Hello everyone! Welcome back! I hope you had a nice holiday break.
I know it’s been a couple weeks since I sent out a newsletter, but life just got wild. I was feeling very inspired and then I was hit with a bad case of smoke inhalation that knocked me out for a few days. Then holidays and you know how it goes…But I’m back and I have quite a lot of thoughts.
First of all, I saw The Menu. There is a lot to unpack in that movie and I will be going to see it a second time for sure. I’m sure I will have a lot more to say about it later. My biggest take from it was the danger of getting lost in ego and perfection while pursuing a passion. This has actually been on my mind for a couple weeks now and seeing it again in a movie last night just made it really stick with me.
On Veteran’s day weekend, I agreed to help one of my chef friends with a catering event. I had a 3 day weekend off from my 9-5, so I figured why not? It will be fun to put on my baggy chef pants again and dust off the ol’ knife bag. I never meant to cut off ties from the cooking world anyways.
The event was glorious! I was around so many fun creative individuals from the wedding guests who all wore unique dresses bought off Etsy to the all female team of chefs I had the privilege of working with. The energy in that house was vibrant and uplifting in a way I have not felt in a while. When the wedding ended and the guests continued the after party elsewhere, the catering team all sat around a couple of small fires set in custom concrete buckets. We drank wine, talked about life, and gave out some interesting birthday readings. The highlight of the conversation though came during our talk on pursuing various passions.
You’ll have something you’re good at and social media will make you prove it…like show it and prove it, which makes you feel like you have to excel at one thing… but people are multi-faceted
I will always appreciate the people who support the idea that there isn’t just one thing out there for everyone. I swear I do love my 9-5 now, but I definitely miss this vibe from the cooks in the kitchen. The people I met there were wild and often very different from myself, but that’s what made it great. People from different walks of life coming together to not only talk food, but talk about their multiple passions. My sous chef had a soccer league, another chef had a band, the expo was also a professional sound engineer…you get the picture. There is nothing I love more than being surrounded by people who have passion. It’s not only motivating, but a great reminder to never stop loving what I’m doing. If you don’t love it and it becomes more of a daunting task that isn’t worth what you get out if it, then there is no point. It is time to either let go and move on to something else or remind yourself of the passion you once had.
When I was gearing up to leave the kitchen, I had multiple projects planned. One of which was this newsletter that has proved to be tougher to keep up with as the weeks go by. I also had a holiday gift bundle planned out with a recipe booklet and handmade cups cut from wine bottles. Do you know how many wine bottles I “rescued” from the recycling bin of my last kitchen? There are at least 100 clean bottles stored in boxes in my garage. I got so swept up in establishing a routine with my new 9-5 that included time to exercise to make up for a desk job and cooking dinner every day. I lost my focus. I started relaxing more and taking more off days rather than working on my passion projects. I mean yes taking that day off to just breathe is always good for self care, but at what point does it become a funk that you’re trapped in?
I didn’t realize how much of a funk I was in until that catering event. It breathed life into me and I left feeling so inspired to get back to those passion projects. [Ironically, the smoke I breathed in from the fire killed my lungs and knocked me out for a week, but hey…I’m not taking that as a bad sign. Now I know not to sit in the direction of the smoke blowing.] Honestly, I came home feeling like Mia Thermopolis when she threw darts at paint balloons on a blank canvas with her mother.
Now, social media and constant affirmation. The one thing I remembered that I loved about cooking was the instant gratification from completing an order. There is always a good feeling you get from a job well done and with cooking, that feeling can happen multiple times in a shift, with every happy customer and every finished dish you send out. I miss that! I do. With a restaurant job, there aren’t month long projects; every day is a new challenge completed. Running on the constant reward was like a drug addiction that I am weening myself off of. It was as if I became an affirmation junkie and without that constant approval, I became lost. Between living a kitchen life for so long and running a social media page where I would push myself for more content for likes, it’s no wonder I ended up in a funk.
The point is I was able to escape and reignite my passion for cooking and art projects. I had the chance to be around artists who reminded me that other people do not rule my passions. It doesn’t matter if 100 people like an IG post or read my newsletter or not. I cook & write because I enjoy doing it. Of course, I appreciate all of you who support me, but I am working on not needing to rely on the amount of followers/readers I have to prove what I do is worth my time and energy. I hope you all have found passions that you enjoy doing and don’t let others define what you’re good at or what is worth it. If you love doing something, then everything it takes to do it is worth it. As always, it’s all about balance.
Weekly Round Up
Music
Can I be that cheesy person to include an Evanescence song solely based on its title?
Fun fact: This song used to be my alarm clock in high school. One time, I almost gave my friend a heart attack at a sleepover when it went off and this album cover just lit up my screen.
Cooking
It was Thanksgiving!!
Let’s just say I now know the correct ratio for mashed potatoes is 1 russet: 1 person. I did use all the extra Thanksgiving mash to make shepherd’s pie though, so maybe my ratio was right all along.
Some highlights of the weekend included my first ever attempt at a lattice apple pie. Mini pies are just cuter. I also made a cosmo with spiced cranberry juice complete with a roasted sugar and citric acid rim. I call it a sour patch kid with a kick.
Shopping
I hope you all had a chance to support some small businesses on this big shopping weekend. I have a long list of shops in my “Shop Recs” IG highlight if you’re ever looking for some inspiration.
Today, I wanted to recommend some cookbooks/food related books.
No Meat Required by Alicia Kennedy
You can also check out your local bookstore to request a pre-order.
Diasporican by Illyanna Maisonet
You can read a little more about it here.
Also check out Now Serving LA for more book recs. IG here.