Welcome to Cooking issues. This is Dave Arnold, your host of cooking your shoes coming to you live from the heart of Manhattan Rockefeller Center in New Stan studios. Joined with kind of a whole new crew to a whole new show today. I got Nastasia the hammer Lopez is MIA where she is a nobody knows somewhere an undisclosed location and state of Connecticut. Somewhere near the coast. Maybe she's wrestling with a great white shark. I don't know. But even though he no longer officially works with Booker and DAX we have in the studio now going to be ongoing. We hope recurring just studio made colleague. Yeah, cool. How you doing? No longer customer service? extraordinaire? I'm sure you're here. I'm sure you're super sad to not

tragic. Yeah. Every day.

Yeah. So even though like you know, John's going to be coming back on the show. Don't send him your questions text me anymore. Also. Yeah. And don't don't he's got a real job. Why don't you want to follow but we'll do it. We'll go through rockin our panels here in New York. Always, as always, Joe Hasan, how you doing? I'm doing great, man. Happy Friday. Yeah, yeah, special time. So unfortunately, we couldn't record on our normal time this week. And the trailing the trailing will be cushion or whatever. Oh, no. That's a trailing party whistle. Friday. Have you ever put Have you ever put it's horrifying? Like a next New Year's Eve? If someone gets those terrible silvered cardboard horns with the little plastic whistles on the annual talking about the party things? Horrible. Yeah. Horrible. But what you need to do is five, minimum five, right? If you if you haven't, if your lungs are still young and big, maybe you could go six, you wrap them all up. And you shove them all in your mouth. Like if it when I was a kid, the Guinness Book of World Record, one of the things they used to have a world record for was simultaneous smoking of cigarettes. They stopped doing that, because it's not cool. But if you were like a kid in the 70s, and you bought the Guinness Book of World Records, one of the pictures in it. You know, it was a guy whose face was wrapped around what looked like a log, but it was just a whole crap ton of simultaneously lit cigarettes. So this is the vibe you're looking for with the party horns. And then what you do is you just breathe as deep as you can. And then you poo and you pull out as hard as you can. And it sounds like a dying war goose. It's like the loudest most like everyone in the room will will plots. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Is it like a vuvuzela? Oh, what was that? The vuvuzela the South African horns? Oh, no, I don't know that. Probably. If it's horrifying, then. Yeah, they were like banned during the World Cup in the 90s Oh my god. Yeah. Yeah, well, hold it my God. Okay, I don't watch sports. Okay, yep. stipulated I don't watch sports. But in the remember when the Mets beat the Sox in 86

was important Yep. For now. No,

I didn't I remember you've heard of it. Yes. Yeah. So there's this is there's this irritating lady who would stand behind the the mount she has she got the seats. Right? Right in the pictures line of sight and she was sit there twirling some crap to try to distract me. I'm like, why that was Darryl Strawberry and why couldn't they were two stars. Yeah, yeah, outfield and pitcher. Yeah, it's like I don't remember is to have those meetings on the mound from the outfield is weird. Yeah, all I know is this lady twirling her crap. I was like, What the hell man like that's your whole thing. That's your whole life. That's what you do. Yeah, that's that's that's the honorable thing for you to do. Sit there and twirl crap. Be a human Yeah. Rocking the panels in California. We got Jackie molecules. How you doing? I'm good. I'm good. You're not? You're on a Friday night in Mexico. You're in LA

I'm in LA. Yes. Although not next week the week after I'll be in Alaska. So if anybody has any recommendations for me their food wise?

Okay, I'll bite them why?

Just trip my friends. Like my high school buddies. We do a trip every year. And one of my friends has a little brother lives out there. So

yeah, figured we're in Alaska.

Anchorage and then around Denali. Oh, no, we're nature stuff.

Yeah. Yeah. Well, I hope you get up in the mountains because down in the lowlands, I'm told that there are no there is on earth. No better place to get stung by mosquitoes than Alaska in the summertime. That like you know That long like, they just grow up to be like the size of small birds and they'll just come and they'll suck you dry. That's what I hear I hear like an Alaska mosquito in the summertime is like a site that you have not yet beheld. So like, you know, that's good. Like got a lot of like standing water on the ground and those little pools and stuff, you know, standing water, like long periods of daylight, you know, long dusk so they can hang around, you know how like, they like to come out at the beginning and the end right of the day. What is the beginning and the end of the day are each like six hours long? You don't know saying so. It's like, it's like most of the time if he didn't have those super long kind of Twilight he craps. Like, as mosquito heaven right there, man.

I'm jealous. Jack. I've always wanted to go to Alaska. poop on Dave. poop on

me in general. By me, I listen. Listen, I always also want to go to Alaska. However, I have a bad taste in my mouth, because I can't remember the guys name. But he's a dentist in Alaska. And he's, I can't remember the name of the valley. But there's a famous Valley in Alaska where they grow the world's largest cabbage. Right? So the British people think that they have the lock on because the British people kind of started this giant vegetable thing. Like if you if you go to Britain, like they're the people that figured out that yeah, they're the people that will lay like you know, 20 feet of PVC pipe so they can grow a 20 foot carrot, you know what I'm saying? Like, and they'll have the the of the pipe running up the side of their house, so that at the end, they can unlock the pipe and get this 20 foot carrot out. I'm not saying maybe 20 feet. I don't know how long it is. But like they're like, here's an ugly giant radish. You want I mean, I'm British, you know what I'm saying? Like, so that's kind of what they do. But in Alaska, legitimately, they can grow like 100 pound cabbages and bet like legitimately, they can just grow that crap. And I've been fascinated with it ever since. I got a copy of the Pacific Northwest 1970s Time Life food books. And there's a picture of a small girl and a giant cabbage. And so I'm like, what could be better? Small girl giant cabbage. Great picture. And I want to do whirls, I want to do chainsaw coleslaw. And so Steve Huber check is the guy's name. I'm pretty sure his name is Steve Kubitschek. He's a dentist. And he grows the world's largest cabbage. So we call them I've said this on the show many times but at the old network, so you know whenever I can say it again. So we call up Steve Kubitschek Anastasia and I from the French Culinary Institute. And he's like, yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, like, I keep like, I don't remember what it sounds like. But he's like, yeah, yeah, you know, there's two or three, they're gonna be the ones that are like the champions and then the other ones that are like, they're only like, 10 or 15 pounds less. He's like, they're not so important. So yeah, I can ship you one of those. If you pay for the shipping. I'm like, Yes. And then I think he thinks that we want to steal his seedstock it's all of a sudden he just ghosted us so I don't know whether he thinks we're trying to steal his his what's a call but like, I still have this dream that I can get a Steve Kubitschek Steve Kubitschek cabbage, like you know, just like a like, oh, like an industrial Manet's bucket. And because the new electric chainsaws, okay, if the chainsaw has never been used before, you can fill temporarily you don't want to fill your so for those who have never used a chainsaw before. It's not just the electricity, it's the fact that you have to put bar oil in to lubricate the bar. And they do make like non petroleum based like basically, like stabilized food oil bar oil for your chainsaws, in case you don't want to be throwing petroleum products into the forest, right and I buy that, you know, while back when I chainsaw it, I would buy the biodegradable like you know, but you know, on a temporary basis, you could buy a brand new chainsaw like electric one and just fill that sucker with salad oil. And so the you're not worried about when you're setting up your chainsaw. You want to run it and you want to throw it up and you want to see a little bit of oil spraying off the bottom of the bar on to like whatever you're testing otherwise you're to dry right? It's not like it's gonna be that much oil but you want it to be foodgrade Are you guys with me? Yeah, I speak it speaking of with me. So since you're no longer going to be customer service, extraordinaire, right John? And since you are also not going to be running the discord panel or the questions for the radio show. I am pleased to announce that the person who is taking over your position is also is also with us today on the air coming to us live from Vancouver Island and friend of the show and you guys probably all know him already from his ice cream and gelato book. Quinn for Chile right how you doing Quinn?

Good thank you so much.

And for those of you that don't know what's what's your it's cute dragon What 13 What what is it? What is it? What is the number afterwards?

Yeah, on Instagram and stuff. It's cute. Redragon 1337 Again, I, I made that username when I was, you know, 12. So bear that in mind. All right, and now I'm just, you know, I'm too committed,

like commitment. So for my handle on eBay was my original is a spork EULA? Okay sporky Love. Yeah. And that was from in college. I was obsessed with sporks even though let's all be honest with each other sporks suck. No one likes eating out of a spork. I like Popeyes. I don't know, unlike that's where you used to get the plastic spork. But like, does anyone like a spork? Does it feel good in your mouth? It's a bad spoon, because it can no longer hold as much because it's got the little indents. And it's a bad fork because the times aren't long enough. It's the worst of everything. Right? Yeah. It's the worst of everything. Yeah. So listen, I encourage all of you to go out there, follow Quain if you haven't, follow them already in front of the show. And then start directing your customer service, and Patreon and show related stuff to Quinn, however, give the guy a couple of minutes like today right now is literally his first day. So you know. Well, you know Quinn is an A champion at running people through things, troubleshooting over telephones and whatnot. Right? You know, just giving you be a little bit gentle to start. Am I wrong? Quinn?

Yeah, no, that's correct. Um, I'm sure. I'm sure I get the hang of it. In due time, yeah. But yeah. Yeah.

All right. And so like, and of course, the reason that John left, he actually started his new job. He is now the chef at temperance, even though as we've said before, I mean, it's not a temperance joint. It's a wine bar. So why is it called?

You know, I haven't had the time to ask that question yet. Okay, yeah, no, that's a good question. I should ask the owner. I interact with him every day, but ya know, been been a little bit busy.

Why? Why? Why? Why temperance? Yeah, exactly. All right. Yeah. And if any of you here this seems more housekeeping stuff. If any of you guys hear this, and are going to be in New Orleans on Monday, Pernod Ricard is having I forget the name of the party, but the gist of it is bars that have closed over the pandemic. They're doing, you know, a bring the bring the band back kind of party where a bunch of us who don't have bars anymore, or going to go do a an event on Monday. So existing conditions will be there. Temporarily existing conditions it Yeah, so we temporarily existing conditions. Exactly. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. All right. So can you cook anything interesting this week?

Oh, not this week. Last week, I busted open a homemade ruin trolley and made some Metro shiana And we finally got our hands on some of that newfangled caskets now we passed pasta. No, yeah, we're cooking that.

So Oh, so you haven't cooked it yet? So I'm curious to hear what your review of that shape is. I like it. Actually. It's fine. I think it's fine shape. What do you think, John? Yeah, I had it once. It's bouncy. It's got some bounce. I like a shape with bounce them. What are your thoughts on other what are your Okay, okay. Okay, guys. So first of all guanciale, for those of you that don't know cure gel, now, I got a couple of questions for you when rolled or flat. And then which which did you go roller? Did you go flat?

Ah, flipped this time. A little while ago. Like a few years ago. I used to do kind of a hybrid blend, Charlie and concerto where it was the entire pig face. Moral than announced pretty good to

rolled face. That's my next who's I'm joking with is going to open a restaurant called Face meat. Was that on the show? Or is that? Is that last week? Yeah, no. That was Nick. Nick Wong. Yeah. Face meat. Well, you have to make some of your your face meat Guanches off. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. So now if you're gonna go flat here's the other question. skin on skin off

reserve do skin.

Skin off? Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I can't just like just not picture Leatherface in my sauce. mean like the murmur Texas train. So yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, these is Peep. These are pigs, not people though. Not that much different. Yeah, yeah. Leatherface All right. See? So what you're saying is you want like a guanciale chili called? Like, yeah, Leatherman chili. Letter face chili letter man's different. That's the Connecticut guy. Yeah, I gotta keep gotta keep our references straight on the show. All right, okay. I've said this a million times before and I've never done it, but I've I bought all this stuff to start making my own. You have to So Quinn's dad is actually Italian. And so that's why he goes by the actual Italian pronunciation of his name, which I won't read butcher again, as opposed to how we would pronounce it over here like the seal or whatever, right? But would you say your dad got called once at a restaurant for the pronunciation of the last name?

I'm not sure I can say

yes, well, it's no it's not an actual curse. That's a thing just sounds like a curse. So it's kosher.

Yeah, you got a cool circle. Yeah,

that's not right. People are Canadian. We do.

No harm.

Yeah, no, people are people that are people are dumb people are real dumb. So I've always wanted to make my own. I'm going to pronounce it like, like, like, my family pronounces it super sad, right? So like, so precise. You know what I mean? But like I grew up eating it my whole life. I've had other people's homemade I've never made it. I bought this stuff. And I have everything to make it but I've yet I've never made it why it's because I'm stupid or lazy or because I live in an apartment. And I think I would get a lot of sci fi or a combination of I'm supposed to be writing a book instead for years until it will make an unholy mess in my apartment and I will get side i So there's all those things have conspired to have me not make it but I've always wanted to make it. And the homemade ones that I like, I don't like them hyper pressed. I like them lightly pressed. And I've always wanted to do the, the let it cure and toss it in oil. I've never I've never even eaten one of the like, you know, two year old tossed in oil where you keep it around forever. And it just keeps going in oil, but it doesn't dry out anymore. You guys know about that? No. So you take the super sod, too. And you know, I know this is a thing that like, we Oh DeGroff Leo and Dale DeGroff. You know, the cocktail people they do in Rhode Island where they call them Sufis. Right. And so they aged them until they liked the hardness of it. Right. So that's a dehydration and then to stop any further dehydration, they just pitch them into into oil in containers, and then they just let them ride however long they want. It's kind of cool, right? Yeah. And I've never he keeps on saying Leo keeps on saying he's gonna give me one. So I can taste it. But now I'm just curious about this, like as a as a way like length lengthy aging in the same way that you know, oh, I have to say, when I've had hyper aged tunas, they're interesting. I wouldn't necessarily say they're bad or other island. A lot of people who would disagree with me. Do you like a hyperedge? too? And have you ever tried those? No, like, like a two and three and four and a 10 year old tuna?

No, I don't think so. Yeah, okay. Yeah.

Okay. You don't I mean, but I'll be interested because I think there's a lot more going on enzymatically in a Supersite than there is in in a can of tuna. Although I'm happy to be wrong about that. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. All right. So what are you working on your menu, John?

Lots of things, trying to figure out what needs to be kept and how they can be improved upon. I know, there was a lot a lot of sandbagging going on,

showed up in a bad way, like to the detriment of quality.

I think so. Just like lazy things over making way too much. Like, yeah, I don't want to get into like specifics on air. But you know, it's just like things that were just like, wow, I can't believe this is how things were done, you know, before showing up here and you know, just Yeah, stretching ingredients for longer than they should be and things like that. So yes, a lot. A lot to change.

So you're redesigning stuff to sit not require the immense sandbagging. Yeah, we're gonna prep this dish once a month. Yeah. I mean, look, there's it's, it's a fine line, right? You don't want to do like, unless you're going to charge an infinity of money, right? That's another thing, hey, we're gonna charge an infinity of money. And we'll prep everything fresh every day. That's why like Andre Soldner from the test, right, if there wasn't an infinity money, but for New York restaurants in the 60s 70s 80s and early 90s, it was, you know, a big check, but they just did all their stuff like fresh every day. So I was like, hey, you know, Chef, did you ever have a vacuum machine and this is one of those like, trigger, like a trigger, but like, you know, flip switching in my head of understanding that difference between the way Old Guard thinks and new guard thinks he's like, No, I never needed a vacuum machine because I bought all of my stuff fresh every day. And I was like, oh, yeah, you don't see it as a tool to help you achieve things. It's merely a way to make your it's merely a way to sandbag, like, keep stuff for longer. And so he really, it was just a very, like, bright being Oh, yeah, I get I get this divide between his generation, and you know, you know, and the newer generation, and, you know, on to them two or three generations, you know, whatever, have Chef of food person, you know, behind him, but yeah, it was interesting. Yeah. So, but it's always this thing, right? Where, you know, we, especially if you're trying to do a lot of, you know, interesting stuff, and you don't want to charge an infinity of money you have, you have to consolidate some of the prep and not do it every day.

Yeah, and it's really hard to figure that out, too, because it's a wine bar that hasn't been known for its food. So it's, you know, like, some nights, you're really, really slow, you know, and you only have like, five tickets on the board, you know, for like, an hour or something like that. It's doing a lot of prep during service. But you know, last night got slanted to make things on the fly.

Yeah. Right. Because you can go and like, you know, I mean, speaking from our, what's, what's it called our experience, that existing conditions if you try to have like, a larger food program at a place, and, you know, if you're not pulling, if a certain, if you're not pulling a certain minimum on your food, percentage wise as percentage of orders, then you'll lose a lot. And your food and your labor costs are just through the freaking roof. So it's a nightmare. So you know, you can go even like with a with a menu that would be decently planned, where you're running, like, you know, 20, you know, 25 on food, right? 25% on food. For those of you that aren't in the business, that means like, you know, what, you're charging a quarter of that charges the food, and you generally you want to stay under 25, right, you know, for this kind of thing, or even less if you can, right, exactly right. But, you know, if you don't have people ordering enough of it, and you're prepping it out, all of a sudden your food costs creep into the 30s. You know what I mean? Like that, and then you can't sustain that. And then of course, you have to have the labor to be able to make this stuff. So then your labor costs are spiraling out, it's very hard to manage. So unless you can get your unless you can get above like, 25 30% of the check, to be food, it's very hard to make a very immediate can be done. But it's very hard, I think, to design a program that satisfies your desire to be good. And yet also keeps costs in line. Right.

Yeah, that's a very good point. Yeah. Yeah, the cost thing is a very new thing for me, I haven't had to deal with yet. So you know, learning and it's a lot to think on too. But

I mean, and that's why I think like, a lot, you know, that's why a lot of bar programs, right? They either want to pull crap out of the freezer. Yeah. You know, and throw it in the fryer. Yeah. Or it's why it's hard to get good. It's why it's hard to be good. Yeah. You know, I

mean, it really is. Yeah, it's, you know, yeah. But you don't don't have to worry about labor costs right now, because I don't have the sous chef, because he quit on my

second. Now. What was the sous chefs already working there? And was like, I didn't get promoted. I'm out. Yeah, basically gave me four days notice say listen, people, people, people, people, people, people, people, people. This world is not as big as you think it is, right? There may be seven and a half billion people on Earth. But unless you're going to move to a place where nobody knows anybody, right? Unless you're going to move from the you're never going to work in hospitality again. Unless you're going to try to tap an entirely new network where nobody knows anybody. Right? Don't leave like that. Yeah, not cool. Don't leave like that. You know what I'm saying? Yeah,

yes, I do. Yeah. Life has been difficult this week. Yeah.

I mean, it's just like, I think How old are they?

Old enough? I think they were early 40s.

Oh, they should know better, because they've seen people leave badly before. If you've never seen somebody leave badly, maybe you don't know. Yeah. Then I give you the benefit. You know what I mean?

Yeah, but now he's been around long enough that he he should have known better I can see

resenting it. Yeah. being pissed. Yeah, wanting to get pulled up. And but clearly, they wanted to change the culture of the restaurant. Right. And the only way to change the culture of the restaurant, unfortunately, typically, unless there's a vehement disagreement between the SEIU and the Exec is to hire from outside. It's kind of unfortunate, but that's life. Yeah. Yeah. But like, you know, now, they've poisoned themselves for getting a job with anyone in your network. Yeah.

Yeah,

you know what I'm saying?

Yeah, no, I do. Yeah. Not gonna speak very highly of And after after this.

Yeah, I mean, you're not that you're not a vindictive kind of a guy. So I'm not going to actively go out and try to blackball. No. But I mean, whereas I know many chefs that are like that, yes.

Then somebody try and create a blackbelt list back in the day, there were discussions about it, like cleaning, like a master like document to share among like, a certain level of Chef network friends.

Well, the way it worked. I mean, I'm not gonna name any names, but the way that it worked, like for the people that I know that, you know, that this was happening, too, is like, you know, first of all, like, sometimes, like, I know that there are projects that I didn't get, just because everyone's like, Oh, he's a freaking wingding. Which, you know, what fair because like, if you want to, if you don't want to deal with my personal whatever's, and it's not that I'm evil, but I, you know, especially if I don't have someone helping me respond to things. Yeah, I can be disconcerting, because you don't know that I'm going to do the work that I say I'm going to do, even though I do yeah, yeah, I do the work anyway. But yeah, some of the black, black hard black ball stuff. I know, like, the way it works is as gross as you think it is, like, the person who has the most power throws a black ball down on somebody, and then you know, basically, then if any of their buddies wants to hire it, then they're shamed into not doing it because then they won't be part of the cool kid club anymore. So yeah, so like, you know, and the people that in general, if you're working for fancy chef, a right you know, you don't in the real world is not the bare that's not that's not the real world, you know what I mean? That's not how it works. So like you know, it so, you know, the fancy chef be that you want to go work with probably knows fancy chef a so unless you are willing to start your own place and you have your money lined up, like getting blackballed is very damaged. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, very, and I think the whole concept of blackballing is gross and disgusting. But on the other hand, it is perfectly reasonable to not give someone a good recommendation. Yeah. Yeah, that's perfectly reasonable. That's not evil. Yeah, no, good. You know what I mean? Yeah. Be like I wouldn't they left me high and dry. That's all you need to say. Yeah.

I don't know. I would say, yeah, yeah, I didn't really

get to work with those people. Would you say?

That's a good one, I will just give good recommendations. Even if I don't love the person, you

shouldn't you know why? Because then that reflects on you. Exactly.

Well, I'm creative about how I do it. I'll find like the right thing to highlight, but I just have a hard time being like you shouldn't know that person any different, different my field. It's not like restaurants where I know the people, you know, it's media. It's like people that have interned for me at radio station stuff. So I don't want to ruin their who knows. turned it around.

Back when I was at the French Culinary Institute, part of my job was to go to chefs and recommend my interns to get jobs at places, right. And when I closed, Booker and DAX, part of my job was to help find landing places for our crew. Right. And I didn't do that at x con, because there were no landing places. It was a pandemic, you know what I mean? But I have had, I've had very loud heated yell at me, like yell at me arguments were the place that I sent people has come back and said, Why did you recommend this person XY and Z is have and I've had to mediate. I had to mediate, saying, This is why I recommended them. And I think you're wrong in this case, or whatever, blah, blah, blah. Because, you know, like, the thing is, is like, I think the heart, just don't recommend somebody to a job if you don't, like if someone's getting a job. And they put you for a recommendation. And and you don't like them that shows even more that they don't you know what I mean that they don't have a handle on what's going on. So it's, you know, yeah, I don't know. It's just like, you don't want to coming back and biting you that your recommendations aren't solid. You know what I mean? Yep. I mean, I've had people where I give recommendations where I'm like, they're really good at XY and Z and not so good at, you know, like D, E, and F, but they're worth it because they're so good at XY and Z. And you really don't need this person to do D and F. And that's valid.

Yeah. You know what I mean? You're being upfront and honest about the whole but yeah, but still very enthusiastic.

Yeah. You know what I mean? Yeah, I don't know. I don't know. Anyway, but this this Jumoke this Jumoke

Yep. Not not cool. Not gonna get very flattering, flattering recommendations from

me. Yeah, yeah, yeah, well, that's the other thing especially the job you just left if any, if you if you have any brains, they're gonna call you and ask you even if they don't even if you're not Put as a wreck. Yeah, they'll call on us. Yeah,

exactly. Yeah, even if they don't call me they'll call the restaurant owner. You know? I mean, I would see that as being more possible, but the restaurant owner thinks the same things I do. So not a cool thing to do. Don't leave people high and

dry. And well, as soon as as soon as they as you work down in the sandbagging, and they could see over to the pass over the top of all of the pre made stuff and the sandbags going down, they got freaked out, they wanted to get back into a foxhole, so they quit. That's what it was.

Hey, but yeah, I don't know. I've been cooking. A lot of stuff. Obviously, some things that have gone well, and some things not so well. I've got a good burrata dish with a roasted red pepper and cherry Mystara that I've some basil oil.

So like the mustard is red. Yes. And how how pecan day is it how much mustard

not too much like enough on its own. Like if you just eat it on its own. It's you know, kind of intense. But when you pair it with Lebron, it's just like kind of mellows it out and just sits there

and how much of the thickness is from sugar and how much from pectin? Like how does it feel of it? Like, is it more like a syrup or more like a jelly? Where are you

thick enough that I can know it? onto the plate. Okay, and put some fresh fruits. fresh cherries on top of that. Yeah. But then like the other dads got some baby carrots and from one of the producers that weren't great. They're meant for like the credits a play but they were kind of limpid and snapper. Anything's I roasted them off. I wanted to do like a roasted carrot dip with a severe day for some reason. And I'm like in my head. That sounds really good. But I have not been able to really pull that together. Yeah, I don't know why. It's just like it's just missing something. That's also very a parts good, but the character is.

Yeah, yeah. Well, going back to the bear according to the bear, it's missing acid. Yes. Yeah, listen. So like, I watched that show, because my wife watches that show. Right. In general. I don't watch cooking shows you watch the thing?

I'm almost done with it. Most of it. Yeah. Yeah.

So I mean, the thing that, for me, makes no sense is when there are multiple groups of people yelling at each other at a time. I've never in my life seen that in a kitchen. When one when two people are yelling each other. Everyone else shoves their head in their butthole. Yeah. And turns into it turns into a box turtle or an ostrich and makes themselves into the tiniest humans on Earth. You know what I'm saying?

Yeah, very uncomfortable to be around. Yeah, it's horrifying.

And everyone's just like Nami, Nami, you know how, like, when there's on the subway, and someone gets into the subway and just start screaming or does something, and you'll look anywhere to not look at them. You know, talk yourself into your own body. That's what it's like to be in a kitchen when people are yelling, You know what I mean? And so like, it's completely unrealistic that you would have these, like, massive

all these big personalities yelling at each other. Yeah. No,

never. No, not ever. You know what I mean? Doesn't happen. Yeah. Yeah. So that's, that's, that's what I'm going to say about that.

Anyway, so we were talking about talking about mostarda. Yep. I'm carried up. Oh, where else needed more acid? Oh, you and I've been working on so I said I went to this. Eamon Rockey demonstration. I was in Rochester a month or so ago, right. And so he was doing I've already said what he was doing. He was doing infusions in extremely high proof ethanol, like Everclear, like, you know, like 95% or 90%, whatever it is, right. And this is I never thought about before, like I knew, for instance, I know, for instance, that Polyphenol oxidase enzymes, you know, that's why nitrile modeling works because your nitrile modeling and then throwing it in alcohol, so the herbs don't oxidize as quickly. But I never thought of the man have thought of it. But he's like, the kinetics of infusion in extremely high proof is very different. So you get a different group of molecules because the solubility is different in alcohol versus in water. So when you literally exclude water, right, from the mix, you get a different kind of infusion than you would and then dilute it down again, right. So for instance, poly phenols in in tea, are not as soluble in pure ethanol. This is what he said and he made some tea things in pure ethanol and then diluted them down, I thought was really interesting concept. So then I started doing mint in pure in pure ethanol. And I have to say it lasts a lot longer. I was able to get a fresh mint flavor in in pure ethanol that you then diluted down to last over a week. Wow. Over a week, and I was able to after it was diluted down to 49. Now it wasn't 50% it wasn't as good in a week, but it was still acceptable. And here's another thing I did. So I took I took 30 grams of mint, so quite a bit. I took 30 grams of mint leaves picked and dry. And I put, I think 90 I didn't I did three to one of Everclear on it in a zippy exclude the air, right? And then when it infiltrates the the mint gets crispy because the it gets dehydrated, because all the water like diffuses out of the mantle, and so the mint turns crispy and anywhere that there I haven't done it in a vacuum bags, I was interested in doing techniques that anyone could do. So I was trying specifically trying to not use any technology. So within three or four hours, you get a bright bright green, like liquor, right, you know, pure ethanol tincture of mint that is extremely strong and still very bright. So then I tried to make a mojito pie. So what I did is I made the I made a So Bob sorry Monroe, Boston Strauss. Right? He does this. He does this pie, this this lemon curd. That's not a traditional lemon curd. So what he does is he boiled sugar, and lemon peel, right. Then he adds a cornstarch slurry because even though in all of the papers it says how much he hates cornstarch, all of his recipes are super high and cornstarch, like super high, like too much goddang cornstarch. In fact, like that's the downfall of this recipe, I got to figure out a way to do it more traditionally. So here's what I did. I added the cornstarch I brought it back to the to the boil to the for the cornstarch to clear out right then, and this it got a little cooked, but then I dumped 60 For one pie, I dumped 60 ml of this mint liqueur into it. And then let the alcohol flash off because I didn't want the pie to be highly alcoholic, right so I let it flash off and that was a little bit of cooking, then get this he takes it off the heat stirs in the egg or egg yolk depending on what you want to do, then stirs in the fresh juice. So instead of I use lemon rind, mint, and lime juice stirred and so he he adds the the egg yolks to let him get a little cooked out while it's warm stirs in the fresh stuff. And then when it cools it sets back to curd or putting texture because of the starch. So I need to figure out a way to set it with egg with a minimal amount of starch, set it with egg but still have this advantage that I can add the mint towards the end and the lime towards the end so they stay fresh and then you pour it into into a pre baked pie shell. But so that's what I've been working on trying to figure out this was me. Yep.

What about reducing the starch and then a little bit of potato starch because that have a lower jail transition temperature? Yeah,

I mean, I mean, potato starch. Yeah, it expands. A lot of potato starch is kind of the most expanding of the starches. But I mean, like, I guess it depends on how much you're going to stir because it also has such rapid breakdown after it. I mean, I'd like to figure out a way to minimize this because here's the thing, so I was also running a bunch of tests, because he chiffons are also starch based and not gelatin based, right. And so I was trying to do a non cream based semi Fredo Okay, so I'll quit and go like this. So I was doing a I was trying to like what I was making chiffon pies and because no one in my house is eating chiffon pies. I was freezing chiffon pies. So like when I would freeze the chiffon pie, I would pull the chiffon pie out. I would eat the chiffon pie and I'm like this texture there's something there it's good. Maybe you could do almost like a semi Fredo gelato with the egg white. And like you know no cream. We have no fat really, you know, like yeah, my

my semi, my semi screen or recipes. All the air is from egg whites. And I'm doing cleared up some cream, but it's not what

right? Right well so this one, the problem with just doing a Monroe Boston Strauss, Strauss chiffon, like a zero fat situation no cream is that the starch you can really taste the starch when it's frozen frozen like starch thick and things taste like starch even when they're cooked. So then I did an ag are based one I did I did an ag our fluid gel. And then I stabilized the chiffon with an egg or fluid gel. Wait. Oh, I poured the egg are in hot. So the egg white got cooked because that's the key with the Boston, the Monroe Boston Strauss chiffons is he pours hot cornstarch in with the egg, the heat from the cornstarch pasteurized as the egg white and then it stays light enough long enough that the starch can reset as it cools, and it sets into a permanent shelf. stable chiffon that's how his stuff works. So without gelatin, so I did that with hot Aguilar right but still the texture of the frozen Aguilar wasn't what I liked either I couldn't get I think maybe I just need the fat like maybe either you have to make like a sorbet. Me I like my sorbets with that, too though I love coconut milk sorbets as the bass. I don't know I'm thinking about it. But this one was the mint. It was about the mojito. Maybe I do a mojito chiffon next time instead. Do you guys think? Yeah, I remember getting Mojito chiffon. Maybe I'll leave a little alcohol in it, but I want it to be family friendly. Yeah, but my sister in law Miley carpenter who runs the net, she used to run the Food Network magazine. Now she runs like now she is the boss of that and a bunch of other magazines. She she got promoted to like, you know, Cabo de kaap, or whatever you call it? Yeah. So she hates mint. So, if any of you guys are ever pitching to her, like if any of you people out there are ever pitching to Miley Carpenter, don't pitch meant any other herbs. Don't pitch meant to her. So I didn't know I was going to her house. Right? Because it was a Sunday. So usually people come to my house on Sunday, I was testing this pie. So we're going to Miley's house and like what I have this mid thigh. And Jen, a wife is like she hates men. What the hell are you doing? Why even bring that it's an insult. I'm like, because I have to taste it today because I made it today. I'm not gonna sit here and eat a piece of pie right now. I'll bring something else as well. And so like I brought the mint pie. And Miley was like, toothpaste pie. Who the hell wants the toothpaste pie? I'm like Mojito. She's like toothpaste. Anyway. That was that was how that went.

Awesome. Yeah. Nice. Yeah. She would do a question or two.

Let's do all the questions. Let's do it. We have three questions. And then by the way, yeah, if you guys are interested later if we have time, I've been researching something for something else. Right. But you remember how the museum used to want to do farm to toilet? So that was one of the exhibits not farm to table farm to toilet. Why do you Why are you stopping at the table frantically to the whole process? The whole thing farm to toilet. It's a circle of poop anyway. So I have some information that people might be interested in, in how the inside of your body works with relation to some foods, specifically tuning. And we can talk about it later. If we have some time. Let's do some questions.

These questions right. From Jack Rieger. Hey Dave, I've noticed sometimes shrimp typical grocery store IQ F 2125 size can be a bit sudsy f

by the way. For those of you that don't know IQ F is individually quick frozen, and the two numbers that are given afterwards is the range in number of shrimp per pound. I buy 1620s Yep,

can be a bit sudsy after a few bites the IQ of shrimp. I've also noticed when defrosting shrimp and water, the water gets bubbly. I'm wondering if the two phenomena are related and how to cut down on the effect and the mouthfeel of cooked shrimp that did not have this issue. Rinsing multiple times seemed to help update this may be a result of a preservative called sodium rip. polyphonic