Empower Your Weakest Server

You have a weak server on the floor. You know this just because that person seems to be holding back a bit. They appear to be hesitant in their manner and not going for it. Maybe scared of making a mistake. It could be this person is still not sure if this is the right career move for them.

Here is what you do. Give that person a really busy section and keep an eye on them. Don't give them an easy section because that will not build up their confidence. What that person needs is a shot in the arm. Empower your weakest link. Be there if they need you but watch from a distance. Of course don't let service suffer. Help if it is needed.

A good bartender or waiter never stayed in the business very long if they did not get that busy section early on. A cook never stayed on very long if all they ever did was peel potatoes. They had to have a busy night on the line. Everyone worth their salt got slammed in their section early on and that is how you get better. You learn to survive the night and make some money and get better each time thereafter.

So if you are in charge of training or running a team get those newly hired people in the thick of it as quick as possible. Especially this time of year when you get a lot of people in the festive spirit.

Get that new employee when their enthusiasm is the highest and give them more responsiblity quickly. People naturally want to do a good job and feel like they are contributing.

Just do it soon before they leave to go somewhere else.

The Answers to Today's Quiz

Okay here it goes. The answers you have been waiting for. Hard wasn't it?

1. This liqueur's name is Van der Hum which roughly translated from the Afrikaans means "what's-his-name."

2. Cerasella is the Italian liqueur that I am sure was on the tip of your tongue.

3. That Japanese spirit made from fermented sweet potato juice you all know by it's name Schochu.

4. The multiple choice answer for sapinette is a fermented drink that is produced in small quantities from some provinces in Eastern France by boiling the flower tips from the black fir tree with sugar and yeast. Eeeeekkk!

5. You have to be a paysan from France to get this one but the slang word in French that means to peck at food is the verb , "becqueter." J'ai becquete mon bifteck avant de m'excuser de la table. Or something like that.

Okay next week I promise not as hard. This was cruel today of myself.

The Tuesday Quiz

Here it is! It is time to put your brains to work again. Good luck.

1. This liqueur is made from the local brandy , naartjies ( a local variety of tangerine ) , spices and herbs , and has a pale yellow colour. Dutch colonists tried to recreate their homeland favourite , Cointreau , using these local ingredients. What is the name of this liqueur?

2. This liqueur is deep red in colour and made from cherries and a variety of mountain herbs collected near Abruzzi Italy. One of Italy's most popular liqueurs it was a favourite of the Italian poet and thinker d'Annunzio. What is the name of this liqueur?

3. What is the name of the schnapps style distilled clear spirit from Japan that is fermented from sweet potato juice?

4. Is sapinette a drink , sauce , a utensil , a flower , a type of sweater you wear in the winter , or a type of tree in French?

5. What is the French slang word meaning to peck at food?

This is probably the hardest quiz yet. If you get one right you are a genius! Answers later.....

Answers to This Morning's Quiz

Okay here we go once again with the answers to the quiz questions earlier today.

1. The main flavour component aside from a few herbs in Fior d'Alpi are the flowers that come from the region. Fior in italian means flower so literally, " flowers of the Alps."

2. Irish whiskey is the only whiskey that is triple distilled.

3. The Prairie Oyster is a hangover cure that contains both alcohol and a raw egg yolk. The recipe goes like this ,

2 Measures Brandy
1 Egg Yolk
1 teaspoon wine vinegar
1 dash Tobasco sauce
1 pinch Cayenne pepper

Then stir all the ingredients in a glass without breaking the egg yolk and drink it all down in one gulp. After you will probably lose your hangover and just be sick the rest of the day. Yecchhh!

4. Salmis is a game stew.

5. Sorrel of course is an edible green plant originating in Northern Asia and Europe. It has a slightly bitter taste but is high in magnesium , potassium , and Vitamin C. It is cooked in a similar way as spinach.

There you have it the quiz of the day and the answers.

It Is That Time Again - The Quiz

Okay here we go with the Tuesday quiz. The quiz that is both interesting and useless at the same time because most of these questions however interesting they may be , offer no real help in the day to day service we provide to the patron who comes for food and drink in our establishment. In other words no one ever ask for these tidbits of trivia. Never!

Here it goes anyway.... Answers later.

1. The cocktail Black and Tan is 1 measure Dark Rum , 1/2 measure lime juice , 1/2 measure orange juice , 1/2 tsp sugar all in a glass shaker. Shake it well and strain into a tall glass and top up with ginger ale. There is one ingredient missing. What is it???

2. Cherry Heering was invented by Peter Heering over 150 years ago. Which country did it originate from? In other words where did Peter live?

3. Kummel has what predominant flavour aside from cumin , oris root , and fennel?

4. Pink Gin is a drink consisting of a shot of gin and what?

5. Choose the one that is different from the other three?

Slivovitz , Tzuica , Mirabelle , Quetsch


The answers later on. Good Luck!!!

A Good Night Tonight

Tonight was a good night.

I opened at 3 PM and had a 4 table section. Three deuces and a four top.

My sales were $1490 and I did 38 covers over 17 tables.
My tip out was $52 and I walked out with $247 at 9:15.

What am I nuts to change jobs!!! I am off tomorrow and my two week paycheque is for 38 hours.

It is February and there was a snowstorm tonight and the place was packed. I think I should stick around and not move anywhere.

Dubai - 1994

Only one overnight did I spend in Dubai while I was on the ships but that one night out a whole bunch of us went to where the bars and nightlife were.

You'd think we were in a western country not in a country where we think only dessert and camels exist. High rise office buildings , plush hotels , and so many westerners from Europe and North America you felt right at home when you walked around.

Very clean and friendly the service wherever you went was impeccable and there were no signs of poverty anywhere.

Many of us got back to the ship very late and we were in rough shape to get up for breakfast the next day. In fact the pool deck waiter never made it up for 5 AM as he was puking all over the place.

I did a lot of bar hopping that night but I will say that I saw who is probably the greatest Joe Cocker impersonator ever in one of the bars. He was so good in fact that he not only had his voice but looked exactly like him. I swore it was him until someone straightened me out.

Nowadays Dubai is one of the places on Earth where business is booming with construction cranes everywhere. Hotel work is abundant and they are always looking for foreigners to work there. The only thing about that though is you are paid in the local currency so when you did come back to North America the exchange would hurt quite a lot.

I am a bit beyond having an adventure but turn back the clock 25 years and I might want to check it out and see what it is like by working there.

Right now I will just settle for an action packed overnight on a ship , that's good enough for me.

Malbec

Called Cot in the Medoc where it produces an early maturing , soft , mouthfilling , low acidic wine , it is of not great significance. Where it is popular for winegrowers in the Bordeaux region is the Bourg and Blaye region. However finding a cot from there is difficult to accomplish.

In Cahors where the Malbec grape is called Auxerrois , during the pre-phylloxera days the grapes were grown on rugged limestone vineyards which produced wines full of tannin , flavour , and so much colour they were referred to as the "Black Wine" of Cahors. Nowadays the vineyards are located in the richer vineyard land alongside the river Lot. The wine of Cahors are made up of a minimum of 70% Malbec ( or locally called Auxerrois and Cot in the Medoc ) with Merlot and Tannat making up the difference.

The wine in Cahors is known for it's leaner wines with dry tannins , fairly good acidity with the nose of blackberry fruit and pencil shavings similar to a Bordeaux style.

Where you see Malbec taking a front row seat though is in Argentina where full rich fruity , spicy reds with flavours of blackberries and I detect some chocolate as well. Pretty high in alcohol , somewhat spicy , nice tannins and acidity too , a Malbec partners well with a spicy beef such as a grilled steak with a pepper sauce.

What I like most about Malbec is as well as being a great drinking wine it is of great value in the store especially the ones from Argentina. In today's tight times when people are watching their budgets you cannot go wrong with Malbec. For some of the old world style go with a Cahors and for a new world style that has a bit more fruit go with an Argentine Malbec.

I do not believe you will be disappointed....

Scotland 1995

Between contracts on the ship I always managed to get away to somewhere so it was 3 weeks in July I was touring around the British Isles. I was seeing this time around Scotland , Ireland , and Wales.

I had a Brit Rail pass and if you want to know something I used it a lot more times than I should have. When the conductor walked by me on the coach I would just wave the pass at him and murmur Britrail pass and he would not punch in the trip on the voucher. You see the pass I bought was for about 10 train rides but this method I think I used it for 15 to 20 freebies. So it was money well spent and saved too. Try it and you may have the same sleepy conductors I had.

Anyway out of the three countries , the one I found the most picturesque was Scotland and the only reason for that aside from the beautiful rolling hills and scenery was I have never till this day have seen as green grass anywhere. The weather probably had a lot to do with it as there always seemed to be a mist rolling in and the lambs would be grazing on this green grass. From the train window it was beautiful.

I didn't care much for the cities of Scotland so when I headed out to the West Coast to Oban and Maillag with a ferry ride to the Isle of Skye man it was just so peaceful and serene. No big pressure living there that was for sure. When it rained too there didn't seem to be a downpour like one gets used to living where I am. The weather with it's lack of humidity was probably the reason why and it's close proximity to the sea.

In Ireland went to places like Galway and saw the steep Cliffs of Moher. I went to Dublin and also on the way back went to Cardiff in Wales as well.

But Scotland and it's green grass and rolling hills really did it for me on this trip. Scenery is what I like I suppose.

If you get a chance take a train through Scotland to places like Oban. Don't forget to try some Scotch whiskey while you are there too.

So Much For Settling Down

Last week in my job history post I found a spot in Montreal where I was a Bar Manager in an exclusive private club which serve politicians , lawyers , and other people with lots of money. It was days only with weekends off and 3 weeks off in the summer when the club closed. As well all bank holidays we were closed. Not a bad spot to maybe settle into for the next twenty years.

I loved it! I had my apartment in NDG , a suburb of Montreal , where I lived like a swinging batchelor or maybe not that swinging but just the same I was enjoying my time getting settled and so on...You would think working in the industry making some good money and having the hours I had , weekends off etc.. I would never want to change anything. Right? Wrong!

Here I was now between the ages of 25 to 27 that I worked at the University Club of Montreal enjoying a rather carefree life being a Bar Manager when I decide that perhaps there is something more than just do this until who knows when. I mean really it is human nature to want something better isn't it?

So I decide early on in my tenure as Bar Manager to take a Home Study Hotel Motel Restaurant Management Course through Granton College. If ever financially and time wise there is a constraint to going to college full time I highly recommend a home study course. I spent the next two years about writing pages of homework assignments to learn all I could about other departments within a hotel and restaurant. Even Saturday nights I would stay in just to concentrate on the next written homework to be mailed back.

So in mid 1986 I started to get a bit ambitious. Yes I was happily in a rut you could say. Nothing I tried could settle me permanently where I was. I wanted more excitement and adventure. I graduated out of the course with my diploma and was anxious to do something new.

At the Club the management was very happy with me. Inventory and bar cost was good but like I mentioned the pay raise the first year was 15% then the following year was half of that and I felt I was doing just as good a job as the 1st year. I felt the time had come to move on and besides I missed the public interaction cause working a club service bar is not a spot where you can interact with others. A private club is a spot where you are seen and not heard from. You serve and that is it. And I had this course now so why not use it.

Well at the time the Love Boat show was pretty popular so I thought why not send my applications to a few cruise ship lines down in Miami and see if I could gain some employment on one of them. It was the month of May and I sent a few resumes down outlining my experience as Bar Manager and my course I just graduated from.

Well it wasn't two weeks or so later I get a call from one of the cruise lines who want to hire me as a bartender. It was at work I got the call at around 3PM just after lunch from Norwegian Cruise Lines to work on the SS Norway , the biggest cruiseship in the world at the time.

You know when on the phone faced with a decision right there some people would have backed down and replied that they needed to think about it but I on the other hand agreed right there and then that I would be there in 3 weeks to start working.

I went upstairs to give my notice that afternoon to the club manager who then asked me to go tell Louis the Maitre'd that I was leaving. We went down to the wine cellar and I told him. Well I have to tell you that was the only time in my life I started crying my eyes out when I gave notice. I loved working at that place and if I wasn't so young and restless I'd still want to be there now.

Some bartender I worked with one time told me if I was scared of leaving a place that it was the time to leave. I felt no reason to leave the University Club of Montreal that treated me so well other than I felt incomplete living as I was at the time. If I had actually settled down and met someone eventually my life would have not lived to it's full potential. I would have just been like many others who wished they coulda , woulda , shoulda before having all the obligations.

Having thought all this out I knew I made the right decision but it was real difficult. My dad was visiting me and we were going out on these golfing trips and my nephew was now old enought to visit and I would take him out to different sites in Montreal. I felt a connection to the family unlike when I experienced the mixed up days of a few years ago.

But now it was the SS Norway in Miami. I got rid of my furniture , sold my car , and for the next ten years from 1986-96 I basically lived out of a suitcase with stops at my Mother's between travels.

If you ever wanted to just travel on what could only be described as most of the time on a limited budget I did it during those years. The next few posts on Mondays will describe to you what anyone can do if they wish if they work in this industry. But promise yourself just not to wait as long as I did before doing it..

Next week life on the SS Norway.

Time To Start My Own Company

Had a visit with my Mortage Broker today. We received something in the mail from him asking us to give him a call for a free mortage review at our convenience so I thought rather than throw the opportunity away it would be a good idea to give him a call to see what's up. A lot has happened in the past 18 months and since we are halfway through our 3 year term and not a heckuva lot else to do in the month of January anyway , why not I thought.

Well the bad news is that if my wife and I went looking for a house right now we would have absolutely no chance. The good news is we have one already. You see with both of us working as waiters our T-4 statement of income for tax purposes is very low and we got on a special program just for waiters that was available back in 2007. Now with the credit crunch that program is no longer available so we would not have a chance to purchase anything today. Whew!! That was a close one!

The second thing he mentioned is we should 0pen up a company and start throwing our tip income into the company so we can start writing off stuff like transportation , clothing for work , etc. etc. I mean it makes sense since we are basically self employed anyway. Besides that when our mortage comes up for renewal the rate we will be eligible for will be a whole lot easier to get rather than just continue being waiters. Well we will be but , "self employed waiters."

So an appointment with an accountant he recommended is in the plans once I know my wife's schedule for next week. Meanwhile a talk with my employers once I incorporate a name will be in the works for both the wife and I.

Aside from all this with the tv appearances and new courses I hope to start this year and a possible e-book in the plans it might be time to start my own company anyway.

These are exciting times.....

Cabernet Franc

The lesser known of the 3 grapes that make up the Bordeaux blend , Cabernet Franc buds early and ripens early just after Merlot and before Cabernet Sauvignon. While the latter provides the structure and tannin to a Bordeaux , Merlot the softness and suppleness , our featured grape provides the aromas.

A lighter less tannic version of Cabernet Sauvignon , this grape carries with it the aromas of raspberry , some bell pepper like that of it's big name cousin , and some pencil shavings and tobacco on the nose. Red currant is also detected.

Cabernet Franc has good ageing potential and likes a cooler climate to grow in and if you have heard of wines with such names as Chinon , Bourgeuil , St-Nicolas-de Bourgeuil , and Saumur-Champigny that come from the central part of the Loire Valley all these are of this grape.

It can grow on soils where Sauvignon cannot unless it is a very hot year , noticeably on the right bank of the Gironde River in Bordeaux where Saint Emilion is located and where Merlot is the main grape. Merlot fills in the hole left by the leaner Cabernet Franc in these parts.

Chateau Cheval Blanc , an illustrious wine from Saint Emilion is predominantly Cabernet Franc. This is this grape's claim to fame.

So with many of the same attributes as a cool climate Cabernet Sauvignon in aromas , it has two distinct advantages for both wine growers and wine lovers. First for the wine grower is it stands a good chance of ripening where the other will not in cooler years. For the wine lover , with lower tannins , acidity , and extract it can be a more approachable wine for those who like an old world red on the medium body side. Not so big as they say.

Who likes Cabernet Franc out there especially a good Chinon?

Calvados

Located between St.Malo and The Somme in Normandy France is the apple rich area of France known as Calvados where one of the world's famous fruit brandies originates. With the city of Caen as it's capital , this region of production was first named in 1949 and has 11 sub-regions within Calvados itself.

The best region is the appelation Pays d'Auge found inland from the town of Lisieux where the pot still is used leaving more flavouring characteristics in the finished product , unlike the patent still which is used more often elsewhere ending up with a spirit lighter in body and structure.

Forty-eight different varieties of apples are used in making Calvados ranging from tart to sweet with pears even used to bulk up the spirit.

How Calvados is made is an example of how other fruit brandies are made and if you remember the Cognac post on where after distillation only the hearts are kept for the double distillation this is the same.

First the fruit is crushed to a pulp and the following fermentation when it is complete has turned this apple pulp into a cider. Transferred to a pot still , it goes through a double distillation process.

After the first distillation a spirit of 30% alcohol is produced with the spirit being of a low quality but then once the second distillation is done the hearts remain and the heads and tails of the spirit are sent back to join the next group of cider to be distilled. Once the second distillation is complete the spirit should be around 60% alcohol.

Now we have a spirit ready to be aged in Limousin oak casks made locally from the nearby forests or in old sherry casks where it will take on a golden amber color over the next 3 to 10 years.

Label terms on the Calvados bottle will indicate how many years the spirit has been aged in wood.

Three Stars - a minimum of 2 years
Vieux or Reserve - a minimum of 3 years
VO or Vieux Reserve - a minimum of 4 years
VSOP - a minimum of 5 years
Hors d'Age or Age Inconnu - 5 years onward

Calvados should be drank the same way as brandy and that being after dinner in a snifter. However it is used often in classical fine dining usually between the fish and main course as a palate cleanser when it is drank in one gulp. Called the Normand holemaker or Le Trou Normand in French it is said that it creates some room in your stomach to handle the rest of the meal hence it's name.

An American equivalent is Applejack Brandy distilled from the cider of Golden Delicious and Granny Smith apples and aged the same way as Calvados in France.

Aqaba - Jordan 1992

On my first contract with Renaissance Cruises I was real lucky to be doing the Red Sea and one of the exciting stops I had a chance to experience was Aqaba.

This spot I remember for a few reasons because it was in the Gulf of Aqaba that every 7 days when we headed there we were stopped by a US navy patrol ship for inspection because of the trade and arms embargo with Iraq at the time soon after the Gulf War. They wanted to make sure there was nothing coming in through Jordan and it's main port Aqaba destined for Iraq.

When I took a walk around the port though I saw a lot of containers that were destined for Iraq but whether they were just being held there or not I am not sure.

I remember one time during Ramadan when I went on my own into the city I picked up some alcohol to take back to the ship. You had to make sure it was covered up pretty good. It is during the day the people fast and alcohol is not something you should be seen with during this time. While I was all paranoid about this when I approached the gate to get through security to get back to the ship I couldn't find my crew card which would get me through. Now here I was looking for this and hoping I hadn't lost it with some alcohol hidden in the bag I was carrying. I was sweating bullets until I discovered it on me in a place that I normally would not leave it.

Whew!!!

Also from Aqaba I went to the Lost City of Petra which was about a 2 hour bus ride and that was really something. Along the way we saw some Bedouins who are the nomads of the country and a road which led into Iraq which the bus driver said probably to put a scare in all the American tourists who were listening. It was I admit pretty creepy to think we were in such a hotbed of political turmoil right at that moment.

All in all I have to say out of all the Arabic countries I was in during the time Jordan was the most western in it's ways but not the most friendliest. I always felt I was a little too close to the war action going on. I was always glad to be heading out.

But maybe that's just me.......

Galliano

A distinctive pale yellow , herb liqueur from Italy Galliano was first made as a tribute to a Major Giuseppe Galliano by Armando Vaccari in 1896.

The major held the fort of Enda Jesus for 44 days before he was ordered to surrender during the Italian - Abyssinian war of 1895-96. To this day a picture of this fort is on the label of every bottle.

First made in Livorno Italy , it has since moved to a modern liqueur plant in Salara near the city of Milan. Made from a blend of over 30 different herbs and a variety of flowers , berries , and roots , vanilla and anise is added then all the ingredients are infused and distilled into a delicious spirit.

After distillation it rest in glass tanks for 6 months during which all the flavours are allowed to harmonize then it is filtered and bottled.

Galliano is known for the Harvey Wallbanger and how this drink came about was there was a skilled surfer in California by the name of Harvey who had lost a competition so to console himself he went up to the bar and ordered his usual Vodka and Orange Juice ( Screwdriver ) and floated some Galliano at the top. After a few too many when he got up to leave he bounced from wall to wall earning the nickname Harvey the Wallbanger and from that time on the drink carried his name with it.

Interesting indeed as well as Harvey Wallbanger I like it too with White Creme de Cacao and cream in the Golden Cadillac.

The Grape Varieties of Chateauneuf du Pape

I chose Chateauneuf du Pape from the Southern Rhone this week to cover a few grape varieties. Of course the main grapes of the Rhone is the Syrah predominant in the Northern part and the Grenache in the Southern Rhone. Both these grapes are found in Chateauneuf du Pape but the interesting thing about this wine is it allows for up to 13 grape varieties in total.

So we are going to try to cover the 11 others that are allowed in a Chateauneuf du Pape. Grenache Blanc which is not part of the 11 others could also be included in the mix bringing it up to 14 but since we are not sure if it is actually included under Grenache , we will skip it.

Mourvedre - a high acidity grape variety it flourishes in hot climates where it buds late and ripens late. Known most for Bandol in the Provence region of France along the Mediterranean.

Picpoul - one of France's oldest white wine domestic grape varieties the vine buds late so it does require a warm climate. Relatively unknown and questionable as to whether it is used in the wine at all nowadays. Very little of it is grown these days.

Terret Noir - Buds extremely late but adds perfume to the Chateauneuf du Pape and is rather tart adding some nervosite to the wine. This means it gives the wine a bit of an edge which is what it needs that the warm weather cannot give it.

Counoise - listed as a separate grape variety it is identical to the grape variety Aubun found in the Southern Rhone Valley. As Aubun it achieved some notoriety for it seemed like it had good resistance to phylloxera , the disease that ravaged the European vineyards in the 1930's. The sandy soils of Gigondas is where it's home is. Prone to heat stress , it buds late but it is pretty fat in the mouth with a slightly bitter finish as a wine. Baron Le Roy considered counoise one of the best Chateauneuf ingredients at one time.

Muscardin - High in acid , low in alcohol , light in colour and prone to oxidation it offers the farm yardy fruit found in many Chateauneuf du Papes. Lightens up the wine as well.

Vaccarese - rarely vinified as a varietal , it is a late budder and sensitive to powdery mildew. Chateau de Beaucastel winemaker Francois Perrin is one who offers tastings of the grape varieties that go into a Chateauneuf du Pape and his Vaccarese is similar to a Syrah wine. Peppery , highly tannic on the palette , with a hot nose indicating a high alcohol volume.

Picardan - a white wine grape variety that is relatively unknown. When the rules were drawn up way back some of the grapes permitted have sort of fallen off the map.

Cinsault - a workhorse variety of the Languedoc , Provence and southern Rhone it is mainly used in blends adding softness and sweet perfume to red wines but makes great roses on it's own.

Clairette Blanc - not much to say other than it is a grape high in alcohol and low in acid and prone quickly to oxidation. I doubt this grape is seen much in the Chateauneufs of today.

Roussane - known as a white wine grape variety in the Northern Rhone it is one of the 4 white grape varieties allowed in a Chateauneuf du Pape. Roussane wines in the north can even age 10 to 20 years after going through a maderized state in the middle part.

Bourboulenc - all that remains of this white wine grape variety are some ancient plantings on some estates in the Southern Rhone. It produces a thin neutral wine although some say it is capable of producing a strong rustic wine full of character. There are few takers on this.

So there you have the 11 other grape varieties permitted in a Chateauneuf du Pape.

Chateauneuf du Pape definitely has a following with it's always high alcohol by volume and a nose with some spice , leather , blackcurrant , tar and raspberry. There is no question when you nose this wine you can detect many aromas just because of all the grape varieties that can go into a bottle.

Grenache the main grape variety in this wine is low in pigment and tends to oxidize quickly so it alone cannot produce a great wine. It generally needs a long maceration period for more colour. Therefore it is hard to pinpoint what percentage of the other grapes are used to make a Chateauneuf du Pape. All I know is the final result is a wonderful wine that goes well with game and meaty casseroles and foods of that kind. With it's high in alcohol it gives one a glow as well on a cold night.

Amsterdam 1977

Before I got into the Hospitality Industry to travel around I had these family air passes because my stepfather worked for Air Canada.

So before they ran out my friend and I decided to go to Europe for 45 days during the summer of 77 where we leased a car and started off in Paris , then to Brussels , the Netherlands , West Germany , Austria , Switzerland , through the French Riviera and back to Paris and then home.

Our plan of attack was to find the train station of wherever we went and go in and find out where all the local attractions were and to get some walking tour maps. Sometimes as was the case in Amsterdam we would also be looking for a spot to crash , because although we were camping for most of the time , once in a while it was good to get out of the weather elements. As far as I can recall it was a rainy summer in Europe that year.

So we parked the car and asked where some cheap places to sleep were located and were pointed to an area not too far from where we were. My friend and I began the short trek but while we on our way there we must have taken the long route or so we thought because everyone kept trying to sell us some drugs.

We eventually found the spot where we were heading and checked in , dropped our stuff and headed to the bar downstairs to ask the bartender where the Red Light District was. He just laughed at us and replied , guys you are in it! Just then we looked across the lane way and saw what looked like a 50 year old woman who was fat and ugly waving , beckoning us to pay her a visit.

Well compared to here in North America the freedom of the Netherlands is astounding and was a real eye opener to this 18 year old. We went to see Anne Frank's room where she hid for so long before she was found and to an art museum during our stay and needless to say took many trips around the Red Light District.

I got back a few times more but I will always remember the bartender laughing back at us telling two young wide eyed tourists from Canada , hey guys you are in it!

The Making of Cognac

To continue on from my post of last week distillers will usually buy the grapes in from local farmers to press and ferment them into what is a pretty harsh wine. They say the worst wine makes the best cognac but it is important that the wine is free of any blemishes that would make for an inferior final product.

The harsh unaged wine is then put into what is called locally an alembic Charentais/Cognacais or what we refer to as a pot still. Pot stills are also used to make the finest single malt whiskey. Designed by the Dutch during the 17th Century the still consists of a huge copper kettle pot or boiler encased in a brick framework with an open air furnace underneath. A pipe shaped like a swan's neck juts out from the hood on top of the boiler. This will carry the vapours from the kettle pot past a pre heater to a condenser coil which is immersed in cold running water. The change in temperature causes the vapour to turn to liquid.

An interesting note is the material used in the still is pure copper. The reason being is pure copper is strong enough to withstand the high acids of the wine as compared to other metals which would dissolve. Eventually as the stills get older the copper will build up a resistance to the acids but a new still can leave traces of copper in the wine which will disappear after about a year of cask ageing. This is known as the gout de cuivre.

The two important decisions that have to be made by the distiller is what size of pot to use and whether to use a pre-heater. A small pot will make more distinctive brandies while a larger one will make a smooth brandy with less character. Some believe using a pre heater will speed up the distilling process saving on time and fuel while others believe not using one will give the final product much more originality and character.

Two separate distillations are used in the making of Cognac.

The first one called the premier chauffe is when the wine from the fermentation with or without lees is put into the boiler. Lees are the impurities left over from the fermentation that can include skin and pips but mainly the dead yeast cells. Some say including the lees give fuller character to the cognac. The heater raises the alcohol to 78C when at which time it begins to vaporize.

Once the vapour passes through the pre-heater then is condensed back into liquid the first liquid to come out is called the heads which is unpleasant containing ethers and almost toxic. This is removed and added to the new wine about to be distilled. The second part is called the heart and this is the best part of the alcohol and is put aside. This has an alcoholic strength of between 25 and 30%. The last part called the tails is full of impurities and joins the head to be put into the next wine to be distilled.

The still is carefully cleaned after this when once again the new wine is added and the process is repeated twice more. It takes 3 hearts or bouillis to make up a second distillation. The middle part that is.

The first distillation takes about 10 hours and the second about 14. Every time there will be heads , hearts , and tails.

Finally the new brandy will have an alcoholic strength of 70 to 72% alcohol by volume and will be harsh , have a definite bouquet with some copper overtones. It's color will be white and locally referred to as "la vigne en fleur" translated the vine in flower. Then it is put in cask for ageing where it will lose the copper presence and take it's colour.

Just a note on the Limousin oak that is used from the local forest. Before it is made into cask it is aged 4 years outdoors and 3 years indoors all the time being exposed to air which dries the wood and allows some soluble extracts to evaporate. The conditions of storage are perfect as most warehouses are located near rivers where dampness and dryness provide a good mix. Too much dryness and the cognac loses it's bulk and too much dampness and it loses it's alcoholic strength.

When ageing in cask the new brandy is aged in younger cask for 6 months when it takes in some tannin from the wood. Too much though would be unpleasant so after this time it is then transferred into older cask where oxidation takes place over time causing it to lose it's harshness and develop it's bouquet and character. Some tannin is absorbed as well as colour and flavour during this time but little if any character has been added due to the older cask being neutral in it's old state.

Two to three per cent of alcohol is lost annually to the air around which is called the "angels share. A black soot is found everywhere on buildings locally and I dare say the local inhabitants must have a feeling of contant happiness cause of alcohol found in the air. Each cask must be topped up annually due to this loss and distillers estimate they lose the equivalent of 2 million bottles a year! No wonder Cognac is so expensive!

The final process is the blending part when the distiller matches much like they do in Champagne the alcohol of different casks and put them together to make a consistent product of which that house is noted for. All Cognacs have to be diluted to a safe % of alcohol for consumption which is normally 40% by adding some distilled water over time with some weak brandy. A little caramel to get the colour right then some sugar syrup to soften the blend then it is filtered once more. Then bottled no further ageing occurs.

Some terminology for Cognacs are as follows,

Three Star or VS (very special) indicate 3 to 5 years maturation in cask.
VSOP , VO , or Reserve have been matured in cask from 7 to 17 years. A higher quality.
Grande Fine Champagne - made from grapes only from that region and is a cognac of the highest quality and is unrivalled amongst all other cognacs.

This completes my two posts on Cognac. It is something to review all this information and I owe a great deal to a book called " Teach Yourself Spirits and Liqueurs." It is full of great stuff.

I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did and next week I will do something a bit different and talk about some drink recipes again featuring some different liqueurs.

I promise it will not be as dry as this might have been for some who were reading it.

What if any comments on this post you would like to share feel free good or bad to send them along.

No Worries I Will Pay With my Credit Card

Last night I brought the portable debit machine over to this table and the wife tried 3 times to pay using her debit card and it was not approved and then the man tried and failed twice. Finally he had to use his credit card.

Aside from it just being a time wasting exercise standing there seeing the "not approved" flash on the screen five times but do these people actually know how much money they have at all?

This has happened more than once and quite frankly I would be a little more concerned than these people were.

Their lack of concern was a bit more scary for me than seeing they couldn't pay the bill from their bank account. It is unfortunate to see how people actually manage their money these days seeming to just throw it away like there is no tomorrow.

It is just a thought I had watching this happen last night.........

1982 Or the Year of Rock Bottom

Okay to continue on with my work history we are now heading into 1982 in which I affectionately refer to the year that something happened that changed my life. What happened was that moment in time when either you hit a low point and continue on going in a downward spiral or you turn it around and start making some decisions on how you are going to live the rest of your life.

As you may recall last week I was leaving the Ramada Inn Discotheque and heading to the bright lights of Toronto. What happened after this I can hardly recall. In the next 15 months I moved 3 times and had probably I am guessing about 5 jobs. I ended up going back part time to the Ramada Inn disco , worked at a couple of private clubs downtown , helped open up a restaurant featuring fancy drinks which turned out to be such a disaster when on opening day nothing was ready and people just came in and vowed they would never return again.

I worked at night and tried my hand at sales during the day selling storm doors in new residential areas , along with windows in areas where there were older homes. I am not quite sure why I tried to get out of the industry during this time but I think it was because I saw myself moving on to something better , whatever that was.

But during this time there were family issues that were confusing me at the time , I couldn't land a real good job bartending anymore because I moved downtown and had no contacts which helped me find most of my previous jobs , my work history was lousy with no consistency. Also the economy was heading into a recession so the job market was freezing up. Money working at the private clubs was an hourly wage so there was no tipping going on which bled all my savings from the previous couple of years.

I landed a job as a bartender at the Badminton and Racquet Club of Toronto , went back to the Ramada Inn , worked at another club called the Dunfield Club. The latter lasted a week. The first club I left and went back to after I had a short stint at the Boulevard Club.

It was the cold winter of 1982-83 and I got this job as a waiter learning how to do Caesar Salad at the table , Chateaubriand , Cherries Jubilee , etc.. It was a pretty posh club but there was only one particular problem at the time which kind of made me feel left out of things.

I was the only straight guy there!!!!

The rest were homosexuals. Okay like Seinfeld says on his show , there is nothing wrong with that. I would usually be picking up the Maitre'd to give him a lift to work. He was Spanish and his name was Des and on the way I would pick up another waiter named Remy who was French. Well you know if Des was not outside waiting for his ride , Remy was not going to be waiting either cause they were an item.

Well my 3 month probation was up and I was drinking like a horse on the job. We had the liqueur trolley and then upstairs was the bar we would order drinks for the members on their signed chits. Well I would go to the bar and write beer please on a chit and the bartender would know it was for me , he would give me a beer and in about the time I took to walk down one floor I would have guzzled the beer. Then the wine would be flowing from the parties we would do.

One particular night me and this Polish waiter were doing the head table for the Mayor of Toronto and the federal energy minister Marc Lalonde who was in Trudeau's cabinet and the Mommesin red wine was flowing. The speeches started and we started drinking the red wine like no tomorrow. We finished the dinner and started cleaning up when Des says how about some liqueurs so we started drinking Grand Marnier.

All of a sudden I started throwing up. Too drunk to drive I get into a taxi and it must have been -15C ( 5F ) outside and all I am wearing is a vinyl leather jacket. The fake kind. I get out of the taxi and get to my door and I realize I left my keys at work in the change room. I get into another taxi and head back and the nightman thinks I am some sort of predator and doesn't let me in. So I am stuck. I go to the Polish guy's place and his wife ( he was straight ) says he is asleep and go away. He said to me a couple of days later he didn't remember going home that night.

Well I spent the night at a donut shop slumped over the counter. Daylight came I went back to work and got my keys and went home cold and wondering what had become of me to get into such a mess. I called to say I wasn't coming in that night but they said I had to so I did.

It was time for the probation to end and now for my raise in my hourly wage. But first we all had to go out for a beer after work a couple nights later so everyone decided to head to this bar called Mushrooms which I never heard of. Yes it was a gay bar and that was when I found out that the cooks , doorman , and some other waiters were all gay. It wasn't my scene so I politely went home and vowed I wouldn't return there again. I think they had a different raise in mind for me at the time. HA!

That is when I returned to the Badminton and Racquet Club where only about 80% of the service staff was gay. They left me alone but I noticed when I left I found 3 notes with phone numbers on them all with best times to call. Christ almighty!!! If only they were girls!

My third move was out of the city to North York and a room. It was now Spring of 1983 and I was so broke that I was contemplating putting my car insurance on the credit card. I had just turned 24 at the time and I wanted to do something so I was looking. I needed a change big time. Toronto did not have that positive effect I wanted. Up to now I was going in circles. Yes I had a few good opportunities but you know sometimes you think you can conquer the world and you keep thinking that no matter what you do you will make the right decision. I made some bad decisions that year which caused some change. Change for the good that is.....

So then I answered this ad in the Globe and Mail one day.......

Jobs so far between 1981-early 83

I forget Troika restaurant in Montreal (2 nights of which I was so under qualified )
Willows Inn
Holiday Inn
Credit Valley Golf Club
Bristol Place Hotel
Ramada Inn ( twice )
Badminton and Racquet Club ( twice )
Dunfield Club
Boulevard Club
New restaurant
Old restaurant service bar
A few sales jobs 2-3