Work hard.
These were the words I received after posting my first blog, from Chef Lachlan McKinnon-Patterson of the phenomenal Frasca Food and Wine in Boulder, Colorado. LMP is Chef/Partner of Frasca along with Master Sommelier Bobby Stuckey. These gentlemen are working alumni of The French Laundry in Yountville, California. Work hard. Chef McKinnon-Patterson should know.... Work hard. Those two words resounded in my mind. How many times have I stated those exact words to employees and students...1,000? 5,000? More? Working hard means (to me) staying busy, for the clock never stops. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. You'll fall behind if you don't stay on task. Get to work on time and start your day with purpose. Pick up the paper on the floor that everyone else has walked over. Work hard and work clean. Finish a job and then move on. There are no small jobs in the kitchen - only small cooks who think they are better than everyone else. Work hard. Now I have become the student... Must have a game plan.... Working hard means staying observant. We learn from what we see, hear, taste, try, fail at, return to and practice. The task in front of us is just one activity that we are engaged in as cooks. How many activities can we attempt at one time? Perhaps 6 or 7, maybe 9. Having to juggle all these techniques and methods takes concentration and stamina. So, working hard is a mind and body experience. One needs to be fully in the moment to cook great food. The incredible Fernand Point of La Pyramide fame in Vienne, France once stated that great cooking begins anew every day. That every day the stoves are started and the process begins as yesterday - fresh and perfect. If we didn't love what we do would we go to these great lengths every day...? Work hard. The sabbatical question I have (and the name of this blog) for all cooks is - why do we do what we do? Why do we cook? Why do we serve? What is it about our profession that makes us have "The Need to Feed"? Will I have a greater understanding after sabbatical? I think I have many of the answers and yet I am totally open to new aspects of our persona. I'm sure it is different for many cooks - men and women across the globe are engaged in this activity every day, all day. Food is what we all, as a human population, have in common - along with oxygen and love. So Batmen and Batgirls, riddle me this...why do we have the "need to feed"?
~R
About Me
- Chef Robert N. Corey
- I started in the food and beverage business in May of 1974. I am Chef/Owner of 12 Seasons Personal Chef and Sommelier Services(www.12seasonswinebar.com). The inspiration for the concept of my Personal Chef Service (originally called The French Manner) began in 1988 in Estes Park, Colorado. It began with the cooking of France and eventually migrated to other parts of the globe. Twenty-one years later in 2009, The French Manner has gone global and now operates as 12 Seasons Personal Chef & Sommelier Services. I still seek to do business under three basic premises: • We shall seek the highest echelon of clients for our services and cook creative, individualized menus for them • We will go anywhere, and do anything (for the appropriate costs) to provide memorable food & wine experiences • We will prepare the freshest of food products and serve our cuisine and wine in a professional and dignified manner... Peace.