Looking Back on 2010

I remember growing up and always hearing "you cant know where you are going if you don't know where you have been". Now I have no clue who said it first but it has kind of been a motto for me and the business. I think it is important for all of us to make ourselves better in our work and in our life. So in 2010 I set out some goals that I wanted to accomplish and looking back I am happy with all the mistakes, successes and what I learned from them.

I am very proud of the growth that Artisanal Palate saw this year and bringing my passion to thousands of people with my food. My biggest goal was to get a satellite with a winery and that was completed with Konzelmann. The patio was the most successful the winery has ever seen and was actually 40% locals every weekend which made me very happy. To have locals come out every week is very satisfying, especially when they join the Winemaker Dinner that I do with Eric Pearson and Herbert Konzelmann. Sometimes I would see the same people 3 times a week!

The website was a nightmare this year putting its completion in the wrong hands until meeting Ricardo Macrae who has fixed the back ground issues that I was having. I learned that I need to be on top of things a lot more and cut ties earlier with those not doing work to my standards. I am so happy with the website now and all the work that went into getting it up and the continued work to bring you the best of Artisanal Palate and the great region of Niagara.

The biggest lesson that I learned this year was to follow up. I met so many great people this year that have helped as mentors through the St.Catharines-Thorold Chamber of Commerce and the Niagara Business Group. Sales have been my weakest point and it has been talking with these experienced business men and women that will make the difference for year 3.

I have learned how to spend my money smarter and stretch it farther than I was ever able to before. I still made a lot of mistakes and one massive one that lost me $3000. I figure that I learned from that mistake and hopefully others can learn from mistakes that I have made. The moral of that story is really really educate yourself on the businesses you give your money to. This business was not one that I should of....it happens.

So after 20 months and the 2nd January of this business's young life I see a lot of positives. I am working hard on establishing more contracts and developing great dinner series. The Passion Experiments will start February 11th and things are being worked out for a Winemaker and Farmer Series. I know looking back it has been a tough 2010 where money was short and it took a lot of work to grow even an inch. With all that hard work now bringing a smile to all my clients and new ones every month I am looking forward to 2011.

With so many great things ahead I hope that you all can grow whether in business or personally. Keep checking in at NiagaraCatering.ca and remember that if you have any food needs or questions, I am available. I am hear to help you as much as run a busniess, so from me to you ....I hope you to can top your best in 2011.

Slainte my friends in apron

Iron Chef

Artisanal Palate will be putting our skills to the test in a competition for charity. Information on actual dates and times will be coming soon. You can also contact Johnny Roccos for more information. (905-358-0004)

My Health Challenge

So 5 months after another devastating knee injury and a gained 15lbs as a result, I have started a health challenge with friends and any other people foolish enough to take part.

So what is the challenge?

For the next 3 months including Christmas and New Years there will be no beer, no junk or processed foods. The goal is to lose the 15lbs and probably 6% body fat I gained by not being able to train.

I was asked by 20 different people why I would do something like this and especially this time of year. Well for someone who preaches good healthy food, I usually don't make that same good food for myself. So my diet has been notoriously horrible containing mostly of pastas and lacking in proper amounts of proteins and vegetables. The result is fatigue and the inability to concentrate. So after months of not being able to train I am getting back into it with the help of everyone that is taking part in the challenge.

So what is the result going to be?

Loss of weight, more energy, more strength and forcing myself to create more ideas that will end up under recipes on the site (http://www.niagaracatering.ca/).

So be creative, toss out all that crappy junk and processed food. Have some fun in the kitchen and create healthy meals that will save you a lot more in the end.

Good Luck!

3 months: end date Feb 28th, 2011

Limits: no beer, no junk food, no processed foods
Training: Minimum 30 minutes a day

The Power of Food

Last night I experienced something that I have not seen or been apart of in a long time. As I get older and my friends get married, have kids or just out right busy I realize that we only get together once in a blue moon. By the power of Twitter I was invited to a party called "Meatluck". Now I am sure that by the name of the event you can figure out what was going on..in short. A buffet of pork, duck, offal and vegetables.....even horse tenderloin. Yes that is right I said horse...Mr. Ed right there on a platter. You see what amazes me about food is not only its taste and endless possibilities but the conversation and friendship that it starts.

You see for years I would put on massive feasts for my friends to enjoy. We never needed the keg or rowdy party of our parents stolen liquor, just food and laughs. To walk into this room of 30+ people laughing drinking wine and sharing food reminds me why I love it so much.

I have started to learn the power of Twitter and how it can connect so many people with the same interests. In essence really it was like the eharmony of foodies last night. To put faces to the tags that I follow and people that follow me was interesting. It made for some great conversation.

If nothing else is that not what food is....a vehicle for conversation. A way to put us at ease and a way to welcome new people into our lives. My goal is to bring passion back to the table but maybe it can just be as simple as getting more like minded people together and hopefully others will catch on.

Happy eating, Slainte

Patience has run out

Well I originally wanted to wait until the new site www.niagaracatering.ca was able to connect all of my blog but I felt like starting to bring some of the stories and revelations that have been going on. I have waited very patiently for people to help out with the site and have cut ties with a few businesses and people that said they would help finish it off. I have contacted someone new so hopefully everything I want done to bring you the best culinary site dedicated to Niagara Cuisine will be completed soon.

So while I talk with this new business on completing this task I will start bringing you some of the food stories that have been worked on over the weeks. We have a lot going on and I am looking forward to bringing it to the community.

Slainte and keep cooking,

Shawn

Still Digesting Montreal

I decided 3 weeks ago after being in a real mental and physical rut that I needed to take a step back and really evaluate what I was doing with myself and my company. Many people talk about the hardships of owning a business, however outside of financial insecurity long hours and hard work are what the culinary trade was founded on. The great chefs of past and present became great after years and years of study and practice. Only being 24 I know that I am farther behind my peers but make the best of books, trial and error. After not reading, working out, sleeping or eating properly for 3 months I knew it was time. I had hit a massive road block in what I was trying to get done as every meeting or attempt at a project was like walking through newly poured cement. So I knew a trip to Montreal was just what my brain needed.

Montreal for me has always been the greatest canadian culinary city in my mind. I live an hour away from Toronto but there was something from a cooks perspective about the city that really spoke to me. It was not until my visit last week that I realized we shared one great thing in common, our passion. Our passion to eat, drink and entertain those that walk through our doors whether a restaurant or our home. On the trip I started to write my thoughts, ideas and creations again which I had not done in a long time. There was this sense of freedom again even though I am fully aware of my inability to write, print and spell. So as the Blarney Stone intended for the Irish to have the gift of gab for 5 Days in beautiful Montreal that is what I did. From 9am until 1am the next day I had food in different restaurants and had discussions with patrons, employees and people on the street to get a pulse on what the Montreal culinary scene represents.

What were the lessons that Montreal could teach me in my quest to own my first restaurant?

Leaving Friday afternoon there was a sense of accomplishment but regret as well. Regret that I was coming back to Niagara, a place that I am not yet able to do what I want to do. For me Niagara is one of the truly blessed regions in the world. The fact that 2.5 years ago I couldn't close my right hand or move my arm kept me here instead of the Michelin kitchens around the world gave me time to appreciate it. A 7 month lay-off allowed me to study the area and hone my knowledge in food, wine and spirits. After the 7 months the carpel tunnel was not that bad and it became easier to cook and so was born Artisanal Palate with the goal of "Bringing Passion Back to the Table". I look around Niagara however and I don't see this passion. In a few bright eyes among the masses can I catch a glimpse of it. For having some of the most diverse growing conditions and products available it is amazing that we are still mostly a "chain" restaurant city. The donought capital of the world...........hurray!! From where I was staying the ratio to chain vs privately owned restaurants and cafes was amazingly lower than Niagara. So for me the trip was not only to regain my passion but find ways and concepts that will work here. What concepts can I bring to Niagara that will give us the recognition it deserves. When I ask people outside of this city or people that come to visit we are usually called boring and lack diversity. For me I see a lot of similar restaurants with an unpassionate work force and at times mediocre talent because of it. I have had so many good meals and so many bad ones in this area and it has to stop.

With such a great pool of talented chefs in this area there needs to be a connection. A connection between what the great producers here like Tree and Twig have and "value" restaurants. It has become more and more apparent that everyone is wanting more of a local cuisine but how in tough economic times do we convince everyone of it. Just because we can charge higher prices does it really mean that we have to? Does $0.25 a lbs food cost have to reflect $4.00 on a menu? Great food does not have to be expensive. I have many great lessons from Montreal that I will share. Call it my journal, call it rambles of a horribly grammatical flawed Irishman, what ever you want to call it maybe you might gain some ideas yourself and maybe even bring your own passion to your tables at home.

I hold nothing back as I am not a political man. But an argument or discussion to me on what we can do for Niagara is better then standing around while another McDonald's or Swiss Chalet goes up.

So care to join me?

When you have nothing

My friends have long made fun of me for some of the creations I come up with when it comes to having nothing. The idea of a chef is not just someone that can take the best ingredients and make something great its the ones that can take "nothing" and make something great out of that.

So you have a can of tuna and pasta on the stove from last night......I know a very tasty start. You see this is what I had to start with as I was hungry but had no proteins. So I went through the fridge to see what I had available to me....which as most bachelors isn't much.

What did I create?



Tuna Pasta with a Spicy Curry Rose Sauce....College students just got a little more refined because of this dish.

Who says you can't be creative with left overs!!

As my family is visiting the relations and I am here working, I am sure that Ill put something together out of the large amounts of turkey coming back. Should create the "Reality Cookbook", a book designed around making food out of left overs and scraps..now that is real family cooking!

Slainte and Happy Thanksgiving