Method Man

I've just finished both "The Devil in the Kitchen" and "Alice Waters and Chez Panisse", which when boiled down, are about people who cannot, or will not compromise. Marco Pierre White takes the brutal, macho approach while Alice Waters does the passive-aggressive Northern California thing.

I, on the other hand, compromise too easily. I'm too attuned to how people are feeling, and too sensitive when they are feeling poorly. While I would not want to be either Marco or Alice, I could be a bit more firm. Perhaps firm, isn't the right word. Opinionated is better. As in, there's a right way to do things. Myself, in the kitchen, I show a cook how I do something and then tell them, "I'm not attached to this particular method, just these particular results. If you have another way to do this, and it comes out the same, that's fine by me." This usually works out well, although sometimes the method influences the dish and things don't turn out the same.

Maybe I need to say, "This is how we do this." Whatever this is at the time. Probably not, because seeing how other people do things is how I learn and adopt new ideas. Because usually (not always), the method doesn't matter. For my entire adult life I have favored long-sleeve, button down shirts and put them on the way most people do, buttoning each button singly. I watched "Chicago" a few years ago, and there was a scene where a guy is trying to get out of the room before the jealous husband arrives and he slips his shirt, which was already buttoned, over his head like a t-shirt. I immediately started putting my shirts on this way. It's faster, you never miss a button, and the result is the same.

What I really need to do is be attuned to when the method makes the difference, and insist that proper procedures be followed. In fact, that's my homework for the coming week.

Comments

[Dr. Biggles]

Totally agree. Plus, many times, your employees will have more respect for you and their work. What's for lunch?

Biggles

[Chocolategirl]

I just finished " Devil in the Kitchen ." Amazing book.
It was so interesting to read about his development as a chef, and how much cooking consumed him- plus his goal of perfection. Not many people are so driven and obsessed. His description of being an adrenaline and pain junkie struck a nerve- I don't do line work anymore but the type of cooking I do- its a daily pushing of my limits, brushes with danger, acceptance of pain. When I burn myself now, I don't react much anymore, the caramel burn I sustained today-tips of my fingers-I knew it would be fleeting pain, and that it was a careless mistake- one second of not focusing. The need to be focused all the time keeps me hooked, to be that present in the moment, constantly re-evaluating your product and process....