an earlier post referenced "the soul of a chef" - i'm finally getting towards the end and came across a stunning passage. thomas keller (see previous post dream dinner) recalls how he once asked his purveyor to send him live rabbits instead of well, parts. he wanted to learn how the freshest food was actually killed and dressed. he relates a startling session with the bunnies, how they screamed louder than the milk pitchers at fair trade coffee at central and portland. (baristas there please reference previous post!!!) but the respect he gained for the food he was creating exponentially increased. his obsession with never wasting anything useable from any item of food...
his head sous chef talks about a stage at a michelin rated french restaurant where he was in charge of cleaning and dressing $11.00/pound produce. where he quickly learned the respect necessary for such a commodity. returning to the states, he treated $2.90/pound asparagus the exact same way, out of respect that he learned for the entire process, the entire goal of beautiful nutrition, the entire goal of doing his best at everything.
eat food that makes you cry when you taste it because it's beautiful. not for convenience... i've driven by THOSE stockyards in texas along the interstate. but the places that actually understand what they do to lives, have respect for them, and use all of the lives that they take with dignity and grace.
the basics of intense gourmet cooking can be directly applied to real life. pay attention to the basics. don't waste what you are given, at any price. clarity trumps complexity. cleanliness is next to alice cooper-ness. take pride in every move, and make every move perfect grace. love what you are creating.
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