Feb 10, 2024
Improving Your Writing Life by Clearing the Rails
with Chef and Author Jill Marie

In kitchen terms, “clearing the rail” means finishing all the tickets hanging on the metal rail above a hellish, hundred-plus degree workstation. Chefs and cooks are only worried about that singular moment, about moving plates as quickly as possible while the dining room buzzes. When rails are loaded, minds are distracted just enough to forget how destructive this short-sighted lifestyle really is.

As a chef, prioritizing the quality of others’ food over my own, I was a ticking time bomb. There had been too many years of drive-thru at two AM. Nights of sitting up, preoccupied with my own shortcomings, became the norm. I’d lost too many relationships while obsessed with the food that never loved me back. My rail was burgeoning. Anxiety and depression kept me up at night.

Five years ago, the need for change appeared amidst the mayhem. I suddenly saw the potential I’d been denying. And now, after years of working through mental and emotional miasma, I’m here to help clear your rail and manifest change for yourself. Half self-help and half recipe guide and meal plan, Clearing The Rail is this chef’s recounting of how the smallest tweaks in thought and practice bring about the greatest improvements.

About the Presenter: Jill Marie is a Le Cordon Bleu-certified culinary and pastry chef who’s worked in corporate dining, catering, restaurants and cafes for over two decades. She is also a published author of six books in the contemporary fiction genre. As a certified public speaker and educator, she travels to spread the word about The Rail and her writing. She can usually be found haunting her local home goods stores, café or pet shop, picking up provisions for her biggest fan, her orange tabby Peter Parker.

You can view the video at https://vimeo.com/967032120/892a708fc6?share=copy.