Is it wrong to LOVE going to work (file under passions reignited)

Ferdinand Foch once said; "The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire."

The beauty of that quote is that he does not define the use of the weapon only its usefulness. What if, as is the case with me, that human soul, is engaged in a life long quest to improve the human condition. It used to be on a macro level, figuring out (or at least attempting to) complex legal, social, emotional and political issues. Then I realized that if I followed my heart, my soul and my passion that my impact could be far greater on the micro level. Hence, at least in part my desire to join a kitchen.

I have not been sleeping well this week. As I explained yesterday. C feels that it is just because I am excited. I think it goes beyond that. I feel that my soul has been put on fire again after aperiod of uncertainty and doubt.

Naturally got everything set and then started to work on the prep that needed to get done including doing the specials for tomorrow. I decided to do a roasted red pepper and goat cheese crumble pizza with fresh basil and a scallion oil to finish. It is going to go like hotcakes I am sure.

Yesterday, after speaking with Sous Chef R, I knew that he had a sauce in mind for the Tortellini special today. He told me that I could create a garnish. My thought was immediate; A Parmesan Chip! That’s right, I said a Parmesan chip. To do this you just grate some Parmesan and place it on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Place it in a four hundred degree oven until you see it bubbling. Turn it around and then cook it for about another minute. When finished give it about ten minutes and voila you have a crisp Parmesan chip. DELICIOUS. And the rest of the staff loved the idea. I strongly recommend you try it yourselves.

I worked the complete line today and made in total about forty orders. Most were breakfast but I did two or three pasta specials, one meat special which was a Frenched veal chop with pomegranate jus.

It feels awesome to be somewhere that I am appreciated and given the free reign (under supervision of course) to put into action some of the things that I have wanted to try for a while.

As the title suggests, I found myself wondering on the way home, is it wrong to love work. I mean really love work.

All I can say friends is watch out because my soul is again on fire and in a place that it will be nurtured and allowed to grow.

Craig Claiborne once said; “Cooking is at once one of the simplest and most gratifying of the arts, but to cook well one must love and respect food.”

Are you dreaming big and inspired?

A la prochaine

SDM