A busy service in a kitchen can be a wonderfully rewarding experience, so let's not pretend otherwise. Hours, days and sometimes even weeks of preparation are carried out in order that a plate of food, for a diner, is as good as the person who conceived it, expected it to be. It should be just as perfect as he or she envisaged. And when it is, everyone involved can give themselves a good old pat on the back for making it happen. Mr or Mrs Smith in the dining room are happy because what they were expecting from the kitchen arrived and exceeded expectation. A very nice experience indeed and a good indication that the kitchen is firing on all cylinders and that there is a synergy. Because when there is this synergy, it's a pleasure to be part of it. Requests are made and fulfilled. Promises are made and delivered on. Jesus Christ, even contracts have been signed. On headed paper with a place at the bottom for a signature. Although this signature in many ways is really quite insignificant. It means nothing in the real world. It's just a scribble on some paper. But what does matter, are the promises that are made to the chef. Turn up on time. Work hard. Listen. Be ready for service. Taste, taste, taste. Work quickly. Cleanly. Work harder. Work much harder. Come back tomorrow. This is how synergy is achieved and this is how the pleasure is generated. Food on the pass when it should be on the pass. Tick. Food seasoned correctly. Tick. Food at the correct temperature. Another tick. Food looking as it should. Full house of ticks and everyone's happy. There is a warm feeling inside that what was asked for was delivered and all those hours preparing, have become greater than the sum of their parts. The warm feeling spills out of everyone like a positive mood gas. There are smiles and feelings of achievement that are palpable. It's a good place to be, planet synergy.
"It's just food!". A statement used every day, somewhere. A statement of fact. A statement which tends to accompany talking about the likes of Gordon Ramsay of old, shouting at his underlings and making a big deal of an overcooked artichoke. Food on a plate, which as soon as a fork and knife or a spoon have their wicked way, will look like a dog’s dinner. All the time spent arranging it all to look pretty, up in smoke. Time that can never be gotten back. Time that could be used for something else like a walk in the sun or the latest episode of the next big American crime drama.
So if it is "just food", why bother with the bells and whistles and the extra little touches that are supporting cast members to the stars of the show. Why not just relax about it a bit and not take it so seriously?
The warm feeling of synergy is like a balloon. But not an ordinary balloon. But a balloon made of the most delicate material imaginable and filled with what could be equated to happiness, but in a quite bizarre sense of the word. The balloon floats around the kitchen, bouncing from person to person. Creating and spreading its magic. But the thing is, sadly the lifespan of the balloon is limited. And it is fragile beyond belief.
It can be a serious business, food. When you look at the statement that "it's just food", it is perfectly correct in the first instance. But after that, it is so very much more. It's a big animal. It is the driving force behind a restaurant where without it there would be nothing. No customers. No money and no jobs. So getting it right is paramount. And when this is broken down it reaches further. It is people's careers. It is people's lives. It is the whole network of stakeholders in the business. Suppliers, guide books, laundry services and so on and so forth. There is pride involved. There is a sense of achievement to be maintained. There is recognition to be had because if there wasn't, what would be the point? Why would there be sweat and why work the long hours?
It's like a change in the wind when the balloon bursts. There is seldom any evidence it was ever even there. The synergy has gone. The cause could be anything. Specifics are simple nonsense as it doesn't matter. The cause is usually something bigger. The bigger picture. Workload too great. Not enough staff. The pressures of a modern kitchen. Because it's like being between the devil and the deep blue sea when there is success. It becomes busier and more difficult to operate in relative comfort. And as it gets more difficult and busier this means it is more of a success. A rolling stone gathers no moss but it does get a little dirty.
How can a kitchen not become a pressure cooker? It's almost designed to be so. Unusual hours. Pressure to perform. Stress. Not knowing what the future holds in the short or the long term. Constantly trying to second guess the customers. Trying to constantly re-jig the formula to please people but still trying to be different. Trends. Buzz words. Popularity. Fickle people. Ever evolving dietary requirements. It's a fucking minefield out there if the truth be known. It's a case of convincing people they want to eat there and that it would add something to their life and they can tell their friends about it. But this doesn't come easily. There are lots of them out there, both customers and places to eat and they are all doing the same thing. Trying to cultivate a new experience with finite resources of skills, knowledge and produce. And before the question of evolution comes to the fore, before it is pointed out that new elements come along from time to time, let it be said that within reason, it's all been done before. Not exactly the same but similar. It's just a case of refinement. Like the fingerprints on a hand. There are none exactly the same but ultimately they all do the same job.
People eat food. It is a pleasurable experience for them and it makes their life richer. Add a comfy chair, nice tableware, soft music and you're close to perfection. But to have light you must have dark and every action has an equal and opposite reaction. It is hidden well and not given much thought but the public at large are more aware nowadays than ever before of what a kitchen can be like and it is just an elephant in a room. The contrast is remarkable. The lifestyles of the people on either side of the door at that moment in time couldn't be any more different. So it begs the question of how is it possible to have a healthy, well balanced, emotionally stable young person who works in this kind of environment. The industry insiders may say that young (and older) chefs are strong, resilient and capable multi-taskers who give a hundred percent for their passion and then some. But is this the case? Do they feel they have a choice? Are they working for someone else's goals without question?
It's impossible to look at people on a case by case basis, but look at the industry as a whole. Look at your average kitchen worker bee and see how they are. Ask them how they are and demand honesty. Do they see the value in everything they do or are they going with the flow? Do they really need the badge of honour or medal that will be stamped onto their CV? Is it worth the sacrifice of living in a hospitality sub culture? Although some great things can happen to the few who have drive and vision. The industry leaders who rise to the top like a blooming sourdough ferment, full of energy and vigour. They have been through the hard times and they have done the long hours. They have the badges and have collected knowledge to use and pass on. They inspire and keep the dream alive with the infectious collective madness that is the industry driver for so many kitchens.
By the very nature of how the industry works there are problems. Look on the wall of the staff canteens where there are posters promising help. Read the stories of the drug and alcohol casualties of yesterday and you will see the indicators that throughout the industry today there is a forgotten army. Foot soldiers who prop up and are the foundations of modern cuisine, keeping their heads above water and battling stress with the help of drink and drugs. And there should not be pity, but understanding that what needs to be achieved can only be achieved within a framework of often difficult circumstances. And by the way, the industry is starting to change and people are taking note. Many business owners are introducing shorter working weeks and employing more staff to improve working conditions. Just have a search on the internet and you can find the evidence. The tide has started to turn.........
"Just because you can, doesn't mean you should". Apply this statement to any area of your life and see what happens. You may start to question how you go about your daily business and how you plan the coming years. Hopefully the value of every waking moment will be brought into question. Decisions can be made from within, where opinions are your own. It's imperative that you understand why you have an opinion or thought and make sure they are yours, so the life path is the correct one. Certainly spending five or six days of every week in a kitchen where a day starts a little after eight AM and ends around eleven PM, does little to produce a level headed, well rounded and happy member of society. How can it? There is little balance between life and work. And it's not just a kitchen, it can be any workplace. It can be anywhere that it is out of balance. Because life is too short for wasting it away on someone else's fantasy and on someone else's dream.
Life in a modern society is a funny thing. The order in which we do things is often pre-prescribed so that the learning curve follows a certain protocol. But does it have to be that way? With the emergence of social media, television and the internet over the last decade, there is little that can't be found with a little digging. It's now possible today more than ever to take up an interest, hobby or in time, a career, by teaching yourself. It's possible, within reason, to speed up the whole process. By using a little thought, artistic licence and planning it's possible that by making a few mistakes, the self-satisfaction of achieving a goal with a new way of thinking can be achieved. But having said this, I don't suggest trying to find a copy of brain surgery for dummies and blagging your way into the local hospital to start healing the sick, but you get the message. Imagine it's like school, where the sum total of knowledge gathered fails to be deployed in your career. Why would you want to use algebra or calculus to be a postman, plumber or even a sales administrator? That's right, you wouldn't. Because once you have made the decision to do something, you only have to get the relevant information to make it happen.
So where does this leave us? It leaves us with two more nuggets of wisdom from an almost inexhaustible list. "The grass isn't always greener......." And "......be careful what you wish for".
What I have been pointing towards if you haven't picked up already is a simple life lesson. It's the advice I will give my children when they are old enough to take it on board. And that's the lesson of happiness and the pursuit of it. I'm well aware that a person changes every day and that what is on the horizon is sometimes difficult to anticipate, but they should really think about it. And they should try to look into exactly what will be involved in going down a particular path, because if they do there will be less chance of nasty surprises. Hours, environment, salary and day to day activities expected of them are massively important pieces of information which should be some of the first to be investigated. But this is often overlooked in favour of what might be achieved in the future. The spoils and riches and adulation become the important thing which is absolutely topsy-turvy. The world of media has a lot to answer for. The young brigade members get snared when they are young, before they find out about the real world and what happens in it. Once they're in the cage and on the wheel, the hamster has few options to get off other than jumping from a moving vehicle.
The utopian world is achievable. Just look at what would be best case scenario. Work life balance. Good salary. Comfortable and happy working environment. Well presented, tasty food produced with love and not stress. These things can be achieved. Yes that's right, can be achieved. And you know who said this? Me. And you. You just have to let the words roll from your tongue. And once you've made your statement of intent, you plan and you work out how to do it. Learn the craft and the foundation skills. Forget fluid gels for the minute in favour of how to make a real pie or poaching an egg properly. Fundamentals done well. Because there's a thinking that says if the ingredients are right the output should be greater than the sum of its parts, as happy people are creative and productive. It doesn't matter what's on the plate. There could be a classically made coq au vin or sous vide lamb festooned with slow cooked eggs and dehydrated angels wings. The point is, if people are happy in their daily work it will pay off in the end and the rewards will be reaped. And yes this is the dream and it is a fantasy which may be dismissed by the masses in the industry but believe me when I say this is my goal and I will achieve it. And the measure will be smiles.