I, too, skimmed those other pages. Didn't care too much for the attitude. For one thing, I didn't agree that people who go to Burger King don't know who Rick Bayless is. I go to Burger King. I go to Subway. I know those restaurants aren't the same thing as what Alice Waters has done. That doesn't mean I don't know who those people are or that I can't appreciate the difference. I'm not a fat, stupid American. But I am an American, and I am busy. Sometimes I just need to grab something to eat.
I'm not sure that it's Rick's fault that society has become that busy - or that we seemingly "need to go corporate" in order to survive. "Heck!" The last time I saw Eric Clapton, he was sponsored by a car company. Does that make his influence on music any less? Not in my mind.
What I do know, is that in my little po-dunk town, it is virtually impossible to survive without big corporate money. I survive, three plus years into my small business, out of being ornery more than anything else. I refuse to give up! Will I really ever get ahead with this attitude? Probably not. Do I value my accomplishments? Absolutely. Would I breathe a huge sigh of relief if someone with any amount of money, let alone Burger King, started paying attention to me tomorrow? Yes, totally. If that happened, I would have time to love food again.
Just thoughts,
RF
