We had a doughnut photo shoot today, (ya, that’s a thing,) and after the shoot I called my staff out for what will forever be known as the Best. Meeting. Ever! The topics were the same… blah blah blah. But the snacks were, well, just check out the picture 
Oh, and the two lovely chefs in the photo are Hannah and Chris, my super duper sous chefs. They work so hard the least I could do is set them up with some coffee and doughnuts, right?
Kyle and I LOVE BRUNCH… Of course we like eating it but unlike most chefs we like cooking it as well. If you’ve ever worked in a restaurant with brunch you probably know that not many chefs love (or even like,) working Sunday brunch. You are exhausted from Saturday night service and you can count on the fact that someone will be late. The menu doesn’t include your normal mise en place so setting up the stations is a pain. You can count on every customer ordering at the same time. It basically has all the ingredients to create what is known as an epic sh*t show.
But the food is oh so good and the guests are all happy to be there. And it doesn’t hurt that at brunch it is socially acceptable to consume alcohol before noon…
Last Sunday, between frying doughnuts and baking sticky buns, I scurried around the kitchen snapping pictures of brunch service at Birch and Barley… Hope it inspires you to get off your bum on Sunday morning and get some brunch. If you come to Birch I recommend the Corned Beef Hash with Duck Eggs or the French Toast… I’m getting hungry just thinking about them!
All this month, Birch and Barley offered a dessert tasting in addition to the a la carte menu. We start with Creme Fraiche Panna Cotta, Graham Crust, Green Apple Sorbet, Lemon Cream. Then, Passion Fruit Cheesecake, Vanilla Scented Pineapple, Coconut-Curry Sorbet, Basil. Finally, Bittersweet Mocha Pot de Creme, Espresso Foam, Freshly Fried Doughnuts; Blood Orange-Cardamon and Toffee-Pinenut Butter, and candy bar Petit Fours.
Love a beer dinner. Especially when we are able to get a lot of the produce from Arcadia. Check out the baby radishes. They were teeny tiny but full of flavor. For dessert, we made Spiced Fritters with Caramelized Banana and Candied Walnuts. I use a special technique to candy the walnuts. It involves simmering in a sugar syrup to coat the walnuts then deep frying until golden and crisp.
