Interview with Melba Garcia

It may sound kind of strange but growing up I always wanted to be a server at a restaurant. Not for a career mind you but just something to do in my teens and through college. Currently this is what I do to help me pay my way through college but my interests have evolved past being a server to being an proprietor of a fine dinning establishment. Of course I would have to run the front of the house, for although I love cooking, I am no chef.
My grandmother (like many many others) always offers me food when I go back home. It's always right after my hug and kiss and before "how are you." There's something comforting and antiquated about having someone offer, make, and serve you food that probably goes back to when fire was first discovered. Dining out to me is not just eating but it's an experience (if done right at least) from the ambiance, the service and most importantly the food. I love being able to be apart of that feeling, the experience, that people have when at a nice restaurant, bloated but jovial and above all satisfied.
This is why I sought out to interview a woman that has been dedicated her life to being apart of the food industry, Melba Garcia, chef/owner of Sao Paulo's Brazilian Restaurant. I have so much respect for this woman, not only because she is my boss, but because of the enormous talent and vigor she has brought to opening and keeping her restaurant (an achievement in it's own right). One can find a list of her awards on the restaurant's website and of course other information about the restaurant such as location and menus.
What are the different routes one can take in order to own a restaurant?
Well first you have to have a working capital. Like if you're a woman Latina there are avenues you can take through the small business administration in which you would have to have an initial deposit or percentage of the start up cost and they would sign a form that backs a loan that says that if you default that they will take care of it. Of course you have to have draw up a business plan and have credentials for them to back you but that's one avenue.
For me, I had a partner and she and I had enough working capital to start this place ourselves.
So in order to open a restaurant you just need working capital that you already have, or get a loan, or go through the small business administration.
What particular route did you take?
Well I got my chef certificate and opened my first restaurant when I was 23. It was a Bistro at South Padre Island and I also worked at the Hilton as a chef. Eventually my partners and I sold the Bistro and I became executive chef at the Hilton. After that I worked for a company called Fired Up Inc. and did some training for their cooks until I had enough working capital to open up this place (Sao Paulo's).
Hardest part about starting a restaurant?
The first day, sitting in an empty restaurant not knowing if you're going to be successful. We started the restaurant in 2001 in the wake of 9/11 and it was really hard. There was an economic downturn and people were scared and confused and obviously not wanting to spend money. Obviously we've gotten past that but it was a rough few years.
Also, not seeing business coming through the door. As an owner it's really stressful when it gets slow or when people aren't eating out as much.
Hardest part about keeping a restaurant?
Keeping a steady flow of clientele. It's very multi-fauceted and so easy to lose a customer from a singular bad experience. Like if the service is really bad or they have to wait too long to be seated. For the most part though people will be willing to come to your restaurant if you have good food. Having quality food is the most important part of keeping a steady flow of people come in your door.
Myths about owning a restaurant?
The three year hump. People say that if you can make it three years then it's smooth sailing after. And that is not the case at all. Your business flow can slow if there's bad weather or if the economy is bad like it is now. You never know what outside forces are going to act on your business.
Also there is an uprising of social media and reviews like Yelp or Citysearch that can really affect your business. We are lucky that both websites give us mostly good reviews but now more than ever people are going to sites like these before they go out to restaurants because it helps filter out bad restaurants.
Advice to aspiring any chef/owners?
Don't (I think I see a motif starting to appear, even though like Allen she immediately smiles and laughs after saying this). I'm just kidding. I would tell anyone that opens a restaurant to be proud of what you do. If you take pride in the food you prepare and the service you give you're that much likely to succeed and put out a quality product.
Also, I think a lot of it's karma. What you put out is what you get back. What people are looking for when they come to a restaurant is a kind of instant gratification and if you can do that then you will see rewards.
And just have a passion for it. It's an impossible job to do if you don't really love what you are doing and people can tell.
Picture taken from Sao Paulo's website.

Cooking Collaborative

Starting only a few weeks ago two of my friends decided to make homemade tamales after an interesting conversation with one of their mom's who was in town helping her move-in. She, Alex, had just arrived, freshly transferred from UT's sister school UTA. Her mom seemed to have doubts that either Alex or Kristine, our other friend, would be competent enough to live on their own and sustain themselves.
Out of that conversation we decided to start a cooking collaborative that brought together our friends every Sunday to make a dinner from a specific country all from scratch.
This past Sunday, French. Tomato mozzarella salad and mushroom soup for appetizers. For our entree dish; quiche, boeuf bourguignon, goat cheese and basil puff pastries, parsley mash potatoes. Lastly, nutella and banana crepes for dessert.
I had to list everything out because I like to brag about my friends, they make up most of my readership after all. Also to prove that college students aren't wholly lazy and uninterested in self-improvement. Although I have doubts about my generation, like Alex's mom, I don't feel that we are totally incompetent.
That's what I like about the cooking collaborative. It's a group of students trying to gain a skill that according to a New York Times article, people of my generation are losing more and more.
Also, the fellowship involved in the collaborative is priceless. A large amount of students go to colleges in new cities and the prospect of making new friends can be daunting. Events like this help create network of friends by bringing together weak links/secondary links or acquaintances. Also, if you change up some of the people that come every week it creates even larger friend circles.

I mention this as I said, partly to brag about my friend but the other to preface my next interview with my boss, chef/owner Melba Garcia.
The extent of my mother's culinary skill lie within around a weeks worth of dishes and the best restaurants in the area I grew up in consisted over chain restaurants like Johnny Carinos and Texas Steak House. When I moved to Austin and started to explore the culinary scene I was blown away. Not that Austin has the most impressive one but it definitely was a major step from where I came from. Also the service was at a different level that made dinning more of an experience.
I applied to a Brazilian restaurant, Sao Paulo's, where the owner Melba hired me. After actually experiencing the restaurant industry first hand and seeing the joy that you bring to your patrons, it was very gratifying.
My next interview with Melba then, is about being a chef/owner and how she got there and how you can too. I have a passion for food (that may just stay with me dining out rather than owning...we'll see) but later this week her interview should be up.
Photo's taken by Alex Webster

Interview with professor Alan Friedman

I am very rarely intimidated my another human being but the first time I met Dr. Alan Friedman I was tripping on my words as if I were on a first date with Natalie Portman. He’s not intimidating in the same way that one would be intimidated by Hulk Hogan or the Thing but when he speaks, it is with a certain gravity that commands attention. His speech is thoughtful and controlled and gives him an air of affluence and intelligence. It is no wonder though, for his accomplishments would most likely be longer than your weekly grocery list. He’s been teaching, researching, writing, and been involved with several boards for his long career at UT. He has reached the highest level of being a professor which is professorship (which I will go into more later) and published five books among several other publication.
Earlier today I was honored to conduct my first interview for my blog with him. He helped detangle a little of the intricate web of the world of academics.
First was the issue of what exactly his position at the University was.
“An English professor,” he stated simply.
Of course there are several different levels of professorship that one can gain but I didn’t really know what they were or the differences so I had him explain.
At the ground level as far as tenure track professors go, is the Instructor. They call these professors ABD-All But Dissertation-since they are tenure track but have yet to get their Ph.D. These professors are currently undertaking research to finish their dissertation and thus getting their Ph.D.
Next is the Associate Professor. The most obvious difference between the Instructor and the Associate Professor is that the Associate Professor has his Ph.D. The most important difference though is that the Associate Professor is advancing the work s/he did before through research and turning it into multiple articles and ideally a book. Most of what the professor is trying to do at this point is join in the academic conversation and publish work that contributes to the conversation. With these contributions, the professor ideally will make a name for themselves on a national and possibly international stage. If a professor is successful at making a name for themselves and publishes an adequate amount of work (this varies between departments and even universities), at the max of six years time, they will be up for tenure (for those who don’t know what tenure is, it is the backbone of academia. Tenure secures their jobs so that they have the academic freedom to pursue their intellectual interest and contribute in the larger conversation in a way that their voice is heard [there are a few cases though in which tenure professor can be let go but I’ll save that for another post]). This is a very stressful time in professor’s careers because if they aren’t promoted to tenure they have to move to another university. A board decides if the candidate is qualified for promotion based on several factors, mostly their publications and contributions to the department. There are no strict guidelines for this process but there is a certain amount of gradient that goes into the decision making process. Such as if you publish a book it has more pull than editing a book (there is gradients in this process as well) or publishing articles. If a professor doesn’t attain tenure then they have what is called a terminal year to find work at another university.
If a professor does get tenure then they become an Associate Professor with Tenure. This is where most professors stay. They publish work and still do research but just on a less rigors scale than people who attain the next level of promotion that comes about 6 to 8 years later.
That is, a Full Professor. A full professor is still doing the same thing but has just done more prestigious things and is probably more involved with the department and boards (Alan told me it varies but he said usually there is about one book publication between each promotion).
The last promotion is to Professorship. Professorship is when you are endowed by an outside source to further your research. It’s like you get an expense account. I have money in an account that I can spend on things that pertain to my research (conferences, printing paper, computer etc.) but I have to account for all the expenses so they are justified.
Also at universities there are lecturers. Lecturers are in a different category because they are not on tenure track and they are on a as need basis for the most part. Their contracts are anywhere from a semester to three years and they can be not rehired at any point. Some universities give them a year-similar to the terminal year-in which they can find a new job but it is not the universities responsibility to do so.
I know, I know, a lot of information on one question. If you are interested in more information on these issues you can go to MLA’s website (yes, the same people that in your freshman composition class you had to buy the book for) or if you’ve gotten into graduate school for English you no doubt have heard of the ADE (Association of Department of English). The ADE’s website looks like it is very informative but unfortunately you have to be a member to look at any of their publications and you can’t be a member unless you are a graduate student or professor (unlucky me!). When I have more time I’m going to look into both of these websites and hopefully will be able to give you some more numbers and statistics pertaining to being a professional academic.
How important is networking for getting into graduate school or getting placed at a good university?
As far as graduate school goes from my experience (he proceeds cautiously since he’s only been involved on the other side for quite some time), I thinks that it’s not very important. Since graduate schools are able to pick out candidates from a large pool and competition is so rigorous it allows universities to choose based on quality. It’s not an institute that takes much stock in your connections since it is the students work and drive that is going to make them successful in graduate school.
It’s pretty much the same in trying to get a job at the university but possibly a little more important. Assuming you’ve done well in graduate school and if you’ve had the chance to work under certain people it is something that gets weighed in as you apply for a job as a professor (he explained further that if you’ve worked under a predominate figure in your field and they write you a convincing recommendation that your application gets taken as a serious applicant, although he says that all applicants are taken seriously). In all, networking doesn’t necessarily give candidates an edge.
Are there any popular misconceptions about being a professor?
That we don’t work very hard. They think that since we will spend about six to twelve hours in a classroom a week that that is all we do. And that can be frustrating. It’s like saying that a surgeon is only working when he is doing surgery or a lawyer is only working when he is arguing a case in court. It omits 90% of what we do from putting together classes to doing research to contributing to the department.
Any advice for anyone that is interested in pursuing the same career as you?
Think twice, Alan said and a big smile came over his face. Of course I’m only joking but really, it’s something that you have to make sure you really want to do. You have to have a real passion for whatever subject you’re researching. It something that you have to feel is very important and you would regret it if you didn’t.
To “think twice” is a common thread as far as speaking to my professors about going to graduate school and trying to aspire to become a professor. As one of my favorite professors Jonathan Lamb put it, “only do it if you couldn’t see yourself being happy doing anything else.” It seems so daunting but I appreciate their honesty. I much rather hear how they truly feel rather than have it sugarcoated-this is after all, not your childhood breakfast cereal. Although I am unsure as their career path is one that I will follow, I appreciate their craft and devotion to not only education but to their students. They get to impact young lives in a transitory period and I know that I have been changed by men like them. I admire and respect their profession and I will be so lucky if I one day achieve similar success.
Photo taken from the University of Texas's website, http://www.utexas.edu/cola/depts/english/faculty/profiles/friedman-alan-w.html

Hovercraft!

On what seemed to be my never ending search for the perfect pair of oxford dress shoes, I finally found them at this great little boutique on South Congress (or SoCo) called Hovercraft. As far as shopping goes, South Congress is one of my favorite places to go. They have such great stores ranging from stores like Mi Casa Gallery that specializes in Mexican home decor--which, of course, I'm a never ending fan of--to Big Top Candy Store in which you can get basically any kind of sweets you would like from shaved ice to Abba Zabba (Half Baked reference anyone?). I never get around to heading up there because for one I'm always broke and traveling outside of the UT campus area is a hassle that I usually end up avoiding unless there is some sort of special occasion to motivate the short but seemingly long trek past downtown.
I am so happy though that I ended up going this past weekend though because not only did I find my dream shoes, I was greeted by an unusually friendly staff and a great deal. Usual one can not find a good pair of oxfords for under $100 (and that's at Aldo, one of the cheapest retailers of shoes) and I got not just one but two pair for $90. Of course, my shopping experience was probably enhanced and made more pleasant because of the staff.
As soon as I walked in an attractive blond saleswoman greeted my friend and I with an exuberance that one rarely--if ever--is seen by people working in the retail industry. Usually I don't enjoy being solicited by the salespeople when I am shopping but maybe it was the fact that she was so cute or so endearingly nice that it made it okay this time. She made me feel like a million dollars as soon as I tried on the shoes and even had her co-worker--yet another attractive female salesperson--come over and help seal the deal.
At of the whole experience, I ended up getting great new shoes, that I had been wanting for far too long, a great costumer experience, and best of all, an inflated feeling of self-esteem.
I am definitely going to start frequenting this store, and am eager to see what kind of finds I will make next from this cozy shop.

artist collaborative

It just hit me today how interesting it would be to have modern day "happenings." It seems strange to me that so many artist, or would be artist, live in Austin and yet there really is no established scene--at least of which I am aware.
If there is such a scene here in Austin I would like to find out more about it and if not I may potentially try to start something that resembles a happening.
No doubt a project like this will be arduous but I feel as if it would have many benefits to not only the artist but also our humble city.
I feel as if they had a place to showcase their work or an audience it would likely give these people more of an incentive to do work at a higher level and more frequently. Also it would give them a vast network of other artist to discuss projects and potential with whom to collaborate.
It's only an idea in my head right now but I feel as if I know enough people that have some kind of network with local artist that this might be something that could grow and become something to want to belong.
Just imagine, a room full of potential artist, film makers, writers, musicians, and other people in the creative spectrum. Not only would it be interesting because there would be performance but also it would create an environment in which these people could really relate to one another and possible start creating things that they never though possible.