A Day in the Life - GT Resort’s Executive Chef Ted Cizma

Cooking locally raised foods is a priority for Ted Cizma in his capacity as Executive Chef of the Grand Traverse Resort & Spa. Chef Cizma shares a day in the life overseeing the resort's culinary staff and operations.

5:05 a.m.: Awake, waiting for the alarm to go off that officially starts my day. The alarm is my phone, plugged in the kitchen, so as not to disturb my sleeping wife. Rarely am I actually still asleep at the appointed hour, but it's always good to have a safety net. Occasionally I forget to crack my bedroom door a bit and slumber on, half conscious waiting for the alarm that is going off, unheard, outside the door.

5:15 a.m.: First cup of coffee, conveniently ready when I reach the kitchen thanks to my oldest daughter making coffee and setting the timer the previous evening. Ah, it's good to be king... for a few minutes at least.

5:20 a.m.: wake up call for the two oldest kids, who have before school, extra curricular activities. Head out for a quick run around the block. Of course my block is about 2.5 miles and involves two separate 45 degree grades... Nonetheless, I never know if there will be time for a work out later so might as well get one in now.

6:30 a.m.: wake up call for the other two kids and out the door to drop off the others at school and then on to work for me.

7:05 a.m.: unlock office, turn on computer, eye red message light on phone with trepidation and head for our Marketplace outlet for a cup of coffee. I am very proud of this recently renovated space. We serve coffee from local roasters Leelanau Coffee in Glen Arbor and an assortment of baked goods, candies and deli sandwiches, all made in house. All the coffee is brewed using French press pots which retain much of the essential oils which are filtered out in a traditional filter brewed cup of coffee.

7:15 a.m.: Sweetwater restaurant kitchen. There's a little breakfast rush going on and only one cook on duty. I try to help out, cooking a few eggs to order with limited success. Note to self: practice flipping eggs over easy when no one is looking. I decide to stick to setting up plates, pancakes and hash browns.

8:00 a.m.: Back in the office, plow through the overnight and morning emails and voice messages. I confer briefly with my assistant, discussing my schedule (which she guards zealously) and the upcoming events of the day. I have a number of interviews scheduled, as we ramp up for the busy season and staff our seasonal outlets.

9:05 a.m. :What I call the "world tour" a swing around the resort with stops in all of the culinary operations, checking in and making myself available for questions, comments or suggestions ( criticisms, too ) from my staff.

9:30 am-11:15 a.m.: I attend a series of meetings, reviewing the upcoming two weeks worth of business with representatives of each department in the resort, making sure we are all "on the same page". Following that is a meeting with other members of the F& B department to share information and be updated on upcoming issues and events.

11:30 a.m.: I conduct several interviews for various positions in the culinary department. Several will be offered positions. Some will not. Here's some free advice: if you expect to get hired, give some consideration to your appearance. A dirty T-shirt and sweatpants would not be my first choice to "dress to impress". Staffing has been my biggest challenge since taking this job a year and half ago. Having spent the last twenty years or so in cities with populations in the millions, finding help has never been an issue.

As cool as Northern Michigan is, it seems that Culinarians are not flocking here in search of jobs. Many of the most talented young men and women gravitate to cities like NY, Chicago and others, where there is the potential for greater exposure to a wider variety of cooking opportunities. I have focused my energy on cultivating staff with potential and working to develop their abilities through intensive training.

1:15 p.m.: Banquet kitchen. A large plated luncheon is in progress, around 400 guests, the plate up went smoothly. This is something that I really take pleasure from, knocking out hundreds of meals in such a short period of time, each plate identical (hopefully) to the last. The first course for today's meal was a salad that I almost cut from the menu because of the inability to get consistently high quality Bibb lettuce in large amounts. A local farmer who grew tomatoes for us last year, at our request, has planted hydroponic Bibb and Romaine lettuce and we are having great success with it. I chat briefly with the saucier about some duck stock he is making and promise to give him feedback on the finished product, which will go into a menu item in Aerie, our premier restaurant on the 16th floor.

1:30 p.m.: Bake shop, chat with pastry chef Carolyn, who is frustrated today with the consistency of one of the breads that her department produces for a sandwich that is sold in several of our outlets. She has a big job, responsible for all baked goods, desserts, candies and confections resort wide. ( that's 3 full service restaurants, deli, sports bar, pool bar, beach club, the after nine and beverage carts on the golf course and of course 85,000 square feet of banquet space. ) She studied locally at GLCI and then at the French Pastry institute. We discuss our plans for later this year when the resort will be hosting some events for the Epicurean Classic. She is excited that Jacquy Pfeiffer, one of the most gifted sugar artists in the world will be attending. She has been an enthusiastic early adopter of our "source local" mission, using locally cultivated fruits and herbs as well as locally produced milk, cream, butter and eggs. We talk a little bit about an idea she has for a bite size peanut candy bar using locally made Naturally Nutty peanut butter.

2:00 p.m.: a stand up lunch of sliced (local hydroponic, from Kingsley) tomatoes and cheese on foccacia bread behind the line in the kitchen of the Grille, our restaurant servicing the three golf courses on property. It seems that the foccacia is not working out as part of a Panini sandwich on the menu. The Sous chef and I decide to use a larger version of bread our bakery makes, produced as a roll. Problem solved, stomach filled.

2:20 p.m.: commissary/butcher shop: I am in the butcher shop (With the butcher, Dennis) When Mike Werp, a local farmer comes in with a delivery. Mike grows a wide variety of greens and micro greens, as well as herbs, edible flowers and root vegetables. Coincidentally, I used to buy from Mike when I owned restaurants in Chicago. Mike still drives to Chicago every Friday to deliver to several high end restaurants there. I am very proud that our local product is so highly prized that chefs are willing to pay the price to have Mike bring it to them all the way from Buckley, MI. Mike and I talk a little about our needs for the upcoming week and some new herbs he has brought for me. We grow all our own staples here at the resort, but Mike cultivates some others for me like savory, sorrel and sylvetta arugula.

Mike leaves and I finish my salmon butchery demonstration for the butcher. I have a specific way I want it cut for large banquet events, in order to ensure consistency. Our butcher also serves as our saucier, making soups and sauces for many of the outlets. He is an enthusiastic learner and I have enjoyed sharing techniques and new methods with him.

3:30 pm: aerie restaurant kitchen, I meet with the aerie kitchen supervisor to go over the evening's service. It will be a busy night, over 100 reservations and many large parties. Aerie, our premier restaurant has actually been operating without a sous chef for several months, I am seeking a replacement for the former sous, who moved on, but have been unable to find the right candidate so far. It is a critical position, and I am unwilling to hire anyone that I am not ready to fully trust. Meanwhile, the supervisor and I share the duties. I call it my part time job. The truth is, I love it. I often tell interviewees that this field is not for everybody; you really have to be a little off to enjoy the long hours, hard work and mediocre pay. It's definitely not like what you see on TV. I quickly run through the mise en place, cut some fish, make a sauce and touch base with each of the line cooks about their respective stations. This is a good group, young men and women who take pride in their jobs. I'll be back later, I say, to help expedite through the busiest portion of the night.

5:00 p.m. My assistant has gone home for the day when I return to the office, but not without filling up my schedule for tomorrow. I close my office door and return the accumulated messages and emails. There are some trade journals to peruse and potential applicant's resumes to look at as well. There are menu changes for two of the restaurants pending, as well as all the associated recipe changes and costing to approve. There is a cooking class "cooking live" this week too, I'll need to write a menu and recipe cards for that, as well as prepare some entertaining remarks. Thank goodness my Grandfather made me take that Dale Carnegie course, it really helps with public speaking and teaching gigs like this.

6:30 p.m.: Garde Manger (cold kitchen) Minor crisis. A small banquet event has turned into a large banquet event, and the head count has increased by 40 people. The banquet kitchen can easily accommodate the additional dinners, but the plated salads were pre made and covered, and the Garde Manger chef has gone home. I quickly recruit a couple of dinner cooks from Sweetwater ( whose kitchen is in close proximity to the cold kitchen ) unlock the coolers, call stewarding for more plates and set up a makeshift plating line to knock out the additional salads.

7:15 p.m.: aerie kitchen. Dinner service is in full swing. The printer chatters non stop, tickets line the rail, the kitchen doors are in constant motion, server assistants drop off trays laden with dirty dishes and glasses, the cooks move in what appears to be frantic, discordant action, but is in actuality a carefully orchestrated series of movements: plate down, ladle sauce, add garnish, slide plate across the pass.

I step to the expeditor's position across from the lead cook; he gratefully pushes a stack of tickets towards me and turns back to the grill, covered with steaks and fish. I begin calling instructions to the various stations: "order fire, pick up, on order. What's the status on 33? Have salads gone to 16 yet? How long for the apps on 25? Pick it up, now! Get me the server on that table! Find out what's going on in the wine room!" Meanwhile I answer a steady stream of questions from servers; "where is the Walleye from chef?" "What was the name of the guy who makes the goat cheese for us?" "Table 11 wants to know if you can make a vegetarian menu for them..." I answer with out taking my eyes off of the line, gauging in my head how long it will take for the saute cook to finish that pasta. "Lake Erie... John, from Zingerman's... of course I can, are dairy products ok?"

Two hours pass in a heartbeat. The flow of orders tapers off, the cooks catch their breath, the dishwashers catch up, the servers and server assistants begin their paperwork. I let everyone know what a good job they did, say my good nights and head down the elevator.

9:20 p.m. I turn the light out in my office and head for the parking lot. It's a short drive out the back of the resort through the woods to my house. Home, I sit for a moment on the deck, chef coat unbuttoned, cold beverage in hand and contemplate the beautiful Northern Michigan twilight.

Filed under A Day in the Life • Chefs