Appreciation post: I finally understood why we keep a 'family meal' log book

Last week, we had a new line cook who kept asking what we served the crew for lunch last Tuesday, or if we'd used up the beet greens yet. It was slowing us down. My head chef pulled out this beat up notebook from 2018 and showed him five years of daily family meal notes, with ingredients, counts, and who liked what. We found a note from three months ago about a great rice dish that used leftover braising liquid. We made it again Tuesday for 22 people and it was perfect. It turned a chaotic question into a five second answer. Do any of you keep a physical book like that, or is it all digital now?

3 comments

3 Comments

keving9320d ago

That notebook is basically a time capsule of your kitchen's whole vibe.

alicebarnes19d ago

Found my friend's old recipe book and it smelled like her grandma's kitchen.

reeseanderson8d ago

Oh man, that smell is a powerful thing... I bet you opened it and got hit with a wave of old cinnamon, spilled vanilla, and maybe a little bit of dust. It's like the ghost of every cookie and pot roast she ever made decided to throw a party in your nose. You're basically holding a smell-based history book. Hope you didn't have any plans, because now you're stuck thinking about pie for the next three hours.