David Chang on the long, hard, stupid way - Herbert Lui
This is a blog covering Chang's thoughts on the craft of cooking. The title also explains the position - in a world hyperfocused on efficiency, sometimes its worth doing things the long way. The specific anecdote Chang talks about is the whole boiled chicken dish at the Majordomo - customers get it served on a plate and then after the chicken is consumed, a soup is made from the carcass. This is an especially complicated dish that requires coordination from the front and back of the kitchen to do right in a timely manner. The kitchen staff call Chang one day and told him they found an optimization in the process: they have two chickens ready and cook the soup while customers are consuming the chicken. Chang was not happy with the "stunt chicken" - in his mind, shortcutting the process compromises on the integrity of both the staff and the process. This is reminiscent of themes in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - the process is the point.
As someone that listens to podcasts at 3x and spends every week reviewing how to better optimize his time, I'm also sympathetic to Chang's view. Optimization ultimately is in service of a greater purpose. Sometimes that purpose is the process. Optimizing life is not to get through it as fast as possible but rather filling our days with moments that we cherish and not regret.
What is something that you love? What would it look like to do it the long, hard, stupid way?
Created 2024-09-16T05:11:04.871000, updated 2024-09-16T05:12:30.496000 · History · Edit