And the hits just keep on coming………… Blog #50

Hello all. Hope you are all well and safe on this Christmas season.

This past week at Le Bon Marché was great!!!! We were busy all week with a lot of parties and larger groups coming in for Christmas lunches.  Friday night, we had a rather large Christmas party. They booked out the Resto from 4pm on. The function went off without a hitch. Dinner was great and then afterwards they let loose. Jann and Brendan rocked the house. It is so gratifying to see ppl at their full potential. I watched Brendan and Jann busy behind the bar, making drinks, moving in tandem, talking with ppl, all four limbs moving and doing it with a smile. I could tell they were happy, in their element, doing what they do best. It was awesome. The food was great too. Kyla is doing such a wonderful job and what I like best about her is she seems to pick up what I’m putting down. I don’t need to stand over her. I tell her what I want and she delivers. It’s pure brilliance I tell you. Buffets are fun. You do all the work before hand and then you have to stand around until its time to tear down. The convener wanted the buffet to stay out for a while so Sol, Jacob and I turned the kitchen inside out. We ripped the hoods apart and cleaned like crazy. A clean kitchen is a happy kitchen and a clean kitchen produces clean food. I can’t stress that enough. Yes we all have these titles of Chef, Sous Chef, First cook and what not but the truth of the matter is you spend most of the time cleaning. I’m proud of the fact that our kitchen is the cleanest I’ve ever worked in and to hear my cooks and wait staff say that to me as well.  It makes me feel really good.

Saturday, it was just Kyla and I for lunch and we did pretty good numbers. In fact, they were almost like “Summer Saturday” numbers and that made me feel wonderful. Saturday night my server was a no show. She had apparently told me last week that she had plans but I guess I forgot. So I served Saturday all by myself. I think I did really well even though I did make just a couple of mistakes. I got tons of compliments though. “The food is the best in town” and, “ I was so happy to see that you didn’t have club sandwich on the menu.” One compliment was kind of a back handed one; “with food like this, this is why you aren’t in New York.”   Maybe we’re starting to turn ppl around to what we’re trying to do. Saturday night, I went over to a friend’s house and watched the food network which was a first time in a long time for me.  I was actually inspired again. Chef Masaharu Morimoto is simply amazing to watch. I really don’t like these reality shows because they’re full of BS but you can still pick out the masters of their crafts.  He is definitely one of the masters.

So next week is the last week before x-mas and I hope it’s another good week. Then, New Years will be upon us. This will be the first time in years I have not spent New Years with Jake and Mitch. I’m kinda sad about that but I’m really looking forward to cooking New Years Eve dinner. It’s such a special night, one that a lot of ppl really enjoy before settling down for the winter. Remember, we only have 2 seatings available so book early to ensure a spot at LBM.     So with that I shall bid you adieu. I may not blog next week as I’m going home to see my family for the holidays. I’ll be away for a short visit and we open back up on the 29^th.  So I wish all of you a happy and safe holiday and we will talk to you in a bit.

Cheers

Rusty Chemise 

Now for something completely different……… Tribulation. Blog #49

Hello everyone. Last week’s blog was a bit of a downer, I know, but I believe if you set out to do something you gotta do it. I set out to write this blog. Any business owner will tell you that the first year is tough and unfortunately, I’m no exception. So in five years, when every blog is positive and happy, we’ll have these to look back on and laugh.

So here’s a little taste of the future. This past week was great!!!! It started out rough but got better as we moved on. We started Christmas parties and it was just what the doctor ordered (both financially and morally).   To have the Resto full was a big boost for everyone. Waiters made tips, the cooks were busy and I was just happy to have a full Resto. Since we’re in our first year, it is imperative that we make a good impression. We need repeat business next year and of course, if we can make these ppl happy they’ll talk to other ppl. It’s the best advertising you can get. Word of mouth is the key. Now I really don’t know how many ppl actually read these blogs but since we are here and my advertising budget is tight, I want to let everyone know that we do caterings both on site and off. We do cooking classes at the resto and at your home. Basically, if it has to do with food, I’ll do it! I also want to reiterate that just because Le Bon Marché is a French restaurant, I am well versed in other disciplines of cooking as well. My long and gypsy career has taken me far and wide and has allowed me to work with many ppl of different ethnic backgrounds. Can I make sushi like a sushi chef who has had a six year apprenticeship? No of course not. But I can make damn good sushi. So I just wanted to put that out there.

Back to the Resto. Saturday we were busy.  I took care of service through lunch and helped our new French speaking server Stephanie, through dinner. She, however, only works Saturday nights, therefore if you want a French speaking server, Saturday is your night!

 My waitering skills are improving and if I may say so, I really enjoy bartending. Steph asked me to work the bar and I realized that making drinks is fun. You get to create and this of course, is what turns me on as a Chef. I got to make a rusty nail! I know, anyone reading this who’s in the Business, is laughing right now but I loved it. I guess I’d better download the movie Cocktail and start practicing eh…..lol NOT!!

So, my blog is just a short one this week. I have few more parties next week and then it will go quiet till New Year’s.  Once we’re into January, a whole new slough of Trials and Tribulations will be upon us. We will be closed Dec 25, 26, 27 and 28 and opening up again on the 29^th as normal and closing at 4pm on the 31^st.  .  The New Year’s menu has two sittings.  To see what is on the menu for these two servings got to my Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Le-Bon-March%C3%A9/151752721513844.  It will be posted tomorrow.

Well that’s it for this week. Have a great few days everyone and we’ll blog at you next week.

Cheers

Rusty Chemise.

Marco retired at 39. He’s no better than me………….. Well maybe just a bit. Blog #48

Hello everyone. It’s been a few weeks since I’ve blogged. Amy told me a while back not to write negative. “No one wants to read negativity” so on that note, I haven’t written. Not much has been going on and no one seems to be eating out. I’ve talked with other Resto owners and it seems ppl are just going to the chain Resto’s. Sad, I mean you’ve got all these ppl up in arms about the 1 percent of the world’s population owning all this wealth and yet they go talk about it in a chain restaurant. Weird, but I digress.

We did participate in our second, twenty third annual Christmas Walk and we were prepared this time. Or were we? We had 40 ltrs of hot chocolate and 700 absinthe cookies. That’s not a typo either, I really mean 700 cookies! The hot chocolate lasted 40mins and the cookies were gone in 120min. Jake could not help me this year so Amy stepped in. She rocked it out! And she speaks French. Who knew? I didn’t, but then again, I didn’t know what colour Jakes eyes were. Ha ha ha ha. We had a great night. The word on the street was that we had the best hot chocolate and the best entertainment downtown. We had Ted and Alexis again. Man this woman sings like a dream. I’m trying to book them for NY’s also and I’ll keep you posted on that.  

Today is Saturday, Dec 3^rd and just another typical day at the restaurant. I’m serving for lunch and Kyla’s cooking. A Server will be in at 5pm to do the front of the house. I’ve had to make some big decisions in the past few weeks; hard ones and ones that I’m still not sure if I’m happy with or not. But sometimes life dictates to you what needs to happen and you have to play the cards you’re dealt with. In many talks I’ve had with several ppl in the past few weeks, and after many, many long hot showers, I decided to make a change. Like I’ve said before, I’m very happy with the back of the house. The food is awesome and the kitchen is clean. I’m just very discouraged with the front of the house. It’s not quite what I wanted and I’m just not happy with it. So in the spirit of my father, who always says “If you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself”, I’m going to the front of the house to work. Brendan is leaving in January, Derrick is happy at another resto and Jann can only work a couple of days a week. This situation coupled with the fact that Kyla asked for a raise, I feel there is no other choice but to step away from the stoves. Kyla is awesome and definitely does deserve a raise.  With that, I’m giving her more responsibility and she can run the kitchen. What an amazing opportunity for her to run a kitchen at the tender age of 22.  She’s got the ability and I believe in her. Also, I’ll still here on the premises. This reminds me of my first Chefs job. I was 23 and the owner/chef was not cooking but the head office was upstairs so he was never far away. It was a great confidence builder. I’ll be going out front to manage. I’ll still have servers but that’s it. Just servers with limited scheduling and I’ll take care of all the ordering, cleaning, the till and everything else. They’ll just come in and serve then take there tips and be gone. I’ll also take care of the specialty evenings and events.  I was thinking about dumbing down the menu in order to maybe get more business, but I feel I would be selling myself out and that would make me so unhappy. So in January, the new winter menu will be on the same lines as previous menus however, I’ll be adding a separate sandwich menu for lunch.  Something that business people who are in a rush can order from and have time to eat before having to return to the office.  That’s our society today; fast, fast, fast!!

But enough about you and your needs, lets talk about me now! Ha ha ha. I’m not sure how I feel about leaving the stoves. For starters, it’s all I’ve done for 26 years. Secondly, and this is the biggie, I’m not leaving on my own terms. I wanted to be successful and leave Le Bon Marché, open up a second resto and be too busy to cook. Sadly, I don’t think that this will be the case. I’m leaving to go out front and get the front of the house in as good a shape as the back. As an owner, I’m happy and excited, but as a Chef…? I guess it’s like a race car driver being told by a doctor that he can no longer race. Also, a  completely selfish thought, if we get, WHEN we get, our 4 diamonds, Kyla will be the cook. I’ve tried for so long to get to the top of the game. I wanted Cameron’s resto at the Hilton in Glasgow, Fail. I wanted to move up and be a senior Sous Chef at the SaVoy, Fail. I wanted 5 diamonds at the Fantasyland Resto in Edmonton, Fail. !@#$%^&*!!! Now, in order to reach my goal, I may have to step away from the stoves…. Ya ya ya, I know, I’m the owner and it should be just as rewarding, but it is not.  I’m a restaurateur now not a Chef. I could be like Gordon Ramsay and just take the accolades but I wouldn’t. I’m more like Marco White. If Kyla’s cooking, she should get the accolades. I’ll just be the one who helped her. I am still writing the menus after all and I’ll still want what I want.  However, I made my decision and when I set my mind to something, I do it! So starting January 1, 2012, I will no longer be cooking. I’ll be out front and Kyla will be in charge of the kitchen. It’s funny how we are only a couple of months away from our first year anniversary. How time flies and what an exciting year we’ve had. If you’ve been following my blogs, shaking your head and thinking that I’m crazy; I am. The other day a friend said to me, “You know, Glenn, I wish I knew what was going on in that head of yours.” My reply was “so do I”. Lol! You don’t have to be crazy to be in this business, but it sure helps. I feel very positive about 2012. Lot’s of great things coming down the pike.  Anyway, I guess that’s it for now. Have a great week and hey, if you got time, stop in and say hi! Lilith is waiting for you.

Rusty Chemise.