That instant karma That always comes too late

composure. It's what separates good cooks from great ones. It's that quality that causes a guest to sit and watch, transfixed by the grace and elegance of a dinner service. It's certainly not the most important quality for a cook to have...but it's something that kitchen lifers immediately recognize and come to respect in their peers.

When I started cooking, my only goal was to be fast. Aside from not working clean and generally spinning around in my head, I probably looked like I was having a seizure. Then I started to notice the other cooks around me that were better than me. They were so collected...so expressionless. Did they just not care as much as me? Did they just not take things as seriously? Well, no. They just knew what they were doing. As my sous chef at that time said to me: "You don't want to look like a little bitch."

Time passed on, and as I slowly came to find a comfortable place in my own skin, my movements became more relaxed, but my head didnt. I still felt like I was one step away from flipping over my cutting board, throwing my salt at the food runner, and fist and elbowing my way out of the front door. It would take lying to myself to cure it; daily affirmations of "You're on control, you can cook, you're a motherfucking handsome badass." It sounds ridiculous. It was. And it worked.

Finding a way to be composed makes the other cooks look differently at you. The crew will respect you, your chef will be quietly impressed by you, and your skills will improve. You'll have more energy. And you'll know what to tell homeboy when he starts to lose it.

So how do you deal wih it? Where do you find your place of balance? How do you compose yourself when things get crazy?

brit made rice crispy treats.. i played jenga and ate them! they were heavenly! you did well Miss Brit thank you!!!!

as we prepare for the move we are counting down the days till opening.. times at iggys is at a all time high right now. everyone is excited to get the move over and done with so we can all focus on what we do best COOK!

by this time next week we'll be moved out and unpacking. I AM VERY THRILLED to be part of this process and a part of history at iggys!

riday and Saturday service was the busiest we've been in a while.. Friday was a start of a fun weekend. 20 min before service our induction burners went down. A LOUD BURST of thunder sound, made me jump 5 feet in the arms of Batu.. I was caught off guard. What do we do? set up the portable catering stoves on the line and make that magic happen.. it was a long night of service but we managed to please the guest and put out the quality of food we are used to putting out. Upon arriving on sat service the tech guys were "fixing" the stove.. they packed up and everything was ready to roll.. POP! another night with no induction and another night of the portables..

you learn to adapt in situations like these.. it brings our primitive nature out and the fundamentals of cooking back and staying ahead of the flow.. it also took alot out of us mentally setting up for the fires and what not.. but it was good to be in the weeds and find our way out at points in the night.

cheers and will keep you posted with the grand opening!

i love butchering

http://proteinuniversity.com/videos

"There's a map of the world

on the wall in your room

Green pins where ya wanna go

White pins where ya been

there isn't even ten,

you're already feeling old

Pretty faces stare back

from a magazine stack

that you read when

you're feeling bored

Look through a telescope lens

it doesn't make sense

you think you've been there before "monsters of folk

MONKEY