21. January 2009 by Kenneth Gilbert.

“Today’s Preparation is Tomorrow’s Performance”!

This statement was blurted out by a good friend of mine who also happened to be my Executive Sous Chef while I was Executive Chef of this particular resort back in 2003. We were fortunate to have met and still to this day stay in close contact as friends and professionals constantly seeking how to be better day after day.

David Tolerton originally born in Ireland is tattoo covered culinary technician in the kitchen. Classically trained, inspired by the love of New Orleans and true Southern Cooking, David or as I normally just blurt out “TAU-LER-TEN” is a disciplined soldier of the kitchen.

As I awake, still not even out of bed, a thought pop’s into mind head. “What does it take to be a Disciplined”? A few characteristics come to mind as I am thinking about how sore I am from finally getting back into the gym over the past few days from working out in the Colorado Mountains.

1. God’s focus to provide you with the mind, body and spirit to have the ability to achieve  
2. Focus on the task at hand
3. Determination to succeed
4. Relentless desire to be organized
5. Persistence without letting anyone get in your way
6. Patience
7. Humbleness
8. Leadership
9. Caring Nature
10. The ability to teach and to learn

 I told a story to some colleagues the other day about when I was cooking for a very important event for world leaders. All of my Chef’s were staged to work at another location at the resort. We had a surprise change of plans from allot of new leaders from different parts of the world. It just so happened that I had all of the apprentices on there tour of duty with me at this particular resort. I had to prepare for many of these world leaders with a shell of a team. From a feast of 40+ items for 4 people to fresh custom juice blends made every morning like;

1. Cantaloupe Tangerine
2. Honeydew Lychee
3. Watermelon Raspberry
4. Papaya Coconut Mint

 Just to name a few. We banded together and we made it happen at the highest level. I ended up assigning all of the apprentices, (Andy/Brent/James) to very important meals that had to be inspected by advisers day in and day out. It was incredible the job that these gentlemen did. They all pulled through due to their will to want to succeed. 17 hour days, scruteny over every dish, challenges with food arriving, food inspected by advisers upon arrival, etc……

Success comes with stress, consequences and then comes reward. Nothing in life is easy. We have heard all of these phrases throughout our lives. Nonetheless discipline is daily journey that comes with daily challenges and as a Chef it also comes with every guest and every meal that you prepare.

The old saying goes that you are only as good as your last meal! Fail to plan and plan to fail! Whatever get’s you going is fine by me, but without God on your side and DISCIPLINE you will only go so far. Now to the gym to put the body through some more stress and pain with future reward.

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20. January 2009 by Kenneth Gilbert.

You know my entire career I have been a relatively intense person. Good or Bad, this is how God made me. My focus has always been motivated by the sheer desire to impress my guests, provide for my family and now understanding that God deserves all of the Glory.

I used to make the statement that “Perfection is something that you should strive for but will never be achieved”. Why not shoot for the stars and give your best. It seems at times people do not always appreciate or respect ones level of discipline and some do. That is what’s crazy about Life! Merely pushing ones self to doing your best can be positive for some and negative for others. The great thing about my mind set today is that I do my best and push myself simply because, GOD has blessed me to do so and I thank him everyday for the LIFE he has provided for me and my family.

Dining out is a universal portal of social activities that brings people together. Some experiences good and some bad. The cool thing is that regardless of the experience the best part of the time should be appreciating the company that you are keeping and thanking GOD for the opportunity in having the means to go out to eat, when there are millions of people dying every year due to malnutrition and being deprived of a simple meal.

Life is funny, sad, exciting, joyful and entertaining. Just be happy to be a part of something special. GOD has put us on this earth for his purpose and his purpose alone. So enjoy Life while you can and don’t let anyone take away your Passion towards striving for your potential but be mindful others. They are not always happy for you nor do they want to see your success. I am lucky that I have people that I work for/with that are here to aide in my success and I am forever thankful.

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