Order Up! My Time as a Cook: Part 3

A hearty breakfast of fresh elk’s liver, sausage, and fried taters. Buen provecho!

Welcome back to the last course in this table full of memories that was my life as a travelling cook. In this dessert portion of the post I wanted to share with you some of my impressions of kitchen life, the toll I allowed it to take on me, and my stepping away from it. So, let’s get these last orders out, “hit it and quit it” as one of my chef/mentors used to say. Shall we?

In The Weeds.

There are a lot of hard charging, full throttle people in the service industry, and many want to blow off some steam at the end of a tough shift. Drinking was encouraged in many of the places I worked. In one such place, if we had a really good night, say 200 covers or more, the floor manager would bring us whatever beer we wanted as we cleaned up the kitchen, while still on the clock! I worked at another place where the head chef-another mentor- and I would keep a bottle of sake on the line. Multiple times during service we would heat up shots in the microwave and knock them back. To me, it all seemed normal, like that is what one does in such a place.

I have worked many a 12-hour day, drank well into the night and woken up early to be back in the kitchen to do it all over again. Rinse and repeat. Remember what I said at the end of part 1 about it being my choice and my responsibility how I navigated this terrain? For me this was a life that I glorified, romanticized, and thought I enjoyed. Needless to say, that type of life will wear you down especially the older you get. I realized that I didn’t want to be well into my forties and still cleaning fryolators, yelling at servers, and most importantly, still drinking heavily.

Pirates and loose fools!

I don’t want to give you the impression that I am decrying the hard-working men and women who cook and serve your food.  It is an industry that is full of a whole range of characters. Most people in the service industry are like everyone else. They have the same concerns as you do, they provide for their families like you do, they live and love like you do.  Sure, there are a lot of addicts, outcasts, criminals, and degenerates among the fold. But, for the most part, they work hard, show up on time, and are good under pressure. I worked with a lot of folks that you wouldn’t trust around your kids, but as sure as Jesus wears sandals, I would want them on the line with me when the shit got real.

Stepping Off The Line.

Cookin’, boozin’ and movin’ was my life for a very long time. I was always on the move looking for the next place to go. The constant state of flux was the physical representation of the metaphorical running away from myself, but “wherever you go, there you are.” After a while, though, my life just became boozin’ and movin’. I saw that my drive and ambition to become a great chef was well behind me. I had lost the fire, so to speak, burned out before ever even attaining any sort of great height.

After I quit drinking, I still worked it restaurants for a little while. It became a fun and different experience for me. Those long, hot hours on shift weren’t near as bad without a crushing hangover. It was such a novelty to be on the line and not feel like, to quote Bourdain, “a thousand woodland creatures were clawing at the backs of my eyeballs.” Who knew life could be so damn fulfilling and productive?! This is a history and tradition-rich institution and it had taken me in and provided a way of life I was seeking. Yet, I knew that my time in it was coming to a close. My attitude and outlook in this industry had changed and I knew it was time to pack up my knives and move on to something else.  

Heard!

One of the last and far more docile kitchens I had the pleasure of working in.

I enjoyed so much of my time in kitchens because I didn’t just learn how to cook food. There are far more intangible skills one attains in a kitchen that carry over into so many areas of life. For example, one learns how to communicate effectively, which is probably the most important skill to have in a kitchen. One learns how to become almost Zen-like in the midst of chaotic pressure that comes from multiple angles simultaneously. As one moves up the ranks, leadership and delegation become important qualities one acquires. Other skills that one develops are organization, craftmanship and dedication to one’s job and crew. These skills and lessons don’t come easy in the back of the house. They are earned, forged within the pressure and the heat.

Now, I am not saying that I am done cooking. I don’t think that any true cook/chef that has it in the very marrow of their bones will ever really hang up his or her apron. Even as I type this, I am sitting in my home kitchen with the music cranked whilst preparing dinner for a few guests this evening and I am having a freakin’ blast doing it! If I do get paid to cook again it will be on much different terms completely favorable to me. But for now, I got more important things on the prep list to do! Other things have presented themselves to me. I have been given other opportunities to expand my mind and explore the very nature of who I am and what I want.

Thank you so much for your time and attention. It means a lot to me. I would love to hear about your experience slinging food, bussing tables, washing dishes, managing the floor, or serving customers. There is such a large subculture of folks like us with some amazingly funny and heartbreaking stories. You have a voice and a story to tell. Let it be heard!