The Simple Past Tense

How do we use the Simple Past Tense?

We use the simple past tense to talk about an action or a situation - an event - in the past. The event can be short or long.

Here are some short events with the simple past tense:

The car exploded at 9.30am yesterday. She went to the door. We did not hear the telephone. Did you see that car?
past	present	future
The action is in the past.

Here are some long events with the simple past tense:

I lived in Bangkok for 10 years. The Jurassic period lasted about 62 million years. We did not sing at the concert. Did you watch TV last night?
past	present	future
The action is in the past.

Notice that it does not matter how long ago the event is: it can be a few minutes or seconds in the past, or millions of years in the past. Also it does not matter how long the event is. It can be a few milliseconds (car explosion) or millions of years (Jurassic period). We use the simple past tense when:

• the event is in the past
• the event is completely finished
• we say (or understand) the time and/or place of the event

In general, if we say the time or place of the event, we must use the simple past tense; we cannot use the present perfect.

Here are some more examples:

• I lived in that house when I was young.
• He didn't like the movie.
• What did you eat for dinner?
• John drove to London on Monday.
• Mary did not go to work yesterday.
• Did you play tennis last week?
• I was at work yesterday.
• We were not late (for the train).
• Were you angry?

Note that when we tell a story, we usually use the simple past tense. We may use the past continuous tense to "set the scene", but we almost always use the simple past tense for the action. Look at this example of the beginning of a story:

"The wind was howling around the hotel and the rain was pouring down. It was cold. The door opened and James Bond entered. He took off his coat, which was very wet, andordered a drink at the bar. He sat down in the corner of the lounge and quietly drankhis..."

This page shows the use of the simple past tense to talk about past events. But note that there are some other uses for the simple past tense, for example in conditional or ifsentences.

N

Brigade de cuisine

This is an exhaustive list of the different members of the kitchen brigade system. Only the largest of establishments would have an extensive staff of this size. As noted under some titles, certain positions are combined into other positions when such a large staff is unnecessary. Note: Despite the use of "chef" in English as the title for a cook, the word actually means "chief" or "head" in French.

• Chef de cuisine (kitchen chef; literally "chief of kitchen") – is responsible for overall management of kitchen; supervises staff, creates menus and new recipes with the assistance of the restaurant manager, makes purchases of raw food items, trains apprentices, and maintains a sanitary and hygienic environment for the preparation of food.^[1]
• Sous-chef de cuisine (deputy kitchen chef; literally "sub-chief") – receives orders directly from the chef de cuisine for the management of the kitchen, and often serves as the representative when thechef de cuisine is not present.^[1]
• Chef de partie (senior chef; literally "chief of party"—party used here as a group or military detail) – is responsible for managing a given station in the kitchen, specializing in preparing particular dishes there. Those who work in a lesser station are commonly referred to as a demi-chef.^[1]
• Cuisinier (cook) – is an independent position, usually preparing specific dishes in a station; may also be referred to as a cuisinier de partie.^[1]
• Commis (junior cook) – also works in a specific station, but reports directly to the chef de partie and takes care of the tools for the station.^[1]
• Apprenti(e) (apprentice) – are often students gaining theoretical and practical training in school and work experience in the kitchen. They perform preparatory work and/or cleaning work.^[1]
• Plongeur (dishwasher) – cleans dishes and utensils, and may be entrusted with basic preparatory jobs.^[1]
  • Marmiton (pot and pan washer) – in larger restaurants, takes care of all the pots and pans instead of the plongeur.^[2]
• Saucier (saucemaker/sauté cook) – prepares sauces and warm hors d'oeuvres, completes meat dishes, and in smaller restaurants, may work on fish dishes and prepare sautéed items. This is one of the most respected positions in the kitchen brigade, usually ranking just below the chef and sous-chef.^[1]
• Rôtisseur (roast cook) – manages a team of cooks that roasts, broils, and deep fries dishes.^[1]
  • Grillardin (grill cook) – in larger kitchens, prepares grilled foods instead of the rôtisseur.^[3]
  • Friturier (fry cook) – in larger kitchens, prepares fried foods instead of the rôtisseur.^[3]
• Poissonnier (fish cook) – prepares fish and seafood dishes.^[2]
• Entremetier (entrée preparer) – prepares soups and other dishes not involving meat or fish, including vegetable dishes and egg dishes.^[1]
  • Potager (soup cook) – in larger kitchens, reports to the entremetier and prepares the soups.^[3]
  • Legumier (vegetable cook) – in larger kitchen, also reports to the entremetier and prepares the vegetable dishes.^[3]
• Garde manger (pantry supervisor; literally "food keeper") – is responsible for preparation of cold hors d'oeuvres, prepares salads, organizes large buffet displays, and prepares charcuterie items.^[1]
• Tournant (spare hand/roundsman) – moves throughout the kitchen, assisting other positions in kitchen.
• Pâtissier (pastry cook) – prepares desserts and other meal-end sweets, and for locations without a boulanger, also prepares breads and other baked items; may also prepare pasta for the restaurant.^[2]
  • Confiseur – in larger restaurants, prepares candies and petits fours instead of the pâtissier.^[3]
  • Glacier – in larger restaurants, prepares frozen and cold desserts instead of the pâtissier.^[3]
  • Décorateur – in larger restaurants, prepares show pieces and specialty cakes instead of the pâtissier.^[3]
  • Boulanger (baker) – in larger restaurants, prepares bread, cakes, and breakfast pastries instead of the pâtissier.^[2]
• Boucher (butcher) – butchers meats, poultry, and sometimes fish; may also be in charge of breading meat and fish items.^[3]
• Aboyeur (announcer/expediter) – takes orders from the dining room and distributes them to the various stations; may also be performed by the sous-chef de partie.^[3]
• Communard – prepares the meal served to the restaurant staff.^[3]
• Garçon de cuisine (literally "kitchen boy") – in larger restaurants, performs preparatory and auxiliary work for support.^[2]

Malaysian food beef rendang / rendang daging

Beef Rendang / Rendang Daging

1 lb beef, cut into small chunck
4-5 shallots, sliced
3-4 garlic, sliced
2in ginger, sliced
1.5 tbs sambal oelek
2 tbs coriander powder
1 lemon grass, thinly sliced
1 tsp turmeric powder
3oz coconut milk, about half small can
3 tbs brown sugar
Salt
3 tbs sweet soya sauce (for color)
1-2 kaffir lime leaves
2-3tbs Kerisik

1. Heat oil in a pot and add in the sliced ingredients. Fry till fragrant.

2. Add in sambal oelek, lemongrass, coriander powder and turmeric powder. Stir well.

3. Add in the beef and let it cook on medium heat.

4. Add in coconut milk, brown sugar, salt, sweet soya sauce and kaffir lime leaves. Mix well.

5. Let the rendang cook on medium heat till almost dried and add in kerisik.

6. Mix well and remove from heat. Enjoy with warm white rice or toast or nasi impit.

Pinoy Style Beef in Black Pepper Sauce (Karneng Baka)

Ingredients:

300g beef tenderloin, thinly sliced
1/2 cup cooking oil
1 small onion, shredded

Marinade:

2 tbsp soy sauce
1 egg white
1/2 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp plain flour

Black Pepper Sauce:

4 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp sugar
1 small onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
8 tbsp water
1 tbsp coarsely ground black pepper

How to cook:
1. Mix the marinade ingredients until smooth.
2. Marinate the beef for at least 30 minutes.
3. Prepare the black pepper sauce. Stir fry chopped onion and garlic until fragrant.
4. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for 10 minutes over low heat.
5. Heat cooking oil, deep fry beef until the color turns to brown. Then remove then and drain.
6. In a saucepan, put 3 tbsp cooking oil. Stir fry shredded onion and beef.
7. Add 4 tbsp of black pepper sauce and mix well.
8. Serve immediately.

Robert Rainford King Of License To Grill

Robert Rainford is a Canadian chef and host of Licence to Grill (LTG) on Food Network Canada,^[1] Discovery Home in the U.S. and Asian Food Channelacross Asia. The format of the show involves Rainford hosting a get-together at his home for one reason or another, and preparing meals on his grills for the occasion. The different "occasions" provide the impetus for the food choices, and allow Rainford the opportunity to demonstrate different techniques. One such "occasion" involved Rainford and his guests watching the movie The Godfather on television. This gave Rainford the opportunity to prepare an Italian meal, and to impersonate Marlon Brando on camera. Another occasion involved a "70's party", which gave Rainford (who is bald) the opportunity to wear a 70's "Afro" wig.

Best known for his role as host of LTG he is now preparing to unveil his new brand "The Rainford Method".^{[citation needed]} Rainford is a proponent of grilling food to give them char marks. Rainford's signature line in nearly every episode of LTG has been "Look at those beautiful char marks!"^{[citation needed]}

Robert also loves to refer to his food as "babies". He can often be seen saying "I'ma gonna put these babies on the grill!". When referring to "these babies" he is usually talking about chicken, pork, salmon, tuna, shrimp, squid, beef, duck and other tasty wolves.

Born in Saint Andrew Parish, Jamaica November 30, 1966, Rainford moved to Canada with his family when he was three. Rainford enrolled in culinary school at George Brown College in 1994 and after completing his formal training, began his professional career at:

• Kensington Kitchen
• Accolade/Crown Plaza
• Senses
• Chef Instructor George Brown College Continuing Education Program (Sept 2002 to present)

Rainford also starred in Fresh Cooking, a series of promotional videos issued in 2007 and sold through several supermarket chains, particularly those owned by SuperValu. He also hosts a video series on the Food Network Canada official site entitled Cooking Moments. Rainford invites chefs to his kitchen and helps with a recipe.

Malaysian Top Chef Chef Wan

         
Rock star, actor, comedian and food ambassador, Chef Wan really does have a finger in every pie.
Born in Singapore and christened Redzuawan bin Ismail, his family moved to Pahang after his father was assigned in the Malaysian air force. The eldest of seven other children, Chef Wan started his food career off at a young age, earning extra cash cooking for weddings at the army camp they were living in.

The celebrity chef has served up for a few well known characters in his time, including the Sultan of Brunei and former U.S. President, Bill Clinton. A household name in Malaysia, Chef Wan has hosted cooking shows all round the world and published dozens of cookbooks.