Let's give Frank's story a different twist and a happier ending, shall we?
strangegrey wrote:Let's ask this question of the original poster.
Lets assume you were a co-owner and chef in a restaurant. The restaurant was setup as a partnership and you were one of 3 owners. The other two owners,
due to disagreements on how the restaurant should be run, pushed you out.
You agreed to disolve the partnership, and you gave public notice of your departure....the remaining two owners, reformed the partnership and started
restructuring the business. They moved, what was a fantastically successful italian restaurant with a high income bracket clientele, to a seedy part of
town.
One of the remaining owners of the restaurant wanted to serve a better if not the same quality of dish that they used to serve to their former snotty customers to the "drug addicts" and "homeless bums" in their new location. He cannot do that without a chef. He decided to hire one chef after the other but although these chefs were excellent in their own right, the distinct taste of the dishes that the restaurant was known for was missing. Out of frustration, he decided to go to a poor faraway town and ate in all the restaurants there to sample their food and gauge the expertise of the chef. After two days of going around, he was ready to give up. However, he decided to go to a small restaurant in a dark alley. He was unprepared for what was to happen next. Not only did the little chef cooked the best risotto he has tasted (since his previous partner/chef left) but the little chef also served him a dazzling array of French, Mediterranean, Japanese, and even Indian cuisine; though obviously not his original creation, but still tasted as good if not better than the original. He couldn't believe what he just tasted and thought that his taste buds could just be fooling him. He went out of the place and took a walk (or rode a motorcycle;depending on which version you wanna believe in). "No way he could excellently cook those dishes!", he muttered to himself as he drank a strong unknown strong alcoholic drink from his hip flask. After several hours, he went back and the little chef had one last surprise for him by serving him the best tiramisu the restaurant owner has ever tasted. He needed to bring this guy to his restaurant to find out if he can indeed cook.
A couple of months passed and the little chef from the faraway town showed up at the restaurant. The owners and their employees were all there to greet him. The little chef cooked the restaurants own dishes to perfection...he didn't get them the first time but his version kept on improving as the hours and days go by. As a final test, the owner brought him to his partner's restaurant and showed him the recipe of a new dish. The little chef looked at the recipe the first time and cooked it to perfection. Both owners looked at each other and both thought, "here he is, here is our chef!"
Both partners were very excited and after several months, they announced to the public that they have a new chef. They were unprepared for the backlash that soon ensued. Some of the former customers of the restaurant said that they want to eat Italian dishes in an italian restaurant cooked by an Italian chef. The owners stood by their decision and the little chef just quietly cooked to perfection the 10 new dishes, 1 remake dish, 1 bonus dish (for their smelly customers), and 11 dishes that the restaurant was known for. They did not mean to insult the former chef/owner (how could the little chef do that when he is the former chef's biggest fan) by cooking his dishes; they merely wanted the new customers to enjoy the dishes that they were known for. The owners and the little chef worked day and night to perfect their dishes; "never mind the crack vials and needles they have to step over to get into the front door. Never mind that the snotty customers of the restaurant threw all sorts of stuff to the little chef as he quietly walked past them."
When they re-opened the restaurant, they tried to cater to everyone's tastes. At first, only the "drug addicts" who live in "crack houses" and "homeless bums" buy pizza from the "cutout window" of the restaurant. However, some old customers decided to go and visit the place again and try the dishes. They were astonished as the food were excellent and they have the long missing distinct taste of the restaurant. The restaurant became the buzz of the town. Leading food magazines, cooking shows, and even TV shows were raving about the restaurant and its new chef. Even the food critic who snubbed the restaurant gave it a good review.
As time goes by, majority of the old customers of the restaurant went back to restaurant to dine regularly. Seated with them are the drug addicts, homeless bums, crack dealers, and new customers from faraway lands; all of them happily co-existing and just enjoying their meal. They know that in this day and age of fast foods and microwaveable dishes, the Italian restaurant and it's little chef will continue to serve excellent Italian food whatever you are, wherever you are from, or whatever the colour of your skin is. At the end of the day, it is just about the food, which arguably is the best of its kind.
Not cool, man. He's real.
