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Wonder how their supply chain worked for all that variety back then. Without reliable refrigeration I'm curious to see how food was preserved.

pantaloony 6y ago
- less exotic stuff available—many ingredients had to be sourced locally. - Underground storage. - Lots and lots of canning. Like... lots of it. - preserved meat and cheese as a necessity rather than a choice - Actual ice for refrigeration. As in, giant chunks of ice shipped in(!) and used in ice-boxes.
Melting_Harps 6y ago
> Wonder how their supply chain worked for all that variety back then. Without reliable refrigeration I'm curious to see how food was preserved. Laboriously, but perhaps far more superior to much of today's 'on-demnad' delivery method as we know it in terms of quality. I have a passion for both Culinary and Supply Chains, and to be honest, the Restaurant Industry was one where I gave it a pass for not being fully optimized and automated as much as possible. When I was in Europe I really enjoyed seeing and visiting the restaurants we supplied to when I was a farming apprentice, I'd come through the back of the Kitchen and see and smell a lot of the produce we made on the farm be used in the recipes it was intoxicating and usually the highlight of my day. And then we spoke with the Chef de cuisine or Exec Chef as he looked at what we had to offer and his head was in going 100 MPH thinking what he could do for daily specials and he'd pick what he wanted before we went to the Farmer's markets. That experience is what got me out of retirement as a chef and I forgot how much I enjoyed the entire experience, and what it could be (Farm to table in the US was very limited, but rather common in the part of Europe I was in) and I decided to run Kitchens while I underwent my Ag Apprenticeship, which meant working 70+ hour weeks. The same thing happened when I came out of retirement for the 3rd and last time as a cook, this time in the US and solely focused on Farm to Table concepts in Boulder. I did stage and work in Micheline, and James Beard places but I never lasted as the passion wasn't there as I never got to see or interact with the Farmers or much of their products, which to me is the primary reason why I even bothered to get back in to an Industry I honestly otherwise despise. I imagine it was like much of the Bistros, Cafes, and Izakaya in Europe and Japan that entailed being around Food Distribution Hubs/Marketplaces, waking up your apprentices really early to shop for the day's service, and going to Farmer's Markets/Green Market's for the rest and buying everything that was in season (read: cheap and plentiful). I can't speak of the US culinary history outside of places like California, because while I was introduced to the Industry in the US it was run by a French baker and she operated the catering business we were in with a brigade system, In Europe I ran agro-tourism Kitchens and replicated the model with a smaller staff and filled the gaps where needed, and on top of being the Sous/Chef I was also the Farm Manager so I sourced upwards of 85% of the ingredients on the Menu on farm, things like Wine, deserts and some liquors making up the other part. When I cam back to the US I mainly focused on Farm to table models, and they are not the most optimal in terms of delivering costs: our Oysters were over-nighted from a Diver we had in the E. Coast. Our Beef, Pork and Chickens were from local farms that did batch shipping for us multiple times a week, and would send their farm workers during peak season if we needed more proteins. Much of our seasonal veg came from local farms, we only used Suppliers for things like seafood, condiments, spices and non-seasonal veg on a regular basis and had to put in orders on a semi-daily basis. But because the volume and cost/dish were optimized in such a way that we had very good ROI and good food costs (benefits of knowing your farmers) we could carry the costs of a sub-optimized supply chain. Look up Eugénie Brazier, her story took place around that time in Lyon, France. Bourdain did some stuff on his shows highlighting her work when he did episodes that included Paul Bocuse and mentioned the tireless and laborious nature of that model, but that yielded her 6 Micheline stars, for 2 establishments, something that had never been done. But I imagine it had to be the same model in the US, wherein refrigeration was scarce and limited (some places had ice delivery) but it was probably reserved for the expensive proteins for the day. What always interested me was how it was done in fine-dining Cross-Country Coaches/Trains, the amount of tight logistical framework and infrastructure needed for that has to be immense! Probably modeled much like the now seemingly defunct cruise-line ships.
- tomcam 6y ago
  Fascinating article in its own right. Thank you. I would totally read your book or blog.
  - Melting_Harps 6y ago
    > Fascinating article in its own right. Thank you. I would totally read your book or blog. Thanks, Tom! I hear that more and more these days, especially now that I've retired from the Industry for good and have an overall positive outlook on my time within it; had our Industry not been destroyed entirely by COVID I was supposed to be working SpaceX in their Food and Beverage Department as I was working at Kimbal Musk's restaurant in order to learn as much as I could to take over there. My interview at the Boca Chica Launch facility had gone really well, too. I really should try and do a pilot of a food series I wanted to do, and I've been encouraged to do so by friends within the Industry but with how things are right now I'm not sure how I'd go about it even though I have an idea of what and how I'd base it on and what platform I'd use. Thanks for the feedback, it means a lot!
    - tomcam 6y ago
      Blog! Stream of consciousness! The shape of the pilot will reveal itself. Don’t try too hard.
tomcam 6y ago
But they did have reliable refrigeration, in the form of iceboxes. They used sawdust, which was readily available from nearby mills, to help insulate. Delmonico's probably had huge iceboxes in the basement, and probably many right there are dining level. There was a whole industry revolving around ice storage and delivery, and of icebergs being towed in to the New York Harbor from other parts of the world. Even as a "space age" kid 50 years ago I noticed my older brother called the refrigerator an icebox. The menu also omits the fact that many, many of the items were pickled, jellied, smoked, dried, and otherwise preserved. There would also have been lots of spices to help hide putrefaction.

pantaloony 6y ago

- less exotic stuff available—many ingredients had to be sourced locally. - Underground storage. - Lots and lots of canning. Like... lots of it. - preserved meat and cheese as a necessity rather than a choice - Actual ice for refrigeration. As in, giant chunks of ice shipped in(!) and used in ice-boxes.

Melting_Harps 6y ago

> Wonder how their supply chain worked for all that variety back then. Without reliable refrigeration I'm curious to see how food was preserved. Laboriously, but perhaps far more superior to much of today's 'on-demnad' delivery method as we know it in terms of quality. I have a passion for both Culinary and Supply Chains, and to be honest, the Restaurant Industry was one where I gave it a pass for not being fully optimized and automated as much as possible. When I was in Europe I really enjoyed seeing and visiting the restaurants we supplied to when I was a farming apprentice, I'd come through the back of the Kitchen and see and smell a lot of the produce we made on the farm be used in the recipes it was intoxicating and usually the highlight of my day. And then we spoke with the Chef de cuisine or Exec Chef as he looked at what we had to offer and his head was in going 100 MPH thinking what he could do for daily specials and he'd pick what he wanted before we went to the Farmer's markets. That experience is what got me out of retirement as a chef and I forgot how much I enjoyed the entire experience, and what it could be (Farm to table in the US was very limited, but rather common in the part of Europe I was in) and I decided to run Kitchens while I underwent my Ag Apprenticeship, which meant working 70+ hour weeks. The same thing happened when I came out of retirement for the 3rd and last time as a cook, this time in the US and solely focused on Farm to Table concepts in Boulder. I did stage and work in Micheline, and James Beard places but I never lasted as the passion wasn't there as I never got to see or interact with the Farmers or much of their products, which to me is the primary reason why I even bothered to get back in to an Industry I honestly otherwise despise. I imagine it was like much of the Bistros, Cafes, and Izakaya in Europe and Japan that entailed being around Food Distribution Hubs/Marketplaces, waking up your apprentices really early to shop for the day's service, and going to Farmer's Markets/Green Market's for the rest and buying everything that was in season (read: cheap and plentiful). I can't speak of the US culinary history outside of places like California, because while I was introduced to the Industry in the US it was run by a French baker and she operated the catering business we were in with a brigade system, In Europe I ran agro-tourism Kitchens and replicated the model with a smaller staff and filled the gaps where needed, and on top of being the Sous/Chef I was also the Farm Manager so I sourced upwards of 85% of the ingredients on the Menu on farm, things like Wine, deserts and some liquors making up the other part. When I cam back to the US I mainly focused on Farm to table models, and they are not the most optimal in terms of delivering costs: our Oysters were over-nighted from a Diver we had in the E. Coast. Our Beef, Pork and Chickens were from local farms that did batch shipping for us multiple times a week, and would send their farm workers during peak season if we needed more proteins. Much of our seasonal veg came from local farms, we only used Suppliers for things like seafood, condiments, spices and non-seasonal veg on a regular basis and had to put in orders on a semi-daily basis. But because the volume and cost/dish were optimized in such a way that we had very good ROI and good food costs (benefits of knowing your farmers) we could carry the costs of a sub-optimized supply chain. Look up Eugénie Brazier, her story took place around that time in Lyon, France. Bourdain did some stuff on his shows highlighting her work when he did episodes that included Paul Bocuse and mentioned the tireless and laborious nature of that model, but that yielded her 6 Micheline stars, for 2 establishments, something that had never been done. But I imagine it had to be the same model in the US, wherein refrigeration was scarce and limited (some places had ice delivery) but it was probably reserved for the expensive proteins for the day. What always interested me was how it was done in fine-dining Cross-Country Coaches/Trains, the amount of tight logistical framework and infrastructure needed for that has to be immense! Probably modeled much like the now seemingly defunct cruise-line ships.

tomcam 6y ago
Fascinating article in its own right. Thank you. I would totally read your book or blog.
- Melting_Harps 6y ago
  > Fascinating article in its own right. Thank you. I would totally read your book or blog. Thanks, Tom! I hear that more and more these days, especially now that I've retired from the Industry for good and have an overall positive outlook on my time within it; had our Industry not been destroyed entirely by COVID I was supposed to be working SpaceX in their Food and Beverage Department as I was working at Kimbal Musk's restaurant in order to learn as much as I could to take over there. My interview at the Boca Chica Launch facility had gone really well, too. I really should try and do a pilot of a food series I wanted to do, and I've been encouraged to do so by friends within the Industry but with how things are right now I'm not sure how I'd go about it even though I have an idea of what and how I'd base it on and what platform I'd use. Thanks for the feedback, it means a lot!
  - tomcam 6y ago
    Blog! Stream of consciousness! The shape of the pilot will reveal itself. Don’t try too hard.

tomcam 6y ago

But they did have reliable refrigeration, in the form of iceboxes. They used sawdust, which was readily available from nearby mills, to help insulate. Delmonico's probably had huge iceboxes in the basement, and probably many right there are dining level. There was a whole industry revolving around ice storage and delivery, and of icebergs being towed in to the New York Harbor from other parts of the world. Even as a "space age" kid 50 years ago I noticed my older brother called the refrigerator an icebox. The menu also omits the fact that many, many of the items were pickled, jellied, smoked, dried, and otherwise preserved. There would also have been lots of spices to help hide putrefaction.