"I'm All In"

This stack of breaded green tomatoes, photographed by Noam Preisman and written up by chef/writer Dor Vanger for Galeria Magazine in Ha’Aretz, reminds me of a stack of poker chips. And not just any stack. The whole bank of chips you have as you are about to move them insouciantly into the pot and put it all on the line on one, uncertain hand.

If you are picking up a metaphor here regarding a culinary career specifically or any momentous life decision generally — well, I wouldn’t argue with you. And there’s a plethora of cliches that evoke this sentiment: Put all of your eggs in one basket and guard that basket; no balls, no blue chips; bet the farm. The list seems endless.

My favorite though is not so much a cliche but a parable. It was one of my dad’s favorites. All about a pig and a chicken striking up a friendship and deciding to have a meal together. The chicken suggests: “Let’s have bacon and effs.” To which the pig replies: “For you, that’s involvement; For me, that’s total commitment.”

Let’s just leave this story right there, without too much annoying commentary. You get my drift: If it’s worth doing at all, it’s worth doing well.