Back Where I Come From

When thinking about a topic to blog about next, many ideas ran through my already cluttered and busy head. My thought process stopped dead in its tracks after reconnecting with two people I have always carried with me, who in my teen years were instrumental to my relative success now.  Due in large part to their mentorship, my love affair with food exploded under their tutelage.  Many years later, I am just as passionate about food despite a near 20-year hiatus from the restaurant industry.  A few weeks ago, a spark reignited when I started shooting a series of cooking videos for our local CSA to help people expand their recipe ideas when dealing with large amounts of fresh produce and some not-so-common vegetables produced on the farm.

Angela and Seth Raynor

Nantucket's compass in the center of town

I’m getting ahead of myself.  I grew up on the very small island of Nantucket, 30 miles east of Cape Cod, in the midst of the Atlantic Ocean. For those who didn’t know me in the early 90s, to say I was a real pain in the ass would be an enormous understatement. I had many-a-day in court, more than the typical rebellion against my parents and other authority figures and I could have given a shit less who was trying to help or show me the light. I did your and my fare share of drugs and drank because I thought I was the one in control and the master of my destiny.

One day, for whatever reason, I volunteered to help the local teen center with a benefit where I was paired with a local chef, who also volunteered for the event. We were in charge of making pasta and sauce for the fundraiser. I always liked to cook; even as a small child I would pull a chair up to the stove in my parents’ kitchen while they slept to surprise them with breakfast, so I thought I might like this.

Seth, back in the day

When the benefit was over, the chef offered me a job washing dishes at his restaurant. This is where I met Seth, the restaurant’s sous chef.   He was very knowledgeable, driven and was unlike most chefs as he was not egotistical and was willing to teach instead of scold. I worked the restaurant’s summer season, and learned light prep work. During winter down time I did a few odd jobs with the owner who I, at the time, even thought I admired.

Then one night I received a phone call that literally changed my life.  It seemed Seth and his wife, Angela, opened a new restaurant and needed a dishwasher. Being winter, and I had no money, I said yes. I met with Seth and he put me to work right away. As the winter drew to a close, we talked about the prospect of my staying and working for Seth and Angela during the ridiculously high-paced summer season in a resort town.

I was not happy with being just a dishwasher as the proverbial food bug had bitten me, after all this was high-end gourmet food being produced. I have always had a deep-seated sense of loyalty and I told Seth I needed to speak with the other chef.  If he couldn’t meet or beat Seth’s offer, then I would be more than happy to work for him, but I had to give the other chef the opportunity first.

Seth and Angela's food is homey with a sophisticated twist

 So here I am, this 15-year-old kid standing in this highly-accomplished chef’s kitchen, attempting to barter a better deal for myself. I explained that Seth agreed to teach me to prep cook to start and depending on my performance, he would teach me necessary skills to move up in the kitchen hierarchy.  He also promised me a raise. To this day I don’t have words to describe the look of disdain and disbelief the chef had on his face. He told me Seth was a liar and would never hold up his end of the agreement. Well, that sealed the deal for me in my adolescent mind. I would work for Seth and roll the proverbial dice.

Seth and Angela working as a team

Contrary to popular belief, Seth was not only a man of his word, but he far exceeded all promises he made to me. Seth took me under his wing and was a high-energy, knowledgeable, innovative and patient teacher. The first year I worked for him and Angela, I learned so much; I was like a sponge and I couldn’t wait to learn the next thing. 

My impression of them was one of an air of confidence, understanding and collaboration I hadn’t seen before or again until I met Tanya. They were fun, approachable and treated each staff member like family. They always made sure everyone was fed prior to the evening service. That is not unique to their restaurant, but calling it “family meal” is. Seth used terms like “helmet head” and colorful analogies to explain when mistakes were made or when focus needed tightening while performing specific tasks. He even dosed out folksy wisdom from time to time like, “always remember where you came from because you can be back there just as fast.”

Seth and Angela have always treated employees like family

I was not the only one to whom Seth and Angela gave a chance. A person I remember vividly was a handicapped man we lovingly called “Wild Bill.” If memory serves me, Bill was in an auto accident and suffered memory loss and impaired motor function. Nonetheless he was treated like everyone else and brought brightness to the kitchen. His presence calmed me and taught me the life we have now can be snatched away in a fraction of a second.

I worked beside other chefs as well as those completing a summer internship. I was receiving and performing the same skills as them, and for the first time in my life I felt a sense of accomplishment and belonging. Although much younger than my colleagues, because of the environment that Seth and Angela fostered, I felt just as valuable as the rest of the team.

I learned to use my senses of sight, smell, taste, hearing and my own internal clock to know when food was either done or nearing completion. Things Seth was instrumental in teaching me were time management, interpersonal skills, task prioritization and attention to detail, skills that would serve me well for the rest of my life. I worked for Seth and Angela more than three years.  I worked part time during school and full time during the summer and rose from dishwashing, to prep cooking, to garde mangier, to working the middle station during the coveted dinner service. I learned to make everything from the most delicious Caesar Salad dressing and croutons in the history of everdom to the crème brulee I still make to this day. Many of their recipes I repeatedly made are forever seared in my memory.

The best Caesar Salad in the world

As my high school career drew to an end, I grappled with what to do with my life. I seriously thought about going to culinary school and spent quite a bit of time talking to Seth and others in the restaurant about what to expect from instructors, internships and the like. I remember, like it was yesterday, sitting at a table near the door in the bar on a chilly, cloudy winter day. My chair wobbled on an uneven stone floor as my mother, Seth and I discussed my progress over the past few years and the viability of me attending culinary school.    

But I chose a different path and joined the military. I remember being so nervous just thinking about telling Seth I was quitting and not attending culinary school. It was almost like I was breaking up with Seth and Angela.  I was so scared about disappointing them and the uncertainty of the implications my decision to join the military held, that it took me weeks to find the courage to tell
them.

Well we know how this story ends. Here I am wrapping up my military career and I find myself right back where I came from. As Tanya and I have undertaken this amazing journey to eating organically, locally and seasonally, I find myself wanting to serve this delicious bounty of food to people. We have a strong desire to raise much of our own food and never step foot in a grocery store again. The ultimate goal is to open a farm-to-table bed and breakfast where we can entertain and serve our guests delicious creations from our farm.

Often we fail to reflect on or even acknowledge our past. Many never even say a simple “thank you” for the opportunities or profound experiences people in our lives have enabled us to have. So, to Seth and Angela, please accept this small token as thanks for a debt that can never be repaid, only paid forward through my actions and in the souls of those who I continue to mentor and fan the flames of their growth.  

The life’s expedition I have been on for almost 20 years has been an incredible one. It’s been fueled by the compassion, generosity and lessons learned in a far-away kitchen, on a tiny island in the Atlantic Ocean.  One that could have never have been made possible if there weren’t people like Seth and Angela who believed that a boy like me back then could be the man I am today.