Parental Role Injustice For Next Generation

As a mother of three achieving teenagers, I have put into place a strategy that may give them a leg up in the coming years. This plan of mine isn't done just because I am a chef, but I have seen that there is a informational gap forming on many levels and types of education that our children are not receiving. I have seen this more readily now that I am a culinary educator of other's parents children.

It is no longer a pervasive standard of parental expectation that children are expected to participate in completing chores, household repairs, and cooking duties. This has established bad habits that won't be easily broken. I seldom here of the Saturday mornings filled with cleaning the house, Spring cleaning, yard work, or any other type of productive duties that a family should be doing together. It is our duty to send out into the world at large young adults who have the skills to survive. I never wanted to live in situations where my kids would drop off their laundry at my house for me to do, or having one that come and eat or pickup dinner from my house because you didn't learn these skills before moving out. And I don't want to have my adult kids return home to live rent free in my basement because they can't maintain themselves in the real world.

Do I expect any of the my kids at home to become a chef or work in my industry? No way. However, I want to see my kids having the ability to cook at home, not being dependent upon corporations to feed themselves, understand how to manage a successful household, paying bills, and raising their own children in a healthy environment. We often set our kids up for defeat, poor health, shorter life spans, and a inability to function. Those of us that do not develop our children's potentials are not the only ones that will suffer in the long-term. Our grand kids and our daughter or son-in-laws often have difficulties with a parent or mate that is ill equip to deal with the day to day of adulthood.

I am the perfect parent? Do I only eat a restrictive diet? Do I know everything about everything? NOT TRUE. But I believe that when you don't share your knowledge on any subject with your children, in a age appropriate manner, it is a cold meal of injustice you are serving up. We parents have been given a charge, these aren't just kids we are raising, but in fact, they are the next wave of leadership we are growing. We are charged with the duty of their safety, education, development, and identity, we have a huge responsibility. Almost everything that our kids grow up to be is in fact our fault, good or bad. Some people never grow up, they just become old children and others become anxiety ridden over achievers who never get the hang of intimate relationships. Yes we must take the blame as well as the credit.

School isn't were kids learn about adulthood, that happens in the home. Teachers can teach algebra or science, but it's isn't their job to raise your kids. Manners, respect, honor, and loyalty must be taught in abundance along with hard skills of paying bills, being a reliable employee, and being a fully actualized adult prepared to take a significant role in a family or their own.

Cooking your meals has many benefits. It is cheaper than restaurant food and it gives you control of what goes in your food. The savings and the versatility that cooking at home can bring is beneficial to your bottom line and your waistline. Fast food and processed foods are designed to be made as cheaply as possible while being highly addictive and while our younger folks cannot see any reason not to eat that way. Those of us who are a bit further down the road have begun to feel the effects of a American diet rich in empty calories and large amounts of fat. Diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and a host of other aliments attributed to this eating style. Since the days of Jane Fonda workout, we have become more unhealthy while spending more and more money on diets, supplements, yoga pants, and health club membership that you don't use.

Not teaching your children some survival skills is not a good option. I know that you can do it faster and better, but they need to practice, so they will be able to do and teach it to their offspring. And do I need to mention the habit fosters a greater sense of responsibility? Creating a mess and not cleaning it up is telling them that they don't need to take ownership of what they have done and it also says 'don't worry, Mom will fix everything', While they are little it should be that way, but as they age, year after year, it becomes a very bad idea. Stop coddling yours so much that they have a stunted emotional growth.  

Healthy eating starts with healthy cooking, eating at a regular schedule, and understanding the basics of nutrition. Do everything you can to equip them for the future instead of spoiling them in the presence. I see teenagers every day that have no idea why they think they don't like to eat this or that. My program is an exposure program in which they cook new dishes and eat food they may not have ever heard of before, giving a lot better toolbox of personal experience.

I have heard my students say things like 'I didn't know mashed potatoes didn't come in a box", "I always thought I didn't like coleslaw", "Chef, I really really liked the green beans." all of which I count as a victory!

I do know that giving something away that you don't posses isn't easy or nearly impossible but I want you encourage every parent, even the ones that don't know a lot about cooking. Grab the bull by the horns, and learn with your kids if necessary, and learn better habits. Live a healthier life while giving one to your next generation.

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?

Politics

I don't typically share on social media my political stance as it isn't a political blog, it's a food blog. On top of that, I have met those who will hold your beliefs against you when doing business, as if it is a legitimate reason to select a vendor or not. Best price, best customer service, best products, ah.... but what was it that you said about the candidates in this year's election?

Finding out that Trump will be at UIC soon and Sanders will be at Argo High School has me feeling spurred to action.  My eldest child is a student at UIC and my middle child goes to Agro like my eldest did before her.

I'm a liberal and if this is problematic for you, then don't finish reading this post. I'll understand. I wish that my career, my business, my educational efforts, and my personal life were not impacted by politics, but food is highly political. I define myself as a liberal, not a democrat or a republican. I am not influenced easily by conspiracies, political propaganda, or other people's opinions. I have learned from many sources in all phases in my life and it is from those experiences and knowledge base that I come to my own conclusions.  

Food strikes at the core of what it is to be human. It touches every one every day. We feed each other and transmit culture and emotions through each bite. Food cooked with love does more for the heart of man than the nutritional input could ever offer. Don't think food is political?  Try living without access to quality food outlets for a month or live without adequate food intake for just a few days, you will have fresh eyes for the issues.

Political promises of a chicken in every pot, legislation imposed on small business, school lunch programs, proposed Chicago Teacher Union strike, and slashed funding for culinary education, culinary colleges closing, food deserts, charitable food assistance program, framer's markets, and even state supplemental food programs such as WIC and Link, are all political.

Some conservatives speak of reductions to vital programs that feed our most vulnerable members of our society and advocate for a vision of pulling yourself up by your bootstraps. But what if your deficiencies are the equivalent to not having feet to put boots on? The poor will always be with us, needs will always be present, but suffering malnutrition should not be so wide spread in a 1st world country.

My career as a chef has lead me to feed some well known political figures and for the most part it was an honor to do so, even when I didn't agree with their platform. Every plate filled and every month feed strengthens our society as a whole. A hungry man is a dangerous thing. That hunger will spur him to just about anything to cease the call for calories. 

I wish I could live in a world unaffected by politics, legislation that both aid one group of people while harming another, where profit isn't the sole function of a company or group of individuals. A world without the greed and adversarial warfare. I would like a Zen world where everyone only uses what they need and doesn't bother to take from the most vulnerable ones. A world where there is no issues of lack, ill educated, no sympathy for fellow man, or underpaid and overworked.

As I type this, I can see this topic is going to have to be revisited later on. There's my final thought on politics for the day. The issue of minimum wage. Too many people, that I have encountered, do not understand the legislation of a minimum wage law, why it was enacted, and why many are now advocating that the minimum needs to be raised.

The minimum wage laws were conceived and enacted to combat the injustice of  having a inadequately paid populous. When your working staff is paid too cheaply, the owners of the company earn a much larger portion of the profits than the workers. The resulting expenses of a poorly paid population effect the whole society as medical treatment can't be afforded by the individuals but then must be paid out of taxes raised by the state, the number of malnourished people increases which again effects the need for medical treatment, the children of the underpaid lots of times end up increasing the burdens of the state as the parents cannot afford the basic needs of the families to which they belong, birth control to prevent families from having too many children becomes out of reach, the education of the children of poorer families must rely upon the state to provide those kids an education, and the total health, education, and welfare of the state is greatly reduced. The legislation was written with this in mind, a family of 3 or 4 should be paid enough to be able to supply for the needs of its members; food, clothing, shelter, and education. Without this as a standard, you will increase the homeless population as they will not be paid adequately enough to be able to pay rent, you will have children unable to learn and grow adequately do to a lack of food, and you can eventually find that your society will be forced to commit crimes in order to supplement their needs. Under educated students will finish school without all the tools they need to have a proper sustainable income as adults.

Many people have expressed their negative emotions about raising the minimum wage with statements like "No one should earn that much working at the burger joint down the street, are you crazy?" "How will small business be able to hire employees at that rate of pay?" This issue isn't about the greed of the workers, to me, it is more reflective of the greed of the employers, big or small. If I can't afford to get back and forth to work, then I can't come in an toil for the betterment of your company. If I can't feed myself and my children then I will not be able to spent all my time an effort working for you because I will need to work two jobs to make ends meet. If a worker is under the stress of everyday living to an unreasonable amount, then they will not be a good worker, but rather more like an indentured servant relying upon their betters benevolence.

The trope that companies cannot afford to pay American workers at a minimum wage law of $15 an hour for 40 hours of work, or more a week, doesn't hold up as truth when you look outside of our boarders. Many well known companies have a world wide audience and a international workforce. Take a look at a company like McDonald's. They have presence in many companies and I would have been inclined to believe them when the rebuff proposed changes to the wage law if I had not looked up the rate of pay for this company in other nations and discovered that they are paying this wage, and much more, to their workers overseas. So you can see clearly that this is just propaganda at best. 

Protection of both the company and the workforce is absolutely needed as the company provides work but it is the worker that makes the company successful. When industries become unregulated in lots of different ways, then it isn't long before you start seeing natural disasters, workplace accidents, unfair worker pay issues, environmental violations that put people and wildlife in jeopardy. In my personal experiences, unions are not always successful and sometimes there is corruption within the union officials, however, without unions there would have been a much darker world that would have immersed.

Keep being informed about politics, as it only takes the righteous people to ignore corruption, and do nothing, for evil deeds to arise and flourish.

Leadership without Loyalty

Can you be a leader without inspiring loyalty in others? A chef is much more than most people know, not only must a chef be a great cook, they also must be an artist, understand some engineering, run a business with P&L and ROI responsibilities, order supplies, and handle the HR issues. It is the chef that can make or break a food business.

Many executive chefs do very little cooking due to all the additional responsibilities that comes with running a kitchen or a business. It is a bad day for the whole crew of chefs when the head man in charge must come out of the office and get on the line, as it signals that the symphony is out of tune. The executive chef is the conductor of the orchestra, and must also be able to play, write, and read music.

Leading a kitchen brigade into culinary battle isn't easily done. There's a lot of trust that needs to be built up before you will be a strong leader. All chefs have strong personalities, and some even are egomaniacs, and yielding to another chef can be hard-fought. The best of us know their strength and their weaknesses. Some chefs are fabulous on a bench but are not well suited for paperwork and running the business. Some chefs are not adapt at customer service and should limit their customer contact. No matter what gifts you have been given, do not abandon them for the sake of something else.

I have met chefs who could make the most incredible artistic works but as their business grew, they got a bit of a limelight and stopped working as a chef in order to bask in the glory of ownership. These ill-equip people stop doing what gave them notoriety. They take on the role as the face of the business and end up doing customer service and paperwork without a skilled hand.

The question still remains as to loyalty. Teamwork begins with skill and strength but can end rapidly with over-inflated egos and lack of communication. To get other chefs to follow your lead isn't easy because it isn't easy to get them to trust you. They must know you, and know you well, and understand that you will not walk away when everyone is in the weeds. Leave no man behind. And somehow along the way, you have to show them that your decision making is sound. Every order must be understood and wise because even a slight misstep will have the brigade lose faith in your leadership.

Skilled chefs can be a hard bunch to tangle with and if you are taking too much time to enforce the rules, expectations, and goals to a chef, you will not have any time left to answer customers requests. Understanding yourself, were you work best, how to make the biggest positive impact for the organization, can change your life and your career.

Kitchen leadership comes from a magical place where your skills, personality, authority, confidence, respect for your co-workers, knowledge, and respect for teamwork, all comes together. As a team leader, often times you have to protect the team from the obstacles in their path. If a customer needs something from the chefs and you are the leader, it is your job to keep the customer out of the team's hair, and handle the customers needs, which makes the day run smoother for everybody. If the product order comes in, it is your job to make sure that the team has everything that is needed to perform. If someone takes a sick day, as a leader, you will be expected to put the team in the best possible place by calling in a replacement or by filling in yourself. The leader has to wear all the hats they can and make the day run smoothly for everyone involved. Without this type of effort, the team will run you down and take total control away from you because it will be declared that you can't handle the responsibility. If you become sick and don't show respect to your crew by way of calling ahead, asking someone to cover for you, or leave them with an impossibly hard day, you maybe forgiven once or twice, but they will stop trusting you if this becomes a pattern with you.

There are so many variables involved that I am having a hard time trying to define what is leadership in a professional kitchen. It is something that naturally surfaces with unanimous physic vote of the whole. I have been a crew member, but not a leader, and something would happen and the whole crew will turn and look to me to solve it all of a sudden. Can you take information and discern how to assign work to the best team member possible to get the job done? Can you jump in and help in every position there? Can you brake down a job into smaller pieces so the burden is shared by the team instead of leaving the whole weight on one or two team members? Can you communicate with customers and put them at ease that their issues will be handled correctly? Can you communicate with the waitstaff or beverage department or any other department within the organization successfully? Does your presence bring with it a sigh of relief from your team instead of negative feelings and them wishing it was your day off?

Loyalty is something given, and not given easily. You can give someone or something your loyalty but you cannot demand it from others and most of the time expecting it from others can leave you disappointed. Loyalty cannot be built up without honesty and responsibility.


Saluti