how to create like a chef and perform like an athlete.
everything chefs embody that creatives can practice — an alchemy of turning scraps into something meaningful
i have an (un)healthy attachment to cooking shows. in fact, one celebrity i have to meet before the Lord calls me home is (obviously) Gordon James Ramsay.
Hell’s Kitchen, Next Level Chef, Knife Edge, MasterChef, Chopped, the Big Brunch—and more recently, Next Gen Chef—I’ve seen enough material to know that chefs are just built different.
i watch these shows to feel something.
they pull you into the chefs’ backstories — their obstacles, sacrifices, insatiable hunger to succeed — and I can’t help but find myself drawn to their passion. it’s infectious. contagious, even. by the time I reach the finale, my heart is racing with anticipation, waiting to see who will claim the title of Next/Master/Top Chef.
but this week, after hitting a plateau in my watchlist, I stumbled across Netflix’s Next Gen Chef and couldn’t look away for eight straight episodes.
the Netflix competition drops 21 rising culinary talents, all under 30, inside the prestigious Culinary Institute of America (CIA, as they call it). and over 21 days, they compete for $500,000 and the chance to be named the next defining voice in food of their generation.
and sure, if you’ve seen one cooking show, “you’ve seen them all,” but this one possessed an essence that has been missing from a lot of shows these days: straight-up hunger.
i’ve always said I enjoy watching college basketball (women’s and men’s) more than the NBA because the players want it more.
because these aren’t just games to them; scholarships are on the line, some have families counting on their success, and most only have 3-4 years to achieve it. making the stakes even higher.
it bleeds into the game, into the pace — which is why March Madness historically delivers some of the most compelling Cinderella stories year after year.
and i saw that same desperation and grit on season 1 of Next Gen Chef, a throughline that I can only connect back to our own paths as creatives.
you see, chefs possess a certain level of alchemy that I believe isn’t talked about enough. their ability to take the scraps and sums of food items and turn them into layered, complex dishes with an array of textures, acidity, and flavor from pure imagination — is creativity at its purest form.
it speaks to what happens when raw talent meets creation from nothing: ex nihilo, and turns it into a dish that will be enjoyed, only to be returned to the same shapeless void from which it came.
in moments of creative slumps, I find myself pulling from the system of chefs and the systems they use to master their craft. here’s what i’ve found:
own your personal legend:
one of the most common critiques you hear on cooking shows is the ask to “show who you are on a plate.”
there was a recurring note from one of the standout contestants on Next Gen Chef, who came from New York’s top Michelin-recognized restaurants, Per Se, that while he possessed the technique, they still didn’t know who he was.
they didn’t want to see what he could recreate; they wanted to see him.
and the same is true for you. when you’re stuck, when you don’t know what to say through your art, your content, your words — you have to pull from your own story. your own point of view.
yes, the online world thrives on trends and feels super oversaturated. but what will always set you apart is you — the real you. the one your sister knows, the person your friends see on FaceTime, the version of you you wake up to every single day.
you have to own that story because that’s the one thing no one else can replicate.
the art of finesse & self-edit
i’ve watched enough of Gordon Ramsay’s catalog to know one of his favorite words is “finesse.” i used to think it was just something he said reflexively, but after looking into the meaning, I now realize it’s so much more than a flick of the wrist.
finesse, in and of itself, is an intricate and refined delicacy. it’s a dance. it’s being detailed in your work, your taste, your perspective — while still conveying the elegance of refinement.
it’s knowing when to practice restraint and edit yourself. it’s how you distill a big idea into a bite-sized concept, cutting through the noise, speaking to your audience, and even exposing them to something they didn’t know they wanted or needed.
that, right there, is finesse.
learn to pivot in real time
any master of their craft knows how to pivot, or at least knows when a pivot is near.
it’s like a 6th sense of a creative; you can feel the tides turning, you can sense a new wave approaching, and before it ever comes crashing down, you’ve already reached the shore.
pivoting isn’t the abandonment of your ideas; it’s taking the best parts of them and letting them evolve in a way that can only come when your instincts take over.
be coachable
this one goes without saying: no one likes a know-it-all.
in order to continue to grow as a creative, you have to know that you don’t know everything and be willing to learning from others around you. whether that’s a coach, a mentor, the flower on the side of the curb, a friend, the wind, or those within your network.
remaining a student of your craft and letting life be your teacher is a foundational skill to unlock an endless flow of inspiration.
mindset & discipline are everything
and finally, this is where the two worlds collide.
chefs and athletes must possess an undeniable belief in themselves. to the untrained eye, this can come off as arrogance or an inflated sense of self, but it’s their armor.
they race against the clock and take on unimaginable pressure, with crowds of eager sports goers or food enthusiasts on the edge of their seats, waiting for a show — and night after night, they must deliver.
in the face of commentary and criticism, chefs and athletes embody the idea that self-mastery comes before outward praise. in the 10,000 hours and 1000 shots a day. it all starts in the mind: visualization + belief + mental rehearsal.
so the next time you need an extra dose of inspiration, look to the courts and the kitchens.
see, your attention span is just fine. <3
— ya girl, Aley ⭐️
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IG: yagirlaley
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Wow, I wanted to restack nearly every paragraph of this!! I’m obsessed with the way you articulate these ideas
Hey Aley this peice is very inspiring non the least! You are such a great writer I am trying to myself back into the swing of things with media communication. :)