Pounding the Pavement...Always Learning!

I think I'm finally getting back into the swing of things since I got back from Denver. I was actually pretty frustrated with work because it seemed like I was putting out fires a lot upon my return. But for some reason this week, I decided I wasn't going to stress out too much about that stuff and hopefully those people in New York will give me the support I need to get the job done.

So what did I do this week? I actually made about 20 cold calls to places that I don't have as an account! I know, crazy, huh? I spent one afternoon just walking into as many places as I could...introducing myself, talking about my company, giving some information, getting their contact info, and of course...inviting them to my big party on May 12th! Some people responded well and others not so much. But I had a great time going into these places and meeting all these new chefs. You know how I love to meet new people!

One of the best parts of the day was when I went into this kitchen that I've been trying to get to. Well, the executive chef was finally there along with his pastry chef. For some reason they just laughed at me because I walked around the back and into the kitchen door. They were kind of shocked to see me bust through...maybe because I'm a girl??? But they asked how I thought to go in the back door and my simple reply of "The front door was locked." Seemed to get me in for at least a quick conversation. That is until the big pot on the stove started to boil over. I told the chef and he went over and brought the heat down a bit. I asked what it was because it looked like a huge pot of whipped cream boiling with some herbs in it. He told me he was "rafting." Basically he was making a consomme (which is a very clear, aromatic broth) but to get all the particles out you need to do what's called rafting. So you put your consomme into the pot and then you cover it with whipped egg whites mixed with herbs. See, I was close!!! And while that boils, the proteins in the egg whites pull all the small particles out of the broth so you can end up with the really clear consomme. Cool, huh? :-)

So I went to the next restaurant where I'm actually good friends with the chefs...there was a pot boiling and I asked if they were rafting......no rafting, they just raughed really hard at me! ;-)

The next night I went to Share Our Strength's Taste of the Nation. At the Hynes Convention Center there were over 80 Boston restaurants serving little versions of their dishes...and of course some wineries serving samples of their wines. It was nice to see a bunch of chefs I know all together in one spot...and I got to meet even more chefs that I hadn't met yet. I saw the "rafting" chef there so I went up and said hello and told him how I asked other chefs if they were rafting. He laughed and then introduced me to some of his chef friends!

So this week I've met a ton of new chefs who are really cool and I even learned some new tricks. I am not expecting to try rafting any time soon, but I am excited about all my new chef friends!

I'll leave you with a couple pics from Thursday night...oh wait! How could I forget??? There was also a silent auction at this event because it was all for charity. I just happened to win another Rachael Ray autographed cookbook! Yay!

Ok, so this chef is Jason. His restaurant is in Sommerville and he was serving us frozen Sangria with a warm coconut sauce on top. This is him mixing in the liquid nitrogen.....




Have a great weekend, Chow!

KK