Derek Mortensen/Electric Umbrella
Luc Mullinder
I’d like to think that I know my way around a kitchen. As a matter of fact, I consider myself a half-decent amateur chef!
We’re not just talking grilled hamburgers and mac n cheese here folks; I’m talking about things that require a knowledge of herbs and spices, like honey cured roasts, homemade chilli’s and intense vegetable medleys.
Not that I’m bragging or anything, but there’s been quite a few dinner parties in the Mullinder household that are still talked about to this day…
The important point to draw from all of this is that it wasn’t always like that.
Although it seems like decades ago, there was a time where this wannabe ‘Master Chef’ contestant couldn’t boil water to save his life. Everything was trial and error.
The first time I tried to duplicate the chicken and rice combo that I watched my college roommate Ivory McCoy (Big Bro) pull off effortlessly, the chicken breast dam near gave me salmonella poisoning, and the rice actually turned out to be harder coming out of the oven than it was going in!
At one point in my sophomore year at MSU I felt confident enough (after watching Sr. Demario Suggs make a basic meat sauce and pasta meal a few times) that I could execute a pasta dish worthy of inviting some “company” over for dinner.
That experiment went miserably as I burnt the pan I was using to the point I had to throw it out. I also butchered the pre-packaged oven-ready garlic toast so bad that it felt like I was gnawing on a 2×4, and because the meat was so overcooked, there was no way that the sauce could distract my “company” from the fact that we passed on two perfectly good packages of Ramen Noodles in the cupboard.
Never being one to quit, I soldiered through bad meal after bad meal, taking my lumps and reluctantly ordering pizza from Papa Johns every time my envisioned meal would turn out to be inedible. It was a costly process in terms of time and money, but sure enough due to the fact that I put trust in the process, my meals started getting better and better. With every attempt, it felt like I was just inches away from hooking up a meal that even my mom would be proud of!
It’s funny to look back on those days of soggy fish sticks and George Foreman grilled flank steak. At this point in time it seems like the Saskatchewan Roughriders are at that same point (metaphorically speaking).
The Green and White are literally inches away from getting the results the coaching staff and players envisioned at the start of the 2016 season. It’s taken a few burnt eggs, and there’s been a fair share of ingredient changes made, however this team looks like it’s ready to table a four course meal that the guys in that locker room will be really happy with.
What I will caution everyone with is that just like my trials and tribulations as a cook, once the recipe was right, I wasn’t about to share any of it with anyone that was quick to point out how garbage my previous attempts were.
When I had my cooking game together, I was going to share it with those that kept helping me buy the ingredients, and kept on volunteering with taste tests. Not the people who sat on the couch and laughed.
Football teams, and locker rooms have the same type of memory. Once the recipe gets perfected, don’t expect everyone to be invited to the party.
It’s hard to be optimistic at 1-9, and I’m not suggesting that a miracle turnaround is on the horizon, but it’s impressive how focused this team still remains on making the next step.
The soup’s almost done! Keep hanging around the kitchen folks. When it’s ready, there’s only going to be enough for those who continued to be patient.
