I spent a good portion of the last hour trying to figure out what it means to be a good chef.
Trivial stuff to me, considering the best I can do is bake, but I really put some effort into it.
I have figured out the most important quality a chef can have: cleanliness. I wonder if that makes sense? I was making tuna salad, and if you have ever made it with a ton of ingredients, it can get really messy. So, while I'm cleaning these little messes as I make them, I can't help but think about all the people in my life that I have thought were good cooks, until they started making their dishes and left the kitchen a disaster. How can anyone enjoy a meal with a mess they KNOW they're going to have to clean up eventually? I know I can't.
And here's the real kicker: literally, the only person I can think of (mind you, a chef has to make a delicious dish too) that can cook a little piece of heaven and leaves no mess is my dad. And I have gone through a list of just about everyone in my head. My daddy and I don't always see eye-to-eye, but at least I can say that I learned how to clean up after myself from him. It's kind of funny to think about too. What you resent most about your parent is what you value most as an adult.
So, to reiterate, the most important quality of a chef, to me, besides the actual ability to cook, is how clean they are, while the masterpiece is cooking.
If you really think about it, and hopefully someone out there does, how many great chef's do you know?
