I can hear my fellow chef friends laughing now.
And the reason is this:
There isnʻt a question we loathe more than, “Whatʻs your specialty?”
You can be the most well-meaning, sweetest, kindest, most intelligent person in the world and because of that we will smile and try to come up with some good-enough-answer on the fly to appease you.
But inside we are cringing.
You want to know what my specialty is?
Itʻs pulling a 15-hour shift on my feet and waking up the next day at 5 a.m. to come back for more. Thatʻs my specialty.
Itʻs the ability to inhale a bowl of staff meal spaghetti in under five minutes while blanching green beans, reheating soup and portioning pasta at the same time.
Itʻs my ability to stand in a 36-degree walk-in cooler for two hours straight, until my hands and feet go numb counting inventory.
Or, how about unclogging the drain of a dirty hot well at the end of the night with a wire coat hanger? Thatʻs special.
Or, straining 50 gallons of 350 degree fryer oil without burning the crap out of myself.
Or, schlepping heavy bags of stinky wet laundry down two flights of stairs at the end of the night without wiping out.
Oh wait! How about battling a flood of sewer water from a backed up sump pump with a push broom as poo water splashes up into your clogs. Thatʻs my specialty!
Specialties are for home cooks.
Restaurants would go out of business if chefs could only make one thing really well.
They are trained to make many things really well!
Itʻs like asking a plumber what their speciality is.
They know how to make all repairs from a septic tank to a shower head if they are good at their job.
I think you would be hard pressed to find one that will tell you. “Oh man, unclogging garbage disposals, THATʻS what Iʻm known for.”
All jokes aside we love our well-meaning, genuinely curious friends.
And we would be thrilled if you found a new go-to question.