03.03.07

Progress

Posted in Bandol at 9:20 pm by Erik

I’s been a while since I have posted anything to the site.  My only excuse, is that nothing has been happening.  No new insights, no witty anecdotes, nothing totally exciting or supernatural.

 However, just last week, the team who will be building the bakeshop finally congregated in one room….together…..same page.  The six of us, standing in a circle, hashed out the future of my bakery.  All professionals, all at the apex of our respective games, (besides me) and all ready to put our talents together to build the first new addition to the Bandol Restaurant Group.

The process of building the first Bandol was left to capable friends and family.  From vision, to investments, to sweat equity, to plumbing, lighting and moving EXTREMELY heavy equipment….all friends and family.  The white tiling on the walls of the kitchen was my initiation to basically learning how to lay tile.  The corner of the wall I started on was all uneven, unlevel and just plain ugly.  Thank god the big fridge covered it up.  As I progressed around the room, counter clockwise, (going against my natural tendency to do everything clockwise) I learned the art of tile laying.  The last row of tile, in the last corner, met the first row of tile in the first corner, and though they were the same tiles, they were worlds apart as far as technique and finesse go.

My point, is that now I am thankful to have professional craftsmen to do the work i learned how to do out of necessity.  I’m a cook by profession, nature, and passion, and my attempts at painting, building, plumbing and tiling, though valiant, were merely hack-jobs compared to what these folks can do.

Imagine a restaurant with a vision that will be carried out by folks who are at the top of their game?  The time i spent laying down the kitchen floor last time will go to developing menus, wine lists, and an overall atmosphere my guests will enjoy. 

My new associates are the necessary building blocks for the restaurant I have been pondering for years now, and I am extremely thankful to have found a network of individuals to make my vision a reality.

01.23.07

Zen and the Art of Real Estate

Posted in Bandol at 6:05 pm by Erik

5 years ago, my job was 99% food, 1% everything else.  Right now, it’s the polar opposite.  Sure, I get to make soup, hang out at Ladle all day, chat with friends and guests about food….I even cook at home with some decent results…go figure. 

But the sticks in my eye these days (yes, more than one), seem to be things like “Pro Formas”, “Projected Growth”, “Cost PSF both MG and NNN”.

Exhaust Systems are my nemeses, fax machines are beginning to REALLY freak me out, and the “Architectural Stamp” is the Holy Grail I have been searching for.  Our beloved City of Portland needs about 40 pages of info and signatures before I could even think about changing a light bulb, nevermind putting a hole in the wall to build a duct.  Building the duct, in fact, has to have about 15 people working on the same page….no….same word in the same paragraph. 

Conceptualising a menu and wine list has been put on a burner so far back that I can barely see it.  Nevermind designing the dining room and kitchen.

Mind you, I’m certainly not bitching or complaining….I’m extremely fortunate to have the means to rebuild and reopen Bandol.  This whole exercise is laying the foundation for my future as a cook and restaurant owner, as well as securing a small place in the culture of Maine as a whole. 

The point, is just that what the diner experiences is the culmination of a whole group of folks working in unison.  Not just the staff, but a whole network of builders, partners, contractors, architects, designers, city workers, artisans, number crunchers, real estate agents (my agent has been working with me for almost a year now….he wants me to reopen almost as much as I do).

Just like reading the inside of a record album, or watching the credits of a movie, there is a whole list of people responsible for the final product.  Any misstep along the way proves detrimental to the final product as well as extremely expensive.

So, next time you are at your favorite dining establishment, (my fave these days is Bar Lola), digging into a Cassoulet or Mushroom Popover, remember, it’s not just owners, chef, and staff who deserve credit.

PS   I just want to cook……