So, I was at the Old Village Post House at 7:45 am checking up on Jim (our Chef de Cuisine), opening coolers, giving the white glove test. Elizabeth is way ahead of me cleaning rooms, windows, getting the place ready for the day. Since Carol has coffee ready for the Inn guests, I help myself to a cup. Maybe it was the coffee, but a light goes off, I and grab Jim and the two of us head over to Shem Creek to see if we can catch Kimberly at Raul’s Seafood!
We are able to find her before she leaves to make her daily deliveries to restaurants all over town. It’s always great to see Kimberly. We have been working together for many years. She always has quality products, and today was no different. The crabs were beautiful!
Jim with Kimberly
South Carolina has been in a draught for many years, but thanks to a rainy winter the crabs are plentiful this year. The town has gone soft shell crazy! I like to dip ‘em in buttermilk then White Lily flour and then gently pan fry them in butter until crunchy and brown. Add a few lemon wedges, some local asparagus, a glass or two of Grüner Veltliner and I’m good to go. The MSK restaurant chefs have prepared the softies in a variety of ways. One special featured beer battered soft shells with sweet potato and goat cheese custard, okra, house made tasso, pickled spring onions. Another evening the softies were buttermilk fried with local pea shoots, toasted almonds, hard boiled egg, grape tomatoes, carrots, herbs, red wine vinaigrette.
As I clean soft shells, a small one might end up on the grill and that’s good too, a little garlic, chili paste, lemon and down the hatch! Although chefs feed others all day (staff meal is an important part of our rhythm and a subject we’ll discuss later), we rarely sit and eat. Taste, taste, taste: crispy duck, green pea risotto, crab salad, chocolate, ham, herb butter, pâté, vinaigrette, pesto….endless tasting. Hey, continually tasting is the only way to check for quality, consistency and to develop your palate. Things change. What was good yesterday might have soured, or new guy screwed it up. The fewer variables in the rhythm of mise en place marks a fine kitchen. Consistency and quality provide the foundation for creativity. Everything we do in the kitchen flows from that.
Enjoy the softies! Bye for now! FLEE
