A Chef's Life

[johnjohn]

I am curious about a chef's personal life.

The long hours and working nights/weekends when the rest of society is off must be difficult on your personal life. A few questions...

Is it hard to be in a relationship or have a family? Do you have a significant other, and if so, what is their profession.

Are most of your friends in the business?

What are your days off and what do you do with your time off.

Any other thoughts on a chef's life would be great.

Thanks for your time - We all appreciate it.

John

[bluehill]

johnjohn,

You could not have hit on a bigger issue, especially for me, at this time in my life. I wonder often, and with great trepidation, about how I will be able to create a family as I get older. I say "create a family" but I should be more specific. The issue is having a family and being successful at it. The challenges of being in this industry are enormous and make the success part of it very difficult indeed.

I do have a wonderful girlfriend, and we live together, and the truth is it's a great challenge to connect in a meaningful way when our schedules are so opposite. She's incrediblly understanding, but it's incredibly frustruating too. I think she sometimes views the restaurant as "the other woman", and in a sense it is.

I am not great at creating a balance in my life, even though I know, assuredly, that I'd be a better cook if I took more time off. Like now! My God, my girlfriend is in the dining room eating at this moment, and I'm here in the office talking about not talking to her. The irony! I'm a phony in chef's whites--I'm off to see her.