“People come up to me all the time and ask how I stay the way I am, and it’s no secret. The first lesson a chef needs to learn is how to handle a knife; the second is how to be around all that food.”
~ Marcus Samuelsson
chef
Culinary Quote Dump Day: People in kitchens can be dangerous
“It’s amazing the relationships you forge in a kitchen. When you cooperate in an environment that’s hot. Where there’s a lot of knives. You’re trusting your well-being with someone you’ve never before met or known.”
~ Alexandra Guarnaschelli
“my college doesn’t allow us to carry pepper spray for self defense cause they claim its a weapon.
i’m at culinary school.
every single student is carrying several hundred dollars worth of knives around with them and they teach classes on how to break down whole animals easily with said knives.
but no pepper spray.
no that’s way too dangerous”
~ determinationandaspatula (tumblr)
(Original post: http://determinationandaspatula.tumblr.com/post/59129830030/my-college-doesnt-allow-us-to-carry-pepper-spray )
“This is a world where everyone you work with has plenty of boiling liquids, blunt objects and sharp knives ready at hand. Have a sense of humor – you’ll need it.”
~ Chef Harold (posted on Chef2Chef.net)
“Those who are so eager for women and girls to go back to the kitchen might think again about just what it is we might be up to in there. You can plan a lot of damage from a kitchen. It’s also where the knives are kept.”
~ Laurie Penny
“Do not taunt a man for wearing chef pants. He has sharper knives than you, and he knows how to use them.”
~ Author Unknown
Today’s Quote: “…awake, hungry and totally wired at 2am on a Tuesday”
“…anyone who willingly turns their life upside down by becoming a cook is totally insane to begin with. So many chefs that I have met are dyslexic and totally not school people or intellectuals. That could be symbolic of the kind of lifestyle that they choose to live. They all drink a lot, do a lot of drugs, drink a shitload of coffee and espresso. They don’t sleep much, and obviously don’t have much of a life outside the kitchen. A cook’s friend is a cook, there isn’t much time for a non-cook friend or girlfriend. And time really isn’t the issue so much as it’s a lifestyle and a culture that is very hard to understand or identify with unless you are on the inside. Cooks hang out with cooks because there is nobody else awake, hungry and totally wired at 2am on a Tuesday.”
~ Jennifer Topper, “29 Jobs and a Million Lies”
Quizzes to pass the time
I'm a muffin!
"You are very laid back, calm, and collected. Muffins are sorta spongey, and tend to soak up they're surroundings. You're alert, but you don't make a big deal out of it. Muffins can also be softies, so don't let anyone push you around! But that shouldn't be too much of a problem, since muffins are loved by so many people!"
Righhhhhhhhhhht…. loved by so many people, calm and collected…. <snerk>! At least they got the "sorta spongey" correct.
I'm also ketchup, apple crisp, and an egg salad sandwich (gross!). This is the sort of stupid stuff I do when I get bored at work. If you're bored too, go play on Quizilla.
And for which career I should pursue?
CHEF!
"Hmmm… Do you have an interest in being a chef?? Perhaps you should look into it. Being a chef doesn't mean just working in the back of some crowded kitchen chopping vegetables all day. You can be so creative! And chefs are a lot more famous than you think, nowadays especially. Forget the rumors that cooking requires math – that's a load of crap. Just watch some Food Network, study some cookbooks, and practice!"
Wait… cooking doesn't require math? Then why did I have to take TWO math-based classes in culinary school? If you don't have a good grasp on your costs and how to control them–you shouldn't be allowed to run a restaurant. I've seen several examples of how good restaurants were dragged under by shitty cost control.
And to end:
Something I haven’t mentioned…
While I still work one day a week at the bakery, I'm now working full-time for a computer company in tech support. This is an increase in pay with better hours, but I miss the kitchen. On the up side, I now have more time, and customers, for my little sideline baking not-quite-a-business. It's amazing how many people here want cookies, cupcakes, tarts, and all kinds of cakes. I even have a set of wedding cakes scheduled for later this summer (this included a groom's cake shaped like Moya). I also started working as a personal chef for a friend once a week. While I'm not sure I'd want to do that for a living, we're trading professional services and her skills come in very handy.
It's amazing how happy I was to be involved with high tech again. One of these days I'll find a way to combine it with my obsession with pastries. And on that day–I'll be a truly content person.
Update: My friend that I'm trading work with is a talented programmer and interior decorator, but the most useful skill that I plan on taking advantage of, is her organizational skill. Yes, people paid her lots of money to organize their homes and offices. Bartering services rocks!