You may have heard of The Bear, a new drama starring Jeremy Allen White, famous for his role as Lip Gallagher in the popular Netflix show Shameless. Most of the show is shot in a restaurant kitchen, where the intense environment and constant communication struggles of the kitchen staff keep you on the edge of your seat. White’s character, Carmen (or Carmy), takes over his troubled late brother’s Italian beef restaurant in the first episode of the show, and the kitchen he enters has few similarities to the Michelin-star restaurants Carmy is used to working in. The beef shop is disorganized, chaotic, and underfunded, leaving Carmy to think his brother left it to him as a big “screw you.” The tension and anger in the kitchen, however, are juxtaposed with satisfying montages of cooking processes — seemingly the only peace and focus the characters experience. The show also quickly develops into a journey of discovery and friendship through cooking and the restaurant’s development.
I grew up helping my parents cook dinner nightly and having my grandparents and friends over for dinner weekly, so I understood the connection each of the characters had to certain foods or positions in the kitchen. One of the characters, recent culinary school graduate Sydney (Ayo Edebiri), joins the team at Carmy’s restaurant and for a period of time, both she and Carmy lose their patience and care in the kitchen due to the stress and tension. When Sydney steps aside and goes home to cook for herself and a friend, she remembers that she started cooking because she loves to cook for other people. Being able to induce nostalgia and happiness through cooking is an art form, and The Bear’s characters’ journey to cook as a cohesive unit while also adding individual touches is inspiring.
The Bear emphasizes that there is always more to learn, no matter how much experience someone has or how old they are. Though the chefs in the show vary in age, they all contribute some form of knowledge to one another throughout the season. This isn’t exclusive to cooking, but I find it more prominent in the culinary arts than in other disciplines. The idea that my skills in the kitchen always have opportunities to improve is another reason why I love cooking so much: I never have to worry about stagnation or boredom, and since people almost always love being cooked for, there’s no shortage of taste testers either.
This summer I lived alone for most of the week and had friends over for dinner a lot. Sometimes we would cook together and sometimes I would cook for them while they just kept me company in the kitchen. Watching The Bear in my dorm room made me wish I had a kitchen, and got me excited for next year when I’ll be able to cook dinner with and for my friends any night I want.
Can’t get enough of HC UMass Amherst? Be sure to follow us on Instagram, listen to us on Spotify, like us on Facebook, and read our latest Tweets!