How Does it Happen?

Magic... How does it happen?

As I sit here contemplating my last few days as a line cook and I begin to think of my new foray into the world of an Executive Chef, I find my self somewhat anxious.  I've kinda been here before.  In my previous job, they called me a Sous... I think that's just a French term created to poke fun at garbage men... "here, take all of this stuff that is about to be thrown out and make sure we don't have to do that."  Actually, I'm pretty good at that.  That's where I excel.  I've never been really patient with recipes.  Anyone who has ever cooked with me knows that.  Sometimes, I don't even believe in them.  Maybe an existential crisis between my brain and my intuition... who knows? 

But now...  now, I have to be the one to write those things.  The things that I secretly loathe to my core. I'm not looking for miracles, but I am looking for magic.  How does one train their brain to listen to their intuition, formalize that gut feeling, quantify it, and write it down so that anyone can repeat it?  I often joke that I've never cooked the same food twice.  More a statement of fact than a simple joke...  And how, when creating something that comes from my heart, do I find a way to make people understand that this dish was created with love and passion?  This is my conundrum...

Now, I fully understand that not everyone who works in a professional kitchen shares the same level of intensity that I have for this craft that I was born to do.  But how do I make them feel mine?  How do I make them understand that we are not just slopping food on a plate?  How do I get them to recognize that food is art. Food is a craft.  It isn't to be mistreated and looked upon with angst and disdain.  It is about putting love in front of your guest and having them feel that love with every bite.  It is about them wanting to come back and feel that same love every time they sit down. 

I want to be a great teacher of this.  More than anything, I want to have people that can translate what I conceptualize, what I write down, and what I feel into something that they too will feel the love from.  That's what cooking is to me.  That is where my journey begins... trusting that I can do it, that I can teach it, and that they can feel it.  I guess that is where the magic happens...