‘fight to the bitter end’ quality in you that day in the restaurant.”
“I’m not going to dispute or protest because you’re exactly right. I plan on fighting to the bitter end and I plan on doing everything I possibly can to make this restaurant work.”
“Exactly. You wouldn’t have taken me up on my offer otherwise, right?”
“Right.”
“Okay, so why don’t we start by you telling me how this place got started in the first place,” Ethan says, reclining in his seat and looking at her intently.
She can’t help but wonder if he really cares, but she keeps her thoughts to herself. “Well, ever since I was young, I loved to cook. When I was just a young girl, I would constantly bother our cook while he was trying to cook dinner for our family. At first, he would get so angry with me and kick me out of the kitchen, but after awhile I wore him done and he would let me help. He acted like I was a nuisance, but I think that he secretly liked having a protégé – someone he could pass down all his trade secrets to. I consider those moments with him in our kitchen to be some of the best times of my life. In that kitchen, a love for cooking was birthed. I was so eager to learn and I would spend hours in the kitchen, pouring of cookbooks and trying out the dishes. My parents used to just shake their heads and roll their eyes at how much food I was going through trying out different recipes and combinations of food. I knew from a very young age that cooking was going to be a major part of my life.” She hates to let on about her privileged upbringing, but she wants to give Ethan the whole story.
“I think that you were lucky to find something so early in your life that you loved to do. Even while I was in college I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do,” Ethan says, chuckling. His chuckles and what he says reminds her of Monica. She was exactly the same way in college. She’s not sure how many times Monica switched her major, but it was a lot. She makes a mental note to casually find out if Ethan is single. He and Monica might make a good couple. “Go on,” he says, motioning for her to continue on with her story.
“Well, I suffered through high school. All I cared about and wanted to do was cook. I couldn’t wait for my classes to be over, so I could get home and get into the kitchen. When my chance came to go to culinary school, I was higher than a kite. Nothing could bring me down. It was literally my dream come true. When I was standing in the school on my first day, you couldn’t wipe the smile on my face. If the world had ended at that very moment, I would’ve died completely happy. I was overjoyed to be there and I made sure that everyone knew it.”
“How did you do in culinary school?”
“I don’t mean to be arrogant or braggadocios, but I excelled. A lot of the stuff I learned, I already knew from the amount of time I spent in the kitchen growing up. I remember I would get dirty looks from my classmates because I could answer all the teacher’s questions. I couldn’t help it. I remember thinking; don’t hate me because I spent every waking hour and moment learning absolutely everything I could about cooking. Cooking wasn’t just a hobby for me, it was my passion. The need to cook was something that was ingrained deep into my soul, I think from birth. I can’t explain it. It was just something that was always there – the need, I mean.”
“I completely get it. Many of the cooks that I’ve meet over the years say exactly the same things that you’re saying. They say they knew from a very young age that they wanted to cook and it was
“I’m not going to dispute or protest because you’re exactly right. I plan on fighting to the bitter end and I plan on doing everything I possibly can to make this restaurant work.”
“Exactly. You wouldn’t have taken me up on my offer otherwise, right?”
“Right.”
“Okay, so why don’t we start by you telling me how this place got started in the first place,” Ethan says, reclining in his seat and looking at her intently.
She can’t help but wonder if he really cares, but she keeps her thoughts to herself. “Well, ever since I was young, I loved to cook. When I was just a young girl, I would constantly bother our cook while he was trying to cook dinner for our family. At first, he would get so angry with me and kick me out of the kitchen, but after awhile I wore him done and he would let me help. He acted like I was a nuisance, but I think that he secretly liked having a protégé – someone he could pass down all his trade secrets to. I consider those moments with him in our kitchen to be some of the best times of my life. In that kitchen, a love for cooking was birthed. I was so eager to learn and I would spend hours in the kitchen, pouring of cookbooks and trying out the dishes. My parents used to just shake their heads and roll their eyes at how much food I was going through trying out different recipes and combinations of food. I knew from a very young age that cooking was going to be a major part of my life.” She hates to let on about her privileged upbringing, but she wants to give Ethan the whole story.
“I think that you were lucky to find something so early in your life that you loved to do. Even while I was in college I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do,” Ethan says, chuckling. His chuckles and what he says reminds her of Monica. She was exactly the same way in college. She’s not sure how many times Monica switched her major, but it was a lot. She makes a mental note to casually find out if Ethan is single. He and Monica might make a good couple. “Go on,” he says, motioning for her to continue on with her story.
“Well, I suffered through high school. All I cared about and wanted to do was cook. I couldn’t wait for my classes to be over, so I could get home and get into the kitchen. When my chance came to go to culinary school, I was higher than a kite. Nothing could bring me down. It was literally my dream come true. When I was standing in the school on my first day, you couldn’t wipe the smile on my face. If the world had ended at that very moment, I would’ve died completely happy. I was overjoyed to be there and I made sure that everyone knew it.”
“How did you do in culinary school?”
“I don’t mean to be arrogant or braggadocios, but I excelled. A lot of the stuff I learned, I already knew from the amount of time I spent in the kitchen growing up. I remember I would get dirty looks from my classmates because I could answer all the teacher’s questions. I couldn’t help it. I remember thinking; don’t hate me because I spent every waking hour and moment learning absolutely everything I could about cooking. Cooking wasn’t just a hobby for me, it was my passion. The need to cook was something that was ingrained deep into my soul, I think from birth. I can’t explain it. It was just something that was always there – the need, I mean.”
“I completely get it. Many of the cooks that I’ve meet over the years say exactly the same things that you’re saying. They say they knew from a very young age that they wanted to cook and it was
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