Musings of a Chef

My name is Adam and What can I say I’m a Chef for a living.  Cooking is not just what I do to make money I believe that to be a chef it is a state of mind and makes up a huge part of your identity.  As an east coast classically trained Chef who happens to be from/reside in Missouri i feel my ecletic background gives me a unique view of the Food service and Hospitality industry.  Chances are good that parts of this blog might not be completely appropriate for the average work place.  Please also be advised that these random musings are my thoughts and opinions with a smattering of factual information thrown in.  

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Hey everyone I'm proud to announce that my upcoming restaurant FlyOver has a Kickstarter campaign that is now live! Please check it out and if possible share the page I for with you friend, family, and social media connections. #flyoverislanding #como #midwestpride (at FlyOver)

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I got a new truck, and it's pretty damn awesome if I do say so 😁. #2016tundra #truckselfie

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Recipe from my Italian cooling class at Inside Columbia's Culinary adventure series. Autumn Panzanella - olive oil toasted bread, apples, "burnt" butternut squash and sweet onions, black kale, spinach, burger's bacon, goat cheese, Sangiovese vinaigrette.

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Decided to test out a dish I've been kicking around in my head for a while...Sautéed chicken thighs, trumpet Royale mushrooms, Burger's bacon, brown lentil purée, Brussels sprouts, maple thyme jus #deliciousthings #cheflife #flyovertestkitchen

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When a Manhattan calls my name I listen

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I'm at it again putting my Culinary training to work on creating cocktails...I give you my Creole Bloody Mary - a purée of heirloom tomato, caramelized onion bell pepper and celery, lemon, Tabasco, soy, blackening spice, parsley and black pepper. Garnished with pickled okra, olives and a creole BBQ spice rim. Come in to @9thstreetpublichouse to get one of these bad boys this week ! #chefbartender #cheflife #bloodymary #craftcocktails (at 9th Street Public House)

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Making spicy pickled cucumbers and heirloom cherry tomatoes for Bloody Mary garnish ! #pickleeverything #bloodymary #cheflife

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My donation to the Columbia Art League's Annual Poster Party. I think I will always love making cheese plates. #FlyOverCoMO #zenandtheartofcheeseplates #ILOVECHEESE #cheflife (at FlyOver)

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Breakfast pit stop at good ol Waffle House somewhere in Mississippi and man do we look tired (except James and his coffee) #halfwaytoNOLA !!

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Now this is simply brilliant engineering ! Who needs a damn john Deere

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Chicken tortilla soup mise en place while the stock simmers. I find zen like pleasure in cooking and this photo reminds me why: #heartofachef #foodlife #miseenplace

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Not my dogs but I love these little guys ! Nico and Maki are the best if I didn't have 2 of my own I'd steal them ! #dogsofinstagram #gooddoggies

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Good news my wine is finally organized and on shelves ! Bad news is I forgot about another 3 1/2 cases yet to be unpacked in storage #wineoproblems #notreallyaproblem

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BBQ pastrami cured brisket with home made garlic pickles

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Blue crab and mascarpone filled peppadew peppers, Calabrian chile tomato sauce, bacon, arugula, and flat bread

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Research trip !

So i just had an amazing last few days !! My good buddy and business partner just took a trip out to San Francisco and Yountville CA to research restaurants with amazing concepts and execution.  We spent the 22 -25 exploring places like Farmstead, Glen Ellen Star, Tony's Pizza Napoletana, Bourbon and Branch, and many others.  We put together a great list of the things we like and don't like and are now working on incorporating them into our concept for our restaurant.  One great thing we decided on while out there was to officially change the name of our upcoming establishment from "The Blind" to "FlyOver".  We derived the name from our equal hate of the fact that our beloved Missouri is considered to be a "fly over state".  To those of you who think that about this state can get fucked.  I've lived here the majority of my life but have also lived numerous other places in this vast country and can say that no other states have much on Missouri.  So whats the best way to fight a misconception? take what you know and spin it to show the rest of the world that they are wrong.  We are using the name FlyOver as a way to poke fun at the concept and make it something better.  Something else I took from this trip is a shred of my culinary self confidence back.  Working at the job i have now has been kind of a professionally draining experience for the past 12-16 months.  Not to say that there isn't a LOT that I love about my job but the constant barrage of negative comments from the membership about what I do has just beat me down.  I would tend to belive it but when I do things for ANYONE who isnt a member I get nothing but praise and glowing compliments.  Listen the primary reason I chose to be a Chef for a living is that I love to make people happy through food.  If youre not happy eating my food feel free to tell me why in a polite and constructive way, not by personally attacking my skill set and person.  While on this trip I realized that the places I was eating what I cook when I get to cook the way I want can hang with any of the things on the coast.  It made me feel good enough that I can now get through the last 6-8 months I have here before Dan and I get this amazing concept off the ground.  

Cheers, 

Chef Adam

[musingsofachef]

Andalusian Mussels : Mussels, toasted cumin and saffron tomato broth, Spanish chorizo, crispy potatoes, cilantro, Andalusian olive oil