Braised leeks have been making regular appearances in my kitchen ever since I made them for Rosh Hashanah. Here’s a chicken dish I quickly put together this past Friday.
As I was walking into a photo shoot this week, our food stylist quietly pulled me aside and asked if I was okay with one of the props our prop stylist had curated, since it wasn’t entirely the food stylist’s taste. I really appreciated the discretion, which to me revealed real respect. People are hired because of a track record of talent, and she honored that even when she didn’t entirely agree with it.
It’s hard to work independently, doing your own thing, alongside other people. Parallel working, I call it. Yet the assumption is that there will be a fusion of talent to create a masterpiece, and that takes social and personal talent larger than what you were hired for.
In my opinion, being able to show this respect boils down to one thing: the ability to see outside yourself and to read the room. Of course, it’s always important to demonstrate acquiescence and flexibility even when something wasn’t your first choice, but real respect means that what’s important to someone else is okay with you.
This week, we feature Rivky Kleiman’s four fantastic approaches to a memorable Melaveh Malkah. Melaveh Malkah is a fun, relaxed time to cook together as a family and then eat together. On a regular Motzaei Shabbos in my house, I’m not plating, plattering, or bringing food out to a set table. It all happens at the same time, as part of the process of creating a meal that was made together. The teamwork makes all the difference to this shared experience.
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