My wife and I enjoy watching a show on the Food Network called "Chopped." The show features four chefs who compete to cook an appetizer, entrée, and dessert featuring four mystery ingredients within a time limit of 20-30 minutes.
It is fascinating to watch the creative process in action. We both love to eat a wide variety of exotic foods and the show certainly doesn't fail to disappoint. It takes incredible skill to transform some really crazy ingredients like beef hearts or bubble gum into sumptuous dishes.
A recent episode featuring celebrity chefs was actually quite instructive. It featured 16 Food Network celebrity chefs competing for a $50,000 prize for their favorite charity. In addition to the enormous time pressure the judges face in taking these wild basket items and transforming them into a delicious plate, there was the added pressure of trying to win the competition for their charitable organization. You could literally see the chefs trying to focus their efforts in a desperate attempt to provide that extra added touch that could help elevate their dish above their competitors.
I was most fascinated by watching how the relentless ticking of the clock affected even the most talented chefs. They could have kept things quite simple and easily presented a passable dish in the time given. However, since they knew they were competing against other talented foes, they had to design complex and complicated dishes to bring depth to their flavors and to balance a number of competing tastes and textures to make their efforts stand out. One of the favorites who seemed destined to win the overall title made a simple error by forgetting one of the main mystery ingredients. He had cooked them and they were sitting inches away from the plate. In the rush to complete his dish, he forgot to garnish the plate with the required element. His dish was outstanding in every other aspect, but he was "chopped" because no one else made any error quite as bad (even if their dishes didn't taste quite as good).
It is also instructive to note that the judges grade on three key elements: taste, appearance, and creativity. The runner-up lost primarily because he did not "dress" his plate as well as his opponent. His dishes, while delicious, did not look as great. Other chefs were cut because they simply cut up the ingredients and hid them on the plate instead of transforming them into something better.
If we can translate this competition to our own work life, I think we can see the impact that deadlines have on even the most talented personnel. It's amazing to think of what might have been had that favorite taken the time to remember to garnish his plate or that runner-up had cleaned up his presentations. There is a lesson there for all of us.
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