Ed Doyle and I are finally on the road. Between picking up the RV, getting the smoker, and loading up five hours dissapeared….

We’re on 90 heading to Nyac to pick up Ken Goodman and then a straign shot to Kansas City.

Here’s what this weekend will entail:
Friday night:
10 thousand person party
shrimp boil with the transformer team, start cooking meats for invitational BBQ comp-about 85 teams

Saturday
7:15 am, ugh, ‘kiss my grits’ competition
Noon BBQ turn ins start
Awards 5?
Start cooking meats for Sundays open BBQ comps, about 500 teams
Texas hold’em tournament
Red Stripe party at Gari’s from jamaica team site

Sunday
BBQ turn ins
Sides comps: veg, potato, beans, dessert
Awards

A very long fun weekend, with lots of poker, Harpoon Beer (we love our sponsor!), laughs, and hard core BBQ comps.

I’ll be blogging all weekend….stay tuned…

And Scene.

Yup, that’s it for me.  What a wild ride!

Here’s my recap and comments followed by your questions and my answers…

I had a horrible nights sleep, our dorms were unusually hot and I was not digging it.  I’m also at this point slowly loosing my mind; my concentration and focus is lacking and I am tired, left is right and right is wrong.  I just keep thinking that I can do this and give it my all (which is not much at this point)

We head down stairs and watch Chef demo the crepe, he made it look so easy and I am thinking, yeah I can do that. No sweat.  And of course, not so easy.

The first thing I did was look at the ingredients and decide what to use, ham (prosciutto) and cheese (St. Andre) seemed yummy and classic, the avocados were nice, shallots and basil would complete it, time to move on to the crepe ‘pan’. I had never used that style crepe maker and spent most of my time, as you saw, practicing, what I realized was it was on high, once I turned it down to medium, the batter spread evenly and thin, couple more practice runs and I was ready

Tennille’s crepe looked great and they did like it, when they were on her about the spice I felt I might have a chance.  My confidence is real low and I am hoping not to get beat on again, when they liked mine I was real happy, but still beat down.  I thought we should of won the challenge, and I thought Kevin’s crepe should won as well.  But we lost, and again what I think was irrelevant.

Punishment

Really not to bad, double prep is always daunting, but manageable.  I am a mess though, and doubting everything I’m doing.  It was really amazing to me how everyone else kept on keeping on…It was a mental thing at that point.

The lunch during punishment is always a laugh, the pureed meal from the taste test episode was purely gross, I was psyched for the head cheese and baguette, so good. The boiled tongue was flavorless and I wasn’t grooving on it.  15 minute break and back to the kitchen.  And boom, small head turn to respond to Dave and I cut my fingers on the mandolin.  I knew it was deep, I knew stitches were needed.

Quick trip to the hospital, 18 stitches, and some lydocane to numb my hand and back I go.  I knew service was going to be a shit show and of course what better station to put me on than one that has to use a ton of hand work.  I screw it all up, my team totally helps me out, I get thrown out.  I am tired, exhausted, and sick of my own excuses.

I knew I was going up on the chopping block, I had zero problem with it.  I didn’t have much fight left in me.  My stance: I did want to stay, I did want to win, but if I go home that’s cool too, I have a great life and missed everyone.

Out I go.

It was nice of Chef to say I had a big heart and was a good chef, as I walked out those doors, relaxation was finally coming and I was happy.

I am really glad I did it, what an experience.

Your questions

Is there anything you cooked on the show that you want to serve again?

I like the take on the take tuna nicoise salad, some of the desserts were fun too.

Overall, do you feel like appearing on the show was a positive experience?

Yeah, I loved it, the pain and all.  I think all experiences are positive, you get a chance to learn and grow.

I personally enjoyed watching you but wish you could have make it one more service to show off your innovative recipes. I’m really proud of you Andy. I’m dedicating my cooking class tonight to The Fearless Chef’s cuisine.

Thanks, I would of loved to have a chance to be creative….

What is a “Day in the Life of Hell’s Kitchen?”

Hell.  They are intense, you have no idea what is going to happen next.  Pretty much give up all control and jut go with the flow.

Is everything legit, or somewhat staged?

Not at all staged, what you see is what happens.

What was/is the best opportunity (in terms of furthering your career/getting props beyond Boston) to come out of this for you?

Not sure, and not really why I did it.  I did it because it sounded like a good adventure.  It was.

Do the customers pay for their meals?

Not sure, don’t think so.

How many stitches did you get?

18

What positives have come out of that experience?

New friends. Excellent adventure, who knows what’s to come…

are you going to Trademark Douche Nozzle??

I would love to, but I have to thank Sarah Silverman for that.

Thank you for the support and ready my blog.  Drop me a line when you want to come in for dinner.

TACO TUESDAYS are back…..

We have a Allandale Lamb and vegetable Dinner next Wednesday call for reservations 617.266.4600  39/per person

Allandale Local Farms

Lamb Tasting Menu

Hors d’oeuvres

Mini  BLTs

House made lamb “Bacon”

Butter head lettuce , heirloom tomatoes

Rosemary aioli

Coriander Scented lamb

Phyllo triangles

Caramelized onions, toasted pine nuts

fig chutney

Steamed Scallion Ginger “Momo’s”

Ground lamb- Spinach and Cilantro

Soy Sake and Sirracha sauce

Appetizer

Frisee and Arugala salad Duo

12 hour Confit belly  bacon lardon

And Pearl onions

Cask aged sherry vinegar

House made fennel crisp

Entrée

Trio of Lamb

Sausage Merguez- Roasted Red pepper

Moroccan Spice

Slow baked salt crusted leg of lamb

With orange peel, sweet basil, Summer Savory

“Shepherds Pie” honey glazed rainbow mixed

carrots, Sweet “Providence Corn”

Dessert

Cherve Cheesecake

Summer berry compote

Pistachio Praline

Of all the episodes so far, this is the one that drives me nuts.

At this point I have been there for a while and I am loosing my mind, I’m getting really paranoid, sleep deprived and haven’t had a anytime to [really] relax.  This is making me question everything I am doing; which is making me bonkers.  I am also running out of excuses in my mind and like you and everyone else on my team getting tired of hearing them, simply I am beat down and not sure what I am doing and why I was there.  But, the fight goes on….

The Challenge:

I was psyched for the taste test, what things taste like has always been something I am interested in and I felt really confident going into it.  By the time that it was my turn I knew I had to get 100% right AND Amanda had to miss a few.

I had seen this challenge on a previous HK series and thought, like you, ‘how can they miss that?!, ‘I would have gotten that, duh!’  but it seems a lot easier than it is.  Please try it yourself or come challenge me, anytime, it’s not that easy.

When I had the Lychee Nut put in my mouth I was psyched, it was so obvious too me and I am thinking ‘I can do this’.  Such a unique flavor.  But then with the avocado, I know boiled coconut, I knew it was rich and creamy and it reminded me of something I had in Thailand, of course I KNOW what an avocado taste like, but I guess the pressure got to me.  Grrr.  Then the tuna, by the time we got to it it was warm and oily and super fishy, I felt like it was salmon.  I have eaten so much raw tuna in my life and I was super bummed I didn’t get it.

All of this goes back to me doubting everything and it was really bumming me out, I wasn’t the only one who did bad so at least I didn’t feel like I had to take all of the blame. None the less, I knew my team was not psyched with me and this would be another reason for me to go home.  Honestly, I didn’t care, if I go home I have a wonderful life and that’d be just fine by me, but then again, I want to keep working to win this thing..

Service:

There isn’t too much to say here.  I was working garnish (sides) and my job is to heat them up and bring them to the pass with the entrees, I was also trying to watch the tickets for everyone else (apparently they felt I wasn’t do so well with this, but I never felt they were that grEat with it either).

Here’s the thing: I did not make the mash potatoes, I am only heating them up.  I told them we were running low and all of a sudden it’s my fault.  I also felt that, and I am not sure this was happening since I was uber paranoid and maybe this is just my imagination (but I don’t think so) that when I brought up my pans full of potatoes they would send them to the other side (where starters and meat was) and they would then go in the dirty pan pile, thus making me use more and more.

We are a team and it was cool of Dave to make more as any team member would do, they make him a hero for this, and that’s certainly one way to look at it, we all helped each other that’s how a kitchen works.

Luckily for me the women had a worst night and they send two to the chopping block.  Amanda is super cool, very funny, and a good cook, it was a bummer to see here go.  It was really apparent that they were all wanting Suzanne to go, but it was Amanda’s turn I guess..

In the previews of next week they show me cutting myself and say “one chef may never cook again”, I hope that’s not me 

Your questions

How did you not know what an avocado tastes like?!

GRRR

How are the duties assigned each week

Chef assigns them before service.

Does everyone on that show smoke?

Not everyone, but a lot do.

Does it bother you that the show paints you in a poor light?

Sometimes, but this only proves that I can’t cook in Hell’s Kitchen, I don’t feel it reflects on how I cook anywhere else.

every time I have prepped with you – you’ve made double what you need – were they f…ing with your mashed potatoes?

Ahhhh, but I didn’t prep them

One of your female opponents called you the most “Curious MamaJama” she’s ever met – haha!!

I think it was ‘Epicurious’, yeah they called me Alton or Dr. Science, I read a lot about food

How do you do it? I would loose it

It was bizaar to me, I am not sure how I did.

I assume you know how many covers each service, or is that another part of the insane weirdness?

We never know how many covers we will do.

I would imagine standard operating procedure calls for prepping x number of portions of potatoes for mashed. Did you serve more than the x number?

Firstly x=who the f knows

Secondly, yes that is how restaurants do do it

Are you surprised by the “confessional” statements made by other contestants about you?

Nah, I knew I was doing a poor job

What is your favorite type of tomato?

Green zebra

Ramsey REALLY that talented that all can forgive his abusive ways? OR is it his rabble rousing persona that keeps the public enthralled? OR IS it the prize at the end that is so appealing it allows you all to do your best to bite your tongues, kiss his arse and hang in to the end? Just curious… seems a lot of us are only watching this episode because we are your fans! (-;

He is a great chef, and it is Good TV, if you like this type of show.

I was trained to always say ‘yes or no chef’ that is why I ‘bite my tongue’

Isn’t the correct response in the kitchen ‘yes chef’ no matter what your feelings are?

Always, though sometimes NO Chef is ok.  But when a Chef says you are crap you say “Yes Chef”

What’s the deal with the woman’s team and Suzanne?

She was pushing their buttons

- Did the atmosphere with the guys change THAT mush after Robert got axed? (seems you guys are working together better)

yes, at least for me.

- Dave (the one with the broken arm) comes off being rather dense. Is it just his slow speaking accent or is he daft?

Nope, he’s a real smart guy.

why the hell does Ramsay scream the orders and speak so fast? Clearly he does it to confuse y’all. Did you and the other guys feel he speaks too fast with the orders?…

yes it was tough for everyone.

Thanks for reading and the questions.

We are filling up for next weeks show, reservations at 6/6:30, I hope you can come 617.266.4600.