silver bowls (anal) and beans and salad (also probabably ana

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ravanwin
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silver bowls (anal) and beans and salad (also probabably ana

Post by ravanwin » Sun May 20, 2007 7:37 pm

1) there are 3 big silver bowls in the forest kitchen. these are for DISPLAYing the salads of the day. we bought them special for this pourpose and it hurts me to see olives or falafel in them. am i crazy? probably. please help me.

2) I keep 3 tins of bakes beans in the ban marie above the potato machine. either we all need to do this or I need to stop because volunteers ALWAYS automatically open a can of beans and zap it. I feel that having beans hot and at the reasy is time saving, and is better than using the stupid microwave. any objections? can we get on the same page?

3) SALADS: while it is quiet I have been only putting out 2 salads and keeping those in the display fridge. we aren't selling huge ammount of food so the salads are going to go off if we have too many and also, it doesn't make sense to keep them out and getting warm all the day. again, vollies are getting confused and putting salads out and then I put them away etc. can we firm up on this because it's drivning me mad.

4) i am not agains smoothies as long as they do not involve ice. make a recipie and we could stock.

r

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Shannon
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Post by Shannon » Sun May 20, 2007 8:09 pm

1/3) I agree that the silver bowls aren't for falafel/olives, but I have my own anal retentive concern: the display salad often gets forgotten about and there will be a bowl of it sitting there when the rest of the salad is finished and we've started a new one. Not cool. Also, I might be crazy but it seems to me that even if the salads are refrigerated, if they aren't in air tight containers they go soggy/yucky more quickly. So, maybe those display salads need to be shifted frequently?

Finally: I think having the salads on display makes customers more likely to request one over the other. And we don't like that...do we??

2) I always forget about beans. Ban marie makes sense. I will try harder.

4) I am not against making smoothies for the summer if we put them where the potato machine is now. I don't think we have room for both. Smoothies in summer and potatoes in winter??

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Post by lucky » Sun May 20, 2007 10:26 pm

1/3) I have *never* seen falafel outside of the wooden bowl. Nor olives outside of the ceramic one. Weird.

I irregullarly put salads in display fridge. Maybe just keep three salads where we usually do and use them as appropriate. I think it's good to have two fancy salads so if two people order meals we can show off our salad making skills with the amazing variety.

Am I completely craz-eeeee?

2)I never keep beans in the ban marie as they don't heat up properly/don't keep warm properly/go dry and icky/people forget about them and so on. but maybe we don't have to worry about it if...

4)Smooooothies would come in. I 100% agree we shouldn't be messing about with crushed ice stuff, but we can EASILY do (soy) milk with a choice of fruit or whatever. Plop plop, zap, pour, yum.

A*
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Post by swithun » Mon May 21, 2007 12:00 am

I would rather have the salads near to where I prepare the food. It is a hassle to have to turn round and pull stuff out of the display fridge. If we could rearrange the kitchen so that food was prepared facing the customers, I wouldn't mind. Salads just come with whatever people order (apart from The Swith), so I don't think we need to push them. And I certainly don't want people asking for one rather than the other.

Those bain maries are the bain of my life. By the time for closing the kitchen, what ever was in them has been cremated and has to be chucked. With baked potatoes selling so irregularly, we risk losing lots of precious baked beans. They have to soak overnight just to get clean. I know I forget the odd thing at night, but it is in the chefs' code of honour not to get things so dirty that they have to be left overnight.
Alex wrote:Plop plop, zap, pour, yum.
I think we have the advertising sorted. But what's the product?

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Post by lucky » Mon May 21, 2007 12:32 pm

swithun wrote:
Alex wrote:Plop plop, zap, pour, yum.
I think we have the advertising sorted. But what's the product?
I think we need a new name for it. Someone had an argument with me about the fact we can't call them smoothies without crushed ice.

Fruity Spadge Whizz drinks?

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Post by ravanwin » Mon May 21, 2007 12:49 pm

salads: i think, just for this quiet part of the summer keep it to two salads and keep them in the fridge durring the day. I recokn the do stay freshed and don't go off so quick and (maybe) this will prevent shannon's issue of people forgetting about the salads that are on display. no need to show off our ability, alex, of selling old, soggy, gross salads if it takes 3 days to go through a tub of fancy salad. Of course when salads are on display they will want to choose them. but that is not how it works. but they can buy a salad plate and get all 3. whatever, it is a display fridge and should be used as such. It is full of fruit NOW.

I know it is a hassel to turn around and top the plates with salad from the display fridge but in this quiet part of summer, that shouldn't matter. we should study palmero's and all the fine food shops of the city to see how they quickly make the food facing the customer thus clearing some counter space and using the fidge efectively and not having salas and sour cream out and warm all day.... this is the next logical move for the kitchen.

are we in agreement on this?

BanMarie of beans: officially on Hiatus till end of july / august when things will truly be busy and we will need it for speed. i have no problem with not using it for the next month or so.

agreed?

smotthies are on, by the way.

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Blender

Post by ravanwin » Mon May 21, 2007 2:29 pm

I bought a new glass bit for our kitchen aid blender (it is chipped... damned ICE!) ... it cost 33.37 and will be delivered direct to forest.

ok?
ryan

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Post by swithun » Mon May 21, 2007 3:16 pm

Smoothies without ice but with milk are called thickies I think, although I do remember back in the 9Ts when they came out, smoothies did have milk. Butter milk is good - thicker than normal but still low fat. Could stick some tofu in for the soya brigade. What's the recipe, in case I have to make some tonight?

If we could keep the salsa, cream etc. in the display fridge too, we would just need to turn around for the hot stuff. But we really need more space, if we want to show off the cakes. We could use the square tubs for everything (olives and falafels too), so that they tescelate optimally.

While I'm thinking out of the box, why not keep a few un-salsa'd burritos hot in the top of the baked potato machine, ready to go under the grill at a moment's notice. If they dry out, put them under the tap.

p.s. Ryan, leave me something to chop this evening.

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Post by ravanwin » Mon May 21, 2007 6:43 pm

the recipie for smoothies is made up, i guess. i have not sold one but have not tried very hard. can burritos fit in a the ban marie. are you taking the piss. am i in an irony vortex. oh god.

you are right about the fridge. go square. its hip.

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Post by thehemulen » Mon May 21, 2007 6:59 pm

ice cream is better (adds texture and taste) than ice cubes in smoothies. there used to always be a secret ingredient. might have been "malt extract" (i think, - it looked like honey)
"If something is boring after two minutes, try it for four. If still boring, then eight. Then sixteen. Then thirty-two. Eventually one discovers that it is not boring at all." --John Cage.

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Post by ravanwin » Mon May 21, 2007 7:09 pm

yes. malt extract is good.

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Post by swithun » Tue May 22, 2007 10:34 am

Not in the bain marie - in the top compartment with the glass door. Frickin idiot. Gosh.

Yogurt can also be used - probably cheaper and healthier than ice cream. Malt extract would be tasty.

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Post by lucky » Tue May 22, 2007 6:13 pm

I think it's a *bad idea* to serve salads and whatnots from the display fridge. This is because my brain can't see how it works.

So, do it and see how well it works. If it's functional I'm all for it.

A*

(I think we should make all the thickies/smoothies vegan. Just to save hassle. Bring on the barrage...)
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Post by lucky » Tue May 22, 2007 6:15 pm

Actually, what is the recpie for the smoothies?

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chris
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Post by chris » Tue May 22, 2007 6:40 pm

it is not hard. there are three key ingredients

1. fruit - fresh or frozen or dried???
2. cold thing - ice, yoghurt, milk, ice cream
3. sweet thing - sugar, honey, or what the above things have naturally

no one really gives a fuck what theyre called, all that matters is how good they taste.. in the past we always experimented...

the easiest for us is:

1. fresh fruit - bannanas/straws/rasps etc.
2. milk/yoghurt
3. sugar/honey

this is a variation on the original forest smoothie recipe which also featured ice cream...

my favourite, is the brazilian recipe...however it uses ice, which tends to destroy blenders - in the hands of the unexperienced, also it of course it needs ice..:

fresh fruit
enough water to just cover the fruit
1/3 as much ice (crushed)
1/3 sugar (or to taste)

blend.

milkshake:

fresh fruit
milk
sugar

blend

smoothie:

fresh or frozen fruit
ice, milk, yogurt, cream, or ice cream
sugar, honey
Maybe it could work? But it will be a kaleidoscopic blend of mysterious shadows and rainbow hued-dreams seen through compassionate tears.

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Post by chris » Tue May 22, 2007 6:41 pm

it is also standard to use apple juice as the filler, instead of the milk etc.. however this is not to many peoples taste..
Maybe it could work? But it will be a kaleidoscopic blend of mysterious shadows and rainbow hued-dreams seen through compassionate tears.

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Post by ravanwin » Tue May 22, 2007 7:03 pm

StarFragment wrote:I think it's a *bad idea* to serve salads and whatnots from the display fridge. This is because my brain can't see how it works.

So, do it and see how well it works. If it's functional I'm all for it.
well, technically, it is NOT functional... which is why we don't do it. However, in the summer when it is slow, it is functuanal.

see?

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Post by Shannon » Wed May 23, 2007 9:19 am

Smoothies:

£2.60 is too much for 1/2 a pint. I dropped it to £1.80 and immediately sold one. I think we should design the recipe so that it's cool to sell them for this much - 2.60 is crazy, unless it was intended as pint sized??

I do not think we should use ice cream in them. Especially shitty, cheap, Tesco ice cream.

Mangos are not a good fruit for smoothies. They take time to cut and get the flesh from, and much of it will be wasted. They also seem to come from our supplier from India, and almost definitely air freighted.

I think frozen fruit would be best. It won't go off, it makes the smoothie nice and cold, and in my experience it doesn't fuck your blender like ice. We make smoothies at home all the time, in a blender not as good as the Forest's, and haven't had any problem with it. In terms of sourcing it, while far from ideal, Farm Foods sell bags of frozen berries for less than a pound.

Apple juice isn't always great for filler, but white or red grape can work well, depending on the colours of the other ingredients.

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Post by Gaz » Wed May 23, 2007 10:00 am

Wow smoothie wars
"Everybody's got his own thing. Everybody's got his way of doing his thing...Now I should attempt to do it my way, my own interpretation of it...I'm gonna bring it on down to Soulsville."
1. OJ/Apple/other Juice (to make it cold) or Milk (if you are in the mood for it...)
2. 1 Banana (to make it thick)
3. Selection of berries (to make it tasty) (guess they could be frozen)

No need for ice or sugar.

Probably worth about £1.80 or £2.00

OJ, banana and strawberries is my fave.

If you want a more luxurious experience then fine but it should cost more...
the more you think, the more you stink

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Post by lucky » Wed May 23, 2007 10:36 pm

In the true Forest way, I think we need to give the consumers as little choice as possible.

Either we
1) Say as much fruit as we have (and say whatever we're stocking on the blackboard or whatever) you can fit in 2/3 of a pint glass, then topped up with fruit juice we usually stock, or milk, or spadge/soya milk and blended together in half pint goodness.

The price should be exponential. Say juice is x and different types of things to add is y. Price is x(15ysquared).

So, lets say juice is 60p.

They want oj and bananas and strawberries

£=0.90+(15times2squared)/100
=0.90+(60)/100
=0.90+0.60
=1.50


Or, if they want oj and bananas and strawberries and melon and spirulina

£=0.90+(15times4squared)/100
=0.90+(160)/100
=0.90+2.4
=3.50

Or, if someone wants oj and bananas and strawberries and melon and spirulina and a lifevest and a small child and a field of freshly bolssomed salmon

£=0.90+(15times7squared)/100
=0.90+(735)/100
=0.90+7.35
=8.25


Feel free to slate my calculations. But I'm probably right. And, it's flawless.



As for salads, no function equals no go in my book. I was brought up on Lego, there's no going back!

Have the food maiking volunteers been asked, or do they whish their opinion to me made known?

Alex*
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Post by Shannon » Thu May 24, 2007 12:10 pm

There will be no spirulina in the smoothies. And no ice cream, I hope.

Kitchen meeting next Tuesday??

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