As a chef, the idea of big corporations was a tainted one. Just like a general consumer views
Wal-mart and Superstore as having pros and cons when it comes to selling product, so do chefs when it comes to companies such as Sysco and GFS. It’s nice when a delivery truck comes to your dock and delivers everything you need all in one shot, in boxes that are labeled and dated. It’s nice to go on the computer and be able to type in your order as quickly as checking boxes off a checklist, and having the option to order in advance, and having a delivery truck come with the exact order that you placed weeks prior. But there has to be some cons right? Can these big corporations really boast words such as organic, farm fresh and local? I thought that they couldn’t. If it came in a big truck, it was corporate and mass produced; if it came out of the ground at a local farm, then it was local and farm fresh. Would a tour at GFS prove my tainted views to be true, or false?
With over 800 employees and 300,000 square feet of space (60,000 of which is cooler space), GFS boasts an impressive food supply operation. Anyone who supplies food to as many restaurants, hotels and other food service establishments like GFS does has to have an impressive facility and system in place. From the beginning, we saw just that. The knowledge of the tour guides as they showed Reid, Jill and I around was incredible. They described the systems in place, the work the warehouse employees had to do, and even described the system used to record productivity among workers. As I took my first walk around the large warehouse, I saw glimpses of ingredients that I never thought to see in a place like this.
We met Bill Foster, the Marketing Specialist in the Produce department. When I think of a person in a management position in a section of a large supply operation, I think of a salesman, a businessman with a suit, slick hair, and sunglasses. When we first met Bill, he was a shorter man with thinning hair, wearing a standard navy blue work wear and a jacket. As he described his produce section, something was very evident. This is a man who loved his job and loved the product he was working with. Bill knew anything and everything about produce, about which farming operation it came from, how it was grown, why it was grown, and what it is typically used for in the industry. He explained why these products were chosen by GFS and how GFS not only has standards for quality, but also a passion for things that are organic and local. Cheeses from Saltspring Island, shimeji, hedgehog and black trumpet mushrooms from local farms, micro greens and baby vegetables from Evergreen Herb located in South Surrey, blood oranges, and even products like porcini powder, dried lavender, and white truffle oil were there. I was beginning to feel a bit overwhelmed. How is it that a place that sells you a 50 lb box of jumbo carrots can also sell you beautiful chantrelles and organic shiitakes? I couldn’t believe it. Then Bill started talking about the different things he cooks at home using these products. Not only is he passionate about produce, he utilizes them every day in his own house to make dishes that made my mouth water! Feeling a bit ashamed to have made so many assumptions about GFS, we said our goodbyes to Bill and followed Brett Randall (our rep) upstairs to the show kitchen for lunch.
Lunch was just salt into my freshly opened wound. Chef Brandon Owen, Corporate Executive Chef of GFS and Certified Chef de Cuisine is a man that I immediately gelled with. To be able to talk with someone in the industry and speak of certain people we knew and places we had worked at was refreshing. He explained that the three most important things about food are flavor, texture, and color. Reid mentioned that it was funny to hear him explain things in almost the exact same way as we had discussed in the car just this morning; what was important for the chef, what was important about food. He cooked us dishes using GFS products and showcased the products in a variety of ways. As I have cooked in Sysco food shows before, I understand his job and had a great deal of respect for what he did. And he did it very well. Throughout the meal, I was grateful to hear Chef’s passion for cooking and for making things from fresh, and I was also grateful to hear where GFS’ pre cut products can be a positive thing in Squeah’s kitchen. Now don’t get me wrong, I am a firm believer in making things from scratch. I have talked endless hours of the value of knowing where your product comes from in its raw state, and how you can gently coax flavor out of it with the application of heat. I have spent much of my time at Squeah defending the value of working together, prepping while building relationships. But Chef came up with a great point. Why spend all that time cutting romaine lettuce, washing it, and spinning it for Caesar salad, when you can spend more time teaching people how to make Caesar dressing? Now we do make our Caesar from scratch, but what he was saying was how to utilize time in the most effective way so those in the kitchen can grow in their learning? Is it important to know how to cut romaine properly for Caesar? Yes! Is it more or less important than learning how to make Caesar dressing? I would say both are equally as important! But if the summer staff spend every day cutting romaine lettuce for Caesar and then end up not having the time to learn the dressing, would it not be more effective to buy it in cut already? Or better yet, how about spend the first bit of the summer learning to cut these different types of ingredients to get an appreciation for where they come from and how to break it down to the form that we eat, and then buy it in the rest of the summer and teach them things that are more interesting? I do confess that I did not have the time I wish I did to teach the summer staff what I wanted to teach them, and they did not have the time to learn it as they were busy prepping veg trays, cookie dough, and fruit salad. With a quick question on favorite cookbooks to Chef Brandon (White Heat by Marco Pierre White, El Bulli cookbooks, and French Laundry by Thomas Keller) and a final goodbye to Chef and Brett, we were off back to Camp.
So what can I take out of this experience? Well first, I’m excited to hear about the different products that GFS has. Flatbreads, watermelon radishes, blue potatoes, heirloom tomatoes are a few that excite me. Second, I’m impressed at the GFS facility and now have a greater understanding of what they do (and I will be a bit more forgiving when they make a mistake, which seldom happens). Thirdly, and most importantly, it has changed my priorities in some ways as the Chef of Squeah. I will continue to make things from scratch. I will continue to do my best to teach people in Squeah kitchen the importance of the value of ingredients and how to take those raw ingredients and prepare them. More importantly, however, I will make a conscience effort to buy the best products suited for the job at Squeah. I will be more open to pre-fabricated ingredients if it’s fresh and prepared the way we want it.
The short of it is this; if buying a case of pre-peeled onions will buy me extra time to teach the volunteers of the summer the importance of a proper caramelization of onions for a perfect onion soup, I’m happy to say that I would not be opposed.
Hiro and Reid
