A Chef's Chatroom?

[foodpump]

Romance is romance, you're infatuated with someone/something because, well, just because.

Passion is different, it's an obsession, you methodically learn everything about your passion, everything related to cooking: History, ingredients, techniques, tools, procedures, little tid-bits like how Worcestershire sauce, which is an Indian condiment, came to be made in England, why the Spanish had a stranglehold on Vanilla for almost 3oo years, why adding redwine to braised red cababage at the right time will stop it from becoming a phsychedilac purple, the extreme simplicity and rare find of someone who can saute properly...

You will find people who share our passion, but they are rare finds, and half of the fun is finding these people, kinda like that old saying: The secret is not what is in the box, the secret is opening the box.
My Chiropracter is one such person, must have seen him at least a dozen times, and he just assumed I was a plain old cook, because that's what was written on my chart. It was only after he probed about an old injury I sustained years ago at a 5 star Hotel in Zürich, that he became interested. He put up a barrge of probing questions to see how passionate I was about food before admitting he was too. Seems he grew up with tuna cassarole and as a treat, semi-thawed chicken tossed in a pan with Cream of mushroom soup and shoved into an oven. Worked as a waiter at a high-end place to get through University and that's when he caught the bug. Interesting guy...

[panini]

Oh OK.
I guess mine is romance. Don't know why, just because. I'm in love with what I do. I have also methodically learned everything about what I do and learn more every day. I guess I'm just not obsessed.

[chefmikesworld]

I thought you would get a kick out of this.....an article instigated by an old protege of mine....

The Chef’s Office
Romanticizing the Kitchen
August 2005


Chef Mike,

First, I want to say that I thoroughly enjoy the Chef’s Office newsletters; I use them as a motivation for some of my more serious cooks and post them on the bulletin board at work. I take it even more personally because I have worked along side of your crazy butt for longer than either one of us care to remember. Ha ha.

I do have one comment though, although your articles are definitely thought provoking and sometimes downright heehaaaa motivating, I also feel that sometimes the articles romanticize the kitchen. Knowing you and the passion that you possess has been one of my coolest experiences as a cook and chef, but let’s think about this for a moment.

1. Sometimes the culinary battlefield is anything but pretty.
2. Tempers flare, no matter how much Zen you are bringing to light.
3. The list of dream kitchens and the perfect culinary experience are few and far between.

As professionals, we are always seeking ways of making our worlds better by creating systems and analyzing everything that we and our staff do. Of course, those of us that are serious would love to work in a world of Thomas Keller’s, Adrian Ferran’s and Gordon Ramsey’s but unfortunately this is the difference between fantasy and reality. Me? I got stuck with you and Chef Roy…ha ha

Although you have given me things to think about, have had me constantly second guessing and always re-thinking my preparations and executions, our world may have been a lot of fun, educational and motivating, but it was anything but pretty.

I could analyze this whole synopsis but it comes down to quite a few issues and we can break down any of these issues and come up with a thousand reasons why our world is less than perfect. Not only in the kitchen we first met, but in almost every kitchen since the beginning of time.

Key notes to figure are organization, communication, dedication and loyalty to all phases of who we are as chefs, cooks and managers. I could not tell you how many times I use your JJ DID TIE BUCKLE acronym; it is an effective management tool that when I analyze an event or mishap, I always find myself reflecting on the acronym. I laugh with my staff and tell them that you are “haunting me” ha-ha

Well, that is my two cents. Hope my words find you well and bouncing off the walls.

Miss and Love you,
Chef Ellen Young, CCC


Thus the words of an old “I’m cooking to get out of college” protégé of the CheffyBoy… and the instigator of the next thought out of the Chef’s Office…Thanks Chef…

First, to explain the JJDIDTIEBUCKLE acronym, (an acronym from my Marine Corps days)

Justice, Judgment, Decisiveness, Integrity, Dependability, Tact, Intuition, Earnest, Bearing, Understanding, Courage, Knowledge, Loyalty and Endurance

Man, JJ had one heck of a tie to buckle…

I used to say that if as a successful manager, of this or any other profession, you possess all of these traits; you will become a successful student, teacher, mentor, friend… I am moved that “CheffyBoy” lesson was well learned and is still being applied twenty years after the fact. That’s awesome.

Now back to this Romanticism stuff…

Romanticism: To treat in an idealized or heroic manner. (Merriam-Webster 2004)

I read an article the other day in I think Sante Magazine that made a cool point. The general idea of the article was that there are three types of chef’s…those of us that do it for food…. Those of us that do it for money… And those of us that do it for the food and the money…I thought that was an interesting thought, because I think that we sometimes desire, crave or imagine ourselves to be in one of the other two categories we are in.

Idealized or heroic manner…

If our real passion is in our food, granted this is a culinary world, and often it becomes a battlefield of wits, tempers, haves and have-nots, can and can not’s success is all that matters. Although we may have the opportunity to “share that love”, and at times “lose the love” in midst of getting my butt kicked on Saturday evening cleaning salmon on sauté because enough wasn’t prepped instead of expediting like I should be…yeah, then it’s not pretty. But these things I understand. Do I condone them or wear a happy face? Probably not. Failure is not an option, and near failure is a stressful situation no matter what color you paint it. Our passion should insure that failure is never a question, and it is never an option. If we figure out the systems and abide by them in order to ascertain our success then little else matters. Focus on your art by mastering your craft!!!!

Do I romanticize my craft? Definitely. I may not love jobs that I may find myself in, (although there have been quite a few that I actually loved), I will always love food and love the fact that I am somewhat good at expressing my craft.

Webster’s had a good definition of romanticism. “…in art and literature, imaginative and free from classic rule…” Welcome to the world of the CheffyBoy…

Why not romanticize something or someone you love?

Peace, Hugs and Cookies,
Cheffy

[paul]

The best McDonald's I've ever been to was in a suburb of Milwaukee.
I could have sworn they fried their french fries in horse fat.