At its heart, making food is a very simple, inherent skill that most people possess. The ability and desire to do it for a living, though, lives only in the heart of a few. We are a breed all to ourselves.
I have been blessed to work with very talented chefs and a lot of great cooks. There is one thing they all have in common — Passion! Working as a pro has a way of quickly weeding out the imposters and tourists — including the ones that are paycheck driven — not in it for a higher reason.
A passionate cook says bring it on! Let the burn scars be badges of honor.
Most cooks or chefs that have been in the business for a while will tell young cooks to get out while they can! Get out before the madness takes over and their world starts to revolve around the space they are cooking in. Get out before their entire career will be met with suspicion from their family, “Is this really a career?” Get out before their once reliable body turns on them by age 26 and 50 seems a lifetime away.
Most people will run. A passionate cook says bring it on! Let the burn scars be badges of honor.
A passionate, crazy at times, talented cook will sacrifice for the love of the art — not for the money, not for the fame, and certainly not for the approval of their family. They will walk a lonely road with their passion, joined only occasionally by a few people along the way with the same fire burning within for the art and the love food and what it can do.
Cooking is the easy part. Cooking for a living takes passion.
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The Local Stir is the regular column of Natasha Frost, Brigitte Rasmussen, and Nicole Lange who all happen to have Wooden Spoon in common. At its heart, The Local Stir is about food culture and life in the kitchen but along the way you’ll be touched by the personal lives of all three contributors as well as being stirred by some of their other passions.
