Italian themed menu for the annual boys' get together at the cottage.

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FrankZ said:
I've done restaurant work, not as an owner, and it is tough, physical work.
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I can believe it.
There are a lot of things folks don't realize what goes into it.
A restaurant worker/owner doesn't have the option of ordering out if the mood doesn't suit them. Something normally enjoyable can easily become work.
 
pacanis said:
I can believe it.
There are a lot of things folks don't realize what goes into it.
A restaurant worker/owner doesn't have the option of ordering out if the mood doesn't suit them. Something normally enjoyable can easily become work.
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Yeah, it is hard work for sure. For example we have 6 people in the kitchen who start around 1:00-2:00 pm and we prep until 4:30 with the doors open @5 to serve 40-70 covers a night. We cook a staff meal for 4:30 as well.
 
I used to have a party every summer called "Meatfest." Just friends and neighbors... about 20 people. I fired up all of my grills and smokers (about seven at the time), and grilled and smoked beef, pork and chicken. Everyone else brought sides and desserts.

One year I also did a crawfish boil, but not enough people wanted to eat crawfish, so I didn't do it again.

Then people started moving away, and the new neighbors weren't as social, so I stopped.

CD
 
pictonguy said:
Yeah, it is hard work for sure. For example we have 6 people in the kitchen who start around 1:00-2:00 pm and we prep until 4:30 with the doors open @5 to serve 40-70 covers a night. We cook a staff meal for 4:30 as well.
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you don't serve lunch? what styles of food do you do, what's on the curent menu, how often and how much of the menu do you change?
 
onedaychef said:
you don't serve lunch? what styles of food do you do, what's on the curent menu, how often and how much of the menu do you change?
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No we aren't open for lunch, mostly a cost benefit analysis and a trial run a few years ago said, "Yeah that's not a good idea"

Style, not sure, it offers a wide variety from different cultures and countries and most everything is made in house from scratch and the food is sourced locally as much as possible, which is well into the 80% area.

For example we have a "Florentine steak", rabbit ravioli, beef tartare with guanciale and pecorino, lions main mushrooms in a bulgogi sauce, a veg dish, ahi tuna, sear foie gras with house made crumpets, chorizo pate and plum puree, oysters, always a pasta dish, venison striploin, duck breast. We have small plate offerings for late night and bar crowd like a royal with cheese slider, lobster roll, hand cut fries, soups like bisque and clam chowder, oysters.

Menu changes happen everyday with specials and replacement of aspects of a particular plate with new menu's. Major changes, like a completely different menu 4 to 6 times a year with 2 periods, spring and fall where a dedicated menu to promote the region is also put together. smaller changes happen weekly a lot where we'll change the protein or a sauce, veg of a particular dish.

Basically tweaking and changing menu ideas is an ongoing daily endeavor.
 
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Thanks, that's OK just wondered the variety of themes, LOL.
My gal pals and I started to do theme menu's - we only got thru 2 when it sort of fell apart. Guess we were trying for too often.
But we certainly weren't 'authentic' nor 'specialty' but rather common in the actual recipes and strived for something that we might not make often. If it was a more exotic and authentic - a bonus.
That's what we were intentionally striving for, but life gets in the way,eh?
 
dragnlaw said:
Thanks, that's OK just wondered the variety of themes, LOL.
My gal pals and I started to do theme menu's - we only got thru 2 when it sort of fell apart. Guess we were trying for too often.
But we certainly weren't 'authentic' nor 'specialty' but rather common in the actual recipes and strived for something that we might not make often. If it was a more exotic and authentic - a bonus.
That's what we were intentionally striving for, but life gets in the way,eh?
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It's all good, the point is to get together with friends and family, sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't, no worries really.
 
Many years ago, there was a group that would have "...and cheesecake" parties. Chicken wings and cheesecake, Chinese food and cheesecake, Polish food and cheesecake, etc. They were a lot of fun. We had four bakers who made amazing cheesecakes. Everyone else contributed to the first part of the theme. Most times, we made it but sometimes, we would buy it. Like the Chinese food and cheesecake night, we all bought the Chinese food and brought rice or noodles. Good memories.
 
My friends and I had liquor tasting “fests” like bourbon, gin, tequila, vodka, etc. just blind tastes of a bunch of different ones. Bulleit won the bourbon contest and Belvedere won the vodka but I don’t remember.r the others.

And, since I’m the good cook, I designed a menu for us to eat before. For bourbon it was southern, for vodka it was Eastern European, for tequila it was Mexican, for gin I gave up and made French food (well received)

I wish we had cheesecake!!
 
pictonguy said:
For example we have a "Florentine steak", rabbit ravioli, beef tartare with guanciale and pecorino, lions main mushrooms in a bulgogi sauce, a veg dish, ahi tuna, sear foie gras with house made crumpets, chorizo pate and plum puree, oysters, always a pasta dish, venison striploin, duck breast. We have small plate offerings for late night and bar crowd like a royal with cheese slider, lobster roll, hand cut fries, soups like bisque and clam chowder, oysters.

Menu changes happen everyday with specials and replacement of aspects of a particular plate with new menu's. Major changes, like a completely different menu 4 to 6 times a year with 2 periods, spring and fall where a dedicated menu to promote the region is also put together. smaller changes happen weekly a lot where we'll change the protein or a sauce, veg of a particular…
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Sounds similar to what we were doing, or at least aiming for, in the restaurant. Because I was working in a five star international, the general consensus at the time was that hotel restaurants were generally good, the menu was very safe and you would go out and explore the town if you’re looking for something special.
Well, my executive chef was determined to change that mindset. We were encouraged to be experimental and be better than some of the chintzy fine diners.

So, looking at your rundown of your menu, a few thoughts.
I would imagine that the rabbit ravioli would be a bit of a challenge for some guests. Rabbit has a reputation as both a peasant ingredient and a difficult meat to make delicious. I love it.
The tartare has an Italian slant with the cheese and guanciale?
I would imagine that the foie gras is an appetiser? Same as the pate and oysters. I could see those moving across into your late night snack menu too. Gotta be efficient!
We also used to have a rotating pasta dish that would change at the whim of the chef. I spent a LOT of time on the pasta station. One of those things where I was good at it and no one else could be bothered 🤣
For our main courses, we would do venison and duck too, but that was normally dependant on the quality of our supplies.
Every season, we would have an event night for it. So, in winter, for example, we would have a “rustic roast” night with an elevated roast dinner and so on. Summertime we might have a beach party theme.
I love the sound of your menu @pictonguy ! It’s very accessible while still leaning towards a fine dining experience 🫠
 
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