A portion of a review by Diane Leach of the book Heat by Bill Buford.
"..Time passes -- weeks -- and Buford must return to New York, where he convinces his wife, Jessica, that another extended trip to Italy is necessary, this time so he can work with Tuscan butcher Dario Cecchini. Jessica is understandably hesitant but finally caves, leaving me wondering about the wives of celebrity cooks. Anthony Bourdain jet-sets all over the place. Where's his wife, Nancy? At home in New York, watching American Idol? Standing in the shadows of Bourdain's camera crew? And what of Mario Batali's wife? I'm amazed the guy had time to marry, much less sire children.
(Similarities?)
But back to Italy.
Dario Cecchini is insane. Dante-quoting, screaming, and swearing, this is a fellow who doesn't care what you want. Never mind your pocketful of lira: you get what he has, and only if your approach suits him. He will think nothing of tossing you out. He is not interested in profit. Only meat. At dinner with his wife and Buford at a local restaurant, Cecchini throws an amazing scene, pouring a cruet of balsamic vinegar onto the floor, shouting, insulting the proprietor, throwing the menu not once, but several times. The seed of his rage? Insufficiently "Tuscan" food.
Fortunately, Dario's staff is less intimidating. The Maestro, an older butcher, offers a quiet foil to Dario's histrionics. Before a cow or pig he is an artist, expert with a knife. And Buford, incredibly, takes the reader through the Maestro's every slice, detailing animal muscle cuts, consulting sources, arriving at the amazing-but-true realization that butchery is a defiantly local art."
10.8.10
8.8.10
Ideas & Opportunities
A well respected professor of mine taught our class about the difference between ideas and opportunities. There are lots of ideas – few are opportunities. The dream to live in Tuscany would be considered an idea to me, whereas developing the connections in order to set up a stage with one of the most famous butchers in the world is an opportunity. Few people receive opportunities like the one I will experience, and even fewer in my position would take the chance. The risk involved in living in another country, working a job completely unrelated to their degree, and not getting paid while there is quite high. Some argue that what I am about to embark on is not an opportunity at all, merely an escape from real life and a delay of the inevitable.
The day I booked my flight was both thrilling and ominous. I have no idea what type of work I will be completing during my time in Panzano, in Chianti, near Florence – only that it is both a butcher shop and restaurant. I have no idea what the living quarters will be like, or who I may meet while there. My decision was made with little to no solid information – with the “little” information being what day to show up in Florence. This decision reminds me of a concept Carly Fiorina developed during her time as CEO of HP - “Perfect Enough”. If perfect information is available, you’re already lagging in your business. If I knew all the information about my trip, I would have already missed the opportunity. Once a decision is made, turn the page, don’t look back, and get excited.
The day I booked my flight was both thrilling and ominous. I have no idea what type of work I will be completing during my time in Panzano, in Chianti, near Florence – only that it is both a butcher shop and restaurant. I have no idea what the living quarters will be like, or who I may meet while there. My decision was made with little to no solid information – with the “little” information being what day to show up in Florence. This decision reminds me of a concept Carly Fiorina developed during her time as CEO of HP - “Perfect Enough”. If perfect information is available, you’re already lagging in your business. If I knew all the information about my trip, I would have already missed the opportunity. Once a decision is made, turn the page, don’t look back, and get excited.
7.8.10
One Foot in Each Pond.
Is it our business? Does food have rights? Should it be exploited? How have so many corporations and small business made money off of one simple ingredient – food. The shift from a good centric industry composition to a service industry – how has that affected the business of food? What is the strategic positioning of foods and how do they create industries?
Having grown up on a dairy farm in Southwestern Ontario, been involved in both the rural and urban community, and recently graduated business school at Wilfrid Laurier University – I wonder how synergies between food and people and business happen. Where did it start? The industrial revolution in Britain when the masses moved to urban areas, leaving cottage industry behind? When women began in the workplace during World War II, leaving home made meals a thing of the past? Or was it when industry began to capitalize on niche markets – creating a mindset that intricate, expensive food is better and more legitimate than simple meals.
Most students in my program are either continuing on with their studies in order to receive their CA’s, others said adios to classes and joined the ranks in Toronto, Vancouver, or New York. They received swanky office jobs that pay to pave their way to comfort. I however, don’t feel quite ready yet to give up the feel of soil between my fingers – but yet am also not ready to milk cows every 12 hours for the rest of my known life. So here I am. Graduated school – stuck in the middle with my feet dipped in both ponds. And so I begin my quest.
Why not go to Italy, Tuscany perhaps? I’ll work for a famous butcher whose methods predate the fashions of food that have come about recently, whose passion for authentic creations creates its own competitive advantage, a resource that no one else can copy. Dario Cecchini’s business strategy trumps many business owners’ attempts to create sustainable business – a hard thing to do in the food industry.
Having grown up on a dairy farm in Southwestern Ontario, been involved in both the rural and urban community, and recently graduated business school at Wilfrid Laurier University – I wonder how synergies between food and people and business happen. Where did it start? The industrial revolution in Britain when the masses moved to urban areas, leaving cottage industry behind? When women began in the workplace during World War II, leaving home made meals a thing of the past? Or was it when industry began to capitalize on niche markets – creating a mindset that intricate, expensive food is better and more legitimate than simple meals.
Most students in my program are either continuing on with their studies in order to receive their CA’s, others said adios to classes and joined the ranks in Toronto, Vancouver, or New York. They received swanky office jobs that pay to pave their way to comfort. I however, don’t feel quite ready yet to give up the feel of soil between my fingers – but yet am also not ready to milk cows every 12 hours for the rest of my known life. So here I am. Graduated school – stuck in the middle with my feet dipped in both ponds. And so I begin my quest.
Why not go to Italy, Tuscany perhaps? I’ll work for a famous butcher whose methods predate the fashions of food that have come about recently, whose passion for authentic creations creates its own competitive advantage, a resource that no one else can copy. Dario Cecchini’s business strategy trumps many business owners’ attempts to create sustainable business – a hard thing to do in the food industry.
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