Hello all! How are you? I’m tired. And I’m in a ridiculous amount of pain. Since last Saturday night I have had a pain that started in my neck and now has migrated down the left side of my shoulder and is currently sitting right beneath the blade. I’m not that old am I? At any rate is good to have a day off to let it get some rest.
Currently I am making a roasted squash and red pepper soup for the love of my life and of course formulating my thoughts to put here. I know in the last post I promised to relay a few stories and so here I will.
A and I speak quite often. I really like him and appreciate all the useful information that he is giving me. On Thursday last at the end of a very long day A pulled a fast one on me. First off I should preface it by saying that A and I are becoming fast friends. He constantly jokes with me trying to help me get better and to develop thicker skin. One of his current jokes relates to my needing paper baskets but on the line he has, IT! I always joke back that I think he should return to the rarified air on the line because when he leaves it it seems to affect his mind. He really is a great chef; a brilliant line cook and I look forward to speaking with him for many years to come. At any rate on Thursday I said something about the rarified air and he walked to the line and came back with some crème fraiche with cod juice mixed in and put it all over my face. There are pictures and once we figure out how to get them I will post them. I consider it to be part of the training to take all of those kinds of things in stride.
On Friday we all ended up having a great time after work. It was a long day and we went over to the patio for some drinks. This is usually when he imparts some great knowledge on me as well as some good natured jesting. He made a comment that I would never be as good as he was on the line. He said I may surpass him in terms of my Cheffing ability but never on the line. Head Chef was still kicking back and sharing drinks with us so I asked him if he felt that was true. He thought about it for a minute. The direct question was something like; “A said that I would never be as good as he is on the line,” it took him a second or two to figure out a diplomatic or some other kind of answer. Head Chef slapped me on the back and simply said; “NO!”
You do need to understand that watching him work the line is akin to my mind like watching Shakespeare write Romeo and Juliet or Beethoven his 9th. He really is that good and that is why he is with Executive Chef and Head Chef. He has an innate ability and all at the age of 24. He got a head start on me but that doesn’t mean that I am not going to try to get to be as good as he is. I’M COMING FOR YOU BUDDY!
At any rate it was fun and I felt like I learned a lot from what A had to say.
Saturday was my friends wedding. Opulence would not even begin to describe it. The glitterati of Toronto were there. The setting was magnificent and the stage was stunning. It was by far the most majestic wedding I have ever been to. I want to congratulate S & R on their wedding. It was a beautiful occasion and C and I felt honoured to be there.
This past Monday was the staff party. I brought C with me and we had a lot of fun. I had only intended to stay there for an hour or two but was having so much fun we both wanted to stay. I ended up having a conversation with Chef B in which he said that I was destined for greatness. I don’t take this lightly and it is something that I am thinking about quite a bit since I heard it.
Growing up I was always afraid of the word potential. And Chef B’s comment got me to thinking about that very word again. To be told you are destined for greatness is a beautiful thing to hear but it is also quite daunting. HOW DO YOU LIVE UP TO THAT EXPECTATION?
Then it dawned on me. To live up to that expectation I need to do exactly what I am doing. I need to go to work everyday with a smile on my face. I need to shine and excel in my learning. I need to apply my brains, my spirit and my love of life each and every day and in each and every moment. And that is what I do. And I know that to be destined for something does not mean that a silver tray is going to whack you over the head and give it to you. In this specific case it something that I will have to work hard on every day and improve, not just in my kitchen skills but also in my life skills.
Destined for greatness. I have more thoughts on the statement and will share them at a more appropriate time.
We got all new equipment from Garland (http://www.garlandcanada.ca/) which I will take a picture of and show everyone. We got new ranges, a new fryer (which is so cool) as well as a salamander. I know it might seem silly to get excited about this but I’m sure if you think about it a while you’ll understand why it is so exciting to me.
Sorry if I’m dumping all this at once but I know I won’t have a day off until next week so….
Yesterday after cleaning out the garage fridge and doing my regular duties I was asked to prep all the bread in house we had for bread crumbs. Sure you’re thinking to yourself that is easy enough. Well sure when it is a few loaves. Instead I cut forty eight sheet pans of bread and also made twenty litres of croutons. If you would like to put this in perspective in volume I would say we are talking of about forty cubic feet. FORTY CUBIC FEET of bread. But needless to say I took it all with a smile on my face and recognized that no task is too small. And sometimes the job just needs to get done. I also treated it as a lesson in humility.
I did get to meet Michael Smith (http://www.chefmichaelsmith.ca/en/home/default.aspx) though. Executive Chef and he had a dinner prepared by A and so Chef brought him in to show some of the new equipment that Garland had given us. I exchanged pleasantries with him and he said that I must be the late night guy. To which I responded without missing a beat that I was the early morning, late night, and all day guy. To which he responded something to the effect of awesome and he looked forward to seeing me in August. Man is he tall AND really personable.
A and I were going to go for a drink but decided not to. I came home and watched Hells Kitchen (http://www.fox.com/hellskitchen ). Sorry to see you go Corey but I got to tell ya I’m pulling for Petrozza.
At any rate all, I want to write a post next about some of my consideration for my restaurant. Which I will do in a few scant minutes.
Rabindranath Tagore once said; “We come nearest to the great when we are great in humility.” And this is something I practice everyday.
Are you thinking about where you want to take your life? For you all are the masters of your own destiny and I am proof of that.
So am I tired. You bet. In pain. For sure. But would I change it for anything in the world?
Dream big and inspired.
A la prochaine
SDM
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