Why this? Why me? Why. Why. Why.

Why do I cook? That was Richie’s question on Linecook. Why do you do what you do?

And he had some great answers...its easy, you feel comfortable in the kitchen, you like the rush, you’re on parole...etc...and he had a good explanation...that there are many reasons for each and every one of us.

So why do you cook chef?

well...when asked that during interviews...or whatnots, I usually say that I have been cooking since I was a wee lad and grew up around food and foodservice (parents doing small time catering and wedding cakes); but if you went back through the blog you might come across the fact that I have said that I did not grow up in a foodie family...that dining wasn’t the social point of the day and that the kitchen wasn’t the focal point of the house. So why do I cook?

its easy...and I am lazy.

But aren’t the hours long, the work hard, and dirty, and depressing? Dont you get tired of doing the same thing everyday, and not getting the money that all friends who went to college with you are making now? How can you say it is easy?

Well...yes to all of the above...but....

Do you know someone who does a particular thing really well or without effort? Has it always grated you that you cant do it as well? Or think about the ’instinctual’ pilots, or the race care drivers who have the ’inborn talent’....

Well, I am not going to say I am Picasso, or bach, or a cook even in the ranks of those you have heard about...(TK, DB, SFL, etc)

but...

I do have the potential to be one of those...if I wasn’t so lazy...just like I could probably have been a national contender in college fencing, if I had applied myself and taken it seriously...same with being a musician...I dont like to practice...so there was no where for me to go but where I was...

So maybe that is it...I dont take it seriously...but I do have some skills...you know...nunchuk skills, ninja assassin skills...no really...I can walk into almost any kitchen and work any line. I can know where things are...can feel how it goes...I can see what is wrong...that is what I mean by it being easy...its called kitchen awareness...and I have buckets full of it...

I also have a very low self esteem...and some other negative personality disorders that will probably keep me from my fullest potential, but then again, dont we all?

So why cooking?

Because when it came down to choosing what I had to do with my life...this was the easiest choice (see there is that being lazy thing again). It was this or teach high school English...or write technical manuals...or work in retail. And I like all those things mentioned before...the rush, the work, the pursuit of a smooth service, the comradery, the monkey business, the grab ass...which I guess I could have gotten in the military...which, as we all know, is based on working in a kitchen...but really...since I am not competitive, and even though I would have no qualms about killing you if you needed killing, I dont really want to...so I guess the military was out...and the competitive thing took away some of the gung ho and drive for doing anything remotely requiring it. Such as sales...or advertising...or being a professional athlete...

So it was cooking or bank robbing...but who can tell the difference.

Cooking is easy...you look, listen, smell, feel, and taste. Thats the craft of it...just like any craft...woodworking, widget making, boat building. You eat sleep breathe smell like what you do. I cook. I am not an artist.

I do however agree completely with Richie that we love to wallow in our own misery..."its hot"...well stay outta the kitchen. "I cut my thumb", well sear it on the flattop and keep working...he sums it up like this...

"One reason we cook is because we’re masochistic martyrs. No, no, you guys go out and have a nice Friday night. I’m going to stay here and put myself under intense pressure and intense heat, and fight and struggle so you can have a good time. I’m going to miss out on all the fun stuff you go do, but that’s ok. I want you to have a good time. Good times would be wasted on me. And besides, I kind of like the nightly struggle...it makes me all tingly inside. In fact, you might say we crave that panicky feeling right before service."

We like to be who we are...even when we are complaining the loudest about it...

and then there is this...

"The truth is there is no one answer. We don’t have any preset answers to why we cook. We do it because it gives us an overwhelming sense of compassion and camaraderie...and pride. We do it because it’s our outlet--the place we find our peace. (even if that peace comes in the midst of a roomful of guests and 35 plates to pick up) It’s our way of connecting to the world we sometimes feel removed from. Lastly, cliché as it may sound, we do it out of love."

The real reason...

I cook because I love it.