An aspiring future chef struggles with insecurity and inadequacy when he meets a patriarch who encourages him to follow through with his dream.

Chef Encouragement

Ravin stares down at his hot meal in silent thought. The young man is a beginner chef, starting out small on minor levels. While he aspires to become a renowned world chef, there is just one problem - his confidence level is low and his inadequacy feelings are high. This leaves the young man wondering if he really has what it takes to become a famous chef. But maybe he needs some encouragement to get him through.

The young man sighs and begins to make use of his time to begin eating his meal. In contemplation, Ravin wonders to himself, 'Maybe someday I'll be a good cook. But who knows? I don't have the power for it, or the ability.'

While Ravin is focused on his worry, he notices a pair of figures coming inside, happily conversing with each other. They are snow leopards and they appear to be father and son.

At first, Ravin pays them no heed but he could also feel their presence too. Yet when the two finish ordering at the counter, things come to a head when the snow leopard pair approach his table where one of them requests, "May we sit with you?"

"Huh?? Oh… not at all. I don't mind, in fact." Ravin makes no effort to hide his embarrassed face from the duo, who immediately notice something wrong with the young man. Before they sit with him, the older snow leopard introduces himself, "I'm Paulo, by the way. I have my son, Robby with me. What is your name though? You seem like someone with good character."

Ravin explains, "My name is Ravin. And skip the praise, sir. I'm not that important!" While Ravin shakes his head to emphasize his statement, he continues, "I want to be a top chef one day but I don't know if I'll make it. Honestly, I appreciate your praise but I'm not that much of a chef; I'm not that good."

Robby's sudden chuckling catches Ravin's attention where the younger feline relates, "It took some encouragement from my dad and my brother to shape me into the person I am now. I was nervous like you, though. But with his help, I'm confident now!" Hugging his father in a side hug, Robby points out, "And you can experience the same thing."

When Ravin stands up, he immediately embraces Paulo in a squeeze, catching the patriarch off-guard. When relaxed, Paulo returns the gesture and whispers encouragingly, "If you're nervous, it's okay to feel that way. But if you're aiming to be good enough, just be yourself. Be natural and relaxed. Ravin, it's okay, you're not alone here."

Paulo closes his eyes in chortling laughter when the young man rubs his forehead. In return Paulo gently nudges Ravin in return in a gentle headbutt, showing a sign of trust.

Robby, however, alerts them, "Can we go somewhere else? We don't need to be thrown out of here. There's people here."

Paulo and Ravin slowly separate and sit back down where the older snow leopard mentions to Ravin, "After this, why don't we talk more? We could head to my place and talk."

Ravin refuses while Robby suggests, "Why not make a video presentation on your cooking skills? Or you can visit us and test yourself out on making something for us where we can give you some tips and pointers on improvement?"

"I think it would be better if you guys visited me personally so I could show you my cooking. I'm not that great at it, though." Ravin remarked.

"That would actually be a great idea. After we're done here, we can head to your place and then you can make us all something like a snack." Paulo suggested.

Ravin smiles nervously, "I can do that. But I don't know if you'll like what I'll fix for you."

"How about something simple and we can go from there?" Paulo suggested to start off with. Robby also interjects and suggests, "How about this - you send us a video of your cooking process and if we meet each other again, we lend you some helpful advice on your progress?"

Hearing this actually satisfies Ravin where he agrees, "That makes more sense. Hopefully when I do make my video and show it to you guys, there will be a challenge of some sort that I can participate in."

"By all means, go for it, Ravin! You may find something that you'll like!" Paulo encourages.

Ravin rubs his shoulder and sighs, "Guess I will. But I won't guarantee that it'll be perfect."

"Yeah, go for it, Ravin! We'll help you along the way!" Robby encourages him further, even fistpumping the air in encouragement.

"I guess I can. I'll do it!" Having made up his mind, Ravin finally agrees with Robby's suggestion and stands up to hug the younger snow leopard first and then the patriarch. The young man later settles down while observing the incoming food for Paulo and Robby.

~~~~~

A few days later after having followed their suggestions, Ravin sends the Eriksson family a video update on his status while adding in his own message, "Hey Paulo, hey Robby, this is Ravin! Just giving you guys a little update - My cooking skills are improving little by little and I can taste it for myself! Some of my favorite meals are what I made, and you guys should come over and visit some time! I also ran across a video challenge that starts 2 weeks from now and I signed up to participate! I want to thank both of you for the encouragement and I hope to see you two again soon!"

Graciously viewing the video from his smartphone until it ends, Paulo and Robby hug each other, joyed at helping their new acquaintance build up enough courage and confidence for himself to improve.

~~~~~

Ravin Broode belongs to Sirbugbody from Instagram; Paulo and Robby Eriksson belong to me!