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You know you are a chef when you…
Published
7 years agoon
Posted By
Outlaw PartnersBy Scott Mechura EBS Food Columnist
“Chef” can be a relative title. Occasionally, chef positions are merely the most experienced cook in the kitchen, one who cooks on the line, side by side with his staff on a daily basis.
Some chefs divide their days between cooking on the line and a host of other daily duties. Others still have such large or streamlined operations that they rarely even touch food, but rove around to touch all the areas under their management umbrella.
Once, on a TV program highlighting the then brand-new Venetian hotel and casino in Las Vegas, the executive chef said he never has a knife in his hand, but rather a clipboard, two-way radio, and cell phone. My guess is he will never require a gym membership, and puts an average of 12 miles per day on his feet.
But spend enough time in a kitchen and the following statements will all come true, no matter the specifics of a chef’s environment.
Unless the restaurant is closed, you always wonder when you’ll get the text or call to come in.
You continuously hear the kitchen printer, which prints food tickets no matter what other noise is going on. Sometimes you hear it in your sleep. Like it’s speaking to you directly.
You will also hear any timer, anywhere, for that matter.
You constantly have some degree of burn or cut on your hands or arms, and at times other places. And you’ve unfortunately learned that cutting a burn hurts worse than burning a cut.
You eat so many of your meals standing up that your body begins to prefer it.
You have Sharpie markers everywhere: in your briefcase, your car, various drawers at home and your pocket at all times.
The term family meal has nothing to do with blood relatives.
You always smoke up your home because, well, that’s just how a piece of meat should be seared in cast iron.
You forget what it’s like to celebrate any holiday, wedding, funeral or birthday with anyone.
Ironically, most people use the white noise of a fan to help them sleep at night, yet, a chef associates the white noise with the hood fans they hear all day, every day. And it isn’t calming, but rather it makes us think of the energy and chaos from work.
No one you know has sharp knives in their kitchen. Or they have the kind that has tiny little serrated edges on them. And if we’re forced to use them, we die a little bit inside every time we hold one.
You can hand a chef nearly anything and they can figure out a way to use it to replace the broken knob on the stove.
You’ve worked with someone somewhere who says they had a long day and goodnight as they are leaving. And you think to yourself that you still have two more hours worth of work. Then you remember you saw them arrive to work after you’ve been there for two hours.
When you are over to dinner at anyone else’s house and they’re cutting vegetables, you can’t help but think to yourself, “You’re doing that wrong.”
Believe me, many qualities identify you as a chef, so I will revisit this topic from time to time.
Scott Mechura has spent a life in the hospitality industry. He is a former certified beer judge and currently the Executive Chef at Buck’s T-4 Lodge in Big Sky.
The Outlaw Partners is a creative marketing, media and events company based in Big Sky, Montana.
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We all are familiar with using a limited palette, but do you use one? Do you know how to use a
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We all are familiar with using a limited palette, but do you use one? Do you know how to use a limited palette to create different color combinations? Are you tired of carrying around 15-20 different tubes when you paint plein air? Have you ever wanted to create a certain “mood” in a painting but failed? Do you create a lot of mud? Do you struggle to achieve color harmony? All these problems are addressed in John’s workbook in clear and concise language!
Based on the bestselling “Limited Palatte, Unlimited Color” workbook written by John Pototschnik, the workshop is run by Maggie Shane and Annie McCoy, accomplished landscape (acrylic) and plein air (oil) artists,exhibitors at the Big Sky Artists’ Studio & Gallery and members of the Big Sky Artists Collective.
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Each day, we will create a different limited palette color chart and paint a version of a simple landscape using John’s directives. You will then be able to go home and paint more schemes using the book for guidance.
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