The things no one wants to hear and no one cares to know

I'm not sure why I keep thinking that tomorrow is Friday. One always wants the week to end, but this one needs to.

I apologize to all of the hungry readers out there for serving up a skint portion of literature over the past week or so. Fear not, for my appetite has not dwindled. More like the Sous-Chef has burned down the kitchen. A bit of re-plastering and some tidying up and the doors to Chez Finestone should be pumping out the goods once again. More apologies for the flurry of vagueness and overly-cryptic idioms that may flow onto the page momentarily. This is what some guy with bifocals, a notepad and a PHD sitting on the couch across from you might call an 'exercise'.

There are two possible outcomes that might occur if a Chef attempts to prepare their "dream menu"--overwhelming success, or cataclysmic failure. There is no in-between in such a scenario. One has a vision of greatness and perfection, aspirations of pure genius and unfathomable reverence. Any insecurities must be thrown into the slop bucket and confidence in ones calculation, execution and the desired outcome can be the only drivers.

Success happens when all of the aforementioned elements fall into place as imagined and attempted. Failure, on the other hand is not always the result of a collapse on the line; overcooking the tenderloin, botching your ratios in the reduction or scorching your sear may not, in fact, be the cause of your demise; maybe your patrons just don't like what you've served them. "It's not bad." or "I would have done that differently." are as unacceptable, if not more detrimental to ones idea of achievement as having to call the fire department because of a grease fire in the middle of service. When you know that you have performed beyond your best, made it all happen from start to finish, yet still fallen short of your goal is when the psyche takes a true hit.

One now has to think of what could have been done differently; immediately, one laments that nothing could have been altered. How can you change perfection?! The more analysis, the more deconstruction, the more excuses one begins to make. All that eventually remains is a mess of dirty dishes, and your soap has run out.

As mentally depleting as such an instance may be, as much as failure comes in many forms, one has the ability to move past it in many ways, as well. Sure, the option to throw in the apron is always available, but, so is the prospect of growth and change, an increase of perspective and personal expectations, or, maybe you were in fact doing it right all along.

Ferran Adria, generally regarded as the greatest chef to ever live, spent most of the first decade of his career as Head Chef at his, now Michelin 3-Star rated restaurant, El Bulli, with a near-empty dining room. At times, waiting weeks on end for a single customer to visit his remote establishment on the Spanish coast of Catalonia, Adria was busy concocting some of the most unique, inventive and incredibly delicious gastronomical creations to ever be ingested. Recently, El Bulli permanently closed its doors to begin a new chapter in what has turned out to be an award winning career for Adria and accolades such as Restaurant Magazine's "Best Restaurant in the World" a record 5-times.

While it's never convenient, and undoubtedly unwelcome, perhaps there is some resonance in admitting that some of the greatest success that one might enjoy in life, only fail at the outset as a result of when rather than how. 

If one is stubborn, or more importantly, confident enough to keep on pursuing what could be nothing but the right thing, the perfect pairing, then it's only a matter of time before one is able to admire the product of ones persistence. Those who never fall short will never truly know what it is to attain. Those who will not accept failure will always know that they have strived to realize their passion. As for me, I'd rather go down in a hellstorm of fire then flicker out like a feeble flame.