Buffets Suck. Stop Trying to be One.People keep turning into buffets
People keep turning into buffets
Picture a buffet. The type of buffet you’d find at an “off-strip” vegas Holiday Inn. If you are already thinking like I am, then you are seeing a motley of dated cuisine: stale italian pasta, dry american burgers, smelly tandoori chicken, the list goes on.
I hate buffets.
And I don’t blame the chefs, in fact, I feel bad. I feel bad that they are asked to prepare so many different types of food and serve it in one place. Though they may advertise the converse, it is impossible to serve “world-famous” everything. You cannot be an expert cook in every type of food. It is simply impossible.
And that is why you see buffets serve, across the board, mediocre foods. They just serve a lot of mediocrity. While to some this is appetizing, to others it is actually appalling. And the mediocrity is not just unexciting, it is also not very clean. Buffets are overall pretty dirty. The last thing that always sticks out to me is that buffets are generally really expensive. While you may think you are getting a “bang for your buck” you generally are not for a couple of reasons: the first is that no one needs that much food until you are presented with it. The second is that you are paying for mediocre food and lots of it. None of it goes together. And the last thing is you are paying for things you will probably not eat. So what the heck?
So why in the world am I thinking so much about buffets lately? Besides the fact that I pass a fluorescent sign on the way to work everyday claiming the “world’s best breakfast” and “lunch” and “dinner.” It’s because I believe that humans think that they should be like a buffet a lot of the time.
Take my drawn-out analogy about buffets, in all of their ickiness, and apply it to humans.
Let’s analyze:
My first point is part of a big question: mediocrity. Is it better to be a jack-of-all-trades or really good at one thing.
My answer (though not a law) is that mediocrity sucks and I do everything I can to avoid it. I rather be a fine steakhouse or a shawarma stand than a fucking buffet and serve crap. No one likes mediocrity, and its unmemorable. Mediocrity is attracted to mediocrity.
Next: Dirtiness. Buffets are pretty dirty. With mediocrity, you bring a lot of good aspects, but also some bad habits. And IMO it is better to be raw and able to learn than disdained with bad habits that are hard to change. That is the bad part about learning a bunch of skills, but only kind of. You are not really proficient at anything and have a lot of good but also bad habits that are hard to break. That really puts you in a bind.
Now there are good buffets. They are really expensive and fancy and hire the best chefs in the world. Perhaps those break my analogy. Just like the people who successfully master everything.
Not that it is impossible — but start by mastering one type of cuisine and branch outwards. You’ll come to learn that there are many specialties to each craft and that some of them take lifetimes to accomplish.
Instead of a buffet — become a Tapas place or maybe fusion. Learning other things ain’t bad , but please don’t serve a bunch of crap 🙂
Thank you so so much for reading. If I can help you in anyway or you want to leave feedback — jordangonen1@gmail.com or tweet me @jrdngonen
By jordangonen on June 23, 2016.
Exported from Medium on February 17, 2018.