The Paddle Incident

    There are a few “life changing” episodes or incidents that we all experience, unfortunately rarely, throughout our lives; Incidents that cause us to grow, to change, to alter our perceptions, to switch our direction; they inspire us, motivate us, whet our appetite for more. Sometimes the experience can be quite painful but in retrospect one realizes that it is necessary in order to manifest any development.

    “You can’t make an omelette without breaking any eggs”.

    Many people have asked me about how and why I became a Chef…

    It’s 1978; I was 17 years old and working as a Cook in the kitchen at the Holiday Inn, in Saskatchewan. I was hired by their young Chef who I got along with quite well. I was excited, my first hotel, I was moving up, I was cocky. I had moved over from “Bonanza” Steak House where I had worked for 2 years, starting as a dishwasher, moved up to fry cook, and then moved up to broiler cook there. You can understand the power I was feeling, the ability to stand over a hot grill and cook 300 to 400 steaks a night was quite “heady”. Needless to say the adrenaline rush was highly addictive, and without even realizing it the “kitchen bug” was already sinking its teeth into me. I thought I was great, I knew absolutely NOTHING; I was in for a rude awakening.

     Yes, very humble beginnings indeed, but at the time it was just a job for me, I was attending University, Major in Biochemistry with Minors in Psychology/Philosophy; life had bigger and better plans for me other than a “Food-service Professional”.

   After several months the young Chef was transferred to another location and a new Chef was brought in from Winnipeg. That’s when I met Chef Tony Gorbestroff.

    This was the first “real Chef” I had ever met. He walked quickly, effortlessly, and efficiently. He was on a mission. He exuded confidence and knowledge. The fact that he was BIG, worked out daily and a black belt Karate instructor just added to the intimidation factor. Tony was also a Master Butcher which had left his arms scarred from the many nicks and cuts from the slaughterhouse; nothing debilitating at all, just impressive “road-maps” all over his arms.

   His manner and approach were deliberate and intelligent, he would lock his intense, cold, coal like eyes with your's and there was no escape or evading him, he didn’t say much, there was no need for him to say much. His actions spoke far more volumes than his words but when he did speak he was precise, and straight to the point. You knew when he was in the kitchen and yes we would all walk on eggshells but at the same time we had no worries at all, we were very happy and confident to be working under him, he bore the weight of the world on his broad shoulders; Tony was in charge and absolutely NOTHING was going “f#@K up” when he was at the helm. He was definitely a leader, the “Alpha Male”.

   Now my slow, sluggish and stupid mind picked up something, more in the subconscious, it trickled in and not much did in those days through my thick skull, but I knew that this guy cared. He had won me over; in a short period of time I was more loyal to Tony than I had ever been to anyone, I was impressed, intimidated, but most of all I aspired to be like him. The door opened and he started to mentor, I started to listen....to a degree.

    I have to say that Tony did have a lot of patience although he did play “the heavy” card always and to his advantage, he was impressive in the way he ran his kitchen. He led by example, he would run circles around us in regards to cleaning, production, cleaning, administration, cleaning, cooking, cleaning, stamina, etc. (did I mention cleaning?)

    Above all else Tony was an incredible Cook; his passion conveyed through his food. I thought that I already enjoyed food but when I tried his cooking it awakened the passion in me as well, I had never tasted food like this before, I absolutely had to learn how to cook at that calber; I was hooked. Tony always said. “There’s no excuse for bad food or bad service”, and he lived, breathed, slept, dreamt that credo.

   I remember asking Tony what a Chef's priority is, his response to me;

   "A Chef looks for the freshest most wholesome product that can be had, treats it with respect, humility and finesse, and prepares it with impeccable technique and taste"

   I have carried this philosophy with me throughout my career.

    We’re several months down the road now and Chef Tony is on the back steam line, (line of appliances, “bombers”, large kettles for soups and stocks, steamers, etc. all powered on the same steam line); he's on the "Bomber", (100 gallon kettle), fixing the demi-glace, a base brown sauce made from roasted veal bones, mire poix, etc. I came walking behind him on my way to the walk-in fridges, (walking probably isn’t the right word, dragging my ass describes it better and empty handed as well which is NOT a good thing in the kitchen, inefficient). Apparently Tony did say to me, “Faster please”, although to this day I have no recollection of that, this is what I do remember; it is a mere few seconds of my life that I will never forget.

   An explosion like a double barrel 12 gauge shotgun going off right by my ear, my body is lifted off the floor and I land on my feet again before I even realize what has happened, a growing heat cloud of pain erupting from my buttocks like a nuclear mushroom bomb, involuntary tears of pain rushing to my eyes, and I see stars. Reality, time, motion, everything stops. The second hand on the wall clock is taking 20 seconds to move 1 second. Deathly silence and stillness throughout the kitchen...my ears are ringing...I’m in shock...

   I turn slightly, just enough to see Chef Tony eyeing me intently, we lock eyes; I see no emotion, no agenda, nothing else in his universe except for the anticipation of what my next move will be. I know that there was no malice in his actions. I see the 5 foot long maple paddle in his hand, almost like a canoe paddle, (it’s what we use to stir the bombers with), but his muscular arm is holding it like a wooden spoon. His body is relaxed, almost uncaring, like a panther considering a field mouse without a second thought. The paddle lightly balanced in his large, scarred and calloused hand is not threatening or even a worry, I realize now that he has used it and has no further need for it but we are locked at this moment and “the ball is in my court”, what am I going to do?

   According to a witness, who heard Chef Tony ask me, “Faster Please”, after observing my nonchalant behavior and obvious lack of attention to the circumstances Tony stepped back, wound up like Babe Ruth at home plate and hit a “home run” with that 5 foot maple paddle and my ass. According to other witnesses the sound was definitely like a 12 gauge shotgun going off in the kitchen which promptly got everyone’s attention so not only was I in a bizarre, embarrassing, and total shock situation, everyone was staring at me.

   The “ball is in my court”; I’m a blank...I see 2 options...I either break down, give in, and walk away...or...

   NO! I got furious, but it was a very strange, cold fury, and not "hot" as one would expect. I was actually calm, I emptied of all emotional content, my mind was crystal clear; I was NOT going to give him the satisfaction of seeing me break. The tears cleared up without me even wiping them and in a clear voice I said, “Excuse me Chef, I’ll be right back”, I then quickly, but calmly exited out the back door to gather my thoughts.

   I saw the faintest flicker of acknowledgement in Tony’s eye as I walked out, we had an understanding, no verbal communication but something had happened. He had gotten my “attention”, finally. As I was making my exit, as quickly and discreetly as possible, Chef Tony turned and I heard him say to the salad lady, “That’s a pretty fine paddle I have here, strong eh?”, with a big smile on his face and by the look on this poor lady’s face I thought she was going to have a coronary. I know a lot of the staff were shocked; some a little worried about me, but this was such a good lesson! A lesson for everyone that witnessed it if they chose to take the knowledge.

   As I saw Tony admiring his maple paddle, on my way out of the kitchen, I could see the satisfaction on his face. He was pleased and a little surprised that he didn’t snap that paddle, I believe that he made the sincerest effort to break it in half, to test its limits and he was impressed that it held up under his test. Does anyone else here see the analogy?

   I was in a calm head-space, my mind was clear. I could feel “knowledge" rushing through me. I saw what a little shit I was, I realized that I knew nothing, I was ever so thankful that I still had a job and grateful for the patience of those around me to put up with my crap. I was embarrassed at my own behavior, as I had a rush of memories flowing through me, memories of how stupid, conceited and ignorant I’d been and told myself that I would change my direction.

   I could analyze for years, (and I have), the ruthless impeccability of Tony’s actions but the point is I learned more in that few seconds than at any other time in my life. Whether it was Tony’s insight or Karma directing him the universe had set up a lesson for me, it was my “wake-up” call. Tony “threw down the gauntlet”, he challenged me and although it was a coin toss as to the result, he knew how I would react; I only had one choice, and his actions were the only way to “enlighten” me as to my direction. I commend and admire him for the flawless maneuver.

   For the record I was on the verge of being fired. I had been there for 8 months, not really accomplished anything, and the young Chef that had hired me really didn’t know what to do with an undisciplined, self centered, unfocused non-performer such as myself, 3 months after the "Paddle Incident" I was awarded “Employee of the Month”; Just one very small aspect of the many improvements that Tony made in that kitchen.

   I have never walked slowly through the kitchen again; From that day on I have always moved like a cook/chef, even to this day I have people ask me, “what’s your hurry?”, to which I reply, “nothing”.

   Cooks and Chefs are on a mission, what may seem to be “in a hurry” to an outside observer is our normal pace. It all comes down to efficiency. Every second counts and although it may seem extreme every second does add up. This is one of the lessons that Tony taught me, you take a little waste here, a little waste there and you add it up over the year it is incredible how much you end up with; Not just time but energy and product as well. It is never ending and I’m constantly fine tuning my efficiency, it is one of those worthwhile “challenges” that Tony taught me, he always said, “Take everything as a challenge” and to this day I do.

   Some of you may ponder the safety of speed in the kitchen; fair question. If everyone is at the same speed, and everyone is aware of others around there is no issue. We are all on the same wavelength; we are all working towards the same goal. It is the person that’s moving slow, unaware of their surroundings and oblivious to the activity of other’s around them that is a hazard, just like this fateful day I was walking down the steam line.

   Now; Let’s examine this, I’m sure that some of you are in shock, I’m sure my mother is quite livid reading this and if Tony was still alive today she’d probably hunt him down; Let’s just relax and take look at this;

- Was this “politically correct” behavior?
- NO
- Is this behavior acceptable in today’s workplace?
- NO
- Would I ever behave like this with one of my protégés?
- NO
- Do I condone this behavior?
- NO

   Okay, now that we have the “mandatory” out of the way let’s really look at this;

- Was I harmed or scarred for life, or even temporarily?
- NO
- Was I performing my duties, behaving in a professional manner, and paying attention in a high hazard zone?
- NO
- Did I need a wake-up call?
- HELL Yes!
- Did I need the wake-up call to tell me, “either crap or get off the pot”
- HELL Yes!
- Was Tony’s motivation malicious, was he acting from anger or was he sincerely trying to help me and rectify a problem in the kitchen as expediently as possible?
- I believe that there was no emotion in Tony’s action and he was sincere to try and solve a problem as efficiently and precisely as possible. I believe that his manoeuvre was brilliant and it was extremely successful. 
- Do I regret the whole episode?
- HELL NO! It was a wake-up call that I needed and it was executed impeccably!
- Now the most important question; is there a better or more expedient way that I could have been taught this lesson?
- Absolutely Not! To this day I am grateful as to how that turned out and I’m appreciative of the efficiency and directness of the lesson. It was direct knowledge.

   This action was a stroke of genius due to the fact that I knew Tony cared. He was telling me to decide to either go or stay but I had to make a decision and that the decision was mine, and mine alone, his actions woke me up to the fact that I needed to make a commitment or walk away and that there was no more time for screwing around. Within those few seconds I learned so much non-verbally.

   From that moment on I was different, (NO I was not perfect, and I’m still not perfect today, LMAO!!). I was still an idiot and a punk BUT my eyes had been opened to the fact that there is more to the world out there than just me, I was attentive, my concentration was sharper, and when Chef spoke I listened. I now had a purpose, a path to follow, but I had to make the conscious decision to commit to that path. Chef Tony woke me up.

   Chef Tony and I never spoke about the incident, he NEVER hit me again either, although there was always the daily intimidation games that went on to help reinforce the daily lessons he was trying to pound into me, as there is in any Mentoring relationship.

   It was probably a month later, in one of our numerous talks that Chef Tony discussed with me, “how a cook moves through the kitchen”. He told me that he could always tell a Chef/Cook by the way they moved and it was also a sign to look for in a new employee. They moved efficiently, no wasted energy, time or wasted trips; if you’re empty handed and on your way to the other side of the kitchen you always take something with you.

   He talked to me about Chefs that moved out of the kitchen to pursue other avenues and that they were always successful, “Nobody works like a Chef”, “You can take the Chef out of the kitchen BUT you can’t take the kitchen out of the Chef”, he used to tell me. Sales, management, consulting, etc. Chefs always land on their feet. Try taking anybody else and put them in a Chef’s position? “Ice cube’s chance in hell”, he would exclaim and laugh. Tony taught me so many things which had absolutely nothing to do with cooking and recipes but how to be a better Chef/Manager and a man. I myself have taken a couple of alternative jobs in my career, Bar Manager and Sales Rep. It was great to have a change, I did well at those jobs, but I’m back in the kitchen because it’s what I do! It’s my Dharma!

   There were plans to build a new hotel in Winnipeg, Tony was slated to be the new Chef there and he was taking me there with him. We talked about it often and I could tell Tony was getting excited about the new challenge as it got closer, I was excited too; I was on the path...

   Tony died in a car accident a few months later on one of his road trips to Winnipeg, 7 weeks before our planned move to the new hotel; I was devastated.

    I believe in Karma, everything happens for a reason. I am eternally thankful that Tony was in my life and that he kicked my ass when he did. He truly set me on “the path’, he set a standard that I’m still shooting for. If I am even near half the Chef that he was then I’m doing well.

  Here I am almost 40 years later and I'm working at a Lodge in Northern Alberta. I observe our brand new Lodge Manager walking through the Dining room one afternoon, involved in the mundane activity of getting himself a coffee. He is relaxed, unhurried, but moving. This man is on a mission, no wasted energy; a spring in his step, efficient; and before I know it he’s gone. I smile inside.

   The following day I had the opportunity to speak with him on a personal level and I asked him, “Is your background in kitchens?”, with a glint in his eye and a smile he replies, “Why yes it is”, I just smiled and said, “I could tell by the way you walk”. We both went about our business, I’m sure he was back at the front desk, or in his office in a matter of seconds, tackling his next mission, his next challenge. I was back in the kitchen and I had the rush of the memory of Chef Tony laughing in my head, it was very comforting.

Happy Cooking Everyone!