#33 - 14 February 2009 - "Ruminations"

Ruminations (the name I have unofficially issued to my life and thoughts imprisoned on paper since 1992) are by definition: "to ruminate, or a function verb which in the inflected form is ruminated or ruminating". Makes sense. Its etymology is from the Latin ruminatus, past participle of ruminari, or "to chew the cud and even to muse upon", which from rumin (or rumen - relating to animals with four-chambered stomach and digestive systems) is, perhaps, akin to Sanskrit romantha, or "act of chewing the cud". Got it?

So, I’ve chosen to refer to my life’s work as something that a cow spends it’s time doing hour after hour in order to break down the cellulose structure of humanly-inedible grasses... Hmmm.

My version of Ruminations dates from Europe of 1533 and is “to go over in the mind repeatedly and often casually or slowly (usually more slowly than is normal with me...) and to ponder and engage in contemplation and reflection”. That’s deep man. Wicked deep. Maybe I should call it “Wicked Deep Ruminations, Man”.

Moving on.

Working clean is a conscious thought. When we see an unclean area we notice it. Do you notice the very clean work areas...? Do you praise the very clean as much as you admonish the dirty and unkempt. I hope so. I’ve been in the habit of buffing the stainless steel prep areas every evening. I take pride in making that area shine and when any chef comes through, stops to ponder and then proclaims “nice Buff job”, I am pleased. They do look good under the dimmed kitchen lights, ready for the a.m. crew to get all messed up in just a few short hours...

Being at TFL is akin to being in culinary school all over again. The same disjointedness when entering the kitchen for the first time. “Where is this found” and “where does that go”, etc. You culinary students are all nodding your heads in agreement. It is also that same sense of wonderment and learning going on when new and intriguing methods and techniques pop up during prep or service. The learning is incredible. The culinary landscape is like the San Andreas Fault. Very familiar to the naked eye – things certainly seem the same or similar. Underneath the visible and presented food is a complex layered-phalanx of thought, method and techniques applied using modern contrivances and old-fashioned identities. Still learning...and finding applications across the spectrum to other disciplines in business, the arts and sciences. I think TFL is a training ground for life. More on the exact methods and techniques later, when time allows.

I am particularly impressed with one of the Chefs de Partie (“B”) who apprenticed at the east-coast variation of TFL, per se in NYC. His time there was spent during a six-month externship from my culinary alma mater, The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. “B” stated to me that “going back to culinary school after working at per se was so difficult”. He referenced the fact of how clean and professional per se was. I understand as I am in a perfect environment now. When I return to teaching I know that my instruction will improve, my expectations and standards will be increased and my passion is gauranteed to be infective. That is another blog and one certainly worth visiting; Culinary school versus Apprenticeship. I’ve done both. We’ll ruminate on that one together, eh?

So, my Spanish is only so-so. It gets better when I force myself to ask questions about “What do you call this” or “How do you say that”... Of course, I know how to say that in Spanish, but writing it is entirely different. The dishwashing crew at The French Laundry is all Hispanic speaking. There is no difference in work ethic between the Entremetier, Legumier (vegetable & starch cook) and the dishwashers. There is no difference between the passion to make a beautiful and incredible tasting plate from Canapé and the passion and methodology to provide beautiful and clean steel pans and clean white porcelain serving dishes... The pace at which they work in the back of the back of the house is tremendous. The standards which pervade the rest of The French Laundry also make their home in that steamy and wet environ that is in close proximity to the dumpster and side street. Just trying to make their life a little easier is a conscious thought of mine every time I enter that segment of the kitchen.

Get real, everybody. THAT is the heart of any restaurant environment. No pans to cook with? You’re out of luck, then! They aren’t clean and spotless which impinges their ability to conduct heat...? Won’t be very effective, eh? No plates to serve on? I guess the guests will just have to wait... Crappy, dirty, smudged plates? Well, that’s a great impression. I’m impressed with that part of TFL operation as well. Take heed, all ye current and future culinary and management students – treat your dishwashing staff with grace and courtesy and they will take care of your reputation...

Finally... a thought on sharing. This was precipitated by a narrative typed on piece of paper, very perfectly framed with green tape, laid out at The Pass, for someone in particular to take note of during dinner service, apparently. I don’t know where it came from, from whom or why it was there – but I appreciated the idea, the need and thought behind its use, because I do this as well. It was a part of a larger speech from Teddy Roosevelt (one that I’ve referenced many times, and some of my past and present students who are reading this web blog will remember it, or so I hope) called, popularly “The Critic” or “The Man in the Arena”. It is part of a much longer piece, “Citizenship in a Republic”, a speech by the 26th President of the United States at the Sorbonne in Paris, France on April 23, 1910. I will leave you now with its content for you to Ruminate. Mooo.

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

Peace.

~R