We do in the restaurant business question the validity all the time and what we find is the reason we all do not universally support buying and serving organic products. Buyer beware…

David

Servery Conundrum

It has been a very interesting and challenging year for Dining Services this academic term with the opening of the West Servery, closing Baker kitchen for a re-build, and demolishing the Lovett and Will Rice kitchens; to make way for the new East servery. I would like to put into perspective what I am seeing and what the students are perceiving. While we are eliminating small dining operations in favor of larger dining halls, the relevant truth is that one servery will be considered better than another. The challenge is to reduce the gap between perceived quality and service. Much of this has to do with infrastructure…

West servery is shiny and new while simultaneously constructed to offer the most optimal flow for retrieving food. The kitchen is right-sized optimally allowing the kitchen staff to work efficiently and effectively as well. The design, colors, and lighting of the servery provide the best visual results of the food and at the same time has a very talented Executive Chef to optimize the experience. Chef Roger.

You may be surprised to know that we were very conscientious about moving Chef Roger to the West servery from the North servery. Our primary concern was that the perceived quality of food would be diminished at the North servery. As a matter of fact, the chefs did a wonderful job and North Servery remained stable with the introduction of Chef Adam. The North servery was also designed and constructed with natural light that is highly conducive to the presentation of food.

This of course leads me to the South servery which is the oldest of the three and quite frankly designed poorly by modern standards. At the same time, I have been hearing that the quality of food is less than the other serveries. One of the primary problems and this was echoed by a recent design consultant we invited to look at the servery; is the lighting, colors, and layout. In the consultant’s words, “there is no heartbeat.” Let’s face the reality, there is no natural light, low ceilings, a red quarry tile floor, and black serving lines. Serving any quality of food under these circumstances would challenge the most experienced chef. I would like to take the opportunity to thank Chef Kyle for doing his absolute best with the current situation. But wait! It’s even more challenging than you might imagine. While serving 19 meal periods a week to Hanszen and Wiess Colleges, South servery is transporting 15 meals per week to Lovett at a make-shift serving line set-up in the commons until East servery is completed. But wait! There’s even more… Our entire catering department is operating out of South as well. During the next fall term, South servery will be doing the same with Will Rice as they are with Lovett currently. What does this all mean? Chef Kyle is managing three times the volume of other serveries in an inadequate space. Concurrently he has to manage multiple menus per day where the other serveries only have to manage a few. This is because catering orders are all unique.

Where we go from here… We are negotiating and planning how to make South servery more inviting, efficient, and effective by several means. All of which I will not relay here, but one primary project will be to relocate certain resources. The most important point to note is that we recognize and are working on it.

South will continue to have a challenging year and in the next fall term with transporting food to Lovett and Will Rice, but that will soon be alleviated in January when East servery opens. I ask for the students’ patience and support of our excellent staff that are working in the most challenging environment I have seen in my 22 years of dining operations. Thank you Chef Kyle!

David

Do you ever hear about MSG today?

Back in the early 90s, there was a “no MSG” movement that many will remember and college students will not since they were just beginning their journey in life. It was an interesting lesson about food trends, hype, food labeling, and a little hysteria all mixed together. Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is a flavor enhancer in one form and a good preservative in other forms primarily for frozen prepared foods. It can be added as a seasoning or as a salt substitute as well.

So… In the early 90s there were reports of severe allergic reactions to MSG and the media picked it up and the FDA conducted placebo studies to see if the claims were true. While this was going on, restaurants rushed to get MSG out of their foods since customers were refusing to eat foods with MSG. There were even whole restaurant chains opened with the tag “no MSG.” I happened to be a manager at one of these restaurants at the time and I can tell you, the message was so pervasive in the media that I would be asked the question if we used MSG on a daily basis. So the story goes…

Do you ever hear about MSG today? Well, I did just the other day from a student and was taken back that they even knew the history of it. We do not use MSG here at Rice because we are a scratch made operation with very few frozen items with the exception of French fries and a few other things. By the way, I saw a student eating a plate of French fries for lunch and would kindly encourage you to try a little harder at a balanced diet. Usually this is where you find MSG, but I checked and they do not contain MSG. Hence the reason for writing this little tale… By the way, the FDA found no conclusive results about MSG causing allergic reactions or an increase in symptoms to asthmatics.

These types of food trends come and go all the time, but in the case of the MSG ordeal, I believe something good came of it. Food labeling became more prominent and consumers started to check labels for ingredients. For you youngsters, there was actually a period in my lifetime where food ingredients were not labeled. Although at the time food manufactures cited that an increase in prices will follow the new FDA requirements of food labeling, I don’t think one can put a price on having information available to make wise consumer choices. I have realized thanks in part to a class project here at Rice that we need to label our food in the serveries. Let me assure all of you that this will be coming along with updated nutritional and food-mile mapping information. Read what the FDA found recently>

As usual, I like to point out an irony and I have just the one to end this… We now have many students who are on a gluten free diet which by the way is difficult to accommodate, but we do our best. The irony you ask? MSG is suitable for those on this very specific diet. Things change all the time and I ask everyone not to get caught up in any hype about food related issues. If you have a question, just ask one of the chefs…

David

Food is about experimentation?

I was reading an interesting article about a challenge to eat unprocessed foods for a month and had to laugh a little about the struggle many of the people had doing this. On the other hand, I felt a little sorry and sad that many people have not grown up eating or learned how to cook from scratch. Nourished Kitchen is a website I just recently discovered and they do have good information about going back to the basics of cooking. While I think most people will not bother to dredge flour or make yogurt from scratch, they do offer good advice and recipes if you have the time and especially the inclination.

One of the comments made was about the difficulty in meal planning for a family. I often find this difficult as well with a wife who does not eat much variety (don’t worry, she knows…), a very precocious, yet adventurous four year old, and an 8 month old infant. However, from my 20+ years of experience in the dining business, there are some easy ways to do this and at the same time balance the diet nutritionally. What we do at home is make sure whatever we are eating that the baby can try a little…

Since you are eating at least one vegetable at dinner anyway, make sure the one chosen can be mashed for the baby and eaten whole by the rest. Potatoes are a wonder food, but you have to leave off the salt and butter to keep it that way! I originate from the West coast so artichokes and avocados are a staple in my house once a week. Baby loves artichoke hearts! Anyway, plan your week in general first. Here is what we do… Monday is beef night, Tuesday is vegetarian, Wednesday is Pork or Chicken, Thursday is pasta or taco night (my wife makes the best tacos!), and Friday is my little girls choice. Weekends are a wild card of eating out or cleaning up leftovers. This is a basic plan and then you can start deciding about menus. If you like to have fried food occasionally like we do, bake it instead…

I could make this particular blog 100 pages about eating right, but one simple thing you can do is question what you eat. If you don’t think it is natural, then it probably isn’t. Food is about experimentation and in my short 37 years I am still eating exciting new flavors and recipes as I am exposed to many here at Rice University. Great job chefs! You have to train your kids early so that they will be accustomed to variety and have the will to experiment later on. Candy is not a dessert! Fruit is though. My little girl now considers dessert a choice and blend of several different ones… Especially blueberries. By the way, does anybody remember the MSG ordeal back in the early 90s? A little story about this in my next blog…

David

The Shogun – Chef Edward Castillo, CCC

The North Ninja, Chef Ed (CCC) won the first annual Servery Samurai competition, but judging the three competitors was no easy task. The competition was centered on a mystery basket competition chaired by Chef Roger Elkhouri (CEC, ACE) who also hand selected the items. Each competitor was given a community basket of items to prepare their dishes, but each one had to serve six identical dishes based on a nutritionally balanced platform. The mystery basket was one of the toughest I have seen… Branzino Sea Bass from the coast of Greece, live Lobster from Maine, Artichokes from California, Red Swiss Chard from Arizona, and fresh Oysters from Florida.

Although Chef Ed (CCC) won the competition, the judges gave high marks to the other chefs as well. Chef Kyle (CEC) had the best and most juicy lobster, Chef Derrix had the best fish; panko crusted with pineapple relish, and Chef Ed (CCC) had the best artichokes and red Swiss chard.

The winning dish from Chef Ed?
Creamy mashed potatoes inside a crispy potato tower
Fresh green bean ragout with herbs
Poached lobster
Lemon infused artichokes
Cornmeal crusted oysters and braised Swiss chard with caramelized shallots
Herb crusted Branzino fish with a reduced lobster and sherry wine sauce

Although the ingredients were challenging in themselves, the community basket was challenging in that there was no butter, cream, milk, or cheese to cook with. The chefs had to rely upon extracting flavors from the ingredients using various cooking methods. Congratulations to everyone involved in making this a successful venue and we look forward to seeing the edited film of the first Rice University Servery Samurai Competition!

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David