Symposia. A Series VIII! Brewing, Stewing, Braising, Seasoning.

It's taken eight Symposia for me to be calm and accomplished enough to sit, pre-event, and blog about all this. As a swimmer on the High School team competing in the 400IMA, I learned about endurance and the prospect of goal attainment as a process that has certain identifiable stages. I'll save the elucidation of those stages for a motivational series yet to come. In any case, each time I set myself up to create a Symposia. A Series, I nearly lose all the equilibrium that I have been building from all those yoga classes. In any case, I continue to do the Series in order to push myself through the ordinary and routine; to force myself to think differently, to incorporate ideas from different regions and to present them freshly. Also, I use these events to test the water, to try out new dishes and seasonings and to note how they are received. So, in short, Symposia. A Series is both for me, the producer, as well as for our customers...and expanding further, for our community: to encourage leisurely dining, conversation, and the exchange of ideas. And finally, I see these events as a give and take between me, the chef, and my guests: I push myself to ever higher standards, and you my guests, allow me to soar as well as to fail....because, yes, when I have never produced a dish before, there is always slippage and surprise. When I set a menu, the produce or supplies may not actually be available, and there you have it: suddenly I am awarded more space to create, produce, and spin on a dime.