Things I’ve learnt from 7 days in the kitchen

1. Apologize and admit a mistake, and then do your best to fix it quickly and accurately. No time is wasted on tears, so just suck it up, admit you didn’t do it with as much swag as you wished to, and most importantly fix it because at the end of the day food is at the heart of service and that stuff needs to get out.

2. Be assertive. If you need something, someone’s gotta need it more. If you want something bad enough you will find a way to get it, whether its getting a job done or getting someone to admit to his mistake and fixing it. (And this is so difficult for me because I always put others needs and feelings before mine)

3. The Jerusalem artichoke is a species of sunflower native to eastern North America, and found from eastern Canada and Maine west to North Dakota, and south to northern Florida and Texas. Yup.

4. Importance of a mentor Mentors don’t just dish orders, they also give you trivia, they make you feel excited about the food and cooking, they facilitate learning and they understand the burning desire inside every chef. It’s important because one day you will follow after that mentor’s shoes and be educating someone, and its important that you learn the right way to.

5. Practice, practice, practice Only way to get better. And also its kind of masochistic but as a trainee sometimes the more work I get, the more meals I skip, the happier I am just because it means I get more practice and more stuff to work on= faster progress.

6. Sometimes you just have to depend on yourself for the answers For everything there is Google, until you start working in the kitchen. Then you realize you are on your own and some things just have to burn you, cut you, scald you and do all sorts of nasty shit on you. The good news is after that happens you remember it forever and Google has nothing on your experience. 

7. That the beginning of knowledge is knowing that there are far more things that you don’t know Being in the kitchen is humbling. You have to keep asking questions, keep listening for advice, keep reading books on your off days. DONT LICK THE LOLLIPOP OF MEDIOCRITY YOU’LL SUCK FOREVER

Basically, I want so desperately to get better every single day and I go home thinking there is always something I didn’t do well enough. 1ST WEEK DOWN, SETTING GOALS FOR NEXT WEEK. 

(somewhat) tired, but very contented. 

watching masterchef when joe said 






“i dont reward ambition”

realize how lucky and blessed i’ve been to have people trust me enough and give me opportunities when i’ve only ever started from ground zero

also, crying like a baby watching masterchef. either something is terribly wrong with me or its fucking good editing. either way, i just can’t wait to cook and work my ass off