Mr. Tiger

A tiger is an animal that is held in high esteem in the animal kingdom.  Tigers are either resting or searching high and low for food. This is pretty much how tigers spend their days for the length of their existence. It is this endless journey that creates a passion-driven life for our friend the tiger. 

Now let’s correlate all this to chefs, especially young aspiring chefs. At the beginning of a culinary journey young chefs are on a mission.  A gastronomic mission with a hungry tiger mentality. They are going to search for as many cooking secrets, and seek out as many great chefs to learn from that they possibly can. This usually will bring them to several great culinary cities, and even at times to different countries all in the name of cooking. This culinary prowess will continue until their appetite is satisfied.  It becomes a very individualized journey for a chef.  However, not all chef’s appetite for gastronomic knowledge is the same. Some tigers will continue to search for a bigger and bigger catch to satisfy their hunger, and others may settle for less difficult opportunities. 

A chef’s journey is quite the same. What is important is that an aspiring chef keeps the fire for knowledge burning as they move down their culinary career path.  It takes years to acquire many of the skillsets and gastronomic knowledge to truly become a well-rounded culinary arts professional.

Fortunately, like our friend the jungle tiger who will pass on its knowledge to their cubs, culinary tigers have the ability to pass on their knowledge to the next generation as well. Seasoned chefs are the ones that teach and encourage young chefs to follow their cooking ambitions.  Once your culinary journey has reached its pinnacle this teaching and inspiring phase of your career is just as important as all the years spent gathering knowledge and skills.

Tigers once their bellies are full become sleepy and docile.  Pretty much they stay like this until their hunger rises up in them again. Then the quest and cycle begin all over again. The seasoned chef goes through a similar scenario though it is a different kind of craving and hunger. Technology and food trends change quickly in the hospitality industry and this is what continuously tantalizes the tastebuds of accomplished chefs. Inevitable they rise up once again to learn more. It becomes a never-ending journey to stay ahead of the curve and keep current with an industry that is in constant flux. 

Especially now with the Covid-19 pandemic. It has dealt a hard blow to the restaurant industry and it drove many restaurants and hospitality jobs into extinction. This is exactly what Mr. Tiger is trying to avoid every day. Tigers need to adapt to their ever-changing environment as the years go by in order to survive and avoid extinction.

Chef Franco

A passionate career path is never an easy road no matter what your career is.  A chef is no exception. It’s a constant work in progress that carries on for many years. Therefore, if you’re a young chef that can see themself as a curious culinary tiger with an insatiable appetite, then good for you. 

You should be thrilled to begin your exciting culinary journey! Your quest for gastronomic knowledge won’t stop until your belly is full. Then you can sit back one day and tell the next generation of chefs all about your culinary tiger “tales.” 👨‍🍳 🐯