Creativity and Food Service

by Lauren Tamborino
2025.01.16

“The sky is the limit” is a phrase we’ve all been told a number of times and it never leaves you. Ever since I was a kid, it has been my dream to be the head chef at a restaurant in a big city like New York or Chicago. Not necessarily a Michelin star restaurant, just something classy and irresistible, like a well-known Italian place. But, as I grew older and transitioned from one kitchen to another, I came to a conclusion about the reality of working in the culinary industry - it can be exhausting.

Don’t get me wrong, although I haven’t worked any jobs as a head chef, I’ve worked plenty of lower level jobs. I’ve waitressed, dealing with cranky customers and long kitchen wait times while covered in barbeque and tartar sauce stains. I’ve served at a golf course, whipping up frozen hamburgers and stocking ketchup bottles under counters. I’ve barista-ed, trying so hard to memorize what a London Fog is, while simultaneously sweating over the long line of customers staring at me (Server’s Flavor+ dispenser would have been a game changer for making drinks back then because it memorizes the recipes for you.) But I have been a chef at heart. To me, it wasn’t just about cooking; it was a fascination with culinary creativity that developed during my years in commercial kitchens.

So, I decided I would never let the love I have for culinary and gastronomy leave me, even if it is just experimenting at home. To be a chef means to understand that these obstacles do not define you nor your kitchen, instead they stimulate the desire to be creative.

In her Harvard Business article, Lizeth Aranada denotes various factors that cooking has taught her about creativity. These include learning from failure, creating an innovative environment, and taking advantage of the resources available at your fingertips. Early in my culinary career, I became overburdened by the small things, like how expensive groceries were, how bad my feet hurt from standing in the kitchen, and how long it took to craft something worthy of eating. By ridding myself of barriers like time and money, I learned how to foster what I found to be the paramount feature of any chef: creativity.

I found myself taking advantage of the opportunity to get creative in my often mundane food service jobs. As a waitress at a neighborhood pub with a core of regular patrons, I found our menu to be rather standard. Nothing on the menu was interesting. Not that it was unappetizing, but not a lot of items really stood out to me, either; it was just average. During slow periods, I would eventually get bored and rummage through the kitchen looking for something to eat. One day, I saw a pot full of macaroni and a slow cooker of pulled pork right next to the homemade barbeque sauce. I was inspired to combine them all together and make pulled pork barbeque mac ‘n’ cheese, because… well because why not? It was probably the best thing I ate at that restaurant.

I eventually left this waitressing gig to move away for college. I was thrilled to find the pulled pork barbeque mac ‘n’ cheese on the menu when I came back to visit as a customer. Finally, an item that stood out to me!

This journey to unleashing creativity in the culinary workspace will look different for everyone, and that is what makes it so special. Unleashing creativity in the kitchen comes from unlikely opportunities and unexpected pairings. So, find some free time, grab your ingredients, and go get creative in the kitchen. I urge you to have fun and remember that when it comes to creativity, the sky is the limit!