A Chef's Journal

I love to cook!  I love to create!  I can honestly say that sometimes I’m all but consumed with desire and passion for my gift.  Owning a restaurant has given me the unbelievable freedom to do what I desire.  No one telling me what to put on my menu, how to present a dish, no matter how crazy it may seem.  The down side to all of this is that when you own your own business, the one thing that is hard to control are the customers walking through your door.  This economy will no doubt take some time to recover.  The summer is a slow time as well, with graduation parties, weddings, vacations, etcetera.  I don’t like the slow season.  It’s to…….slow.  When I’m slow I tend to get complacent.  This week started out like any other week.  Monday was here and  I was thinking about a group of gourmet diners coming in on Tuesday.  Then Tuesday came.  I checked our bread supply and we were low.  I had been taking a break from making my 12 grain bread and using a very good frozen dough.  It is good, but definitely not the 12 grain.  My choice was simple.  Should I get some more frozen dough, or make the 12 grain bread?  It sounds silly that a small decision like that can change your perspective.  But in that moment, that one decision sparked a fire.  I absolutely love to make bread.  It brought me out of the funk that we all get in from time to time.  You know what I mean?  That feeling that what we do isn’t all that important.  Well, let me tell you something.  That spark felt good!  Really good.  And it changed my perspective.  It was a revelation that everything we do is important, no matter how insignificant it may seem.  These gourmet diners wanted something from me.  They were expecting something from me.  And I was going to deliver.  They wanted an amuse bouche, which is a French culinary term for a small appetizer bite.  I was now challenged to create one.  Sometimes it’s the simple things that are the best.  So I went to the local produce market and got some vine ripened tomatoes.  I created a crab salad and sandwiched it between the layers of tomatoes.  And voila!  A Tomato Napoleon is born.  Oh, I did forget to tell you one important thing.  Before my change I was fresh out of ideas for appetizers.  So my decision to make bread wasn’t such a small decision after all.  The gourmet diners all loved the amuse bouche, and I fulfilled their expectations.       

By now I’m sure you’re wondering what this has to do with food.  Absolutely everything for me.  The way we approach our work is what determines the outcome.  Without joy and passion for what we do, we just go through the motions.  In my profession, that mindset is the difference between feeding for survival or having a dining experience.  I want everyone I serve to have that dining experience.  So the next time you’re hungry, serve yourself a generous helping of perspective to ignite the work you know you love to do!  Nutrition facts:  0 calories, 0 carbs, 0 fat.  But it’s the healthiest meal you can feed yourself!  Trust me!  Thanks for listening.

Your personal chef,

Chef Tad