LIFESTYLE Omelet Guy

All food has history, here is a little of mine… Cooking is hard and I get why a lot of people are intimidated by it. I grew up in a home where we rarely ate out at restaurants. My parents prepared meals daily and we would eat at the dinner table every single night and talk. There was always a lot of reverence in this ritual. They took a lot of pride in the preparation...
J-Walk5 years ago131314 min
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All food has history, here is a little of mine…

Cooking is hard and I get why a lot of people are intimidated by it. I grew up in a home where we rarely ate out at restaurants. My parents prepared meals daily and we would eat at the dinner table every single night and talk. There was always a lot of reverence in this ritual. They took a lot of pride in the preparation of their meals. My Dad was the head of his household at 14 and took care of his three little brothers during his own adolescence. This meant growing up quick, my Pops was a wiz in the kitchen and a master on the grill. My mother learned from my Abuela (Grandmother), our family’s recipes are generations old. You can honestly taste the history in her hand made tortillas and mole. I know this to be true because my mom makes everything just like how my grandma used to. Most of my earliest memories are in the kitchen and I bet a lot of yours are too. Can you still picture your childhood dining room?

I always wanted to be a cook and I started my Journey the summer after I graduated from High School. My first job was a host position at a popular Italian Restaurant in my hometown Bakersfield California. I quickly moved up to bread maker, pizza tosser, wood fire oven cook, and finally had the pleasure of running the pasta station. This is where I learned to love what being a cook really is, this is where I learned the “rush.” The “rush” is an instance of chaos where you are able to work quick, efficient, and perfect. This became my nirvana and escape during dark times in my youth. The kitchen honestly kept me off the street. When my friends were out partying and doing dumb shit on the weekends, I usually had to work. I had saved up enough money and got good enough grades to finally move to San Diego so I could attend SDSU. In college I bounced around a couple of restaurants until I got a nice side job at the cafeteria at USD. The team we had there was an amazing ragtag group of ex hired guns from all walks of life. After awhile I found my home at the omelet bar. It is one of the harder stations due to volume and speed need necessary just to survive. I used to fend of waves and waves of hungry college kids on a daily basis. 500 plate breakfasts were a regular occurrence. I was the omelet guy. I did this for 5 years till I graduated and vowed to never work in a kitchen again. Till now.

Today

Since Halloween’s House of Freaks party we have followed SD Collective closely and have seen each other out at community events with mutual friends. I saw on their page that they were throwing a brunch party and realized that this was specifically right up my ally.  I told Stacie that if she needed a hand in the kitchen that I was her guy. She took my word and trusted my skills. Little did she know that I am an absolute assassin on the burners. I showed up that morning at the Loading Dock ready to work. I met the owner Chris Joseph and we hit it off right off of the bat. We are both from the central valley, Chris is a country boy from Fresno. I’m a country boy from Bakersfield. Anyone from this area knows that these two little cities love nothing more than puffing their chests at each other. We also played football on two different teams that have an ongoing 80-year-old feud that doesn’t look like its ending any time soon. I know, small world right? Regular custom for Valley folk when they meet each other out in the world is to talk immediate shit. There’s always measurements being made. Its not hateful as much as it is playful.

In my years of cooking I have learned that the battle is always won in the prep kitchen. Having all your ingredients cut before opening and having a ready station is 100% essential.  First order of business is the tunes, for me when working prep the only acceptable music is Mexican Corrido (the stuff with accordion in it). In my younger days when I worked at an upscale restaurant in Del Mar, there was only one rule. If you were playing music in the kitchen, it could only be Spanish. I remember hating it at first because it reminded me of my mom waking me up early on Saturday’s to clean the house but after a few months I grew to love it. I now listen to this type of music regularly! The first step to any prep is the cutting. This is the backbone of cooking.

I can go on and on about technique, art, all that mushie crap but that doesn’t have a place here. If you are cooking for a large group of people, the best bet is the keep your menu narrow. Promoting specials will save you a big headache. If every single person gets an everything omelet your toppings will be depleted quickly. For omelets the toppings are everything. Our selection was very standard (spinach, mushrooms, olives, tomatoes, onions, diced ham, sausage, feta cheese, and of course everyone’s favorite SHREDDED CHEESE). Having all of these cut the same size is very important because it ensures everything is cooked at the same rate. Me, Chris, Andrea Poziac and her Fiancé Matt all cut and hammered the prep out as a team! Side’s were fresh fruit, quinoa salad, and toast. Me and Chris cracked a hundred and fifty eggs and we were officially in business!

Main tools you will need for your station is at least two nice non stick pans. A Quarter pan full of olive oil with a ladle, vat of eggs, station with toppings, and cooking tools are all you’ll really need. Once we opened it was blur for me. I honestly was back at USD in my mind. I was sneaking drinks in the back, smoozing with the customers, bullshitting with the out of towners. It felt good to put that face on for a bit. Its very humbling to work back in the service industry because I forgot that without cooking I wouldn’t have my education and without my education I wouldn’t have the wonderful life I have now. There was a line of people but in my experience there are a couple ways to defuse these situations and keep everything going smoothly. These tactics mainly have to do with telling jokes and reassuring everything that you are thankful for you their patience.

I saw Stacie briefly before the doors opened and I could tell that she had been in “go” mode for some time. I have been drawn to collaborating with her because of two central reasons. One being she has a true artist eye. The small details of her events are what keep people coming back. Second is work ethic and coming from my background that’s everything. I have no idea where she gets the energy. She put together a three DJ show, market event, and brunch to coincide in the limelight of CRSSD Fest. Not to mention vending for her clothing brand Honorable Citizens, merchandise company Vibes on Vibes, not to mention The SD Collective who organized this whole event! For me it was fun to show off the cooking skill but seeing other people shine always makes me smile, especially when it’s the homies. If you weren’t able to make it or have never been to an SDC event check our video out at the top of the page!

J-Walk

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