Chef shawn & his craft

They’re twenty six years old and their entire heart is in their craft. Some people can’t see it, and expect a result different than the one shown in fine dining, the one connected to passion. There are things like ‘perfection according to calculation’, mathematics and science and that sort of thing. There are also things like ‘perfection in art’, which lends us the appreciation of abstract art and the unknown. We can consider ourselves foodies, and take a menu and dissect it, and we can also consider ourselves a lover of food, and take an evening like we just had and consider it paradise. 

I went out for supper with my new lover, in a city I’d never eaten out in before. Not like this, at least. He took me to the restaurant he had worked at before, at first just to meet his fellow cooks, but upon arrival we realised this was where we would have our night of culinary delights. And what a night it was. The intimacy that a meal prepared lovingly by someone as committed to their careers as some chefs truly are, is singular in experience. How does one trust a person they have never met, to provide a meal to be remembered?

I don’t expect a twelve course meal to have every multitude of components be as perfect as humanly possible. No, in fact I hoped for small things that I as a chef could notice and learn from. This is something I feel that the general public doesn’t see or understand, and this is where I come in as a writer. Our chef that night took the time to introduce each dish to us themselves. I could see as they twirled their feet in nervousness, how much each course meant to them. Being that we were part of the ‘team’ and had a level of connection to the restaurant’s inner workings more than most, I got to see firsthand, and be reminded, of youths' vibrancy in their craft. It saddens me when people don’t quite comprehend what goes into an epicurean experience.

Next time you go somewhere fancy to eat, and start to wonder what went through that chef’s mind in creating a dish, a recipe, or even a new cocktail, please take the time to also remember that every artist has fear of critique, no matter how welcoming you may wish it to be. Gratitude, appreciate their bravery to present their heart on a plate. Take the time to revel in the intimacy of a chef sharing their craft with you, a stranger and a friend all at once.