Harvest America CUES BLOG

kitchen life

  • PROMISES MADE; PROMISES KEPT

    Harvest America Cues Blog is back! I hope you enjoy this first article after a two-month respite. As a cook or chef, what is your promise to yourself? This may seem like a strange question unworthy of investing time, but… Continue reading

  • IT’S THE KITCHEN PEOPLE I MISS

    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… Continue reading

  • THE IMPORTANT THINGS I LEARNED IN THE KITCHEN

    Maybe I tend to quote Bourdain too much, but he comes from a real place. Unlike some who may speak of kitchen and restaurant life, he was there and learned about life while standing in front of a range cranked… Continue reading

  • THANKS TO MILLIE, THE BREAKFAST COOK

    We all have someone to thank – that person who started this whole obsession with being in the kitchen, the one who lit the fire and pushed us forward when we may have seemed a bit directionless. Sure, there were… Continue reading

  • COOKS AND CHEFS – THINK ABOUT THE STORY BEHIND WHAT YOU SEE

    Some of you may be too young to know the band – The Moody Blues, but their lyrics always inspired me, especially during challenges that life occasionally brings. One such lyric asked us to view the story in peoples eyes… Continue reading

  • A COOK’S ANXIETY – A MOMENT IN TIME

    It’s 5:15, 120 degrees in front of the battery of ranges, and sweat is pouring down every cook’s back, dripping off their foreheads. This is moment in time, like the starting line for an important race, when adrenaline is pulsing… Continue reading

  • WHY I LOVE TO CALL MYSELF A COOK

    I haven’t walked through those professional kitchen doors for quite some time now – my tenure as a chef ended a few years back. Even though I am not clocked in – I still cook every day and still reflect… Continue reading

  • A LINE COOK’S VIEW OF SUMMER MONTHS

    It’s pushing 10 a.m. when an evening line cook finally rolls out of bed. The July sun is starting to really show its ability to bear down with penetrating heat and the humidity is bringing those first beads of sweat… Continue reading

  • THE PERSONAL CHEMISTRY OF THE KITCHEN

    I can only speak to my own experiences and as a result formulate and support my own beliefs about immigration and the value of diversity. As I have said many times before – I feel that the greatest advantage of… Continue reading

  • ANTHONY BOURDAIN – OUR STORYTELLER

    I was beginning to write my weekly blog article when the news came regarding the apparent suicide of Anthony Bourdain. Shock would be an under-statement. I am still trying to digest the news and felt that it was maybe important… Continue reading

  • CHEFS – HOW STABLE ARE WE – REALLY?

    If you are a chef I know that you have experienced it many times – people around you who shake their heads and wonder what’s wrong with you. They are astonished at the hours you work, the physical and mental… Continue reading

  • COOKS FINDING THEIR PURPOSE

    When all is said and done, when we push aside the challenges that face us as career cooks, when you take the time to brush aside those things that can be pointed to as “negative”, there is a common bond… Continue reading

  • CHEFS – TWELVE SUREFIRE WAYS TO LOSE GOOD EMPLOYEES

    A common complaint from chefs and restaurateurs is that they can’t hang on to employees. The blame game always includes pointing a finger at those who leave claiming that they are ungrateful, lazy, uncommitted to their field, or just incompetent… Continue reading

  • WHAT LINE COOKS BELIEVE – FACTS AND ALTERNATIVE FACTS

    At the core of every person is a foundation of beliefs. Some of those beliefs are based on facts and experience while others are somewhat hollow beliefs that are loosely based on perceptions rather than a deeper understanding. Perceptions left… Continue reading

  • A CHEF’S THOUGHTS ON IMMIGRATION AND DIVERSITY

    Every day that I walked into a kitchen, from the time I was a 15-year old dishwasher with working papers, I saw something that made me feel special. It was the sense of camaraderie, the feeling that we were all… Continue reading

  • THE EVOLUTION OF A COOK

    “It has taken nearly 15 years, but here I am – Executive Chef of a busy, quality restaurant in the middle of downtown Manhattan. Not too shabby, but maybe I could take a few moments to reflect back on what… Continue reading

  • BEING A LINE COOK SPOILS YOU FOR OTHER JOBS

    Whatever the reason, some find themselves working behind the range – a place that is unique to most any other. “Why am I here” may be a question that line cooks ask themselves on occasion, but for the most part,… Continue reading

  • SEEING THE WORLD THROUGH THE KITCHEN LENS

    One of the worst mistakes anyone can make each day is to turn on the news. If there were good news in the world, you would be hard put to notice through the media. If there were a rise in… Continue reading

  • DIGGING DEEP: THE LIFE OF A LINE COOK

    I thought that I would re-post an old series that was presented through Harvest America Cues a few years back.  As I continue to marvel at the focused life of line cooks I was compelled to introduce this story (one… Continue reading