Wednesday, September 9, 2009

I do my best thinking while baking chocolate chip cookies.


I thought I would start this idea blog with what it is like for me when I get an idea. That moment when you come up with a solution that makes the whole world seem brighter, clearer, better.


I think everyone has a place that they go, or a thing that they do when searching for an answer. Maybe a relaxing walk in nature, or a climb to the top of a mountain, or running as fast as they can. For me, its baking chocolate chip cookies.


I have been working in bakeries since I was fifteen years old, and obsessed with cooking for as long as I can remember. I can't tell you how many hundreds of chocolate chip cookies I have made over the years, but I can tell you that I can make twelve dozen in an hour flat. Baking is where I am in my flow state as renowned psychologist Mihalyi Czikszentmihalyi puts it. The state of mind when you are completely in your element, unaware of time, sound, other people; just you, completely focused.


When I need to come up with an idea I write down some of my thoughts, put them away, then get my mise en pois, and get to work! By the time I am done my thoughts are fresh and organized, and I have a hot plate of cookies... This makes me really wish I found my flow in running.

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