As someone who worked in the hospitality industry, I realize that you can work crazy hard, and at best, you make someone’s week. When I go out, be it to the grocery store or to a restaurant, I make it a point to celebrate people when I see them doing something right because I realize that the praise is hard to come by. In the same vein, I love celebrating the things and people that have made a significant impact on my life. I want to take this space to acknowledge the influential individuals in my life, in hopes that maybe they might give something to your life too.
While walking through the public library, I spotted “Life on the Line” by Grant Achatz and Nick Kokonas. Something about the cover drew me to the book, I checked it out, and the rest is history. Years later, I distinctly remember 3 things.
Firstly, I was so upset by Achatz’s cancer diagnosis, that I cried at several points throughout the day. I remember being surprised at how painful it could be to READ through and take the journey with someone I had never even met.
Second, that this “guy,” Chef Thomas Keller must be pretty cool if Chef Achatz named his newborn son, Keller, after his boss. Had this spark to look into Chef Keller been all I pulled from the book, the book would have still been hugely influential. I have learned so much since first declaring, “who is this Chef Keller???”
Lastly, I remember the magnolia passage. That passage forever changed the way I looked at food and eating. It never struck me how involved eating, and thereby cooking could be. That passage immediately made me think and nearly VISUALIZE the smells of my own childhood: sautéed garlic, Italian beef roasting in the oven, the rum bubbling away on the stove for rum cake, and the waft of peanut butter cookies. I realized then how vital cooking is. Vital for not just nourishment of the body, but of the soul.
Chef Achatz inspired me to read more (and more) on food, and chefs, restaurants, cultures, and cuisines. People have told me that I am crazy for reading cookbooks, but it is not as out there as it may seem. I have been able to learn about cultures and relate and interact with so many people that perhaps I would have never spoken with for lack of common ground. To my friends, I gush about this chef or that technique, or her restaurant, but I have never forgotten the first time I looked at something so familiar as food, and suddenly saw it so clearly. And I will always remember, who it was that helped me find that power. Thank you, Chef Achatz.
I have often said that if I were a multimillionaire, I would buy boxes (and more boxes!) of my favorite books, and then find ways to give them away. This would be one of those books. For my full list, check it out here. If you want to read Chef Achatz’s book, and prefer to buy the book, I include a link here. I DO NOT get paid for putting this link here, but this is one of my favorite online venues. For every book you buy, Better World Books donates one to a literacy charity.