December 2011 – Food Woolf

Ignore Everybody

My friend Michael Procopio–a San Francisco based gentleman blogger who fights for the honor of words and glorifies the well-timed delivery of a witty retort–wrote a moving essay on the topic of writer’s block this past week. Michael’s post described how his writing had come to a halt once a desire to create something perfect had settled in. Writer’s block–the kind that demands nothing less than greatness– can not be relieved without the delivery of an impossible ransom. The desire for praise or success only elevates the price. Michael’s essay bared the hard truth; a desire to create something perfect can kill the ability to create.

Oh, man. Who hasn’t felt that way? Who hasn’t longed for a pat on the back? Who hasn’t worked hard on a creative project, only to feel a heightened sense of obligation for the next deed to be even greater than the last? Who hasn’t heard those dark whispers that say the work you’re done is no good. Or worse, that nobody out there really cares?

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been frozen by the idea that the last thing I was proud of may be the last good thing I write. And then, just when I’ve talked my self out of the corner, the voice of self-doubt returns to trump the whole thing with the hateful notion that the last thing I put down on paper wasn’t all that great after all. Why bother, it tells me.

Boy, we creative types really can be rotten to ourselves.

Luckily, I’m in something of a good place today, so I can muster something close to a snicker to the dark thoughts that come in and tell me I might as well stop writing. Where do these thoughts come from? Who allows such mean talk to go on in this head of mine? Thanks to Michael’s essay, I’m happy to know I’m not the only writer who has suffered through a block.

Continue reading “Ignore Everybody”

December 15December 19

Service 101: Opening a Restaurant

Opening a restaurant is grueling. You think you know the depths of hard work and then–just when you think you’ve got everything planned out–the undertow of the process takes hold of you and pulls you under. You never think a restaurant opening can be any harder than the last one you did, and yet…here you are struggling to keep afloat.

There’s no time to think about how many hours you’ve been working when you’re in the process of getting a restaurant ready for the public. Things go wrong. People drop away. Plans change. Equipment doesn’t show up. Things get hard. Then, everything starts to go great. And just when you think you’re about to catch your breath, something unexpected occurs. The doo-doo hits the fan and you’re challenged to push yourself even harder than before.

But when restaurants are your life, you can’t help but enjoy the dare. Can you go another hour without a meal? Is it possible to get one hour less sleep so you can do that one more task? In the big test of opening, the days end with meals that are barely chewed (inhaled, really), clothes are left in a hump at the end of the bed, and your face–covered in a thin veil of construction zone dust–gets a pillow case compress rather than a good washing because you can barely keep your eyes open. Your mind spins through through dreams in order to work out the last unconscious detail.

Yes, restaurant openings are demanding. But they’re also damn sexy.

The work builds camaraderie and professional growth. The work is so consuming, you can survive on almost no sleep or food–making restaurant openings a whole new kind of diet that helps you lose a few pounds while allowing you to eat whatever little tiny bit of decadent food you can wrap your mitts around.

Do enough restaurant openings, and you begin to realize you can do and learn more than you ever thought you could. You stumble upon little discoveries, like the way you short-cut a problem with a novel approach or great idea, or uncover a way to save the business a bunch of money by thinking outside of the box. Or find a deep well of kindness, rather than frustration. Continue reading “Service 101: Opening a Restaurant”

December 12January 2

Wishes Come True

Be careful what you wish for. Because if you really, really want something, you may actually get it.

For me, the big it I was wishing for had a lot to do with work. Back when I started this blog, my work in service excited me, but I could only see myself going so far as a server/bartender. So, after a couple of years of thinking about how I could expand my world in service, I dreamed big and started my own business as a service consultant. That choice to take a chance on the work I loved had me heading in the right direction of my aspirations.

The more I worked as a teacher of service, the more I discovered I needed to learn. I became a student of the masters of great service. I read lots of books. I took courses. I honed my craft and longed for alliances with like minded individuals. I began heaping finer points onto my wish: I want to be part of something bigger than myself.

My dream for living a life of service had me wishing for a job within a restaurant group–a collective of restaurants that felt approachable, served really great food (the kind of food I could get super excited about), offered incredible service, and employed big-hearted people who understood what it takes to create a comfortable environment for its customers and employees.

For a while there, I thought the only way I could have the kind of life I was dreaming of would require a drastic change in scenery, a move across country, and a complete overhaul of my life. Either that, or a lot of consulting gigs that could keep me busy enough to pay my bills and give me a little bits of what I was looking for in different locations.

Turns out, the life I’ve always wanted to live doesn’t require a moving truck or a major remodeling.

Wishes are coming true for me right here in Los Angeles.

The day I finished a great consulting job in Rancho Cucamonga, I started thinking to myself about my dreams of living a life of service. I started day dreaming about what would come next. For a moment, I worried how long it would take for me to find my next client.

And then, I checked my e-mailbox.

Within 48 hours, a whole new chapter in my professional life began. After almost a year of dreaming of becoming part of a small restaurant family, I have been given the opportunity to help run a small, 20+ seat bakery and pizzeria in Santa Monica. Though this is something of a departure from my consulting work, it is a pleasure to know I now have a full time home within a small, four-restaurant family known for their great baked goods, incredible market-fresh menus, heart-felt service, and a dedication to serving the community.

I couldn’t be happier.

But, for the record, making a dream reality, requires a whole lot of care and maintenance (maybe more than you could have ever imagined) to keep them alive and well.

If you dare to dream big enough, be ready for a lot of work.