Steer Bar and Grill Boot Camp | Kitchen Madness

It was with great anticipation that I hit the kitchen at Steer. After all, as a cook, this is where my greatest interests lie and I was eager to experience first hand the workings of a busy restaurant kitchen.

The first thing that I saw when I walked in was a 20kg bag of onions, and my heart sank. This was going to be less than ideal.  I wondered, just how many shitty jobs would be palmed my way? Well not many, fortunately, and the onion prep was a job delegated to larder, as well as hand-cutting chips. Funnily enough this was a station that I wasn't assigned to or actively avoided, whichever way you want to look at it.

I gravitated towards the pastry section. Things seemed a little calmer back there, a nice achievable to do list with no crazy panic until dessert time. Pastry chef's don't get off lightly though, with longer working hours as they are first to arrive to bake the bread and last to finish cooking.

 

I've never really properly attempted my own bread making, so it was great getting a one-on-one tutorial with Jane (above). Since working at Steer I bake all my own bread now. It's the best and the kid's are loving it. I'm still mastering my bread making skills and this deserves a post of its own, so stay tuned.

One of my job's in the pastry section was to make the Pao De Quejo (Brazilian cheese bread). It couldn't be easier to make and these little gluten-free delights straight out of the oven are a real treat.

You'll need:

130g milk
130g water
65g oil
2 tbs salt
500g sour starch*
2 eggs
200g grated parmesan

Pre heat your oven to 180C.

Place the milk, water, oil and salt in a heavy based saucepan and gently bring to the boil.

Mix together the sour starch and parmesan in a mixer and add the eggs, mix until combined, then pour in the hot milk mixture. Mix until combined.

Portion out the mixture into 40g (or close to) weight and gently roll into a neat ball, using oil to lubricate your hands to stop the mixture sticking to them. Place on baking trays lined with baking paper and bake for 15-17 minutes or until golden and puffed up.

*Available from Casa Iberica Deli in Johnston St, Fitzroy or you can substitute with tapioca starch (from Asian grocers) but the bread will have a slighter firmer texture

After learning how to make a souffle in 10 minutes (it's not hard and I will completely demystify this for you, but again another post needs to be dedicated to it) I was getting a little too comfortable with the pastry section, and it was time to move on. I was at Steer for a money can't buy experience, right? So, I shuffled my weary feet up to the pass and hung out with the boy's up front, where let me tell you, during service, this is where it all happens.

With executive chef Shaun off for the night, chef Richie was in charge and asked me to call the orders. I was petrified, but I tried really hard not to show it. I'm exceptionally good at barking orders on the home front, so I couldn't see why I couldn't do it here.

Another thing, if you ever glance into the kitchen before the orders start flying in, you'll often see chef's standing at the pass in this stance. It's a classic, calm before the storm, mental preparation. Watch out for it when you next dine out somewhere, I swear they all do it.

I was impressed with the crazy multi-tasking concentration of these guys, it was insane. I got the hang of things pretty quickly and started to feel the adrenaline as the orders starting flying in. All different types of cuts of meat to varying degrees of done-ness were being managed with a speed and level of adeptness I've never witnessed before. I will never complain about doing a dinner party for 12 again.

Steer launches its new menu tonight under executive chef Shaun Nielson and Paul Wilson, with a New York Steakhouse theme. And, if the test dishes I tried are anything to go by, then its well worth a visit.

Thanks again to all involved for providing me with such a great experience and to such a great crew, I'm missing you all already.