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October 27, 2006 - November 6, 2006
Sarah Anastasi
Naples, FL
October 27, 2006 Friday
Today finally arrived, I had been counting down the days for months. This morning I packed up what winter clothes I owned, boarded a plane and left the Sunshine State for Portland, Maine. A brand new winter coat in hand, I was on my way to experiencing an opportunity of a lifetime.
I arrived in Portland at 4:30 pm and was greeted by Rod Mitchell, owner and president of Browne-Trading. I was given a tour around Peaks Island and witnessed the locals preparing for the eerie incoming storm, expected to arrive tomorrow morning.
October 28, 2006 Saturday
Today was my first full day in Portland and on Peaks Island. My first priority was to stay warm while my sunshine nature slowly adjusted to the cold and crisp winter air. The storm approached and the rain began to flood the streets. Eager to see the sights, I bundled up and ventured outside. I made it about 500 ft before I was tossed around by the wind and forced to head back indoors. Needless to say, my first day was a wash.
October 29, 2006 Sunday
As I stepped foot into one of the most well known and respected fish markets in the country, Browne-Trading, I was introduced to some of the most focused and hard working individuals I had ever met. "None of my employees had any fish experience before working here," Rod Mitchell said to me, "I didn't want to hire any bad habits." From that point on, I knew this was no joke and I was about to see things I had never seen before. As I made my way around the warehouse, I watched how every standard and process was designed to provide the highest quality ingredients and freshest product available as the great Jean-Louis would demand.
Next thing I knew, we were off to the fish auction. I followed Rod Mitchell around the premise as he carefully inspected each fish for quality and recorded his findings, many times muttering, "that's not Browne-Trading quality," to occasional fish as he placed it back down in the ice and moved on. Most purveyors ship their products out the following day, but Browne Trading buys direct from the auction and ships the product all over the country that same night. I spent a few hours working in the caviar room as well. I was given a tour of the cooler that was filled with endless $35,000 crates of caviar. My job was to take an 8# bucket of Spoonbill Caviar and divide into 1 ounce containers, carefully not wasting a single egg. Finally, I was taken into the fish cooler where I was greeted by a 400 pound blue fin tuna that had just been caught offshore. I watched as a young man cleaned the fish before my eyes and within 20 minutes nothing was left but the carcass.
October 30, 2006 Monday
As I arrived at the market this morning, 800# of Halibut were being quickly wheeled into the warehouse. The boat had just returned from the coast of Canada late last night and the fish had already arrived at Browne Trading this morning. The fish packers immediately inspected and weighed the fish, as Rod Mitchell carefully hand picked and assigned every fish to their respected restaurants according to each Chefs specifications. Each Halibut was then carefully iced, packed, and shipped to Chefs all over the country today.
I spent the rest of the day in the Caviar room packaging and tasting all different varieties of caviar. I learned where each type of Caviar was from and compared their color, flavor, and texture. Brown Trading carries a variety of wild caviars as well as several types of farm raised caviar. Richard, who is in charge of the caviar room, taught me the correct way to store caviar, from the temperature to the proper rotation of the tins in order to allow the brine to evenly coat the eggs and keep them moist.
October 31, 2006 Tuesday
Today I cured, brined, washed, smoked, trimmed, sliced, packaged and even tasted some of the best salmon in the industry, Daniel Boulud's Smoked Scottish Atlantic Salmon. I spent the day working in the Smokehouse with Smoke Master Ken, as he showed me every step of their four day smoke process at Browne-Trading. In order to keep up with the high demand of this product with top Chefs across the country, Ken must constantly keep a continuous cycle of the four day process. My favorite part of the day was when I had the opportunity to use a high tech machine which instantly skinned the smoked fish leaving no waste.
November 1, 2006 Wednesday
Today I spent the entire day working with Brown-Trading's Master Fish Cutter, Greg. I was able to see and work with many different kinds of fish from Yellow Fin Tuna, Sturgeon, Wahu, Monkfish, Opah, Salmon, Turbot, John Dory, and even Pike. Greg's day of production is based on the orders and their priority of when they need to be shipped. Several times, we were forced to put a few orders aside while we waited for the fish to be delivered from the local auction. Once the Packer selects the fish needed to fill each order, he then gives them to Greg where he either scales and guts, skins, or custom cuts the filets to the Chefs Specifications.
I also had the opportunity to use an electric scaler for the first time. It took this machine only about twenty seconds to perfectly scale a fish, consistently every time.
November 2, 2006 Thursday
"Everyday we go above and beyond, Thursdays we go Crazy," a sign on the wall in the packaging room reads. That's exactly where I spent my day on Thursday, in the center of the action. As restaurants across the country are gearing up for their weekend production, Browne-Trading has one day to fill all the orders and get them to the Restaurants by Friday morning. The only other option is an extra Saturday delivery charge, which every Chef aspires to avoid. The result is a long, intense and demanding day at Brown-Trading. I learned the final stage in the process that every order undergoes before being shipped, the art of packing. Every item is carefully packed and properly chilled in a hand picked box to precisely hold and protect the order to its maximum quality. Browne-Trading uses an extremely high coolant to perishable food ratio, meaning they have an incredible amount of ice and gel packs in the box. Careful consideration is taken with each order which helps contribute to the product being delivered in its highest quality possible.
November 3, 2006 Friday
Today I had the unbelievable experience of dining at a local restaurant who gets all their seafood from Browne-Trading, Hugo's. Yesterday I actually packed the seafood that I ate tonight in the restaurant! I had the Swordfish, Casco Cod, and Oysters. I was able to appreciate the impact that Browne-Trading's daily commitment to quality has on the finished product and experience it as it is served to the customer. This was any experience I will never forget, and quite possibly the freshest fish you can find in a restaurant.
November 4, 2006 Saturday
Today was my final day in Portland and a day left of exploration. I spent the day observing the fishing boats as they left and returned from the harbor. I wondered down the piers and watched fisherman cleaning their boats. I walked around Old Port and observed endless signs ensuring they had the freshest seafood in town. It was an experience just to see the daily life in a fishing village.
November 5, 2006 Sunday
Departure Day
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell,
Thank you for providing me with this opportunity of a lifetime! Thank you for your generosity and the time you took out of your busy lives to welcome me and teach me everything you know. Thank you for sharing with me the impact that Jean-Louis had on your life and the tremendous impact he had on our industry today.
I am very excited to return to Florida and share my experience with everyone. You have opened my eyes and broadened my perspective on the true quality of food. I am thrilled to continue my career and carry on the experience and awareness that you taught me during my internship at Browne-Trading. Your entire team at Browne-Trading embraced me with kindness and never hesitated to answer a question or share their wealth of knowledge. You truly are the best in the industry and the leaps and bounds you go through for your customers and Chefs on a daily basis are astonishing. The work ethic and character in the market speaks for themselves. It is evident that every employees wants to be the best they can be, uphold every standard, yet always looking to raise the bar.
This has truly been an experience of a lifetime and has made me value the hard work and dedication it takes to provide the highest quality ingredients on a daily basis to restaurants across the country. Thank you again for all your advice, knowledge, and hospitality. Your standards and commitment at Browne-Trading exemplify the desires, aspirations and influences of the great Jean-Louis Palladin, which will be carried on forever.
Thank you for making the most incredible experience of my life possible and sharing your daily lives with me. My perception on the quality of food will forever be enlightened.
Sincerely,
Sarah Anastasi
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