As a 68-year-old off-premise catering chef, I understand why employers might doubt my ability to perform on long, difficult shifts. This work is demanding. It means spending 15+ hours on my feet, often working in challenging surroundings. I agree that the average person my age would struggle with the physical and mental demands of this challenging profession. The fact is, I routinely work these long hours with energy to spare. I am operating at my peak, with better focus and

Motorcycles, SCUBA, and Event Catering These activities share some key factors; they require constant focus on fine details and also big picture dynamics. And none of them would appeal to me if each didn't involve the rewards of doing them successfully. Life is good. Bali, 2023 - Manta Point

Experience (4000+ catered events) Decades of event catering, from 10,000+ events to intimate, high-end dinners. Sole Event Chef for private Hillary Clinton campaign event where Bill Clinton spoke to 30 donors at the $100K+ level. Selected as lead Chef for SpaceX company launch parties, supervising teams of up to 20 culinary staff. Chosen by Gene’s catering for two consecutive years to run the players’ tent kitchen at what is now the Miami Open tennis tournament, serving play

68 years strong I developed this nutrient-dense oatmeal formula over several years to maximize physical performance and metabolic absorption. The ultimate refinement was introducing a 24-hour sourdough fermentation step to completely transform the grain's structural profile. The excerpt below breaks down exactly how this traditional bio-hack unlocks the recipe's full functional potential. The Sourdough Advantage: How Fermentation Unlocks Oat Nutrition "By utilizing an adapted

It's the most important seasoning we use, and sodium level is a moving target. I say that it's the most important seasoning because using too little results in what the typical diner calls "bland" food. Add too much, and you've ruined the dish, and it's almost impossible to fix. No pressure.... The reason I call salt level a "moving target" is because our perception of the salt we add changes with time, primarily due to the process called osmosis. This is when a solution, in

Off-premise catering is all about logistics. It is also important in a restaurant setting but, is less a factor because there are less variables on a day to day basis. I've been involved in planning small and large events, for my own clients and for other caterers. This is by far the most important factor in creating a successful event. Even small catered events can involve a great many decisions that affect the finished product. There can be literally hundreds of details tha

I have a simple approach I use when assigning priority to various cooking steps. That is "Can I do this now without significantly...

What in the world would we do without chicken breasts?! They're bland, dry, and featured at almost every event. It would help if we used skin-on breast, but alas, most of time the skin must go. I hope everyone learns that the low fat diet has been debunked... If we fully cook the breasts at the central catering kitchen and transport them warm/hot, they're guaranteed to be dry, and/or tepid. If we transport them raw and cook onsite, there are significant challenges involving f

pickled veggies in Xiamen China I recently spent two weeks with my (now ex) wife in China and of course my focus was mainly on food. She's from Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, and happily there was a line of family and friends waiting to wine and dine us. It's hard to overstate the importance of food in Chinese culture. A very common greeting in China translates literally as "have you eaten yet?" The first step in understanding the cuisine is to forget whatever you

"Chef Jerry was important to our operation this summer and his contributions will be valuable as we grow our business!" Cynthia Stewart, Chef/Owner - James Ranch Grill - Durango CO James Ranch, Durango CO I had the pleasure of working for Cynthia and Robert Stewart at James Ranch Grill for four months during the summer of 2018. The Grill is the ultimate in "farm to table" food since many of the ingredients served there are produced on the ranch where the restaurant is located

I once worked at a summer camp where my job was running four convection ovens and we fed 700 people, three meals per day. The bulk of the...