After a wonderful weekend filled with hope and promise this morning I find myself casting about feeling angry and helpless. I'm speaking of the horrific slaughter of 50 people in Orlando. The fuck wad who got six months for being a convicted rapist. Anything that Drumph has said. The year 2016 taking away legends and a seemingly unprecedented rate. The list is endless and I don't know why today is any different for me but I feel the need to just say something.
Can we just stop? Stop the killing, the hate, the misogyny, the racism, the stupidity. How have we come so far in the wonders around us to be still acting this way? How is it possible that hearts can be filled with so much hate for a particular gender, race, creed or orientation? Seriously, how? I'm really asking. I don't get it. I know it's human nature to blame but how does shooting up a LGBTQ club make you feel better because your son witnessed two guys kissing. What the fuck is your son gonna think now? You're dead, you got off easy.This carnage that you caused will ripple on forever...not only in the peoples lives directly affected but the rest of us as well. Your religion made you do it? Your fear of gays made you do it? Really? Go fuck yourself.
And you, Brock whatever your last name is. Go fuck yourself. You, the judge and your dad can all go fuck yourselves. Your life shouldn't be ruined for twenty minutes of a mistake? How dare you? I read the statement from the girl you raped. Through tears I dreamed of punching you in the throat...really hard. See how well you swim after not being able to breathe you little fuck.
I know deep down that it is never just one thing that can be blamed. Religion, gun laws, economics, upbringing, fear......these and many more have a hand in shaping people into doing unthinkable things. So having an answer to make sense of it all so we can 'fix' the problem is like pushing on the ocean. An impossible dream it seems. But we keep moving forward, through unimaginable pain we must move forward. To follow in the belief that tomorrow will be better, that hope is not false. Today is hard and my heart goes out to all who are in tears.
Hug your loved ones
D
Monday, 13 June 2016
Saturday, 11 June 2016
Epictetus made me do it
"If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid." Thank you Epictetus. You have provided myself and all watchers of the movie Serendipity a way of verbalising what we may not have known about ourselves. It's ok to be different, it's ok to be you. Because really, who are you going to be if not you? And once you stop worrying about what others think of you, the possibilities are endless. I found my freedom in grade nine and haven't looked back much since. And with my divorce it seems things have been thrown into hyper drive on being "foolish and stupid"...just saying.
Ok....check this video out, and once you have dried your eyes you can come back:
http://30-years.dailymegabyte.com/ex-lovers-meet-each-other-after-30-years/
That, that right there, is simply amazing. No words, just a connection that has waited 30 plus years to be re-established. A moment in time where the rawness of emotion comes rocketing to the surface, there is no armour, there is only sweet pain. And at the risk of sounding sappy, that's what it is all about for me now. Take hold of what I have in me now and I will let myself go for you. It's that simple. No pretension, no fear and no turning back. How did that guy not cry his eyes out?
"Donde hay amor, hay dolor" Where there is love, there is pain. Think about that for a moment. The ups and downs of our relationships, all of them, are fraught with ultimate highs and painful lows at various points in the life of them. It can be hard. Life can be hard. But at the end of the day what we take away and choose to focus on is what will define us over the course of our lives.
More to the point, how we perceive the world and how it perceives us is based on all of our experiences to that point. It is easy to fall into the belief that the world sucks, for a lot of the time it does, but there is also so much to be in awe of...if we allow it to show itself to us. If we choose to step away from the darkness and into the light - "Darkness has a hunger that is insatiable and lightness has a call that's hard to hear." Take from that lyric what you will. Satan and his merry men against Jesus and the magnificent twelve - fill your boots. I like it for its humanistic message. We choose everyday how we will find the day. What do you choose? Wanna take a guess at my choice....hint, read the title.
This really short post is really about that video....the emotions it stirred in me. The memories of things said and unsaid. And since this is my blog and you're not the boss of me, I get to write whatever I want...ha!
Much love and peace to you all
Ciao
D
Ok....check this video out, and once you have dried your eyes you can come back:
http://30-years.dailymegabyte.com/ex-lovers-meet-each-other-after-30-years/
That, that right there, is simply amazing. No words, just a connection that has waited 30 plus years to be re-established. A moment in time where the rawness of emotion comes rocketing to the surface, there is no armour, there is only sweet pain. And at the risk of sounding sappy, that's what it is all about for me now. Take hold of what I have in me now and I will let myself go for you. It's that simple. No pretension, no fear and no turning back. How did that guy not cry his eyes out?
"Donde hay amor, hay dolor" Where there is love, there is pain. Think about that for a moment. The ups and downs of our relationships, all of them, are fraught with ultimate highs and painful lows at various points in the life of them. It can be hard. Life can be hard. But at the end of the day what we take away and choose to focus on is what will define us over the course of our lives.
More to the point, how we perceive the world and how it perceives us is based on all of our experiences to that point. It is easy to fall into the belief that the world sucks, for a lot of the time it does, but there is also so much to be in awe of...if we allow it to show itself to us. If we choose to step away from the darkness and into the light - "Darkness has a hunger that is insatiable and lightness has a call that's hard to hear." Take from that lyric what you will. Satan and his merry men against Jesus and the magnificent twelve - fill your boots. I like it for its humanistic message. We choose everyday how we will find the day. What do you choose? Wanna take a guess at my choice....hint, read the title.
This really short post is really about that video....the emotions it stirred in me. The memories of things said and unsaid. And since this is my blog and you're not the boss of me, I get to write whatever I want...ha!
Much love and peace to you all
Ciao
D
Thursday, 9 June 2016
Simon Julian Steele
Bittersweet is all I can say when I think of this coming Saturday. My son has his prom that day, another milestone in my boys life that will be something to look back on with some pride and hopefully a funny story or two. Saturday is also the funeral service for my best friends son, who passed away in January of 2014 from leukemia. Here is a link to a little information on him if you wish to read it:
http://www2.coasttocoastagainstcancer.org/ambassadors/simon-julian-steele/
You see, Simon and my son Liam were the same age, and they grew up a few doors away from each other in Lunenburg. They played together when they were younger...more like they got into trouble together when they were younger. Unfortunately I won't be able to attend Simon's service because of prom activities, hence the bittersweet. I really wanted to be there for Scott and his family. They are some great people that were truly inspirational to me when they were going through this tragedy. Their sense humour and a humanist approach to life in general really was an unbelievable thing to witness.
When I would talk to friends about Simon being sick and his prognosis the most common response was always, I can't even imagine. And you can't. I can't. It's too painful to even think of much less go through. But Scott, Fiona, Courtney and Sarah were grace and humour personified. This was not some unfair happenstance or part of God's plan to them, their son was broken on the inside and for all the passion and dedication that the doctors and nurses attacked this bastard with, somethings simply cannot be fixed. Fuck Cancer!!! To be a small part in the worst thing imaginable for a parent, I learned that what matters is the here and now when living through hell. It was hard and painful.....and I can't even imagine.
I guess two or three stories come to mind when I think of Simon. Two of them involved Liam and Simon getting into mischief, as kids are wont to do, while playing at Scott's house down the road from us. As Scott tells it, on one occasion he was at the sink washing dishes in front of a large window. A black something flew past his field of view and he didn't think anything of it. Then another, and another....uh oh. Out he went to investigate and sure enough, Liam and Simon are on the roof over the garage ripping shingles off and throwing them around like so many Frisbee's. I ended up coming over with some spare shingles to cobble together a roof covering.
I might add that Scott doesn't hear that well and he can be forgiven in not following the golden rule when it comes to kids....if there is silence there is mischief and probably damage happening. On occasion two he noticed water coming from the ceiling. Springing up the stairs he finds two boys giggling as they watch water running from the cast iron radiator spigots...ugh
On a couple occasions a year Scott and I will go up to his cottage to have a guys weekend away. No spa treatments though, just beer, wine and food with a lot of profanity laced conversation and observation. On one such occasion I had stopped into Lunenburg to pick up Mr Steele for our little mini vacay. As I waited inside talking to Scott and Fiona as Scott was getting ready, they mentioned that "Simon" was upstairs playing. I didn't think anything of it. Then they did it again, "Simon" is doing this and that. Excuse me, who the hell is Simon? OH, funny story, Simon is Julian. Before Simon became Simon, he was always Julian to me. That's how we knew him, Julian. Seems Julian decided one day at school to go by Simon. Just like that he only answered to Simon. And kept it up...always. My youngest Cora thought she would do this at one point, she wanted to go by Elizabeth. It lasted less than a day, especially since I was calling her Lizzy. But Simon stayed true.
He was a character to be sure. Their whole brood is actually, original and unique kids that will grow up to be original people. It's a privilege to be a part of their lives, all of them. I can't believe it's been two and half years since he passed away. A beautiful boy that had his race in life cut short by malignant microscopic cells...truly a sad thing. Fuck Cancer!!!
So, I will be thinking of the Steele family this Saturday at 1:11 pm, wishing I was there to raise a glass of Scotch to a boy that showed a zest for life, bravery beyond compare and smile that could light up a room.
Cheers Simon
http://www2.coasttocoastagainstcancer.org/ambassadors/simon-julian-steele/
You see, Simon and my son Liam were the same age, and they grew up a few doors away from each other in Lunenburg. They played together when they were younger...more like they got into trouble together when they were younger. Unfortunately I won't be able to attend Simon's service because of prom activities, hence the bittersweet. I really wanted to be there for Scott and his family. They are some great people that were truly inspirational to me when they were going through this tragedy. Their sense humour and a humanist approach to life in general really was an unbelievable thing to witness.
When I would talk to friends about Simon being sick and his prognosis the most common response was always, I can't even imagine. And you can't. I can't. It's too painful to even think of much less go through. But Scott, Fiona, Courtney and Sarah were grace and humour personified. This was not some unfair happenstance or part of God's plan to them, their son was broken on the inside and for all the passion and dedication that the doctors and nurses attacked this bastard with, somethings simply cannot be fixed. Fuck Cancer!!! To be a small part in the worst thing imaginable for a parent, I learned that what matters is the here and now when living through hell. It was hard and painful.....and I can't even imagine.
I guess two or three stories come to mind when I think of Simon. Two of them involved Liam and Simon getting into mischief, as kids are wont to do, while playing at Scott's house down the road from us. As Scott tells it, on one occasion he was at the sink washing dishes in front of a large window. A black something flew past his field of view and he didn't think anything of it. Then another, and another....uh oh. Out he went to investigate and sure enough, Liam and Simon are on the roof over the garage ripping shingles off and throwing them around like so many Frisbee's. I ended up coming over with some spare shingles to cobble together a roof covering.
I might add that Scott doesn't hear that well and he can be forgiven in not following the golden rule when it comes to kids....if there is silence there is mischief and probably damage happening. On occasion two he noticed water coming from the ceiling. Springing up the stairs he finds two boys giggling as they watch water running from the cast iron radiator spigots...ugh
On a couple occasions a year Scott and I will go up to his cottage to have a guys weekend away. No spa treatments though, just beer, wine and food with a lot of profanity laced conversation and observation. On one such occasion I had stopped into Lunenburg to pick up Mr Steele for our little mini vacay. As I waited inside talking to Scott and Fiona as Scott was getting ready, they mentioned that "Simon" was upstairs playing. I didn't think anything of it. Then they did it again, "Simon" is doing this and that. Excuse me, who the hell is Simon? OH, funny story, Simon is Julian. Before Simon became Simon, he was always Julian to me. That's how we knew him, Julian. Seems Julian decided one day at school to go by Simon. Just like that he only answered to Simon. And kept it up...always. My youngest Cora thought she would do this at one point, she wanted to go by Elizabeth. It lasted less than a day, especially since I was calling her Lizzy. But Simon stayed true.
He was a character to be sure. Their whole brood is actually, original and unique kids that will grow up to be original people. It's a privilege to be a part of their lives, all of them. I can't believe it's been two and half years since he passed away. A beautiful boy that had his race in life cut short by malignant microscopic cells...truly a sad thing. Fuck Cancer!!!
So, I will be thinking of the Steele family this Saturday at 1:11 pm, wishing I was there to raise a glass of Scotch to a boy that showed a zest for life, bravery beyond compare and smile that could light up a room.
Cheers Simon
Tuesday, 7 June 2016
Only you dad
When my oldest daughter was six or seven years old I took her out trick or treating with her friend Johnny. As we trudged around the suburbs of Lunenburg, marvelling at all the coffee crisp bars I was going to get and enjoying the night with my daughter, I must have made a comment to Johnny that was meant to be funny. He looked up at me with the kind of look that makes grown adults feel stupid and said what? Without missing a beat my daughter chimed in with "don't worry, he does that" Ha!!! High five for you kiddo! So perceptive. So true.
As you may have gathered I love telling stories. Dating stories, stories from high school days, growing up stories, work stories...just stories. In fact, stories may be one of my other super powers. I can't tell a joke to save my life but I can come up with a good yarn from time to time. On my drives into work in the morning I am lucky enough to have my daughter with me as I drive her to work or school, and sure enough a story or two will pop in...I like making her laugh with my antics and she is the one that coined the post title.
Earlier I asked you to remind me of how I ended up singing in a mall in grade three. You didn't....again, but here is the story. How did this come to pass? Because of a girl of course. I had a little boy crush on a girl named Tina in grade three, even though I was not so secretly in love with Tammy, my first crush from grade two. Following me? One day, on the PA it was announced that all the participants from the previous years production of Oliver were to come down to a vestibule on the main floor, for acoustics I assume, to try out for a special project. York Woods Gate Public School was not a large school and one would think that the organizers would know if someone was in a play from the year before. So what...I went anyway. Because Tina had gotten up and I didn't really like Ms Kitchen anyway.
I didn't even know we had the capacity to put on a production in our school so it comes as no surprise that I didn't know any lyrics or what the hell Oliver even was, but there I stood, sheepishly in the back mouthing along until I could get the flow of things and stammer through on later tries. Hey, I might just pull this off. Why is the teacher looking at me? Uh oh...busted. "Daniel, can you come to the front please." Crap. Pretend you didn't hear her, yeah that's it. Except everyone is looking at me and wondering how the hell I was even there. I seem to recall someone trying to rat me out as well. This was not going to end well. "Yes Miss?" I finally replied. "Come up to the front please." Uhm...."I'm ok back here." The look I got was enough to propel me to the front. I don't know but I managed to stammer through well enough that I made the cut, go figure.
Fast forward a few weeks and I am in the choir and Tina is a leading lady. I figured I was safe enough in the back ground that my natural shyness and fear of public speaking would be under control. On the night of the performance at some crap ass mall, Tina's leading man never showed up. "Daniel, we need you to sing with Tina." What? No seriously, what? And there it came to pass that I, with a fear of public speaking was down on one knee singing up to Tina "I would do anything, for you girl, anything"
My life has been peppered with stories such as these. Sometimes they make for good conversation over drinks, certainly they are worth a few laughs, but I think the greatest thing I can think of is that it leaves my kids with my legacy. I could not care less about "stuff", but my memories and the things that make me, me...are going to live with my kids for years to come. That stuff is important. My kids know without a shadow of a doubt how much I love them and how bone headed silly I can be. Throw in that I'm not entirely stupid and I'm good to go. In the grand scheme of things, that makes me smile.
Ciao
D
Monday, 6 June 2016
Tales from beyond the pass, a prelude
"Chef, do you know where the bacon stretcher is?" Ahhhhhhh, my most recent hire is being put through his paces. Stifling a laugh with a well placed finger and a look that makes people think I am pondering deeply, I turn towards said young grasshopper and send him back upstairs to look for the bacon stretcher, as I was sure it was in the same place as the lobster gun. With an accurate description of exactly where the utensils were I sent him on his way. He returned a few minutes later, "Brian said it was down here Chef." Tell Brian I'm positive it is in the back beside the lobster gun and electric egg peeler, oh, and can you come back down with a bucket of steam please....hehehehe
I like a little anarchy. I like when people bend the rules and sometimes even when they break them. I have a soft spot for my team members that can push an envelope in the interest of entertainment and tom foolery. I suppose it reminds me of me; birds of a feather and all that jazz. Nothing too crazy of course and not if someone gets hurt in any way shape or form. Someone once thought it was a good idea to ridicule a servers sexual preference out loud and within ear shot of me. It was not pretty. I rarely get angry and I don't need to yell; this day I got angry and ran up and down this guy for five minutes. I was told after the fact that he cried. It was not my intention to make him cry but his performance and behaviour was sub par at best and this episode came at the end of my rope with him. I'm told I can be intimidating when I give the "look". Not sure what it looks like as I don't carry a mirror with me at all times, but I can see where it comes from. Thankfully I don't have to do it often, in fact it's been about 6 years since the last time...I might be due.
Our young recruit above made another trip downstairs to explain that Brian couldn't stop laughing and that he wanted to shake my hand for holding it together....uhm sure, but where is my bucket of steam? Priceless look on his face. It's a good day when you can have a little fun to pass the time away.
In over 30 years in this business you would be right in assuming that there are a lot of stories but thankfully only a few videos and photos. Thank God for that of course. Humour and music are the constants in most kitchens. Oh, and food too. I've watched a gaggle of cooks dance in unison behind the line to Twist and Shout. Dishwashers air guitar to Crazy Train and, well...it goes on and on. Right at this moment Sex is on Fire is playing away, which is a site better than the "new"country music that was playing earlier. It may be my kitchen but I let the team decide what's playing on the radio...I've been known to put CBC Radio One on, so it's best to let them have their way. And as I've said before, we have an uncanny ability to sexualize any song, interchanging lyrics for body parts and innuendo, it's almost a right of passage in itself, CBC doesn't offer as many opportunities for said vulgarity.
Another right of passage is getting people to eat things they really shouldn't without prior medical consultation. Wasabi ice cream anyone? Breaded cardboard passing for a schnitzel...seen it. Ghost pepper hot enough for you my young padawan? We do like to fool around, and my God how certain people can find illegal ways to obtain...anything really. Did you know if you put a steel in this opening and pull back a bit you can get into the liquor lock up? Did you know that the kegs are left tapped at the end of the shift? Oh yeah, cooks like to have free booze. Which usually works out well because the bartender wants free food. Like hand in glove a crooked bartender and a shifty line cook can cause havoc...HR issues always...haha
So between chopping flour, searching for lobster guns and getting tricked into eating a spoonful of wasabi; not getting paid very well, long hours and crazy working conditions; why do we do it? Easy, normal society wouldn't let us work in an office for fear of having ass pictures on your photocopier, which of course means there was a bare ass on your photocopier...ugh There is easy access to any vice you may have, because everyone knows a guy that knows a guy and easier acceptance for that vice. Tribe mentality comes into play here as we do tend to protect our own because we need every body we can get our hands on. Sous chef is comatose on his days off? As long as he shows up here at noon on Tuesday to take over things I don't care. I'll help him if he wants it but I need him at work, lest I end up on line making food....triple ugh.
This is a lead off to more stories in the days and weeks to come. Softening the ground so it doesn't seem as crazy as it is, even though it is absolutely that crazy.
Ciao
D
I like a little anarchy. I like when people bend the rules and sometimes even when they break them. I have a soft spot for my team members that can push an envelope in the interest of entertainment and tom foolery. I suppose it reminds me of me; birds of a feather and all that jazz. Nothing too crazy of course and not if someone gets hurt in any way shape or form. Someone once thought it was a good idea to ridicule a servers sexual preference out loud and within ear shot of me. It was not pretty. I rarely get angry and I don't need to yell; this day I got angry and ran up and down this guy for five minutes. I was told after the fact that he cried. It was not my intention to make him cry but his performance and behaviour was sub par at best and this episode came at the end of my rope with him. I'm told I can be intimidating when I give the "look". Not sure what it looks like as I don't carry a mirror with me at all times, but I can see where it comes from. Thankfully I don't have to do it often, in fact it's been about 6 years since the last time...I might be due.
Our young recruit above made another trip downstairs to explain that Brian couldn't stop laughing and that he wanted to shake my hand for holding it together....uhm sure, but where is my bucket of steam? Priceless look on his face. It's a good day when you can have a little fun to pass the time away.
In over 30 years in this business you would be right in assuming that there are a lot of stories but thankfully only a few videos and photos. Thank God for that of course. Humour and music are the constants in most kitchens. Oh, and food too. I've watched a gaggle of cooks dance in unison behind the line to Twist and Shout. Dishwashers air guitar to Crazy Train and, well...it goes on and on. Right at this moment Sex is on Fire is playing away, which is a site better than the "new"country music that was playing earlier. It may be my kitchen but I let the team decide what's playing on the radio...I've been known to put CBC Radio One on, so it's best to let them have their way. And as I've said before, we have an uncanny ability to sexualize any song, interchanging lyrics for body parts and innuendo, it's almost a right of passage in itself, CBC doesn't offer as many opportunities for said vulgarity.
Another right of passage is getting people to eat things they really shouldn't without prior medical consultation. Wasabi ice cream anyone? Breaded cardboard passing for a schnitzel...seen it. Ghost pepper hot enough for you my young padawan? We do like to fool around, and my God how certain people can find illegal ways to obtain...anything really. Did you know if you put a steel in this opening and pull back a bit you can get into the liquor lock up? Did you know that the kegs are left tapped at the end of the shift? Oh yeah, cooks like to have free booze. Which usually works out well because the bartender wants free food. Like hand in glove a crooked bartender and a shifty line cook can cause havoc...HR issues always...haha
So between chopping flour, searching for lobster guns and getting tricked into eating a spoonful of wasabi; not getting paid very well, long hours and crazy working conditions; why do we do it? Easy, normal society wouldn't let us work in an office for fear of having ass pictures on your photocopier, which of course means there was a bare ass on your photocopier...ugh There is easy access to any vice you may have, because everyone knows a guy that knows a guy and easier acceptance for that vice. Tribe mentality comes into play here as we do tend to protect our own because we need every body we can get our hands on. Sous chef is comatose on his days off? As long as he shows up here at noon on Tuesday to take over things I don't care. I'll help him if he wants it but I need him at work, lest I end up on line making food....triple ugh.
This is a lead off to more stories in the days and weeks to come. Softening the ground so it doesn't seem as crazy as it is, even though it is absolutely that crazy.
Ciao
D
Friday, 3 June 2016
Food, wine and the meaning of life
Hahaha, that actually made me laugh to type the title above. What the hell do I know about life, much less the meaning of it all? Sure I can tell you what works for me but who cares about that, other than me. Food and wine are different topics but the same response applies...WTF!!!
When I sit down to start typing I'm never quite sure where it will end up or even what I am trying to say, and that's ok because all I am doing is thinking out loud, sort of. In this case, what drove me to start hitting the keys, was the clip from the movie Sideways about the life of wine. A wonderful movie that is easily one of the best movies about something I love, wine.
Miles and Maya are sitting comfortably numb getting to know each other. Call is sexual tension if you will but I think it is on a much deeper level, exposing your soul to a virtual stranger because you sense that maybe this one is different and you are tired of being afraid. Maya launches into a poetic and beautiful soliloquy about the relationship between wine, seasons, people and the passage of time. I can never do it justice so please look it up on YouTube. When you're done, come back and continue reading...
Now that you're back...think of Miles. Look at his face when she is talking. That sound you heard was him falling for her. The "I get you and you get me" feeling is so elusive in life that when confronted with it we can be dumbfounded. His face is all subtlety but so impassioned. He has fallen in love. And.........then he let fear come back in. That sound was the floor dropping out from this potential relationship. A beautiful scene. Big dummy Miles!!!!
I might have mentioned previously that a good friend of mine once told me that she was not going to let fear rule her life. Being relatively stupid and naive I wasn't sure what she meant. Fear of getting hitting by a car? Fear of heights? Fear of rectangles? No stupid, the fear of letting yourself open up. Be willing to be vulnerable, to get hurt, to suffer, because then you can truly experience the true possibilities of life. To find happiness. To find love. I immediately took on that idea as one of my mantras. Sure things can be scary, but I'm not going to let that change my outlook. Bring it on sister.
Drifting off to the left now, let us examine the food aspect of this post. Namely my ideas on what good food is about. This is where I may climb up on a soap box for a bit, please indulge me. If not...whatever.
Stop fucking around with food!!!! If you've read my description of those tomatoes I ate in Croatia you will have a sense of what I think good food is about....good ingredients. Treat them with respect and try to do little to them so as not to screw up what a dedicated farmer, grower, fisherman or what have you has done to bring you that morsel of food. Talk to a farmer and see the passion in their eyes as they describe their crop or the how they treat their cows and pigs. Why in the world would you then turn to "show business" to cook that food? Case in point - I watched a chef take cherry tomatoes, cover them in liquid nitrogen to freeze them. Once frozen he roughly broke them up to produce a shattered effect. That's it. This was the height of gastronomy for this clown. I seriously wanted to put his head in the bowl and pour liquid nitrogen on it....stupid melon head. I sat in on a demonstration at a food show a few years ago and this chef was demonstrating some of the beautiful things you can do with chemicals. He took 1 cup of peanut butter and blitzed it with 1 cup of lecithin to produce peanut butter powder that you can use as a sort of seasoning. Now I can appreciate the avenues that this opens up for me as a chef but can it be good to be ingesting that kind of chemical on a regular basis. Oh...and if you have to be careful of breathing something in lest it fuse your lungs together why the fuck would you use "meat glue" AKA transglutaminase.
I can appreciate the beauty of what some of these molecular chefs are creating and I don't think it deters from their skills as chefs, but I can't help thinking this is the latest fad in cooking. It already is waning of course so I think I am right but the larger issue, for me at least, is why are we going down that path in the first place. For show? To have an edge over the competition? Ego? Yes and other more benign reasons I am sure, Not for me though. While I am as guilty as the next person of not eating the best foods all the time, due to many factors, I know that when it comes down to it, a slow braised osso bucco with lots of garlic and a big red barolo or a butter poached lobster tail with a good crusty baguette to soak up the butter are better for me and my loved ones than the hot dogs from Costco. Not that I mind a good hot dog of course...hahaha
Let me step down from my soap box now...there. Food and wine. There you have it. Nothing, absolutely nothing, brings as much as pleasure as sharing a meal with good friends and family, preparing a meal with a beautiful woman or deep conversations over a glass of wine. I am inspired by these interactions, they help feed my soul. And when I find that Miles and Maya moment over a glass of Pinot Noir or (fucking) Merlot you can be sure I won't be afraid.
Ciao
D
When I sit down to start typing I'm never quite sure where it will end up or even what I am trying to say, and that's ok because all I am doing is thinking out loud, sort of. In this case, what drove me to start hitting the keys, was the clip from the movie Sideways about the life of wine. A wonderful movie that is easily one of the best movies about something I love, wine.
Miles and Maya are sitting comfortably numb getting to know each other. Call is sexual tension if you will but I think it is on a much deeper level, exposing your soul to a virtual stranger because you sense that maybe this one is different and you are tired of being afraid. Maya launches into a poetic and beautiful soliloquy about the relationship between wine, seasons, people and the passage of time. I can never do it justice so please look it up on YouTube. When you're done, come back and continue reading...
Now that you're back...think of Miles. Look at his face when she is talking. That sound you heard was him falling for her. The "I get you and you get me" feeling is so elusive in life that when confronted with it we can be dumbfounded. His face is all subtlety but so impassioned. He has fallen in love. And.........then he let fear come back in. That sound was the floor dropping out from this potential relationship. A beautiful scene. Big dummy Miles!!!!
I might have mentioned previously that a good friend of mine once told me that she was not going to let fear rule her life. Being relatively stupid and naive I wasn't sure what she meant. Fear of getting hitting by a car? Fear of heights? Fear of rectangles? No stupid, the fear of letting yourself open up. Be willing to be vulnerable, to get hurt, to suffer, because then you can truly experience the true possibilities of life. To find happiness. To find love. I immediately took on that idea as one of my mantras. Sure things can be scary, but I'm not going to let that change my outlook. Bring it on sister.
Drifting off to the left now, let us examine the food aspect of this post. Namely my ideas on what good food is about. This is where I may climb up on a soap box for a bit, please indulge me. If not...whatever.
Stop fucking around with food!!!! If you've read my description of those tomatoes I ate in Croatia you will have a sense of what I think good food is about....good ingredients. Treat them with respect and try to do little to them so as not to screw up what a dedicated farmer, grower, fisherman or what have you has done to bring you that morsel of food. Talk to a farmer and see the passion in their eyes as they describe their crop or the how they treat their cows and pigs. Why in the world would you then turn to "show business" to cook that food? Case in point - I watched a chef take cherry tomatoes, cover them in liquid nitrogen to freeze them. Once frozen he roughly broke them up to produce a shattered effect. That's it. This was the height of gastronomy for this clown. I seriously wanted to put his head in the bowl and pour liquid nitrogen on it....stupid melon head. I sat in on a demonstration at a food show a few years ago and this chef was demonstrating some of the beautiful things you can do with chemicals. He took 1 cup of peanut butter and blitzed it with 1 cup of lecithin to produce peanut butter powder that you can use as a sort of seasoning. Now I can appreciate the avenues that this opens up for me as a chef but can it be good to be ingesting that kind of chemical on a regular basis. Oh...and if you have to be careful of breathing something in lest it fuse your lungs together why the fuck would you use "meat glue" AKA transglutaminase.
I can appreciate the beauty of what some of these molecular chefs are creating and I don't think it deters from their skills as chefs, but I can't help thinking this is the latest fad in cooking. It already is waning of course so I think I am right but the larger issue, for me at least, is why are we going down that path in the first place. For show? To have an edge over the competition? Ego? Yes and other more benign reasons I am sure, Not for me though. While I am as guilty as the next person of not eating the best foods all the time, due to many factors, I know that when it comes down to it, a slow braised osso bucco with lots of garlic and a big red barolo or a butter poached lobster tail with a good crusty baguette to soak up the butter are better for me and my loved ones than the hot dogs from Costco. Not that I mind a good hot dog of course...hahaha
Let me step down from my soap box now...there. Food and wine. There you have it. Nothing, absolutely nothing, brings as much as pleasure as sharing a meal with good friends and family, preparing a meal with a beautiful woman or deep conversations over a glass of wine. I am inspired by these interactions, they help feed my soul. And when I find that Miles and Maya moment over a glass of Pinot Noir or (fucking) Merlot you can be sure I won't be afraid.
Ciao
D
Wednesday, 1 June 2016
You did what???
Think back. Way back to when you started your first job. A little nervous, maybe petrified and certainly green. And that greenness often translates to naivete and gullibility, willing to do anything asked of you, regardless of how stupid it may sound. That's where I come in, well, not just me of course, a whole crap load of people that simply cannot resist inflicting time honoured rites of passage for new and gullible employees.
It happened to me when I was starting out in the restaurant business and it happens to just about everyone. I don't want to know what new doctors are tricked into doing...shudder. My second shift as a dishwasher at the good old Golden Griddle pancake house was a night shift and it wasn't overly busy. I was asked to scrub potatoes; ok says I. Some burly looking cook told me to dump the potatoes in the sink, a little dish soap and scrub away. I know, soap. I got yelled at by another cook for being stupid, which I guess I was. Thankfully I learned quickly and I am almost certain I never fell victim to another prank....I think.
It will come as no surprise to anyone that knows me that I took this new found avenue of expression and made some good use of it. Myself and team members regularly joined in and started little escapades to see what we could get young newbies to do. New recruits were mildly tormented, visibly shaken and in some cases, chased by security. I must say that these days my role is that of facilitator as opposed to instigator or co-conspirator, if I come across such torment, I will play along. I never start it any more, I'm supposed to be the responsible adult guy now....hahaha
Without further delay, here is a small sampling of some of my favourite episodes, more to come later:
Back at the Griddle one Thursday night, bored and in need of entertainment I asked our newest recruit to chop some flour for zucchini batter. Oh, the more embellishment the better. Said recruit was instructed to dump 100 lbs of flour on to this mother of a wooden work table we had in the back prep area and to chop the flour fine. I went back to my station and waited. After a few minutes of rhythmic tapping of the knife, tap, tap, tap...I went back to enquire what he was doing. After a somewhat nervous reply I told him it would go quicker with two knives, like drum sticks. Back to the line, tap tap, tap tap, tap tap. Very good I thought. Until my boss walked in, shit I thought he was gone for the night. "What's that tapping noise?" he asks. Uhm, I don't know....hehehe He walks around the corner, the tapping stops...hehehe He came back around the corner, glared at me sardonically and headed back to his office, but before exiting through the swinging doors he turned and told me to make sure it was all cleaned up. Sure, right after he fine diced the flour.
The Golden Griddle I worked at was in the middle of an industrial park, surrounded by warehouses and factories. We had a large lot around us for parking, which we needed since we could do 500 people for breakfast on the weekend, which provided for a bit of fun on occasion. I must have had a string of boring nights because once again, I asked a dishwasher to go get us some toilet paper from the store room. Sure he says, where's that? Well, let me show you my friend. I led him to the back door and instructed him to go down the stairs, turn right around the building and the first door he came to would be the store room. "Isn't that kind of silly to have a store room outside?" Yep, but it leads to a basement area so there you have it. Oh, and bang on the door loudly, Dave is kind of deaf down there. Grab 6 rolls of toilet paper. This is the part I wish I could have actually seen....he rounded the corner, found the door exactly as I had described, and ignoring the fact that the basement door was up a set of stairs he pounded loudly on the door. Unfortunately for him, Dave didn't answer, the boss did...hehehehe. I really should have checked to see if the boss was still in the building. I would have paid money to see the look on their faces....as it was described to me, Pete throws open the door nearly flinging the young boy across the ground. "What the hell are you doing?" he yells...the response, "Are you Dave, I need toilet paper" Real money I would have paid, not just Canadian Tire money. Why I wasn't fired for my transgressions, of which there were many, I can only attribute to my bosses coke addled mind. He was a piece of work to be sure. Hell I could write an entire chapter on him and his girl friend...shudder
It can be said that my early episodes at the Golden Griddle can be forgiven as I was both young and stupid. Not to mention that I had no interest in this field at all. It was a job for me plain and simple. My later entrance into real cooking and culinary wonders came later. At this point I was more interested in subtlety than pageantry. Case in point: I was the sous chef at the Prince George Hotel here in Haligonian land. Working the line one night I was, as they say, on fire. I had sent off all the other cooks to help in banquets expecting my night to be slow. Not so much. It was a busy night, nothing I couldn't handle but simply a busy night. Now, I say, you should be judged by what you can do when you are in the middle of a rush. Can you practical joke when busy? Yep. Room service waiter came in doing nothing, I'm obviously busy, so this is when I ask him for the hammer by the piano. "What?" Pass me the hammer by the piano please. "What? Where?" Of course I am saying this quickly and slurring my words while gesticulating wildly. I point to no particular place, and repeat, the hammer by the piano, there..over there, the hammer by the piano. Searching frantically he is visibly confused....and I start to giggle....hehehe "Chef, I don't see.....the.....hammer....by the .....piano" Hehehehe He didn't throw anything at me but I think he wanted to.
An hour later my intrepid cooks come back to the main kitchen and one of them sees me being busy and asks if he can get anything for me. Yep, grab me a strawberry sundae quick. Rushing off with an appropriate yes chef I return to my work. In record time he returns and hands me the creation. I grab a spoon and start eating it, thanks man. Close your mouth buddy, flies and all.
I would bet money that more of these stories will come out. In fact, I was shocked with myself that they haven't come out sooner. I was out with a dear friend last night and one of these stories came up and I couldn't believe I hadn't shared them earlier.
So, in the end, find humour in everything I say. As long as it makes you laugh what else matters.
Life is grand my friends
Ciao
D
It happened to me when I was starting out in the restaurant business and it happens to just about everyone. I don't want to know what new doctors are tricked into doing...shudder. My second shift as a dishwasher at the good old Golden Griddle pancake house was a night shift and it wasn't overly busy. I was asked to scrub potatoes; ok says I. Some burly looking cook told me to dump the potatoes in the sink, a little dish soap and scrub away. I know, soap. I got yelled at by another cook for being stupid, which I guess I was. Thankfully I learned quickly and I am almost certain I never fell victim to another prank....I think.
It will come as no surprise to anyone that knows me that I took this new found avenue of expression and made some good use of it. Myself and team members regularly joined in and started little escapades to see what we could get young newbies to do. New recruits were mildly tormented, visibly shaken and in some cases, chased by security. I must say that these days my role is that of facilitator as opposed to instigator or co-conspirator, if I come across such torment, I will play along. I never start it any more, I'm supposed to be the responsible adult guy now....hahaha
Without further delay, here is a small sampling of some of my favourite episodes, more to come later:
Back at the Griddle one Thursday night, bored and in need of entertainment I asked our newest recruit to chop some flour for zucchini batter. Oh, the more embellishment the better. Said recruit was instructed to dump 100 lbs of flour on to this mother of a wooden work table we had in the back prep area and to chop the flour fine. I went back to my station and waited. After a few minutes of rhythmic tapping of the knife, tap, tap, tap...I went back to enquire what he was doing. After a somewhat nervous reply I told him it would go quicker with two knives, like drum sticks. Back to the line, tap tap, tap tap, tap tap. Very good I thought. Until my boss walked in, shit I thought he was gone for the night. "What's that tapping noise?" he asks. Uhm, I don't know....hehehe He walks around the corner, the tapping stops...hehehe He came back around the corner, glared at me sardonically and headed back to his office, but before exiting through the swinging doors he turned and told me to make sure it was all cleaned up. Sure, right after he fine diced the flour.
The Golden Griddle I worked at was in the middle of an industrial park, surrounded by warehouses and factories. We had a large lot around us for parking, which we needed since we could do 500 people for breakfast on the weekend, which provided for a bit of fun on occasion. I must have had a string of boring nights because once again, I asked a dishwasher to go get us some toilet paper from the store room. Sure he says, where's that? Well, let me show you my friend. I led him to the back door and instructed him to go down the stairs, turn right around the building and the first door he came to would be the store room. "Isn't that kind of silly to have a store room outside?" Yep, but it leads to a basement area so there you have it. Oh, and bang on the door loudly, Dave is kind of deaf down there. Grab 6 rolls of toilet paper. This is the part I wish I could have actually seen....he rounded the corner, found the door exactly as I had described, and ignoring the fact that the basement door was up a set of stairs he pounded loudly on the door. Unfortunately for him, Dave didn't answer, the boss did...hehehehe. I really should have checked to see if the boss was still in the building. I would have paid money to see the look on their faces....as it was described to me, Pete throws open the door nearly flinging the young boy across the ground. "What the hell are you doing?" he yells...the response, "Are you Dave, I need toilet paper" Real money I would have paid, not just Canadian Tire money. Why I wasn't fired for my transgressions, of which there were many, I can only attribute to my bosses coke addled mind. He was a piece of work to be sure. Hell I could write an entire chapter on him and his girl friend...shudder
It can be said that my early episodes at the Golden Griddle can be forgiven as I was both young and stupid. Not to mention that I had no interest in this field at all. It was a job for me plain and simple. My later entrance into real cooking and culinary wonders came later. At this point I was more interested in subtlety than pageantry. Case in point: I was the sous chef at the Prince George Hotel here in Haligonian land. Working the line one night I was, as they say, on fire. I had sent off all the other cooks to help in banquets expecting my night to be slow. Not so much. It was a busy night, nothing I couldn't handle but simply a busy night. Now, I say, you should be judged by what you can do when you are in the middle of a rush. Can you practical joke when busy? Yep. Room service waiter came in doing nothing, I'm obviously busy, so this is when I ask him for the hammer by the piano. "What?" Pass me the hammer by the piano please. "What? Where?" Of course I am saying this quickly and slurring my words while gesticulating wildly. I point to no particular place, and repeat, the hammer by the piano, there..over there, the hammer by the piano. Searching frantically he is visibly confused....and I start to giggle....hehehe "Chef, I don't see.....the.....hammer....by the .....piano" Hehehehe He didn't throw anything at me but I think he wanted to.
An hour later my intrepid cooks come back to the main kitchen and one of them sees me being busy and asks if he can get anything for me. Yep, grab me a strawberry sundae quick. Rushing off with an appropriate yes chef I return to my work. In record time he returns and hands me the creation. I grab a spoon and start eating it, thanks man. Close your mouth buddy, flies and all.
I would bet money that more of these stories will come out. In fact, I was shocked with myself that they haven't come out sooner. I was out with a dear friend last night and one of these stories came up and I couldn't believe I hadn't shared them earlier.
So, in the end, find humour in everything I say. As long as it makes you laugh what else matters.
Life is grand my friends
Ciao
D
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