My first post was an introduction, and my second was about mental preparation, and my third was about mood swings. Please follow me!
Cooking is hot. The amount of culinary tv programs seems to be ever-increasing, whether it’s mostly informative (Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals), competitive (Masterchef), or sensational reality tv (Kitchen Nightmares). Plenty of articles have been written on the subject, stating the ways in which it influences the way people cook and eat, and claiming that the amount of culinary tv being watched is increasing while the amount of time people spend actually cooking at home is decreasing.
But what if it’s not even about the food?
Since I came across the documentary series Chef’s Table on Netflix I’ve started to think that professional kitchens, their products, their employees and the few chefs that make their restaurants extraordinarily successful can teach us things about life and work that have nothing to do with cooking.
Each episode profiles one world-renowned chef. It beautifully shows their work and their vision, and lets them describe the roads they took to get to where they are. Their quotes can be seen beyond the culinary context and generalized to any other career or journey. Here are some examples, like what Magnus Nilsson says about life and work:
‘It’s very important to not just accept things the way they are, but to actually… like, the things you are intrigued by or interested in that you actually go and investigate. What’s there? And, why? And if it doesn’t make sense, how can I transform it to become greater?’
This is exactly what I want to keep doing in the field of psychology. Francis Mallmann spoke more about growing up:
'I wasn’t doing the right thing. I was just trying to copy everything I had learned. And I think that happens in every craft in life. You’re young, you have a master, you want to emulate him, do what he does. But at some point in life you have to turn around and say: I have to find my own way, my own language.'
'I make choices, and that’s such a beautiful thing about growing up. Learning to say ‘no’. To show who you are, even if it hurts.'
Massimo Bottura, owner and chef of what is currently the best restaurant in the world, keeps it simple:
'Happiness is much more deep and big if you share it with others.'
Regardless of their huge success, the chefs in Chef’s Table are constantly developing, searching, and still trying to improve their work. They all seem to advise: Ask questions, look at your field with childlike curiosity, try things, explore ideas and work together with a team.
Maybe people’s increasing attraction to the culinary arts is because it can be such a simple, helpful and beautiful metaphor of whatever we want to achieve ourselves.