In the movie, Ramen Girl, there is a scene when the Japanese ramen sensei takes this American girl who wants to learn how to make ramen from him to his mom's house in the country. The purpose was to test her skills on the mom by making her a bowl of ramen. Mom said to the girl, it's good, but , “tamashii ga nai”------------------which means, there is no spirit in this bowl. One can learn the mechanics, become robotic, and a lot of young cooks go through the motion without really putting their spirit into the food they prepare. They got into the business because they were able to do it for friends and family, however, the frantic pace of which a real kitchen operates makes it a totally different deal, often very difficult to put your spirit into anything when the only thing on your mind is get out of the hole of a rush you are in. Once in a while, you will know when you see someone cook, that they really enjoy cooking and cook from the heart, usually it comes from the home in which they grew up in. Happy cooks make happy food!
I wanted to share Miyas going away meal prepared by her parents because I told her that the love and care that went into preparing this meal is in the food she ate, and to take it with her. Try to cook like that. Going home is always grounding, good to see the family, good to be surrounded with the love and attention you get.
If I had one proud individual moment during the last Hawaii Food and Wine Festival, it was at the Halekulani dinner where I cooked a course and Steve Clifton, a winemaker from Brewer Clifton, said he enjoyed my course and that he could feel my spirit in the dish. I immediately went back to this movie--------I know I really did pour myself into this one and gave it all I had, so I was happy-----------even though not a lot of people would have understood that and I tried to keep calm so no one would think we were crazy, talking about spirits in a dish.
Go check out the movie!