Beginning the Conversation About Food and Those Who Make It...

For the most part, I am looking at you, chefs, cooks, caterers, servers, managers, owners, hosts, bussers, etc.  There are some big changes on the horizon for the food industry.  Are we ready?  Do you see what I see?  Several things are in the works that will very tangibly effect the bottom line of your paycheck.

An Increase in Minimum Wage...

For a lot of states there is an increase in the minimum wage on the ballot and for some, it is already there and active.  Food service makes up about 10% of the work force in this country and you're fooling yourself if you choose to believe that this is not something that effects each and every single one of us, tipped or not.

The standard prediction is that there will be a domino effect, first off.  One state adopts a higher minimum wage, then others will begin the lobby for their own increase.  Some states do not even have a minimum wage or they have a stratified minimum wage where it is assumed that tipped workers, based on reported earnings, make minimum wage or more.

Some restaurant owners make the argument that this will lead to the need to increase prices and decrease hours to meet the bottom line.  They claim that their business will suffer.  This increase, combined with the effects of the Affordable Care Act leads to a very compelling argument that makes it more difficult to open a business.

The Subtle Push to End Tipping...

There seems to be a growing swell to end the practice of tipping and have owners pay a wage that makes up the difference.  There are many countries where tipping is simply not done and a few where it is considered an insult.  The United States is poised to follow suit as many embrace the notion that it is an antiquated practice.

If tipping goes away, there is another domino effect throughout the industry.  The entire of structure of the restaurant system is built on the idea of ready money.  Without tipping servers have little or less of an incentive for their job.  The cascade of bussers, hosts, and bar tenders who then are not tipped out at the end of the night.

Small things lead to big things and there are a lot of things that are going on in the business.  Why are we not discussing them?  There are some things that we need to talk about.

Email us at 9of9productions@gmail.com or follow us on twitter at @9t9knives

The New Chef: Now you see them...Part I

photo by letsfrolictogether

The best ones fly under the radar.  If you look carefully, open your eyes with a Matrix-like focus, you will see the invites in your e-mailboxes and your Facebook feeds.  Secret little gatherings of people for dinners and after parties all ending with the warning (?) that these events are "invite-only".  Huge portions, exotic foods, multiple courses and the best ones...the best ones have some pretty exotic locales.  People are liking eating strange foods in strange places with strange people and there are many people out there who are all too happy to accommodate them by creating culinary venues that are there one moment and gone the next.

Cellar Door is a supper club in San Diego that maxes out at about 12 guests.  They are a couple team who enjoys just making food for friends.  They have a following of a couple thousand people who clamor to get in when they do one.  For a little while and for a simple donation people are treated to delicious meals with large portions, multiple courses and interesting, new people in a private setting.  It is e-mail invite only and more often than not, you have to know someone who knows someone.

photo by letsfrolictogether

Pop-ups are a broad term that I have been throwing about, but in reality there are shades of difference in a lot of these unique dining experiences.  The one thing that binds them, however, is the fact that they are not "brick and mortar" spaces.  This means that these are singular events that take place in a space and then are gone.

The upside to this is that there are a lot unique foods being served out there.  Most brick and mortar restaurants have to set up for large crowds day after day, night after night.  They are forced to ride a line of being prepared for a bunch of people ordering the same thing or with few derivations.  The pop up only has to do this one night.  Pop-ups can get away with kicking it up a notch.  There is no need hold anything back when you are doing a pop up.

The Food Truck...
The brick and mortar restaurant is not now nor will it ever be obsolete.  We are just looking at different food delivery systems and that requires some outside of the box thinking.  Or maybe just thinking in another box?  We live in an increasingly interior world and a lot of people choose not to go out and are getting tired of pizza and Chinese food.

It is amazing to see the world and America in particular getting deeper and deeper into the food truck craze.  Smaller menu, faster service, more "intense" food on the go is garnering a significant sector of the market and making itself appealing to talented people who had to face the huge barrier to entry...MONEY.

Chris and Chelsea have decided to go the Kickstarter (you can support them here) route to get funding for their idea.  The great part about their idea is that where others would have needed a few more thousand dollars to get into a building. they are able to do what they do on the road.  They can come to their customer and leave only tire prints when they leave.

Food trucks are grabbing and holding that ground that had once belonged to fast food places while simultaneously shrugging off the notion that they are somehow less than a brick and mortar restaurant.  Some are doing a whole lot with a very little and filling the gaps that a lot of places are leaving behind in the name of catering to larger crowds.

What does all of this mean?  Where are they going?  Are these things futuristic or are they throw backs to the past.  I like to think that they are the solutions to problems that we have seen all over and the inevitable result of people beginning to take their food seriously.

I decided to throw this blog post out there because every so often, something catches my eye and makes me wonder where we are headed and whether we will continue to solve the problems.  What does food scene 2020 look like?

The New Chef..Foundations with Butcher and Baker.

My new obsession is Butcher and Baker.  So much so that we reached out to them to be sponsors (In the interest of full disclosure).  Still, I like the idea that we can curate our sponsors based on the things
that we like and that we would actually use.  We like Butcher and Baker because they provide a lot of the really great foundations of what we love and need as chefs, a good coat, a place for our knives.  Aside from that, there are some really great t-shirts and sweatshirts and more.

Butcher and Baker makes amazing gear and they do it all by hand. You can read all about Corey and why he started the business at his site but I am fascinated by the things that he will not mention on his site.  They are the human things, the things that make him different.  The things that we at 99Knives like: quality work, attention to detail are all there.  There are also the things that are not readily apparent that show up in the details of his work.

There are a lot of things that we are finding the we like about our little group.  And we are going to be writing about them and spreading the word.  The new chef is a bit of a rebel, a bit different but still.




That is what 99knives is about.  It is about people who are making bold decisions for their art and we are going to talk about these things a lot more.  the New Chef series will take a look at the things we should be talking about as our culture grows.

Follow us on Twitter at @9t9knives or on Facebook (here) or email us at 9of9productions@gmail.com

The New Chef

Iliana Regan of Elizabeth in Chicago

Who are the new chefs?  Who are the young and unaffected, the serious risers in the culinary world?  A lot of them are not what you think and that is a good thing. I have recently been reading and watching a lot of shows and articles about this new generation and there is something that is not really spoken about; these ain't my momma's chefs.

Tattoos, piercings, colored hair....There has been a subtle change in the industry since my mother's time on the line. Chefs with tattoos, piercings and colored hair used to be reserved for other parts of the world or strictly for the back of the house.  Now, there is a mounting change in the way our chefs look. We are the new rock stars.  We are building new menus and trying new things.

I would suppose that the major new thing that has come from this is that we are seeing our chefs as people.  When I see a reality show, the competition aspects of the show embrace the skill of the contestant.  They are sent often on (sometimes literal) wild goose chases and are placed hard at work in the kitchen moments later.  I am surprised actually how little time is actually spent showing them cooking.

These shows are often filled with what are called "bumpers".  The bumper is supposed to be an interruption in the action that tells a little back story about the contestant.  These segments talk about where they are from, their home life, and things like what possessed them to come on national television and risk so much.  Fading is the notion that we are all a bunch of automatons standing behind a line waiting to hunch over a plate and put your food perfectly and artfully on a plate.

The new chef is full of hopes and dreams and are often that becomes a large part of the food that they make and so finding yourself at a restaurant that serves signature food, the best part could be the chef that made the dish.

The act of cooking professionally is not so much always about just a way to pay the bills.  At a certain point for most it becomes an active extension of the person themselves, their interests and their art.  There are a lot of days when you are likely to find Chef Regan engaging in one of her other passions, foraging in the wild for the things that she actually puts on the plate.



The interesting thing is where we are going in the culinary world.  99Knives is going to look at how much easier it is becoming a chef and for people to follow their culinary dreams with pop-ups, and food trucks and dining styles that cross geographic boundaries.  The landscape is changing and opening up and in the coming years, it will be a site to behold.

Carol Jordan can be reached at 9of9productions@gmail.com or @9t9knives on twitter and 99Knives on Facebook.

At The Water's Edge with Chef Fullilove at the Malibu Pier Restaurant and Bar

My job and I have a love hate relationship.  I love it because I get to interact with a lot of really great cooks and chefs, but I hate it because I can't be everywhere that all of these amazing things are happening.  So, until they invent faster than light travel or a teleporter, I will have to rely on what people tell me.

Last night, Chef Jason Fullilove did a soft opening/private event at Malibu Pier Restaurant and Bar and thanks to Facebook and Twitter, reviews were coming in from the moment the door opened.  The sun was fading for me out on the East Coast, but for him,  out west it was high in the sky and beaming down on his new restaurant.

Yes, things were bright and shiny and glinting and gleaming.  His staff was well outfitted and prepared but the most telling thing about this event was the fact that it happened in the first place.  It was a private event, before the restaurant even opened.  This shows a surprising amount of faith in a chef.  It shows a great deal of faith in a chef to let him run with a venture like this.  There is never a second chance to make a first impression and all reports show that this one was out of the park. And, to top it all off, it was his birthday!

It takes a lot to go out on a limb or in this case, literally to the water's edge with something new.  Though I am sure he would not admit it, there were probably some butterflies for Chef Fullilove; perhaps a fear that the lights would shut off or there would be a problem with the flat top, but he came through it with flying colors.

Chef Fullilove has been invaluable with his help on our own venture, serving on the board and providing guidance.  We wish him the best of luck on his new place as he moves forward.  If you are in the area, you can find more about it and when it will be open full time here (Malibu Pier, Restaurant and Bar) and more about Chef Fullilove (here).  I can't wait to personally check it out!  The sea bass carpaccio (right) is calling to me.

Carol Jordan blogs here at 99Knives and SCycle and tweets at @9t9knives Email her at 9of9productions@gmail.com

Pics courtesy of Bryan K. Isgarta of Farm Fresh Culinary

Jessica Louie, Treasurer and Honorary Chef.

Jessica Louie is not a chef, but we won't hold that against her.  For working with us here at 99Knives, that may work in both our favor.  Seattle native and graduate of the University of Washington,  she spends her days working for Capital One Sharebuilder investigating fraud and money laundering but in her spare time she works with the Plymouth Housing Corp., helping to provide homeless men and women with homes and helping them with financial woes.  No, she is not a chef, but she thinks like the chefs here at 99Knives and that mindset is just what we were looking for.

The average chef has a bit of the dreamer in them and there is nothing wrong with that.  It is that dreaming side that brings up great restaurants and invents the pizza.  It is all too easy to forget that side has to be balanced with the practical. Whatever the dream that is being reached for, the dreamer has to have at least one foot on the ground.

This is where Jessica comes in and why she is going to be great in this position.  One Easter, I wanted to make a six foot Easter bunny, but accounting said no because it w
ould be too expensive. I could have made it smaller.  I could have made it hollow but they were not concerned with that.  They would not listen.  I was a little deflated and dejected, but that merely helped me define an ideology in my own life.  I did not want  to always work in places that so no without coming up with a better idea.

Jessica is key because she understands both sides with practical, solid leadership, but still knowing that there are solutions to problems and that if one does nothing to solve them, then nothing gets done.  Rather than saying no, she helps to solve the problem.

Did I mention that she teaches yoga and leads environmental projects for her company?  I am impressed  both at how hard she works and at what she does. I am also proud to have her as our Treasurer and to make her an honorary chef for 99Knives.

You can find out more about Jessica here
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The Chef and the Giving Heart, Thoughts on the new charity landscape.

Being a chef today means dealing with an unending flow of solicitations from charitable organizations which want fancy food for their parties; restaurant gift certificates for their auctions and cooking demonstrations for their benefit events. "The only group I've seen asked to do more is R.E.M," says Hugh Acheson, who in 2000 opened Five & Ten, his first restaurant, in Athens, Ga. Seattle Weekly, July 2012.


The man has a point. Chef Acheson, we are certain has a mailbox full of requests. Yet, let's look at the other side.  We are a giving bunch, but the chances that we have to work with charities and the costs associated with it can be rather taxing.  So Chef Acheson is right and you have to weigh your chances to do some good and choose your causes wisely.  Or do we?

There is a movement to shift the paradigm to giving in ways that are beneficial on a number of levels and not just single "silver bullet" events.  The problem is, as ever, the clock and the calendar.  Let's be honest, people give at holidays and special events and occasions.  Thus, charities run their fundraising schedules off of when people give.  Chefs and others are asked to give their time during their busiest times of year, personally and professionally.  I have yet to meet a chef that did not want to give, but still did not have to deal with produce deliveries and line cooks not showing up, etc.  Not to mention our own families and personal obligations. We are pulled in a number of different directions all at once like a tug of war. 

Enter Social Entrepeneurism.  Social entrepeneurism is a trend that is taking hold in a lot of places and gaining ground...thank goodness. The idea is simple: use the money being made to help other organizations year round.  Better yet, the trend seems to be for organizations to invest in their own concepts to earn their own income year round.   It is not unusual anymore to see a church running a coffee shop and often taking it further by hiring the people the proceeds are meant to help.

This is not a unique idea, but why is it getting so prolific now?  The main reason is that we are in a down economy.  We are beginning to see the top end of the giving nature and the proliferation of charitable practicality.  In short, people want and need more bang for their buck than the warm feeling they get from giving. So, if they are going to pay five dollars for a cup of coffee, why not one where the majority of the profit goes to charity?

Crowdsourcing has gained momentum lately as well.  The interesting thing about this is that as an idea, it begins to fall into the same traps that standard fundraising does with people wanting more for their dollar when a dollar has to be stretched all around.  The popularity of the idea has given way to people making premium decisions to market their idea.  So ostensibly, an idea that was supposed to level the playing field by giving means for the "little guy" is co-opted by groups that are able to field heavier marketing campaigns (videos, viral marketing campaigns, etc.).  Perks for donating and advertising have to be stronger and stronger to reach the numbers to make the idea viable.


The idea of social entrepeneurism is more and more attractive to charities and should be very freeing.  Done correctly, ideas like this take away from even having to hire someone to specifically raise funds.  Raising money independently like this frees them from special interest or having to in any way dilute what the whole mission is about for the sake of the highest donor.  People with the money for coffee or any other product has the same monetary vote and thus they can concentrate on achieving the nominal goal of the organization..

Needless to say the charity landscape has become an odd battleground and those who have a cause are going to have to find more and more creative ways to capture a dwindling dollar share.  Chefs are a creative bunch and the coming years are going to be pretty interesting as we see what we can come up with.  With pop-up dinners, food trucks, and more the options are widening and for those willing to chance it, the future looks bright.  

Carol Jordan is Editor in Chief of 99Knives, writer, and pastry chef in Columbia, SC and works with charities all across the country to create events that support good causes.  She can be contacted at 9of9productions@gmail.com with questions and comments and find us on twitter @9t9knives