Competitions
A week or so ago I got a call form a fella looking to raise money for a charity, one that I support and believe in. “Let’s do a cooking competition.”
Chaps my ass, I”ll tell ya. “All in good fun”, I’m told. Bullshit.
Do we ask sculptors to have a fucking sculpt off, do we ask painters to have a paint off, did any one say, Hey, Bob Marley, lets have a sing off against John Lennon. The thought of it is offensive, “Voltaire was a great writer, but man he could have worked quicker.” WTF? What kind of chefs does that create in the long run? Folks that are not considerate and deliberate, folks that are not informed by a dialogue with their guests?
By the way who judges that? I heard a couple of years ago they had some actress judging one of these things. I love movies, but they are not asking me to judge the Oscars.
The Top Chef generation has been a two edged sword, some folks that have flocked to the light and done ANYTHING to be famous are, and rich to boot-ain’t nothing wrong with that. But there is another side, what we gain in the short term may not help us in the long run, the way to build excellence in only by doing the work.
Ask yourself if great chefs do competitions? Does Daniel? Does Ripert? What about TK? Not to my knowledge.
Years ago I worked for a women who ran a restaurant. She was beautiful, funny, charming, sexy, tough as nails, strict, savvy and generally brilliant-she lead the team to extraordinary heights. She could squish you with a glance, or elevate you with a little wink. I once made here a sample dish for the menu, she tried it and she came to talk to me across the pass, quietly, she whispered, “Stewart you have made me dishes that have brought me to my knees, changed how I look at restaurants, and you have made me this, it’s as if someone vomited in my mouth.” Honestly having grown up in an all male business, I was pretty sexist until I worked for her. She profoundly altered my perspective, and consequently my future.
Once, her PR guy was in the kitchen chatting with the chef, she came in and started screaming, something she very rarely did, and if she did, there were no rules as to who may be on the receiving end. “Why the fuck are we in x magazine? For a week it’s, this well done, with that on the side, what business do you think I am in?”
The competition thing offends me, my kitchen is wide open, you wanna see what I do, be my guest. Please be my guest, I would love to cook for you, I really mean that, just don’t ask me to be your performing clown.
Now that’s the ornery Shef we’ve come to love (or hate) and lately, miss. Great points above. Solid analogies IMO.
Tell him you heard he’s good at jacks and that you think he should have a jack off.
I’m not even saying it’s all bad,but you might be taking your craft too seriously.
Makes sense to me. Hope they rethink their model and come up with a better way to raise funds. Don’t know if you were ever an Ali G fan, but “Respek!”
I think I might blog about this today at MNMO. Interesting.
Isn’t your stance a little like Larry Bird refusing to play in a charity 3-point contest on the basis that shooting a dozen rapid-fire shots doesn’t accurately reflect the total package of skills which make him an excellent BB player?
Do it or don’t do it that is your choice, but claiming that artisans dont engage in timed competitions in their craft is false. I think most people who care and in attendance are smart enough to understand that the competition is simply a constrained (time/equipment/space) event.
Failures can and will happen, but those that compete are willing to risk a blow to their ego and compete for someone else’s benefit.
Really, there is only one way to have a competition?
What’s amazing to me is how some people view every concept through the narrow prism of a set ideology. It fits into your narrative of me that you think I have some grand ego, your argument couldn’t be more simplistic. Even on the basic merits. Trolls will behave as they will.
Where did I say there was one way to have a competition?
I hate to break it to you, but you do have an ego. Much like I have an ego and anyone that is passionate about what they do has an ego, so what?
You are free to reject the “contest” on any number of grounds, but IMO its false to state that timed competitions some how hurt the craft. Some people are able to delineate a contrived competition from the artisans “normal” work product and respect and appreciate the end output for what it is.
Saying someone has an ego is like saying they have a thumb. The ego is basic to the organization of the psyche.
More accurately one could argue, for example, that someone has an inflated sense of self worth. But then you would have to provide specific and concrete evidence of that. Without knowing someone, or even psychoanalyzing them, making that claim based on an electronic persona would imply an absurd level of projection on their part. It would speak volumes about the person making such a claim and much less about the subject of the claim.
To your other point it hurts the craft in the sense that it belittles the artistry of the craft, by asking them perform tasks that are not related to outcomes. Tasks that are mostly not relevant to producing quality.
“Ask yourself if great chefs do competitions? Does Daniel? Does Ripert? What about TK? Not to my knowledge.”
quick question:
Do you consider Rick Bayless, Hubert Keller, Michael Chiarello, John Besh, Marcus Samuelsson, Ludo Lefebrve and Graham Elliot Knowles great chefs?
If so, then yes, they have done cooking competitions.
Greatness I would reserve for those who have had long stretches at the three star Michelin level.
There are obviously many types of greatness, but generally the word is over used. Is Ray Lewis great even though he hasn’t won a super bowl. One could certainly argue that. But you can’t argue that Tom Brady isn’t great.
Not that it’s on topic, but Ray Lewis has won a Superbowl. He was Superbowl MVP in 2000 (whatever SB the Giants got embarrassed in after thrashing the Vikes 41-0).
To the topic, timed competitions certainly aren’t for everyone. The appeal for people is to see what sort of quick creativity can be utilized when given a set of ingredients. It’s good, simple fun that isn’t meant to be an insult to the industry. It just happens to fit perfectly with a society that is starting to love food and doesn’t want to spend much time watching it come together.
http://thechive.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/tumblr_mf5p41bu0t1qdlh1io1_400.gif?w=274
That’s what Eric did to my knowledge of Ray Lewis history.
How about a dance off? I’d pay to see that.
Ripert was a regular judge on one of the seasons of Top Chef. Also Daniel and TK have had guest judging spots on different food competition shows. Granted they aren’t the ones competing, they are showing their support by being a part of it.
I am in the biz as well and take it very seriously. That doesn’t mean it can’t be fun. That an event for charity and fun while doing something you love with some peers can be a good thing. My restaurant and what I cook at home or if I were to compete are all related because they have to do with my love for food, but are all very different.
Besides in the food biz we are in constant competition with ourselves, other cooks, servers, other restaurants, crtics, awards, etc.
Although cooking is just as much art and expression of one’s self, it isn’t the same thing as sculpting, painting, or music. I do not feel it is proper to lump them altogether like that.
But hey it’s all just my opinion anyways.
Shef — After several years of enjoying your food, bloggin, and cook book-ing, I truly respect the passion you have for you craft and the utmost seriousness with which you pursue it. I get it. Food is your life and you don’t want a judge who doesn’t share your passion to tell you your work isn’t that good based on some competition that has little to do with actually being a chef.
On the other hand, maybe it wouldnt be the worst thing in the world, maybe you’d even have a little fun, to stop taking it all so seriously for a few minutes, to whip up a few crowd pleasers, make some money for a good cause, drink a couple beers with some friends? Would that be so terrible? Would it really invalidate a lifetime of hard word and dedication to excellence? No cooking competition judge can invlidate your work unless you allow their words between the cracks of your soul and allow them to define your self worth for you.
But maybe I’m wrong. Maybe thats why you are the shef and I’m here reading your blog and eating your food.
I’ve heard that I am very preachy, that I hold myself above others, and take everything too seriously.
The truth is more like this,
“Maybe there’s a God above
But all I’ve ever learned from love
Was how to shoot at someone who outdrew you
It’s not a cry you can hear at night
It’s not somebody who has seen the light
It’s a cold and it’s a broken Hallelujah”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2NEU6Xf7lM