|
|
|
|
| SYSCO
Home >
Customers >
Services
> SYSCO Features
> Chef's Showcase
> Moody Gardens |
 |
| Chef's Showcase |
|
| On This Island, Food Is One Of The Attractions
|
|
Executive chef Urs Schmid says he likes to work and loves to cook.
|
|
Executive chef: Urs Schmid
Complex name: Moody Gardens
Venues and attractions: Hotel, Convention Center, Aquarium Pyramid, Discovery Pyramid, Rainforest Pyramid, Palm Beach, IMAX and "Ridefilm" theaters, Colonel Paddlewheel Boat
Moody Gardens Hotel foodservice concepts: Shearn's Restaurant and Shearn's Lounge, The Terrace, Blossoms Snack Bar, Lobby Bar, Pool Bar
Number of seats: 72 in Shearn's; 250 in The Terrace
Check average: $40-$50 Shearn's, dinner only; $8-$9 for breakfast, $10-$15 for lunch and $15-$20 for dinner in The Terrace
Shearn's menu features: Soft Shell Crab "Shearn's" over roasted corn relish, $9.95; Shrimp Gumbo, $5.50; Shrimp Dejonge with light Marsala cream sauce, $8.95/$17.95; Daily Fresh Gulf Seafood, $19.95; Grilled Veal Chop Au Citron, $26.95.
|
|
|
|
|
What skills does it take to orchestrate such a large, multifaceted operation? - Questions & Answers
|
|
What foodservice operations are you responsible for as executive chef of Moody Gardens?
We've got food everywhere, in every venue of the complex. The main locations are the Hotel and the Convention Center. And then there are three pyramids: the Aquarium Pyramid, which houses a spectacular aquarium; the Discovery Pyramid, with an exhibit that focuses on science; and the Rainforest Pyramid, filled with tropical plants, fish, birds and butterflies. Moody Gardens also has an IMAX theater and two "Ridefilm" attractions. For floating functions we have The Colonel, a paddlewheel riverboat that cruises the bayou around the island.
The Moody Gardens Hotel has a fine- dining restaurant, Shearn's, as well as a more casual lobby restaurant called The Terrace. And, of course, there's 24-hour room service.
|
|
What's your kitchen structure like?
The main kitchen is about 12,000 square feet and employs about 50 people. It houses our bake shop and is the central location for our from-scratch preparations. The Convention Center has its own kitchen facility, which we're about to give an equipment upgrade. It serves a ballroom that is currently 60,000 square feet but will grow to 90,000 square feet after the remodeling.
The pyramids and theaters frequently host special events and functions, which we also plan and execute. However, we aren't responsible for daily concession venues.
|
|
Is all the food at Moody Gardens made from scratch?
We make almost everything ourselves, from salad dressings and stocks to dessert. The bake shop produces all of our breads, except for some sandwich breads. The one thing we don't have is a butcher shop. I think it would be too hard to find enough skilled cooks to make it worth our while.
|
|
So Shearn's, the fine-dining restaurant in the Moody Gardens Hotel, must be the place where you really stretch out.
I call it my "hobby shop." After working all day in the main kitchen, I head up there for dinner service, and I really enjoy it.
Customers think the room is absolutely beautiful, up on the ninth floor of the hotel. From the lounge you can see the Houston shipping channel. The dining room overlooks the entire Moody Gardens property.
I'm a classically trained chef who made my apprenticeship back home in Switzerland before working around the world. Although I've done managerial jobs, too, my first love is the kitchen.
|
|
What sort of purchasing system have you set up to stay on top of the volume?
Everything arrives at a central location, and some days the loading dock is busy with a couple big rigs and small trucks. Working with executive sous chef Paul Renevey we personally handle all the seafood, meat and produce ordering, because we want to communicate to suppliers exactly what we want. We get produce daily, except for Sundays; seafood daily except for the weekend; and fresh meat, which arrives every few days. Our purchasing manager is responsible for all the dry goods and organization of the storage areas.
|
|
That is obviously no small organizing feat. Would you say it's one of your strengths?
I do consider serving food in such a large and diverse environment quite a challenge, but we are well organized. On a busy day we might have 10 or 15 banquets going, parties of 300 and 800 at the same time, in addition to the regular restaurants. Most of the food needs to be delivered and finished in a satellite location.
But we have never missed a mealtime. We always make it work. It runs pretty smoothly; otherwise, you could not do what we do.
|
|
Is it hard for you to find good employees to handle those responsibilities?
It is hard, especially in the stewarding departments - the porters, dishwasher, pot washers and kitchen cleaners. Typically, these are the least desirable jobs, but they can be the most important.
Moody Gardens Hotel has been open for a few years, so my main kitchen crew is now more dependable. At first it was more difficult to attract people to come here instead of going to a major city. My team currently includes one executive sous chef and a couple of sous chefs. Then each restaurant has an a.m. and p.m. chef.
|
|
What would you count as your greatest professional successes?
Hard work is a lot of it. You and your family have to get used to missing out on a lot of things, but that's always been the nature of this business.
Honesty goes a long way. It's important both in terms of keeping the customers happy and in working with your colleagues.
|
|
|
|
|
|
