howdy!
cynic: a person who believes people are motivated by self-interest rather than acting for honorable reasons.
chef: a professional cook, typically the chief cook in a restaurant or hotel
for the press
de Martinez is Daniel Eduardo Martinez, born and raised in Tucson, Arizona. For more than two decades he’s worked in high- and low-end kitchens throughout Southern Arizona, parts of Texas, and Rochester, New York, all the while erratically embracing and eschewing his calling as a writer, novelist, and poet.
de Martinez lives with his wife and son in his home state, where they own and operate one of only two authentic French bakeries in Tucson, Arizona. Whenever possible, he continues to work toward completing his magnum opus, The White Room Experiment.
for kitchen folks and in general
for years i have been foraging, stewing, brewing, percolating, fermenting: profanities under my breath every time i got a ticket bearing yet another customer's godforsaken modification, frustrated that i forgot how to say "no" because everybody everywhere thinks they should have everything however they want it and it's my job to give it to them.
of course there's always some positive to balance out the negative. and there's something about the food service industry, the professional kitchen and the larger operation of which it is a part: it gets in your blood and it becomes a way of life. it's all very beautiful, actually--when everything goes right.
but at the end of the day (or in the morning, if you're like me), take a brief moment to think about everyone who handles our food, and tell them, while you're droppin' that deuce: so long, and thanks for all the shit.