WITH AGE COMES WISDOM !!

If I were to leave a  will to my as yet unborn children it would include wisdom and little money!!…I lived the life of a nomad chef so they aren’t exactly the children of William Gates the Third. But in the end it is wisdom that will make them richer than cash. Cash will come and cash will go within all our lifetimes, wisdom stays with you…

I am as I type, sitting in the passenger seat of a van delivering precious edible cargo of the immensely expensive cake variety to a far distant destination.

And what do I know of cake delivery to far distant destinations, well wisdom and age has taught me much.

I learnt a lesson in 1986 as an apprentice which has remained with me till this day and to which I shall pass on to anyone interested, You see, “Gravity is the undoing of many an award winning chef.” There you go.

Gravity wins out all the time..

You see, in 1986 a group of four young lads had spent four sleepless days and nights making food history for our era. We had cooked, prepared, chopped , whisked and molded some incredible desserts and showpieces for a Salon Culinaire . At the time we lived about 1 ½ hours from the capital city in which the event was being held.

Back in those days, prior to life, we were all about the food. We did what ever it took to be the best and be recognized for it…We had bravado and we had ego and we had no harsh life lessons yet with which to taint our virgin chef-ing minds.

Four sleepless days and nights, an hour and half drive in the warm summer sun and we were soon to lose said virginity of chef- ing minds.

It was the final bridge heading into the city, which still to this day fills my chef-ing head with fear. You see as we had driven the usual 1 ½ hours , this time slowly to ensure everything did not move or get bumped, it was that final corner of the bridge which was a little wider and  a tiny bit tighter than any of us had calculated,  that brought us undone.

The four of us, all late teens where chefs, boys, ego driven, tired and full of machismo. Until we hit that bend at a slightly faster speed and slightly tighter angle than we had realized.

Even at 40 km an hour our minds clicked at the same time. I can still see the looks on all our faces as the car began into the turn.. All that gorgeous perfect food on those ever shiny smooth mirrors sitting in our laps finally succumbed to gravity and the  and began to slide.
Warmth, speed, angle and smooth surfaces could do nothing to stop the food before us, sliding gradually from perfect positions, off the mirrors and onto our laps.

Each of us had both hands holding our prize possessions, so not one hand was free to grab the food…

Just a few kilometers to judging and even less minutes, we had lost the efforts of four long days. What we were left with was a life lesson and wisdom beyond our years which would remain with us all for the rest of our days…

Sitting beside the driver today delivering our precious cargo, we have today a fully refrigerated truck behind us. We have non slip mats holding down the prize and we are driving slow and steady, but its every bridge we come to and every tight angle we round that has me filled with fear and dread.

In three hours time I’ll tell you all how things went….(or judge for yourselves from the photos)
Wish me luck and hope that the wisdom of an event nearly 30 years ago has filled this head with enough wisdom to make this trip successfully with no mistakes or accidents…

Fingers crossed my friends.

And to my children of the future… if I can fill your heads with one piece of wisdom, it is this….

“Don’t be a chef, there are far easier ways to earn a living,… the stress is a killer !!”

Take care my friends…till we chat again