Looking back on five decades of kitchen life, what provides the greatest memories, and a feeling of fulfillment are the people I met and those with whom I had the pleasure to work alongside. There is a kitchen culture that is most inspiring. I often reflect on the diversity of people and their backgrounds, the various reasons they tie on an apron, the team environment, and the transparent nature of the characters who cook and serve. You must experience it to see it and live it to understand it. Those who have invested the time are in many ways better individuals for having been part of the culture. As Bourdain once stated (and I paraphrase here) “Everything important that I know I learned washing dishes in a restaurant.” This refers to not the tasks necessarily (although there is much to learn there about the details, the interdependence, the need to be fast and organized, etc.), but the chance to learn about people and observe how we may all be different but can rally together in purpose.

         I would dare to say that one of the best ways to see past the differences whether it be age, gender, race, nationality, size, or ideology is to work together in a professional kitchen. The kitchen is a melting pot ecosystem that is best when viewed as a sum of the parts. It may be the skill or reputation of the chef that gives public relations power to a restaurant, but it is the cohesive nature of a team where each person contributes in their own way to the uniqueness of the operation and thus, creating its brand and how dining experiences come to life.

         I think most chefs would agree that differences don’t matter – what counts is a person’s attitude, willingness to learn, willingness to let anyone take the lead in the moment, support for each other, and commitment to playing their role to the very best of their ability that determines value to the operation. Those differences are the icing on the cake – the extra piece de resistance that sets the operation apart from the competition. To this end, those differences are not viewed as an impediment but rather a strength of the kitchen and the restaurant.

         Tap into that bank of memories for a few moments and bring back those people, events, challenges, opportunities, and situations where things were going sideways but someone with a unique attribute won the day. I’m sure there are many. Sometimes those unique characteristics lie dormant for months or years, UNTIL….an unexpected need gives those characteristics a chance to shine. Sometimes it’s more subtle – something that you learned from an individual that later found a place in your work or life. When that happens, you find a moment to smile and nod to yourself.

         I have had the pleasure to work with elder cooks who have been focused on kitchen life for decades. They may be a bit slower and occasionally need to step away from something that requires more youth, but their wisdom is impossible to deny. A simple word of advice, a reflection on the hundreds of times they have been in the same spot that you find yourself in right now. “Chef, I ran into that a few times in my career. This is what worked or didn’t work for me.” In that moment, your inability to tackle the issue without making a huge mistake was compensated by some else’s experience. They offered it with a simple willingness to share – what a gift it likely was. I have worked with cooks from Mexico, Haiti, Somalia, Poland, England, France, Italy, Australia, China, and Japan. They would become points of reference when attempting a new ethnically influenced dish that required an understanding of authenticity that I lacked. Their experiences and the nuances that they brought to the situation were priceless. Each time I listened, I learned how to become a better cook.

         There have been many moments when my lack of deep understanding led to insightful discussions with cooks and servers who lived whatever it was that I had only read about. There were truly educational discussions I had with Russian born servers who came to the U.S. for opportunity or to escape from oppressive situations yet were still deeply in love with their country. I recall my chats with cooks and chefs from France and Italy as we debated the existence of a real cuisine in America or how there was too little dedication to the craft in so many restaurants in the U.S. I remember with real interest, my talks with farmers, fish mongers, and cattle ranchers from whom I purchased ingredients and, in the process, built a much higher level of respect for their contribution. As a result, I understood that what chefs put on the plate is far more dependent on the work of these artisans than how we season and assemble the results.

         Over fifty-some-odd years I have hugged employees who struggled with addiction, family despair, loss of a friend, or mental and emotional challenges. I have consoled restaurateurs who put everything they had into their own little café or bistro only to realize that it wasn’t working, and they would have to close. The pain of those moments is impossible to understand unless you have put everything on the line as they did. There were too many moments when a great employee had to leave my kitchen and seek other employment simply because I couldn’t afford to pay them what they were worth. Losing a great team member is akin to losing a true friend – they are so hard to replace. There were, of course, many moments when my anger over an employee who disappointed the team by failing to show up to work, by not applying their best effort, or coming to work under the influence set the team up for failure. In those moments I learned more about myself and how I needed to approach those situations without anger and seek to find the cause of their actions.

         In the end, there have been so many people with whom I would stand in battle. People who understood their importance to something bigger than them, who shared a vision of doing something essential and inspiring through their work. These are the people of my memories; these are the people who, to me, represent the heart and soul of the restaurant business. When asked, far too many times by friends and family members, why did I work those crazy hours, give up so much, and dedicate so much of who I am to this “job”; I could only shake my head and say: “because of these people who share a need to be together.” I don’t know how else to describe it. This goes way beyond feeling that it is a requirement of the job. We don’t engage at this level for just a paycheck, it’s because of the culture of the kitchen.

         I miss these people, that’s why I continue to write about them and the environment where they work. It is an exercise that keeps me connected to the thousands of kitchen people who fill my life – the ones who assemble those beautiful, delicious plates of food that guests expect without really understanding what’s behind them.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

“Work Hard and be Kind” – Dick Cattani

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