The end, and yet the beginning all over gain

It had been way to long since my last post and I apologize for the delay. A lot, a whole lot has happened since then. The big news, I've graduated Le Cordon Bleu, with high honors (a 4.0 gpa if I may toot my own horn). I also recently, near the end of august, started work at a great new restaurant inside Caesars palace. It's called Central (sen-Tral) Michel Richard. He is a fairly well-known chef if you know the culinary world, but if not, he's easily found on google. He has three restaurants, all in the D.C. area and now expanded to Las Vegas. You can check out the site, www.centrallv.com if you want to know more.

Before that I was working at a restaurant called the Sugar Factory inside the Paris hotel. It is an American style brasserie, pretty decent food, and I must say, my executive chef there was good to me and I enjoyed working there. I left because this new job at Central was too good to pass up. I also waited tables at a restaurant inside the NYNY hotel called the sporting house. It used to be an espn zone so its a great spot for sports fans if you are ever in town. Again, I left that job at the time because the Sugar Factory position was not only a good way to get into the kitchen, but it also helped me fulfill school requirements for my externship.

My mom, tim and mark all made it out to Vegas (yes, Janis went to Vegas and there are no good stories to tell) for my graduation. It was a total surprise to my mom that mark made it out, but I'm glad he did, and I met his lovely girlfriend Jenny too. She's amazing! And it was to marks surprise that I graduated with high honors, and a 4.0 gpa none-the-less. I'm just a barrel of surprises these days.

As for the future, as Tom Petty puts it, it's wide open. I like Vegas, I enjoy my job, and the weather here is way better then the 8-10 inches of snow the east coast just got before the end of october. However, you never know what's around the next corner, so stay tuned. Also, a little side note, I will be doing whatever I can to audition for the next season of Hells kitchen so hopefully that will be my next update.

Pictures of the graduation and the weekend to come.

Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Times Article

As promised, here is the article that i wrote for my communications class that was published in our school paper. Feedback is welcome:

COMMUNICATION CLASS IN CULINARY SCHOOL?

What I learned from Professor Burke

By Michael Virtue

Communication is defined as the imparting or interchange of thoughts, opinions or information by speech, writing or signs. In this block of classes, I had Effective Interpersonal Communication and Presentation Skills. Someone not in the industry might ask, “why are you taking a communication class in culinary school? What does that have anything to do with cooking?” To be honest, at first thought, the same questions crossed my mind when looking at my initial schedule.

After taking the time to soak in the journey I was about to embark upon, I realized a few things. First, I realized that those questions are more ignorant than reasonable. The second thing I realized was that I have been communicating in the restaurant industry for 14 years.

So, how is it then that if I have been communicating within the industry throughout my career has this class helped me? It has been helpful in a number of ways. To start, I have always been an outspoken person, and never felt that I had problems talking to people while working. What I’ve come to find out is that speaking in front of a group of people versus one on one while bartending or serving a table is a lot different. All eyes are on you. People hang on your every word.

Judgments made by the slightest mistake or praises for a job well done are outcomes of your presentation. All these thoughts are ones I found inhabiting my mind as I was asked to make several presentations in my communication class. Here is where I learned the first useful tool from class. Discussions in class about what happens to you when you present in front of groups and what to do to resolve these stage fright symptoms -- rapid heartbeat, shaking or crackling voice; shaking hands or legs? Don’t panic. Just remember to breathe. Slow, deep breaths have a profound effect on nerves. Sounds simple, but it is very effective.

I used this solution every time before speaking, and have used it in other situations not only to calm my nerves, but to help me keep my focus and concentration as well. It’s so simple, yet so effective.

Something else that has shown itself as a useful tool when communicating, not only one-on-one but in groups as well, is speaking with a purpose. I thought about this after we talked about it in class, and I compared it to how I would speak around my friends. If you are passionate about something, the way you present it should not change based on who you are talking to. If I want someone to believe the point I am trying to make, I find myself getting passionate at times. Using expression in my voice, inflection on the right words, making eye contact with the person I am speaking to and speaking clearly and loudly enough are all ways I talk to my friends. So why should that change when you put yourself in front of a group? It should not, but maybe due to nerves or anxiety you look at people less, you miss the words that you want to really nail home or your passion is gone. This is probably what I took from this class the most, that there should be no difference, and that I would always remind myself that I am talking to just one person and not a group.

This made it much easier for me to present to the class on four separate occasions. Pretending that there was only one person in the room, I tried to communicate my point to that one person as I would to a friend. This point was further validated early on in class when we discussed how to speak in front of groups.

Prof. Glenn Burke made a point to note that when he spoke, he made sure that he was making eye contact with each person in his audience, and as he did, he spoke to them as though there was only one person there. Then he would move on to the next set of eyes and speak to them in the same manner. I found myself doing the same thing and it made it so much easier to talk to my classmates.

It also made it easier because going into this class, I was the outcast, the new guy. I had switched from the mid-morning block of classes to the early morning block due to a job opportunity I did not want to eliminate. In making this switch, I was nervous to meet my new classmates. I had already established a rapport with my previous classmates and knew that any speeches I would need to give would have been easier in front of them versus a new group of people.

On the contrary, it worked out in my favor because it made all the points that were discussed in class much more valuable because I had to use them and make them effective in front of people I did not know. Would they even listen to me? Would they care about anything I had to say? These were definitely concerns,

but were put at ease throughout the time in this class because of all the techniques Prof. Burke taught me. From learning to breathe properly, to making eye contact, to using inflection in my delivery to even becoming more comfortable in my own skin in front of people, all these are things I will take with me into the culinary field, in whatever role I take on.

(cont.)

Communication class

in culinary school?

(Continued from page 9)

How is this going to help me going forward and how does it apply to the culinary field? You open your own restaurant, you hire a new staff and the first day of training comes, and you need to address your staff. First impressions are so important, and if you speak well in addressing your new staff, they will respect you more in the future.

Conversely, if you address the staff members, and you fumble over your words, don’t speak clearly or coherently, you not only sound like you don’t know what you are talking about, and your staff will not take you seriously. You’ll have to work that much harder to earn their respect. Or, for instance, if you are working at a restaurant and have to go out into the dining room and address guests for whatever reason, you want to sound professional. Making a point to guests is vital to the success of your restaurant. You impress them, they come back. You fumble and sound uneducated, they talk and tell their friends and now you have a negative reputation. Then you have to work 10 times as hard to gain their loyalty back as your customers.

Communication is the key. Do it well and the result is professionalism and respect. Do it poorly and you look bad, have “egg on your face” and have to work harder to accomplish anything else in the future.

This is what I have learned from this class. Thank you Prof. Burke!

New grades!!

New grades are in the books for Block number 3. Had to write a paper as part of my final exam for my Effective Interpersonal Communication and Presentation Skills and my professor chose it to put into our school paper. Guess I impressed him :-) As soon as i get it I will post it up for you all to read. Next block, back into the kitchen for Foundations 3 and more cooking, finally!

Second Block is in the Books!

So foundations II is officially over. It was good, i learned a lot and still have a lot to learn and to retain. We did a lot of different things, from sauce making, to pasta making, to how to cook different kinds of proteins and side dishes. We had a final practical (where actually prepare and hand in an entire dish). I had something called chicken doria, with anna potatoes and glazed carrots with chasseur sauce. The chicken is a breast stuffed with ground chicken, shallots, basil, thyme and parsley and creme fraiche. After you stuff it you roll in tight in plastic wrap, tie off the ends, and poach it in water. The sauce is a brown base sauce finished with sauteed mushrooms and shallots, tomato concasse and chopped parsley. The potatoes are thinly sliced, and then layered in alternating cirlces, on top of each other, expanding outward as you build the layers and seasoning each layer. It's pan fried on both sides and finished off in the oven if need and looks like a potato flower of sorts. I did really well, the only thing i was worried about was that i seasoned the inside stuffing for the chicken but forgot to season the outside of the chicken before i rolled it and cooked it. It still tasted pretty good, the sauce i thought was great, the potato and carrots came out awesome. I come to find out that i got marked down on the sauce flavor, he said it was a little starchy, which shocked me, but lost 3 points on that, and that was it! 97%, highest out of the early morning and mid morning classes!!

Coming up next block is communication and interpersonal skills and another class called purchasing and receiving. I was fortunate enough that my math credits from 12 years ago from the university of colorado transferred over, so i don't have to take the culinary math class anymore, hope i still remember how to add and subtract! lol. anywhere, here's a pic of my grades to date!

Block number two almost done

So i haven't posted in a while, sorry to anyone who is reading. I've been crazy busy trying to find a job. It's so hard, i never imagined it to be this difficult. Almost every interview i go on i get the same lines, "wow, your resume looks great, you have a lot of great experience" and yet here i sit, unemployed. Maybe i'm missing something, so i'm putting my resume up to get some feedback. It was good enough to get an A in my career portfolio class so it can't be that bad, unless of course that teacher doesn't know jack.

My second block is flying by and is done next week. Every week we have worked with partners, due to the fact that every class is a production class. Production meaning that every day we cook, and we have to present it to the chef and get scored out of a possible 4 points. so this week being a new week i had the opportunity to go out on my own, challenge myself, see what i'm capable of. The dishes today were chicken fricassee and beef stew. got a 2 on my chicken cause my sauce didn't thicken in time and was a little oily still, but i thought the flavors were there. My beef stew, a 4! :-) So it's solo all this week, pork chops, fish dishes and some other stuff.

Here's my resume, feedback is welcomed and appreciated:

(one note, the objective is a general one and i change it depending on what job i am applying for)

Michael Virtue

1572 Stone Valley Ave.

Las Vegas, NV 89183

908-745-9843

michael.c.virtue@gmail.com

Professional Objective

Utilizing the skills and knowledge from my experiences in the hospitality industry, along with my ongoing training and education at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts, I look forward to working in an environment that I am confident will allow me to learn and to further hone my craft.

Education And Certifications

· Le Cordon Bleu Culinary College, Las Vegas, NV

­ Associates of Occupational Science Degree, Culinary Arts

­ Anticipated Graduation Date: November 2011

­ On-going training in: Culinary Foundations 1, 2, 3; Food Safety and Sanitation; Cost Control and Purchasing;

Baking and Pastry; Nutrition; Catering and Buffets; Wine and Beverage; Contemporary Cuisine; Hospitality

Supervision and Entrepreneurship

· T.I.P.S Certified 2008

Capabilities

• Knowledge of proper knife skills and cuts, hospitality and entrepreneurship, cost control and purchasing, soups and stocks, recipe conversions, weights and measurements, proper sanitation practices, Mise en Place.

• Fourteen (14) years experience in the restaurant and hospitality industry including: wine knowledge, inventory and cost control, drink creation and menu design; many of my drink creations were implemented on drink menus at various jobs.

• Highly productive in a fast-paced atmosphere without sacrificing customer service.

• Excellent work ethic, drive, very dependable, punctual and reliable.

Experience

Bartender 10/2008-01/2010

http://ramadaeasthanover.com/SportsZone.nxg

­Miami Mike's Sports Zone

­East Hanover, NJ

• ­ Employee of the Month - August 2009

• Was able to efficiently and expeditiously fill service bar orders while staying focused on the needs of guests at the bar

­

Assistant Manager, Server, Bartender 12/2007-10/2008

www.taborroadtavern.com

­Tabor Road Tavern

­Morris Plains, NJ

• ­ Accepted into management training program after 4 months of employment

• Maintained a high level of hospitality and work ethic; Acquired a base of regular customers and eventually promoted into management training

­

­Michael Virtue Resume (pg 2), (908) 745-9843

Head Bartender 04/2006-11/2006

www.gladstonetavern.com

­Gladstone Tavern

­Gladstone, NJ

• ­Responsible for effective ordering and cost control of all beverage and bar related items; Maintained and continuously met company standards for liquor cost percentages.

• Created innovative fresh ideas for cocktails and menu design.

Server 12/2004-09/2005

www.RMseafood.com

­RM Seafood

­Las Vegas, NV

• ­Exceeded management expectations on a regular basis which resulted in being one of few head servers

• Maintained and exceeded high levels of customer service; motivated and trained new staff members

Assistant Manager, Bartender, Server 06/2000-09/2004

Opah Grille

­Gladstone, NJ

• ­ Responsible for complete customer satisfaction and maintaining rapport with guests throughout their dining experience; exceeded managements expectation levels which allowed me to be promoted from Server to Assistant Manager

• Maintained daily and weekly inventory of items and ordered all related bar supplies; reduced liquor costs from 35% to 22% within 2 months time

­

Cook, Bartender, Server 05/2000-08/2004

Growth Restaurants dba The Thirsty Turtle

­Bernardsville, NJ

• ­Responsible for daily food preparation of various menu items; work different stations on the line, learning and improving my knowledge of the kitchen and cooking.

• Worked in all areas of Front and Back-of-House operations excluding management.

Awards And Accomplishments

• Ramada Inn Employee of the Month: August 2009

• Consistent Promotions, recognition and salary increases

• Recognized for service, attention to detail, relevant industry knowledge and personality in a food critic’s review in the Star Ledger

References Available Upon Request

­

Drumroll Please.......

My Grades for my first six week block

Minor Injury

so last tuesday, i was working a volunteer event at Bally's and a bartender that was setting up his bar apparently dropped a water bottle on the floor and failed to pic it up. I had to run to the kitchen on the other side of the event center to retrieve caviar via the chef's orders and proceeded to step on said bottle and roll my ankle. now this is an old re-occuring injury, so at first pain i thought nothing of it, but withing 5 minutes the right outside part of my right ankle was swollen the size of a baseball, no lies. so here are some nice pictures. it is better now, still very stiff, very sore and a little discoloration still. orthodpedist appointment on thursday 3/18/10