Why I like to cook for a career......

I may not be the biggest reader around but I do enjoy a good book every now and again , and nothing beats a great auto biography especially by a hero of mine Anthony Bourdain who shares two of my favorite past times namely creative writing and cooking ( not specifically in that order though)

I would like to start by saying that if you have never been in the underworld of the food service industry Anthony Bourdain books could be a real eye opener for people like you who don't quite understand what people like me have been through and go through everyday , as for the people who have worked and are a part of this industry the Kitchen Confidential books will put a smile on your face because you will understand.

I always get this question from many different people " why would you do this for a living ?"

lets look at the facts it makes no sense, low pay , long hours , little or no social life (no weekends modern society says you should have) as well as coming home smelling like whatever food product you have been working with and to top it all off loads of stress everyday for what ?

To put everything into perspective it is the little positive things that make this career worthwhile, it's the little rewards and none are put into words better than a passage out of the Medium Raw novel by Anthony Bourdain where he explains what he misses about being a chef  and this pretty much sums up why I love it so much ......

"What do I miss , I tell them, and will always miss, is that first pull on a cold beer after work. That is irreplaceable. Nothing approaches that. That's the kind of satisfaction no bestseller can ever beat-no television show, no crowd, no nothing. That single moment after a long busy night, sitting down at the bar with your colleagues, wiping the sweat off your neck, taking a deep breath, with unspoken congratulations all round-and  then that first sip of cold, cold, beer.

It tastes like victory. 

You look at each other with intense camaraderie of people who've suffered together and think,

we did well tonight. We will go home proud.

There are nods and half smiles. A sigh . Maybe even a groan of relief.

Once again. We survived. We did well. 

We're still here. "