While taking Retail Baking this summer, I planned on working in town for my Cooperative Education requirement. But then Chef Angus “suggested” I take the Assistant Pastry Chef position at Tapawingo, a fine dining restaurant in tiny Ellsworth, MI, and I felt it was an offer I couldn’t refuse. I mean, I felt it was an opportunity I shouldn’t pass up.

Built in the 1920s--and then known as Tapawingo Lodge--the property was purchased by the current owner, Harlan (Pete) Peterson, 25 years ago. Major renovations by Chef Pete included adding most of the current seating, as well as the pastry kitchen, the wine room, and the Chef Room which is available for private parties. The dining room can now seat as many as 170 people, and the patio can accommodate an additional 32. There is also a new bar for those who’d like to have a drink before or after their meal. The restaurant is open for lunch Tuesday through Saturday, 11:30 am-2:00 pm, and for dinner from Tuesday through Sunday, 5:30-9:00 pm, from May through Labor Day. In the winter months, only dinner hours are observed, from Wednesday through Sunday.

The road to Tapawingo winds its way up and down past many orchards and farms. Whatever is locally in season at any given time will likely be found on the menu. The sidewalk from the unpaved parking lot leads you through some of the beautifully landscaped gardens surrounding the building. Herbs and edible flowers are grown here for daily use in the kitchen and for garnish on the dessert plates. Once inside, a hostess leads you into the dining room, where original paintings from area artists hang on the walls and are available for sale. The many windows offer a view of St. Clair Lake that is simply gorgeous.

Weekend cooking classes are offered from October through April. These are open to the public, as is the annual Chef Dinner. This event draws chefs as famous as Charlie Trotter, Bradley Ogden, Emeril Lagasse, and Mario Batali. Each participant cooks a first course, an entree, and a dessert for the night’s menu.

Last April, Pete hired Ray Kusmack as the new Executive Chef. Chef Ray brought in Pastry Chef Marit Kaszabowski, and named her husband, Tom Kaszabowski, Chef de Cuisine. The three of them had previously worked together at Interlochen Country Club in Traverse City. He also contacted Chef Angus to help find students willing to come up for the summer and be part of the kitchen staff. By the time I got there, Patrick McMahon was already working garde manger, and Chris Police was a line cook. Caleb Williams joined Patrick a couple of weeks after I arrived. They all had to deal with a hot environment, tight quarters, and an overabundance of testosterone. They needed to know what they were doing at all times while under a lot of pressure. I really felt sorry for them over in the main kitchen as I worked in the at-least-slightly-air-conditioned privacy of the separate pastry kitchen with Chef Marit. Right from the start, the two of us got along well. She is very knowledgeable, passionate about her work, and was always patient with me and my questions.

As the Assistant Pastry Chef, I was responsible for making a mes en place list for both lunch and dinner service whenever the menu changed. On a daily basis, I helped scale, prepare, and plate the made-from-scratch desserts. I helped set up and break down the plating area, picked herbs and edible flowers, and performed regular cleaning and maintenance. When working dinner service, I finished nights by taking inventory to prioritize what needed to be done the next day. On occasion, I even got to help bake bread and make chocolate truffles.

Working at Tapawingo taught me many things. I learned how important it is to use everything you have so that there is no waste. Most anything can be used as is or made into something else. I saw the importance of keeping an accurate daily inventory so that you always know what you have and what you need. I also learned that you must be flexible, because every day presents new challenges.

All in all, it was a wonderful summer. I got to do all of the things that I love to do, and I got to do them in a great environment while working with fantastic people. But it was not easy. In a pastry kitchen, there are long hours and a lot of physical labor. A certain amount of strength and stamina is required. And in order to really be successful at this level, I believe you have to have true passion for the work, because even when you have time off, your thoughts are going to be on the next dessert, the next presentation.

For me, working at Tapawingo was a unique and rewarding opportunity. Thank you, Chef Angus, for your “suggestion.”

A Day at Gleneagles
By Anthony Kramer

7:30am
As the alarm sounds over my shoulder I reach up to shut it off. I listen for the rain, and it is present. Like most days here it will be cool and rainy, I don’t even have to check the weather on the internet it is expected.

9am.
After walking the 200 yards to the hotel I swipe my ID card and wander down the long hallway to the linen room, I say hello to Mary and trade my old dirty uniform for a new clean one. I move my way down the hall to the locker room, change my cloths, grab my knife kit and head off to DESEO for another exciting Saturday shift at the Glen.

10am
I enter the kitchen through the back door and chef is there to shake my hand and wish me a good morning. I make my way around the kitchen shaking the hands of my co workers and wishing them all a good morning. Then it is down to business, we always start by putting the new order away, the open style market restaurant allows us to keep all our vegetables at room temperature and on display as we use them throughout the day. I grab my prep list and order sheet and “go grocery shopping” in our market for all my supplies. Today is a very busy Saturday like most in the summer and there is always a lot of prep to be done.

10.30am
I start by rubbing down the pork belly with a variety of herbs and spices, roll it up onto a log, and braise it for 4 hours. The next big prep item is searing off 30 pounds of beef skirt for dinner service. I start by cutting up a basic mirepoix and adding leeks, fennel, and some herbs to the mix. After searing the beef and the vegetables, I deglaze the pan with Madeira wine and start my Madeira Ju.

11:15
While those are in the oven I start on the next item on my list, cooking 20 pounds of different varieties of pasta from spaghetti, to linguine and tagliatelle. We only have three electric heating plates in the kitchen so I can do two pastas and leave one open for the Garde- Manger Chef. While waiting for the water to boil I start to cut and prep my garnishes for the sauce section. Peel baby carrots and blanch them, halve cherry tomatoes, and julienne red, green and yellow bell peppers, and make basil pesto.

12:00
The restaurant opens and it looks like another great day. The early afternoon rush is in and like every Saturday the Garde-Manger and Pizza sections are getting slammed. I step off sauce section and go over and give them a helping hand. Orders for grilled asparagus, pinchos spicy peppers, green salads and the classic Caesar keep coming through the printer.

1.30pm
It starts to quiet down and we all take time to clean up the kitchen and make it look presentable to all guests who walk by and have a question. Since we are an open kitchen this part of the day is always taken very seriously.

2pm
Half the staff leaves for their break, I stay along with two others and we will take care of any orders that come in while they are gone. I still have more prep to do; I start by blanching some mascarpone and squash ravioli that was made the day before. Back to the pork that has been cooked and cooled, that needs to be portioned for night time service.

2.30pm
I wander out to the hostess stand and get the reservations for the evening. Tonight we have 140 people expected with 170 to find in the hotel and Glendeven estates up the road. It will be a busy night.

4pm
The other staff returns and it is my turn to go on break. I head back to my room to change into my work out cloths. I go for a nice jog and hit the gym for a half hour. Change back into my uniform and head to dinner in the staff canteen.

6pm
Back to work, the early tables are already here, and are on their second courses. I jump right back into the swing of things and help clear out my tickets.

8pm
We are full now; orders are flying off the printer faster than we can put them on the rail. I hear “order six covers, halibut, beef skirt, pork belly, linguine pesto, fillet mid rare, and calf’s liver.” I rush through my coolers and get out my proteins and get those started. The pork belly goes in a pan with some ju and into the oven to re-warm; I toss a spoonful of butter into a sauté pan and start on the sautéed Gnocchi to garnish the pork.

10:30pm
Most of the orders are in and we are slowly breaking down for the night. Everyone gives a helping hand, we all want to get out and get a drink before the social bar closes at 11.45. The requisitions are placed for the next day and the date labels have all been checked and rechecked.

11.30
We are done with work and heading to the social for one quick drink. I head to bed around midnight, call my girlfriend and tell her about my day; it is nice to hear her lovely voice after a long day. I try to relax and fall asleep as the alarm clock will go off again in about 7 hours, maybe it won’t rain tomorrow. The 11.5 hour days are a normal thing here five days a week. We all love our job and love to learn, and the overtime pay makes life a little easier. Cheers.

A Day on Maui
By Andy Schultz

Maui is an island of sunshine, beaches, great catches, and bright smiles. I am thankful that I had this adventure to experience, as well as an intern in the kitchen of the Hula Grill on Kanaapali Beach of Maui. To have the opportunity to spend each day at the beach, have the ability to work at a highly respected restaurant, and gain a better knowledge of my own skills and strengths was truly priceless.

To be able to fully appreciate my day, one must walk in my sandals and slip on a pair of checkered chef pants. Welcome to my experience!

10:00 A.M. – Rise in glorious sunshine and 85˚ to a resounding alarm clock. Pack my bag with chef clothes, knives, and beach clothes to begin my day at the gym. A workout with weights each day kept me in great physical shape. Of course riding my bike everywhere helped too.

12:00 P.M. – Finish workout and head off to the sandy beaches to enjoy hot sun rays.

2:30 P.M. – Left the beach and had the opportunity to use the employee shower room to get freshened up for work.

3:00 P.M. – Enjoy my employee lunch, which was usually the pork sandwich with a buerre blanc sauce.

3:30 P.M. – Now the fun begins! In my final station as a sauté chef, I began to prepare my station for the evening dinner. At this time I would have to prepare three sauces, which were: the mother sauce, (buerre blanc-lemon grass, lemon juice, heavy cream, shallots, and butter) as well as a soy and ginger sauce. Along with these sauces, I was responsible for simmering the BBQ, plum, ponzo (green onion, soy and vinegar), coconut and cilantro sauces. These sauces would be used throughout the evening as I prepared the various menu items. My station included shrimp pesto, crab cakes, sautéed vegetables for the other dishes and a fish special. Of my responsibilities, I would have to say that the seafood chowder was my favorite to prepare because it required perfect timing in a short, intense period.

5:00 P.M. – Dinner menu is available for ordering. At this time The Hula Grill can expect to serve about 700 people throughout the evening.

7:00 P.M. – First dinner rush. This is my favorite part of the day because I am pushed beyond my boundaries and responsibilities for the final touches on meals as they leave the kitchen. It gives me the satisfaction of being important in my position in the kitchen, and knowing that as a team our work flows together at all times.

9:00 P.M. – Final rush of the night. Visitors are ready to call it a day and servers get an opportunity to enjoy a meal also.

10:00 P.M. – Kitchen clothes and we have an opportunity to finalize cleaning.

11:00 – Back home and ready for a good nights sleep.

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