Well here I grow again...
It's June 20 and I have another successful dinner under my belt. Wow, my belt is getting bigger! It's hard to believe that I've done three to date and they were all so special and magical.
I wanted to make the last event before the summer the best yet, a most memorable and magical evening filled with wonderful foods, delightful wines, interesting company, surprises, and a beautiful setting, and I think our merry men and women of 3 in the kitchen succeeded, and surpassed even our own expectations. It was hard hard work, exhausting, painful at times as I was not feeling well and hard on my back standing for so many long hours, challenging, stressful working under high pressure and a fast pace in a kitchen with no air conditioning on a hot humid evening. But, as Bourdain says in his recent book "Nasty Bits", what do chefs say over drinks when asked about the worst parts about being a chef... the heat, the pressure, the fact pace, the isolation from normal society, the long hours, the pain, the relentless, never-ending demands of the profession. And if you ask chefs about what they love about their jobs, after a few more drinks, they will usually say the same words.
And, now after the event, I am totally drained, exhausted and sick with a head cold, but I am excited about the great feedback from the event and pumped up to do another event in September. In some ways, I wish the next event was earlier as I already have ideas starting in my head of what to serve. This is a continuous process by the way of random thoughts, textures, colours, flavours, presentations, combinations, always going through my head of what I could serve next. And, as Dave mentioned at my dinner, I even think about this in my sleep and tell him to turn off the oven as the beets are done or something else. He's getting used to it. It's a crazy process that anyone that has a creative spirit can identify with. You love it and sometimes it exhausts you as well as it's hard to shut it off, especially when you just want to relax and rest, and get away from it all.
So, with a wonderful event behind me and nice comments flowing in, I am delighted and hope that people won't forget about me to the fall. Should I have an event earlier than that? I'm giving thought to a summer event, however I also have two cooking classes I have to prepare for and one is at Harbourfront in Toronto and I would like to take some holidays in August. Also, I need to do a lot of testing of recipes and catching up on things, like paperwork, so I am emotionally and physically ready for the fall, which I know will be busy again. The September dinner is already filling up, again with no promotion, and it's almost half full. Perhaps if it gets filled up quickly we may try to book another night to hold the dinner so we would be having two dinners in a row, one night after another, or perhaps we can look at using another room at the Chelsea Club the same night. Challenging but it would make the most of our time and resources. We'll see... Right now, I'm thinking of having a solid regular gourmet dinner every month and then adding on another as they come up, and the ideas have been flowing in... fundraising event with a singer, cocktail reception and hors d'oeuvres, chefing at a dinner party, etc.
It is so wonderful to see people so enthusiastic and supportive of my business and the dinners. Sometimes, I bask in the glory and other times I just shake my head in disbelief and carry onward. Sometimes, I can't believe how far I've come since I've come home in February and at other times it feels quite natural and flowing. Sometimes, I am exhausted and anxious by all that I've done and is before me, but I am always excited and inspired to create and surprise people with the dinners and my food. Perhaps being led by passion and the heart is always like this, with hopefully the heart tugging stronger and firmer than all those nagging doubts and anxieties we all have that could easily consume us. Sometimes when I just don't know what to do next or which direction to take next, I do what seems unnatural and let go and free fall into the flow and where it will take me. It's so hard to do this and even harder to remember, but what a ride when I do and then I try to remember for the next time when I'm confused, anxious or perplexed about something.
I'm finishing this submission on June 23, my mother's birthday...can't believe she's been gone for such a long time, like 17 years, but sometimes I feel that she is near me and watching over me. She loved to cook, she was a good cook. She loved to entertain and be with people. She loved to cook traditional Japanese and try new things all the time as well. I still remember when she walked into an Eastern European type bakery shop in our area and a woman was handing out free samples to everyone, and when my mom tried to grab a piece, said told her that they were not for her. There was a pregnant pause and I looked at my mother's face that looked shocked and humiliated. I was little and she grabbed my hand and we walked out of that store, but that moment was etched in my mind forever, about the regular prejudice that my parents faced being a visible minority and growing up in Toronto, which seems so dynamic and multicultural now. Well, mom, I'm hoping things have changed since then and that I am doing you proud by carrying on your tradition of loving food, people, and opening people's minds to new food and concepts. I've always thought that being open to food goes much deeper than food in some ways and that's what I love about the gourmet dinner and people that are attracted by it. If you can be open to different tastes, textures, colours, and food from all over the world, and even be excited by it, does this not help then to be open to the different kinds of people behind the food that are preparing, serving and eating it? Food for thought on this special June 23rd day in Ottawa...
I wanted to make the last event before the summer the best yet, a most memorable and magical evening filled with wonderful foods, delightful wines, interesting company, surprises, and a beautiful setting, and I think our merry men and women of 3 in the kitchen succeeded, and surpassed even our own expectations. It was hard hard work, exhausting, painful at times as I was not feeling well and hard on my back standing for so many long hours, challenging, stressful working under high pressure and a fast pace in a kitchen with no air conditioning on a hot humid evening. But, as Bourdain says in his recent book "Nasty Bits", what do chefs say over drinks when asked about the worst parts about being a chef... the heat, the pressure, the fact pace, the isolation from normal society, the long hours, the pain, the relentless, never-ending demands of the profession. And if you ask chefs about what they love about their jobs, after a few more drinks, they will usually say the same words.
And, now after the event, I am totally drained, exhausted and sick with a head cold, but I am excited about the great feedback from the event and pumped up to do another event in September. In some ways, I wish the next event was earlier as I already have ideas starting in my head of what to serve. This is a continuous process by the way of random thoughts, textures, colours, flavours, presentations, combinations, always going through my head of what I could serve next. And, as Dave mentioned at my dinner, I even think about this in my sleep and tell him to turn off the oven as the beets are done or something else. He's getting used to it. It's a crazy process that anyone that has a creative spirit can identify with. You love it and sometimes it exhausts you as well as it's hard to shut it off, especially when you just want to relax and rest, and get away from it all.
So, with a wonderful event behind me and nice comments flowing in, I am delighted and hope that people won't forget about me to the fall. Should I have an event earlier than that? I'm giving thought to a summer event, however I also have two cooking classes I have to prepare for and one is at Harbourfront in Toronto and I would like to take some holidays in August. Also, I need to do a lot of testing of recipes and catching up on things, like paperwork, so I am emotionally and physically ready for the fall, which I know will be busy again. The September dinner is already filling up, again with no promotion, and it's almost half full. Perhaps if it gets filled up quickly we may try to book another night to hold the dinner so we would be having two dinners in a row, one night after another, or perhaps we can look at using another room at the Chelsea Club the same night. Challenging but it would make the most of our time and resources. We'll see... Right now, I'm thinking of having a solid regular gourmet dinner every month and then adding on another as they come up, and the ideas have been flowing in... fundraising event with a singer, cocktail reception and hors d'oeuvres, chefing at a dinner party, etc.
It is so wonderful to see people so enthusiastic and supportive of my business and the dinners. Sometimes, I bask in the glory and other times I just shake my head in disbelief and carry onward. Sometimes, I can't believe how far I've come since I've come home in February and at other times it feels quite natural and flowing. Sometimes, I am exhausted and anxious by all that I've done and is before me, but I am always excited and inspired to create and surprise people with the dinners and my food. Perhaps being led by passion and the heart is always like this, with hopefully the heart tugging stronger and firmer than all those nagging doubts and anxieties we all have that could easily consume us. Sometimes when I just don't know what to do next or which direction to take next, I do what seems unnatural and let go and free fall into the flow and where it will take me. It's so hard to do this and even harder to remember, but what a ride when I do and then I try to remember for the next time when I'm confused, anxious or perplexed about something.
I'm finishing this submission on June 23, my mother's birthday...can't believe she's been gone for such a long time, like 17 years, but sometimes I feel that she is near me and watching over me. She loved to cook, she was a good cook. She loved to entertain and be with people. She loved to cook traditional Japanese and try new things all the time as well. I still remember when she walked into an Eastern European type bakery shop in our area and a woman was handing out free samples to everyone, and when my mom tried to grab a piece, said told her that they were not for her. There was a pregnant pause and I looked at my mother's face that looked shocked and humiliated. I was little and she grabbed my hand and we walked out of that store, but that moment was etched in my mind forever, about the regular prejudice that my parents faced being a visible minority and growing up in Toronto, which seems so dynamic and multicultural now. Well, mom, I'm hoping things have changed since then and that I am doing you proud by carrying on your tradition of loving food, people, and opening people's minds to new food and concepts. I've always thought that being open to food goes much deeper than food in some ways and that's what I love about the gourmet dinner and people that are attracted by it. If you can be open to different tastes, textures, colours, and food from all over the world, and even be excited by it, does this not help then to be open to the different kinds of people behind the food that are preparing, serving and eating it? Food for thought on this special June 23rd day in Ottawa...
posted by Caroline at 11:02 AM
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