Special Times
We are approaching the crazy special time of year for a chef…and a gardener. The gardener is maybe finishing a harvest, saving seeds of those special items and planning for a future crop, starting over with a new crop for cooler weather ahead, or starting and finishing all at the same time. It’s sometimes the favorite time of year, new beginnings and fresh endings, the circle of life from that famous Disney movie. We rest some spaces to nourish, relish the harvest and enjoy the cooler times working in the garden. The gardener and chef are always in a similar plight.
The Chef, he finishes a meal service, a banquet, a catered affair, then heads off to start the next one. While perhaps pondering a moment of success, the next challenge lies ahead. The holidays are upon us. From Halloween to Valentine’s Day, this is a chef’s time to shine, to be their busiest, and in today’s economy, to be mindful to save for later. Why do we do this? Passion and success…for riches do follow those with both of these attributes. While many chefs will reach for the network fame, few find that immortality in someone’s living room, instead we strive to make them happy in our own facility. Less fame, less fortune, but passion and success are still ours. While we all settle into our right of passage and place in the world of gardening and culinary, then ponder our impacts….I leave you with this: In Modesto, we strive to create and inspire greatness….and we have students inching closer to appearing on hell’s kitchen. I guess we have done well to inspire, to plant a seed, to harvest something special.
That something special….A student who reaches for a dream and works hard to find success.
