Hello everyone.
I got set up with another private chef job, and it was poolside at the people's house.
I went to visit these people twice, brought the entire family, and sat down and talked about family and food. This family asked me for some ideas on food, and I told them just as I tell every family, "I don't want to write a menu for people." I want them to decide what they want to eat. Also, they know what their family and friends like better than I do. So, I tell people, "Go with what you like. I can provide recipes, if needed, or give ideas for sides or sauces to go with your food or maybe offer ideas on the best way to cook the food."
They told me they wanted ceder-plank grilled wild Alaskan salmon and chicken.
I suggested they brine the chicken. I will post information on brining meat in my next post. I suggested they have peanut sauce to go with the chicken and some homemade foccacia bread, some homemade rosemary crackers, grilled vegetable platter with balsamic reduction, and spinach and artichoke dip.
For the vegetables, I grilled asparagus, Portobello mushrooms, onions, and zucchini. I let them set out at room temperature till they cooled and took a bottle of balsamic vinegar and reduced it down till it was pretty thick. Then I added some white sugar and dissolved that and drizzled that over the vegetables and served them cold. 
They took pictures of me working in their kitchen.
Here are pictures of the bread, crackers, and spinach dip I made.
Here is me grilling the chicken and salmon.
When the party was over, the homeowners requested a picture with me, so I said I would be more than happy.
They were so happy with all that I did that when they paid me, they gave me a tip. The homeowner wrote me up a sweet letter of recommendation and said he will be doing a few more events later in the year with his co-workers and more family events next year.
Below is the letter he wrote for me, The only thing I am not adding is their full names, phone number, and home address. They added all of that so if people want to hire me and want a reference, I have one. I will only give it out to people who are serious about hiring me, then they can contact these people. I don't want someone who knows me reading this blog and saying, "I don't like Rick," so they start calling and harassing these people just to try and get me in trouble. If you're wondering, yes it has happened. People have read my food blog and called my job site and tried getting me in trouble, so I remove names of people in cases like this and will pass them on in case of a possible job.
Here is the letter I was given:
Rick Beaudin
A Chef that really can Cook!
Our son was just recently married, and my wife Marilyn and I decided to host our son's Groom's dinner at our residence. Like many people, our clan enjoys grilled meats and vegetables. However, with nearly forty people in attendance, our choice of foods mandated that someone else would have to tend the grille, as it would take the full attention of someone who really knows what they are doing to simultaneously grille both of our choices of Teriyaki Chicken and Alaskan salmon.
Marilyn found Rick Beaudin through a referral at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts here in the Twin Cities. Rick stopped by our home a couple of weeks in advance to inventory our kitchen and cooking facilities. He gave us simple, but effective instructions ahead of his arrival on the day of the Groom's dinner this was very helpful. He personally prepared additional sauces, breads and dips for our dinner that nicely complemented the meats and salmon we had chosen. He also brought his own knives and chaffing dishes.
A huge concern for us was the preparation of our fish. The difference between a succulent filet of salmon or a hard, dry slab of fish is often only 90 to 100 seconds on the grille, as well as monitoring the correct temperature. Rick served our chicken and salmon at the same time to perfection. Not a morsel of either was left over.
He's a cheerful fellow but mostly invisible, you hardly know he's there. He also does a great job of cleaning up after himself. We highly recommend Rick Beaudin to anyone who wants perfect food for the perfect event!
Chad and Marilyn
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