Written By: Michael Sandoval
“The Waiting Game”
“Patient vs. Patience”
I have never been sure why it is sometimes so natural for us as humans to want things to occur faster than they should…
Currently forced to perform the same daily activities has really stressed the need for Patience.
How much patience do we have as people? Is our patience tested when emotions are intertwined? Does patience have a “glass ceiling”?
There are so many deciding factors that determine the threshold of patience within a kitchen. The teetering seesaw of delivering a mixture of direction, education, inspiration, values, emotion and standards while keeping composure is truly a skill that takes a life time to master.
When I became the Chef de Cuisine at Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bistro in Napa Valley I was inspired… I wanted to be the best that I could be; with my team by my side we could and would continue the legacy that was laid out before us. I knew that it would be a tremendous feat.
A few weeks after “The Changing of the Guards” There was another defining moment that would change my life and my career!
-Yountville California, 2010- “Changing of the Guards” Bouchon. Left-Right~ Phil Tessier, Thomas Keller, Michael Sandoval.
“Accidents sometimes change your life”……….
I referred to this quote in “The Memory” Journal and it reappears again because….
That is exactly what I had; An Accident…..
The day began extremely beautiful. It was a day off of work and our Sommelier planned an educational wine tour for the team. The afternoon was extraordinary in Napa Valley. The sun was warm and the long fields of mustard overwhelmed the eye .The visual aesthetics of the riotous carpets of yellow was a fond Memory. The spring season was here! The smells, the blossoms, the flavors……My favorite time of the year!!!
Believe it or not….
The reason why I cherish these moments more than usual is because they may be all that I can clearly remember that day…..
After the wine education, we decided to spend the afternoon in Yountville. I was really into skateboarding during my adolescence and had received a spectacular long board the year prior for my birthday. That afternoon I wanted to embrace the feeling of the crisp air on my face while gliding through wine country on my skateboard.
A few of us decided to skate through Yountville and up towards Domain Chandon……
That is all that I can remember……..
The rest of the story will be told second hand or through hazy eyes…..
We were skating down a hill and I must have hit a pot hole…… (I never wanted to ask for the exact details, I was too afraid to know)….
I do recall some flashes….
People racing towards me, lots of questions, everyone telling me to stay awake….
I was told that the ambulance came quickly. The paramedic continued to ask me my name….
My two peers mentioned that there was only one phrase that I repeatedly said over and over again….
“I am the Chef of Bouchon” “I am the Chef of Bouchon” …..
I was raced to The Queen of the Valley hospital. I remember random bursts of visiting the “Queen” and the feeling as if I was only there for minutes. In all actuality it was hours……
After cat scans and tests, I was going to be transferred to the Santa Rosa hospital. The foggy ride also seemed as if it only took minutes, but the drive was about one hour.
I do remember multiple voices telling me that I was going to be OK. We arrived to the hospital and I can only remember vomiting more times than any human should ever experience. I was numb……I had been given so much medicine that the feeling in my body became minimal.
I was blessed to have had family and friends come to ensure that I would be OK. My girlfriend at the time stayed with me the entire sleepless evening as I laid silent and motionless through the night….
I woke the next day uncertain of where I was and unfamiliar with the feeling in my body. I was weak!
A doctor walks into the room…..
“Good morning Michael, I wanted to start by letting you know that I have spoken to Thomas, (Thomas Keller was his reference) and I have told him that you are going to be OK”….
The only thought that crossed my mind…..”Who are you and why are you talking about Thomas Keller”…..
Dr. Brian Schmidt, a physician and general surgery expert, was the MD that looked after Chef Keller’s father and he was now looking after me!
This was the beginning of “The Waiting Game”…..
It was supposed to be my opportunity! Would I miss out on it? Would everything that I worked for be lost? Would I ever recover?
As a Patient I was going to have to figure out how to be Patient.
I had Waited all of my life to become the CHEF!
But, The “Waiting Game” continued….
Another moment in life where I was going to have to become:
“The Quarantined Cook”