I've been reading this guy's, Richie's, blog. It's wonderful. A real, honest look at what it's like to be a cook on the line. I'm not sure where he works, but he's based out of San Francisco. From the general tone and description of his blog I'm guessing he doesn't work at Chez Panisse. Alice Waters seems way too chilled out to stress people out like this. Though that is probably an incorrect assumption.
Anyway, his latest post is on the tolls being a cook takes on your health. I'll just block quote it for you, even though all my fancy, schmancy writing professors here at NU tell me that's wrong to do.
"The whole "never trust a skinny chef" cliche is well known; what's not well known is the amount of energy and level of fitness needed to work on the hot line. Cooking professionally means being drive yourself to excess...the job demands it. Day after day, you will be surrounded by addicts and fiends...even if their only craving is a duck liver pate. There is little balance in the life of a cook, which makes no sense. Cooking is all about balance. It's about finding that place between punishing and rewarding yourself. Most cooks take the reward portion too far."
How true. Even though I have limited experience on the line, I see the poor bastards there practically having their fat rendered before my eyes. I put down probably two pitchers of water a night and I'm still dehydrated at the end of it. The grill chef is drenched every time I look over. But he's still a pudgy guy. Even though cooking is strenuous it's not real exercise. And then you put down delicious food at family meal, take a nibble of that, a nibble of this. Diet and exercise work best in combination.
But I get it. Even through just 4 days of work I tried to wake up in the mornings and go to the gym. Not only was my motivation at rock bottom, but my low energy levels served as a veritable ball and chain that slowed me down. I lifted like a little girl and I could barely run before I was putt-putting out like some kind of American made car. Like a Ford. Yes, direct jab, taste it Jiwon.
And after a stressful day at work what do you want to do? Well you're kind of jacked on adrenaline (at least I usually am), and all I wanna do is have a beer with some friends and talk about fun shit I missed out on and fun shit I got to partake in whilst in my culinary dungeon (with windows!). And I wanna dance! Forget girls, I just wanna dance! Okay that part not really true. Well not 100%. ANYHOW, it's definitely not discouraged to come to work with a rockin' hangover. You wake up, have a cup of coffee and go at it again with your tank at 50% and your engine all clogged up with gunk. (Last car metaphor I promise. Creative juices running low .. -.-)
And I'll be working weekends eventually for real, which means I can't take off to play ultimate whenever I want. What sad, sorry state will I be in 4 years from now? Well I refuse. I've been unhealthily overweight at one point, I don't wanna go back there. So maybe that's my advantage. I know what the dark side is like.
I need catharsis. I need to bring my body to a healthy state of homeostasis. I need to not smoke or drink for a while, and get in really good shape while I still have the time. Because frankly it's a lot easier to maintain health than to achieve it. Though it's artistic and kind of badass to look at chefs like Marco Pierre White who are effin' rock stars, work all day, party all night, smoke like a gangster and drink like a champion, I also don't want to die early.I went to a conditioning workout ran by Zaz, and that 50-year old man kicked my ass. He out-ran me, and I consider myself to at least be in decent-pretty good shape. Then his family came along, the group of Zazzles, and that kind of hit it home. Being a cook is a hard lifestyle, potentially a life-shortening one (Fun fact: Only profession proven to shorten your lifespan? Truck driving.). With all the difficult balances I need to make with the other parts of my life that I love, my friends, ultimate, music, I don't want to end it prematurely because I really pushed it too hard. But then again, if you want true success in this business, you have to push it too hard. What a conundrum...
NURD, I hope you guys benefit from my new, reignited health regime.
EP #6
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