Week 13 Story: Magic Dish

     There was once a famous cook, Jeanine, who could cook any individual a meal they were sure to love. Many were amazed at how the chef could instantly guess what kind of food an individual would like with just one glance. For months, the chef and her restaurant were the features of many news stations and magazine articles. The hype eventually died down, but it was still well known that the chef's restaurant was a necessary stop when in the town of Pixie, Missouri. 

    Jaxton, a young man fresh from culinary school, had always been amazed by the stories of Jeanine. In fact, he had become a chef so that he could someday impress people just like she had. Jaxton lived a couple towns over from Pixie and, after graduating culinary school, he decided to move to Pixie to work in Jeanine's restaurant. He had anxiously awaited a response after he had put his application in. Not even a week later, he had been called in for an interview and offered the job. The new chef was ecstatic! He and Jeanine worked alongside each other for months. Yet, Jaxton had not discovered just how she knew exactly what a customer would like.

    Several months after he had started working at Jeanine's restaurant, Jaxton had come in after-hours to bake a cake for his mom's birthday. When he arrived, he could hear feminine humming from the dishwashing area. As he snuck around the corner, he saw Jeanine meticulously cleaning a plate that he always saw hanging on the main wall in the kitchen. As he approached the woman, he knocked into a cup, which went crashing into the floor. Jeanine whipped around in fright, calming down when she saw it was only Jaxton. "Come child," she beckoned, "let me show you a secret."

    As if he were a customer, Jeanine welcomes him to the restaurant, shaking his hand, as she does with every customer that comes in. After shaking his hand, she walks over to the dish she had been cleaning and touches her fingertips to the edge. There seemed to be ripples crossing the dish until an image finally formed: bread-crusted chicken with seasoned green beans and homemade mashed potatoes with gravy. It was Jaxton's favorite meal, one that his Nana had always cooked when he was younger. Jaxton finally understood just how Jeanine was able to find the perfect meal for each person.

Queen Anne silver dish

Author's Note:

    I used inspiration from a story (How Britomart Looked into the Magic Mirror) from Faerie Queene - Britomart, which describes why Britomart, the disguised princess, donned the outfit of a knight in the first place. Britomart had dressed in the armor of a knight and was traveling across Faerie Queene in search of a man named Artegall. She tells her travel companion that he has done her wrong and that is why she is searching for him. The truth is, however, that she saw his image in a magical mirror enchanted by Merlin when she was younger and thinking about what her future husband would look like. I thought it would be cool if there was something like it but for food. Obviously, we all need food to survive, but there is always that one meal that just hits the spot. So, instead of a mirror, I used a dish that allowed the user to see what an individual would like to eat most!