#interactions ft. sebastian thomas

[tannerkohli]

closed starter for @sebastianxthomas at rustica steakhouse

Tanner had spent enough time in Kismet Harbor over the years that familiar faces were to be expected. What she hadn't expected was to see a familiar face from her life in New York pop up at the steakhouse she opted to escape to for dinner. Having spotted Sebastian moving back into the kitchen, Tanner made the immediate request to the staff that she needed to speak to the chef before she ordered. Her insistence bordered on rudeness, but it was effective enough that a few minutes later Sebastian was walking out to her table. "This isn't New York, what the fuck are you doing here?"

[aliyebalik]

closed starter for @sebastianxthomas at the founders festival - baking contest

Cooking in general was a pretty big weak point for Aliye, but baking in particular was something that she had as close to zero skill in as a human could possibly get. That did not, however, deter her from trying to enter the baking contest. After a morning spent attempting to put together some cupcakes, Aliye had ended up with a mostly burned up mess of sort of batter and a puddle of frosting that was leaking all over the baking tin. With the obvious risk to anyone's health to actually try it, the judges of the contest had politely given her a participation ribbon and told her she could keep them. Baked-ish goods in hand, she was now walking away with them, holding them out to the first unsuspecting victim she ran into. "Hey, you want some cupcake? I made 'em. They're not like totally as bad as they look. Mostly."

[aliyebalik]

"Hell yeah. I'll look into it for sure when you send it over, maybe make my life a little easier," she chuckled. Not that she ever made it hard for herself in the food department, there were always options for something quick and easy. Smile softening again, Aliye nodded towards the man. Even if she had never been through anything quite like that herself, she still felt the compassion bleeding forth on his behalf. "I'm sure. Always hard not to ruminate sometimes on what could have been in life," she agreed. Aliye wasn't one to dwell for long on anything, but even she sometimes had hints of that in her life. The food had turned out great and Aliye was mostly confident that she could recall the steps to make it again if the occasion arose. "Now that's what I like to hear. Not that I don't already make people melt, but throw in some good cooking and it'll be straight puddles every time."

@sebastianxthomas

He nodded as he looked at her "Yeah, I know of one I think would work with you," he smiled at her. It wasn't one of the more famous combines. It was smaller but food was made fresh and flash frozen and sent to the buyer. So all they had to do was reheat the food and go. It may cost more since you could submit foods and what you liked to eat so the chef could make food based off of that.

He smiled as he looked at her "I like to think so, but I also still wonder what it would be like if my birth parents were still alive," he smiled softly. He did think about it, but there was no way to know now. But he was glad he was able to be able to stay with a family that already cared about him. He smiled at her "Glad that you like it." he knew it was a good meal that most people did like. "you will make people melt," he grinned with a wink. @aliyebalik

[thesffcorner]

Kill Creek

Kill Creek is a horror novel written by Scott Thomas. We follow Sam McGarver, a best selling horror author who is suffering from a massive writer's block. He has separated from his wife and is teaching at a university, while trying to write his next novel. He gets an invitation to do an interview for WrightWire, a pop culture website known for putting on massive, scripted shows, and he accepts, not realizing that not only will he not be alone during this interview, but it will also take place at the notorious Kill Creek Manor, a house with a dark and haunted past. The idea of this book sounded awesome; 4 horror authors have to spend a weekend at a haunted house for an interview; kind of like Until Dawn, but instead of teenagers the victims are masters of the genre and could therefore have a unique approach and even predict what the house would throw at them. The first half of this book was excellent; I liked the set-up, I liked the characters, the history of Kill Creek was suitably dark and twisted, and I really liked the direction of the plot. Unfortunately, as soon as the characters arrived in Kill Creek, much like his own lead character, Thomas’ story quickly devolved into cliches, nonsensical plot twists, characters acting completely opposite to what they did before for no reason, and this really interesting premise was squandered. The book never recovers from the wasted potential that is the interview, so I figure I should start with the positives. For a start, I appreciated that all of the characters, while not all likable, were at least relatable and consistent. With the exception of one, each character had an understandable starting point, and though they all end up doing questionable things, I still rooted for them, and wanted them to survive the book. I liked the way each character’s personal trauma and past informed the ways in which they interacted with the house, and for the most part found all of them equally intriguing, at the start. The house itself was really well done. A lot of the book relies heavily on the Southern Gothic tradition, which I enjoy. It’s a big house that has been abandoned for decades, in the middle of nowhere in Kansas, and it does all the things creepy houses do; cold spots, sounds, apparitions, power turning off and on, rooms that go nowhere, creepy crawl spaces, etc. I almost wish, considering the role the house played that we got to spend more time inside it, and really delved into it’s dark history, like Del Toro did in Crimson Peak. I also liked what we get to see of Sam’s classes. His 5 elements of gothic horror were brilliant and I kept reading the book wondering and theorizing about how everything fit in them. I also liked the interview, where Sebastian was explaining what true horror means to him; it was a great deconstruction of Lovcraftian horror and I really liked that the queer character was the one who gravitated most to it. There were other scenes that left an impact: Sebastian seeing Richard for the first time, Sam hugging Wainwright after he tells them what happened to Kate, his stunt with the Underground, Daniel mourning his daughter. The moments of humanity and genuine kindness made me root for the characters, which is something modern horror desperately lacks, often treating its characters like disposable blood bags. Unfortunately, there are more issues than positives. Now, I am by no means a purist; different genres can borrow and modify elements from each other, as even Sam points out in his lecture. There are elements that make a specific piece of work ‘Gothic’ horror, but that same work can also fall under the slasher, body horror or even religious horror category. What Thomas is essentially trying to do here is to take 4 genres of horror fiction: Lovcraftian horror, southern Gothic, slasher and erotic horror and piece them together into one book. And the effect is much the same as the one you get at the end of Cabin in the Woods; confusing, predictable and not particularly effective at any of the genres. I am never scared of Gothic horror; the most I am, is unnerved or unsettled. However, when I watch/read anything pertaining to torture-porn, body horror or even slasher, I am terrified, and there wasn’t a single point in this book where I was even slightly unsettled. Gothic horror and straight up slashers don’t mix, at least not the way Thomas has done it here. For example, we have quiet scenes of Sebastian being haunted by the mistakes of his past, the dread of losing his memories, losing his ability to tell stories, and in the same breath we have Moore getting the shit kicked out of her, or Kate slicing her arm open, Ghosts of Mars style. These simply don’t work together, and the end result is an uneven feeling throughout the book where I’m not sure what I should be scared of, because anything goes. The other main issue was the horror element. The idea that the house was never evil, but people believing that it is made it haunted was just… unsatisfactory. How can rumors actually make a house haunted? And I don’t mean, oh because people think this place is bad, anything even remotely strange or distressing that happens in it is automatically prescribed to the location; no I mean somehow people’s notions that the house is haunted created or called a primordial, decaying evil that has a physical form, and can take on the shape of specific people enough to fool others that it is human, save people from dying, and also kill them in unrelated bus accidents? What? The ending was such a mess, because there are no rules to this creature! It can do absolutely anything, and there was no suspense left in the climax or the epilogue, because I knew exactly what would happen. Thomas just borrows tropes from other horror works, and does nothing to subvert them; he just let’s them play out with no critical eye, which is why we get such a dumb Bloomhouse ending, to what was otherwise a book that really seemed to respect the genre and it’s traditions. There were also major issues with the characters. Let’s start with the ones I had the least amount of problems with: Kate, Wainwright and Sebastian. Kate was boring as hell; she had no personality other than being southern and black. There is a line in the book about how her dad would hate that she’s sleeping with Wainwright not because he’s her boss but because he’s white, which is a can of worms I don’t want to touch with a 10 ft pole. There was an attempt to tie her to the history of the house, seeing as a freed slave woman who lived there was lynched, but we know nothing about Kate or her relationship with Wainwright, other than he is white and she is black. Wainwright at least had a lot of potential to be interesting. There are hints to his personality throughout the first half which never pan out; he has daddy issues, he feels inadequate and like a fraud, he has a temper that fires off when things don’t go his way, he is willing to do anything for clout. I thought the reveal was that he would rig the house for the interview Until Dawn style, or he’d trigger the haunting with something he does, but nothing of the sort happens. I thought maybe his temper and aggressive streak might make him abusive to Kate, but that also never happens. Sam hates and suspects him, but there is no reason for it; he’s just a rich boy who gets way in over his head and nothing beyond that. Sebastian was the character I liked the most, but he was wasted on this book. He is old, he has been closeted his whole life, he has lost the love of his life to cancer, and his father to dementia and is now aware that he too is slowly becoming forgetful. How interesting would it have been if Thomas actually grappled with his past, the wife he betrayed by using her as a beard, his fear of losing his memories of Richard, his desire to remain famous or at least remembered because he himself is starting to forget. How novel to actually have a queer protagonist in a Gothic novel where their sexuality isn’t punished by death of suffering. But no, he’s just barely in the book, and though I appreciate that at least Thomas didn’t have a third act twist where he suddenly became evil, it was clear Thomas had no idea what to do with him. Then we get to the characters I actively hated. Daniel I liked for most of the book; I hated the way his character was treated by the author however. I have never seen such little respect for a religious character in anything; I legitimately felt like I was watching God’s Not Dead, except Daniel was losing his faith instead of finding it. If I had to guess, I’d say Thomas doesn’t like religion, and doesn’t have any interest in actually exploring the complicated relationship characters who are religious have with themselves, their church, their families and God. Daniel is religious because he survived a spider attack as a child, and though he seems to be questioning his faith, we never really get to see why, or what drives him to be a Christian author at all. Every debate Daniel has with Moore is dumb, and the way he answers questions is purposefully written to have Moore come out on top, instead of presenting reasons as to why a person would believe certain things. It came off as fake and disingenuous, especially because the relationship Daniel has with his daughter was so good, and the scenes with him and his wife at the house were heartbreaking. But then, because Thomas needs a villain it’s just Daniel, for no reason other than… Thomas hates parents and/or religious people. I also didn’t appreciate how many fat jokes the other characters made at his expense of how everyone treated him like he was dumb just because he was excited to be around authors who were his peers and influences. Then we have Moore, who was probably the worst female character I’ve ever had the misfortune of reading; worse than Mara Jade, worse than Razorgirl. She deserves to be taught in class as an example of how not to write female characters; a complete caricature of feminism, and ambitious career driven women. She’s rude, abrasive, a massive inconsiderate asshole that is constantly constantly defensive, takes every single gesture in the absolute worst faith but also still has to be a) straight and b) hot. I actually wouldn’t have minded a female writer who started out as an indie erotica writer whose work became successful and her writing darker. I liked that she was clearly an Objectivist with an Ayn Rand level of strict work ethic, who is also rude and unpleasant. But the way she was written made absolutely no sense, and her fucking insulting backstory, about how she was severely abused by her ex, was just the icing on this shit cake. She oozed with ‘I’m not like other girls’ and ‘strong women as imagined by men’; she has an unnecessary and frankly unbelievable romance with Sam, is the only one who is described to write in the nude and is also the token woman in the male group, and if I can say one positive about her character is that it at least stayed consistently rude and disgusting to the very end. Sam was clearly the writer insert character and for the most part he was fine; at least he read like a real, flawed human, not a human-shaped robot. There were many moments where he describes other male characters as beautiful or comments on how attractive their eyes or faces are, so I got excited that maybe this book would explore his sexuality, but no; he is a boring, bland straight protagonist. I appreciated that he had depression and anxiety and was actually being treated for it, I liked that he explored toxic masculinity in his stories, but there was still the ridiculous ‘romance’ between him and Moore, and the reason why he refused to tell anyone what happened to his mother was… unclear. Like he’s clearly an adult and mature enough to know that therapy works, but still childish enough to cling to what his brother told him to protect him when he was 10? Ok? Also I didn’t like that he made no effort to make things better with Erin and he still got her back in the end. If I could recommend half of a book I would, because everything in this novel, up until the authors have their interview was great. Everything past that point kept becoming more and more convoluted, and what made the book interesting, the characters and the mystery of the house completely unraveled. I would be interested to see what else Thomas has written, because there is a good story in him; it just wasn’t this one.

goodreads

[aliyebalik]

The easiest options were usually the best if you asked Aliye. As much as she loved eating a good meal, she just never found herself with the time to dedicate to making them. "Yeah, I just have to find some more variety that's like quick and easy to make," she shrugged, figuring there were probably options out there that she simply hadn't discovered. "So, hell yeah, any suggestions you want to send my way of simple stuff that tastes good, I'll take them all." Aliye was all for exploring new things, especially if they were going to make her life easier.

Aliye quickly took a few photos of the food, selfies and all to document the moment, before putting her phone back away. "Yeah, life kind of has a crazy way of working out sometimes, huh?" she mused. Her life wasn't particularly dramatic in the same way as Sebastian's past may have been, but she'd had her fair share of moments coming about that felt like a crazy experience. "Hell yeah, it's really good," she said as she took a first bite, letting it savor for a moment in her mouth. "Now I'll have a solid meal to make if I have a date come over for dinner. Definitely a step up over mac and cheese."

@sebastianxthomas

Sebastain nodded with a smile "I will be glad to do it." he was a chef and place of work, but he didn't have to make a person order food from there. "There is a thing for everyone," he was sure of it. she just had to find the thing that she enjoyed cooking. "That's okay some boxes are better than others," he smiled "I know a few that had less to do," so you still made the meal but with fewer steps. "but a good flash frozen meal, too," so it was fresh food and was just a thing you had to reheat.

He smiled, looking at her for a moment. "It's a crazy thing how it happened." his birth family and parents were friends and made plans just in the one million chance something did happen. But when it did he was with them, the police came to his parents and told him and he never left them. He smiled at her "That's sweet of you to say" that this class was for everyone but was glad she was there too. "And you are doing great." he looked at her plate of food. @aliyebalik

[aliyebalik]

"Dude, yeah, I'd love some suggestions on that. Usually I order just like takeout or heat up like macaroni and cheese or whatever," she admitted with a snort. It wasn't fine dining by any measure, but it filled her up enough to keep her going and didn't break the bank. "I've tried some of those like get the ingredients and cook them sort of boxes, they're okay. Usually more work than I want to do, though, to be honest." It was the time commitment that steered her away from most cooking, her life one that was spent doing more exciting things than making her meals.

Though his parents passing was a terrible thing, she still understood where he was coming from saying that he had been lucky. Despite the tragedy, he'd been fortunate to end up with a family that loved and cared for him, and that counted for a lot in life. "And I got lucky ending up here with you tonight. This looks absolutely incredible," she hummed as they finished all of the cooking and plating for the dish. "It's almost too gorgeous to eat it."

@sebastianxthomas

He nodded. "I understand that or sure why I do like a few of the pre-made meals." he nodded "Like, I can send you information on some. They are freshly made then frozen, so you can just heat up the meal," he knew of good ones that were not over produced. "Or the boxes that have all you need and you can cook easier are great too" it helped people cook on their own even if they had some help.

He nodded with a smile. "I got lucky for sure..." he had people who cared about him, and the family took him in right away. That he didn't go to foster care at all right with his family. "Funny to think that..." because his birth parents had passed away for all of it. "But they got me my cooking lessons as a kid, school after high school, and more," so he was thankful for them. He smiled as he finished showing her how to prep the meal and got it cooked for them with her help. @aliyebalik

[aliyebalik]

"I'm a big convenience girl, so you won't get any complaints out of me on that one," she grinned. There was probably something to be said for making your own food, but Aliye didn't think it would ever be her thing. Odds were strong that she'd cook every so often if the mood struck, but otherwise would stick to the basics of premade meals and takeout.

Not every story like Sebastian's came with a happy ending and it was always heartwarming to hear when things did work out for the best for people. "That's really sweet," she hummed back with a nod, smile shifting to a softer one. "Sometimes the universe gets things right." With the rest of the ingredients prepped, Aliye helped move them to the pan to start cooking them, following along with any instructions Sebastian gave.

@sebastianxthomas

He nodded "The world has changed for sure, everything can be done so easily for you now." In the past, when you had to go out and hunt to get food. That became easy to get supplies in stores, which led to so much being premade and ready to eat. "It's crazy how much things have changed." he smiled at her.

He nodded as he looked at her "I was five..." it was young so he really didn't remember, but his family now told him stories and things. "But my family now...were friends with my birth parents so... it all worked out" he was thankful for that. He knew he would have been tossed around in the system if not. @aliyebalik

[tannerkohli]

&END

He looked at her "ah vacation I wish I could be" he joked as he had to work now to get settled into his life and make up for the move. He was glad to run into her and have someone he knew and already knew him well. "I will have to do that for sure." he smiled at her for a moment. "But I don't need to get fired already, so I should get back to work," he laughed. "But I'll make sure you food is the best." he winked as headed off to the kitchen. @tannerkohli

[aliyebalik]

"I love that world, though, okay," she laughed, not ashamed to admit that premade food was the bulk of her diet. For someone that was on the move as much as she was, life was just made easier when she could grab something simple and not have to worry about the process of cooking.

Aliye finished cutting up some of the ingredients, the pieces coming out more or less uniform, with a few odd shapes from weird cuts that she made. "You must have been super young, then, huh?" she asked, a hint of sadness for Sebastian coming out in her voice. "Did you go to culinary school too or did you just start working and stick with it sort of thing?"

@sebastianxthomas

He smirked. "It's just the world we live in today, so many foods you can get premade or made for you quickly." With how many frozen meals there were out there, and boxes that delivered meals, and all the fast food made things easy. But he was here to help people learn one meal could help then cook others on their own at some point"

He laughed and waved his hand. "Please, I could not." he smiled at her; she was good-looking, too, and he wasn't shy to show that fact. He smiled "I guess so, I mean, I didn't remember it at all, he was young when his parents passed away. "But I guess I've always had a love for it...and have been good at it." he was glad for that. @aliyebalik

[tannerkohli]

"Free any time. I'm on a sort of vacation, so I'm not doing anything busy at all," she answered back with a nod. It was a weird thing to not have work to keep her busy, since her entire life had been consumed by it up to this point. Being reminded of just how open her schedule was brought a rumble of emotions in her chest that she did her best to push down. Instead, she let a smile shift to her lips, head tilting up towards Sebastian with a similar sly look in her eyes. "That's what I like to hear, Seb. Seriously, text me when you get your phone, we'll make it happen." She waved a hand in a shooing motion, knowing that she'd already kept him from his work long enough.

@sebastianxthomas

"Absolutely, I’ll definitely reach out," Sebastian smiled, taking the slip of paper from Tanner with a hint of excitement. "It's great to see you again—feels like no time has passed at all. I can't wait to catch up properly over that dinner. Let me know when you're free!" He tucked the note safely into his pocket. "I'll text you once I get my phone" as it was back in his office. "But please you know I'd love cook just for you" he gave her a sly win. @tannerkohli

[tannerkohli]

Though they were in completely different fields of work, Tanner and Sebastian shared a similar mentality with their crafts. It was probably a big part of why they'd always gotten along in their years in New York and why it felt so easy to pick right back up now that they'd run into each other again. "Wow, offering me a private dinner off menu, say less," she hummed back with a quick nod, certainly not about to turn that offer down. Grabbing a scrap of paper and pen from her purse, Tanner scratched her number down and held it over for Seb to take. "Text me sometime. Number changed a few months ago."

@sebastianxthomas

He nodded, "That is for sure. If you love something, you need to do it right." He wasn't going to start out in a quick service place of his own, but he knew it was a while away before he could open his own place. He didn't want to buy or manage a place; he wanted to do it all on his own. He laughed. "I mean, I would be glad to have me around too," he joked. "But you will always have one here, but you can call me, and I can make you one too," if it was her place or his. So he could make something from his own mind not something off a steak house menu. @tannerkohli

[aliyebalik]

"Which is kind of wild, right? You'd think like we have to eat every day, so why not learn how to cook," she mused. She was guilty of never taking the time to learn, something she was sure many other people could relate to. Even if it wasn't a difficult skill to pick up, it was just one that had never landed at the top of her list to learn. Until today, at least.

Hand pressed to her chest, Aliye gave a firm shake of her head. "No shot. No one could make you look bad, Seb," she teased back, shooting him a grin as they worked through some of the prep work on the food. "Aw, I love that. So, you were kind of just born to do this then. Do you have a favorite type of food to cook?"

@sebastianxthomas

He chuckled for a moment. "I mean, it's pretty common that people don't know how to cook really. "Maybe people knew how to make pasta or grilled cheese at the most, but he didn't think that was really cooking. But he knew what he was going teach people wasn't to hard and something a person could learn and cook for others.

He winked at her. "Ah, making me look bad now," he joked as he looked at her and did his own pose. "That's it, just with a fancy name," he teased, as it really was that the meal wasn't too hard. He smiled at her. "I just always called to it, and I cooked with my birth parents..." Not that he remembered that, but he was told about it. @aliyebalik

[tannerkohli]

"For sure. If you're going to do it, do it right," she agreed. Tanner got it. Even if she wasn't a chef, she loved her own craft as a mechanic and if she couldn't do it to the level that she wanted, she couldn't dream of doing it at all. "You and me both, man. A million dollars would be great. Until then, I guess this will have to do. Selfishly, I'm glad to see you around. At least I know I'll get a good meal once in awhile." Not that she could necessarily afford to eat out all the time like this, especially being out of a job currently, but when she could swing it the comfort of a familiar plate from back home would be nice.

@sebastianxthomas

He sighed, "Yes, if you want a good sit-down one, yes." He shook his head, "But I don't do quick food. I need a real place people come in and sit, and it's a full meal," so that would cost even more. "So not for me...not yet" not till he made a lot of money someday. "And this place don't pay as much as New York did..." It wasn't bad. It just wasn't as much as he was used to. "Right? Iam glad that they care to see what I can do with the place" over making him another cooking robot. "If I get a million bucks," he laughed. @tannerkohli

[tannerkohli]

Admittedly, Tanner had no clue what it took to get a restaurant up and running, but she had kind of assumed it couldn't be that hard just because of how many of them were out there. "No shit? Are they super expensive to get started?" she asked with a lifted brow, head shaking a bit with disappointment. Chefs like Sebastian that had a clear vision and passion for what they did deserved to have their own spot and to be recognized for it. "It's good that at least they're cool here, though." That beat working for someone that didn't appreciate your talents any day. "You think someday you'll end up starting your own place up?"

@sebastianxthomas

He nodded. "The best thing for me right now." he had not had anyone over when he had the sounds playing. He would just deal with the lack of sound for that night. He chuckled a moment as he looked around the restaurant. "I mean I wish but that shit cost so much" he sighed "If I could it be smaller and not what I cook" he have to open something small and wasn't a quick dining type of chef. "But this place is nice. The owner is cool and working with me," so he could update a few things. He looked at her; he wasn't shocked she heard the truth of it all ."Yeah, I would not do that." he never went to a place he owned and loved. @tannerkohli

[tannerkohli]

Tanner didn't find herself getting much sleep these days as it was, so the additional strangeness of being somewhere so quiet hadn't completely registered to her. "I'll have to try that, see if it helps at all," she mused. She doubted it would soothe any of the other issues that kept her awake at night, but perhaps the sounds of the city would be at least a small comfort. "Seb, you ever think about opening your own place up? I mean, shit, you have way more ideas than a place like this deserves from you." Working for someone else as a chef had its benefits, sure, but Tanner couldn't imagine being so under the thumb of someone else managing things. "Added bonus, if its your restaurant, some fuckhead can't run it into the ground and have it shut down."

@sebastianxthomas

He nodded, "It wasn't too bad. It was a bit cheesy at times, but it was cool." There were times he didn't understand it, but he was still having a good time. He was excited to see what else this town had to offer. "Right? It's driving me nuts. I have to use my Alexa to play city noises so I can sleep most nights." It was a bit creepy to him how quiet it could be. He nodded. "I think so too, don't get me wrong, the food is all great. They do have good cuts of meats," he smiled. "But its bit set in its ways and old fashioned. We can keep the classics but still add something new too it." The menu had different steaks and potatoes, and even if they were different cuts of meat, they were nearly the same meal. He sighed. "I know I heard all about it." he wished he had the money that he could have bought the old place. "It just sucks" years of work gone from one person only thinking of themselves. @tannerkohli

[aliyebalik]

"Well, you definitely got someone who knows next to nothing about cooking today," she laughed, hoping it wouldn't be a complete nightmare for him to try and teach her something. Aliye liked to think that she was the type of person that could catch on pretty fast, but if her attention wasn't with it, it was a complete hit or miss as to whether she'd actually learn anything.

Aliye struck a pose as he called them both hotties, a sentiment that she fully agreed with. "Only the hottest chefs in town today," she agreed, following along to start getting things set up with Sebastian. "Chicken and sauce, can't be too hard." A statement she hoped she still believed by the time they got through cooking. "So, what got you into all of this? Pretty hectic career to be in from what I've heard."

@sebastianxthomas

He had loved cooking as a child, and it only grew from there. He was told by his birth parents that he cooked with them as much as he could. He was with them till he was five years old, but after he was adopted. They kept up his cooking, getting him lessons, and kept it going till he got to where he was today. He smiled. "That's what it's for, someone who knows nothing about cooking and ones who know and just want to get better." he nodded with a smile, glad he left it open to all.

He winked "I mean, I think who's cooking now ...well, will be soon, are hotties" he winked as he knew she was looking, and he thought of himself as good-looking too. He laughed. "It's not it just sounds like it," he smiled. "It's just chicken with a sauce in the end. He smiled "But let's get started," he clapped as he helped her start to get everything set up. @aliyebalik