Chef, Caterer, & Cooking Lessons

Q. Describe the most common types of jobs you do for your clients.

A. The most common type of job I do is small events. Usually between 20 and 60. I have done a few larger, up to 200, as well as smaller, 2-6, but my typical range is 20 to 60 people. Of course the smaller events usually lend to a higher budget per plate, which equates to better quality food.

Q. What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

A. My best advice is to meet them, and have them cook for you. If they can't cook for two people, then they can't teach or cook for any more than that. Go with your gut. Choose someone who loves what they do and aren't in it to get rich. Of course being successful is good, being greedy is really bad for clients.

Q. If you were a customer, what do you wish you knew about your trade? Any inside secrets to share?

A. Beware of burnouts. Chefs who don't enjoy what they are doing anymore. They keep on because it's what they know, what they are comfortable with, but they don't really care about their food anymore. Or you for that matter. Find someone who loves what they do. And love their food. Don't hire someone who is arrogant, but confidence is essential to good food and a calm event.

Q. What important information should buyers have thought through before seeking you out?

A. I will need to know how may people, what format, for example, a wedding, private meal, cooking lesson, where you are located, dietary restriction or things you don't like to eat, and your budget. I can weed out 90% of menu options just by having you answer those questions.

Q. Why does your work stand out from others who do what you do?

A. My work stands alone in the way I do business. Every event is custom tailored in every way. I base my menu on the budget I am given, rather than a per plate method of charging. I make sure everything is included in my service from rentals, to purchasing, to the menu writing itself. My clients never spent a penny more than agreed upon. My service is also unique in the quality of food I offer at the price I can offer it. I do this myself, so I can keep the costs down, sometimes by paying myself less. My reputation is far more important to me than making money. I make you feel comfortable, and ensure you do not have to worry about anything you place in my hands.

Q. What do you like most about your job?

A. I enjoy that I get to create. These are my menus and recipes, and everything stands on my shoulders. I can't blame anyone else for anything going wrong. It is my responsibility, and I love it that way. Things get done because I personally make sure they do. I love that kind of situation, being able to give that much personal attention. I couldn't do that if I worked for someone else.

Q. What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?

A. What my background is, and how I learned to cook. Well here is the short version,
I trained at Texas Culinary Academy. I was not able to complete the course of study there due to financial issues, not to mention my Father had become disabled and I had to move back home and take care of him. TCA is expensive. Like $50,000 for an associates degree. So, I got a job when I got back with a restaurant called the Lighthouse on Lake Whitney, near where my Father lived, and cooked on a line for a while, eventually my Father recommended that I try my hand at catering, and I started doing events in Dallas and the area surrounding Lake Whitney. After a few years in that area, I decided to move back to Austin and got a job working for El Arroyo's catering company, Cozumel Catering. I started out as a Catering Associate, and it was not until the Catering director happened to eat some of my food, and the next thing I know, I was writing menus again, portioning events, logistics... Then my Father got worse and I move back January of this year. He had corrective surgery in March. My June, he was walking again, and Bell Helicopters hired him to work for them, giving me the opportunity to get back to work, and for the first time ever, not have to worry about him. The reason I can write menus like that, is that I become obsessed with a particular cuisine or technique, and buy books on it, find out who is the best, and replicate it until I can do it with my eyes closed. Right now I just left Japanese cuisine, and now thanks to my clients, it is Italian food. I have studied it in the past, although I have never been to Italy. Itailian food has always been a love for me. Food really is about the ingredients, and Italians are known for there mottos related to that ideal. I take the time to find local, seasonal, organic product. For meat items, I find the animal free range, no antibiotics, no hormones, and I dispatch and butcher them myself in as close to Kosher format as I can. This gives a freshness and flavor that cannot be bought in a store, ever. It can't be Kosher because I am not Jewish, nor will there be an overseeing Rabbi. Otherwise, it is very similar. I can pretty much do as many people as you have a budget for. I have worked for companies who have catered the UT Club, Pressbox, and many of the organizations around Campus, as you know the UT Club runs in excess of 700 people, several hundred more at the pressbox and supporting staff, and with at times four or five more events on the same day at the same time. My job was to assist the Catering Director in every aspect of planning, setup/breakdown, logistics, et cetera.

Q. Do you have a favorite story from your work?

A. The best story I have would be, a few month ago, someone called wanting an event. After about an hour on the phone I finally asked when the event would be. He said in three days and could I do it. Well, after being up for nearly fifty hours, I got everything done. Than was the hardest event I have ever done. 70 people, three days notice. Perfect event. Although I sure was tired....

Q. What do you wish customers knew about you or your profession?

A. How much I love what I do, and how hard it can be. It is nice when people appreciate your work and what you do. No matter how many events I do, I still always love hearing appreciation of my work. It just makes my day.

Q. How did you decide to get in your line of work?

A. When I got out of the Navy, I had no idea what I wanted to do. It was actually my parents who suggested going to culinary school. I loved cooking, and I cooked any chance I got. After I went to TCA, I couldn't go back to doing anything else. Ever since then, I have been cooking every day of my life. Writing menus, and experimenting with new cuisines.

Q. Tell us about a recent job you did that you are particularly proud of.

A. Actually my Birthday was really great. I catered for 12 people not including myself. I never eat after an event, I just can't get hungry. I love cooking so much that I would rather hold an event for others, than to go out or throw myself a party. It allows me to experiment without risking my reputation. I did everything from source and butcher the animals, to locally sourcing the produce. I have even been playing with Molecular Gastronomy. Here is the menu

Salmon Carpaccio
with capers, fennel pollen, and basil aromatization

Stuffed mushrooms
with crab, escargot, procuitto, and goat cheese

Sashimi platter
with 4 herb aromatization

Ahi Tuna Tartare
with quail egg, caviar and truffled wasabi creme fraiche foam, served on sesame wontan crisp

Duck Confit
with saffron honey glaze, pomegranate-yuzu reduction

Tea Smoked, Soup Steamed Duck Supreme
Duck demi, matcha green tea reduction

Wild mushroom and Pumpkin Risotto

Ginger-Miso Glazed Asparagus

Melon Sorbet
Mint foam, procuitto crisp

Q. Do you do any sort of continuing education to stay up on the latest developments in your field?

A. I go through cycles of cuisine. Every few months, I choose a cuisine or technique, and do it till my eyes bleed. Repetition is the only way to get a handle on culinary knowledge. You can't just read it from a book or take a class on it. It comes from doing, doing, doing. Lately I have been tackling Italian food and playing with Molecular Gastronomy.

Q. What are the latest developments in your field? Are there any exciting things coming in the next few years or decade that will change your line of business?

A. Well it kinda already happened, but it's not very popular. Molecular Gastronomy. It allows for a whole mess of techniques that isolate pure flavors and created new textures and ways to eat food. I think the problem in the past has been Chef's not integrating it properly into their current repitiore. They try too hard and the food costs get too high, and people are turned of by some of the techniques. I hope to rectify this in the future with my cuisine.

Q. Describe your most recent project, what it involved, how much it cost, and how long it took.

A. The last project I did was an event for 30 people. The menu was as follows. I charged $600 for it and it took me about 25 hours to complete from start to finish. It included purchasing, menu writing, rentals, setup and breakdown as well as cleanup, the food product, and wine pairing fee. I also hired a server for two hours and I myself cooked, presented and served the food. Here is the menu

Spice rubbed Beef with coffee and chocolate
served with Rosemary Mollases Aus Jus

Anna Potatoes

Carrots Vichey

Sauted Spinach with Pine Nuts and Fresh Garlic

Q. If you have a complicated pricing system for your service, please give all the details here.

A. The way I charge for service is a little different from the traditional caterer. I work within a budget rather than a per plate fee. The only thing not included in the final budget, is the menu planning. I charge a nominal fee at the time you decide to hire me, so as to prevent cancellation of the event, which would leave me out the hours I had worked. It is to protect myself from pseudo-clients. In order to keep my costs down, I have had to minimize work done on events that never happen. This is to ensure I can keep working the way I do. As for cooking lessons, I charge between $25-$40 an hour. Two hours is the minimum, and I charge a flat rate for travel if it is greater than 10 miles. You will recieve a shopping list of ingredients to purchase before I arrive. I will bring the more obscure items, so we will be in effect spitting food costs.

Q. If you were advising someone who wanted to get into your profession, what would you suggest?

A. Cook every single day. Buy a cookbook and replicate as many items as you can, then buy another and do it again. Find a job as a line cook, take lessons from someone like me. I offer discounts to people who want to become Chefs for cooking lessons. I would even consider allowing someone to sit in on an event in exchange for a helping hand. But either way, cook. That is the only way to get better.