Creativity
Most people who are driven to become a chef because they have embraced their creative nature. Technique is an acquired skill, but creativity is natural due to our curious nature. Combine the two and you have something special. Add passion and commitment and you have something extraordinary.
Technique without passion and commitment is like an empty soul. Born out of pride, creativity and dedication to the craft is what drives all Chefs to reach the top in their field. Whether you are cooking French, Italian, Asian, or Mexican a solid foundation of technique will allow you to adapt, modify and incorporate new flavors and presentations to exceed the expectations of their clients.
Imagination is the realm of the arts.
Imagination has inspired men and women to create our built environment of churches and cities and parks; to delight our senses with music and theater and dance; to fill our leisure with the engaging diversions of games and competitions and fine cuisine; to test our physical limits in dance and sport; and to find the words that express what we feel and think and shape those words into poetry and prose.
-Thomas Jefferson
My first job out of cooking school was at the Hotel Meridian in Boston MA. It was my entrance into the real world. Not that my life had been a cake walk so far, but my eyes were opened to a world where all the values I had grown up were prevalent: hard work, responsibility, accountability, thriftiness, teamwork, service, family, and faith. I have faith that by following these principles will help me learn and better myself, for my family, career and society. In doing so, bring me closer to realizing my dreams. No human is infallible, myself included. But I will hope never to justify my past and will strive to better myself in the future.
The salmon soufflé is a tribute to the Haeberlin’s of L’Auberge d’lil in Alsace. A three star Michelin restaurant and inn that I was lucky enough to learn from without ever visiting. Marc Haeberlin was the consultant chef at the Julien Restaurant inside the Meridien Hotel where I was the poisonier in 1995. This dish was on the menu, and I was lucky enough to be there when Marc himself came to work with us for two days. The most important thing I learned from him was to taste everything. He showed me the difference between a good product and a great product with the slightest adjustment of salt and a squeeze of lemon. Taste, texture, and consistency, when taken into account, express the consideration and love behind the efforts.
People as a whole are curious and as a result we do research on a daily basis. We have a plethora of information at our fingertips and by doing research we can organize the information, form an opinion or state fact in communication, either written or verbal. This information gathering or “awareness” allows for adaptation, an ease of finding solutions, and wise decision making.
In our business we question our clients, but to get all the information we can about their agenda for when they visit. This way we are able to acquire the things they need that they don't have, as well as the information to plan logistically to be able to handle more than one group of clients at a time. Inquiring for feedback is also a great source of information necessary for moving forward.
Thomas Jefferson felt that imagination sparked technologies old and new, and with these technologies new forms of expression. In these freedoms of expression there are no boundaries, be it time or space.