September 29, 2006 - Issue 127

Jobseeker Newsletter
brought to you by www.starchefsjobfinder.com

IN THIS ISSUE
1.The Wrap Up: StarChefs.com International Chefs Congress 2006
2.Top Ten Jobs on StarChefs JobFinder
3.JobSeeker Resume Tip: Defining the Stage
4.Chef Interview Question and Tip: Iacopo Falai of Falai, New York Rising Star, 2006
5.Conquering the Brussels Sprout with Chef Akhtar Nawab of New York's Allen and Delancy
6.Nominate a StarChefs.com Rising Star Chef in Washington, DC
7.StarChefs.com JobFinder: Back to School

The Magazine for Culinary Insiders. Visit www.starchefs.com

1.The Wrap Up: StarChefs.com International Chefs Congress 2006
On September 19 and 20, some of the world's foremost chefs descended on New York for the inaugural StarChefs.com International Chefs Congress. The theme, "Flavor and the American Spirit," manifested itself in an appropriately vast scope of subjects, from a panel with Eric Ripert (le Bernardin, New York) and Daniel Boulud (Daniel, New York) on the makings of a 4-star restaurant, to Jose Andres's (Café Atlantico, Washington, DC) entertaining presentation of deconstructed American classics like Caesar Salad and Philly Cheese Steak that had the audience laughing and scribbling notes at the same time.

Check out the Highlights of this Year's Congress:
http://www.starchefs.com/news/news/icc_wrap/index.shtml

2.Top Ten Jobs on StarChefs JobFinder
Sous Chef
Hardworking? Obsessed with Italian foods?
Franny's
New York:
ttp://www.starchefsjobfinder.com/js-jobinfo.php?s=-1&t=j&v=212720&positionid=

Chef de Cuisine
Renowned Trader Vic's Seeks Culinary Leadership
The Beverly Hilton
California
http://www.starchefsjobfinder.com/js-jobinfo.php?s=-1&t=j&v=213324&positionid=

Restaurant Manger
Lead the Team at The Barking Frog and Fireside Cellars
Willows Lodge
Washington:
http://www.starchefsjobfinder.com/js-jobinfo.php?s=-1&t=j&v=213287&positionid=

Executive Sous Chef
Creative Culinarian to join The Equinox Resort & Spa
Rock Resorts
Vermont:
http://www.starchefsjobfinder.com/js-jobinfo.php?s=-1&t=j&v=213289&positionid=

Line Cook - Apprenticeship
Garde Manger Position in Contemporary Restaurant
The Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch
Colorado:
http://www.starchefsjobfinder.com/js-jobinfo.php?s=-1&t=j&v=212836&positionid=

Working Executive Chef
Motivated, Self-Starter to join Top Texas Restaurant
Cafe Barron\'s
Texas:
http://www.starchefsjobfinder.com/js-jobinfo.php?s=-1&t=j&v=213100&positionid=

Pastry Chef
Exciting Opportunity for Pastry Chef
Restaurant August
Louisiana:
http://www.starchefsjobfinder.com/js-jobinfo.php?s=-1&t=j&v=213000&positionid=

Sous Chef
Creative? Join our Team!
L\'Auberge Provencale
Virginia:
http://www.starchefsjobfinder.com/js-jobinfo.php?s=-1&t=j&v=213020&positionid=

Line Cook
Rising Star Chef Franklin Becker Seeks Line Cooks at Brasserie
Restaurant Associates / Patina Group
New York:
http://www.starchefsjobfinder.com/js-jobinfo.php?s=-1&t=j&v=213282&positionid=

Pizza Chef
Toss Pies in Paradise
The Ocean Reef Club
Florida:
http://www.starchefsjobfinder.com/js-jobinfo.php?s=-1&t=j&v=213360&positionid=

3.JobSeeker Resume Tip: Defining the Stage
Many employers will require prospective back-of-house hires to spend some time in their kitchen before offering them a position. This try-out, called a trail (as you literary trail after another member of the kitchen staff) may last a few nights for line cook candidates or may take place over period of months for an executive level position.

While you may begin a trail merely shadowing a staff member in your expected position, the majority of employers will expect you to put in a nominal amount of unpaid hours. Remember that this is more than just an audition for a new position; it's your chance to experience a new work environment. Take the time to notice the kitchen's style, both of managing service and employees. Check out the layout of your prospective station - could it work for you? If you discover you can't take the heat, this is a good time to bow out, but make sure to let your prospective employer aware of your decision. Even if it seems insignificant to skip out on a trail, there's no need to risk burning a bridge in the tight-knit community of foodservice.

Treat a trail as you would any new job position: arrive early and prepared to jump in wherever you are needed. At the end of the night, be sure to thank the staff member who hosted you, and confirm any other scheduled trail appointments.

4.Chef Interview Question and Tip: Iacopo Falai of Falai, New York Rising Star, 2006
Iacopo Falai opened Falai on Manhattan's Lower East Side in 2005, followed by Falai Panetteria, a showcase for his breads and pastries, a few months later. A native of Florence, Chef Falai attended a local Italian pastry school and worked throughout Europe before moving to New York to become the executive pastry chef of Le Cirque.

Chef Falai's favorite interview question can be difficult for JobSeekers: he likes to ask back-of-house candidates why they'd like to work for him. Why? The chef responds: "Because it's so hard, it really has to be their passion or they'll never survive. They will have to make so many sacrifices: economically, emotionally, physically, and they will have to survive them."

So what answer is he looking for? Chef Falai tells us that, "if they don't tell me they love it, I know they won't make it with me." He adds that any cook just starting out must "stay true to their passion. If cooking is really their passion, they must take pleasure in even the smallest, most menial of tasks like peeling vegetables or picking bones from the fish. If they can do this, if they can enjoy coming early and leaving late, they'll be happier, more successful cooks."

5.Conquering the Brussels Sprout with Chef Akhtar Nawab of New York's Allen and Delancy
As Chef de Cuisine at Manhattan's CraftBar, Chef Akhtar Nawab designed a menu of seasonal, pure flavors that he will build upon at his own forthcoming restaurant, Allen and Delancy, on the city's Lower East Side. As Brussels sprouts arrive at the market this month, Chef Nawab will take on glucosinolates, the natural compounds containing sulfur and nitrogen that can cause acrid aromas when the vegetable is cooked. The chef treats the sprouts to a quick roasting in his Smoked and Grilled Spanish Mackerel, Beet Bouillon, and Brussels Sprouts, and gives them a rich coating of duck fat in his Roasted Sirloin, Confit Brussels, and Bone Marrow Custard.

Taming the Sweet, Nutty Brussels Sprout:
http://www.starchefs.com/features/brussel_sprouts/html/index.shtml

6.Nominate a StarChefs.com Rising Star Chef in Washington, DC
StarChefs.com is currently accepting nominations for our 2006 Rising Stars Awards in Washington, DC. These industry awards will recognize the top up-and-coming chefs, pastry chefs, bar chefs and sommeliers in the greater Washington, DC area, who demonstrate exceptional ability, motivation, and the potential to have a positive impact on the culinary field. Chef and Pastry Chef candidates are judged on their creativity, presentation, ambition and, ultimately, the taste of their food. Sommeliers and Bar Chefs are judged on their wine pairings with food and their original cocktail creations, respectively.

Nominate a Rising Star:
http://www.starchefs.com/survey/takesurvey.php?id=141

7.StarChefs.com JobFinder: Back to School
It's fall - the perfect time to dust off that resume, clean up your clogs, and try your skills in the culinary classroom. The StarChefs.com SchoolFinder is your first resource for info on local and international culinary schools, as well as lots of scholarship programs, like The Taste of New England Scholarship Recipe Contest at the New England Culinary Institute:

http://www.starchefs.com/cooking_school_finder/html/scholarship.php