The truth is that our friend Phillipa is an excellent chef, we could say that she is one of the best in the whole city. It all started at a young age, from there she had a talent for cooking that not even her mother had. But of course she did not learn on her own. First her mother taught her what she knew. That served as a basis for her to learn more later on. But the one who truly helped her get started in this world of cooking was her father Alfredo. He was dedicated to serving meals in a small restaurant in the area. He always had a vision that traditional cuisine is the best that can be eaten, and that is why he was more successful in the small restaurant than the other larger ones in the same area, especially because they only made pre-cooked food that was not of the same quality as what her father Alfredo made.
He started her off little by little and taught her the tricks he used in the kitchen. As expected, he told her that if she ever became a cook, she should specialize in local food from the country, because that's what everyone loves. He also told her that if she was going to do something, she should do it well, because if she wanted to cook badly, it was better not to cook at all. The truth is that he had a very strong opinion about fast food and pre-cooked food; he preferred his clients to feel as if they were eating food at home or what your grandmother gave you. He instilled all these strong opinions in Phillipa and she learned them.
Later, when she was finally able to work for herself, things did not go as she and her father had planned from the beginning. There were no traditional food places to work in, they were all fast food restaurants. The closest ones were very far away and the one where her father worked had just closed its doors a few months ago. So there were no options where she could follow her father's teachings. Therefore, she had no choice but to work for a chain of restaurants in hotels.
At least she saw things with a positive mindset, in those places they prepared quality food and not poorly done like in other places, and she was looking for something like that where she could honor the memory of her father and the appreciation for good traditional cuisine that he instilled in her.
Once she started working in the hotel restaurant, she looked for a way to be able to prepare traditional dishes as well. She spoke to her boss to let her expand the menu and be able to cook some local dishes as well. The boss did not see any problem with that so in the end they gave her a little creative freedom. This is how she gradually gained fame within the hotel and the city itself. Over the years she became the most experienced and beloved chef of the entire team of chefs at the hotel.
We can call these years her golden years, because it was the happiest time of her life. She was able to achieve a lot of recognition and become one of the best at what she did. But things inside the hotel did not go on like this forever, in fact they became darker and not as golden as before. Her boss, the one who had given her permission to work with her traditional recipes, left the hotel because he was already old enough to retire. In his place, the hotel chain that Phillipa worked for put a new boss in the hotel.
He was younger and had a new vision of what he wanted the hotel to be and of course this included the kitchen. Just when she started working, he forbade her to cook local and traditional dishes. Now the new line of the hotel would be fast food and junk food. She was not happy about this and told him about the agreement she once had with her previous boss.
But the new boss was not so benevolent, he just told her to adapt to the new rules or leave. He was a rather arrogant man and he didn't mind speaking ill of the best employee. She just kept quiet and said she agreed. But inside it hurt her a lot, she had dedicated too much to that place to be treated that way. Besides, she couldn't talk back to him because she risked being fired and there were no places like that in the city to work, so she had to put up with it all.
As they say, this was just the tip of the iceberg, because as time went by her new boss was putting more and more pressure on her. She was a good cook of quality food, not a sleazy cook, so the tension between them grew more and more. A fast food cook usually already has some of the food precooked by another company, so that took away the possibility of making local and personal recipes, just what her father had taught her. So she no longer felt comfortable in the place, or perhaps her conscience reminded her that those were not her principles.
Because of all this, she began to think seriously about quitting her job and going somewhere else. But it wasn't that easy, if she left there she would go to a place that was possibly worse. That's why she finally decided that the best thing would be to open her own restaurant where she could do everything she wanted in the kitchen, because yes, now it would be her kitchen and she wouldn't have to follow someone else's rules.
But to make that dream come true she needed to leave her secure job and have enough funds to start the new business. They were difficult decisions to make. She had already made the first one, she wanted to leave there. But in the case of the second she still didn't have the funds, so she decided that she would continue working until she had enough.
She spent the next few months holding on, making the dishes that she never thought she would make and that in a certain way she felt she was letting her father down by making them. It had to be that way or else it would be more difficult for her to have her own place. At home, she stopped buying expensive clothes and started wearing old clothes more so she wouldn't have to spend money from her savings on new ones. She even limited the food she normally ate at home. And some days she preferred not to turn on the lights and take hot showers to save money on the electricity bill. It's true that it was a big sacrifice, but it would bring good results very soon.
While all this was going on, she was looking for a place in the city that was suitable for her restaurant. And you know what, she found a very special place. It was the restaurant where her father had worked many years ago and that was now closed. She spoke to the owner and saw that the price was not very high, especially because she needed to help him to make it short. So she said that it was time to act or someone else could buy the place before her. That is why the next day she asked to resign. The boss, seeing that his best employee was leaving, tried to convince her to stay. He even told her that the things she had said were not serious, but there was no turning back. That was what she deserved.
When she left there she finally felt somewhat liberated, she was now free again. She immediately went and bought the place. Some of her coworkers, seeing that she was leaving, also asked to resign. So she told them not to worry, that now they would work in her new place and each one was free to contribute their favorite dishes to the menu. In one week they bought new furniture, painted the place and invested what they had left in advertising so that people would know that there was a very special new restaurant in town.
When it opened, many people from all over came to eat, because many remembered the place in the past and wanted to see if it was really as it was before. They all confirmed that it was even better, with Phillipa in charge things were different. Now it was time to move forward, it is true that she was broke because she had invested everything in the place, but now she was free and could honour her father's memory. She also knew that if they did things right, the future that awaited them would be golden again as it once was.
