And so it begins...

At some point recently I thought to myself how wonderful it would be to start a blog that chronicles my coping with the switch from cook to chef.  A detailed examination of how drastically my outlook on cooking professionally has changed since I took on the executive role for the first time.  Anyone who has ever made this switch knows what I speak of.  And so, I have decided to begin right here and now recording my thoughts as I experience this transition and all noteworthy observations that go along with it.  I am hoping that at least a few people may find it intriguing enough to read about thus allowing me to contribute in a small way to restaurant culture and the cooking community.  One slight problem, though.  My experience as a chef began just over a year ago when I started work on the restaurant project I am currently part of.  I guess that puts me a little behind the eight ball on getting this here blog started, but late is better than never as the saying sort of goes.  It's a small example of how time consuming this industry and the role of chef can be.  I could go on at length about how many hours I work, but that is a given.  All industry folk do, and hopefully I'll be able to avoid getting bogged down in the daily minutiae, whining and general ranting that is prone to playing out in my head before I move past it and get the tasks at hand done. So here goes with a brief recap of the past year...

Never underestimate the difficulty of starting from scratch.  I don't mean building from the ground up. In the material realm, I took over an established property, well built kitchen, sufficient equipment already in place and all that.  By scratch, I mean a new business, with a new name and a new chef (me), who with nothing more than a fairly descent pedigree built over a measly three years in a burgeoning US dining mecca had minimum (or NO) hype.  It's one thing to open your doors to anticipation by the general public.  I opened doors that had previously enclosed two failed restaurant concepts and beckoned in a public most likely wondering who the hell I was and what was going to fail next in this space.  We haven't failed yet, but the battle has been decidedly uphill.  I've learned and relearned many of the basics, but I'll skip that for now (I promise, no minutiae).  It's a small place (60ish seats), so to keep afloat I have been forced to redefine the role of chef to take on a broader set of responsibilities.  For instance, I don't have a pastry department, I do that all myself.  No big deal you may think, and you would be right.  I actually enjoy that challenge.  I also cook on the line every night and at brunch, do most of the prep myself, run food and bus tables when necessary, update the menus and website regularly, and of course wash dishes.  I was dishes often, because when labor cost is a factor having enough hands to prepare food in a skilled manner takes priority.  I enjoy washing dishes, however I don't enjoy the financial uncertainty that me washing dishes is a symptom of.  Time spent wielding that hot water hose is undeniably the most humbling and important part of my day.  All at once everything right and wrong with my situation is crystal clear.  Like any job I will own it and conquer it.  I approach a pile of plates, cutlery and cookware with the same sense of purpose and determination to sign my name to it that I would each and every dish we send out of the kitchen before it becomes part of that pile.  Hence the title of this blog.  Being a chef is about so much more than creating.  Sometimes it's about maintaining more than anything else.  There are many people out there who can create and even execute wonderful food, but does that alone a chef make?  I, for one am sure that it does not.  The question one should ask if considering the transition to chef is what overall qualities do I need to make this ship sail?  There is no substitute for experience when searching for those answers.  Luckily, I emerged from being a punk-ass know-it-all just long enough to learn a thing or two before opportunity knocked.  I'm still a punk, though.

So that is where I'm at.  From here on in I'll keep things current, reaching back every now an again to reference a poignant moment from the first, undocumented year of operation.  Perhaps at some point someone will actually read this...