No Garçon, No Recipe, No Problem
Jeff
8/20/20263 min read
Sorry, Soup Club fans, but this blog and recipe are late. Like...really late. Why? Makes no sense to you. Makes no sense to me either. I have a feeling only time will surface the real issues here. All I know is there seems to be some sort of drama surrounding Soup Club every single week now. Love it! Well...maybe? Yeah, I love it.
Let's get the big news out of the way first. And no, Marketing Mike being MIA isn't even the big news. Our very own garçon, Hunter, the only person in Soup Club history to actually work his way into Soup Club, has officially..."Retired." His word. Not mine.
This one is a head-scratcher. All of the members were so excited to see Hunter wearing the tuxedo apron and white gloves while ladling our soup that we unanimously decided to fully accept him into Soup Club. No more strings attached. No mandatory ladling. No white gloves. No French accent. Nothing that any other member wouldn't have to do. He was in!
And Hunter has all the makings of a good souper right in his backyard. He's a bit of a gardener. He's no Jerry Baker, but there's certainly enough growing back there to fill a pot, turn on a burner, and see what happens.
Welp...apparently the thought of putting some vegetables into a pot and heating them up was just too much. The result? Retirement. Interesting choice of words for a guy who probably wouldn't have to make his first soup for another two or three months. Oh, and Kevin and I both offered to hold his hand through the entire process. Nope. Retirement.
On the sad side…we're definitely going to miss Hunter in the room. He added a lot to the meetings and was genuinely fun to have around.
On the positive side...We now have room for someone who appreciates us! Rejection is hard! Moving on.
This week's soup presentation came from none other than Marketing Mike. Mike brought in a pretty unique creation made with veggie broth, brown lentils, carrots, a cheese rind, and presumably some other ingredients. We don't really know. WE DON'T HAVE THE RECIPE!
For a Bottomer™, he brought roasted cabbage. Then there was some other sort of cheese situation and chicken sausage for those wanting to add a little meat to the party. Whatever was actually in this mysterious creation, it was time to eat.
Soup Clubbers Speak Out:
Kevin: Kevin always starts us off in a direction, and this week was no different. The first number out of his mouth was an 8.9. We all know Kevin's score only goes one direction once the hot sauce comes out...and up it went. 9.5 with the addition of Habanero Harman's sauce.
Conlan: A big smile followed by a solid 9.5. Okay...Conlan has either loosened up considerably or this soup is the real deal.
Josephine: Absolutely no poker face here. Apparently lentils must taste like corn or something. She reluctantly mumbled out a 7.0. Then came Habanero Harman's sauce and some ghost pepper salt. A little smile may have appeared and suddenly we were up to an 8.5. That's quite the condiment recovery.
Nathan: Gave us one of his patented long-winded ramp-ups before eventually arriving at a 10.0. I don't remember if there was a childhood story involved. Probably.
Adam: Another long-winded ramp-up, although for some reason Adam's made more sense than Nathan's. He eventually landed on a 9.5.
Jeff: Me? Well...I somehow ended up eating three full bowls. Sorry, Felton. I thought the soup was too watery. I thought the cabbage chunks were too big. But the flavor? Superb. Really, really good. Enough to overcome my texture complaints and earn a 9.0.
Tam: Not present for the official meeting because she was at the dentist, but she ate hers when she returned. Her official review: "Good soup." Followed by an 8.5.
Andy: On Break
Hunter: Retired
Soup Club Average: 9.21
Another really good Soup Club showing! Unfortunately, we're off next week for some regularly scheduled actual-work stuff. Probably a good thing. It gives us some time to figure out where the heck Marketing Mike went...and, more importantly, gives Adam some much-needed peace and quiet to begin stressing over what he's going to bring us on September 1.
Plenty of time, Adam. No pressure. Well...maybe a little.
