You can learn something from almost any experience.

So, what streaming series do I watch next? Most of the time, I select and watch a streaming series purely for mindless entertainment. But sometimes in the series, there is an underlying message, intentional or not, too strong to ignore. “The Bear” was one such series for me.

This is less a review of the series but a list of the lessons I was reminded of while watching it. I say reminded of because I had learned these prior, but they did not presently hold the prominence they deserved. They had left my consciousness in some cases.

Background

If you have not watched the series “The Bear” on HULU, it is about the life of a head chef running a restaurant. The lead character in the series is a well acclaimed, award-winning international chef. He leaves that world and returns home to Chicago to save the family restaurant after the untimely passing of his brother. The restaurant is an old school sandwich shop which has been a neighborhood tradition for generations. This is far from working as head chef in a European Michelin-starred restaurant.

“Kitchen Confidential”

I have been fascinated by the “behind-the-scenes” of a restaurant ever since reading “Kitchen Confidential” by Anthony Bourdain, a fascinating read. I had no idea how it was behind the scenes, back in the kitchen of a restaurant. The word I would use to describe it is organized chaos. The complexity, coordination, dedication, and timing needed to serve the customers on a busy night might surprise you. Watching this series has elevated my interest in cooking to the extent that a cooking knife and cooking apron were my Christmas presents this most recent Christmas.

Learned Lessons Renewed

My overall opinion on the series was that most of the time it was exceptional. Other times, it was slow. I fast-forwarded through a few episodes. But when I can prepare a list of lessons, I have learned in the past and reminded of while watching this show, that speaks to its quality and depth. Perhaps these lessons will resonate with you.

Staying Busy and Avoiding the Real Issues

The first lesson I was reminded of is that I do things voluntarily or otherwise to occupy my time to avoid dealing with what really matters. If I can stay “busy,” I do not have to think about the hard stuff. I did this for years with my career. If I kept working, not what I really wanted to do anymore, I could avoid the hard work and discomfort it takes to find out what I really wanted to do. The main character in the series intentionally kept an incredibly chaotic and immensely stressful job of running the restaurant. One in which he was not happy or at peace with. He did so as it provided a distraction from the underlying issues. And he had many. It took a heavy toll on his relationships both within and outside the restaurant.

The Importance of Family

As most of us can relate, family can be extremely complicated but that should not diminish its significance. Bear’s family reached a level of complexity that is hard to imagine, but he kept with it, and it was the center of his life. It was his “Achilles Heal” and strength at the same time. I had never thought of it that way until watching this series.

Attention to Detail

Most of the series takes place in the kitchen where the ingredients are prepped and cooked. The attention to detail was beyond what I expected. My career was in accounting, so I understand details. This attention to detail extended from how the vegetables were selected at the market, how they were chopped, the precision of the seasoning of the food, testing new recipes and the tedium of choosing plates and utensils. The characters did not complain about the details but rather relished in them. I believe that can be a lesson for all of us. How many times have we heard details matter and complained as we tended to them?

Listen Better

One of the things that impressed me the most happened during intense arguments between the characters. These conversations involved intense personal conflict. Amid these often-disturbing interactions, one of the characters would pause the conversation and remind the other of the importance of both listening better. And then the conversation would continue. Often, it did not resolve the conflict, which made it more real. Sometimes it did.

Serving Others

Working in a restaurant might be just a job to many people, but for the characters in this show, it was a commitment to service to the customer. This translates to most things in life. If you want to a job to be more than just a job and you want to achieve excellence, a commitment to serving others needs to be the underlying foundation. More-so in some occupations than others, but relevant to all regardless of occupation. You have experienced this during a visit to a restaurant. You can tell the exceptional restaurant employees you encounter consider it more that just a job but a service to the customer.

Final Thoughts

I started this writing by saying you can learn something from almost any experience. I started “The Bear” for mindless entertainment.

I walked away from it reminded to focus on what matters, acknowledge the importance of family no matter how complicated, pay attention to details, listen better, and serve others.

Sounds like a good recipe for life to me and I was reminded of this watching a HULU series. You never know.