Peter's Weekly Walkthrough
September 1, 2023
We were talking with a Director and a couple of the corporate chefs of a Foodservice Group. The Director said that he didn’t get it. He goes into the kitchen and the chef is complaining about not enough people or hours while the Executive Chef is cutting up melons. Pacific Coast Fruit looked at what we were doing as a starting point but that was just not quite right. It took a while and there were a number of attempts, but we finally got it! And what would that be? Diced Cantaloupe (70368- 2/5lb), Honeydew (70468- 2/5lb) and Pineapple (70568- 2/5 lb) that is .
The cut is ¾” diced so it is not too large and not too small. It is cut in house the day. Nothing added so it is 100% usable product, no juice, sugars, or preservatives. The fruit comes from the same inventory as our whole cases and consistently cut to ¾” with little shatter. It is not cut from a number 2 or seconds. Single item in the case, you can mix and match. Great labor saver!
After many years attempting to grow tomatoes without success, this year it seems to finally be the year. We are harvesting daily enough to keep us happy. Satisfied- NO! They do not have the sweetness and flavor of the Durst Organic Sweet 100 Cherry Tomato (23987-12 pt) that is in the photo. They are small little flavor bombs of sweetness. Probably the best tasting tomato you can find. Which harkens back to a conversation that happened last month. David Nemarnik, our CEO and second-generation owner, met with some people that were taking a tour. It started out talking about reporting and tracking and numbers and…. Stuff that people in offices do. Then he stated, “We can run all kinds of reports, but it is all about the experience. What does the customer experience when they take a bite out of a peach? Is it enjoyable? Does it taste good? That is what is most important.” Good reminder to focus on the important things and these Sweet 100’s will help along the way.
Looking in room C3 was a little overwhelming. Staring back is nine Pallets of Bi-color Corn (29965-48 ct). Each pallet contains an astonishing 42 cases. Think of how much corn that is! That is 378 cases of corn…. Better get a big steam jacketed kettle heating up. We got lots of corn to cook. Doing the math, it is 18,144 ears of corn. Quite impressive to think about.
It seemed like ages that we have been waiting for the Figs! They finally made it…. In a big way. There is Brown Turkey (24197-12 pt), Stripped Fig (33139-12 pt), and Black Mission (20919-12 pt) are in stock. It’s been so long that we just got to keep it simple, no fussing over this one. Pork Tenderloins are a great start. Searing the pork tenderloin in a hot sauté pan is a good start. When well browned, take the tenderloin out and add some halved figs in the pan, cut side down to caramelize them. Chopped shallots and fresh rosemary seem to want to jump in the game. Once the figs are well caramelized, they should be pulled out and set aside. The pork tenderloin will need a bit more cooking so it will go back in the pan. The dish needs an acid. Its summer so a heavy fortified wine like port is out. Wrong time of year for citrus so lemon or lime is out also. A lighter white wine seems to be the route. I know I will get some flak for this, but a Riesling towards the sweeter side would be the one, something with a little floral note to it. Now in the oven it goes for a couple of minutes till the pork tenderloin is cooked. Pull the pan out of the oven placing the pork tenderloins next to the figs. That pan should have some nice flavors so on the stove it goes. It needs a blending herb, fresh thyme is a good go to so a bit of chopped thyme is thrown in as you stir in a good pat of butter. It will need some more salt and pepper so adjust that now and pour the pan sauce over the pork tenderloin. Good to go.
