Holiday Eats....Healthy Treats

    Around this time of the year, everyone is gearing up for the holiday season. Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, and New Year's  are great reasons to indulge in your favorite holiday treats, but there's another thing to "over-indulge" on those tasty treats. One way to indulge and not get the "Holiday Bulge" is to portion out your treats. Smaller portions as well as a food chart can help you maintain your snacks/desserts, without you feeling guilty about losing all the weight in your New Year's resolution. Another good way to keep your holiday eating in check is to have that "food buddy" as your guide. Everyone gets tempted every now and then and sometimes just having a comforting friend to guide you or offer words of encouragement can help you not over-eat during the holiday season. Sometimes we have family that is no longer with us or we go through hard times with family not being together which can trigger your over-indulging on the sweet treats, but once you realize that yes, it is a time for celebration, it can be a time for excessive weight gain. Check up on  your family and make sure they are coping during this time, so, you don't stress yourself out by over-indulging. Try replacing some of those treats with your daily fresh fruits and vegetables. Instead of eating half of grandma's home-baked banana nut bread, eat two pieces, wash it down with some water, then replace the rest with some carrot sticks. Exchanging a "good" thing with a "bad" thing can also help manage your eating over this holiday season. Remember, this is a time for celebration,so we will not make any excuses going into the new year that we are not going to regret like gaining an extra 25 lbs. over the next month. Have a safe, healthy and Happy Holidays from all of us here at "Tasty Bites" and again enjoy yourselves and each other this holiday season!!!!!

-Chef Tara Browning  


P.S.- Here are a few tips via WebMD to help those that have a bit of "trouble" staying away from those "Tasty Bites".  =) 


http://www.webmd.com/diet/healthy-holidays-8/default.htm

PRESENTATION IS EVERYTHING!!!!!

    Experiencing cuisine is for all the senses. You first "taste" the food with the way it smells, followed by the way it looks, then, the way it tastes. It's amazing with the many creative and innovative ways one can present food, but to completely fulfill your taste buds, you must have excellent presentation in regards to food. The way you present your food, tells a lot about the person who created it. When chefs, and other culinary lovers-alike take time to perfect the way they present their food, it adding that extra touch of love to your dish. Guests appreciate the effort that the chef puts in when creating such culinary masterpieces. From the sauce to the plating, presentation captures every essence of the dish. Guests wish to enjoy their food presented to them in the right atmosphere, on exquisite china, brought by an attentive server, and savor it from beginning 'til the last "Tasty Bite". 

-Chef Tara Browning   

http://homecooking.about.com/od/garnishing1/Garnishing_and_Food_Presentation.htm

Clean Kitchen..... Sanitary World

 "A Clean Kitchen Is A Happy Kitchen".. Is the wisest saying ever. Being in the restaurant industry, you literally have guests appetites, health, and lives in your hands, one false move or one item not being stored/prepared at the proper temperature could possibly send someone to the emergency room for food poisoning. Being clean starts with the beginning of the restaurant, your employees hygiene. If the employees you hire or co-workers lack the knowledge to do the "basics" (i.e. wash their hands after every meal, when using the restrooms, smoking or touching their hair or faces.) , then your establishment is headed off in the wrong direction. Being in a clean restaurant is like being invited over to a friend's house for dinner and they didn't clean before you arrived. Would you want to eat out of their kitchen? Would you inspect every piece of silverware or glass they handed to you simply because you didn't think it was sanitary? If your friend didn't clean their house or their kitchen, would you think they washed their hands as they were preparing your meal? Would you eat the meal out of obligation or would you make up an excuse and leave? If you think like this just from visiting a friend's home, then, your expectations should be much higher in regards to dining out.

  

 Rigorous inspections as well as surprise inspections keep restaurant on their toes when it comes to the cleanliness of their establishment as well as their staff. I like walking into restaurant reading their scores and understanding why they received them. If it's something "minor" like they forgot to put lids on lemons or have plastic covers for their cups, then, I won't mind, but if it's something major like their refrigeration system wasn't storing food at the proper 33-38 degree temperature settings, then, we have a problem. I normally wouldn't dine at a restaurant whose score is lower than a 90. That's my take. Any 89s or anything like that, there were way too many issues when the inspector arrived and my health could be at risk. Why risk yourself if you don't have to? I enjoy dining at places with open kitchens. I like seeing what the staff is doing "behind the scenes". I can see how many times they washed their hands, where they got their glasses from and how often the cook/chef changed his/her gloves. I usually went through about a half a box each shift. I have this complex called "cleanliness" that I like to uphold myself to. The guys that I worked with also followed in my steps and changed their gloves as often as I did only if we didn't have enough time to get to the hand washing sink. Clean employees, clean plates, glasses, cutlery, and fresh, clean ingredients ensure guests to have a memorable experience as well as a courteous, friendly, efficient staff.

Enjoy all of your CLEAN "Tasty Bites".

-Chef Tara Browning

http://www.foodservicewarehouse.com/education/how-start-restaurant/restaurant-health-safety-codes.aspx

Guest Service & Expectations

     Having worked ALL over the restaurant, I find it assuring to know that there are some people who actually believe in GUEST(S) SATISFACTION. It's one thing to be a robot, but it's another to have exceptional "host/hosting" skills in regards to servicing guests. I enjoy dining wherever and receiving absolutely fabulous service that not only allows me to remember my experience, but that person who's made such an impact on my dining experience. The saying goes: "Those who can teach & those that can't..." Well, we all know how it ends, but there are some people out in this world that actually make their career as a "Professional Server" and it shows in the way they treat guests. I remembered dining at a particular location recently (who's name at this time I will leave anonymous), and while the food was mediocre, the service was phenomenal! Not that the server was in my face every five minutes, harassing my colleague as we discussed business, but they made their presence known in a more subtle way without over-doing it. I remember being serviced and taken care of WITHOUT asking for anything. My guest and I noticed as the young lady removed dirty dishes away, she hurriedly refilled all beverages, as well as making sure she paced our meal for our contentment, and ensuring our satisfaction when our entrees arrived. She didn't hang around with the other waitstaff, and if she did, we didn't see her. She didn't disappear on us, nor was she in our faces every five seconds after she dropped the check, she did try to "suggest/ up sell" a few items, and offer us desserts along with after dinner drinks. I enjoyed the fact that she was there to do a job, which was serve/service her guests and we as guests were to revel in our dining experience. In conclusion, I don't feel as if there's a "shortage" of good servers, I think that people have different versions of what providing excellent service has come to be and where it is going. You don't have to go to a "fancy" restaurant in order to receive quality service. It's all in who's happy with their chosen path of making sure guests have a wonderful dining experience, so, they can guarantee their return. Not only to that establishment, but back to that "special place" to where people young and old and from all walks of life can gather together around a table to acquire all the love, passion, and "soul" out of savouring all "Tasty Bites".


P.S.A.- Great servers are "givers" of the Earth that want to take care of others and understand that doting on others is a unique way to envision their lives of "giving back" to those surrounding them.
-Chef Tara L.Browning

http://listverse.com/2007/08/14/top-10-rules-for-fine-dining/

Critiquing the "Food Critics" Role in the Restaurant Industry

   

      As a "new comer" in the restaurant critiquing industry, I've read several critiques about new restaurants, existing restaurants, bakeries, and many other food venues and I've come to realize that most of the food critiques aren't "CRITIQUING" the food. They speak about the ambiance or whether or not if the server was friendly enough, etc. When I read a description about one particular item on a menu, I am suppose to know what it's going to taste like BEFORE it hits my palate. I should know what it's going to smell like BEFORE I enter the restaurant not if the air conditioning system was too cold or the music was too loud. I am only there for the FOOD. I am not bashing the critiques out there for getting paid to speak about the decorations or the "busy" clutter that hangs on the restaurant walls, I would however, like to know from appetizer to dessert and after dinner drinks what am I to expect from that establishment. How can words describe a meal from beginning to end and make the FOOD shine? I want to know how the oysters were shucked fresh and presented to you on a bed of rock salt, accompanied by a wedge of lemon, an oyster fork and a garlic sherry reduction. I could care less about the decor. Critiquing food, just like composing the many dishes of the world, requires a love and passion for food as well as a finesse with words. If you are not passionate about food, then, you cannot verbally sell me something before I have even visited the location. I will post a blog in the near future regarding my dining experience. From the time that it takes for me to be seated at a table until the time I pay my bill, you will have dined with me at that location. Yes, I will have minimal description about the ambiance, but the food will be the STAR. I will describe every item I experienced, so, when and if you do decide to visit the location in which I describe, you will have general knowledge and be able to navigate the menu in a way that will make the staff feel as if you've visited their establishment previously. When I post this upcoming blog, describing the restaurant, I am SUPPOSE to verbally sell you their menu without physically taking you down to the location myself. Our roles should be "breaking:" new trends in the culinary industry. Just like how a DJ breaks a new artist(s), we as Food Critiques should carve a path for bright, young, professionals, as well as the new "trends" within the industry. In the end, the food is the star, otherwise, there is no reason to go to a restaurant, so, let's make the industry of "Food Critiques" the way that it should be: CRITIQUING FOOD.

-Chef Tara Browning
P.S.- A few "guidelines" to follow if you ever lose your path of critiquing food..ENJOY ALL TASTY BITES!

http://www.afjonline.com/afj.aspx?pgID=887

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Something's Baking.... Perhaps It's BREAD!!!

                                                                                                                                                                                             

       I know that as a chef, people wonder how is it that I eat so much and I only weigh about 110 lbs. I actually think it's because of the different breads that I eat. Sounds strange, but eating bread is a good way to help boost your metabolism as well as regain your "loss of energy". Doesn't really matter what type of bread it is, but I know that in recent years, bread (and its' counterparts) have been getting a bad reputation lately. The whole "carbohydrates scare" makes people deter from eating bread nowadays. I love accenting a meal with a piece of bread, whether it's a garlic and herb crouton or just a piece of pumpernickel, bread "rounds" out any meal. Yeah you can have your meat and potatoes, but if you don't have a soft and chewy bagel or a buttered piece  of wheat toast, then, your breakfast meal wouldn't be complete. A lot of baked good have bread backgrounds such as cinnamon rolls, cakes, and those wonderful baklava triangle that I get from this Greek restaurant I frequent here in Atlanta. Mmmmm hmmmmm, I can smell that sweet, orange, honey drizzle that they put over it as soon as I walk in the door, it's amazing!!  The many different breads with the crusty, crunchy crust, but with the soft, warm, inside it's pure heaven to me. Something about baking fresh bread brings me back to a nostalgic place in time when everything just stands still. Garlic bread, pumpernickel, rye, wheat, whole grain, heck, even multi-grain bread can round out your meal and make your meal a more pleasurable experience. I love bread, bagels, rolls, biscuits, and everything that's considered a baked good!!! Eat, love, and be BREAD-Y!!!!!!!! 

Dessert.... PLEASE!!!!

          Whenever I go to a restaurant, I ALWAYS ask for the dessert first! It may seem a bit peculiar to my server, wanting my dessert before I actually enjoy my meal, but life is way too difficult for us to enjoy the "best for last". I have an enormous sweet tooth & I think that we should savor each "tasty bite" just as we do life:  slowly and with excitement! Seeing the different desserts arranged already on the dessert carts (like the one's in the "higher" quality restaurants) only makes me want to enjoy them more! Some people do however opt to not eat desserts, either for health reasons or for their own "weight" issues, but it's the "over-indulging" that can/will make you obese. Just like anything in life, we must choose desserts IN MODERATION! Now, for those of you who do not eat desserts, well, I haven't really found anyone who doesn't, but I know that some people don't because maybe they grew up in a household where they couldn't enjoy them as a child. Perhaps they can find their "guilty pleasures" in other ways, but for me I like to see the dessert menu first. Being a "health-nut" doesn't mean that you have to give up anything either. there are some incredible recipes you can find that are low in fat, carbohydrates, sugar and cholesterol. We don't have to omit what we eat, just choose smaller portions. You don't have to give me the whole "spiel" about what's the featured fish this evening or how your restaurant has fresh Kobe beef flown in from Japan... Okay, I get it. We as human beings continuously find ways to "avoid" the sugars and sweets and this "trend" is continuing in  more "health conscious" minds in America. I have a friend who recently visited Europe & they came back with wonderful culinary stories of how much they not only ate, but how they were able to savor and enjoy their food. Desserts should be an "EXPERIENCE" not an option. I don't feel obligated to eat the entree', only the dessert. When you travel, as much as I do and experience the many culture through the world of cuisine, you will realize that eating is not something that you do to survive, but it should be a pleasurable experience to enjoy each "Tasty Bite".   

http://www.diabeticlifestyle.com/recipes/dessert