Time to Get in Gear

On my days off I usually have a lot of things to do that make my civilized life possible. Recover from a hangover (okay, not always but a lot of the time), do laundry, clean the apartment, organize bills and finances, exercise, etc. But while I’m sitting at my computer thinking and scheduling my life I leave a lot of food-related TV on in the background. I used to not be in to competitive cooking shows other than Iron Chef America, but now I’m kind of hooked. Top Chef, Chopped, The Next Iron Chef (but NOT The Next Food Network Star … please, I don’t want to know who can be the most charming while making a lasagna in front of a camera). On the one hand I like these shows for the same reason everybody else does. I like seeing cooking as a competitive sport, a gladitorial battle. I like seeing talented chefs work with unrealistic pressures and conditions, taking their skills to a level they wouldn’t normally encounter. I like the theatrics, the judging and the food. But I don’t like how uncertain it makes me feel.

The more I watch these shows the more I am made aware of how much talent, passion and dedication there is out there. Every day, every show there are a slew of competent chefs presented. Usually the cream rises to the top, but even those that fail on cable television still have got some serious skills. One of my favorite things to do is to research hot restaurants and staff changes in New York, Chicago, all the big gastronomic cities. I like reading bios and interviews to see how these chefs got to where they are. I am not disappointed to find that great cooks come from every walk of life, from many sorts of trades and backgrounds and ages. There are a few common denominators that I’ve identified and highlighted in big, bright yellow (I’ll talk about this later), but generally there are no themes.

I think my favorite chef right now, and many other people’s favorite chef as well, is Grant Achatz. I’ve only eaten his food once, at Trio in Evanston, way back when I was a college freshman. I liked the food a lot but can’t remember all that much. Could I go back to that day, I would have taken notes had I known I was in the hallowed halls of the next food movement. I don’t have the money to go to Alinea right now but I like how Chef Achatz works. I like his mindset and his philosophy towards food. I love his brilliant artistry and ability to push food beyond the boundaries we as a species have known since forever. His genius is shining. I went to a cooking demo of his once and he signed a copy of the Alinea cookbook for me. He wished me luck and told me to say hi to Chef Mark at Oceanique. I have only perused through that book once. I’m scared of what I might find on a more detailed study; a level of accomplishment and skill perhaps that I could never hope to attain? I feel like Salieri in Amadeus as he looks through Mozart’s music in bewilderment. I fear I might get knocked over by a powerful epiphany.

But there can only be one Grant Achatz. And for every Grant Achatz, there are another great handful of chefs of comparable celebrity and talent. And for every one of those another group of chefs who are James Beard Award winners and nominees. And for every one of those even more successful and competent chefs who make great food, run great restaurants. Where do I fit in this food chain? Where CAN I fit in this food chain?

I want to be successful, I want to be appreciated for my hard work and skill, as would anyone. I’m not saying I’m going to be the flag bearer for a new food movement, but I want to be respected as a good chef, as a creater of delicious food. That means I need to get more serious about my culinary education.

There are three factors to success; talent, hardwork and passion. All the talent in the world won’t do anything for you if you can’t apply it with time and effort, sweat and tears. Hardwork and passion will take you far, but not to the top. When all three are aligned the sky is the limit. Now I can’t control how much talent or passion I have. I’m pretty sure I at least have the passion part down. I can most certainly control the effort part of the show though. And that’s what I need to do.

My rule is I work my shifts at Blu every week and I work at least 3 shifts at Va Pensiero to cook. This usually gives me 1 or 2 days off a week. I’ve been offered an opportunity to take an internship shift at Bennison’s bakery. I think I need to take at least one morning shift there (oh yeah 5 AM .. go baking) and one more shift at Va Pensiero. I need to get serious. The staff at Michelin starred restaurants, some of the best restaurants in the world will work 15 hour days, 6 days a week. How can I afford to let myself have so much leisure time?

School is out. It’s really time to start thinking about how to get serious. I’ll let you know how it goes.

EP #6