STEPPING OUTSIDE YOUR COMFORT ZONE
Something Completely Different … and a Little Spicy !
6 LOUISVILLE MEDICINE
So there I was , minding my own business ( my Navy days taught me that all good stories have to start with those eight words ), eating some pizza with my parents and my new wife , almost 20 years ago . I looked down at my slice , loaded with crushed red pepper , and thought to myself , “ I could do better .” So I said to my dad , “ Dad , I could do better .” Not knowing exactly where this was going , but always up for a discussion , Dad said , “ Go on ...” So I went on . “ You know , we love a little spice , a little heat , on our pizza . Crushed red pepper adds that , but nothing else . I think I can do better .” I was thinking about my garden at home and all the herbs , peppers and other vegetables I was growing . I was sure I could mix up something with a lot more flavor and a little kick as well . So a couple months later , after weeks of dehydrating , grinding , mixing and testing , The Pizza Doctor was born ! A mix of ground up peppers , tomatoes , herbs , etc . with a closely guarded recipe shown only to five people ( and promptly forgotten by three of them ). You might ask why “ The Pizza Doctor ?” Because it makes your pizza better ! Yes , I spent an entire afternoon thinking that up . Yes , I should have spent more time on it . by JEFF GRILL , MD
Anyway , I loved the product , and it did exactly what I had made it for . I haven ’ t used boring crushed red pepper since . Dad was proud and often helped me make it by growing ingredients and mixing the batches . I ’ ll spare you the story of the year we forgot to wear masks while grinding hot peppers .
For the next 15 years , I spent my summers growing , dehydrating and mixing up my creation and sharing it with family , friends and colleagues . But there was a problem . Each season I ’ d produce about 20 jars , but over the previous year my charming wife would promise it to about 30 new people . And those who liked it from years past were asking for more . This quickly spiraled out of control , and I never had enough to give it to everyone who asked or I wanted to share with . I gave away what I could and made a lot of apologies .
During this time , many suggested I market this product , but I had a million reasons why I couldn ’ t . Being all veggies and herbs and no fillers like salt or onion , the ingredients were too expensive , or new food products were too hard to get to market , or people liked it but no one would actually pay for it , etc .: plenty of reasons to not do something new . But the underlying truth was that I just had no idea how to do it and I was too nervous to take the risk . As physicians , we go to school forever , learn tons of stuff and are expected to make smart decisions all day long . We hate admitting we don ’ t