I was watching the Waffle House cook work his magic a few weeks ago, thinking how awesome he was. As a woman who is dangerous in the kitchen, I coveted his dexterity and talent.
Well, I was hardly working any magic, being a gawky teen girl who barely knew how to make toast. But I actually got pretty decent, and am quite an excellent cook now.
But I'm a heart-healthy, low-fat, whole grain, fresh-food sort of cook now. My blood vessels start constricting just walking is a place like WH now.
I must agree with you though - male short-order cooks can be real virtuosos!
I had the good fortune to be stuck in a motel in Atlanta for two days during an ice storm. The Waffle House was the only place to eat. The cooks did everything from memory and their style was amazing to watch. They were incredible kitchen atheletes.
I saw a guy in a Waffle House in Atlanta about 25 years ago who was absolutely amazing! I kept thinking that he must have been a circus juggler at one time, he was so good that a helper would have slowed him down! Just watching him butter toast was a show, he could flip the butter knife in the air when he finished and it would land sticking straight up in the butter dish. I can still remember coming home and telling my wife about this guy. I left thinking that I probably would never do anything in my life as well as this guy cooked.