If the Roles Were Played in the Food World
Written by a Luminary/Organizer
Comparisons can be made in every avenue of life. We often hear the old adage that you can’t compare apples to oranges. We also know, even though we do it everyday, that comparing yourself to people is defeating as it tears at our own unique value. Today, though, I will be using comparison in a healthy manner as I compare the food world to the Seven Roles.
Luminary
Summer Barbecues are just the best aren’t they? So full of delights that your tastes buds are exploding at each bite. My favorite include delicacies like hot dogs, hamburgers, potato salad, Caesar salad, watermelon, cookies, lemonade, and fruit salads. My question to you is this: have you ever seen anyone go away hungry or without sufficient time for extroversion among the merry crowd?
The summer barbecue is like the Luminary Role. The Luminary rallies the troops and wants to meet everyone. They love all types of people and never neglect meeting a new person. All varieties of people are welcome and they see each one as an opportunity for greater connectivity. Therefore, they position the food in such a way that ensures excitement can be had all around. They meet the need for people to be fully satisfied with the array of flavors so that an easy relationship can be formed as the basic needs have already been met.
Conceptualizer
A beef wellington is one of the most complicated dishes to get right. It’s juicy on the inside due the seared steak and on the exterior, encased with a crispy buttery crust. Traditionally, the meat gets a spread of mustard on top after the searing and then gets pulsed mushrooms and parma or prosciutto ham wrapped around the filet to trap the juices inside.
This mouth-watering dish is both elegant and simple. There are few ingredients, it uses tested cooking techniques for precise execution, and the processes are finely developed. There is also no need to alter the dish or attempt to “elevate” its flavor profile because if it’s done well, it will be more than sufficient for the dish to shine. The chefs know how to use the ingredients together to execute this dish as they’ve done it many times and no alterations are needed as it stands the test of time. Can you guess the role this recipe plays? Yes, you’re right… It’s the Conceptualizer.
Team Builder
What is the quintessential appetizer item at a wine tasting? Let me give you a guess: it has olives, nuts, definitely hard cheeses, perhaps some salami and maybe a few dried figs. Did anyone say charcuterie board? This is the ultimate crowd pleaser as everyone can get a little of everything by selecting the items of which they want the most. Everyone is satisfied and delighted at the explosion of tastes from the proteins. The charcuterie board works well as it tries to meet all the needs of its eaters by displaying tasty treats that most people will enjoy. It attempts and succeeds at creating cohesiveness between the people to enjoy the food. When the board is running low, another one is replaced as quickly as the first one came out since rumbling stomachs and angsty faces are the last thing it needs in its midst. This charcuterie board as you can probably tell by now plays the Team Builder.
Investor
Now imagine you want to put medium effort into a project with maximum reward from it. What type of food would you serve to ensure profitability, and ascertain return? You would open a wood fired pizzeria in a trendy, well traveled location full of young professionals. Why? Well, everyone loves pizza. And further, most young professionals will be willing to pay for a pizza place that can guarantee the snappiest crust, maintain the doughy texture of the bread, and elevate the combination of cheese and toppings to form a delicious meal will pay a slightly more expensive sum at the end. Fortunately, the pizza is cheap to make as well as the majority of the ingredients that go into it so the owner has a great return on their investment.
Wood fired pizza would put the Investor role to work. It is a killer dish, but not one that is too spendy to execute. People will be coming back for more because they can guarantee a great taste and they won’t lose their money along the way. Good owners will know a little investment goes a long way for this business.
Organizer
Have you ever seen the movie No Reservations? Well, if you haven’t then you probably should stop reading and go watch it now. It’s a movie about a chef running a high-end restaurant in Manhattan’s West Village. The chef has to execute top of the line dishes to a team of three line chefs while coordinating with the front of house waiters serving the meals to the customers. It truly isn’t an easy job, as the chef, played by Catherine Zeta Jones, has to organize each staff member to complete tasks in a timely manner. She has to plan, predict, and deliver delicious results to a bunch of high-paying customers who don’t take subpar nicely (see the “Steak Scene” clip for a taste).
This chef executes the role of Organizer well. She works within a system established either by the manager of the restaurant or herself. She knows where to place each line cook so that all the meals get out in time, and isn’t afraid of calling her staff up to a higher standard of cooking. She focuses more on the process that needs to run smoothly and less on the individual people performing the cooking.
Implementor
This item goes in everything. From fluffy souffles to cakes, meringues to Pavlovas, whipped egg whites are not afraid to say yes to any recipe that requires fluffiness. They aren’t afraid of being in the simplest dishes, the most menial recipes like creating some extra fluffiness in scrambled eggs. They meet the practical needs of their masters and enjoy being used to complete achievable recipes. The egg whites must be used as they cannot be forgotten about in recipes as they are vital to the success of the recipe. However, they must not be overused as they will start inserting themselves everywhere and their originality and flair will lose its touch. You’ve probably guessed it by now, but the egg whites play the Implementor role.
Prophet
Has anyone seen the British Baking Show? If you haven’t, watch a few episodes on NetFlix and watch two characters specifically… Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood. They preside as judges over ten homecooks who compete in their preparation of baked goods for these illustrious cooks. Berry and Hollywood are extremely competent chefs who understand the process well and can spot when recipes have been altered to heights unneeded. They challenge the homecooks to make their dishes better than they were at home by pitting them against other great chefs, placing time constraints, and limiting instructions on recipes. They use these tactics because they see the flaws of each homecook and use a new process to force them to become better. It’s not an easy process as a person is eliminated each week based on their three bakes. However, without this role these cooks would stay on their same level. This role they execute is the Prophet role. They see the flaws in the process and they push these cooks to achieve greater heights.
CONCLUSION
Anyone hungry? If you’re not, you’ve either just come from a restaurant or you need to work on liking food more. I hope the comparisons to food helped you understand the Roles better as well as give you a deeper perspective on how they can be seen throughout all aspects of life. By finding patterns of the Roles throughout your daily life, you will be able to grasp how they can help you more to relate to items, processes, or people that once seemed foreign and are now within your reach.
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