Buyer's Remorse

I wish that food was not political but frankly decisions about who gets to eat and who doesn't are very often determined in business and political offices around the world. Here in Illinois as we sit post election where Republican Governor Bruce Rauner ceased the office looking at such changes in funding, budgets, and allocations that are threatening to close our community colleges and leaving our public school without funding. Without a signed budget, state officials cannot draft a payment to anyone in excess of $600. For the second time this year, the Illinois Lottery officials are once again issuing IOU's instead of payouts.

All sorts of ripples can be felt within out city due to a shift change in political offices. Chicago Public School feels the squeeze and the Chicago teachers has already given the strike authorization to the union. If the union strikes, and it is looking very likely that they will, this will effect all sorts of things including, the need for alternative daytime supervision for the students, eliminate student access to the school feeding programs that lots of families rely heavily upon to meet their daily needs during the day, and need to get syllabus changes done to accelerate leaning in order to catch up on missed lessons.  These turns of events are costly in many ways but are a direct result of voting habits.

Illinois is a conservative state who mostly vote Republican, but the largest population resides in Cook County, which includes Chicago and some of the outlying suburbs, who traditionally vote Democratic and have a much more progressive outlook. Low turnout for our local elections have resulting in the election of another Republican Governor, but this time the office is held by a millionaire business person who has little experience in politics, some are so bold to say that Rauner paid for the office by out spending his rival for the office. So here we are, at a fork in the road, with the bigger picture of the states future and direction in jeopardy, as the Governor sees the state operation like a business issuing reductions here, there, and there, to save the state money instead of reviewing social, economic,  and educational efforts as a investment in the growth and sustainability of the state.

Now that all that I had feared about the last elections have come true, many voices, individuals and organizations, are now very vocal about the results. This is too little to late. Where were you guys for early voting, along the campaign trail, and on election day?? Some voters feel buyer's remorse because the believe that they were tricked into voting for a guy and now he is working against what the voter thought was going to happen during his reign.

I get upset by the rhetoric and posturing of those in office and the lack-luster eligible voters that helped to put us in this state. Food and shelter should not be dependent on politics or interrupted by politics. The who, what, when and how citizens gain access to required nutrition cannot be successful when left up to politics. Food procurement and access, cannot, should not, must not, be controlled by the few and doled out to the masses. This makes food a weapon or a tool of power instead of a human right. We as a society, have seen what happens when politics gets involved, just think about a homeless man sleeping on the street. Got a picture in your head? Good. What lead this person, a human being, into this situation? How did he lose access to shelter and regular meals? Why is it that he suffers from a lack of safety and care? When was the last time he could go a doctor? How much longer will he suffer in this situation which, without any doubt, will shorten his life span dramatically.

Voter action helps to protect the weakest member of our society, move incentives and actions in the direction that they agree upon, give the ability of fund initiatives the voters see as needed, and assist to educate our students which will foster the next generations of thinker, leaders, and voters. We are all effected by politics and I hate that, but it is a fact. The few take more than their share leaving the masses scrambling for the crumbs.

No matter where you are on the political food chain and no matter how you define your political philosophy, active participation is required. You can't stand back and expect others to vote the way you would like them to in your stead as you sit at home. You must participate. It's like all the lookie loos jamming up traffic trying to get a glimpse of the road side accident, knowing full well that they have no intent to help.  

So today we are still seeing the results of Britain's political actions and more importantly inaction. After the count was taken, the citizenry of one of the largest former empires on the planet, discovered that the vote went against what the majority, or so it is said, wanted the Parliament to do in the face of the issue to divest from the EU. Lots of political action now after the dye were cast. This is a prime example of how a democracy fails instead of triumphs.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-eu-referendum-36420148

Let's take the example to heart when the polls open again here on your own territory. We still suffer hate speech, low down dealings, discrimination, lawlessness, bigotry, xenophobia, and all sorts of explorations of women, young girls, immigrants, unlawful imprisonment by our own officials, abuses of power, and hatred that results in unequal pay, lack of access to resources such a food and shelter. and the list continues. How can we unravel the tapestry that we have weaved through our shared history if we don't make our vote count?

Fake Foods and Fraud

If you were a teenager in one of my culinary arts classes, you may well already be tired hearing my rants, for a lack of better wording, about corporate food offerings. I say often, when you are relying upon a corporation to feed you, you are already in trouble. A corporation, ultimately, has only one goal, to make profit. When your family farmed, their one and only goal, was to nourish people. We have traditions of offering guest something to eat or drink for the same reason. A gift of food implies that you care if the receiver lives a healthy long life.
 
I am willing to come and bare the bad news about these edible non-foods on our health and longevity. My teens have been known to say "Chef, you make me want to stop eating everything". In fact, that is not my goal. I want them to do a couple of things, make intelligent choices about what they eat, I want them to question how and what they eat, and hopefully they will make nutrition decisions based on facts and not on marketing.

These kids have a steady diet of Kruncy Kurls, Hot Pockets, Hot n Flaming Everything, Pop Tarts, McDonald, Wendy's , and Burger King. There are more greasy spoon restaurants in their neighborhood than grocery stores. They never read a nutrition label or even question what they are eating. Is this butter or margarine? Is these long long named ingredients chemicals or food? Just because it can be eaten, should it be eaten? What is natural and what is not?

To this, I bring up a legal case currently in the headlines. A cheese company is under indictment for selling wood shavings as parmesan cheese.  This fraud was perpetrated over many years by a particular company. Naturally, this brings up many questions. Who knew about this? Why didn't anyone report it? How did the consumers not know what they were eating? And I wanted to know how the legal suit is progressing. The totality is that one individual is charged with a misdemeanor crime under one count of crime. This is not something I can understand fully. Why is this a misdemeanor and not a felony? What is there only one name on the indictment? And why hasn't the company been charged with each and every count of sales that were contaminated and sold to consumers?

The other article in recent news are the results of a study that found industrial chemicals in the bodies of fast food consumers. All the preservative and chemical additives are taking a toll on our health and, I believe, is costing us financially by causing disease and needing additional medical expense. Last year was the first time on record that American's spent more money in restaurants than at grocery stores. We are trading nutrition for convenience and suffering a high cost. If you can't read everything on the label, why are you eating it?



http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-16/the-parmesan-cheese-you-sprinkle-on-your-penne-could-be-wood

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-13/fast-food-eaters-have-more-industrial-chemicals-in-their-bodies

Respect Yourself, even if no one else does.

A lot of the time, if you talk with chefs who have been in the industry more than a couple of years, you will hear a few horror stories about bad practices, bosses, and/or jobs. There are some that will stay in a job until the bitter end. This position of not wanting to do a job search and interview procedures can lead you in position where it is no longer beneficial to yourself and/or the company. Waking each day with a dreadful disposition and coming home the same is not healthy, no matter who you are professionally.

Respect yourself enough to understand when it is time to move on and stop being afraid to step forward into something new. Fear of the unknown and fear of rejection can keep the best of us from making changes in our lives. But if you are not in a place that you can nurture and it nurture you, then the place you are occupying is killing your spirit and in turn you are probably throwing shade on other people instead of uplifting them.

I have been guilty of these negative actions myself. Dragging my own pitiful butt out of the bed every day, dreading what I was possibly walking into, and knowing that I would not be happy at all at the end of the day. Why torture yourself and others?

Even if no one every tells you your worth, still respect your value. You have trained and studied to become who you are, so why do you think less of yourself? Take little time out of your day to do a job search to see what opportunities are available. Sometimes you will find that you didn't know that your own company has put out ads to hire new people and sometimes the job of your dreams is out there waiting for your resume to get on their interview list. Yes, you need to act upon your own abilities, knowledge, ego, faith, financial needs, or whatever else it takes to get you motivated enough to seek out your destiny.

I was taught to adhere to a very blue collar outlook at the job site. Keep your nose clean, do your work, don't let co-workers know too much about you, don't date at the job, and stick there until you earn that retirement package and the gold watch. Unfortunately, most of that wisdom isn't valid anymore. Chefs, especially, find that they will be on to the next position in about 5 years time, often. The company doesn't have a lot of benefits offered, might not be totally full time, and with the fickle customer base, they don't want to have such continuity. Is the whole industry like this? No, but it is a fairly consistent experience within and outside of the culinary world. Most of us chefs can have a hard time writing a resume that is limited to 1 or 2 pages.

Please understand that the same skills that got you hired in your current position, are the same skills that will get you hired elsewhere, and if you have added to your skill base since you were hired, then your stock price has gone up and you maybe a more qualified candidate than you were before. Add to this, if you are seeking new ground while still employed, you are not as pressed for time as you would be unemployed.

I have skills that are needed by organizations, families, communities, and what have you. I have worked for homeless shelters, schools, charities, churches, restaurants, hotels, sport arenas, and a few bars. I have ever starved working in this food city and in this industry. I have been paid less than I am worth, I have worked with horrible people, bad bosses, and ungrateful companies. But, know this, they can take away your employment but no one can take your skills and knowledge.  

Misery is Contagious

Everyone has known, and possibly loved, a miserable s.o.b. The tragedy of this is that they seldom do anything to change their outlook and prospects. The sorry sacks get addicted to complaining and having something to complain about, so their efforts are more in line with perpetuating the problems instead of fixing the issue.  They are the ones that will double down on their last bets knowing that they need to walk away before they lose the farm.Working, living, and being friends with these nabobs of negativity can really drain others around them. I had a relative who probably in this category, but I was rather young when they passed through the veil so my memory was small in comparison to the others around.

I do remember having some aversion to interacting with them because it was frustrating. I was told very divisive things and some very adult things that a child of that age should not have been told. I don't remember them having visitors or ever having pleasant conversation with anybody.

Later, as I aged, I meet others cut from this cloth and it reinforced my aversion to these attitudes. What you maybe wondering how my outlook on life is designed. I consider myself a realist, and hopefully anyone who writes about me see that to be true. I am not a Debbie Downer but I do not think that anything is going to be a 100% positive plan or experience. Having this outlook never leaves me total disappointed and when things actually work out as planned, I get left pleasantly surprised.

So, once again, I am headed to teach my class and interaction with this low functioning person, trying to not let them taint my performance.  Utilizing the same space with this individual is fought with pitfalls and sand traps. I had a good day yesterday and really want to turn it into a streak but I am not very hopeful.

These types of personality types are often most upset when you are not in the same sinking boat as they are. In other words, they want you to be just like them and when you don't act like they act, you piss them off the most, just by being true about who you are genuinely. How dare you not be upset as they are upset! Who are you to take a different outlook or hold on to your own beliefs?

Misery is contagious.  Better said, misery is forced onto others more often than happiness because a lot of the miserable go out of their way to get you on board with them so that you are just as bad off, if not worse. I am not saint but this isn't a part of my path. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, even if they are wrong. I will defend your right to your opinion, no matter what, but I will also defend my right to my position. The world is not black and white for me, nor is it adversarial at every turn. 

Peace be granted unto you, especially you miserable s.o.b.'s.

Squeaky Wheels

There is a saying that the squeaky wheel gets the grease. In the kitchen, as well as other aspects of life, the squeakiest is typically the messiest. I learned long ago that it is better to just get it done, or corrected, than running in and out of the office complaining. Often times, those who are always complaining, are actually trying to use a tactic of painting the others as such a bad worker or person, in an attempt to sack the other's position. Often times this can work to the complainer's favor but usually just once. Eventually, the complainer's agenda can easily be seen through like plastic wrap, and instead of a devaluation of the other's position, the complaining party can find themselves in the hot seat. A pattern develops that changes the viewpoint of management.

The last thing any chef wants to spend their time on is interpersonal issues within the staff. There is so much more going on that can stress the kitchen, late deliveries, mistakes needing fix, equipment failure, heat waves or winter storms, theft, accidents, a whole list of things that need addressing or controlled. While the list of complaints may have validity, picking your battles is the best thing to do. If the mistake is small, it maybe best to just make correction than complaint.

The squeaky wheel may need replacement instead of support. I have been a part of a crew, and middle management, and I have often been told that I don't brother my up-line or upper management unless it is something that I can't correct on my own. I have always taken my positions seriously and when the issues are mine, or under my control, I take care of the issue. The way I figure it, I am being paid to control this portion of the company and bugging my boss with the trivial, like a tattle tail sibling, is counter productive. Anyone can miss something or run out of time to get something done, etc. Instead of wasting time having a meeting or complaining in the office, I'd much rather help out or make corrections.

A manager that cannot control their staff is often viewed as ineffectual. Complaining about the smallest of things, or the easily fixed, only serve to make the noisiest of us look bad. Problems are problems, the chef life is all about solving problems for our customers and each other. If I make a mistake, just tell me, and I will make changes to eliminate the problem from reoccurring. There is never a perfect situation for everyone involved, but the customer should never be impacted by the issues that arise as they have paid us chefs to handle whatever it takes to get the job done. The last thing that a customer should ever ask themselves is "what did I pay them for?".

Chefs don't always get along, and some, for whatever reason, try and make the day harder for other workers in an attempt to get rid of them. This is not a good look to have. Being messy over this or that is just petty. I have worked with people that I wanted to run them over with my car, but I did my work and didn't complain until it was appropriate. Pick your battles wisely. Be the one that helps out the rest of the crew, instead of the one that is always snitching. Stay in your lane and watch the road ahead instead of focusing on someone else's journey before you run into a ditch.

Conflict in the workplace

No matter the industry or setting, conflict of opinion, hostility, jealousy, and any other reason, can rise up and slow down progress. There is always a lot of effort to satisfy customers demands so often their really isn't time or energy left to settle interpersonal conflicts between employees. 

When I was a newbie in the industry, and barely able to drink, I experienced some prejudice at the workplace probably because some of the adults I was working with, and supervising, didn't take me serious, and some thought that I was just there to be cute.... nope. Then, of course, the minority girl issues, the chef life is dominated by white males, and when you are not reflective of the group, you can see or feel them test you or minimize you. There is a time frame in which chefs attempt to find out what you are made of, if you can take a joke, keep up with them on the bench, or be apart of the team both in and out of the kitchen. 

Once you have been tried and proven worthy/capable, often times you are knee deep with your crew bailing each other out until the race is won, only to be back at it again tomorrow. Even the best of brigades can have spurs up against each other from time to time. Bold personalities and workloads can force chefs to bit at each other about the little things and the bigger things. Most of the time individual production levels can bushel features because one or more on the team feel as if they are making up for someone's lack of accurate and usable work.

When tempers flare up in the kitchen, and they do, the big chef ego can get in the way of productive conversations about the problem. Small things become skyscrapers and tempers can fly very quickly. What shouldn't ever happen is that chefs are allowed to make their issue personal. When there are tactical issues, production issues, work overloads, painting a fellow chef as a villain only makes corrections harder, sometimes near impossible. No one is a saint, or even perfect, and serving customers and the community isn't a easy thing to do in the best of circumstances.

Chefs are not one dimensional cartoon cutouts who only exist in the kitchen, they have families, love affairs, some within the kitchen, economical demands, health issues, bills, and in the worst cases, chemical dependencies and alcohol problems. It is a harder life than working at a office, physically, but mentally its no punk either. We chefs are problem solvers drawn towards the chaos, sounds, smells, and noise of a commercial kitchen. We live for the oohs and ahhs of our clients, we get to be apart of the best moments of other's lives. The special night out, the anniversary dinner, the communion lunch or Sunday lunch after church is when we are on-duty and striving to make a nice day into a great one. 

Chefs often sweat, bleed, and get burned to please the customer. We block out of our minds lots of things like tired, hungry, hurting, and sleepy, chasing our high of choice, happy customers. In my new phase of my career, chef instructor, I consider it a victory when I show the kids a new vegetable that they like or get them to change even the smallest amount of their diet for the better. I teach in two neighborhoods that have a lot of challenges, but while I am their, I am working with them, creating a safe place, new exciting food, nutrition knowledge, and a hot meal. My students even earn a small stipend. It has never been easy but rewarding.

I have had to settle their drama, help their understanding, and redirect them to positive outlets. I can not afford to allow dissent in my class as it will deteriorate quickly, destroy our nurturing environment, and impede learning. The conflicts in my classroom are just the same as in the workplace, they often arise when egos get bruised.  Most of all conflicts, at the heart, are about folks' feelings, they don't feel respected, appreciated, or feel they are being taken advantage of them by others. The work is the work. It never goes away and you don't want it to go because then your paycheck goes away too. 

I have worked next to some that I literally thought about running them down with my car, but I still did my job. I love my job but I have not loved everyone I did it with nor every circumstances that I have had to my job. You can plan your butt off in the kitchen and dinning areas but it means nothing once the doors are open and the guest come in and get seated. I have had to deal with persons without much love for their fellow people, I have been spoken to totally disrespectfully, I have with the sweetest of persons, I have dealt with kids who were out of control, kitchen disasters, missing workers, injuries, the need to call the police to have people removed, I even had a wedding banquet happen that made to seating chart totally worthless and the guest count become so large that we had more people than glasses for drinking. 

Anything can happen and it usually does. The last thing anyone needs getting in the way of successful event is a coworker making it harder to accomplish than the customers did that day. A good leader can straighten things out so that no one gets hurt, most people just need to be heard, but there can be only a few environments more dangerous than a kitchen to have a conflict boil over.