01.10.09
The Road Not Yet Traveled
While back in the US, I decided to have some drinks with two friends of mine from culinary school. These were the folks I originally went drinking with when any class ended (every 5 weeks), and then it was every other week, and then it was every Friday… As people got to know that we were going out, our crowd of fellow culinary school drinkers grew to an impressive size. Every Friday night at the On the Border near our school there would be an infestation of people in chef’s pants and Stratford University chef’s jackets at about 10pm. It became quite the sight to behold.
 Not as good as MY margaritas of course, but still, YUM. |
Well most of the rest of that crowd was transitory, but Shelli, Frank and myself were the constants. We pretty much never missed a night. We loved our margaritas and giant beers. (And of course overly greasy tex-mex is rarely a bad thing when you are drinking that heavily on a weekly basis…) So when I was back in town, I of course looked up Shelli and Frank to see if they wanted to revisit the old stomping grounds. And of course, I didn’t have to ask twice.
So I arrived at the bar late - which is rare for me - and Shelli and Frank (and Shelli’s husband) - were all there, one round ahead of me. They informed me of this as soon as I arrived, so I knew it was going to be one of THOSE nights…
We went through the usual chit-chat about what had been going on in our lives, and they of course wanted the full story behind my move to Oxford. And yes, they were jealous that I was able to sponge off my wife in England. But eventually I got around to asking them the question, “Have either of you guys finally taken the plunge and gotten a job in the culinary field?…”
“No,” they both replied with a mixture of wistful disappointment and mild defensiveness. (A lot of emotion to pack in to one syllable! And my wife says I’m not perceptive!)
 When they clamp shut, it’s hard to find the key. |
Frank went first. His situation was that he worked for Jeb Bush (a die-hard republican, but I don’t hold that against him…) but with his party in tatters, he is now looking for new work. I raised an eyebrow quizzically, since it seemed like this was his moment to strike. But he broke up with his fiancé, and so now with no “support” to fall back on (kind of like I had with my wife), he was too afraid to take the plunge. In short, he was tied to the quality of life he had come to enjoy by a big pair of golden handcuffs, and this was keeping him from taking the plunge. I can’t say I blame him - without my wife’s supplemental salary, I may have been too afraid to take the leap myself… He is instead looking for work in a job in Africa. (Which is cool in it’s own right…. maybe he’ll help his boys find the WMD’s there…)
 The tough economy claims Giada De Laurentiis… |
Shelli’s story was similar, but the reason she couldn’t make the move was because of the economy. (This would have been a perfect chance for her to bash Frank’s political affiliation, but she refrained…) Her culinary dream is to start a catering company that does cakes - especially wedding cakes. She has two wine fridges at home - one for wine, one for quality chocolate. She is indeed passionate about her confections! She just can’t afford to take such a risky plunge in this economy. Even with her supportive and wonderful significant other by her side, she knows better than to bet the farm at this moment.
I can’t help but wonder what it would be like for me today if I had gone to culinary school and then not become a chef… First of all, I wouldn’t have this blog, so you wouldn’t be reading my witty and irreverent ramblings about life in the kitchen. But there’d be bad sides to it as well. I know that in my gut I would feel this constant aching of “what if?…”. I would still be trapped in some cubicle somewhere, pulling in a great salary, and all the time thinking I was missing out on something.
I’m glad I took the chance, since I think it has paid off in ways that far exceed any dollar amount. And I hope Shelli and Frank get to join me in the kitchens soon enough. It’ll be just like culinary school all over again. And of course, it will be a great excuse to go out drinking with them more often, which is something I will really enjoy.
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