To Yelp or Not to Yelp

I had the best experience recently on Yelp. As you all know, I will be starting up breakfasts at Moon River Inn on September 25th. It occurred to me that if I want to be successful, I had better offer menu items that people actually want to eat. As Michael Franks once said (sang): "What good is your song, if it ain't in my key?" So, I reached out on Yelp asking everyone what it is they want (or don't want) to see on a breakfast menu. The responses were overwhelming and very helpful. I went back to the drawing board and tweaked the menu a bit more. I wasn't so far off base, but I was headed in the "no pork" breakfast meats direction. 'No pork' offerings are good options, but there is a large part of the population who wouldn't hear of breakfast without bacon -- some even requested SPAM... Yes, SPAM. Bacon remains and will sit alongside Apple Chicken Sausage and Turkey Sausage (good, flavorful ones), not those bland, bad textured patties. I'm excited; I hope you are too! Looking forward to seeing you Sunday, September 25th at Moon River Inn. If not then, make a point of checking me out in the near future. I could use your support. Kiss! Chef Vira

MalikSpeaks "For Her"

Recently, I served as the in-house caterer for MalikSpeaks. The event, titled “For Her” was a day-long event of speakers, spa services, jewelry and clothing vendors, and wonderful music all meant to pamper and educate women from all walks of life. The event was held at the Moon River Inn, in Freeport, CA (Sacramento). The feedback I received for my service was overwhelmingly amazing. I was proud.
What’s to come? I will be doing breakfast at the Moon River Inn beginning late September. Please stay tuned! I will be offering discounts and incentives to get you to take that drive. It will be well worth it and hopefully will become a frequent breakfast destination location for you and your family.

Banana Fest Follow Up

So what I have I been doing? Well, since my last blog, I have had a showing at the Sacramento 2nd Annual Banana Festival. That went extremely well. Help came in the most unusual places.

I reached at to my fellow classmates at the Arts Institute [cricket..cricket...] – no help, not even a spark of support or interest. Here I thought we were all working as a team to help and promote each other reach our goals. Silly girl, huh? I discovered it is a dog-eat-dog, and every-man-for-himself world!

Help came from friends and family, although a few old friends showed me that my cross wasn’t theirs to bear, a few stepped up to the plate. It was a learning and growing experience to say the least. My husband and daughters, where with me every step of the way, and of course, my dear friends Travis and Kim who are actually more like family at this point, were right by my side. They were up with me til very, very late hours of the night, chopping, slicing, dicing, grating and packing; loading and unloading. There is absolutely no way I could have done it without them and I give them my everlasting love and devotion.

My Mom ran the fryer on the first day. It was a joy seeing her in my “kitchen” doing her thing. My cousins and sister surprised me from the San Francisco Peninsula and that made my day! Thank you Carol, Julie, Joey, Alonzo, Diane and Ron. You’re the best!

The turnout was nice and I obtained a few catering leads from the event. Didn’t make a lot of money, but the exposure was well worth it. I also got a little coverage from foodblog.com.

Communication Makes the World of Difference

I think I need to take yet another communications class. Seriously. I’ve taken classes, workshops, gone to seminars on the subject… learned to listen with my whole body, making sure the party on the receiving or giving end of the exchange is getting the information they need to make an informed rebuttal or acceptance… I ask all the appropriate questions, ones which are on subject and related to the matter at hand… I observe body language to gage if the conversation should continue or be paused for discussion at another time.. maybe a time when less emotion is infused. So, where am I going with this?

Well, these things said, I have to tell you that I have explained ‘ad nauseam’ to those close to me, that during this time in my life – with school, work and project|career goals, there is simply no “spare” time. I am not doing a very good job of getting them to take me serious. While I understand that everyone needs a little R&R, I am also aware that if you are serious about a thing, that you must be FOCUSED… not just focused, but laser focused. You can’t allow temptations like invitations for socializing or mini-vacations to become a detour or distraction. I have pleaded to be left alone for a time so that I can focus on my priorities, yet every other day or so, I am asked to attend one event or another… do this or that… and all from the same individual! PLEASE.

If I appear to be “idle” it’s because I am thinking of a menu, a recipe or trying to map out a homework project in my head… I am thinking about something I prepared at the restaurant, and wondering if I could have plated it better… I am thinking about the homework I haven’t finished, AND trying to figure out when I can carve out time to fold the mound of clean clothes which have been sitting of the upstairs sofa for weeks now…How can I get money to buy restaurant supplies or give my Mom the time and attention she needs during this transition in her life. You get the point, don’t you?

With the exception of handling my Mom’s needs, all of these things are ‘self-inflicted’. The operative being “self”. These are matters that I have personally chosen for myself; for my happiness and feeling of satisfaction. These are matters that I have thought long and hard about – I’ve thought about the sacrifices, the trade-offs and the downside. Believe me, I’ve taken it all into consideration.

If I am not happy with myself, you will NEVER be happy with me. I will begin to resent you, seeing you only as the person who worked against my having what I needed to be happy and will hate myself for allowing you to do this to me. I can not love you, until I can love me first. May I suggest a communications workshop for you?

Po'Boyz, Bananas and Yield

Well… were did I leave off? Seems so long since my last entry.
Life seems to be moving along. I am toggling between planning for the Banana Festival, home and school. It’s a lot. Oh, and work… almost forgot! Last week I was hired by Po’Boyz in Folsom, CA to work Friday & Saturday nights. It’s typical bar food with a little southern and Cajun meals sprinkled in. The proprietor, Brenda Taylor, is an amazing woman and I love the gig so far. The commute – well, that’s a challenge, but it’s nice getting out to work. I understand they do a mean “Soul Food Sunday”. Brenda was readying for menu choices when I left Saturday nite, to include Greens, Cabbage, Smothered Pork Chops, Turkey Wings & Gravy, and Red Beans, along with her standard offerings! If you like good music (Blues & Jazz), fun people and decent drinks, then please stop by. We could use your support. . http://www.poboyzbarandgrill.com/
It’s no wonder my eye lids are feeling a bit heavy as I make this entry I realize I’m doing a little much… Jeeze!
School is no longer fun. (Yikes!!) Nothing but culinary calculations to memorize and formulas to learn.. What is this foreign language she speaks??? Food Cost Percentage? Standardized Recipes? Portions? Original Yield? Desired Yield? AP vs. EP amounts? Math… are you talkin’ bout MATH??! C’mon, Lady! I just wanna cook!!
The Banana Festival plans are coming together. Have my commercial kitchen reserved… My tent and equipment on the radar.. bought a cash register this weekend (whoo-hoo!!). Truck reserved… menu tighten up, grocery list done. Still trying to pull a decent staff together. ANYBODY want to work??? How can you ask people to work their butts off for minimal or no pay? I have to trust that they will still love me when this is over, because it is a lot of work. So goes the restaurant business… hard work, little pay. But I know it will be well worth it… all my friends and family will come by… right??? RIGHT??!
Signing off. Time to rest these tired eyes.

School, Wonderful... Life... not so much

Well folks, yesterday was everything I wanted and more with regard to school. We went over the syllabus and I was excited to hear our instructor reiterate the subject matter for the semester, especially since I have already done a majority of the work. Menu development, restaurant theme/Mission Statement... I got this, sistah!

The fun was in coming home. The merging of two families is never seamless, and my situation is no different. Still grappling with a new relationship, marriage and child guardianship -- all within 9 months!! Add to that, having my lovelies home for the summer and blending the three ladies together with a new living situation... it's not pretty. I feel as if I'm being pulled 20 different ways, and no one is happy with part of me they get... nothing is enough, nothing is good enough. So, I sit here in this coffee house, wishing I could get on a plane and fly away. Where? Anywhere. It is in times like these that I realize how naive I really am.

I'm thinking at this point, it may be time to take a step back. Get myself a little studio in midtown, focus on school and the possibility of owning my own business. There are 7 days in a week... each daughter gets a day; Mom gets 1... that leaves me 3 days for school and myself. "Mommy-Daddy" relationship will have to be "suspended" until I finish school or visited between semester breaks. Sounds like a business... don't really like that. I'm very organic in the way I operate... this feels like scheduling and time constraints, which don't feel good to me... Oh, it will all work out. My daughters are very important to me. This I am clear on. Nothing means more... Heck, they are the reasons I have waited until this point in my life to go back to school... Don't they understand that?

Summer Semester! Yippee!!

I made it through one of the most “interesting” weeks of my uneventful life! So glad it’s behind me and I am looking forward to moving forward. As I’ve mentioned, summer semester begins tomorrow. Last night I perused my Syllabi (?).. is this a word??… for my classes. What is the plural of syllabus? N-E-Way… I have Management by Menu, which helps me understand how to write menus from both a marketing and cost efficiency perspective; how to calculate ingredients to increase or decrease yield; wine and food pairings, etc. Soooooo excited about that! Also have Sustainable Purchasing – that will help me spend my dollars in a smart way. I see that I will also be working to develop my mission statement, which as you know, is a major part of a business plan. And for a little spice, I have Latin Cuisine, where I will be cooking all things Caliente! Latin food with an Afro twist??! How can I go wrong?

Hovering in the background is this constant battle between managing home and attaining my goal. As I mentioned in one of my first blogs, it is difficult to make both situations the priority; one will suffer. And so it has come to pass. In all fairness to my particular situation, I have not learned how to do both. It’s just how I’m wired. If my focus is on a relationship, then I give it 200%. I live and breathe “it” to consistently do things to better that relationship. Am I affectionate enough, am I listening to his needs, his dreams, am I supportive enough, am I on top of my game? Is he happy? Am I happy? But, it’s the same with anything I undertake. In my case, it happens to be all things culinary. I want to give it 200%. I live and breathe “it” to consistently do things to better my skills and knowledge. I read articles, watch cooking shows, cook books, research chefs and recipes online, and stay up on restaurant and food trends. Am I on top of my game? Am I happy? I wish I knew how to have both – the relationship and the dream fulfilled, but I am only human. I fall short of this. I think it will be a little more organic for me. When it is meant to be, it will happen. I won’t have to answer these questions because it will just “be”.

I can do Motherhood; I’ve done this all of my adult life. I’ve learned how to work this in and have it remain top priority… well, my daughter’s might argue that I really haven’t (nervous smile).. but the point is, you honestly have to have laser sharp focus on your dreams. Keep them on the radar and in clear view. That’s why Vision Boards work so well. You have to have one and look at it on regular basis. Use it like a magic potion to ward off the DISTRACTIONS… they come in all sizes, shapes and forms – sometimes you don’t even see them coming.

Well, jumping off the soapbox for now. Thanks for listening to me vent. This blogging stuff is much cheaper than formal therapy… takes me a minute to unwind and open up, but once I start writing, it really feels good it get this stuff off my chest. And here you thought you were just going to read about my journey to restaurant ownership! Well, guess what? This is my reality and everything I share with you, is my journey. I hope you will be with me when I reach the end. We’ll celebrate – eat good food, drink good wine, laugh about my ups and downs, and dance ‘til dawn!