One of the great things about my business is the customer. In a country where "the customer is always wrong", it is very refreshing to do the opposite and treat every customer like they are the most important person to me. Since that never happens to me, it's great to do that for someone else. Go figure!
Every single person is unique and brings all sorts of experience and stories to the table. This is an excellent opportunity for Nisrine, our teacher, to learn various aspects of culture. At the same time, I try to get fun stories about life from each customer. We have definitely had some noteworthy ones in our first year. Here are only some of the backgrounds / stories that have come across our path:
Famous Neighbor - One gentleman I was talking with was describing life growing up in Alabama years ago. He told me that as a kid, he had a speech impediment, and he had to stay after school every day to read out loud to his English teacher. While he was reading, she was editing a book by his neighbor, Harper Lee, and that book was
To Kill a Mockingbird.Alligator Killer - For anyone that knows my family, my wife's mom found a 2-foot alligator in her yard one day. Instead of running away scared, she marched into her garage and found her shovel. She proceeded to beat the gator over the head until he died, then cut off the tail and invited her neighbors over for Fried Alligator Tail.
Our First European Crew - We have started venturing out from the United States and hosted our 4 ladies from Southern England for a week. They enjoyed staying in a riad (traditional home) and loved taking the cooking class. One major difference between the two cultures was the amount of salt that should be properly added to a dish. Moroccans love their salt while the English have an aversion to it. In the last few weeks, we have had guests from the Congo, China and Saudi Arabia.
Reality Show wannabe married to a famous voice - We were told a few weeks before this specific group came in that a professional cook was interested in taking a class. We did not tell Nisrine til after the class was over, and even then she was nervous. During the class, come to find out that she had auditioned for "Hell's Kitchen", a reality show that pits aspiring chefs against one another at the shot for management at an exclusive restuarant. She wasn't weird enough to make the cut. And her husband, he is the voice for the Country Music Awards and CNN commercials.
I have many more stories to tell, but the kids love waking up extra early on a Sunday morning to get their day started. Concentration gets lost and tasks are pushed aside til a later time.
