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Welcome To My World

A Chefs Story

By Thomas DoylePublished 3 years ago 5 min read
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Welcome To My World
Photo by Hemant Latawa on Unsplash

Welcome To My World-A Chefs Story

As the saying goes…” If you do what you love, you will never work a day in your life”. One can find passion in many things throughout this journey we call life and lucky for me, I have found mine. I am a chef.

I do not consider it work…it is my daily physical and mental challenge. I do not consider it a job…it is my creative craft that allows me to express and transmit pleasures I feel, to your senses. I do not consider it stressful…it enables me to become more relaxed in my kitchen than anywhere else. This has been my world, the pleasure has been all mine…and much like my food, I wish to share this passion I have with you.

Food service is not for everybody.

The culinary profession is not an easy path. The work can be physically hard. The hours required are long and demanding. Night, weekend, and holiday shifts…the times “normal” people are off work, are primary and fully expected. The monetary compensation is such that you are far more likely to be driving a VW rather than a BMW, if you can afford to drive at all. Typically, you start at the bottom…some move upward, most move outward. One thing I find amusing these days is the attitudes of the younger generations who are influenced to join this crazy business with aspirations of television cooking show deals and expectations of celebrity chef status on their horizon as if the fame and fortune is all a part of becoming a chef. I would suggest a high school athlete has better odds of a career in the NFL or NBA than of a chef achieving household name recognition.

My start began at an early age. Somewhere in between a fascination in seeing how a simple light bulb could transform a small cake in my sisters’ toy “Easy-Bake Oven” and into the many afternoons and evenings spent in my father’s pizzeria learning to toss pizza dough, I had been severely bitten by the culinary bug. School learning became increasingly of less interest as the desire to create tasty things to eat flourished beyond my imagination. I would work those long and hard hours and I would find many mentors along the way who would share their own knowledge and passion with me. Even in the early days, despite often working to the point of near exhaustion, it really did not seem like work. After all, I was not ditch-digging or hauling bricks…I was cooking, and people were enjoying my food.

Choosing never to indulge in the behaviors of the heroin junkie or cocaine abuser, I am not qualified to speak of the stranglehold those type addictions do have on their users, but my culinary passion does have what I feel is a very intense addictive influence. When I am not cooking, I want to be. When I am not in the kitchen cooking, I am either writing or thinking about what will come next when I am there. My reasons are many. Despite the negatives associated with the duties of being a chef, the numerous personal satisfactions go far beyond time and money.

Talent on loan from God.

We all have special talents. Discovering what those talents are and developing them are inherent to living a good life…to finding true happiness. In acting upon those gifts you have been given, you become able to best understand one of life’s real meanings…gaining self-fulfillment by serving others.

In the chef business, such satisfaction and fulfillment come in various forms.

It can be therapeutic…the process of mixing and kneading bread doughs, then watching it rise and ultimately baking into a delicious bread that becomes the starting point of guest satisfaction and enjoyment.

It is artistic…naturally creative, I have long described how I present dishes as my signature art. The plates being my canvas…the food my paint. While it is crucial the foods prepared meet high standards of quality, freshness, and great taste, presenting them in a colorful and eye-appealing fashion guarantees a “wow” factor leaving customers impressed and incredibly pleased. The same holds true in the catering end of the business. Artistically designed banquet displays immediately tell guests the meal will be fantastic, far before the first bite is ever taken.

It is educational…being a chef requires on-going learning and enrichment that never ends. I am so often asked what my signature dish or food is. The reality is I do not have only one. Instead, I always strive for authenticity in the cuisines I am preparing. Learning of different cuisines leads to learning of different food origins and cultures. Having such curiosity about history, how and what people eat gives an incredibly fascinating insight into the lives of people around the world. And the education goes both ways. While learning how the world eats increases my personal knowledge, it is equally satisfying, like the mentors that taught me through the years, to teach others my craft. Knowing there are others in the industry that I have helped in their careers creates a feeling that is something that money just cannot buy.

It comes from within.

I have indeed found my calling. A passion that feeds my desires to work with my hands, to learn, to grow. In doing so, I get to help others, and most importantly experience the joy others feel when they are so pleased with what I have been able to give them. It is not a place I go or something I do to find inner peace…when I am cooking for others, I am already there.

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About the Creator

Thomas Doyle

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