Confused.....

[MArkF]

I realized this from my plastic model making days but it seems to carry over to cooking as well....

WHY DO WE NOT WORRY IF WE RUIN AN "EXPENSIVE" MEAL BUT GOD FORBID IF WE "CHIP" A KNIFE...OH-MY-GOD....WHEN THE FACT IS THAT MANY KITCHEN TOOL/SPICES/STUFF COST WAY LESS THAN THE MEAL BEIN "RUINED"?

To maybe make the point...when I built plastic model kits over the years one could have problems and walk away (polite for thow away) a $100 kit but on the other hand we would try to make the $3 bottle of paint or glue last F_O_R_E_V_E_R?!?!? Can waste a drop...

I am confused.....

Mark

Edited April 23, 2004 by MArkF (log)

[lala]

I'm not quite understanding this logic. I'm not happy if I either ruin an expensive dinner, or chip a knife. However, if I see that knife falling, I get the hell out of the way so it doesn't go through my foot!

[Moopheus]

I'd be pretty pissed at myself for ruining an expensive meal--I don't like to ruin any meal, regardless of cost. I'd probably be less annoyed at breaking a piece of equipment, unless it was something very expensive. On the other hand, I know what you mean about the can of paint thing--I always try to scrape every bit of whatever from the pot or the jar.

[lorea]

I'd be pretty pissed at myself for ruining an expensive meal--I don't like to ruin any meal, regardless of cost.

Yeah, I would get pretty upset at myself if I ruined any meal. But with the equipment thing, I think it's because we see it as an investment that should last many many uses.....and a meal is just a one time thing! Once you eat it, it's forever gone....

But a chipped knife will forever be looking at you, giving you a guilt trip every time you looked at the poor chipped thing.

[markf424]

I'm always pissed off. Good meal, bad meal, chipped knives or perfect ones. It's just my nature.

Just kiddin'. I am angry if I mess up a cheap meal, out of respect for the ingredients. I also dislike failing at anything, so I'll rarely "walk away" from a meal.

[culinary bear]

Food is transient, though the memory lives on... unless, of course, you're cooking in an old folks' home.

Equipment is made to last, or at least should be; It's not the end of the world if some young commis throws my cheap Victorinox parer (£3) out with the potato peelings, but coming into the kitchen to find a new KP punching air holes in the top of a 5 gallon can of vegetable oil with my brand new Global (£60+) did not endear him to me.

Chefs are capricious creatures, of course, and in the same vein of MY section, MY kitchen, MY mise-en-place, MY knife, we all like things to be familiar... I nearly cried when I dropped my oldest knife (a beaten up old college model) and broke the tip, but that was due to the emotional attachment, not the value.

[chefboy2160]

Yes culinary bear , sentiment runs deep does it not! I treat my tools as I do my family for without them how can I make a living.There have been misshaps along my journey but for a long time now I use Forschner knives and if something happens , well it does not hit me to deep in the pocket.

I also require my staff to provide there own tools so this helps a little.

Now , let us lite a candle and say a prayer for all of our missused and stolen knives

(also tools) . A moment of silence please.................. OK , time to get back to the real world and kick some a**.......... Later , Doug............

[lala]

It's not the end of the world if some young commis throws my cheap Victorinox parer (£3) out with the potato peelings, but coming into the kitchen to find a new KP punching air holes in the top of a 5 gallon can of vegetable oil with my brand new Global (£60+) did not endear him to me.

My first job, I was 18, had my much saved for 10" Wusthoff. Left my area and returned to find the prep crackhead slicing open plasticised, string laden potato bags with my treasured knife. I tore him a new one.

[foodie52]

Or someone ( who shall remain nameless) putting the Wusthofs in the dishwasher.

[hedoness]

Try coming home to find someone opening a package with one of your knives... Some hurts never heal...

[ms. victoria]

I too get miffed if I ruin an expensive meal, but the real hurts come when something in my kitchen gets broken. My knife is a not very expensive one that was a gift from my father when I moved out. I have my father's cutting board that he used to clean fish and that my husband uses for meat and tends lovingly. I also have my father's bar glasses, tumblers embossed with a faux leather and gold design. One of them was a casualty in our last move and I found myself cradling it in the wrapping tissue and wishing fervently there was someway to salvage the shards. Obviously, I agree that it is as much, if not more, sentiment and attachment than expense. If I had untold millions, I still couldn't replace that glass any more than I can replace my dad.