Hello my friends.
I need your vote! I decided to throw my hat in the ring for the Favorite Chef competition presented by Carla Hall. The event itself is a competition/fundraiser for the James Beard Foundation. You vote for your favorite chef, hope they advance to the next round and ultimately, hopefully, win something.
Thanks to you, I have found myself still in the game after two rounds and have made it to the top ten finalist in my group. Next rounds are to make the top five and then the eventual group winner goes on to the quarter final rounds.
Why do I do this? Why do I subject myself to what feels like the equivalent of standing on the high school talent show stage in boxer underwear and forgetting my whole performance?
Simple. Because it pushes me way outside my comfort zone.
I am a firm believer that we grow the most when outside of our comfort zone.
So I do things like enter contests I have no idea what the hell I am doing.
One of my all time favorite quotes is by Wayne Gretzky.
You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take - Gretzky
This quote applies to anything. Sports, business, or asking out that cute freshman orientation leader at Georgia Tech (that is how Meredith and I met). A lot of the times you may miss the shot, lose the deal, or get rejected, but you would never of had the chance had you not taken the shot.
I took a shot by entering the Operation BBQ Relief Burger Contest/Fundraiser last year. I didn’t win, but I came close and learned a lot about how I would approach it next time and what the judges are really looking for.
Worst case with this FavChef contest, I embarrass myself a little. Best case, I make some cool connections, learn about other people’s culinary journeys, and maybe win something.
So, I will continue to take shots. Even if they are a bit uncomfortable.
If you want to help me out on this journey and I qualify as one of your favorite BBQ pitmasters, I need your help by voting. You can vote for free daily by going to my profile on the FavChef website.
https://favchef.com/2024/ed-gaile
Thank you again to everyone.
Keep taking your shots!
-Ed