What chefs can learn from Herodotus
3 Comments
I just got back from vacation and had a lot of time to read while I was gone. One of the books I revisited was The Histories by Herodotus. So, time for some Greek mythology! WOOT!
Just kidding. In a nutshell, The Histories follows the conquests of four Persian kings during their empire-building and demise. And to cut to the chase, the overarching theme is how the lazy thinking of this empire and its understanding of the world led to their demise. The hows and whys of the particulars, of course, aren't really important. The important lesson of history is that blind belief in the old ways of doing things will always lose.
Which is why I was reading about Xerxes and thinking about chefs.
Xerxes thought that he could follow in the footsteps of the Persian kings before him and get the same result. Well, I ask you this: have you ever even heard of Xerxes? No, you haven't. Because he couldn't just do his work like the kings before him did it. The world had changed -- and he should have changed with it.
He didn't and he lost. And now you don't even recognize his name.
The Moral
If you want people to recognize your name, adapt to the new battlefield.
Just kidding. In a nutshell, The Histories follows the conquests of four Persian kings during their empire-building and demise. And to cut to the chase, the overarching theme is how the lazy thinking of this empire and its understanding of the world led to their demise. The hows and whys of the particulars, of course, aren't really important. The important lesson of history is that blind belief in the old ways of doing things will always lose.
Which is why I was reading about Xerxes and thinking about chefs.
Xerxes thought that he could follow in the footsteps of the Persian kings before him and get the same result. Well, I ask you this: have you ever even heard of Xerxes? No, you haven't. Because he couldn't just do his work like the kings before him did it. The world had changed -- and he should have changed with it.
He didn't and he lost. And now you don't even recognize his name.
The Moral
If you want people to recognize your name, adapt to the new battlefield.
I like your Greek Mythology comparison, mainly due to my inner dork:)
But I do have one question:
What do you consider the new battlefield chefs should prepare for?
Thanks, Phil. It spoke to my inner dork as well. The battlefield is social media. A lot of chefs are dragging their feet, secretly hoping that the world will go back to the way it was pre-Facebook/pre-Twitter. Unforch, it likely won't.
Good point, it's going nowhere. Chef need to embrace it. They have to become a face, through social media. The days of hiding in the kitchen are over. We are transparent now:)