Here we are, sliding into month 2 of 2010. I realize I have not been very diligent about posting of late. Possibly too preoccupied with the new year and thinking about what it will possibly bring. But that does bring something to mind that makes my fingers anxious to say Hello to my keyboard.

I use to be the type of person who resisted change, and quite adamantly. When I was a wee lad I liked everything to be just as it was yesterday. No one ever accused me of being wild and crazy! In fact, up until only a short time ago, I would cross the street if I saw Spontaneity walking towards me. No, no, no… when things were the way I liked them,then dammit, that is how I wanted them to stay. My mum would call me a curmudgeon, an old fart, but I could be a very stubborn old fart!

When I became Chef I did have to loosen the seat belt a little bit, because after all, the art of food creation is not black and white. I had to learn, grudgingly at first, that it was OK to step outside the box. I didn’t want to be someone who regimentally followed recipes and other peoples’ rules. As Harold Mcgee  encouraged in his brilliant tome On Food & Cooking, I wanted to question everything I read. If a recipe insisted that only certain steps be followed, only the requisite ingredients be used… well, that made me want to experiment, to try to make it my way. Similarly, when I would get a dish exactly as I wanted it I felt relieved. ” There, the lamb shanks are perfect. I won’t have to change them for some time now”. I slowly began to realize that very few things are perfect, that there is always room for improvement. That was one of the things I loved about food — the playing and experimenting and striving to make it better!

Sure, I’ll admit that making changes still does make my palms a tad sweaty, but I no longer cross the street to avoid spontaneity. I welcome it and thank it for making me a better Chef and, more importantly, a better person. In fact, I’ve decided that my mantra for this new year will be to do something everyday that makes me feel a little uncomfortable.

I highly recommend this to anyone who might not be a big fan of change. Lamb chops? Try a shank. Only jazz? Try on some Funk. Short hair? Grow it long. Murder mysteries? Reach for a biography. Couch potato? Downward dogs on the double! Tomorrow I’m going to wear a red bow tie, listen to hip hop, make some small changes to the menu, get a new funky haircut, and have a port instead of my customary sherry. Change is Good! Damn, palms are getting sweaty……. !

Tastefully Yours, Luke