Anthony Bourdain Hates Me.

"Vegetarians are the enemy of everything good and decent in the human spirit, an affront to all I stand for, the pure enjoyment of food." -page 70, Kitchen Confidential.

This is the first time I've sat down since I woke up this morning. My knees ache, my hands are dry, and the clamour of the kitchen is still rummaging through my head. Last night I even dreamt about food, however, that's not uncommon. I'm what you might call a "lifer" to restaurant world, and though it might simply be the last line of employment for barely literate excons, or the only place a coke head can call home, strangely, I chose this life and its permenace.
I love restaurants. I love food. I love the process of food, the many forms of food, the benefits, the chemistry, the biology. I love cooking and I love eating. I don't know when it started. I know that when I was young, I loved to help my mother bake, but who doesn't? I think more than the actual baking, it was the promise of licking the beaters, or scraping the bowl that really had my attention. I was nineteen when I started my career in restaurants, and I hated every minute of it. As a last resort I applied for a dishwasher position at a four star restaurant. I was hired on the spot at eight dollars an hour, which at the time, was more than I had ever made. The next day I was shown the ropes and given the tour.
-Here's the pot sink.
-Here's the dish machine.
-This is where the pots and pans go when they're clean.
-Every Monday we have to scrub the floors.
In my head, this job was easy, a trained monkey could do it. I quickly learned that eight dollars an hour was not enough money. After eight months too many, I was offered a cooking job else where. I took it without hesitation.
The real challenge is not the cooking, it's the organization, and a poorly organizied kitchen and crew is, no pun intended, a recipe for disaster. Mise en place my friends, mise en place!
On the other end of the spectrum, as much as I love food, I am foremost a vegan and I think Anthony Bourdain hates me. I must say, that when I'm on the line, and some particularly picky eater places an order, I grimmace and grumble along with the rest of them. I am wholly dedicated to food and the culinary art. I will learn whatever it has to teach me. But there are always sacrifices. I have been vegan for nearly eight years at this point, and admittedly, did not own up to a very interesting or outrageous diet before the switch. I'd say that most chefs, would rather have a kitchen full of vegetarian and vegan cooks, than serve a vastly vegetarian and vegan demographic. Though food costs would be lower, the argument could be made that cooking in any traditional style, i.e. French, Italian, would be near impossible; even authentic marinara is made with veal stock, and since most chefs pride their knowledge and use of traditional and fused originality in the kitchen, it would be considered a hinderance rather than a welcome challenge. I'm not trying by any means to win over my peers, or sway anyone to join the culinary darkside. I'm not out to prove to Anthony Bourdain or anyone else that vegan entrees have a place on the menu. There are plenty of self-righteous vegans with that kind of attitude and gusto. I'm not trying to bastardize the culinary world by invading its midst and I wouldn't dream of saying that hundreds of years of culinary tradition are wasted. Everything in it's place, and a place for every thing. Mise en place. Food is my life, and I love every aspect of it. But it doesn't change the fact that the recombinant bovine growth hormone is injected into almost every form of beef and dairy that is readily available to the consumer market. It doesn't excuse animal cruelty, which I won't go into, or the glaring health misconceptions. Likewise, my veganism doesn't stop me from working in restaurants and cooking for a nonvegetarian majority, or sticking my arms elbow deep in veal bones to clean them and prep them for stock. I can butcher and trim nearly any section of beef or pork along side the rest of the meat eating chefs.
I am dedicated to this life because I chose it and it suits me. I am good at what I do, and I love what I do. My particular eating habits are not a restriction of my abilities nor are they a set-back. Anthony Bourdain is one of my favorite chefs and although he's not a big fan of me, it won't change what I do, or how I do it.