The last time I had an
opportunity to open a new commercial kitchen was the American Bounty
Restaurant at The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park NY. Our
class (1982) approached graduation and it was unclear if the American Bounty
Restaurant would be ready to open or not. Equipment wasn’t in place and everything was still in boxes. It was organized chaos. The CIA curriculum
was 27 academic and practical blocks. I was in my final block, The
Escoffier Room, with Chef Hefner, the meanest, toughest Chef I ever met.
Gordon Ramsey would tremble. It was seven days in the kitchen and seven
in the dining room. Half of my class would fail that year. I
managed to sneak by, as I assured him I was half French. I would
roll the “R” in Breton to add authenticity. At the eleventh hour it was
decided our graduation would be postponed an additional two weeks and the
American Bounty would open. Wonderful! At that point, we all wanted out. Our class literally worked night and day to open this new restaurant.
It is one of the most treasured attractions at the institute today.
Needless to say it was an invaluable experience that enhanced my
education.
This time around I am
older and wiser. Having a hand at the layout and purchasing of the
equipment, while being compensated, makes it much sweeter. I want to
introduce some of the featured pieces of kitchen equipment that were
delivered to the renovation project.
The ovens functions include: cooking modes
for hot air, steam, cook and hold capacity, retherm, slow cooking and crisp and tasty features. An automatic cleaning system with built-in water
filtration. It has an I-Pad-like monitor which stores up to 250 recipe
commands. It’s a beauty!
Tilt Skillet:
All I want for Christmas
is a tilt skillet! This large capacity skillet is like having a huge flat
top, sauce pot, crock pot on steroids. Its hand crank tilting capability
allows ease of pouring liquids out and for easy cleaning. It is energy
efficient with quick heat recovery. Convection Oven Proofer:
Subway, Jimmy John’s and Panera Bread are a few of the companies that enjoy the benefits of this unit. The Lakeside Bistro will be the new home for this as it provides all our restaurant outlets with fresh baked breads and pastries. The lower half of the oven proofs yeast based doughs with moist heat until double or triple the size and then bakes them with hot air in the upper half which is the perfect marriage. You'll get to enjoy the aroma putting on the 18th green.
The old kitchen design
was comparable to I-75 North & South Bound combined into the same space.
The new layout gives the kitchen accessibility from 360 degrees, little
cross over and a natural flow. The Lakeside
Bistro is a charming new venue that will host a casual dining experience unique
to Stonebridge with many events that members will love and share!
