Wednesday, March 11, 2009

#57 - 11 March 2009 - "Commandment #1 for Kitchen Survival"

This blog may sound somewhat like the Biblical Moses (with apologies to all believers...) descending from the mountaintop with tablets denoting moral and ideological codes for social behavior. However, the following Decalouge is inspired by an article that I read in The San Francisco Chronicle on Sunday, March 8th, written by Tom Stienstra. His musings contemplated the rules by which backwoodsmen and outdoor enthisiasts should follow when trekking into wilderness areas - survival training, if you will... He opened his article with a first paragraph recitation of an old Waylon Jennings song, "If you live on the edge, You can be subject to a fall." I have adopted his 10 Commandments and modified them for cooks and chefs. In other words "Kitchen Survial". I will be using these as a basis for the next ten blogs (one Commandment per day - it's heavy, man...), which will bring me to the end of my time in Napa Valley and at The French Laundry.

#1 Never hope. Crisis in the kitchen? Never try to hope your way through it. Take complete command of the outcome. You have to be in control of yourself, your emotions and others around you. Put out the fires and get back on track. Peace.

~R