I Switched the Kitchen Playlist from Rancid to Mozart—and Everything Changed
How music hits…
I’ve always been curious about how music can affect mood and behavior. Turns out, I’m not the only one. Do a quick search and you’ll find that in just the past two years, over 8,000 studies have been written on this exact topic. That’s not a coincidence—it’s a chorus of data backing up what many of us in high-stress environments have known intuitively for years: music isn’t background noise. It’s a damn mood-altering drug.
Think about it: when you’re working out, are you bumping classical music? If you’re in a melancholy space, you’re probably not jamming out to Walking on Sunshine. And when you’re angry at the world, I bet you’re not reaching for Hello, is it me you’re looking for?
Back in the ’90s—peak flannel, when everyone was in nirvana and jamming with some pearls—we were getting rancid with our nine inch nails. I was deep into my externship at the Bonaventure Health and Spa, working at La Cucina Toscana (The Tuscan Kitchen). Chef Smail ran the kitchen. The Executive Sous of the place was Frank Liberoni. It was only open for dinner, but prep started early, and everything was made from scratch. We butchered whole animals. We cooked.
Eric, one of the line cooks, blasted Metallica like it was religion. Frank loved punk rock. Me? If it was Pearl Jam or Rage Against the Machine, I was in my zone. But here’s the thing—I started noticing something. When service started and the music was all high-octane, we were amped, but not in a good way. We were wired tight. No patience. A server would come back for a Caesar salad to be cut, and all I could think was, I want to jump the line and beat this guy with a head of romaine. I’m not proud of it. That music made me want to burn down the world—or at least the expo line.
One night, right in the middle of the rush—Rancid blasting from the “Boom Box”—I switched the playlist. Mozart came on.
And just like that, everything changed.
I didn’t feel sedated. I didn’t feel like it was nap time. What I didfeel was clarity. I moved with purpose. When someone asked me for something that would normally trigger my Tourette’s-lite response, I just… did it. No grumbling. No snapping. Just focus.
Even the other cooks started to chill out. The vibe in the kitchen shifted from chaos to flow.
From that day forward, my philosophy changed: prepping gets the bangers. Service gets the symphony.
I still rock out during prep. When I’m searing off mushrooms or mincing shallots, it’s all high-energy—Rage, Soundgarden, maybe some Beastie Boys if I’m feeling funky. But when it’s go time? When it’s plating, perfecting, locking in? Classical, lo-fi, or anything that keeps my heart steady and my mind sharp.
It’s funny how music triggers memories, too. A single song can transport me to a different kitchen, a different moment in time. Sometimes I’ll be deep into service and a tune comes on that makes me realize: Damn. I’ve been doing this for over thirty years. That’s a lot of kitchens. A lot of stories. A lot of lives cooked into the marrow of who I’ve become.
I’ve cooked in places where, if someone told me in culinary school I’d be standing in that kitchen, I’d have laughed them out of the building. And yet—I’ve always said: I just cook food.I’ve always called myself a forever student.
I never saw myself as anything special. But music—just like my journey—has been my guide. It grounds me. It focuses me. It helps me get shit done without losing my soul.
I may not be one of the Top 100 chefs in the world. I’m not trying to be.
What I am is the best version of me today.
And that’s enough.
Because life? Life has seasoned me. My story, my scars, my soundtrack—they’ve all molded me into the chef I am right now. And I’m damn lucky, because there’s still so much more for me to discover.
And you better believe that future will be filled with great fucking music.
Now tell me—what’s on your kitchen playlist?
• What do you listen to when you’re deep in prep?
• What’s your go-to when you’re in the weeds and need to lock in?
Drop your recs in the comments. Let’s build a Chef’s Soundtrack together.
