Many years spent eating
Never dreamt an opportunity
Might arrive
To actually be an Executive Chef
Frequently studied menus
Even recipes
But beyond PB&J and tomato soup
Had never gotten a whiff
In a kitchen with real responsibility
An iron clad grip by the resident executive chef
Prevented any upstart
From trying their hand at a culinary delight
For a long time I was placated
With slicing, and dicing
Thawing, marinating
But even seasoning was beyond my pay grade
As my ‘pinch of salt’
Seemingly was not actually the right, ‘pinch of salt’
It was accepted by myself and others
That I would be forever relegated to the kitchen
And yet after many, many years of my tasting
Fatigue began to affect the Executive chef
Occasionally now slivers of responsibility
Drifted my way slowly
Turning the oven on, setting the temperature
Greasing the pan, determining the timer
Sometimes even meal preparation skills
Were developing
At the end of the day, in my innermost thoughts
I understood I had no intuitive understanding
Of the culinary arts
Other than what I read in a recipe
Nonetheless hunger, endless hunger
Motivated a drive to create delicious dishes
Yet even now, I accept I will never really be an
Executive chef with the responsibility of
Satisfying divergent tastes
So though I remain hopeful of upward mobility
And the perceived chance to advance from Sous-chef
I respectfully serve at the discretion of the current
Executive chef
Frank X Cameron 9/24/2020 Copyright frankxcameron.com
