Great Journey Underway (and do your job)

We were quite busy today. We had to prep for a special event for about 300 people and do a limited service through the sister restaurant. We were also prepping for brunch and another event on Sunday night.

My prep today included;

Stock and Remi
Put away receiving (Meat, Fish and Produce)
Reorganize walk in
Make candied nuts, fruit compote
Cut bread platters
Slice meat platters and plate
Cut smoked pork for eggs benedict
Cut scallions on a bias
Make crustinis
Cut brioche for mini grilled cheese
Fry off crab cakes and shrimp lollipops
Cut 65 pounds of potatoes for fries
Cut rice rounds, bread and fry off

My days are long. Filled with work. Always go, go, go! But I would have it no other way. Reservation is right around the corner from a brewery so after work (it was a lonnnnnnnnng day) A and I went over with J and the new line guy L for a drink.

The camaraderie in a kitchen is apparent both inside and out. Inside the kitchen the work as I’ve said is continual but there are lots of moments of laughter and ribbing. The same is true outside the kitchen. After J and L had left, A and I stayed for a few more drinks and talked about his stage and the kitchen and restaurant industry in general. He is going to work for 3 months at a one star Michelin restaurant in Oxford, England. He told me that it is going to be quite the experience and that he expects to learn lots.

He also made a bet with me that I wouldn’t be there when he gets back. It was part serious and part ribbing. As we spoke it became quite clear that there are lots of people that try to come into a kitchen and for a whole host of reasons just can’t cut (no pun intended) it. To survive you need to be self-deprecating, self-assured, and skilled, have the ability to work well under pressure and so much more. I think that everyone there has a hard time figuring me out. Though as A and I spoke it became clear to him (I think) what I was doing and why I was there.

I’m going to miss A. He takes time each day to ride me a little. To push me. To make me stronger, faster and better. Several times when he has seen on my face that I was flustered or something was up he will come up and slap me on the back with a little laugh and ask; “Everything okay?” or “Are you good?” He also says; "Hey S, Shut up!" or "S, stop talking!" Again it is part humour and part serious. I joke back with him now that hey I'm not talking or hey I'll shut up now okay! I know that the experience for him over there is going to be awesome and I said to him that I hope he learns lots so he can come back and kick my ass into high gear with some new knowledge. A also said to me; "If your station is a mess then your head is a mess!" It seems like such a simple statement but there is lots in it. AND I GET IT!

We shared a few drinks and then I had to go as I had to be at work at 10am (which really means I was there earlier). As I was driving home I was really thrilled that the more I work the more I seem to understand my purpose. It is plain as day what I should be doing, what I am doing and what I am going to do. My entire life up until now has been riddled, plagued even, with trying to figure out who I was and what I wanted. But no more. I know who I am, I know what I want and I know what I need to do.

Do any of you have that clarity? For that clarity is truly one of the most remarkable things in my life. I feel blessed to have such clarity and conviction. It has caused me to reevaluate me from the inside out. Examine destructive behaviours and attitudes in order to progress and moreover to eliminate completely toxic behaviours that are self destructive and not conducive to living my dream.

The kitchen really is a great place to explore all of these questions and more. So to A, I would like to wish you bonne journee. Make the most of the experience my friend as it is going to be a hard and arduous journey but it will be one which will pay you back a million fold. I look forward to winning the bet. Travel safe.

To everyone else do something today in pursuit of you. Reach inside and dust off that dream. Shake it up and start exploring what it means to be you and what your mission is in life. Now that I’m living mine every day I truly feel reborn, filled with vim and vigour and ready to take on the world. I have perma smile both inside and out.

T. Harv Eker once said;

“Your life is not just about you. It’s also about contributing to others. It’s about living true to your mission and reason for being here on this earth at this time. It’s about adding your piece of the puzzle to the world. Most people are so stuck in their egos that everything revolves around me, me, and more me. But if you want to be rich in the truest sense of the word, it can’t only be about you. It has to include adding value to other people’s lives.”

I am beyond rich and I’ve always said that but now more than ever I realize that my life is enriched by the people that have taken me at my word. Head Chef and Exec Chef are both making an invaluable contribution in my life so that I can do the same. This experience is causing me to see what I want to become is what I will work tirelessly toward. The honesty of what I’m doing is crystal clear and I would like to believe that as those people are adding value to my life I too am adding value to theirs. Think about that statement for a while and then figure out what YOU’RE doing and what you WANT to do. Clarity is a wonderful thing.

Be inspired today!

SDM

Do Your Job!

A common theme to be sure at Reservation. A cook is only as good as the job he is doing presently. It is amazing to be in this environment surrounded by people that are really becoming a surrogate family for me. For the first time in my life I feel like I am in the right place surrounded by the right people and it is truly inspiring.

So I keep a notebook at work (right by my side) to take notes of what I’m doing and learning. Every morning I have now started putting a little note at the top of the page. This days was; “ I LOVE THIS JOB!”

What follows are the notes from my day as an example of how I keep track of what I’m doing;

Jus
Receive Meat
Put away Pastry
Roast Bones
Make Sun Dried filling for Chicken,
Puree Garlic
Peel 80 Pounds Yukon
Got my locker today
Put away produce
Cut Frisse
Make Hummus
Cut Yukon fries
Make Smoked Ketchup
Make Roasted Aioli
Make Chive Double Cream
Prep Omelette Station
Peel 2 more buckets potatoes
Plate Cheese
Plate Meat

Moreover so that you know this is also in conjunction with my assigned prep list now, which is;

Receive, label, Date and put away all receiving
Roast Beets, Garlic, Spaghetti Squash
Quarter Romaine
Peel baby carrots
Dice Bread
Halve Cherry Tomatoes
Put Nicoise Olives,
Shave Spaghetti Squash
Chop Romaine
Cut lards of Double Smoked Bacon
Cut Croutons
Make Truffle Vinaigrette
Peel Potatoes, Onions, Carrots
Mire Pois
White Mire Pois
Clean French beans
Puree Garlic
Grill Corn
Clean Scallions,
Herb Salad
Cut Fingerlings
Gauffrettes Russet Potatoes AND OF COURSE

Stock, Remi and Jus!

Now some of this needs to get done every day and some if it just a few times a week. But soon it will squarely rest of my shoulders to get all this done. Sounds a little daunting to some I’m sure but it is what I was born to do and this is where the journey begins.

These are the things that need to get done day in and day out for service. As the Apprentice Cook I am really making sure that the line has everything prepared for service. On top of which I have to do anything else that is thrown my way to prepare for functions with L. He is a machine. A Banquet and event machine. It is crazy watching him work, and for that matter, everyone there work. They all know what their doing, if they don’t they ask, and they do their job. Though at times they ride me a bit (its all part of the experience and getting your mind ready for more) to watch them work is a little daunting as I’m so slow and confused. I’m like a bull in a china shop and it frustrates me a bit. But to their credit they make sure that I just keep plugging away and doing my job. If I get a little frazzled I just need to slow down. Take a breath. Go for a smoke. Just get my head back into the game and then back to work.

Julia Child once said; “I was 32 when I started cooking; up until then, I just ate.” I started at 33 so there is definitely hope yet.

I hope you all have an inspired day.

A la prochaine

SDM