Writing YES, CHEF was an ‘interesting’ experience. Of course I started out with a plan, but as every writer knows, characters are rebellious, head-strong, annoying buggers. They never follow the script you give them. And the characters in Yes, Chef were the worst. They had me pulling out my hair in an attempt to make the story make sense.
This is me pulling back the curtains so you can see what went on behind the stage. But if you haven’t read the book, you should probably go do that first because there are loads and loads of spoilers in this post.
1: MEET THE LEAD CHARACTERS
2: MY ADDICTION TO HELL'S KITCHEN INSPIRED IT
You already guessed that though, right? Don’t judge me. I like food, I like cooking it, and I like watching it get cooked. I think I’ve watched every season of Hell’s Kitchen, Top Chef, Top Chef Masters, Master Chef, Cutthroat Kitchen…. I’ve even gone International. Go ahead; ask me anything about the Great British Bake Off….
3: I STARTED WRITING IT IN OCTOBER 2016
You probably assumed that I was just chilling out on some sunny island with sexy cabana boys between August 2016 and February 2017 because I didn’t publish anything. I wish that were true. Unfortunately, when I wasn’t fighting various random illnesses, I was trying to figure out where I was taking Yes, Chef. You wouldn’t believe it but I have an 80,000 word manuscript that was going to be the original Yes, Chef but got discarded. Which brings me to the third thing you didn’t know…
4: SNOW WAS GOING TO HAVE MULTIPLE PERSONALITY DISORDER
In my original script, Snow was going to have MPD (or DID) and the story was a thriller. You guys, the Yes, Chef you’re reading now is a really tame version of what I’ve got in my drawer. Don’t worry though. I’m still going to publish that Manuscript after editing it a little and changing some names, so keep an eye out.
5: I THOUGHT ABOUT INCLUDING RECIPES
I saw a few people wondering why I didn’t throw in a few delicious recipes. And I was going to throw them in… but then I though y’all might not like that and think I was just adding random stuff to pad the book (as if my books aren’t long enough). Next time I’ll go with my instincts.
6: GREYSON'S BACKSTORY CHANGED
I saw a few people wondering why I didn’t throw in a few delicious recipes. And I was going to throw them in… but then I though y’all might not like that and think I was just adding random stuff to pad the book (as if my books aren’t long enough). Next time I’ll go with my instincts.
7: CHARLIE MIGHT BE AN ALCOHOLIC
Someone in the reviews commented that Charlie seemed like an alcoholic, and the truth is I was torn about that. Charlie is not really an alcoholic but he is in that danger zone. Anyone who’s lived with a budding alcoholic knows what I’m talking about… i.e. they’re not the type to go to work drunk yet and when the occasion calls for them to be sober, they can rise up. But when they have free time or some money, they get stupid drunk… like pee on myself, vomit on you, sleep in a ditch drunk. Charlie’s at that point where you can’t really say he’s an alcoholic because he’s shown that he can do without it, but you also can’t say that he doesn’t have a problem. Basically, Marlene should be focusing on fixing her son before he gets ‘unfixable’, not stalking his ex-girlfriends.
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