06.08.07
One Year of Deglazed
Yesterday was the one year anniversary of Deglazed. Wow, how far we’ve come in that time!
I started out with only the idea I was going to try and become a chef, and I was still in culinary school. A year later, I have worked in three kitchens, am a culinary school graduate (you may all call me “Chef Matt” now…
) and am now working as a kitchen manager in my current job. You can see how much things have changed from this excerpt from my first post:
I’m not going to lie to you - at no point in this blog I hope - I am scared out of my ever-loving mind. I have a wife, a house, a salary, a retirement plan and all the cushy accoutrements that my friends and I like to refer to as “the golden handcuffs”. To put it simply, I am really throwing a monkey wrench in my own life here and for no other good reason than I simply want to follow my dream.
Sure, I still left a lot of “comfort” behind, but I’m no longer scared of the unknown as I now know what it is I have to deal with daily. I’ve learned a lot - and learn more every day – that’s helped me to feel comfortable with this new life I’ve created for myself.
![]() You’re all Lebowski achievers in my book! |
Also, I have to thank all you loyal readers and commenters for making this blog a fun, interactive, and hopefully informative resource. Sure, my wife has gotten made at me at times for coming home at the end of along night, only to have me go straight to the computer to write down my latest mess-ups on the line for your reading enjoyment. But all the same, that is what has kept it as true-to-life as I want this blog to be. If I were not showing you the real adventures as they happen, then this blog would serve no purpose at all.
And of course, thank you all for making this blog the winner for the Best of Blogs award in the Food, Wine and Cooking category. I couldn’t have done that without you all, and here’s hoping we can win a bunch more awards!
So as we head into year two of Deglazed, I can only imagine how much things will have changed by this time next year. Will I be the head chef somewhere? Will I have my restaurant? Will I have given up the whole thing and headed back into online marketing? I can never be sure of what the future will hold for me - this past year has been proof of that.
But it’s a pretty safe bet I won’t go back to the way things were.
Thanks again for all your support! I hope to keep this blog alive for many years to come!






















Justin said,
June 9, 2007 at 3:13 pm
Congratulations! You’ve accomplished a lot on your blog - and your life - in the past year. Keep ‘living the dream’!
Chris said,
June 9, 2007 at 3:37 pm
We’ve enjoyed the year too:) Shouldn’t you be cooking an anniversary dinner for us all?
I guess it’s better to be a head chef than head cheese, right? (I’ve actually witnessed the later being made…..yuck yuck bleck)
Eize said,
June 9, 2007 at 8:02 pm
Hail to the Chef!
Our compliments to the Chef!
Okay, I only got about that far into the cheer. Sorry!
Chef Matt said,
June 11, 2007 at 8:44 am
Justin - thanks so much - I plan to.
Chris - I would love to cook you all a nice meal. You all know where I work! And yes, head cheese is about the nastiest thing in the world to see made. I also happen to think the end result is not all that appealing myself, but that’s just me.
Eize - A great cheer all the same - thanks!