The Expression Hub

“Accept the challenges so that you can feel the exhilaration of victory.”

George S Patton

Earlier in the story we saw the top 15 compete for the top 3 positions. The judges had made their observations and had noted down the scores of each and every dish. Everyone waited in anticipation . Tension flowed in the air that you could easily cut it with the help of a knife. After all, this was the moment when they could either make it or break it.

This moment of truth was extremely important for our hero. This was because of two reasons- he wanted to make it big as a chef and the second reason was that he wanted to prove his father wrong and show him that if you do give your everything to something you have really wanted bad, life does end up helping you. The judges declared the results . On the third position was the one who had made a blini platter and a ratatouille. This is because they had used the correct techniques and a few ingredients which had meshed up well . The two people who had made these dishes heaved a big sigh of relief and beamed a huge smile on their faces. This made our hero super tense and anxious as there was only one spot remaining and he did want this badly. However, it turned out that the first spot went to the person who had made the Turkish dish Baklava.

On hearing the results, our hero was shattered. He felt as if his whole world had collapsed. His efforts , his hard work everything he had worked for what now seemed a next to impossible thing went into vain. He tried to contain his emotions as he did not want to display what he was feeling inside. He started to leave the hall as he felt he had done his job when the judges cleared their throat again. He was about to leave the hall when one of the judges asked him to stop and not leave. He wanted to tell the judge that now that the results are out and since he had not made it to the culinary school what was the use. But, he decided to not let his emotions out .

The judge who had asked him to stop then said, “Even though we chose the person who made Baklava as our top pick. There was one dish which had to be a special mention. This was because of the confidence and the passion the person had exuded while preparing the dessert. Also, when we were skeptical about the ingredients he had told us while preparing the dessert, he proved us wrong . Since we were proved wrong and we could witness the passion, the dedication and the hard work along with the struggle this individual had undertaken, we decided to give this individual a full waiver scholarship . Welcome onboard to a journey of a lifetime Aidan. You did prove us that people with great passion can make the impossible happen. We are excited to witness your amazing culinary skills and what you bring on the table in the journey ahead. “

Our hero could not believe what he was hearing. He just started crying silently. One of the panelists lifted him up and gave him a tight hug. The tight hug given by the judge still did not contain his tears. He just kept on crying and thanked God for making him pursue a journey which he always wanted to . He thanked his mother in his mind for playing an integral role and acting like a motivator to pursue his dreams. He thanked his best friend for always being there and being a solid rock in his life. He thanked his father for being the obstacle which he did overcome with his sheer passion and hard work.

Few years later, he graduated from The Culinary Academy with the top most honors. He joined what was known as the ‘Big Boys Club’-a club which had the best chefs around the world and where very few had made it. And did he find his love of the life ?After all a woman does make a man push hard and make his life better. You bet he did find a girl who was the right match for him and pushed him to be a better version of himself. Thus, what had seemed an impossible dream did end up becoming a reality. And that is how dreams did come true for our hero.