Nuthin nu...

As I reflect on the past 20 some years of my cooking history, I am reminded of something that does not spark my enthusiasm. It does not get my passion and creative juices flowing into high gear. In fact, it wears me out. It drains my energy and gets me stagnant and stale. It is the part of this business that is...well...business. Now do not get me wrong, I thrive on the creative art of marketing, the challenge of making every day the most financially fulfilling to us as managers and as entrepreneurs. That is what we need to sustain the fun things and creative foodstuffs that we play with and have fun with. It provides us "research and development" trips, education excursions to say...Charlie Trotters or Per Se and that extra staff member to get an extra edge on the production or to provide that extra nuance in the meals we serve. I truly enjoy the business side of things that make me as a chef, a better diplomat and executive. The kind that helps me to understand and take on the runnings of a business in which to make it run and operate smoother. No, this is the business side that is not(at least at first glance) garnering added income, or increasing revenues that satisfy our investors on the bottom line. It is the type of things that are simply the things that need to be done because they need to be done. Like peeling fava beans. Cooking them is great. Making a cool foam or truffle-laced puree is awesome. Perhaps assembling a concoction that ends up being some sort of new savory ice cream is what keeps me stimulated. But peeling them sucks. It is that kind of business that sucks as well. I have just about finalized a huge project of creating a new and revised banquet menu for the upcoming busy season. Conjuring up new ideas about ingredients was great. Then everything else seemed to be this daunting task of reading page after page of notes from others, editing, proof reading, costing out the whole damn entire work, meeting with publicists, meeting with catering, meeting with who ever. It seemed at times that was all that happened. Realizing that I just sat at my stupid desk for 6 hours and service just came and went without even seeing one plate, much less cooking one. That shit is no bueno! There are other things such as interviewing, reading the resumes and cover letters of persons who you know you don't even want to work next to, yet you must go through the process in search of that diamond in the rough. Searching out for price quotes for equipment, knowing that you want that piece of equipment so bad you can taste it, but you have to go through this BS just to get there. That Paco-Jet better make fucking damn good ice cream! And the major pain in the neck of just about everyone I know, is that never-ending, painstaking process of inventory. I am an intelligent person and I know that it must be done in order to be an effective operation, but when you realize that you have a whole collection of Textura's products or a fresh shipment of the most beautiful heirloom tomatoes in your possession and you have not even had the chance to play with them...what gives??? Anyway, enough bantering on about the inevitable, the necessary and simply the things that make people better managers and business operators. I am anxiously excited to now work with those things in my walk-ins and garde manger, motivate my staff and kick some ass on our upcoming 2nd Annual Taste of Provence dinner which is sure to be a great success(see last year's post). I will be sharing photos, experiences and thoughts about those soon. Until then...here is a dish that came about. As I said...nuthin nu.