Catch Up 12-29-10

I started in this industry exactly the same as a lot of you, washing dishes in a Mom and Pop restaurant waiting for the cook to no show, or mouth off to the owner so I could get my shot at the big time cooking on the line.  When my shot happened I was ready to move in and be the new guy cooking the hamburgers and dropping frys during a slow Monday night dinner service.  I knew enough to get the job done and was too dumb to realize how much I didn’t know about the wonderful world of culinary arts.  As time went by and I continued cooking I kept learning and adding to my skills as a cook.  Eventually I moved to Rhode Island to attend culinary school, here I began to understand something very important about our industry and learning.  Once I started going to classes I realized that there was far more information about cooking than my instructors were going to possibly be able to cover.  I started reading everything I could find to make myself a better chef, and that has been a habit I have carried with me.  I started telling myself that any day without learning something that makes me a better chef was not worth waking up for.  I still make sure that I learn something new in the industry every day. 

If you are going to invest at least 40 hours a week into something why not try to be the best you can at it.  Reading is a great place to start.  When I talk to young culinarians that is one of the first things I talk about is constantly reading and gaining knowledge.  I always tried to be the most knowledgeable person in the kitchen, when you go in as a sales person why not have that drive and desire to be the most knowledgeable person in that kitchen every time.  From  knowing the difference in a Norkotah and Burbanks, or where a hanger steak comes from be knowledgeable about your products and your sales will increase, I would rather deal with a rep that knows and understands his product than one than constantly has to, “check on it”.  The great thing about it is no one can force you to do it, you control it, your drive, your pace, and no one else can do it for you.  If you have the desire to be the best you have to work at it.