Nice essay, but I can tell you and I walk (cook) in different worlds. It's somewhat more cut and dried for me. Trust me, i would love to participate in something similar to what I think you are living now. But for me, its:
1. Put out good food.
2. Survive physically.
3. Derive what satisfaction I can from 1 and 2.
Right now I am up to my neck in brute force kitchen work, and any attempt to meditate for too long results in slumber.
A good sous or first cook?
He is absolutely loyal to me. Period. Not the owner, not the restaurant, me. He unerringly acts in my best interests and watches my back. A less skilled cook I can bring up to speed. Then he gets a degree of creative freedom. But if he is not my samurai, my pretorian guard, he's not going to last long. |