I was also a fat kid...I kinda had it coming and then I stood up for myself
Everything changed then, I mean EVERYTHING
I had the "feared" respect, and learned at a young age I was a bully myself
Well, to some extent at least.
I'm a bully in the sense of I'll push you farther, harder, and be more honest with you than most people you will ever meet
I grew up watching one cooking show religiously, I even faked being sick to watch it
Was it because I wanted to cook? I wanted my own show? I can't decide
He demonstrated in very broken English what he was cooking, but also showed the history of the food, where it came from, how it came to be, and what it consisted of and the small village it came from
That's what drives me cook, the history of food
Tonight at work I harassed some girls ordering because they were afraid they would say the entree wrong
I, in turn taught them some French (the very few terms I know, and taught them the French terms that are common you don't realize are French), and also taught them some Spanish and we spoke back and forth in Spanish
At the gas station buying a pack of smokes I had a girl yell out "donde vida?" I replied with "I think you mean donde mota, and no, I don't smoke" "Well, you're a chef where does your inspiration come from?" Realizing she was a complete and total un-educated, and quick to draw assumptions I replied with "I drink a lot of whiskey" I played the introvert card.
Inspiration isn't a direct result of intoxication. The mind itself is setup to be creative, we just miss it half the time. If Silverback Gorillas can teach themselves to stand and walk on their legs, we as humans can in turn realize where we actually come from and realize what we really are. What really makes us, drives us, and excites us. Sure, intoxication might "heighten the senses" but in the end? It's merely thoughts we subconciously choose to ignore.
I wake up the same way most people do...one pant leg at a time, I drink my coffee, I eat what everyone else does...frozen biscuits, sausage...etc. The realization that chefs eat like "normal" people is something that should be understood. We, most times, cook hundreds of meals a day...you really think we want to "cook" food after working 14 hours a day? Hell no. We eat like "normal" people do. We aren't seperate from you by any means, we just have a drive that is viewed as, and I quote from a lady tonight at work "you have to be kidding? You are in school from 9-3, in a kitchen and will go to work from 4 to 1 am?" "well maam, if I didn't love what I do, I wouldn't go to school for it. Cooking professionally isn't for everybody. It takes a special person to do it. Just promise me you never refer to cooks as artists...we, basically, are craftsmen. An architect makes "art" but it's still classified as a trade, a craft, same as a carpenter."
