Ratatouille, my way

The first things I ever learned to make in culinary school was ratatouille. My first impression was...is this it? Gradually, as I had to make it countless of times at work, it became second nature to me that I didn't even think while I was preparing it. I began to ask my sous chef for different things to prepare as I was getting so bored of cutting up the vegetables all the time. Surely I was ready to move on to bigger and greater dishes? Well, I had to spend at least a couple of more months doing that same old dish. His theory was, if you can make a dish without having to think about what you're doing, then you've perfected the dish. Having being told this did not stop me from hating the monotonous nature of my job, but he was so right. I can make ratatouille without even thinking about it, and that leads to greater things in my ratatouille world. I have memorized the dish so much that I can make it my own way, adding my own ingredients without having to worry if it will come out alright. Now when I start prepping my vegetables I feel this wave of calm over me. So much love for one simple dish.