Highlights from this book
-
Lobsters grow by molting. They shed their old shell to reveal a new, soft shell that will eventually grow and harden around them. By the time they’re done, there’s no sign of the lobster they were. It’s an exhausting, dangerous process. It takes a tremendous amount of energy and leaves them exposed and vulnerable while they’re in the middle of it.
-
Be a fool. For love. For yourself. For what you think MIGHT possibly make you happy. Even for a little while. Whatever the cost or good sense might dictate.
— Anthony Bourdain -
I’ve found that the cooks with the brightest prospects are the ones who are hardest on themselves. The trick is to direct that dissatisfaction to your advantage. Every day as a cook can be a fresh start. There are no lingering effects from the previous bad service. Yesterday’s mistakes are gone. Resolve to be better today. Just know that in three or four months’ time, when you move to a new section, it’s all going to feel freshly impossible again.
-
Every dish and service is an opportunity to collect data. It’s only a mistake if you don’t learn from it.