I landed back in Ottawa with a big thud. Yesterday, I had a great time at CBC TV in an interview with Adrian Harwood for “Hour Ottawa” on The Accidental Chef. It will air soon, I’ll let you know when. In the evening, I was invited to sign my book as part of a Chapters Rideau members event in Ottawa.

I shared the space at Chapters with several great local authors and the table with Anne DesBrisay who has enjoyed and written about my food for ages but I never met her because she was incognito as a reviewer, critic, and judge. I always appreciated that she got me and my food. It has meant a lot to me.

When I opened the restaurant many moons ago, I never wanted to label my food as vegan because I’ve always believed good food is good food no matter what it is. I wanted my food to stand on its own as beautiful and delicious. My goal was to elevate veg food to be more sexy and sophisticated. Most of all, I was curious to see if people could taste the difference of food made with love and care.

It’s a wonderful feeling to have people in your life that get you and like you as you are. I love that line in Bridget Jones Diary when Darcy (Colin Firth) says to Bridget, “I like you very much just as you are.”

Call me a romantic but it always makes me swoon, not only for Colin Firth but for the fact that he appreciates her for the way she is, no changes, no makeover. He loves her because of who she is, human imperfections and all, not despite of them. I think this is where there is a big difference. There is acceptance and gratitude for what the person adds to your life.

I’ve found that there are many people who say they love and care about you but want you to live according to their view of the world and live up to their expectations of you.This is a recipe for failure because no one is happy and no one wins. I can never live up to their expectations of me and I am not happy living up to their expectations of me because it’s quite simple. I am me.

Even if we do meet their expectations, you know what, the game sucks because they have another expectation for me that I may or may not live up to. I have been guilty of trying to play this game for a long time where you never win!

What if you refuse to play this game and start your own? How about changing things and creating a new game or category?

When I won the first silver medal at the culinary Gold Medal Plates, where Anne was a judge by the way, my staff told me that they heard other people saying that I didn’t deserve to win because I was cooking vegetables and I didn’t even have any meat or fish in my dish! Well, the language was stronger than that but you get the drift.

I knew my dish was great, I had perfected it for a long time, but I didn’t know how it compared to the other top chefs in the city. In the end, it was the team of prestigious judges that reviewed and compared my dish to the other nine competitors and awarded me the medal.

I continue to build my tribe of people who get me as I am and I have begun to understand that it may not be those closest to us and those that say that say they love us. Sad but true so “move along” as my aunt Helen used to say often.

When I stand in my truth, and fully without guilt and shame, and I don’t mention fear because it is always there when I try something new, the very act allows another to do so.

When we stand with our tribe, and it may be only one person to start, who like us very much just as we are, that’s when the magic happens. We begin to reveal the unique gifts that we have been given to share to the world. The magic doesn’t die within us but is released.

Here’s the clip if you want to croon with me…
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