What are the rules with asking the chef?

rynners

What's the etiquette?

There's been times in everyones lives where they've eaten something completely gobsmacking and wish that they could pull aside the chef so that they could learn how to recreate the same thing at home. Do chefs have a definate no no clause as to giving out recipes?

There are 2 dishes that come to mind that I'd love to know how to recreate.

In the aghadoe heights hotel in killarney on the bar menu they serve a burger. It's by far and away the best I've ever had, I'd love to know how it's done. (I have eaten several dishes from the main restaurant as well but it was the burger that blew me away. It was minced in such a way that it melted in the mouth.

In the vista palace hotel, monte carlo I ate something of a baked alaska. It was a pyramid shaped merangue of the most delicate kind with a berry sorbet inside (completely covered and frozen) covered in toasted coconut. I would give my right arm to be able to recreate this.

Perhaps others have some dishes/desserts/others they have experienced and would love to be able to recreate to a fine detail at home

Any advice on should the chef be asked or not?

CJhaughey

If it were me I would ask away,all they can do is say no.

antoniosicily

ask the waiter, he knows if the chef is willing or not.

rynners

should have thought of that myself. thanks.

does anyone have a dish that they make at home that they learnt of by eating in a restaurant and getting the recipe from the chef?

Mr Magnolia

I would try and replicate a nice dish I may have had or maybe saw cooked on television alright.

I gerenally wouldn't [ask the waiter to ask the chef] how a dish was cooked or prepared, I'd be more inclined to ask about an ingrediant I can't nail down or something along those lines.

A chef in a busy kitchen will hardly have time to get into detail about the intricacies of a delicate dish like that baked alaska to a waiter. Don't let me put you of asking at all, just don't take offence if the chef says that (s)he's too busy

You can always do a bit of digging online too.

broin

rynners wrote: »

does anyone have a dish that they make at home that they learnt of by eating in a restaurant and getting the recipe from the chef?

Well, my chicken wings and hot sauce (and accompanying) blue cheese dip are better than the one in 'Elephant and Castle'. Because I asked them how they did it, and they demurred. So a quick Google turned up recipes - muaha!

P. Breathnach

I have never considered asking a chef how he prepares things. One chef, who knows that I have a moderate interest in cooking, sometimes offers the information unsolicited.

Very often the server can tell you how a dish is prepared, and it can be worth asking him or her. On one occasion I was in a restaurant and a chef of my acquaintance was at a neighbouring table. He asked for, and got, a recipe from the waitress, who more-or-less knew it, but went into the kitchen to verify details with the chef.

I think some recipes might be regarded as trade secrets, and others as public knowledge.

lilyrose

i have worked as a chef in many fine restaurants and customers often ask for recipes - generally ask the waiter and they will go in and ask the head chef most head chefs love the attention and will gladly give out the recipe.

Honey-ec

The only thing I've ever asked is with what they pickle the onions they serve with burgers in Tribeca. I asked the waiter, who was more than happy to pop into the kitchen and check.

rynners

rynners wrote: »

What's the etiquette?

In the aghadoe heights hotel in killarney on the bar menu they serve a burger. It's by far and away the best I've ever had, I'd love to know how it's done. (I have eaten several dishes from the main restaurant as well but it was the burger that blew me away. It was minced in such a way that it melted in the mouth.

Visited the aghadoe heights again last friday night, burger still smashing.

Asked the waiter if the chef would pass the secret on... told no.
Anyhow I got out of the waiter that sage and onion are used in the burger mix. It is then seared on the pan for a little bit and then cooked in a combi oven for a while and seared again just before serving..
Now to find out what the proportion of steak mince to regular mince is.. I'm presuming it's a mix of the 2, gotta find out what a combi oven is too. My wife has fast cookers, slow cookers, steam cookers.. will ask her.
The burger bun was a bog standard one, toasted , worked very well and has changed me back from the more fancy ones.. The dressing had a name, thought I wrote it down,but didn't. It was very finely cubed tomato and onion (not as I first remember which was tomato and cucumber). No cheese.
Anyhow, will be attempting to recreate!

rocknchef

cant believe the chef said no what a tosser.

a combi oven is just a combination of steam and roast. but they can be worked in 3 different ways. roast, steam and combination 50/50.

the burger was probaly just cooked on roast.

this is a basic burger recipe you can add ingriedents as you wish.

i add ketchup, worchestishire sauce and finely diced onion

450g (1lb) Lean Minced Beef
50g (2oz) Fine Breadcrumbs
1 Egg
Salt
Pepper

dont mind that knob were not all like that or maybe he was busy

rynners

To be fair, the chef was never asked. I asked the waiter who replied that the chef never would give it out. (fairly much the same but 2nd handed). Everybody asks apparently. Thanks for that recipe.

rynners

rocknchef wrote: »

cant believe the chef said no what a tosser.


450g (1lb) Lean Minced Beef
50g (2oz) Fine Breadcrumbs
1 Egg
Salt
Pepper

dont mind that knob were not all like that or maybe he was busy

Rocknchef,
you have breadcrumbs in your list there. Is this a must have?It's perhaps just what I'm missing as normally I try to bind the burger with just an egg and then pat it .. it invariably splits on me and never comes off the pan or out of the oven clean. I've never added breadcrumbs because the local butcher never adds them to his burgers either. I'm assuming here that the breadcrumbs are put into the mix and not used just to coat the outside.
I always thought that my burgers split because they were a bit soggy due to the egg or if I added a little ketchup.

rocknchef

no bread crumbs into thew mix absorbs the moisture of the mix. I always make mine with them in it but ive seen others putting crackers in. if you dont have bread crumbs you can put a tiny drop of milk on a slice of bread and work it into the mix with your hand.

always start of with a hot pan and finish in the oven.

Seaneh

rocknchef wrote: »

cant believe the chef said no what a tosser.

a combi oven is just a combination of steam and roast. but they can be worked in 3 different ways. roast, steam and combination 50/50.

the burger was probaly just cooked on roast.

this is a basic burger recipe you can add ingriedents as you wish.

i add ketchup, worchestishire sauce and finely diced onion

450g (1lb) Lean Minced Beef
50g (2oz) Fine Breadcrumbs
1 Egg
Salt
Pepper

dont mind that knob were not all like that or maybe he was busy

LEAN MINC IN A BURGER?

You need ATLEAST 12% fat for a good burger!

rocknchef

Seaneh wrote: »

LEAN MINC IN A BURGER?

You need ATLEAST 12% fat for a good burger!

not if you training 4 days per week

Seaneh

Then don't eat burgers four days a week!

rocknchef

Seaneh wrote: »

Then don't eat burgers four days a week!

opps im sorry i wont do it again... :rolleyes:

cruizer22b

there is more then enough fat in lean mince for a burger imo.

the beer revolu

Was in Star Anise in Cork a few weeks ago - we asked what variety of potato the chips were made from.
We got back a written recipe for the chips!!

rynners

cruizer22b wrote: »

there is more then enough fat in lean mince for a burger imo.

not if you want to enjoy what you eat...
a lean mince burger is a bit like rindless rashers to me...kind of pointless. I've been using 50 50 mix of steak mince and regular mince the last couple of years...(still can't make a great burger yet though).

rynners

In the middle of my first serious effort to recreate the burger.

I have mixed 1 pack of family mince (wanted to get the most fat.. will try leaner if this doesn't work out) and poured in a mix of (magimixed beforehand) 2 eggs, 1 large onion, about 8 medium sage leaves, added about 5 slices of bread made into breadcrumbs. There's an awful lot of mix but only making 2 thick burgers to start off.
I have seared the burgers on the pan and put them into the oven at about 150 degrees (perhaps this is way too low?).
they still seem likely to split... but less so than when I normally make them.

any advice welcome as I wait for them to roast (then i will put them on the pan again for another small bit).

rynners

That's 1kg of beef mince.

They're in the oven about 15 minutes now.. smelling good

rynners

Just had one.

Although I thought 8 leaves of sage was enough (given that it's very pungent) it isn't. It needs a lot more as the taste of sage is near gone entirely. So too is the onion. There's a hint of both but not near enough.

On the bright side the centre of the burger was lovely and juicy, it didn't split at all and the outside was just done right. ... My wife reckons it makes a great kids "cutlet".

I also think that 1/4 to 1/3 of the mince needs to be steak mince.. it's just got a little too much fat in it..

I'll freeze the rest of the mix now and another day make the necessary adjustments.

The plain burger bun is great, and I was very happy with how the burger "looked".

the beer revolu

Corrigan puts bone marrow in his burgers to add fat.
I think he also hand chops the beef for a coarser mince.

I once seared a striploin in the pan and then chopped it to make the burger - that way it could be safely cooked rare.
Didn't put egg or breadcrumbs so it all fell apart but was damn tasty!
Must experiment with this again.

I think this has become a Burger Thread!:rolleyes:

rocknchef

rynners wrote: »

Just had one.

Although I thought 8 leaves of sage was enough (given that it's very pungent) it isn't. It needs a lot more as the taste of sage is near gone entirely. So too is the onion. There's a hint of both but not near enough.

On the bright side the centre of the burger was lovely and juicy, it didn't split at all and the outside was just done right. ... My wife reckons it makes a great kids "cutlet".

I also think that 1/4 to 1/3 of the mince needs to be steak mince.. it's just got a little too much fat in it..

I'll freeze the rest of the mix now and another day make the necessary adjustments.

The plain burger bun is great, and I was very happy with how the burger "looked".

too much fat you say but thats like a rindless rasher;) glad ur burgers worked out now just fix your seasoing

rynners

didn't mean for the thread to be hijacked by burger talk... just trying to recreate what i've had in the hotel. Think the mince I used was so bad it looked like mince pork!, won't make that mistake again.

Will perfect this burger though and post up the final recipe.

Think i'll email the other hotel and see if I can get the baked alaska from them..

rubadub

the beer revolu wrote: »

Corrigan puts bone marrow in his burgers to add fat.
I think he also hand chops the beef for a coarser mince.

I cut meat up finely with a scissors for spag bol, it is nice to see the meat before mincing, I always presume they stick the worst bits in. You can get thinly cut cheap "fry steak" in some supermarkets, very lean and easy to cut up finely.

I found this corrigan recipe, also says you could use butter or minced pork fat in place of the marrow. I have used butter before, I expect lard, beef dripping, chicken or duck fat would be fine too.

http://www.lifestylefood.com.au/recipes/10236/rump-burger-with-foccacia-bread-and-chunky-chips

MandyM

There's a restaurant chain back home that has the best tomato relish on their burgers, it's super tangy, almost pickled, yet slightly sweet. Oh to know how to make it!

Another herb to add to a meat patty is fresh mint, I really enjoy this flavour and use it for meatballs or patties.

I don't normally add breadcrumbs, just egg, onion & seasoning, for no reason other than I just forget about breadcrumbs, lol.

Good luck in getting that recipe finely tuned!

Twee.

I don't put egg, breadcrumbs or onions in my burgers and find them delicious! Teaspoon of dijon mustard, tomato puree, salt, pepper, finely chopped parsley. Yum!