As I sit here with my cool libation at the end of a marathon fourteen and a half hour cooking session, I am exhausted. The past three days have been nothing but intense preparation for the wedding that took place today in addition to my regular work load. Still I find myself satisfied and looking for the next marathon session that will inevitably come my way.
I have kind of a love and hate relationship with weddings. A wedding can be one of the most grueling challenges for a chef. At least if you take pride in what you do. I've known chefs who just view a wedding as another gig and mindlessly crank out mediocre drivel for consumption on one of the most important days in the life of a couple. To those kind of chefs I say,"What the Fuck!? Get your sorry ass out of the business."
From my viewpoint I think that is crucial that a chef showcase their best offerings for a wedding...within the constraints of the bridal party's restrictions. Ah...there's the rub. It would be great if we could create our best dishes and throw expense to the wind. Then the attendees would marvel at the exquisite talent and artistry that resides in the kitchen. "Ah" they would gasp, "We should eat here all the time. How did we poor culinary luddites come to be in the presence of this gastronomic genius?"
But the day is not about us in the kitchen. It is about the honorary couple. And that couple is often on a serious budget. After all the food is one in a myriad of expenses that are encountered during a wedding. Besides lets not kid ourselves, after the bride and groom, the freakin cake is the star of the show. How did a thing made from flour, egg, water, and sugar become the spotlight hog that it is? Did the bakers guild drug couples back in the day? I smell a conspiracy here.... but I digress.
Anyway, so keeping in mind that there is often a modest budget to work with and no one really likes to go "out there" for this kind of occasion. ( I don't think Uncle Manny and Aunt Theresa from Tucumcari, NM are going to understand Sake Braised Sweetbreads with Morel Foam and Soy Smoke)
The challenge is to make staples like Salmon, Chicken, Roast Beef and Lamb taste damn good in mass quantities on a limited budget. This can often be tricky not because these are difficult ingredients to work with but because a wedding always comes with a few quirky special requests. The bride has a gluten allergy but doesn't want to experience "Food Envy" so what can you do? The ceremony starts 45 minutes late and now you have to hold back service for an hour or so. Whatever it is the challenge always pops up. This is why I hate weddings. There's always some little thing that just makes brain want to exit from your head in the quickest way possible.
But if you just maintain a sense of zen and your belief that you have made the best meal you possibly could given all the challenges there is always a point where you experience the gratitude. Not from a random guest but always from someone directly involved with the wedding party. Could be the father of the bride, a grandparent, or possibly the bride and groom themselves; inevitably someone will pull you aside and say " you know this was great, thank you. "
I suppose it's kind of like the "nod" in the movie Groove.
That is why I love weddings.
They're a pain in the ass to prepare for, but if you do your best work there will always be a moment where you realize you made the Bride and Groom look like geniuses for picking you to host their event.
And after all isn't that what's its all about?
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