A Recipe for Humility
Adam was proud of his baking skills. He knew no one else could bake better than him. He won his first baking competition when he was only seven years old. He was a cake making prodigy, and he was proud of it. It was because of his finesse in the kitchen, that he was sure that he would be able to accomplish his dream- to run the most famous bakery in all of France, and eventually, the world.
When he was sixteen, the first major step to his dream was achieved. He was accepted into the most prestigious culinary schools in Paris. At his new school, he was the top of his class, and the best baker to ever step foot within its walls. Adam was well aware of this fact, and let his accomplishments get to his head. He looked down on everyone and anyone who even tried to challenge him-especially Daniel, a poor orphan (student) who got in only because of a scholarship- and because of his dishwashing skills. He was accepted into the school, not because of his skills, but because he had good grades, and because he promised to work in the school kitchens during his free time.
Daniel wasn’t a baker, but he tried. More often than not his attempts ended in failure, and Adam was usually there to mock his shortcomings. Daniel hated Adam, not because of Adam’s snide remarks, he was used to those, but because he once asked Adam for advice, and Adam, in his “holier than thou” attitude, merely laughed in his face. Daniel was motivated from that moment on to beat Adam at his own game. And on April 16th, 2012, he got his chance.
April of 2012 was an exhilarating month for the students of Paris’s finest school of the Culinary Arts. It was the first time that their school would be hosting a competition for young chefs everywhere, and the winner would win $12,000 and an apprenticeship to the World’s Top Chef- Jordan Pansy.
Adam and Daniel were both determined to win. Adam, because it would be another step closer to his dream, and Daniel because it would be a way to beat Adam.
But it was not to be. Unbeknownst to the student competitors, and to the judges, there was a leak in the boiler room. A leak that had been unattended for so long. But luckily for the aspiring chefs, the boiler leak was noticed before anything too terrible could happen.
Adam had been heading to the competition floor when he smelled a weird odor coming from the maintenance room. Noticing he had a whole hour before the competition, he decided to follow the stench.
Daniel had also been heading to the competition floor when he noticed Adam rushing by him. Curious, he decided to follow.
The smell led Adam (and Daniel) to the boiler room, where the whistling boiler came into view. Adam didn’t fully understand the situation, but Daniel did. “It’s going to blow! We have to call someone quick! I’ll go, and you stay here just in case!”
Adam narrowed his eyes. He didn’t believe Daniel, who was, after all, the competition. “This is just a trick to lock me in here so that I can’t win the competition!”
Daniel rolled his eyes angrily, “No this isn’t you shallow, self-absorbed idiot! The world doesn’t revolve around you!”
Adam huffed pretentiously, “The world may not, but let’s face it, in this school, everything does.”
Daniel snarled impatiently, “ Okay fine, you vain little snob. You go, I’ll stay. But hurry.”
Adam shrugged self-importantly and then left the room, alerting the authorities and then heading to the competition.
When the school officials heard about the boiler from Adam, they hurriedly called the school’s plumbers and handymen. The men rushed downstairs as fast as they could, but before they reached the basement, they heard a small “Boom!”
Fearing for the worst, they cautiously opened the doors and blinked in confusion. Nothing had happened!
Nothing happened, they found out because Daniel had plugged the hole with his arm. But they had celebrated too fast, it seemed, because Daniel’s arm, bleeding profusely, had taken a lot of burns.
While some of the men worked on a permanent fix to the boiler problem, they others called the medics. When the medics attended to Daniel, they came to the realization that Daniel’s arm could not be saved. They had to amputate it.
While Daniel was getting his arm removed, Adam was baking the best cake he had ever made. He was so lost in his baking that he completely forgot about Daniel and the boiler room. He was so focused on winning, which he easily did.
It was only after he received his $12,000, and met with Jordan Pansy, that he remembered Daniel, who strangely enough, didn’t even show up at the competition.
“So he was playing me. I knew there wasn’t really a problem.” Angrily, he went to confront Daniel, but when he went to the kitchens, he couldn’t find him.
After asking around, he found out that Daniel was in the hospital. Surprised, he decided to visit Daniel to find out what happened.
At the hospital, he found Daniel crying in his hospital bed. “Are you okay?”
Daniel glared, “Okay? OKAY? I LOST MY ARM! I CAN’T GO TO CULINARY SCHOOL LIKE THIS!”
Adam gulped nervously, “Is that really a problem? You weren’t much of a chef anyways.”
Daniel sighed resignedly, “No, but I could have learned. And the Paris School of Culinary Arts was the only place that would give me a scholarship. Granted, I had to wash dishes to earn my keep, but still. Now I can’t cook, and I can’t wash dishes either. I won’t be able to stay. What’s more, I can’t pay the hospital bills, and now I have to go back to that stupid orphanage. You wouldn’t understand. Just go away.”
Adam shuffled out of the room awkwardly. He couldn't believe what happened. He had always thought that people not good at baking shouldn’t be allowed to, but now that Daniel physically couldn’t, he felt bad. He felt as if he had to do something to help.
As he walked out the exit, he was struck by a sudden idea. He had been replaying Daniel’s words in his head when he realized that Daniel might not be able to pay the hospital bills, but Adam himself could. He had just acquired $12,000 after all. He turned around and walked back into the hospital.
Two months later, Adam went home after a hard day of work with Jordan Pansy. There he found a letter in his mailbox. It was from Daniel.
In the letter, Daniel thanked Adam for paying his bills, and for helping him get into business school. Adam laughed and called Daniel, where they discussed an idea that had been floating around both their heads.
Seven years later, their dream was finally achieved. Daniel and Adam stood side by side as they stood at their new bakery’s grand opening. It had always been Adam’s dream to have a world-famous bakery, and it had always been Daniel’s dream to make a safe place for orphans. This bakery was both, as it offered jobs to orphans and struggling students, and worked hand in hand with the neighboring soup kitchens while making the tastiest pastries and cakes the world had ever tasted.