On the occasion that I want to complain about work being hard, I remind myself that I might be a little ridiculous when complaining between my free massage and lunch prepared by a chef. The guy we have makes some really fantastic food. I don't eat it all (because I don't eat red meat, for health reasons), but all of his poultry dishes are crazy ridiculous good. He has inspired me to try making new stuff.
For example, this weekend I decided to make chicken curry. I've done this a hundred times, but I've generally relied on curry powder alone. At work, he used a couple of different kinds of curry paste, which I never used because I just assumed curry is curry. This was a poor assumption on my part. Curry paste tends to have a lot more flavor density, and it's a richer combination of flavors compared to the powders. The paste I used wasn't very hot though, and so while I combined it with powder I had on hand, I didn't use the hot variety and would do that differently.
I've also had some stuff at work that has made me rethink how to cook certain things. They range from frying technique to breading to ways to cut food. This is another great example of how being exposed to people who can teach you things directly is in many ways more effective than just "looking it up." I've applied this professionally for a long time, but it's a great way to be better at virtually everything that you have to or want to do. Find experts, extract knowledge.
No comments yet.