# Tatoo



## chefcassanova (Jan 14, 2002)

I've been thinking of getting a tatoo for a while but I have to live with it for the rest of my life so I'm having a hard time deciding what to get. I want it to represent my love of food and cooking.
Does anyone have any sugestions?:chef:


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## anneke (Jan 5, 2001)

How about a "triple A"? (or the US equivalent)


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## pete (Oct 7, 2001)

Just after my internship at the Royal Sonesta in New Orleans was over, I recieved a letter and picture from all my friends there. I guess one night after work they all decided to go out and get a tattoo. So one of the guys created their tattoo and they all got it done. The tattoo is the chef's version of the skull and crossbones, with a chef hat on top and a crossed chef's knife and steel underneath.


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## greg (Dec 8, 1999)

The bump of hardened skin at the base of my left forefinger, in addition to whatever burns and nicks I currently carry, are all I really need, food-wise. If I were to get a tattoo, I'd get one that represented my view of things as a whole; some version of a yin-yang symbol.


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## chefcassanova (Jan 14, 2002)

Pete,

Believe it or not that was one of the Ideas I was thinking of. Did they have the knife and steel under the hat or slightly overlapping the base. It would be great if you could post a picture of it for me to see what it looks like.

Greg,

I agree that all my burn scars and calisuses are a great representation of my dedication to my profession. I just always wanted a tatoo and I feel that I could live with it forever if it represented my passion of food.


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## athenaeus (Jul 24, 2001)

I love tatoos. I have been thinking of having one for years but I hesitated.

I was right because I started reading and asking. 

Think about it well. By the moment you have your tatoo you become some other person. This is the point of having a tatoo.

Think if you want to be a casserole. 



People that have tatoos have told me that once you have one very soon you will want for another one and then for another one.


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## chrose (Nov 20, 2000)

Chefc,
I have seen this question a number of times in many places. The last time this discussion came up it was on a hockey BB I belong to. I'll give you the answer I gave there. Apply it as necessary.
_
think hard about this. You'll have it for a long time. I got my 1st tattoo
when I was 16, it was a panther head done by an old pro. Thank god I didn't
get my original design! (But we won't go into that) I have since gotten it
covered up. I wanted to add to it but with the "old style" ink it wouldn't have looked so good so I got something that was more suited to me personally. Tribal tattoos are the "latest thing" but will what looks cool to you look so cool when you're 40+. A tattoo should reflect a sense of who you are. Some tell stories, some commemorate events that are meaningful to the person. If you are going to get one it's going to cost you $$$ so you might as well get a good one. Find out about the artist. Just because they have a studio doesn't mean a thing. I could have a studio, but you wouldn't want one from me! Look up tattoos on the web and find a tattoo association and see if they are registered. See their work. While you're on the web look at different pictures, get magazines these will give you ideas.
When you're ready, big or small sit down with the artist and custom design what you want. What is important to you. What are your core beliefs. You may not be a chef forever but what in your personal makeup made you want to be. Put that into your design. At some point perhaps I can post mine but I'll tell you how we designed it. 
I was a single guitar player who felt like I was alone in the world. All I had was my guitar which when I was alone kept me company, it brought me friends and was able to ward off what I didn't want to deal with at times. So I saw myself as sort of a warrior with an ability to create with my guitar. So we took pieces of other works and designed a warrior with a masked face holding a guitar aloft as a weapon. Of course the guitar was not a plain old guitar but a sort of modernistic weapon looking thing. There was a storm blowing underneath a full moon behind the warrior. And that's how we pieced it together using various drawings and ideas to put it together. The one last piece that I have to do is write underneath it in japanese letters "Kill the guy with the ball". That is a Steve Vai song that to me says it all and fits with me and the tat. 
Good luck, have fun and think hard make it you and not a copy of everyone else._

In person it looks a lot better. The colors are much more vivid.


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## flash (Dec 7, 2001)

Hey cassanova,

How 'bout something along the lines of a Meat Identification Stamp?

USDA PRIME
CHOICE
SELECT Etc...

:lol: You could put it right on your Jambon!!!



flash


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## athenaeus (Jul 24, 2001)

Chrose

The links you posted do not function!

You have two?

So they were right about the one that brings the second.

If I had one It would be a tiny mermaid


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## jim berman (Oct 28, 1999)

I think tattoos are another (the ulitmate?) form of self-expression. If you select something, be sure it tells a story about _you_ and not just because it looked cool in a magazine. I chose mine carefully and, 11 years later, am still pleased with my selection. And yes, it does change your personality. It could be that you have gone through something painful and survived. It could be that you are harboring a secret. Or that you were adventerous enough to do something daring. Either way, give it some thought.


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## chrose (Nov 20, 2000)

It could be that I can see it because of a direct link to my pc so try this link and see if it works.

http://photos.yahoo.com/chrose1201


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## pete (Oct 7, 2001)

Cool tat chrose!! Right now I have only 2 (and yes, I want more!!). One is an 8 pointed star (looks very Southwestern Indian), but then it has two swords crossing through it. Lots of color and very clean lines and sharp angles. The girl who did was working under Tony Olivas, in Atlanta (one of the top tattoo artists in the country). My other tat is a compass rose from a 16th century map of the world, all colored in black and red.

cassanova, I do not have the pic anymore, and have lost contact with those guys, but, if I remember correctly, the hat and the crossed steel & knife did not overlap.

The favorite tattoo I have ever seen: a buddy of mine had the parade from "Where the Wild Things Are" tattooed across his upper thigh. So cool, but I will never do now, because I know someone else had it done, and as many people here have stated, I believe tattoos are a form of self-expression and I would never copy someone else's tat.


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## athenaeus (Jul 24, 2001)

Chrose!  

I find tatoos as topic fascinating.
I found this article for you. Long story with depth...

Tattooed: A Participant Observer's Exploration of Meaning. ( Journal of American Culture)


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## adam (Jan 26, 2002)

This was a very nice thing to say.

My wrinkles are my tatoos.


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## mermaid (Jan 21, 2002)

Placement is important, too; perhaps more so for women. You don't want a tattoo anywhere that's going to... well, droop. That sweet little butterfly tattooed onto a 21 year old breast, by age 60, may very well turn into a pterodactyl. 
"Grandma! Show us Big Bird!!!" 

With that consideration, my tattoo was placed at the very base of my spine. It's an image of the sun and moon, intertwined and kissing, the sun is male, the moon female. I am the moon, the sun, my husband - though I had the tattoo done three years before we met - it's perfect - he's a Leo, a sun sign.

It's true - one tattoo and you want more - at least I do. Still waiting until my daughter is weaned from breastfeeding, though. I will probably do a back piece of autumn leaves blowing across my back. 

If I had unlimited funds and pain tolerance, I would have a mermaid tail tattooed onto me, starting at my waist and ending at my toes.


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## mermaid (Jan 21, 2002)

James Bond - 
I don't understand - why is Jim excluded?


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## chrose (Nov 20, 2000)

Well said Bond, nothing much to be added, except to say that a form of expression done by artists, but not necessarily an art form should not be condemned because of the cruelty of some who twisted it's use. I'm not saying you implied anything, I say that because I know what a horrible act has been perpetrated and selfishly, I admit it, I don't want to feel guilty that I derived pleasure of any sort from something that has deformed so many in a myriad of ways.


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## mermaid (Jan 21, 2002)

Originally posted by Bond,James Bond
BTW Tonight is full moon, mermaids go out of the sea and sit on the rocks and admire the full moon as they comb their hair.

Let's hope you live by the beach. 


Yes, tonite is the full moon. Sadly, I am a landlocked Mermaid, two hours from the beach. 

Weather permitting, however, I will still comb my hair in the moonlight.


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## panini (Jul 28, 2001)

Chefcassanova, I too have a few tatoos. 
I approached my dad when I was 16 and expressed the desire for ink. His reply was, you will probably get one anyway if you really want one so consider getting it in a place where it would not show in the daily coarse of your life. Being in NYC I went to one of the premier ink artist "Spider Web" The shop was rough, bikers and scooter tramps, but the passion this person had for his art was incredible. He designed one for me and after a couple of shots I got it. Went back again and again. Mine do not show and I'm thankful for that, I have had friends trying to remove theirs just to wear short sleeve shirts at work.
Reasearch your artist, ink is important, mine still have colors, reds, yellows, greens and they never blued after 30 yrs.
pan
If your a on the hot side I like the idea of a steak with an FDA grade stamp


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## nancya (Apr 30, 2001)

Thank you for sharing, James. You remind us that there are real people behind these posts.

I think I sometimes forget that.


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## chrose (Nov 20, 2000)

Bond,
Do not worry I understand completely. I'ts just my way of saying that I've known people with the same tattoo and I'm related to many with a personal knowledge, I'm sorry you and they went through it. While yours was not a personal choice, but rather one that was inflicted on you, it carries a heavy weight and if one would allow you could easily make a case for all of them to be related in a similar way. Rather in our case it's a personal statement, you know, I'm just saying I empathize.
As for me the one in the picture is a cover-up of an old style panther I got when I was 16 long before I started making roses. On the outside I was a so envisioned tough S.O.B, still I had the heart of a chocolate rose:chef:


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## isa (Apr 4, 2000)

I'm so sorry James......


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## chrose (Nov 20, 2000)

James I wish I could scan a picture. When my niece was about 8 and my other nieces and nephews were between 3 and 7 we were all in Venice beach, Ca. They all got temp tattoos and we took a picture showing all our tattoos. My older niece happens to be an exceptionally talented artist (she currently majoring in art at NYU) so she started doing tattoos on her friends with markers. Soon she started charging a nickle, a dime, a quarter, she was always a good business woman. She made fantastic tattoos.
No point, just a cute story I thought.


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## ruth (Oct 16, 2001)

IDIDN'T START GETTING THEM TIL I WAS OVER 40.
I HAVE JAPANESE,KANJI,SIGNS ON MY RIGHT INNER FOREARM FIRE,ON MY LEFT INNER FOREARM WATER,ON MY CHEST AIR AND ON MY RIGHT SHOULDER BLADE BALANCE. THE ONES LEFT TO DO ARE EARTH AND SPIRIT. THESE ARE THE EARTH ELEMENTS.THIS IS WHERE YOU GET A FIVE POINTED STAR EARTH AIR FIRE WATER AND SPIRIT.


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## nick.shu (Jul 18, 2000)

ah yes, i dont have a tattoo. dont need one.

i have a very obvious birthmark over my left eye and thats about as individual as you can get.

didnt cost a cent either and im instantly recognisable.


hee!


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## chefcassanova (Jan 14, 2002)

I Finally got my tattoo. I decided on getting the chefs hat with the knife and steel crossed underneath. I didn't steal the suggestion from Pete, I actually had it in mind before his post, but it did sort of help me make up my mind, so thanks Pete. I drew the design myself! Here it is! By the way, they are addictive, I just got mine and I'm already thinking of my next one or how to add on to this one.


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## 84rhonda (Jun 19, 2001)

cool tattoo me likes, unfortunately I can't even handle paper cuts.


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## pete (Oct 7, 2001)

Cool tat!!


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## lotuscakestudio (Jun 28, 2001)

That is such an awesome tat! All my tattoos are religious ones and I told myself I would keep them that way, but I too have wanted a tattoo to represent the (pastry) chef in me. How weird b/c the design I had in mind was similar to yours. A rolling pin and whisk crossed and some other stuff. I don't know if I will ever get it though. 

I got my first tattoo when I was 17. My friend scratched from his apartment. It's Sanskrit on the back of my neck on the right hand side. A year later, I got another Sanskrit piece on the left hand side, done by his girlfriend. In a way, I sort of regret those b/c they were so poorly done. It also makes it harder to look professional in the summer when I want to tie my hair back. But yet in another way, I absolutely love them. They're religious tattoos so in that sense I don't regret them (not like an old friend of mine who got a naked lady wrapped around a guitar). It also just reminds me of why I got them on my neck in the first place. I never wanted to be in the corporate world. I was way too punk rock for that. I figured that if I got a tattoo in such a visible place, it would keep me from "selling out", as generic as that term sounds. So those tattoos also remind me of my youthful ideals. While slightly modified, I've kept almost all of them which I am very happy about. The same can't be said for many of my friends from that time who just turned the very people they hated.

I have 12 other tattoos all done by professionals. My tattoo artist is going to do a back piece on me and I'm going to have part of the design come up to my neck to cover up the magic marker scribble. Granted the scribble is small, and the new one will be MUCH larger, but I figure if someone is going to see any ink on my body, it should be well done.

For anyone who is afraid of the pain, I would like to suggest getting your doctor to prescribe you a Novocain cream. My tattoo artist said he did some work on a doctor who brought some in. That particular kind was called Emla and lasts for about 20 minutes. So it has to be put on frequently if doing a big piece. Emla isn't cheap either. It's $60 for a small bottle. I know there are other creams, but I can't remember the names. But they're the ones that permanent make up artists use. My tattoo artist also said he had a kid come in for a backpiece and he had his dad take him to the doctor's first to get his whole back injected with Novocain. It lasts for hours. I haven't tried either one, but for my backpiece, no doubt I will try one of something b/c the outline alone will take maybe 4 hours. And after an hour, I can't take it anymore. It's a mixture of the pain and just sitting there for so long. If it was over a fatty area, I would be OK, but places like my neck HURT, and also I have one under my throat and two small ones on my spine. Bony places are ouchie!


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## mikelm (Dec 23, 2000)

I have no interest in getting a tattoo, but I've always been intrigued by repeated stories that George Schultz, former Secretary of State, Dean of the Univ. of Chicago Business School, and Marine officer, has a Princeton tiger tattooed on his rear end.

Schultz has always refused any comment whatsoever about this. 

Mike


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## april02 (Nov 25, 2001)

WOW I can't imagining picking out something now and liking it when I'm 80. I just bought my prom dress for May 3 and I'm still afraid I could change it by then... (not that it isnt beautiful I'm just like that) I have so much admiration for someone who knows themself well enough to make a good decision about someithing like that.... --april--


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## roux58 (Oct 13, 2008)

I have 4 tattoos:
1) A chef knife down the back of my left forearm
2) A saying from my family crest down the back of my left arm
3) The Tree Of Life on my right forearm with the saying "Teaghlach" underneath
4) A half sleeve of a cornucopia starting just above my right elbow and ending on my wrist.

Login | Facebook


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## ishbel (Jan 5, 2007)

I am constantly amazed at requests on various Scottish fora which ask for a favourite saying of a father/mother/grandparent to be translated from basic English to Scots Gaelic for the poster to get a tattoo. 

WHY, is the question most often asked! If you don't speak the language, can't READ the language and are using a phrase that may be of alien grammatical rules which cannot be literally translated.... WHY have it on a tattoo? I'm sorry to say, that many of the translators either give duff info - or castigate the requester along the lines of my comments here! I always tell them they must get verification of the translation from at least TWO other experts before committing it to their body forever!

There is a famous (probably apocryphal) story that an Englishman had a tattoo done on his back in Hong Kong, which he bared proudly on beaches around the world... only to find out, many years later that it was an advert for a local product in HK!

I don't like tattoos!


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## wheresthegrub (Oct 28, 2008)

:bounce:Theres an anthony bourdain show done on the pacific northwest. He has a small section on people in the "business" with culinary tat's. 

there are some pretty neat ones, like a guy with the instructions on how to use chopsticks (taken from a chopstix wrapper, of course):bounce:


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## gummy-bear (Oct 27, 2007)

*I usually faint at the sight of needles but I still want a few little tattoos. I want a bind rune for love on one shoulder blade, protection on the other, success on side of my hips, and peace and happiness on the other side. Those will be about the size or a 50 cent piece. 
**
Then I want an **Ægishjálmur.
I'm very interested in Norse mythology. It's one of my favorite pastimes next to cooking. 

*


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