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July 1 2019

Lost and Found

Umbrellas; Scarves and Keys. Oh My!!

Oh the wonders we find but what’s more amazing is that no one calls to claim them.

Umbrellas, I get, they are that one item which holds that proverbial phrase of “the gift that keeps giving”.. We hold on to them, Restaurant Customers “borrow” them; Catering clients use them to go back and forth to their cars etc.

Scarves/Hats and other small article of clothing, I get it. They can be disposable. Channel Glasses – maybe not so much.. However, I still end up with a handful of items at the end of Winter season.

Found a bunch of keys.. This baffles me though. A BUNCH OF KEYS!!! How can no one call to claim them.. Did I mention they’re a BUNCH OF KEYS? I waited for a phone call. Nothing. Even reached out to the Bride and Groom the following morning, to see if any of their guests contacted them. Nothing.

Such a story to be told with what’s attached. Yet, the story is not mine to tell..

How can no one claim a bunch of keys. I would definitely contact a venue, if I attended an event. Wouldn’t you?

May 26 2019

What you should know if you’re planning a City Hall Wedding

Chef.and.I Blog City Hall Wedding, City Hall Weddings, NewYork, NYCCityElopement, NYCCityHallWedding

Gathered the following information while researching for Our New Website www.CityHallWeddingReception.com Just thought I'd share here in case you're planning a City Hall Wedding.

Information collected from The City of New York, Office of the City Clerk
Their Website: www.cityclerk.nyc.gov

General Information:
A NYS marriage license is valid for 60 days. I believe that for Active Military it is valid for 180 days). You may apply online, which is suggested, as this will inform you of necessary documents eg: divorce papers from previous marriage etc.
Please enter your information accurately. Print paperwork and take with you to City Clerk's Office to obtain your license.
Please note: License can only be used in The State of New York

Ceremony information at The Office of The City Clerk:
Most important!! You must wait a full 24 hours from the time your marriage license is issued before a marriage ceremony can be performed.
The Fee for the marriage ceremony performed in any Offices of the City Clerk is $25.00.
Marriage Ceremonies are performed on a first come first served basis. They are done during regular business hours, Monday thru Friday from 8:30am to 3:45pm. At least one witness over the age of 18 must be present with valid photo identification, at the marriage ceremony.
After your marriage ceremony, your marriage certificate will be immediately issued to you.

Ceremony Off-Site:
Apply and received your Marriage License as stated above and wait a full 24 hours before your marriage ceremony. Present your marriage license to your marriage officiant.
Please NOTE: Any Marriage Officiant who performs a marriage in any of the boroughs of New York City must be REGISTERED with the Office of the City Clerk. **Very Important!
The marriage officiant will fill in the necessary information on the marriage license and mail it to The Office of the City Clerk within 5 days of marriage ceremony. A marriage certificate will then be mailed to the address indicated on your marriage application..

CLOSEST City Clerk's Location and Business Hours to My Kitchen:
QUEENS OFFICE, BOUROUGH HALL BUILDING
120-55 Queens Boulevard, Room G-100
Kew Gardens, NY 11424
(718) 286-2829
Monday thru Friday from 8:30am - 3:45pm

May 23 2019

Things My Chef taught me…..

Chef.and.I Blog chef and i, chefandI, cheflife, ChefWife, married to a chef, marriedtoachef

Mise en Place – probably my favorite term. Over the years of our relationship, I became his sous chef and dishwasher; his student. I learnt how to chop, dice, julienne. The importance of prepping prior to the actual cooking truly made the process easier. Cooking as a couple was more fun over a bottle of wine.
He loved books as much as I did. Although, his idea of “reading” was limited to shorter paragraphs and included photos. We have shelves full of cookbooks and magazines he has accumulated over his lifetime. His desire to learn has not decreased over the years, realizing that he will never know everything in his field. The art of Cooking is forever changing. Gifts have included Book binders for him to store pages from magazines, scanners to store on computer but as much as they are accepted and loved, he still loves to receive books.
Time Management and Checklist. Cooking for 10 takes the same prep as cooking for 100. It only increases the adrenaline and the satisfaction of a successful event is 10 times greater. His organizational skills are on point. Each Event is different but all require the same attention to the same details, order taking, purchasing, budgeting, setup up etc.
How to remove stains.. LOL this is a good one and had nothing to do with “Cheffing”. He has removed many wine stains, bbq sauce stains, curry stains, oil stains from my clothes, our staff shirts, customers clothes.. He gives high praise to his Grandma Jenny.
Work began based on your timing to get a project done, not necessarily a schedule. This carried over into our life. It made sense to some degree. If a stew took 1 hour and needed to be served at 10am on a delivery which will take an hour with no traffic, guess what, you don’t go into the kitchen at 9am.. Do the math.
Not every dish is prepared the same. However, if the outcome is a success, then the process to get there doesn’t matter. He’s made some traditional dishes from Trinidad. We went back and forth with my recollection of a recipe vs his tweaking the recipe to make it his own and it was quite delicious, making me question my grandmother choices LOL

This is a complete List but I promise to ADD on as I remember.

Thanks for stopping by

Chef and I

January 10 2019

Food Restrictions

Chef.and.I Blog cheflife, restaurant, restaurantlife

First and foremost, we do not want to you die! Nor do we want you to choke, break out in a rash or get food poisoning. So we follow rules and regulations set for by the NYS Department of Health and Hygiene aka the Health Department.

That being said, if you have certain food restrictions, you need to SPEAK UP! Do tell, as we are not magicians or mind readers. In some cases, Servers know the item but not necessarily the food preparation. So you need to be upfront “listen, I can’t have eggplant. Do you know if it’s in this dish?” Server will then put you on their radar and hopefully pay special attention (revert to paragraph one).

A woman ordered a Tossed Salad tonight, said “no tomatoes”. OK great!! – writes up check “tossed salad no tomatoes, repeated it the Chef and walks away. This was her Entrée by the way. She had nothing else. Her friends had Entress.

Brought the Salad over, feel proud “no tomatoes” I proclaimed. She said thanks. I walked away, to get other dishes. Goes over to table, cucumber, olives and onions are on bread plate. So I said in Jest (my mother always said there’s truth in jest). Anyway, I said “so you just wanted lettuce”?, to which she replied: WELL i’m on a special Diet, don’t worry, I’ll just pick it out.

I said ” why didn’t you just say no tomatoes, no cucumbers or whatever”.

Her response: “No problem, I’ll just pick it out”.

Walks away, serves remainder of dishes to table. “What type of dressing is this?”

Me: Balsamic Vinaigrette”. Oh I’m just going to send it back, I can’t have that.

OK NOW HOLD UP!!! all you said was NO TOMATOES, If you have all these issues, why not just ask in D E T A I L about the dish you’re ordering. Ask for dressing on side, Ask for oil and vinegar. SOMETHING!!!

GRRRRR! (bangs head) – I offered a plain salad, to which she refused.

Thankfully, the entire table had a wonderful time. They were laughing up a storm (hopefully not at me LOL).. Left with the usual kisses to me and said they’ll be back, even the lady 🙂

June 27 2018

How NOT to be late for your Wedding….

Chef.and.I Blog

As the 2018 Wedding Season picks up, I just wanted to do an early Vent. Summing up some things which happened during last year’s season.

Just don’t be! – there I said it
Try on your dress BEFORE the day of your Wedding.
Do NOT decide to randomly go to a Spa the morning of your AFTERNOON Wedding
Don’t throw a Hen Party the day of your Wedding.
Remember that you’re GETTING MARRIED. It’s not about those Social Media Photos before the actual ceremony.

I’ve had Brides show up 2-3 hours late for their Ceremony. I just honestly cannot fathom this.

This year was going to be different, says this Wedding Planner, as she sips on a glass of Wine.

June 26 2018

Choosing a Venue

Chef.and.I Blog Event, Event Planner, Event Planning, Events

You’re considering hosting an Event. Not sure where to begin? Well in truth, you do know. Thanks to Pinterest, Instagram and other Social Media sites, you can take on the world. YOU GOT THIS!!

What those sites don’t do is guide you to make the right choice for YOU. I know, you want a flower wall, those ballroom chairs, those gigantic balloons, those paper flowers, that mimosa bar with 2 bottles of champagne in photo (don’t even get me started on this one). Most

First item on the list of TO DO, is where will you host this Event. Hopefully this will help you narrow your search:

You have space in your home: Pros – you’re in control of the “venue”. You have a backup plan. You control the food, whether you cook or cater. You control the beverage you serve. Cons – You need to setup, serve and cleanup. Your space doesn’t always allow for a guest list too large. Your guests may never leave LOL
You can rent a Hall: Pros – TIME. Most halls are rented for 6-8 hours, including setup and cleanup. Most Halls are spacious and have tables and chairs. You may bring in Vendors, DJs etc. You can bring your own food and beverage. Cons – sometimes, rental fee is only for space, so everything else for an amazing successful event is additional $$$$. You need to setup (or pay for setup) and clean up (usually at a specific time or you pay extra)
You can host your Event at a Restaurant or Banquet Hall: Pros – most everything is included. ONE STOP SHOP. Food, beverage, space, linen, waitstaff, tables/chairs. Everything is there, minimal possibility of timing issues. Some have house DJs, Florists, Photographer, Rentals etc. Everything needed for a successful event. PLUS, in-house events usually handle setup and clean up. Cons – TIME CONSTRAINT. You have a set time to work with. Limits to what may be brought in, whether it be desserts, decor, rentals etc. Most often it’s a pre-determined menu. Venues with Liquor License do not allow outside beverages.

So YOU need to figure out which works best for the Event you would like to host. Understanding the each category may not usually be overlapped. Expecting some things from one while wanting another situation.

Re-read my first paragraph. We all WANT those things we see in Social Media BUT you have to be mindful of the “Venue” you decided upon, understanding that some of these items may not be allowed.

Eg: I do not allow confetti, not do I allow items to be stuck on the walls. Other venues do allow such things but may not have a Brunch Menu or a Patio, other factors which may be more important to hosting the event you want.

Good Luck with your planning.

June 1 2018

City Hall Weddings In My Kitchen

Chef.and.I Blog, City Hall Weddings City Hall, City Hall Wedding, City Hall Weddings, CityHall, CityHallWedding, CityHallWeddings, Engagement, Event, Event Planner, Event Planning, Events, In My Kitchen, InMyKitchen, Wedding, Weddings

Chef and I have owned My Kitchen now for 6 years. I have seen our Weddings Bookings slowly increase. This year, our number doubled. I am very thankful.

I have had a few couples going the City Hall Route and was able to throw them a Wedding Reception, instead of simply sitting at the Restaurant for early dinner. City Hall Ceremonies are held Monday thru Thursday with the latest time being 3:00pm, making it ideal to have an early weekday afternoon reception, if planned properly.

That is the gist of this blog post. Let me point out a couple of things you need to know. However, I also ask that you verify by calling City Clerk’s Office for up to date information.

City Hall Queens Office is closest to us. 120-55 Queens Boulevard, Kew Gardens. Open Monday thru Friday from 8:30am – 3:45pm. It’s only 1 Train stop away from My Kitchen
Must obtain a Marriage License. I believe it’s $35.00 (credit card or money order)
You may begin your application online. However, you MUST appear in Court together at the same time. Must have proper ID, usually, the same used to fill in online form
After Marriage License has been obtained, you have to wait 24 hours before the Marriage Ceremony can be performed.
Marriage License is valid for 60 days.
Most reviews indicate that Mondays and Fridays are the busiest, so try mid-week.

This is where you now have options:

City Hall Wedding Ceremony – A civil marriage ceremony can be performed in the City Clerk’s Office during regular business hours. You cannot reserve a time or make appointment. You need to have Witness over 18 and with valid ID. I’ve heard stories that families of other couples have filled in. Everyone is usually in a wonderful mood as they’re there for the same reason.

The Cost for the Ceremony is $25.00 (I believe)

After which, you reserve a table at a restaurant and celebrate with your family and friends.

The next option is where I come in

Weddings in My Kitchen – You have the option to have the Ceremony at our location. In “nice” weather, it can be in our backyard or we setup chapel style indoors. You will need an Officiant. Not sure how much each individual charges. I’ve come up with a package inclusive of Cheese Station for Appetizer, Food, Soft Beverages, Room setup for a Reception. You have the option for background music and dancing. Click on the link below for more information.

My Kitchen 2018 CITY HALL Wedding Weekday Package

To those couples who have decided to go the route of hosting a smaller intimate Wedding with us here in My Kitchen, we really take the position that a Wedding is still a Wedding and we make every attempt to make your day special.

Here’s a link to another wonderful post in Glamour.com by Penny Wrenn

Dhanny and Chef Joe

May 26 2018

Medium Rare (because it sounds good)

Chef.and.I Blog foodie, foodies, prime rib, Steak

Don’t order your meat medium rare because it sounds good. Seriously, most Chefs will actually get it right, so when it’s delivered to you, it will be RED.

Don’t ask for to be sent back because it’s under-cooked. “Put it on the grill a little longer”. In fact, you want your meat medium well.. It causes issues with service on the table and in the kitchen.

Just be honest!