All the Cuts, Burns, & Foie Gras Are Now Worth It.... Part 1

So I am way too tired to tell you about the evening I had. I will tell t=you this though, it was fucking INCREDIBLE! It made everything I have ever done in this thankless industry worth it. Tonight, someone who really mattered called me "Chef"; I will never be able to explain to any of you what that moment meant to me. I will finish this epic saga at a later time & date.

Oh Yeah...............

.........I would also like to thank some other people. Lisa (for being my work Mom, keeping me in line, and not firing me for all my unacceptable, crude, and unprofessional behavior), AJ ( for being patient w/ me when I was completely clueless about the Open, and always making me laugh), Kevin ( I don't have the time to name all the reasons why I am thanking this guy, he was really amazing over the past two weeks), Sean, Mario (for taking all my receipts), and the best kitchen crew in New York.

Behind Every Good Chef there is a Better Woman

I know this is going to come off as sappy and corny, but I am going to do it anyways. Without the unconditional love that Jen gives to me, I would have never made it through the past two weeks. Everyday she was there for me, pushing me on, telling me I could do it. Everyday she was there to take care of my dog, make me dinner, take my socks off for me when I got home ( I LOVE IT WHEN SHE DOES THAT), and do anything else I might need done to keep me sane, happy, and in good health. Without this girl I would have been lost. So Baby, if you are reading this I want you to know that I love you more than anything. You have no idea how much every litttle thing you did meant to me. I will never take you for granted, and will always be there to support you the way you did for me.

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

So tomorrow is the last day of the U.S. Open, and I can not wait for it to be over. I have been so mentally drained the past two weeks that I do not know if my brain will ever work right again. Not to mention the strain that the long hours everyday since August 19 has put on my body, and my realtionship. It is not easy on a relationship, when one person is gone at 4 in the morning and doesn't return until 10 at night; EVERYDAY. Anyways, all the food is prepped for tomorrow. Now all we have to do is send it to Flushing on a truck and we are officially done. I will say this though, this experience has made me a better Chef. And at the end of the day, after the last plate is cleared and the clients are happy, that's all that matters. Goodbye Tennis, I will see you next year!

Labor Day

So today is Labor Day. Unlike most of you, I am not celebrating the fact that a day has been set aside to give yourself a pat on the back for all the hard work you have put forth this year. No, I am @ work. Where I have been everyday on this year for as long as I can remember(except last year, that was the day I quit Aramark). So while all you are knocking back beers, eating BBQ, and enjoying this beautiful day; I will be sweating my ass off so other people have something to eat today. Anyways, have fun! I hate all of you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cheap Whore

So I have already bitched to Jen, Thomas (my brother), and Lisa (my director @ work, aka-->my work Mom), so there is nobody left to bitch to but you. Seeing that I work in a kitchen that has no a/c, and no windows that open; I thought it would be a nice idea to supply my cooks w/ Red Bull. We are working long days, everyday, for the U.S. Open. So when I purchased 10 cases of this devil of a drink, I thought it was a nice gesture. Thought that my cooks would appreciate me looking out for them, and be happy. Red Bull is like crack to these people. They are like 5 year olds when it comes to Red Bull. Someone got more than me, someone took two, someone stole mine. Shut the FUCK UP!!!!!!!!! I put two cases (48 cans) in ice to cool down yesterday so could give it to them after lunch. When I brought the lexan full of Red Bull to the kitchen to so nicely distribute them, there were now only 30 cans. So someone, or a group of people broke into the cage I had the delicious beverage locked up in, and stole 18 of them. Never in my entire professional career have I been so mad at people that work for me. That might not even be the right word, more like I was disappointed in them. I was disappointed that the nice thing I was trying to do for them was spoiled by their childish behavior. I felt used, abused, and taken advantage of. The moral of the story is that "Nice guys always finish LAST!" So no more fun in the kitchen, no more Mr. Nice Guy, and most definitely no more FUCKING RED BULL!!!

Spiderpig

So, I saw this news article and thought that I would share it with you all. I know they say it was created by communal spiders, but I disagree. I believe that this was made by none other than a SPIDERPIG! The only thing is that I didn't know that the Spiderpig was native to Texas. I always thought they could only survive in Springfield.

This is my Ladyfriend

So this is me & my beautiful girlfriend, Jen. This was the morning after our birthday. Yes, I said "OUR" Birthday! We were both born on St. Patricks Day! So anyways, this picture was at brunch the next day! I know we look a little hassled, but that is why I like the picture so much. Anyways, this is is Jen. She ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!

The U.S. Open

So the U.S. Open has started, and I am having a hard time keeping my excitement level down. I feel like a kid the first week of school......daydreaming about the lazy days of weeks before. I can't finish this thought right now, need to wind down from today a little more. Same Bat channel, same Bat time!

Summer, where art thou?

So today is my day off, probably my last day off until September 9th. My company does the food service for a little tennis tournament in Flushing, Queens. You might have heard of it, it's called the U.S. Open. Anyways, after today I will be balls to the wall busy with this little sporting event. I guess the deal is (or so I've been told) that we start at like 5 in the a.m., and usually work to around 10 p.m. everyday. I have to tell you, I am so excited. What other way could I dream about spending the last remaining days of my precious summer than sweating my ass off in a kitchen all day and night. Don't get me wrong, I love my job, and I wouldn't trade it for the world (unless that world had Jen in it), but I just feel that my summer has been so crazy busy that I didn't have the time to do all the summer things I wanted to do. Long gone are the days of last summer spent drinking Bloody Marys outside of Clem's. Last summer seemed so much more laid back. Hard to believe that is the case though. Considering I spent the majority of the summer working on Ellis Island: let I remind you that I took the G, to the L, to the R, to a boat at 6 a.m. everyday, bouncing between my apartment in Bed-Stuy and Jens apartment in Williamsburg: she really made me work for it, and all the while I was just trying to get myself accustomed to this whirlwind we like to call New York City. Somehow I feel that we had more time to just do nothing but hang out, talk shit, smoke weed, and drink. We did all these things well, so why was it so hard to do this summer? I guess a lot of it has to do with the fact that we grew up more. Other things like fixing up the apartment, spending more time at work to bolster our careers, and going to weddings took the front burner. It is scary to realize that in the short span of a year that all of these changes have taken place. Last summer I was just trying to get with Jen, now I am trying to figure out how to keep her forever. Anyways, that is all for now (or at least until I get bored w/ watching Jerry Springer)!

So I'm here. Now what?

I just started this blog today. I am still not really sure what it going to be about exactly. Although I am pretty sure that my career as a Chef is going to play a large role. There will probably be some other random bullshit about my life, my girlfriend, my dog, and the Steelers. So, until next time...........