Considerations of a Cook: A Life Spent

I got my first job in à kitchen at 13. It was a large venue, a wedding hall called “The Grand” in Northfield, MN. Labor laws were different back then so my shift started in the evening and went pretty late. My first shift was a 300 person wedding! The dishpit, a work station we call the Dish Kingdom here at the Whidbey Institute, was in the basement down a long cement stairway. They would send us unlimited pitchers of pop down the dumb waiter and I loved it. It was hot, sweaty, and smelly but I found the task at hand so rewarding. Sorting through stacks and stacks of silverware, testing myself to see how hot of a plate right of the dishwasher (which was the size of a small car and made a constant roaring sound), I could handle. I wanted to impress my peers, demonstrate I could handle the work.

If you look at the hours of my life not spent sleeping - though I could have done a bit more of that for sure - you would see that I have spent the majority of it working in foodservice/hospitality. I’ve been a dishwasher at a wedding venue, a fine dining bartender, a catering cook and server, and a busser. I’ve cooked my body weight in eggs, thrice-fold and beyond. I have been burned and cut to the point of clearly needing hospitalization, wrapped it in tape and three pairs of gloves, and finished out the evening service. I have fed the guests of religious services, sacred unions, and family gatherings. I’ve poured wine for sleeping business men and Harvard scientists. I gave dining room tours to Chanel executives for private banquet contracts and made pasta for the cast at the after party. I have a spent a life preparing and serving, food and beverage, to multitudinous individuals.

I am humbled by greatness always. I am not the best chef I know, I am not the most diligent culinarian nor can I execute at the levels of integrity of the many several I have called my coworkers, mentors, friends, and as always “Chef”.

What I can do is care. I can take a life spent, rife with scars and callouses, and use my heart to guide me towards nourishment. I can grow, expand, listen, reflect, and learn. Learn about our guests, their allergies, their likes and dislikes, alongside their desire to be nourished and enjoy delicious food.

I can build upon a life, spent towards a future unmet, and with pride and humility say,

“Yes Chef”.