Ok, I got a lot of flak for the comments I made concerning American cooks. They aren’t all a lazy, undisciplined lot… some of them are actually quite good. About one out of a thousand have what it takes to become a chef, and that leaves 999 who are a royal pain in the ass!

Line cooking is where the real business of preparing the food you eat takes place. It is more about consistency, about unvarying repetition, tasks have to be performed over and over again in exactly the same way. The last thing I want in a line cook is somebody who is going to mess around with my recipes and presentations. I worked hard on them, getting the right textures and combination of flavors, while making sure my food costs are within reason. The customer is expecting the dish to taste the same every time, they don’t want to be surprised every time they order… or they won’t be back you can bet on it.

I don’t need or want a Bobby Flay wanna-be having fun with Kiwis, balsamic and ginger, who talks about a book deal or TV show, bitches about working holidays and the fact that he’s not making any more money.

I require blind, near-fanatical loyalty, and an automaton-like consistency under high stress conditions. I asked Wes, a chef pal of mine, who makes his own pasta and sauces from scratch daily and runs one of the best restaurant kitchens Florida, his thoughts on it. He greatly prefers Dominicans or Guatemalans. The Italian or American guy? You’re screaming at him in the rush, "Where's that polenta?! Is that fucking polenta ready yet? Gimme that polenta!" and they are gonna give it to you whether it’s ready or not. A Dominican or Guatemalan guy? He's just going to turn his back and stir the polenta, and keep cooking it until it's done, just the way you showed him.” No one can appreciate the American Dream of hard work leading to material rewards better than a non-American. The Mexican, Dominican, Guatemalan and Salvadorian cooks I've worked with make most culinary school educated white boys look like clumsy, sniveling little cry babies. 

The Thanksgiving meal is coming along, I'll run the menu past Julie and see what she thinks about it before I post it here.