Femme In The FIRE

*Returning Chef's message: "Please call me back as soon as possible."

Chef: So, are you ready to work for Norman's?

Me: Yes, Chef! I am SO extremely ready.

Chef: Well, this is the call I promised you. Welcome to the team!

I could not be any more elated. :)

Same advice I get from every single professional cook I speak to. The allure of culinary school is still present for me though, albeit for recreational purposes only. How fun would it be to learn technique in a setting so placid, not in the frantic environment of a kitchen? The reality, however, is that the kitchen IS frantic. It's hot. The tickets come quickly. A realist I am and continue to be. And so, what better way to learn than to be directly in the fire?

A beautiful piece written by Sara Jenkins, owner of Porchetta (which I passed by frequently and regrettably never tried) and Porsena in NYC.

I suppose I fit many of the qualifications she sees as to why an individual would desire to be in this industry: one who isn't comfortable with office jobs or normal schedules, one who isn't ordinary, one who is supporting an extraordinary ambition for something else. I have pondered the sacrifice of restaurant life often times before. To be honest, it does make me anxious to think of what it takes to be included and successful in this type of life. The long nights, the meager pay, the physical laboriousness of it all. As a young woman, I also ponder what is required of me to one day become a loving, providing and nurturing mother and wife in the future. It seems as though these two lives are at opposite ends of the spectrum. Alas, I am only one person.

Perhaps one day I will be able to achieve both in harmony, or at least incorporate my passion for food into a role I finally admit I desire. But, right now, when I step into that kitchen, I wonder why I spent so much time out of it in my life, why I hadn't been where I always belonged.