The Nature of Departure (file under all part of kitchen culture)

So yesterday I found out that one of the cooks is leaving. He has been with us for about a year and I suppose though I am not sure he feels that he has learned all that he can learn or conversely that the opportunity was such that he can’t turn it down. R.B. is moving onto a kitchen which is substantially smaller than ours. It will be him, another cook and the Chef. He is set to depart next Wednesday.

My reason for bringing this up is that early in ones kitchen career it is common for one to stay jut long enough and then move on. However, when I look at the kitchen that I am currently in I am fully certain that there is much more to learn than is possible in a year. EVEN FOR ME! I mean I am an apt student, duteous and highly intelligent. Even if Executive Chef and Head Chef spent every waking moment with me for a year I am quite certain that I would not have gleaned all that I could from their teaching. Moreover I AM CERTAIN (not a slight) that R.B. HAS NOT!

It does however give me pause to think about what is most important at this stage in my development. After all when I joined the kitchen, THEIR kitchen, I came in as a blank slate. Sure I had some knowledge about basics, but even the most rudimentary knife skills were not present in me. I do not make a lot of money. In fact I make less money than I have made in my adult life. But that is the trade off, I want to ascertain a certain level of respect for food, a basic foundation from which to build and as much knowledge as is humanly possible to aid me in my own personal goals which I have discussed here before. Executive Chef and Head Chef gave me the opportunity to become more, in THEIR kitchen, and I jumped at it. And I am still jumping at it.

I guess I bring all this up because I have seen it time and again in all the reading that I have done this year. A cook will stay in any given place for a year or two and then move on. Usually with the assistance of the Chef that they worked under. In R.B.’s case however he just saw an opportunity and jumped at it. To me, and I genuinely believe this, I think he should have discussed it with both Executive and head Chefs before making the move. When R.B. discussed it, again, after the fact, Head Chef had suggested that he should have first done a stage there. A stage in order to ensure that he would like it there. That he fit in. When R.B. told me about this last night I felt that Head Chef was giving him a point of view that represented his desire to ensure that those who come from his flock and eventually leave it, are happy and satisfied with the station that they are going to. I think, though it may have been lost on R.B., that Head Chef was not only being a stand above Chef but also a man who cares for the development of others.

So, I wish R.B. continued success in his life going forward. I know that we will stay in touch, have drinks and laughs and share war stories. As I will with everyone when they or I leave. But I also wanted to state outright that I, myself, am nowhere near leaving. I HAVE MUCH MORE TO LEARN! EVERYDAY, for the rest of my life.

Dave Mustaine ( I know me quoting Dave Mustaine) once said; “Moving on, is a simple thing, what it leaves behind is hard.”
Are you dreaming big and inspired?

A la prochaine

SDM