Behind the Scenes

From Callused Hands to a Grateful Stomach: a Diary from the Rouge Tomate Kitchen (Part 2)

May 21, 2013

by Tim Chin, Dietetic Intern

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Dietetic Intern Tim Chin reflects on his time spent in the Rouge Tomate kitchen and how it affected his sense of mindful eating.

If you are reading this blog, then chances are you’re a fan of good health practices. Whether you want to eat better or cook healthier, it is likely you consider physical wellbeing part of a wholesome human experience.

 A lot can be said for healthy choices, healthy cooking techniques and the hours of bench-­‐work and analyses underlying those techniques and choices. On one hand, the SPE Certified blog represents a compendium of valuable insight and information to that end – bursting at the seams with recipes and expert recommendations for success. But as much as this blog rapid-­‐fires nuggets of gastronomic and nutritional wisdom, it’s also worth considering how we might think of the food we cook and eat. Really, what goes into a plate of food? 

If I think about it and reflect on my own experience in the kitchen, a whole lot goes into food. Three weeks of plating seasonal miniature tartelettes has shown me that hours and hours of preparation – from the mixing of sablée doughs to the painstaking cleaning of individual clementine segments – go into one plate of food days, even weeks before service time. Ingredients must be sourced, selected, bought, inspected, prepared, and appropriated. And of course, there is the plating. 

But the next time you go out – or stay in – to eat, whether you are faced with a tiramisu or torchon, think of the humble tartelette. Think of the nimble, callused hands that prepared something so small, so delicate, and so flavorful – all for five seconds of consumption. And be thankful for those hands that continue to do so!

Read part 1 of Tim's blog post here.

mindful eating

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