The great Greek orator and statesmen Demosthenes (whom I was once referred to as ) once said; “Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises.”
I could not agree more.
Last week I wrote about the occasion of the Executive Chef at what I will call The Club and I meeting. It was a great meet and greet which enabled us both to determine whether or not there was an opportunity for me at The Club and sure enough on Friday last, while speaking with Executive Chef, I was asked if I would like to come aboard.
Would I? An opportunity to join a great kitchen. To have steady, stable and regular work. No more of this splits stuff barely making forty hours a week. With benefits. Naturally it was a no brainer for me after consulting with a few people in my life.
Naturally, when I awoke on Saturday morning I sat in front of the computer and wrote my resignation letter. I thanked Chef for the opportunity to work with him. When I handed in my letter, rather than having him read it, I let him know that it was my letter of resignation and I think he had to know it was coming. Without Reservation was about to start slowing down for the summer and it would be impossible for me to survive on the hours I would be getting.
It was a great opportunity to work at Without Reservation. It gave me many lessons which I have internalized and will take with me for the rest of my life. I have come to realize more about myself and my dream as a result of my time there. Not to mention that I gained extremely valuable line experience in a busy downtown restaurant which gave me a great starting point from which to grow into a great line cook.
I now find myself in the enviable position that I have a week to transition before starting the next chapter in my dream saga. It is going to give me the time to put keystroke to paper on some ideas that I have had but had little opportunity to work on.
I am excited for this opportunity. To continue to grow on this path that I started only a year and a half ago.
Winston Churchill once wrote; “The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”
I just want to remind everyone that I am now answering any and all cooking/kitchen related questions at www.askachefintrianing.blogspot.com . You can email questions to me at askachefintraining@gmail.com.
Are you dreaming big and inspired?
A la prochaine
SDM
Showing posts with label Winston Churchill. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Winston Churchill. Show all posts
Monday, March 30, 2009
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
All in All (file under Just another brick in the wall?)
Other than the obvious Pink Floyd reference another song is inside my head at the moment. As is so often the case when I am considering big picture issues songs are the bastions that I run to. That or great literature. In any case, Dave Matthews Band has a song entitled “Where are you going?” And today this song is on my mind big time. The lyrics are as follows;
Where are you going?
With your long face
Pulling down
Don't hide away
Like an ocean
That you can't see but you can smell
And the sound of the waves crash down
I am no Superman
I have no reasons for you
I am no hero
Oh, that's for sure
But I do know one thing
Is where you are is where I belong
I do know where you go
Is where I want to be
Where are you going?
Where do you go?
Are you looking for answers
To questions under the stars?
Well, if along the way
You are grown weary
You can rest with me until
A brighter day and you're okay
I am no Superman
I have no answers for you
I am no hero
Oh, that's for sure
But I do know one thing
Is where you are is where I belong
I do know where you go
Is where I want to be
Where are you going?
Where do you go?
Where do you go?
Where are you going?
Where do you go?
I am no Superman
I have no answers for you
I am no hero
Oh, that's for sure
But I do know one thing
Is here you are is where I belong
I do know where you go
Is where I want to be
Where are you going?
Where do you go?
Tell me, where are you going?
Where?
Well, let's go
Ultimately I believe that my current station in life is asking this very question of myself. I am reaching into the deepest reaches of my soul to figure out where I am going. And to be honest it is not such an easy consideration. I guess like anything in life.
I have been at Reservation for the past 10 months and 3 days. (Has it been that long already?) In that time I have learned so much that it is almost mind boggling. You’ll all recall that over the course of the summer I became a little disconnected from my own dream because I had to work the grill. It was not what I had signed up to do but I learned through that experience that you need humility to survive in the world that I am breaking into. The summer was less than what I wanted but I did learn some very important things that I will take with me for the rest of my life. If you need a refresher go to http://newbieintheweeds.blogspot.com/2008/05/to-grill-or-not-to-grill.html , http://newbieintheweeds.blogspot.com/2008/07/grill-file-under-im-not-mcdonalds.html or http://newbieintheweeds.blogspot.com/2008/05/bad-duh-da-duh-file-under-im-lovin-it.html and http://newbieintheweeds.blogspot.com/2008/07/mcgrill-file-under-just-another-weekend.html.
A few times this year (predominantly in the summer) I mused about the trade off that I had made with now Director of Operation and now Executive Chef. In that I would show up for work tirelessly, work my ass off and be a valuable member of the team in return for the imparting of knowledge upon me that would aid me in my well stated and parsed out goal.
Well for the last few months I have not really felt that I have learned much. I (and I am being brutally honest) at times feel as if I am just a body getting things done. I feel as if what I am doing is of no more consequence than if it were someone else. AND I DON’T LIKE THAT FEELING AT ALL. But moreover, and to my mind more troubling, is the fact that I feel as if I have stagnated in my development, with the exception of the studying that I do outside of work. WHICH IS EXTENSIVE.
So what does all this mean? Where am I going if you will? In the last week alone (and on a fairly regular basis since the summer) I have been offered numerous jobs. The ones in the last week are of particular significance and one in particular is interesting and offers me huge possibility.
So here I am considering what to do. Not censoring myself. Instead writing the things that are going on in my mind to try and find the answer that I am seeking. In that regard I want to state the following; Money is not a consideration. If I had been motivated by money I wouldn’t have come to this industry in the first place. I am motivated by passion and a desire to be honest. To create something beautiful. To make people happy. To learn, to teach, to inspire.
Thus, this particular offer has me wondering what to do. I will be working directly under an Executive Chef in a small kitchen. Thrown into the fire if you will. Learning eons everyday and loving it. Surely that would be the case as I only really feel truly alive (other than with C) when I am learning new things and then executing them myself.
However what is the opportunity cost? What does it cost me to leave the two teachers I have that I adore and admire? That I feel I have a lot to learn from. That I feel are kindred spirits and can certainly help to take me where I want to go. By leaving them now what is the cost to me professionally and in fact personally. What do I do?
Moreover, does the potential to become more in a shorter time span outweigh the opportunity cost? Is the opportunity so good that it can outweigh what I can learn from A and Executive Chef and the Director of Operations?
Unfortunately, hence the reason that I am writing this; I DON’T KNOW! I don’t know what to do. What I do know is that the restaurant industry is transient. People come and people go.
So the questions I have; if I were to leave is the work solid? Am I going to learn more? Am I going to be able to apply what I learn? What would be my role? What would the dynamic be? But ultimately for me the question is does the opportunity serve my ultimate desire to be a great Chef?
So this is what I am considering right now? What are you considering?
Seneca once said; “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”
An old Chinese Proverb states; “The Gods cannot help those who do not seize opportunities”
So what do I do? I plan on speaking with A about all the things that I am considering as well as a few other people. Ultimately I have to do what is best for me. For what I want. For where I am going!
Are you dreaming big and inspired?
Ultimately I think the most appropriate quote I can use here is from Winston Churchill; “There is nothing wrong with change, if it is in the right direction”
A la prochaine
SDM
Where are you going?
With your long face
Pulling down
Don't hide away
Like an ocean
That you can't see but you can smell
And the sound of the waves crash down
I am no Superman
I have no reasons for you
I am no hero
Oh, that's for sure
But I do know one thing
Is where you are is where I belong
I do know where you go
Is where I want to be
Where are you going?
Where do you go?
Are you looking for answers
To questions under the stars?
Well, if along the way
You are grown weary
You can rest with me until
A brighter day and you're okay
I am no Superman
I have no answers for you
I am no hero
Oh, that's for sure
But I do know one thing
Is where you are is where I belong
I do know where you go
Is where I want to be
Where are you going?
Where do you go?
Where do you go?
Where are you going?
Where do you go?
I am no Superman
I have no answers for you
I am no hero
Oh, that's for sure
But I do know one thing
Is here you are is where I belong
I do know where you go
Is where I want to be
Where are you going?
Where do you go?
Tell me, where are you going?
Where?
Well, let's go
Ultimately I believe that my current station in life is asking this very question of myself. I am reaching into the deepest reaches of my soul to figure out where I am going. And to be honest it is not such an easy consideration. I guess like anything in life.
I have been at Reservation for the past 10 months and 3 days. (Has it been that long already?) In that time I have learned so much that it is almost mind boggling. You’ll all recall that over the course of the summer I became a little disconnected from my own dream because I had to work the grill. It was not what I had signed up to do but I learned through that experience that you need humility to survive in the world that I am breaking into. The summer was less than what I wanted but I did learn some very important things that I will take with me for the rest of my life. If you need a refresher go to http://newbieintheweeds.blogspot.com/2008/05/to-grill-or-not-to-grill.html , http://newbieintheweeds.blogspot.com/2008/07/grill-file-under-im-not-mcdonalds.html or http://newbieintheweeds.blogspot.com/2008/05/bad-duh-da-duh-file-under-im-lovin-it.html and http://newbieintheweeds.blogspot.com/2008/07/mcgrill-file-under-just-another-weekend.html.
A few times this year (predominantly in the summer) I mused about the trade off that I had made with now Director of Operation and now Executive Chef. In that I would show up for work tirelessly, work my ass off and be a valuable member of the team in return for the imparting of knowledge upon me that would aid me in my well stated and parsed out goal.
Well for the last few months I have not really felt that I have learned much. I (and I am being brutally honest) at times feel as if I am just a body getting things done. I feel as if what I am doing is of no more consequence than if it were someone else. AND I DON’T LIKE THAT FEELING AT ALL. But moreover, and to my mind more troubling, is the fact that I feel as if I have stagnated in my development, with the exception of the studying that I do outside of work. WHICH IS EXTENSIVE.
So what does all this mean? Where am I going if you will? In the last week alone (and on a fairly regular basis since the summer) I have been offered numerous jobs. The ones in the last week are of particular significance and one in particular is interesting and offers me huge possibility.
So here I am considering what to do. Not censoring myself. Instead writing the things that are going on in my mind to try and find the answer that I am seeking. In that regard I want to state the following; Money is not a consideration. If I had been motivated by money I wouldn’t have come to this industry in the first place. I am motivated by passion and a desire to be honest. To create something beautiful. To make people happy. To learn, to teach, to inspire.
Thus, this particular offer has me wondering what to do. I will be working directly under an Executive Chef in a small kitchen. Thrown into the fire if you will. Learning eons everyday and loving it. Surely that would be the case as I only really feel truly alive (other than with C) when I am learning new things and then executing them myself.
However what is the opportunity cost? What does it cost me to leave the two teachers I have that I adore and admire? That I feel I have a lot to learn from. That I feel are kindred spirits and can certainly help to take me where I want to go. By leaving them now what is the cost to me professionally and in fact personally. What do I do?
Moreover, does the potential to become more in a shorter time span outweigh the opportunity cost? Is the opportunity so good that it can outweigh what I can learn from A and Executive Chef and the Director of Operations?
Unfortunately, hence the reason that I am writing this; I DON’T KNOW! I don’t know what to do. What I do know is that the restaurant industry is transient. People come and people go.
So the questions I have; if I were to leave is the work solid? Am I going to learn more? Am I going to be able to apply what I learn? What would be my role? What would the dynamic be? But ultimately for me the question is does the opportunity serve my ultimate desire to be a great Chef?
So this is what I am considering right now? What are you considering?
Seneca once said; “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”
An old Chinese Proverb states; “The Gods cannot help those who do not seize opportunities”
So what do I do? I plan on speaking with A about all the things that I am considering as well as a few other people. Ultimately I have to do what is best for me. For what I want. For where I am going!
Are you dreaming big and inspired?
Ultimately I think the most appropriate quote I can use here is from Winston Churchill; “There is nothing wrong with change, if it is in the right direction”
A la prochaine
SDM
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