General Discussion

I worked for a local chef who was the messiest, filthiest cook I've ever encountered. Far more than was necessary -- how fo you get chocolate sauce on the ceiling, for God's sake? -- and after wreaking havoc, he would simply drop everything and expect others to clean up his mess, mostly due to his overstuffed ego.

Working for him cured me of that. I learned to clean as I went, as much as possible and became terribly averse to telling others to do things I wouldn't be willing to do myself.

This afternoon, for instance, I hand-roasted poblanos on the stove, peeled then stuffed them, dredged with flour, eggwash and breaded them in preparation for the oven. By the time I put the cookie sheet of prepped peppers in the refrigerator, there was no cleaning left to do in the kitchen solely because I tackled it as I went through the process.