“Because to each one of us is given just so many years, and hence just so many opportunities to enjoy just so many meals, a poor meal is an opportunity lost forever” – Neill Beck, The Farmers Market Cookbook, 1951

I talk about it all the time in the kitchen and it drives people nuts. The Why. It’s not just a way to look at the restaurant industry and the things we do as Chefs. It’s a manner of approaching life, digging hard at the reasons you do the things you do. Raise kids. Play video games. Get up and walk the dog. Breathe. Whatever.

But in my case, and in the case of my chosen vocation (I’m not sure if I chose it or it chose me), it’s the why of “food, community and culture” to quote my friends at Memphis Cafe in Costa Mesa CA. What makes us tick as Chefs or restaurateurs. What makes us engage in this barely profitable madness day after day. What are the ways we can make things better for employees, customers and, yes, even ourselves and bottom lines.

I’ve been scribing here in the OC for almost ten years now and have been blessed to comment on a lot of aspects of what I call “The Biz”, you’ll be seeing a lot of that btw. But it’s time to strike out on my own a bit, to give a outlet for what could be considered a more genuine version of myself and what I stand for. Certainly a more candid look at what flies out of my brain at any given moment.

So for what it’s worth, here goes nothing. This isn’t to impress anyone, coddle people or do anything except tell it like it is.