[Sca-cooks] sushi

[Philip & Susan Troy]

Christine Seelye-King wrote:

>         Right.  Well, I still don't like it.  I have made a small attempt to know
> the names of the various dishes at the sushi place, so that I can go back to
> the ones I painstakingly work through the menu to find that I like.  Nigiri
> is better because I have never warmed to nori, either.  I have found several
> other varieties of sea vegetables that I do like, including wakame, arame,
> hiziki, and kombu.  Japanese cuisine is one of the only Asian varieties that
> I did not take to immediately.  I am slowly learning to enjoy more of it,
> but there are many more dishes that I have tried and not liked than the
> other way around.  This is almost unique for me and most any other cuisine I
> have encountered.  Now, the Miso Seared Pagoda Salmon, *that* I like!

The only sushi garnish that I actively dislike is sea urchin roe, and
outside of that, there's always undercooked, seed-filled eggplant in any form.
>
> I figure, I know almost nothing, so the thing to do is try almost
> everything. But then I was only a professional cook for _10_ years ;  ).
> Although I may conceivably have collected some extra combat pay in those
> fewer years. Hard to say, though.
>
> Adamantius
>
>         Hm, I wonder what it is about the 10 year mark for professional chefs?
> That's how long I lasted before being unable to walk back into my place of
> employment without vomiting.  It is also roughly the time period I have
> heard from other former chefs as their limit.
> I have much more fun cooking now that I don't have to do it for a living
> every day.

Yeah, it's hard to say that someone who pursues something for ten years
didn't give it a good shot. I think maybe after ten years you start to
wonder what you'll be doing, physically, when you're sixty, and if you
start that ten years before you're twenty, it's no problem, but if you
start when you are around thirty, as I did, you become concerned at how
hard an industry it can be. Presumably at the twenty year mark, you are
either generating the stress for others, rather than absorbing it _from_
others, at least to some extent, or else you've become a physical wreck.
Definitely the restaurant industry is a bit like the military: in
theory, if you are good and stick around long enough, you rise to the
top. However, it's not as easy as it sounds. I just decided I needed
more stability, and the kinds of jobs in the food service business that
provide job security, decent pay and benefits, as well as genuine scope
for advancement, are not only rare, but also tend to be a crushing bore.

Adamantius
--
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com

"It was so blatant that Roger threw at him.  Clemens gets away with
things that get other people thrown out of games.  As long as they
let him get away with it, it's going  to continue." -- Joe Torre, 9/98