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Amuse-bouche
Published
9 years agoon
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Outlaw Partners“Congratulations, you are now never off [work]”
By Scott Mechura Explore Big Sky Food Columnist
As anyone in the hospitality industry knows, the workweek is far longer than 40 hours. Chefs have known this for decades.
This is not to say that fellow hospitality peers don’t share the same schedule, because most of the time they do. It’s common to hit the 40-hour mark with a couple days left to go in the week.
In today’s society, professionals have increasingly demanding work lives and schedules as well. There simply aren’t enough hours in the day for work, families and personal lives. But aside from the physical time spent at our jobs, what about the time spent on our jobs?
When I travel with friends on vacation, by about the fourth or fifth day the shine wears off and they start talking about all the work piling up when they return to the office. It feels good to realize in those moments that there essentially is no work stacking up for me when I return to the kitchen.
As chefs we realize, historically, that work stays at work. Our industry has a clear beginning and end to the day. Sure there’s some pre-vacation prep work to be done, but after all we can’t take the ovens home with us, right?
Thanks (thanks?!) to smartphones, laptops, and our society demanding immediate satisfaction, we’re connected 24-7, and it’s increasingly easy to take our work home with us. Why should I sit in an office working on my staff’s schedule or writing a special menu while years of humming hood fans in the distance slowly deteriorate my hearing? I can bring my laptop home and work on a menu or my schedule for the week. But should I?
In the days before smartphones were commonplace, a previous employer once upgraded me from a mobile phone to a Blackberry. I had it about an hour or so and was still trying to figure out its nuances when I received my first email from my boss. It simply read, “Congratulations, you are now never off.”
Unless you’re an NFL quarterback like Payton Manning, who seems to constantly study his craft, most of us try to achieve balance in our lives. My workplace is a steady beehive of activity. Even a slow day isn’t slow, and there’s constantly something to do.
But it’s the unplugging that allows me to then plug back in more effectively. It took me a long time and some “encouragement” from my wife to figure this out. And I’m a better person for it.
I believe it’s important to set some company (or personal, if you are self-employed) ground rules for being “off” from work. We can take our work home with us, but is it worth the time spent working in our own home environment? There’s a reason one is called work and the other is called home.
Until I decide one day to bring one of Buck’s ovens home with me, I intend to keep it that way.
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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February 26 (Monday) - April 21 (Sunday)
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Saturday, March 23rd 6:00-8:00pm We will combine the heart-opening powers of cacao with the transcendental powers of breathwork and sound. Together, these practices will give us the opportunity for a deep
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Saturday, March 23rd 6:00-8:00pm
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March 23 (Saturday) 6:00 pm - April 23 (Tuesday) 8:00 pm
Location
Santosha Wellness Center
169 Snowy Mountain Circle
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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.
Each student will receive a copy of “Limited Palette, Unlimited Color” to keep and take home to continue your limited palette journey. We will show you how to use the color wheel and mix your own clean mixtures to successfully create a mood for your paintings.
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.
Workshop is open to painters (oil or acrylic) of any level although students must have some basic knowledge of the medium he or she uses. Students will be provided the book ($92 value), color wheel, value scale and canvas papers to complete the daily exercises.
Sundays, April 14, 21 and 28, 2024
Noon until 6PM.
$170.
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14 (Sunday) 12:00 pm - 28 (Sunday) 6:00 pm
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Come join us at Cowboy Coffee as we celebrate a fun night of drinks, games, and meeting others within the community. This event is from 6-8 and all are welcome
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Come join us at Cowboy Coffee as we celebrate a fun night of drinks, games, and meeting others within the community. This event is from 6-8 and all are welcome to come, if you don’t know who to bring come alone this is a great mixer event! This is an event hosted by Big Sky OUT as we work to provide queer safe spaces throughout the community.
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(Sunday) 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
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Cowboy Coffee
25 Town Center Ave. Big Sky, MT 59716