Ask a little girl what she wants to be when she grows up and the answer might be a ballet dancer, a veterinarian or an astronaut.
Alicia Kolk, Krystle Schenk and Marie Surakul each wanted to be a chef.
Then, they made their dream happen.
Kolk, Schenk and Surakul were all recently promoted to the position of head chef at Pechanga Resort & Casino, after years of putting their leadership skills and kitchen mettle to the test and then edging out their competition in “Top Chef"-like tasting auditions for a demanding panel of food and beverage executives.
Advertisement
“It’s not an easy process,” said Pechanga spokeswoman Ciara Green. “Their presentation is important, they have to explain how they made a dish and why they did it that way. ... The tasting audition counts a lot, it’s 70 percent of the (selection) process. You may interview great, but can you put great food on a plate?”
The three newly crowned head chefs join Marlene Moore, head chef of Pechanga’s Temptations Food Walk, to make up a third of the massive casino resort’s top culinary echelon. Of the current 12 head chefs, four are women. (Pechanga is presently conducting interviews to fill the head chef positions at the Great Oak Steakhouse and for executive pastry chef; Green said two female chefs are the front-runners to head up the in-house bakery.)
As they worked their way up in the typically male-dominated world of restaurant kitchens, Kolk, Schenk and Surakul faced garden-variety gender discrimination, with male colleagues underestimating their cooking prowess, dismissing their authority and, in one case, taking credit for their hard work.
Through it all, they showed how to fight like a girl — with grit, determination and grace under pressure. When there were asked separately what advice they’d give a young female chef coming up through the ranks, they replied with a unified kitchen clarion call: be strong and keep fighting.
Advertisement
Here’s a closer look at Pechanga’s newest top chefs.
Alicia Kolk, the Garde Manager head chef at Pechanga Resort & Casino.
(Howard Lipin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Alicia Kolk
Position: Garde manger chef (garde manger means “keeper of the food” in French)
Personal: 32, married to a PGA golf pro; two sons, 11 and 3. Kolk started in the kitchen at the age of 11 with her father, a single dad who raised her and her sister while working nights as a bowling alley pinsetter technician. He taught her the basics, and she’d often make dinner. “I always cooked better than my dad. I’d always say, ‘Why don’t you do it like this?’ He’d turn around and say, ‘Why don’t you do it then!’ ” And a career was born.
Professional: Kolk got her first restaurant job at 16, making pizza at Little Caesars. She attended culinary school in Pasadena right out of high school, then worked in the banquet kitchen for a busy Southern California wedding venue. She landed the post of lead banquet cook at the Temecula Creek Inn. After five years there, she joined the banquet team at Pechanga, the Inn’s sister property, in April. She was quickly promoted to assistant garde manger chef, under Schenk. Within a few months, she was named head garde manger chef.
Pechanga’s garde manger, or cold kitchen, produces hundred of salads a day. Chef Alicia Kolk showed she she was up for the job as head chef with colorful, multi-textured roasted apple quinoa, candied walnut and cranberry purée salad, with feta and white balsamic vinaigrette.
(Howard Lipin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
How busy is she? Kolk supervises 15 people and oversees the resort’s entire cold kitchen operation, which prepares dressings, sauces, salsas, salads of all kinds, guacamole, sandwiches, fruit and vegetable displays and more for Pechanga’s 13 restaurants, room service and extensive banquet facilities.
Stat of note: For an idea of the volume produced by the cold kitchen, Kolk said on the average day, it goes through 70 gallons of ranch dressing. “It’s a lot of pressure, but it’s really fun.”
Biggest strength: “I’m quick under pressure.”
Navigating the kitchen: “They (male colleagues) think I’m shy, but I’m a fighter.”
Chef Alicia Kolk’s pistachio-crusted salmon, with fennel risotto and grilled orange beurre blanc, is an elevated dish that helped get her head chef position.
(Howard Lipin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Advertisement
Winning dishes: For her tasting audition, Kolk presented an elegantly printed menu detailing her six courses: roasted mushrooms; apple, walnut and cranberry salad; pistachio-crusted salmon; honey, curry and panko chicken; filet mignon; and pasta pomodoro.
When not cooking at Pechanga: You’ll find Kolk, an avowed “meat and potatoes” fan, in the yard, working as the barbecue pit master at home. Her husband, supportive of her career, bought her a giant, professional smoker, she said with a wry smirk.
When not cooking at home: You’ll find her playing video games with her 3-year-old. “He’s really good. He beats me all the time.”
Quote of note: “As a woman chef, sometimes you’re just not seen. Pechanga has been very open to women chefs. They see us.”
Worst kitchen fail: Dropping 8 gallons of gooey mac ‘n cheese on the floor at the Temecula Creek Inn. “It squeezed into the cracks of the floor. We had to pressure wash it to get it out,” she said.
Dream job: “That’s a tough one. I’m kinda in it.”
Best advice to a young female chef: “Keep pushing, because you’ll get there. You really have to fight.”
Pechanga Resort & Casino’s Krystle Schenk, head chef of the Pechanga Buffet.
(Howard Lipin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Krystle Schenk
Position: Pechanga Buffet head chef
Advertisement
Personal: 34, married with one son, 10. Schenck described herself as introverted but said she has always felt comfortable in the kitchen. She has fond memories of preparing holiday meals with her mother and sisters. “It was the only thing I was ever really interested in,” she said.
Professional: Schenk took cooking classes in high school, and one month after graduating, enrolled in cooking school in Orange County. Restaurant work landed her a job at a Palms Springs-area resort for five years. She could take the heat in the kitchen — “I love being on the grill, around hot food,” she said — but not in the desert, so she applied at Pechanga, where she was hired as a main kitchen line cook. She then transferred to Kelsey’s sports pub but during its 2015 remodel, moved to the garde manger. She quickly proved herself and was named assistant head chef, then head chef. This summer, she was promoted to head chef of the buffet.
How busy is she? The Pechanga buffet seats 460 people and averages 1,400 guests a day. It’s even busier when it’s lobster buffet night on Thursdays, and now also Fridays. Schenk supervises a staff of 106.
Biggest strength: “My ability to take what’s coming at me ... handling all the moving parts, and there are a lot of moving parts.”
Navigating the kitchen: “There’s a fine line between asserting yourself and letting your voice be heard. Marie is little, and I’m soft spoken, but we let ourselves be heard.”
Chef Krystle Schenk’s signature chicken saltimbocca, which she prepared for her tasting audition, is also a family favorite.
(Howard Lipin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Star dishes: Like an A-list actor who doesn’t need to audition, Schenk’s eight-dish garde manger “Top Chef” tasting was such a hit, she didn’t even have to do another one for the buffet job. Perhaps it was her signature chicken saltimbocca that sealed the deal. “With the prosciutto and sage, it’s such a cozy dish, it’s the blanket of food,” Schenk said. It’s also her go-to for every family special occasion and the dish her husband and son request the most.
Not the same old, same old: Schenk is modernizing the buffet choices, adding a DIY Filipino halo-halo dessert station and introducing composed small plates at various stations. “The cooks are very excited about those. At the buffet, you miss the plating and presentation.”
When not cooking at Pechanga: You’ll find her snuggled up under a pile of blankets and pillows. “My son and I are about all things cozy.” They also work out in the garden together and tend to their six chickens.
Quote of note: “I don’t fail. I don’t like to fail.”
Worst kitchen fail: She miscalculated the number of marinated mozzarella balls she needed to plate for a banquet, which became apparent a third of the way in their preparation. “Every time now, it’s count, recount and do it three times.”
Dream job: To own a coffee shop. “My blood type is caffeine.”
Best advice to a young female chef: “Keep pushing. Don’t give up. ... The days are long, you have to put the work in, but you get noticed.”
Pechanga Resort & Casino’s Marie Surakul, head chef at Bamboo, is fearless in and outside of the kitchen.
(Howard Lipin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Marie Surakul
Position: Bamboo head chef
Personal: 53, married. Originally from Thailand, Surakul became enamored with food as a kid through her mother’s cooking, particularly her “surprise egg rolls.” As a teenager, Surakul started going to restaurants with her friends. “I wanted to try everything. We would get a few dishes and all try each other’s food. It was fascinating experiencing the different flavors from all over the world.” Ever curious, she decided to expand her culinary knowledge by moving to the U.S. — alone — when she was 17.
Professional: Her career was based on a simple premise: “I love cooking because I love to eat food, so I had to learn how to make great food.” Once in L.A., Surakul worked in any restaurant that would hire her, starting off mainly at Mexican restaurants, then at a burger joint. “That made me realize that I really loved cooking, but not fast food,” she said. She attended culinary school in Orange County and then convinced her husband that they should open a Thai restaurant, which they ran in Artesia for 14 years. After they moved to Temecula, she joined Pechanga in 2005, working as a kitchen supervisor in the food court. In 2011, Bamboo opened and she transferred there, developing menu ideas and recipes. She was promoted to head chef in September.
How busy is she? Surakul oversees 13 people at the pan-Asian restaurant. Asian cuisine is so in demand at Pechanga, they have three restaurants — Bamboo, Blazing Noodles and Umi, plus the Asian and wok area of the buffet, its most popular station.
Biggest strength: “My presentation and taste, plating and garnishing, I love to see people smile when the dish arrives. ... You eat with your eyes first.”
Navigating the kitchen: “You have to trust each other. I allow myself to be creative, and as a leader I support my staff to be creative.”
Chef Marie Surakul’s flavor-packed Thai-style green curry sea bass was one of the dishes she made for the tasting panel.
(Howard Lipin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Star dishes: Surakul loves spice and has recently introduced a fiery chili pepper shrimp to Bamboo’s menu. For her head chef audition tasting, she was asked to make five dishes. So she made six. Among them were the fusion braised short ribs, with soy, chili and oyster sauce and Thai-style green curry sea bass. “I had one hour, but I wasn’t stressed. I know my cooking. But that’s not what got me the job, it’s that I don’t give up.”
When not cooking at Pechanga: She doesn’t cook at her home; her husband of 30 years does. Surakul loves to garden, read cookbooks and travel to Asia and Europe. “I love Barcelona,” she said of the foodie destination.
Quote of note: “Before I came here by myself, everyone said, ‘America is great, you can achieve anything, just like on TV.’ But you have to work for it. They didn’t say that — that part wasn’t on TV.”
Worst kitchen fail: “None,” Surakul said, with all the confidence of someone who’d move to America by herself at 17 and not stress her pressure-packed “Top Chef” tasting.
Best advice to a young female chef: “Believe in yourself and you can go all the way. And don’t back down.”
Dream job: She’s in it. “This is the highest dream of my life. Before I got to Pechanga, I said I wanted to to be a head chef. And now I am.”
Since being named head chef of Pechanga’s Bambook restaurant, head chef Marie Surakul had added these fiery chili pepper shrimp dish to the menu.
(Howard Lipin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
"jobs" - Google News
November 28, 2019 at 08:02PM
https://ift.tt/37KXh5O
3 female chefs score top jobs at Pechanga after conquering 'Top Chef'-like competition - The San Diego Union-Tribune
"jobs" - Google News
https://ift.tt/36m99ub
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
No comments:
Post a Comment