old school vs. new school

I have been engaged in a lot of soul searching lately. Actually, soul searching sounds depressing. It’s been more like self defining.

 The question I’ve been asking is- what sets today’s chef apart from its prototype?

 In my profession, there is a tragic scene. The chefs of years past, now burnt out, fat and for the most part drunk off their ass pretty much all day long. They don’t come out of their underground hideout much. Like Well’s morlocks they live in darkness, remnants of a cruel and unforgiving industry. But what happened to these guys? Why do they all share in the same story? They don’t speak of their past career, as most of them are frightened by the thought of walking into a profession kitchen. Once titans in their local restaurant scene, and respected for their work, they have been forgotten about like an area 51 gift shop.

 The few that still practice in the industry have somehow slipped through the cracks. They saw the change coming and quickly adapted to the new school.

 A couple of nights ago, with the help of a good bottle of Malbec, I came to a theory. While sitting on the back patio of my boss’s house discussing restaurant life and all subjects food the realization dawned on me that we are standing on the fault line of a major industry shift.

 The shift consists of the old school cookery, where resources are consumed unremorsefully, and the new move towards consuming only what is available. The chef of today must learn to be flexible with a keen sense of adaptation for change of season, and ingredient. This quality is in my opinion what sets the chefs of today apart.

 It is absolutely ignorant to be part of this industry today and not be mindful of the world around you. It’s not a political statement, it’s responsibility. What are we going to cook in forty years when resourced begin to dry out? a lot of damage has already occurred, produce doesn’t taste as it should due to its out of season production. Fish prices are through the roof as less of it is available. And the meat industry is an absolute soup sandwich of greedy CEOs.

 Not all hope is lost. There is a lot of good going on out there. Words like sustainable and seasonal are actually beginning to matter some- bad news for chefs who don’t care, great for the ones that do. I hate to sound like an environmental documentary but what is going to make the biggest difference in the future is the costumer – that would be you. Start asking for sustainability. Purchase more local and organic when you can. There are many of us out there trying to fix where all the others have faltered.

 Is this too “green” for you? Good. I happen to like the color green.