Fall Menu

The time is here and we rolled out the fall menu at bluezoo tonight. It was pretty quiet in the dining room but we had a ton of prep to do for some special events coming up and stocking up on new menu components. It's a little stressful knowing that we have a new menu running and I will be leaving to go to star chefs on sunday, back wednesday night(missing albert's inopia presentation so i can make the plane) for a function on Thursday, and leave Saturday morning for Seattle, but we have a lot of talented people that have my back and I'm confident they will get the job done.
There is always a lot that goes into a menu change. Tasting, testing, consistent sourcing, producing, re-writing prep sheets, station sheets, costing, butcher tasks, ordering guides, new purveyors and accounts, delivery schedules, and most importantly is the training of the foh and boh. You try to make the shift as smooth as possible but there are so many factors and components that you don't really know what will happen until it does. Trying to predict what modifications will pop up and how to prepare for them is always interesting. Allergy mods, which we deal with on a frequent basis can throw you off if you are not prepared.
Determining what you can get away with is another thing. There is always one or two dishes that chefs prepare for chefs and experienced foodies, not everyone will get thought behind it or the time and effort that goes into it. It may not be the best selling item on the menu but those are the ones you pay special attention to. Appealing to the masses in our environment is a must. In the end of the day bills have to be paid appropriately to be successful. Pick up times have to be sensible, adequate equipment must be in place. Then again five pan pick ups of an awesome dish may make you a culinary god on a good day and a schmuck on a bad one. Sometimes you just have to roll the dice, be flexible, and make adjustments on the fly. The ability, training and knowledge of your team will determine much of this. The "guiding light" has been our tasting menu. We get training, feedback and execution information on a daily basis. Without that this would have made things much more hectic. Hats off to the ladies and gentlemen of the zoo for making this happen without incident. Granted, we have our staples on the menu that never die, this is a half menu change that will enable us to perform during peak season. Here are our fall menu additions, come check them out.

apps
broken rockefeller....spinach, house bacon, mornay, egg yolk

beet salad....pickled beet paint, candied walnut, goat cheese fondue

entrees
miso glazed mero....hawaiian seabass, black garlic, shitake-ginger rice

ahi tuna....parsnip, glazaed seasonal root vegetable, olive soil

heritage chicken....fingerling macaire, porcini, charred watercress

beef tenderloin....chestnut, butternut squash, mushroom in various forms

king salmon....espelette infused carolina gold rice, heirloom carrot, parsley root

side
sea island red peas....ham bone braised, sherry vinegar

Of course our descriptions are vague and left to the imagination so we may entertain new presentations, cure boredom of producing the same thing everyday, and pretend we are not a restaurant within a giant corporate establishment.