It’s only been a few weeks since I started volunteering as a line-prep cook at Bar Ferdinand, and already I have lots of respect for those that do the job every day. Personally, I can’t believe how redundant the job is…cutting, chopping, prepping. Today I spent nearly 4 hours working on cutting manchego and stuffing it with quince paste; then adding flour, egg, and bread crumbs.
Its mind numbing work and by the third hour of chopping, a word kept coming into my mind, “chamara”. I don’t even know if this is the right way to say it, but in my mind it’s right. My entire life my mom would always say to me in Korean, “chamara” which essentially means to calm down, relax and get your wits together. It’s an odd word that doesn’t really translate so well in English, but often I think about it when I am doing something that I don’t want to, or when I start to feel impatient or frustrated. When I was young I hated this word, but now the word is comforting in an odd sort of way.
I guess I’m pretty good at prepping the food, though since Michael, one of the chefs half-heartedly offered me a job as a prep cook. I’ll have to pass up the offer. As it is if I never see another wheel of manchego or quince paste again, I wouldn’t be disappointed. I love to dine out and so for all of the line cooks and prep cooks out there, this one goes out to you…thank you so much for preparing and making my food!