Chef Stories
with
Chef Aaron Bludorn
Bludorn Restaurant, Houston, TX
I was working as a dishwasher at 15-years old in a tiny diner in my hometown of Bainbridge Island, Washington, a small island right across the Puget Sound. The diner would cater to a lot of the ferry traffic. The day tourists would come over to the island just to walk around our little town. They’d come in and eat with us and take the ferry back. My friend had just given me the book Kitchen Confidential. Reading that book was such a huge part of my excitement of doing what I was doing at the diner; working a busy service, getting tipped out by the waiters and, everything else in between. I loved it--the team atmosphere that restaurants have. The ‘we’re all in this together,’ of it all. In Kitchen Confidential Anthony Bourdain talks about ‘lifers’. I was just sort of enamored that that was a way to live. I remember standing out in the back of the diner with the owner and she brought up this term that Bourdain used. ‘Lifers’. I’ll never forget that. If I was to trace it back to one moment where I realized that this was a possibility for me as a career, that was the moment. I’ve actually had some pretty amazing moments with Anthony Bourdain since then. Like the day before I went to culinary school, I went to a book signing of his Les Halles Cookbook. I told him I was going to the CIA the very next day and shared with him what a big influence he’d had on me. He laughed and smiled at this and signed my book ‘Chefs Rule.’ Then, years later when I was Executive Chef at Café Boulud, Bourdain was sitting on the terrace with his daughter. I went out and re-introduced myself and we had a great conversation. I told him about the ‘lifers’ story and the book signing moment. All those years, and there he was eating in the restaurant where I was Executive Chef. I told him how much he had influenced my career. He was so gracious and offered any help that he could. You could tell that he loved chefs. He might not have loved a lot of things in his life but his love of chefs was clear. Telling him that story, bringing it all together for both of us, was a great moment. The definition of full circle.
Mer-i-toc-racy Definition: (Noun) Holding of power by people selected on the basis of their ability Having been on the board of Careers to Culinary Arts Program in NYC, I am eager to find a similar iteration in here in Texas. I am obsessed with the fact that our business is a meritocracy. You get out of it what you put into it. I always say it’s like putting money in a bank. I always tell young chefs, if you’re
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