Your Greatest Challenge? Have you Conquered It?

Indigo_Swale · #1 11-06-2007, 07:09 PM

I work part-time as a cook for a catering company, and I love it so much that I am very seriously considering culinary school.

But...I am wondering if I would be able to overcome my weaknesses and conquer my challenges in the kitchen.

I know a lot about food, I love learning more, and I'm sure I can master most techniques through practice. But I am sorely lacking in organizational and planning skills. (I have poor "executive function", to use the cognitive psychology term.) Chef often looks me in the eye and says firmly, with an edge of exasperation, "Indigo. Make a plan. Then execute the plan." This is very difficult for me. And I'm not sure if it's the kind of thing that you can learn, or if it's one of those things that's either part of your cognitive style or not. I'm sure I could improve, but I don't know if I could improve enough to be able to cook at a high level.

I am also notoriously slow. I assume you can improve the speed at which you accomplish many kitchen tasks through practice, but good planning and organization are also crucial for getting things done in a timely fashion.

So, I assume that these would be my greatest challenges. Has anyone else faced similar challenges? Have you overcome them? How did you do it?

In general, I'd like to hear from the other folks here: What do you feel was/is your greatest obstacle to success in the professional kitchen? How did you overcome it, or how are you working to overcome it?

adamm · #2 11-06-2007, 09:51 PM

One of my bigges challenges is working clean and neat, Im starting to get better by cleaning as i go, but i still always seem to make things dirty again. The other thing i need to work on is knife skills, but im slowley getting better at it, when i cook at home, and if i have to cut onions, i make sure there perfect, or close two it. Same goes for the neat and clean part, ill never get better at workif im working messy at home.

Greg · #3 11-07-2007, 12:53 AM

Planning and organization in cooking comes with knowledge and experience in cooking. You've got to know how long things are going to take as well as what things need to be done first. This applies to both prep and working a line. It may well be that you're still new to this and you just need a little more time. Also, stop pschoanalyzing yourself. You will over-think your way out of succeeding.

Indigo_Swale · #4 11-07-2007, 04:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greg

Also, stop pschoanalyzing yourself. You will over-think your way out of succeeding.

LOL. I think you just summed up my whole life in two sentences.

But seriously...I know about the poor executive functioning thing because I had some cognitive testing done. I'm sure I'm not the only aspiring professional cook with an ADHD diagnosis. I know, I know, it's the diagnosis-du-jour, and I'm sure there are people here who don't believe in it, or who don't accept that it's a "disorder"...That's a whole other discussion.

But as a biology student who's studied this stuff pretty thoroughly, I do believe that differences in brain chemistry can cause differences in cognitive styles. So....My point is that I'm not really psychoanalyzing myself (that's a whole different thing!), I'm just acknowledging an aspect of my cognitive style that has always been a major obstacle to my success in just about any pursuit.

However, your point is well taken. I do have a tendency to waaaayyy over-think stuff!

I am very encouraged that you say planning and organization in the kitchen can be learned through experience. Thank you for your post!