Enjoy the sense of touching with others, before it slips away.

Amuse-Bouche: In today’s society one thing I have noticed is how we have lost the human sense of touch, not only physically, but emotionally and mentally as well. In the process of making technology better and faster for humans to communicate, we have left out some simple stuff in order to catch up with others. I hope you realize what is really important after you read my opinions.

Entrée: While growing up, my parents worked hard to be united with their kids. One of the traditions (If that’s what you want to call it) we did as a family was to have Sunday morning breakfast together as a family. Ever since I can remember we have been practicing this. Even in my older years, no matter how late we come home the night before, or how tired we were, my dad would wake us up and said “A comer! Levantensen, ya esta el desayuno;” which translates to, come eat, get up, breakfast is ready. To be honest, there were some mornings which I disliked hearing that voice. We ate a big breakfast and after sharing time together my we would start what we called our dreadful weekend meeting. We often discussed things that went on during the week, he pointed out the bad and the good. So would we. We shared family time together and didn’t lose our communication. That’s one thing I will carry on with me and practice it with my children. I believe this is very important, because food should bring people together, and not allow technology to pull them apart. Many families nowadays sit together at a table but don’t really share a meal together. We often see a son or daughter on their cell phone. A father watching the latest news on sports and a mom browsing a magazine.

What inspired me to write this post was a recent experience I had while dinning out with a good friend of mine. One day, I waited for my friend Pamela to be done with work. We met up outside her job which is ABC Studios in Manhattan not knowing where to grab a bit, I asked her which restaurant she desired to go eat at. She responded, “Somewhere simple. I want to eat something simple but good.” I remembered I once dinned at this little cozy Brazilian restaurant called Rice and Beans, because I believe however humble it may be, a meal has a definite plot to it; the intention of which is to intrigue, stimulate and satisfy. She liked the idea going there. The place is shaped like a train wagon. Looking at it from a glance one has when walking in, with tables along side of the walls, the rectangular shaped dining room seems very crowded. The décor was simple with some mirrors. A decorated shelf with wine bottles sitting about 18 to 20 inches from the ceiling made it a very cozy and friendly atmosphere. When we sat down I noticed the following; 2 tables from my right there was a lady dining by herself, next to her a group of 4 people, behind us a British couple. I am saying they were British from hearing their accent, although I can most certainly be wrong and they could have been Aussies, like my sister pointed out when she read this blog, but being that I am writing this story my assumption will remain. As I was reading the menu, I noticed how everyone was enjoying themselves. Even the lady dining alone, she had a smile on her face with every meal the waiter brought to her. Once I ordered and commence eating my meal I noticed a gentlemen walking in and reading the menu on a corner to my left. From the puzzled look he had on his face it seemed he was undecided on what he wanted to eat. Seconds later the waiter brought from the kitchen a sizzling plate with a skirt steak lying on a black iron pan. That caught the undecided gentlemen’s attention. He got up from his seat. Leaned forward to take a look of what it was. After the waiter dropped off the dish, the curious gentleman asked the waiter what the people behind me had ordered. I laughed because I noticed how a sizzling sound of a steak on a hot iron pan practically had the undecided man’s attention and right away the dish sold itself. On my right I noticed the party of 4 who were sitting next to the young lady dinning alone was paying and about to leave when the waiter dropped off one of the desserts to the very happy costumer dining by herself. As she was enjoying her sweet treat one of the gentlemen from the party of 4 started a conversation with her. They were talking about her dessert. Two complete strangers, from different walks of life, didn’t talk at all from the time I got there, now are sharing and communicating different information and all because of food. After this, the British couple sitting behind me got up and with a smile of satisfaction and thanked the waiter for everything, while strolling slowly making their way out to the door with the server behind them, they asked who the owner was. I don’t for what. I guess when you are very pleased with your meal you want to thank everyone because they just made you happy. I shared everything I noticed with Pamela. She was delighted to know how I picked up all of this, while eating my meal. I told her “I do believe that although New York City with its many inhabitants and everyone going on with their life, food posses the power of bringing people together.” Staring from families, friends, and total strangers restaurant and food catches people’s attention and sparks up curiosity. From a sizzling hot plate, to a smile of enjoyment, I believe it’s a wonderful experience, and all of this revolves around food. I hope that through my cooking I can help make a better society. I want my food to be the bridge that closes the gap on today’s advanced technological world which often tends to have the lack of basic communication. With technology advancing we tend to lose the real essence of communication. I’m proud to say that my dining experience at Rice and Beans motivated me to hopefully make a change. Chefs around the world have the satisfaction of bringing different walks of life together. And food its self breaks boundaries and explores different outcomes.

Dessert: That’s why food should be respected and appreciated it, and not let technology corrupt our family values. Don’t get me wrong. I am pro-technology, but society has come to a point where we abuse it and lacks the importance of primitive way communication. Not through text but to actually speaking face to face.Sharing and devating points. “People who are not interested in food always seem rather dry and unloving, and don’t have a real gusto for life” Julian Child.

Living with the threat of failure.

Amuse-bouche: Don’t be afraid of trying new things. “Remember amateurs build the Ark. Professionals build the Titanic”. Unknown Author.

Entrée: Lately I have had the idea of packing everything and travel. But many thoughts and worries cross my mind. But guess we can’t control our future. Doesn’t it seem that closest you get to your goal, the harder it seems to reach it?

In the summer of 2009, while working at Fire Island I met David Isaza. He was a waiter at the bistro where I was working then. One of the things that I remember most about David was his sharing of stories of how the summer before he went backpacking through Europe. He showed me pictures and many other things he did while out there. His new trip after finishing the summer at Fire Island was to go backpacking through South America. From what I last saw of him, he started in Colombia, his native country. Went to Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia he is currently staying in Rio de Janeiro Brazil. Hearing him speak about his experiences triggered something inside of me. I mean I always had the dream of wanting to travel the world. I think is one of the most exciting and life marking experiences one can have in this short lifespan we have here on earth. Ever since I started my career in culinary arts, I have followed many chefs, their style of cooking, work and biographies. Some of who I look up to and admire are Thomas Keller, Masaharu Morimoto, Marcus Samuelsson and David Chang. One thing I noticed was that they are great because of their consistency, character, passion for food and work ethics, but also because they all studied somewhere else then the U.S. to learn different types of cuisines and cultures, and brought it to the U.S. Some perfected these styles from their native roots others from learning and working outside the U.S. Some styles are simple but great, such as David Chang. Others are elegant and detailed like Thomas Keller. I would like to follow their footsteps and hopefully leave a mark in the culinary world for future upcoming people to learn from my experiences and ideas. I believe food should be highly respected. I want to travel as much as I can to not only explore this beautiful world we live in, but to have fun while cooking. I mean it’s like killing two birds with one stone type of scenario. I would like to start in Europe. Maybe London, move to either Italy or Spain, after that travel to the Mediterranean or North Africa and finish my journey in different parts of Asia. I don’t really want to be known for a Chef who is Latin and specializes in Latin cuisine, but I want a twist. Something out of the obvious, a Chef who has vast experience in different cuisines, I feel many obstacles will come about. But also many great experiences will be lived. To work on my dream, which is to one day have my own restaurant; here not only I or my staff will have fun, but my costumers will appreciate and respect food more, just like I do every day. I believe food should be explored, one can’t be too limited to just the usual, you know you’re usual more than anyone else. I can’t respect someone who goes to a restaurant and looks at the menu with dislike or is served a dish and their first reaction is a frown and they uphold the “Eww, I don’t like that” response. Like I say to these people, eat with your mouth not with your head, savor the food and components of that dish with your palate, not with assumptions and conclusions. How can you not like something you haven’t tried? Just because it’s not what you are familiar with, doesn’t mean it’s gross or you may not like it. I say give it a shot. And after you have tried it you still don’t like it, well at least you tried it and gained knowledge on the dish or components in it. But keep in mind that every cook is entitled to have a bad day; many times we discard a particular dish just because it didn’t taste right the first time we had it. But like everything in life deserves a second change, I say, why not tried again, maybe some place else. Life it’s too short I believe. God has given us this wonderful world to explore. I know many won’t have the opportunity to travel outside their country, state, or even community. My privilege is to educate others through my cooking. Bring bits and pieces of what’s out there to a dish in front of them. That’s my satisfaction in life. To serve God and serve others, I thank God for giving me a passion and strength everyday to live my life and do what I do. I would like to share with others those blessings as well. My advice is, for you not to limit yourself to what you know. Explore and educate yourself in different things. No matter how hard it may seem. An obstacle it’s an opportunity for growth.

April showers, soup anyone?

Amuse-bouche: Today as I was making a soup I realize that life can be a soup. I know it may not make sense but as you read along I hope you can understand what I mean.

Entrée: When life hands you random ingredients, which I tend to see quite often. I have learned to make the best I can and come out with a positive outcome. Now don’t get me wrong. I am still trying to get the hang of it.

I remember when I was at this little restaurant in the south shore. One of the things I did after interviewing a cook, I would pull out what I call a mystery box and would ask them to make me a soup. I mean any experienced cook can cook you an amazing dish one time to impress someone or to get hired, but I believe it’s the small details that really count. Referring to, one big thing in a kitchen is that we have to utilize everything. Nothing goes to waste. From scraps to leftovers, it takes a creative and skillful mind to make something good out of leftovers or what some may see as unwanted materials. That’s where I find it fun. Anyways, as I was making soup today at work, I had all my ingredients lined up ready to cook them. So as I was preparing the soup I threw my chopped garlic and onions, sautéed it until translucent, (for the unknown cook, when cooking onions you want to make sure they are tender and translucent, that’s the best way one can extract the best flavor out of them) well, as I was stirring them I realized that in life there may be times that many ingredients are put in front of us. As a young person I sometimes tend to get impatient and want to be able to have the best soup without taking my time in sweating (sautéing) my onions good enough. I want to be able to start and end without really going through the process in between, to get from point A to C without going through B. That’s how I see God’s work. Going through the process is a place where the heat is cranked up or even worse stays at the same level and we feel we aren’t making any progress. But one thing is for sure. God has control of everything. And he knows when to throw all the ingredients at the right time. Just remember no matter how bad the heat may feel like or how long it’s been there. God has His hand on the thermostat. He knows how long it will take to extract the best of us.

Dessert:So my advice from personal experience is just to hang on. If not, the same process will repeat itself until the best soup is made. Now imagine if those onions would jump out of the pot and complain to me; “turn down the heat!”, “I don’t want to be bothered!” Sometimes in life we are like that with God. We say, “Why” this, “why” that. He knows what we can produce, if we don’t lay ourselves to his service then others won’t enjoy the tasteful soup God is stirring up.

Shaking it off and getting on with it.

So for quite some time I have had the idea of starting a blog. Talked to a few of friends about it. They all told me to go for it. I was feeling shady because of the thought of what would I write about? I mean all the blogs I have read are about people who have very extensive vocabulary knowledge. Something like a journalist feel to it. And they have some important stories and things to write about. But I have decided to go for it. I mean the good thing about this is that I’m not going to be aware of everyone who reads it. I being shy and all but it’s about my life and my own opinions. Everyone is entitled to an opinion and can’t be wrong about it. Writing my thoughts, ideas so on and so forth. Most of my writing will be based mostly around a couple of things which are God. Me believing in God who is my one and only savior. Food, me being a Chef and always thinking about food and all. I know many people aren’t passionate about food as I am. But anyways, that and other stuff. I was thinking how I can give my blog a twist? So I’ll utilize my knowledge of things I know. Most of my writings will start with a brief thought or idea of what I will write about. I’ll title this my Amuse-bouche. An appetizer is a small dish of what is in the menu. Amuse-bouche are different from appetizers in that they are not ordered from a menu by patrons, but, when served, are done so according to the Chef’s selection alone. Since this is my blog I will serve what I please. Then moving on to the Entrée which will be what I will share and write about. Sometimes I will throw a dessert course. No offence to any pastry chef that might read this. But desserts aren’t my thing or at least not yet. But this is how I will break down most of my blogs. Hope you guys enjoy this…… God Bless.