Francis Mallmann & Fire

 

Francis Mallmann, photo from here 

We watched a Chef's Table tonight about Francis Mallmann, a chef from Patagonia who cooks primarily over an open fire outdoors. He is a romantic and a pleasure-seeker, taking 4-5 flights a week to visit his various passion projects. While there is undeniable selfishness in his way of life, there is also undeniable virtue.

Some takeaways:

- Having cooking fulfill other desires/"needs" (e.g. beauty, community, movement) so that it can take over a larger chunk of your time without feeling like a burden 

- Fire is such a powerful element and adds flavor to food

- Eating and cooking outside 

- How do you learn a craft from others but go in your own direction? It seems that you have to be really attuned to your own motivations/energy/passions.

- Do we need change to grow? Is travel the best way to encourage this change?

photo from here 

"Many attribute to Mallmann the predictable strain of machismo that goes along with steak, cowboys, mountains—and he, in turn, rejects it. “Did I tell you that I was feminine?” he says. “I love sewing. I sew everyday. I would love to be a couturier, doing dresses. I love my feminine things. I'm very vain, in a way."

For him, fire, too, is feminine.“Nowadays, people think it's a very manly thing, brutal,” he says. “But it's the most tender and fragile thing ever.”  - quote from here

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