Yesterday we were forced to accept the resignation of our in-house chef, thereby making dinner a last supper of sorts.
Our burgeoning culinarian assumed his informal post a year ago (366 days to be exact), and in that time has treated us to such delights as:
Pork Katsu
Braised Barbacoa
Coconut Risotto
Korean Fried Gochujan Wings
Mushroom Fried Rice
Wednesday night pizzas of delectable varieties
Pork and Cabbage Dumplings
Potato Pancakes with Carmelized Onions and Sour Cream
Peach Cobbler
Banana and Whiskey Bread Pudding, and
Tropical Fruit Sorbet
to name a few.
He is – in fact – not a hired chef at all, but our oldest child who has been teaching high school English from home since last spring.
In addition to teaching, he loves to cook.
He cooks to affirm, cooks to delight, and cooks to relieve stress. He is happiest chopping, dicing, and julienning during midday preps, and sauteing, simmering, and searing after dismissal.
And although we hate to lose him – it is for good reason.
For the first time this school year, his job will take him out of the home and thirty miles away to campus where he will begin in-person teaching for the final quarter. We will miss his care and creativity in the kitchen, but it is appropriate to say a grateful good-bye. His talents of another sort are needed in a community elsewhere, for more pressing reasons.
Today, this teacher and his students will convene for their inaugural meeting. It is a moment that has been frustratingly delayed for seven months. They will experience each other in the flesh from head to toe, not as voices behind little black rectangles on a screen.
How cool is that?
That’s worth giving up a good meal for.
Just Sifting 
Yes, these moments are filled with joy, but it is hard to say goodbye. So glad you had a year of this wonderful culinary experience. Wishing you many more in the future. In the meantime, congrats to your son!
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Oh such a happy/sad parting. We had one of those last August. Our son and daughter in-law were here in Minnesota for the first 6 months of the pandemic and then his work called them back to in office working and they returned to NYC. He also is a chef/cook that we miss. Glad you had this time with him and that he is still not to far away for an occasional meal.
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Your slice offers such an insightful perspective on your oldest child. You see him as a teacher, a talented chef and a fully formed adult. Sometimes it is hard to see our grown children as separate entities, rather than the young people we have guided for years. Your pride and hope for your child is clear, as is your wonderful parenting.
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