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Oct 9, 2023Liked by Wil Reidie

On my first job after the culinary academy i almost got fired twice within the span of a month and a half. The school was a good point to learn techniques and the gist of things, but certainly wasn't able to show the pressure and sense of urgency necessary in a real kitchen.

The meeting i had was very similar to your, "are you sure this what you want to do"... I felt so conflicted about that question, i didn't know how to adress it and i wondered if they were right.

I was also a "ghost" for the first month, too afraid to make a mistake, too afraid to be anything but perfect and certainly removed my ability to be present.

This read brought back some bittersweet memories, great read

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Bravo. It hurts meeting our younger self in the kitchen. Although I was usually front of house, you can be an “imposter” there, too. Learning to stick, like an Olympic gymnast, is a life long effort. At 71, still working on it.

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A long one? I sailed through it, wondering if I ought to slow down to savor it more. With a tale like this, I keep getting thrown by the great metaphors and turns of phrase, but then I get sucked back into the story because I want to know where it’s going.

Look, I know I’m in danger of making you think I’m just yanking your chain with these rave reviews. But I really mean it. Some might say that your stories are so good that they tell themselves.

But that’s a damn lie. There is NO such story. It’s all in the telling, and good story or not, there are a hundred ways to lose my interest. I’m hugely impatient when I’m reading and I skim good writers all the time.

You don’t waste the good stuff, you’re careful not to ruin the jokes or oversell the painful moments.

I shouldn’t even be reading just now; I’m behind on my writing. But i started your piece and couldn’t bail til it was over. And it did not disappoint.

Some might argue that it’s foolish to waste my writing time stroking you like a lamb. But it’s an investment. If you get where I think you might get, I want you to remember me dimly and maybe say something nice about me to somebody.

Keep writing. I believe we are colleagues.

I’m looking forward to your next piece. And the rest of them after that.

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Magic.

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Exercise ball line was a gem.

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Brings back lots of memories from my own experience (I left the corporate world at 35 to become a cook)... Good read... Although somewhat uncomfortable... Keep pushing 😁

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