Girlfriends of Chefs: Why We Love Them and Why We Can't Stand the Heat.

There are pros and some cons to dating an individual pursuing a career in culinary. I have compiled a list of reasons why I completely adore the profession of my love and why sometimes I feel like I can't handle the heat or the kitchen.

Unless someone decides to steal my boyfriend's hands and place them in a jar like Jimmy from American Horror Story, I will never go hungry. Those talented hands are completely attached to the rest of his body. I can't exactly be called a foodie but its safe to say I have thought about checking myself in to FA (Food anonymous.) several times. I am usually hungry with in 20 minutes after eating...

Anyway

I can recall one instantance where I looked in the frigde and my heart completely broke, we had nothing to eat. All that was visable in the fridge were a quart sized container of chicken stock, five eggs in a 12 dozen egg container, a head of brocolli, a half block of cheese- with what appears to be a bite mark in it..guilty, and a few other odds end and condemns. I started to complain almost as loud as my stomach can rumble. Shawn, the chef boyfriend, told me he would make me something to eat.

"With what." I half whispered walking over and flopping on to the couch.

he smiled and went right to work. About 45 minutes and 15 minutes of me fake crying and complaining later, he carried over a bowl of soup.

I am guessing many of you had foreshadowed soup when I said that there was chicken stock in the fridge, some of you propbably even thought "Why is there random chicken stock in the fridge?"

To answer the second question earlier that week Shawn had brought home a carcus of a chicken and stuck it in the fridge. a few days after he let the chicken simmer until it made a stock...or however you make a stock.

Back to the story: he made a bowl of soup but I hate soup. I think it is very unfilling and often times over salted or bland. This soup on the other hand was delicious. It had bits of different vegatables and it was thick and hardy. It was almost like a gravy with all the components of soup. He made a soup out of a few things we had in the fridge.

And I mean EVERYTHING. he makes soup look like it should be served with red wine and something French. On one of our first dates, and the first time Shawn came to visit me in college, we made a meal together. Making a meal with someone who is going to school in making meals, is like doing surgery with a doctor, though that might be a bit of an exaggeration. The dish we made was delcious and he gave me some advice

"When you plate things, just let them fall on the plate like they were meant to be there." As he said this he gracefully added the cheesy macaroni that I had made and it fell on the plate beautifully.

That was easy enough, right? I mean it couldn't be that hard for me to create the same accidental beauty...right? WRONG. I tried the same thing and there were strange splatter marks and it looked sort of forced. He of course said it was beautiful, I guess cooks and chefs are also liars.

Here is a con that I often complain about, and when I say often I mean every 20 minutes. If Shawn is not available I will be shouting this in the ear of a family member or friend: WHY DOESN'T SHAWN HAVE TIME FOR ME??

Cooks are very consumed in the restaurant industry, after all, their job is the hardest and most rewarding. The issue is if you have a cook or chef boyfriend you will almost NEVER see them on the weekend. When everyone wants to go on double dates or all your friends are too busy cuddled up with their guy, you are sitting in your underwear watching Parks and Recreation!... or whatever show you might watch.

And this will turn into a marathon of episodes, because he will work for at least 12 hours that day and you will be bored out of your mind, especially if you get a text saying

"Hey babe I'm going out with the guys now." and it is 2 am. Where do these people go out to at 2 am?!

If anyone knows where this secret cook hang out is don't let me know just tell me it exists.

He will miss out on graduations, birthdays, anniversaries, etc.

This will put some sort of strain on your relationship and you might even come to a point where you are not even sure if he is worth it. At that point it is up to you and how much you are really trying to sacrifice for a relationship with a man who has little time, but lots of ambition.

Personally I would not trade my Cook/Chef for anyone else in the world. He is the sweetest man and he is very driven. He might not always be around, but in relationships you need to make sacrifices and both work toward your own happiness as well as happiness within the "unit." Many couples have different schedules and different dynamics. If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen, but if you can it is completely worth it.